Processing Aliases for Virtualized Transaction Instruments
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Solution Overview
Problem
Users face challenges in initiating transactions without disclosing the source of funds, especially when dealing with untrusted merchants or those that only accept specific payment instruments, leading to security risks and limitations in payment options.
Innovation Solution
The generation of virtualized transaction instruments in the form of arbitrary processing aliases for arbitrary processing networks allows users to create unique aliases linked to various backing sources, enabling secure transactions even with merchants that do not support the original payment method, such as using cryptocurrency with POS terminals that only accept credit or debit cards.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If users disclose their transaction information to merchants, then transactions can be completed, but security risks increase and privacy is compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the transaction information into two distinct parts: the user's actual payment instrument information (kept private) and a generated processing alias (shared with merchant). This segmentation allows the transaction to proceed using only the alias, while the actual sensitive information remains isolated and undisclosed to the merchant, thereby resolving the contradiction between transaction completion and security protection.
Solution Approach 2:
The processing alias acts as an intermediary between the user's actual payment instrument and the merchant. It enables the merchant to process transactions without ever accessing or storing the user's real payment information, thus facilitating transaction completion while eliminating security risks associated with information disclosure.
2Productivity
If users share their payment instrument information with merchants, then transactions can be processed, but the merchant's trustworthiness becomes a security vulnerability
Solution Approach 1:
The processing alias serves as a trustless intermediary that decouples transaction processing from trust in the merchant. The alias enables the payment network to process transactions reliably without requiring the merchant to be trustworthy, as the alias itself carries the necessary authorization information while protecting the user's actual payment instrument details.
Solution Approach 2:
The system creates a functional copy of the payment instrument in the form of a processing alias. This copy contains sufficient information to authorize transactions but is designed to be discarded after use, eliminating the need for merchants to handle or store sensitive payment information while maintaining full transaction processing capability.
3Device complexity
If merchants only accept specific payment instruments, then their processing capabilities are simplified, but user payment flexibility is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The processing alias provides universal compatibility across different payment networks and merchant systems. By translating various payment instrument types into a standardized alias format that payment networks can process, the system enables merchants to accept payments from any source without requiring specialized processing capabilities for each payment type, thus resolving the contradiction between processing simplicity and payment flexibility.
Solution Approach 2:
The processing alias acts as an intermediary layer between diverse payment instruments and the merchant's payment processing system. It translates different payment types (cryptocurrency, credit cards, debit cards, etc.) into a unified format that the merchant's existing infrastructure can handle, thereby maintaining merchant system simplicity while enabling broad payment method flexibility for users.
Data Source
AI summary
Disclosed are various embodiments for virtualizing transaction instruments using processing aliases. A computing device can receive a first selection of a processing network from a plurality of available processing networks. Then, the computing device can receive a second selection of a backing source from a plurality of registered backing sources. Next, the computing device can generate a processing alias for the processing network. Subsequently, the computing device can store an association between the processing alias and the backing source.