WO2001097184A2

WO2001097184A2 - A method and apparatus for crediting an electronic charge card

Info

Publication number: WO2001097184A2
Application number: PCT/US2001/018432
Authority: WO
Inventors: David B. Sutton; Douglas E. Blasiman
Original assignee: Privacash.Com, Inc.
Priority date: 2000-06-13
Filing date: 2001-06-07
Publication date: 2001-12-20
Also published as: WO2001097184A3; AU2001275354A1

Abstract

A method for crediting an electronic charge card. The method includes the steps of funding an electronic account at a station; associating the electronic account with an electronic charge card; dispensing the electronic charge card from the station to a user; activating the electronic charge card over a telecommunication network; providing the electronic charge card to at least one vendor for initiating a purchase transaction; and deducting a payment from the electronic account for completing the purchase transaction.

Description

A METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR CREDITING AN ELECTRONIC CHARGE CARD

Field of the Invention

The present invention relates generally to a method of crediting an electronic charge card, and more particularly, to a method of crediting an electronic charge card at an automated teller machine or a vending machine without requiring a credit check or providing personal information.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION With a huge success in online business, demands for more secure online based transaction methods have increased over the past few years. Currently, when a consumer wishes to make a purchase over the Internet, the consumer must utilize one's personal credit card. Secured servers utilized by online vendors accept credit cards and provide protection for the interception of credit card information by third party hackers via various encryption processes. However, even if no hacking takes place, the vendor ultimately has the consumer's credit card number. Having the credit card number provides a trail back to the consumer's social security number and other private, personal information that the consumer would not normally circulate to others. Possession of the credit card in effect gives the vendor the opportunity to circulate information regarding the consumer and the consumer's history of purchases to others who may utilize this information for mass targeted mailing as well as any other marketing objectives.

By using one's credit card, those purchases made over the Internet that a consumer may wish to keep and maintain private and confidential appear on the consumer's monthly credit card statement and thus are available to others. Circulating this information in itself could prove to be damaging. Accordingly, the current mechanism for purchase over the Internet could lead to irreparable harm and embarrassment to one's credit standing as well as one's personal and professional business life.

Most credit cards are made available to consumers based on a decision made by the issuer on a case by case basis. It is widely known that it is difficult for a consumer to obtain a credit card if the consumer does not meet a series of requirements. Many consumers prefer to protect certain private information which may be required for possession of a conventional credit card. Therefore, it is an object of this present invention to provide a method for confidentially and privately making a purchase over the Internet. It is a further object of this present invention to provide a method for providing readily available conventional credit cards to consumers without requiring their private and personal information.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In accordance with the present invention, a method is provided for crediting an electronic charge card. The method comprises the steps of (a) funding an electronic account at a station; (b) associating the electronic account with an electronic charge card; (c) dispensing the electronic charge card from the station to a user; (d) activating the electronic charge card over a telecommunications network; (e) providing the electronic charge account to at least one vendor for initiating a purchase transaction; and (f) deducting a payment from the electronic account for completing the purchase transaction. For a more complete understanding of the invention, its objects and advantages, refer to the following specification and to the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Figure 1 is a block diagram illustrating the components of a system for crediting a credit card in accordance with the present invention;

Figure 2 is a flowchart showing a method for crediting a credit card in accordance with the present invention;

Figure 3 illustrates a first menu of options available in the user interface of an automated teller machine;

Figure 4 illustrates a second menu of options available in the user interface of an automated teller machine; and Figure 5 illustrates a third menu of options available in the user interface of an automated teller machine.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT In accordance with the present invention, an overview of a system for crediting an electronic charge card 10 is illustrated in Figure 1 of the drawings. As shown at step 1 , the consumer or buyer 20 purchases an electronic account 24 from an automated teller machine (ATM) or a vending machine 12. ATM or vending machine 12 provides an interface to a database 14 for associating the electronic account 24 with an electronic charge card 22 and dispenses it to the buyer 20. Electronic charge card 22 dispensed from ATM or vending machine 12 includes information associated with the electronic account 24 such as an account number and an expiration date which may be used for activation purposes. ATM or vending machine 12 also dispenses a receipt that contains confidential information about the electronic account 24 such as a pin number that may be required when activating electronic charge card 22.

ATM 12 communicates with a database 14 over a telecommunications network 18. Database 14 contains information regarding the electronic charge cards 22 and their association with corresponding electronic accounts 24. Such information associated with electronic charge card 22 includes the account number, expiration date, personal identification number (PIN), limit, status, and other useful transactional information. Preferably, database 14 contains no private and personal information of consumer 20 or any links to such information.

As shown at step 2, consumer or buyer 20 activates electronic charge card 22 over telecommunications network 18, such as an Internet, Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) 18, or Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN). In this preferred embodiment of the present invention, consumer 20 is directed to visit the web site or to call the customer service number of the credit card provider. Consumer 20 is then prompted to enter the account number and expiration date of electronic charge card 22 and, optionally, the pin number provided on the receipt dispensed when purchasing the electronic charge card 22. Preferably, no private and personal information is requested of consumer 20. Database 14 then verifies information provided by consumer 20 with data stored in its memory.

In the present invention, database 14 checks to see if matching account and the optional PIN number was given. If all the information provided by consumer 20 is verified, database 14 changes the status of electronic account 24 from inactive to active. Once electronic charge card 22 is activated, card 22 works as cash. Because the account number of electronic charge card 22 is not matched to any invoice or reference number, complete privacy is maintained. In one embodiment, from the date of activation, consumer 20 has a limited period of time to exhaust available funds of electronic account 24.

As shown at step 3, electronic charge card 22 is used for purchasing or returning goods just as any other conventional credit cards. When consumer 20 initiates a purchase transaction, vendor 16 sends credit account information to database 14 over telecommunications network 18 by swiping electronic charge card 22 through a swipe machine 26 or by entering the account numbers directly. Database 14 confirms to vendor 16 that electronic account 24 is valid with sufficient funds available for the purchase. Upon approval, the amount of the purchase is debited from electronic account 24 and a new balance of electronic account 24 is stored in database 14. No additional private and personal information of consumer 20 is required to complete a purchase transaction. Because no personal information is supplied by a consumer, no post purchase confirmation or account statement is generated by database 14. Unlike conventional credit cards, consumer 20 does not receive a monthly billing statement which lists all purchases of the previous month and thus is available to others. In one system configuration, however, a consumer could electronically access database 14 using the account number and/or the PIN number to review transactions made against the account.

Consumer 20 may readily use electronic charge card 22 to make online purchases at any web site or to receive credit for returns. Consumer 20 accesses the Internet site on which the consumer desires to make a purchase. Typically, when consumer 20 is ready to make a purchase online, consumer 20 is prompted through a series of payment questions. Electronic charge card 22 preferably bears an identical, predetermined name on each card, most commonly the name of credit card provider such as PrivaCash. When prompted to fill in the name as well as other personal information, consumer 20 can simply insert the predetermined name and predetermined information as instructed on electronic charge card 22. Thus, in the present system, private and personal information that consumer 20 would normally provide using conventional systems to make a purchase are not traceable to the corresponding web site holder since no common database information would exist to link such personal information. Upon completing the payment questions, web site provider, in other words vendor 16, sends electronic account information to database 14 over telecommunication network 18. Database 14 confirms to vendor 16 that electronic account 24 is valid with sufficient funds available for the purchase or records a credit to the account. Upon approval, the amount of the purchase is debited from electronic account 24 and a new balance of electronic account 24 is stored in database 14.

Once the funds on electronic charge card 22 are exhausted, consumer 20 may visit ATM 12 again to credit more funds to the existing electronic account 24 associated with electronic charge card 22, or consumer 20 may purchase a new electronic charge card 22 from a vending machine or ATM 12. It should be noted that the expiration date on electronic charge card 22 may be extendable through online access or customer service provided by credit card provider. Alternatively, consumer 20 may withdraw any residual funds remaining in the consumer's existing electronic account 24 prior to the expiration date at any ATM machine 12.

Turning now to Figures 2-6 of the drawings, a more detailed description of the method of crediting electronic charge card 22 in accordance with the present invention is provided. Consumer 20 begins by visiting specially designed ATM or vending machine 12 which may be placed in banks, airports, malls, or other desirable locations, step 50. ATM 12 may be interactively used for accessing other accounts as well, such as existing bank accounts and conventional credit card accounts. At step 52, consumer 20 is prompted to select from a first menu 100 of options shown in Figure 3 that is available on an ATM user interface 98. First menu 100 includes selections such as 1 ) access existing account; and 2) create new account. At step 54, upon selection of 1) access existing account by pressing the corresponding touch button 102, consumer 20 is prompted to insert an electronic charge card 22, debit card, automated teller card, or other card, for the account that the consumer desires to access, and to perform conventional transactions on that account. After having chosen to access an existing account, consumer 20 may fund an existing electronic charge card as described in Figure 2. Once consumer 20 elects to open a new electronic account 24 by pressing the bottom touch button 104, consumer 20 is prompted to select a credit card type from a second menu 106, step 56. As is best illustrated in Figure 4 of the drawings, second menu 106 includes selections such as 1) MASTERCARD; 2) VISA; 3) AMERICAN EXPRESS; and 4) DISCOVER. Consumer 20 may select the desired type of credit cards by pressing the appropriate touch buttons 108-114. It should be understood that the available types of credit cards are not limited to the aforementioned items, but any conventional credit card is a candidate for incorporation in the present system

Next, consumer 20 is prompted to select a payment source from a third menu 116, step 58. As is best illustrated in Figure 5 of the drawings, third menu 116 includes, but is not limited to, items such as 1 ) cash deposit; 2) financial institution account; and 3) other credit card. Upon pressing touch buttons 120 or 122, consumer 20 is prompted to enter account information customarily available from holders of such accounts. For example, when touch button 120 is pressed, consumer 20 is prompted to enter a valid account number and PIN number to transfer corresponding amounts from either an existing saving or checking account to new electronic account 24 of Figure 1. When touch button 118 is selected, consumer 20 is prompted to place the corresponding amount of currency into a currency deposit drawer of ATM or vending machine 12.

Upon selection . of a payment source using touch buttons 120 or 122, consumer 20 is prompted to enter the amount of funds to be transferred through additional menus, step 60. It should be noted that if consumer 20 elects to fund new electronic account 24 with currency, no personal or private information would be requested from consumer 20 and this step would be skipped. One purpose of a cash transaction would be to convert actual currency to electronic account information which could be used for online transactions or at any retailer which accepts the credit card that consumer 20 selected in step 56. Electronic accounts 24 may be offered in various predetermined denominations such as $25, $50, and $100, or consumer 20 may be prompted to enter the exact amount of funds.

In step 62, ATM or vending machine 12 dispenses an electronic charge card 22 along with a receipt after machine 12 receives the correct amount into the cash deposit drawer or funds were properly transferred from an existing account. Electronic charge card 22 includes an account number and expiration date, as well as any other information consumer 20 would be required to provide in order to make a purchase over the Internet, such as a pseuao-name and pseuao-billing address, as some on-line vendors require. As mentioned above, the receipt has a PIN number that may be required to activate electronic charge card 22. It should be understood that in the event of a loss of electronic charge card 22 or account number, consumer 20 would forfeit all rights to the funds since there is no means to trace the consumer's identity and match the identity to account number.

As shown at block 64, consumer 20 then activates electronic charge card 22 though the web site or customer service provided by the electronic card provider, as also described at step 2 of Figure 1. Upon activation of electronic charge card 22, consumer 20 may initiate a purchase over the Internet or any retail stores, as shown at block 66 and described at step 3 of Figure 1 , to the limit of the card 22. When the available funds are exhausted, consumer 20 may deposit more funds to existing account or purchase a new account as discussed above. The process ends at block 68.

While the above description constitutes the preferred embodiment of the invention, it will be appreciated that the invention is susceptible to modification, variation, and change without departing from the proper scope or fair meaning of the accompanying claims.

Claims

CLAIMSWhat is Claimed is:

1. A method for crediting an electronic charge card comprising the steps of: funding an electronic account at a station; associating the electronic account with an electronic charge card; dispensing the electronic charge card from the station to a user; providing the electronic charge account to at least one vendor for initiating a purchase transaction; and deducting a payment from the electronic account for completing the purchase transaction.

2. The method of Claim 1 wherein use of the electronic charge card is anonymous.

3. The method of Claim 1 wherein the step of associating the electronic account with an electronic charge card occurs without providing personal information.

4. The method of Claim 1 wherein the step of funding the electronic account includes the step of depositing money into the electronic account from a predetermined account.

5. The method of Claim 4 wherein the predetermined account is a bank account having a positive balance.

6. The method of Claim 4 wherein the predetermined account is a credit account.

7. The method of Claim 1 wherein the step of funding the electronic account includes inserting cash into the station and crediting the value of the cash to the electronic account.

8. The method of Claim 1 further comprising the step of activating the electronic charge card over a telecommunications network.

9. The method of Claim 8, wherein the telecommunications network is an Internet network.

10. The method of Claim 8, wherein the telecommunications network is a public switched telephone network (PSTN).

11. The method of Claim 1 , wherein the station is an automated teller machine.

12. The method of Claim 1 , wherein the station is a vending machine.

13. The method of Claim 1 , wherein the vendor comprises a plurality of merchants having a system adapted to accept the electronic charge card.

14. The method of Claim 1 wherein the vendor is a plurality of Internet based merchants having an interface for accepting the electronic charge card.

15. A method for crediting an anonymous electronic charge card comprising the steps of: funding an anonymous electronic account at a station; associating the electronic account with an anonymous electronic charge card without providing personal information; dispensing the electronic charge card from the station to a user; activating the electronic charge card over a communication network; providing the electronic charge account to a plurality of vendors for initiating purchase transactions; and deducting a payment from the anonymous electronic account for completing the purchase transaction.

16. The method claim 15, wherein the station is an automated teller machine.

17. The method of claim 15, wherein the station is a vending machine.

18. A system for crediting an anonymous electronic charge card comprising: a station, the station adapted to count a currency deposit; an anonymous electronic account funded at the station; an anonymous electronic charge card associated with the anonymous electronic account, the electronic charge card being dispensed from the station and being activated over a communications network without providing any personal information; a database, the database storing account information and tracking of transaction activities associated with the anonymous electronic account; a plurality of vendors having a system adapted to accept the electronic charge card for a purchase transaction; and the communication network providing communication vendors and the database in association with the electronic account.

19. The system according to Claim 18 wherein the station is an automated teller machine.

20. The system according to Claim 18 wherein the station is a vending machine.