Virtual Card System for Merchant-Specific Transaction Controls
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Solution Overview
Problem
Users face challenges in securing and controlling online transactions, particularly in identifying the merchant and ensuring transaction security, as third-party payment services may lack proper security and users have limited controls over payment accounts for specific merchants or categories.
Innovation Solution
A virtual card application and server system that allows users to establish payment accounts for merchants and set controls for transactions, using transaction data to apply security techniques and take actions based on user-defined restrictions, such as transaction value limits or merchant-specific controls.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If users provide payment account information directly to merchants through web browser forms, then transaction convenience is improved, but transaction security and user control deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a payment account information service as an intermediary between users and merchants. This service stores payment account information securely and provides it to merchants through automated form population, eliminating the need for users to directly input sensitive payment information on merchant websites. The intermediary maintains security controls while enabling convenient transactions.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary actions by pre-storing payment account information and merchant-specific controls in a secure service before transactions occur. When a user visits a merchant website, the system automatically retrieves and populates payment forms with appropriate information based on pre-configured rules, eliminating the need for users to manually enter data during the transaction.
2Ease of operation
If third-party payment services are used to simplify transactions, then ease of payment is improved, but security control deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements merchant-specific controls that allow users to define different security rules and payment account selections for different merchants or merchant categories. This local quality approach enables tailored security policies for each merchant relationship rather than applying a single global security setting, allowing users to maintain high security where needed while enabling convenience where appropriate.
3Adaptability or versatility
If users manually manage payment information for each merchant, then transaction control is improved, but time consumption deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The payment account information service provides universal functionality that works across multiple merchants and payment scenarios. A single service instance manages payment information for numerous merchants, applying merchant-specific controls automatically based on the current transaction context. This eliminates the need for users to manually configure payment settings for each individual merchant while maintaining detailed control capabilities.
Data Source
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Figure 2
AI summary
A device may receive, from a user device, transaction data, the transaction data including: a user account identifier indicating a user account associated with the user device, and data indicating a particular merchant associated with a transaction. The device may provide the data indicating the particular merchant to a server device and receive, from the server device, a merchant identifier for the particular merchant associated with the transaction. The device may then identify, based on the merchant identifier and the user account identifier, a user account control, the user account control specifying a restriction for transactions associated with the user account and the particular merchant. Based on the transaction data, the device may determine whether the user account control is satisfied and perform an action based on a result of the determination.