US20100010916A1 - Method and apparatus for ordering goods, services and content over an internetwork using a virtual payment account - Google Patents
Method and apparatus for ordering goods, services and content over an internetwork using a virtual payment account Download PDFInfo
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- US20100010916A1 US20100010916A1 US12/564,128 US56412809A US2010010916A1 US 20100010916 A1 US20100010916 A1 US 20100010916A1 US 56412809 A US56412809 A US 56412809A US 2010010916 A1 US2010010916 A1 US 2010010916A1
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- G—PHYSICS
- G06—COMPUTING; CALCULATING OR COUNTING
- G06Q—INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY [ICT] SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES; SYSTEMS OR METHODS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
- G06Q30/00—Commerce
- G06Q30/04—Billing or invoicing
-
- G—PHYSICS
- G06—COMPUTING; CALCULATING OR COUNTING
- G06Q—INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY [ICT] SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES; SYSTEMS OR METHODS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
- G06Q20/00—Payment architectures, schemes or protocols
- G06Q20/08—Payment architectures
- G06Q20/10—Payment architectures specially adapted for electronic funds transfer [EFT] systems; specially adapted for home banking systems
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- G—PHYSICS
- G06—COMPUTING; CALCULATING OR COUNTING
- G06Q—INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY [ICT] SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES; SYSTEMS OR METHODS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
- G06Q20/00—Payment architectures, schemes or protocols
- G06Q20/08—Payment architectures
- G06Q20/10—Payment architectures specially adapted for electronic funds transfer [EFT] systems; specially adapted for home banking systems
- G06Q20/102—Bill distribution or payments
-
- G—PHYSICS
- G06—COMPUTING; CALCULATING OR COUNTING
- G06Q—INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY [ICT] SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES; SYSTEMS OR METHODS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
- G06Q20/00—Payment architectures, schemes or protocols
- G06Q20/38—Payment protocols; Details thereof
- G06Q20/40—Authorisation, e.g. identification of payer or payee, verification of customer or shop credentials; Review and approval of payers, e.g. check credit lines or negative lists
- G06Q20/401—Transaction verification
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- G—PHYSICS
- G06—COMPUTING; CALCULATING OR COUNTING
- G06Q—INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY [ICT] SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES; SYSTEMS OR METHODS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
- G06Q30/00—Commerce
- G06Q30/06—Buying, selling or leasing transactions
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- G—PHYSICS
- G06—COMPUTING; CALCULATING OR COUNTING
- G06Q—INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY [ICT] SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES; SYSTEMS OR METHODS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
- G06Q30/00—Commerce
- G06Q30/06—Buying, selling or leasing transactions
- G06Q30/0601—Electronic shopping [e-shopping]
Definitions
- This invention generally relates to a method and apparatus for ordering goods, services, and content from one or more other computers connected via common communications links and, more particularly, to a method and apparatus for ordering goods, services and content from computers connected to the Internet using a virtual payment account.
- Networks are well known in the computer communications field.
- a network is a group of computers and associated devices that are connected by communications facilities or links.
- Network communications can be of a permanent nature, such as via cables, or can be of a temporary nature, such as connections made through telephone or radio links.
- Networks may vary in size, from a local area network (LAN) consisting of a few computers or workstations and related devices; to a wide area network (WAN) that interconnects computers and LANs that are geographically dispersed; to a remote access service (RAS) that interconnects remote computers via temporary communication links.
- An internetwork is the joining of multiple computer networks, both similar and dissimilar, by means of gateways or routers that facilitate data transfer and conversion from various networks.
- a well-known abbreviation for the term internetwork is “Internet.” As currently understood, the capitalized term “Internet” refers to the collection of networks and routers that use the Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) to communicate with one another.
- TCP/IP
- FIG. 1 A representative section of the Internet 40 is shown in FIG. 1 (Prior Art) in which a plurality of local area networks (LANs) 44 and a wide area network (WAN) 46 are interconnected by routers 42 .
- the routers 42 are generally special purpose computers used to interface one LAN or WAN to another. Communication links within the LANs may be twisted wire pair or coaxial cable, while communication links between networks may utilize 56 Kbps analog telephone lines or 1 Mbps digital T-1 lines and/or 45 Mbps T-3 lines. Further, computers and other related electronic devices can be remotely connected to either the LANs 44 or the WAN 46 via a modem and temporary telephone link. Such computers and electronic devices 48 are shown in FIG. 1 as connected to one of the LANs 44 by a dotted line. It will be appreciated that the Internet comprises a vast number of such interconnected networks, computers, and routers and that only a small, representative section of the Internet 40 is shown in FIG. 1 .
- the Internet has recently seen explosive growth by virtue of its ability to link computers located throughout the world. As the Internet has grown, so has the World Wide Web (WWW).
- the WWW is a vast collection of interconnected or “hypertext” documents (also known as “Web pages”) written in HyperText Markup Language (HTML) that are electronically stored at “Web sites” throughout the Internet.
- a Web site is a server connected to the Internet that has mass storage facilities for storing hypertext documents and that runs administrative software for handling requests for those stored hypertext documents.
- a hypertext document normally includes a number of hyperlinks, i.e., highlighted portions of text that link the document to another hypertext document possibly stored at a Web site elsewhere on the Internet. Each hyperlink is associated with a Uniform Resource Locator (URL) that provides the exact location of the linked document on a server connected to the Internet.
- URL Uniform Resource Locator
- a user is allowed to retrieve hypertext documents from the WWW, i.e., a user is allowed to “surf the Web,” via a Web browser.
- a Web browser such as Netscape's NAVIGATOR® or Microsoft's INTERNET EXPLORER®, is a software program implemented by a Web client, i.e., the user's computer, to provide a graphical user interface to the WWW.
- the Web client accesses and retrieves the desired hypertext document or Web page from the appropriate Web server using the URL for the document and a protocol known as HyperText Transfer Protocol (HTTP).
- HTTP is a higher-level protocol than TCP/IP and is designed specifically for the requirements of the WWW. It is used on top of TCP/IP to transfer hypertext documents between servers and clients.
- a user may “visit the Web site” of a company, i.e., retrieve the hypertext documents located on the Web server of a particular company, and order any good or service that the company has to offer. If that good or service is in the form of electronically stored information, such as a book, a video, a computer game, etc., the consumer may simply download the good or service from the company's Web site to his or her computer for immediate consumption and use. If the good or service is of a more tangible nature, such as an appliance or article of clothing ordered from an on-line catalog, a more conventional method of delivery, e.g., the postal service or a common carrier, is used.
- E-credit is a form of electronic commerce involving credit card transactions carried out over the Internet.
- Traditional e-credit purchases are paid for by a major credit card, wherein the consumer is required to transmit his or her credit information, for example, an account number and private identification number (PIN), over the Internet to the company's Web site.
- PIN personal identification number
- Many consumers are concerned about the security and confidentiality of such electronic transmissions.
- Many consumers do not have a major credit card with which to make such purchases.
- Alternative billing systems such as providing credit information by facsimile or postal service, are much less convenient and often prove enough of a barrier to prohibit the sale altogether.
- the traditional methods of billing and payment do not adequately protect the seller or consumer from fraudulent purchases.
- the method and apparatus should protect the seller and consumer from fraudulent purchases. Additionally, the method and apparatus should provide an element of non-repudiation to all transactions. The method and apparatus should also prevent consumers with histories of nonpayment from purchasing additional goods, services and/or content. Finally, the method and apparatus should allow a consumer without a major credit card to purchase goods, services and content over the network.
- the present invention provides a computer program for ordering products from computers connected to the Internet, wherein the consumer is automatically billed for the ordered good, service or content based on a virtual payment account maintained by a commerce gateway.
- the commerce gateway interfaces with a credit processing server to handle the monetary aspects involved in purchasing goods, services and/or content.
- the credit processing server interfaces with one or more financial institutions that physically handle the consumer's account. For example, a consumer can pay for purchases electronically by transferring funds from a bank account held by the consumer at the financial institution, or by prepaying for the purchases by sending a check to the provider of the commerce gateway. Alternatively, reward points earned by using the virtual payment account can be applied towards purchases.
- the credit processing server communicates with one or more credit bureaus in order to determine a credit limit for a consumer's virtual payment account.
- a virtual payment account can have associated sub-accounts.
- a sub-account can have a credit limit that is less than the main account credit limit.
- a sub-account can limit the merchant sites from which goods, services and/or content can be purchased.
- purchases must be made by a registered consumer from a registered merchant.
- Security is ensured via authentication of the parties to a transaction. Authentication can be performed by verification of a private key, a digital certificate, or a combination thereof, known as a digital signature.
- FIG. 1 (Prior Art) is a block diagram of a representative portion of the Internet
- FIG. 2 is a pictorial diagram of a local area network (LAN) connected to the Internet which supplies goods, services and/or content ordered by a consumer using a computer located elsewhere on the Internet in accordance with the present invention
- LAN local area network
- FIG. 3 is a block diagram of the several components of the consumer's computer shown in FIG. 2 that is used to order goods, services and/or content from the Internet in accordance with the present invention
- FIG. 4 is a block diagram of the several components of a merchant server shown in FIG. 2 that provides the ordered goods, services and/or content in accordance with the present invention
- FIG. 5 is a block diagram of the several components of a commerce gateway shown in FIG. 2 that is used to interface between the Internet and a card processing server in accordance with the present invention
- FIG. 6 is a block diagram of the several components of a credit processing server shown in FIG. 2 that provides for the payment of the ordered goods, services and/or content in accordance with the present invention
- FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating the actions taken by the consumer's computer, the commerce gateway, the credit processing server, and a credit bureau to create a virtual payment account for a consumer;
- FIGS. 8A-8E are exemplary pages displayed on a consumer computer when applying for a virtual payment account in accordance with the present invention.
- FIGS. 9A-9D are exemplary Web pages used by a consumer to customize the virtual payment account applied for in accordance with the present invention.
- FIG. 10 illustrates a display notifying the consumer of a digital certificate created in response to a successful creation and customization of a virtual payment account in accordance with the present invention
- FIGS. 11A-11F are exemplary Web pages used by a consumer to purchase goods, services and/or content in accordance with the present invention.
- FIG. 12 is a flow diagram illustrating the logic used by the consumer's computer to order goods, services and/or content from the Internet using the Web browser;
- FIG. 13 is a flow diagram illustrating the logic used by a consumer authenticator of the consumer computer shown in FIG. 3 to validate that the consumer is a registered virtual payment account participant;
- FIG. 14 is an exemplary Web page for performing certificate not present processing in accordance with the present invention.
- FIG. 15 is a flow diagram illustrating the logic used by the consumer's computer to apply for a virtual payment account using the Web browser
- FIG. 16 is a flow diagram illustrating the logic used by an enrollment server of the commerce gateway shown in FIG. 5 to establish a new consumer account in accordance with the present invention
- FIG. 17 a flow diagram illustrating the logic used by an account identification container generator of the commerce gateway shown in FIG. 5 to generate an account identification for a given transaction;
- FIG. 18 is a flow diagram illustrating the logic used by a commerce engine of a merchant computer shown in FIG. 4 to provide for the ordering, shipment and payment of goods, services and/or content over the Internet;
- FIG. 19 is a flow diagram illustrating the logic used by a commerce gateway adapter of the merchant server shown in FIG. 4 to allow the commerce engine to communicate with a transaction server on the commerce gateway;
- FIG. 20 is a flow diagram illustrating the logic used by the transaction server of the commerce gateway shown in FIG. 5 to process an order for goods, services and/or content over the Internet using a virtual payment account;
- FIGS. 21 and 22 are flow diagrams illustrating the logic used by various sub-systems of the credit processing server shown FIG. 6 to provide for payment of goods, services and/or content ordered over the Internet using a virtual payment account;
- FIG. 23 is a diagram illustrating the actions taken by the consumer's computer, the merchant server, the commerce gateway, and the credit processing server to order goods, services and/or content using the virtual payment account;
- FIG. 24 is a flow diagram illustrating the logic used by the merchant's computer to perform a settlement transaction, i.e., initiate transfer of funds;
- FIG. 25 is a flow diagram illustrating the logic used by the administrator's computer to initiate a refund to be applied to a virtual payment account in accordance with the present invention.
- FIGS. 26-29 are exemplary Web pages used by a consumer to perform account maintenance functions in accordance with the present invention.
- the Internet 40 is a collection of local area networks and (LANs) 44 , wide area networks (WANs) 46 , remote computers 48 and routers 42 that use the Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) to communicate with each other.
- LANs local area networks and
- WANs wide area networks
- TCP/IP Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol
- the World Wide Web (WWW) is vast collection of interconnected, electronically stored information located on servers connected throughout the Internet 40 . Many companies are now selling goods, services, and access to their premium content over the Internet using the WWW.
- a consumer orders goods, services and/or content (referred to interchangeably herein as “products”) over the Internet 40 via a Web browser and is automatically billed for the purchase using his or her virtual payment account without transferring sensitive account information, such as account number and expiration date, over the Internet 40 .
- the virtual payment account allows a consumer to settle transactions of the virtual payment account using a prepaid or credit account.
- the virtual payment account uses bank electronic funds transfers, for example, using the Automated Clearing House (ACH) standard that is maintained by the National Automated Clearing House Association (NACHA)—the standards group promoting electronic commerce standards.
- ACH Automated Clearing House
- NACHA National Automated Clearing House Association
- the virtual payment account can be funded using a traditional paper check, with the consumer mailing a check, e.g., via the postal service, to the providers of the virtual payment account system.
- funds transfer services and electronic bill payment services such as CHECKFREE®, may be used.
- Reward points, also known as loyalty points, earned through use of the virtual payment card can also be applied to the consumer's virtual payment account to pay for products.
- the consumer purchases goods, services, and/or premium content from a merchant server 51 , i.e., a server owned by the merchant that sponsors or sells the product, by placing an order with the merchant server from a computer 50 connected to the Internet 40 .
- the order is processed and confirmed by a commerce gateway 52 connected to a LAN 44 located elsewhere in the Internet 40 .
- the commerce gateway 52 is also connected to a credit processing server 53 via the LAN 44 .
- the credit processing server communicates with one or more credit bureaus 58 in order to determine the credit worthiness of a consumer.
- the credit bureau 58 is a server provided and administrated by a credit agency for processing credit reports.
- the credit bureau 58 can be located on the LAN 44 or elsewhere on the Internet 40 .
- the credit processing server can establish a point-to-point connection with a remote credit bureau that is not either connected to the LAN 44 or the Internet 40 .
- other methods of communication between the credit processing server 53 and credit bureau 58 may be used, for example, a secure Virtual Private Network maintained and operated by the credit bureau exclusively for the purpose of credit rating.
- the credit bureau may not actually offer a server at all. Rather, a customer service representative for the credit bureau may process the credit report and manually provide the report to an administrator of the present invention who manually enters the report to the credit processing server 53 .
- the credit processing server 53 also communicates with one or more financial institutions 59 for the purpose of obtaining the consumer's payment, i.e., a transfer of funds for the purchase of products.
- the financial institutions 59 may be other servers in electronic communication with the credit processing server 53 , customer service representatives in more traditional communication with the credit processing server 53 , or some combination thereof.
- the LAN 44 includes an administrative computer 54 used to administer vendor, and purchaser information and services provided by the commerce gateway 52 and credit processing server 53 .
- the LAN 44 is insulated from the Internet 40 by a firewall server 55 that tracks and controls the flow of all data passing through it using the TCP/IP protocol.
- the firewall 55 protects the LAN 44 from malicious in-bound data traffic.
- the LAN 44 is a bus network interconnecting the various computers and servers.
- the LAN 44 shown in FIG. 2 can be formed of various coupling media such as glass or plastic fiberoptic cables, coaxial cables, twisted wire pair cables, ribbon cables, etc.
- the coupling medium can also include a radio frequency coupling media or other intangible coupling media.
- Any computer system or number of computer systems including but not limited to workstations, personal computers, laptop computers, servers, remote computers, etc., that is equipped with the necessary interface hardware may be connected temporarily or permanently to the LAN 44 and, thus, the Internet 40 .
- the interface hardware of both the remote computer 48 and the device to which it is connected must contain a modem.
- consumer computer 50 and one merchant server 51 are depicted in FIG. 2
- merchant server 51 numerous consumer computers and merchant servers equipped with the hardware and software components described below may be connected to the Internet 40 .
- consumer used herein can be applied to any purchaser of goods and/or services and can be applied equally to an individual, non-commercial purchaser or a business or commercial purchaser. In other words, the term “consumer” can apply to any purchaser and the term “merchant” can apply to any vendor.
- FIG. 3 depicts several of the key components of the consumer's computer 50 .
- the consumer's computer 50 includes many more components then those shown in FIG. 3 . However, it is not necessary that all of these generally conventional components be shown in order to disclose an illustrative embodiment for practicing the present invention.
- the consumer's computer includes a network interface 60 for connecting to a LAN 44 or WAN 46 , or for connecting remotely to a LAN or WAN.
- the network interface 60 includes the necessary circuitry for such a connection, and is also constructed for use with the TCP/IP protocol, the particular network configuration of the LAN or WAN it is connecting to, and a particular type of coupling medium.
- the consumer's computer 50 also includes a processing unit 61 , a display 62 , and a memory 63 .
- the memory 63 generally comprises a random access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM) and a permanent mass storage device, such as a disk drive.
- the memory 63 stores the program code and data necessary for ordering and paying for a product over the Internet 40 in accordance with the present invention. More specifically, the memory 63 stores a Web browser component 64 , such as Netscape's NAVIGATOR® or Microsoft's INTERNET EXPLORER® browsers, and a consumer authenticator component 65 formed in accordance with the present invention for authenticating a consumer as a registered participant of the virtual payment system prior to performing any virtual payment account transactions. It will be appreciated that these components may be stored on a computer-readable medium and loaded into memory 63 of the consumer computer 50 using a drive mechanism associated with the computer-readable medium, such as a floppy or CD-ROM drive.
- FIG. 4 depicts several of the key components of the merchant server 51 .
- the merchant server 51 includes many more components than those shown in FIG. 4 . However, it is not necessary that all of these generally conventional components be shown in order to disclose an illustrative embodiment of practicing the present invention. As shown in FIG.
- the merchant server 51 includes a network interface 70 for connecting to a LAN 44 or WAN 46 or for connecting remotely to a LAN or WAN.
- the network interface 70 includes the necessary circuitry for such a connection, and is also constructed for use with the TCP/IP protocol, the particular network configuration of the LAN or WAN it is connecting to, and a particular type of coupling medium.
- the merchant server 51 also includes a processing unit 71 , a display 72 , and a memory 73 .
- the memory 73 generally comprises a random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), and a permanent mass storage device, such as a hard disk drive, tape drive, optical drive, floppy disk drive, or combination thereof.
- the memory contains a product database 74 that includes the electronically stored good or service ordered by the consumer.
- the product database 74 stores the premium content ordered by the consumer, i.e., the hypertext documents or other electronically stored information considered of monetary value by the merchant.
- the goods may be tangible goods not capable of being electronically stored, in which case the product database includes descriptive information of the products.
- the memory 73 also contains a commerce engine component 75 for purchasing a product from a merchant Web site.
- the commerce engine component 75 may be an existing commerce engine, such as MICROSOFT® Site Server, which allows for the payment of products ordered over the Internet using a major credit card, e.g., VISA® or MASTERCARD®.
- a commerce gateway adapter component 76 is also provided to allow the commerce engine component 75 to interface with the commerce gateway 52 .
- the commerce gateway adapter component uses and provides application programming interface (API) calls to interface with the commerce engine 75 .
- API application programming interface
- a merchant authenticator component 77 for verifying that the merchant is an authorized or registered merchant of the virtual payment system of the present invention.
- the product database 74 , the commerce engine component 75 , the commerce gateway adapter component 76 , and the merchant authenticator component 77 may be stored on a computer-readable medium and loaded into memory 73 of the merchant server 51 using a drive mechanism associated with the computer-readable medium, such as a floppy or CD-ROM drive.
- memory 73 stores a Web server component 78 for handling requests for stored information received via the Internet and the WWW.
- FIG. 5 depicts several of the key components of the commerce gateway 52 .
- the commerce gateway 52 includes many more components than those shown in FIG. 5 . However, it is not necessary that all of these generally conventional components be shown in order to disclose an illustrative embodiment for practicing the present invention.
- the commerce gateway 52 is connected to the LAN 44 via a network interface 80 .
- the network interface 80 includes the necessary circuitry for connecting the commerce gateway 52 to the LAN 44 and the firewall 55 and is constructed for use with the TCP/IP protocol, the bus network configuration of the LAN 44 , and the particular type of coupling medium.
- the commerce gateway 52 also includes a processing unit 81 , a display 82 , and a memory 83 .
- the memory 83 generally comprises a random access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), and a permanent mass storage device, such as a hard disk drive, tape drive, optical drive, floppy disk drive, or combination thereof.
- the memory 83 stores the program code and data necessary for authorizing a merchant server 51 to supply products to consumers and obtaining payment for the products via a credit processing server 53 in accordance with the present invention. More specifically, the memory 83 stores a transaction server component 84 formed in accordance with the present invention for authorizing a merchant to supply the ordered product and obtaining payment for the ordered product from the credit processing server 53 .
- an enrollment server component 89 formed in accordance with the present invention for determining the credit worthiness of a consumer applicant.
- An account identification container generator component 88 is also stored in memory 83 for determining an internal account identification.
- a credit processing server adapter component 86 for communicating with a credit processing server 53 described below.
- the transaction server component 84 , the credit processing server adapter component 86 , the account identification container generator component 88 , and the enrollment server component 89 may be stored on a computer-readable medium and loaded into memory 83 of the commerce gateway 52 using a drive mechanism associated with the computer-readable medium, such as floppy or CD-ROM drive.
- the memory 83 also stores a Web server component 87 for handling requests for stored information received via the Internet 40 and the WWW.
- FIG. 6 depicts several of the key components of the credit processing server 53 .
- the credit processing server 53 includes many more components than those shown in FIG. 6 . However, it is not necessary that all of these generally conventional components be shown in order to disclose an illustrative embodiment for practicing the present invention.
- the credit processing server 53 is connected to the LAN 44 via a network interface 90 .
- the network interface 90 includes the necessary circuitry for connecting the credit processing server 53 to the LAN 44 and the firewall 55 , and is constructed for use with the TCP/IP protocol, the bus network configuration of the LAN 44 , and the particular type of coupling medium.
- the credit processing server 53 also includes a processing unit 91 , a display 92 , and a memory 93 .
- the memory 93 generally comprises a random access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), and a permanent mass storage device, such as a hard disk drive, tape drive, optical drive, floppy disk drive, or combination thereof.
- RAM random access memory
- ROM read-only memory
- the memory 93 stores the program code and data necessary for authorizing and securing payment for products purchased using a virtual payment card in accordance with the present invention.
- the memory 93 of the credit processing server stores credit processing sub-systems including: an account/billing sub-system 94 for billing a consumer for products purchased using a virtual payment account; a payment processing sub-system 95 for communicating with a financial institution 59 in order to process payments received for purchases made using a virtual payment account; and an account enrollment sub-system 96 for determining the credit limit for an applicant as determined by information received from one or more credit bureaus 58 .
- Also stored in memory 93 are an account database 97 and a financial database 98 used to store data required for the account/billing sub-system 94 , the payment processing sub-system 95 , and the account enrollment sub-system 96 to perform their required functions.
- the account/billing sub-system 94 , the payment processing sub-system 95 , the account enrollment sub-system 96 , the account database 97 , and the financial database 98 may be stored on a computer-readable medium and loaded into memory 93 of the credit processing system using a drive mechanism associated with the computer-readable medium, such as floppy or CD-ROM drive. It will also be appreciated that the account/billing sub-system 94 , the payment processing sub-system 95 , and the account enrollment sub-system 96 can comprise, either in full or in part, existing, traditional card payment systems.
- FIGS. 3-6 depict key components of the consumer computer 50 , merchant server 51 , commerce gateway 52 , and credit processing server 53 shown in FIG. 2 of one embodiment of the present invention. It will be appreciated that many other implementations and variations are possible. For example, one or more of the credit processing sub-systems 94 , 95 , 96 could be included in the commerce gateway 52 instead of in the card processing server 53 . Alternatively, each of the credit processing sub-systems 94 , 95 , 96 of the credit processing server could be in a separate server. Further, additional commerce gateways 52 and credit processing servers 53 may be located on the LAN 44 or elsewhere on the Internet 40 .
- the virtual payment system of the present invention is a closed system that provides consumers a secure method for purchasing products over the Internet.
- the closed system includes only a registered consumer's computer 50 , a registered merchant server 51 , the commerce gateway 52 (administered by the provider of the virtual payment system), and the credit processing server 53 (which can also be administered by the provider of the virtual payment system). Since the account information necessary for charging the consumer for the purchase is already in the possession of the commerce gateway 52 and the credit processing server 53 , the closed system of the present invention allows registered consumers to purchase products from registered merchants without transferring sensitive account information to the merchants over the Internet.
- FIG. 7 illustrates the actions taken by the consumer's computer 50 , the commerce gateway 52 , the card processing system 53 , and the credit bureau 58 to create a virtual payment account for a consumer.
- the interactions of the various components are illustrated and described in detail later for various transactions performed by the present invention with reference to the flow diagrams shown in FIGS. 12-13 , 15 - 22 , and 24 - 25 .
- the process of applying for a virtual payment account is initiated when a consumer requests an application form via the Internet using the Web browser 64 installed on the consumer's computer 50 .
- the consumer may apply for a virtual payment account directly from a virtual payment account Web site located at the commerce gateway 52 or indirectly from a registered merchant site located at the merchant server 51 .
- the commerce gateway 52 provides consumer computer 50 the application form 102 so that the consumer can complete the form displayed in the Web browser of the consumer computer 50 .
- the consumer computer 50 submits the completed application form and a public key 104 to the commerce gateway 52 .
- the public key is used to decrypt messages encrypted using a private key and to encrypt messages that can by decrypted using the private key, as described later.
- the commerce gateway 52 then submits the application data 106 from the completed form to the credit processing server 53 for account and credit limit authorization.
- the credit processing server 53 requests credit information 108 about the consumer from a credit bureau 58 .
- the credit bureau 58 in the actual embodiment of the present invention illustrated herein is a server 58 administered by a credit bureau in point-to-point communication with the credit processing server 53 .
- the credit processing server 53 requests the desired credit information electronically, e.g., via appropriate database queries, etc., from the credit bureau 58 .
- the credit bureau 58 provides the requested credit information 110 to the credit processing server 53 via the point-to-point connection with the credit processing server.
- the credit processing server 53 evaluates the application and credit information by combining the credit information received from the credit bureau 58 with application data in order to determine a credit score 111 . If the score exceeds a certain threshold, a credit limit is set, and the virtual payment account is created 112 . If the score falls below the threshold, a virtual payment account is still created 112 , however, all purchases must be prepaid, and the account information is forwarded to a customer service representative for review for a possible later grant of credit.
- the credit processing server 53 returns the result of the evaluation 113 , e.g., approval/denial, prepaid account only, credit limit, etc., to the commerce gateway 52 via the Internet. Finally, the commerce gateway 52 sends an application result page 114 to the consumer computer 50 for display via the consumer computer's Web browser 64 .
- FIGS. 8A-8E are exemplary Web pages provided to the consumer by the Web browser 64 of the consumer's computer 50 in connection with applying for a virtual payment account as described above.
- the consumer uses the Web page 600 shown in FIG. 8A , the consumer enters identification information including his or her name and e-mail address and submits the information to the consumer authenticator 65 by clicking “continue.”
- the consumer authenticator 65 on the consumer's computer 50 then generates a private key and a corresponding public key, which are used to encrypt/decrypt messages, as described later, in order to provide increased security for the registered users of the virtual payment system of the present invention.
- a private key confirmation display page 602 as shown in FIG. 8B is then displayed on the consumer's computer 50 .
- the application data includes information such as social security number and income that will be used to determine a credit limit for the consumer.
- Information entered by the consumer in the application form is also used for demographic purposes. For example, banner advertisements can be displayed via the Web browser 64 on the consumer computer 50 and can be targeted to the consumer based on demographic information, such as the consumer's age and geographic location.
- a Web page 606 as shown in FIG. 8E is transferred to and displayed by the consumer computer's Web browser 64 , which notifies the consumer of the results of the application process, i.e., account approval and details of his or her virtual payment account, including the account credit limit.
- FIGS. 9A-9D illustrate an exemplary set of Web pages downloaded from the commerce gateway 52 and displayed by the Web browser 64 of the consumer's computer 50 for customizing the consumer's virtual payment account.
- FIG. 9A illustrates a Web page 608 for main account customization.
- the consumer may customize his or her virtual payment account to be either a prepaid account and/or a credit account which can be funded via a bank, such as via a consumer's checking or savings account.
- the virtual payment account also allows the consumer to earn reward or loyalty points, which can later be used, for example, to make a payment for a purchase, to receive merchant discounts, to purchase frequent flyer miles, etc. As shown in FIG. 9A , the consumer has the option of accumulating loyalty points for later use or obtaining discounts on shipping. It will be appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the art that reward points can be earned by the consumer and applied to his or her virtual payment account in a myriad of different ways, and the examples shown and described are merely meant to be illustrative.
- the consumer may also customize sub-accounts for his or her own use, or for use by a business partner, spouse and/or children. As will be described in more detail below, the consumer may then impose his or her own spending limits on the sub-accounts.
- reward points accrue in the main account so that the consumer can transfer the reward points to sub-accounts. It will be appreciated that in other embodiments, reward points could accrue to individual sub-accounts, if the consumer so desires.
- the illustrated embodiment also allows a consumer to select a family package, a business package, or to create a custom package of sub-accounts. As will be readily recognized by those of ordinary skill in the art, the consumer may be provided with any number, type, or combination of sub-accounts depending on the desires of those providing and administrating the virtual payment system of the present invention.
- the consumer can add sub-accounts (e.g., supplemental users, young shoppers, etc.) via the Web pages 610 , 612 shown in FIGS. 9C and 9D .
- Sub-accounts can be customized for young shoppers as shown in FIG. 9D , for example, by setting spending limits for the young shopper and identifying only those merchant Web sites from which the young shopper can purchase products.
- a digital certificate is transferred by the commerce gateway 52 and installed on the consumer computer 50 .
- the consumer is notified of the installation by a new user certificate page 614 displayed on the consumer's computer 50 as shown in FIG. 10 .
- the digital certificate is then used in subsequent transactions to uniquely identify the consumer as a registered holder of a virtual payment account.
- a consumer or merchant is identified as a registered user of the virtual payment system by verifying a digital signature that is a piece of data including a digital certificate identification encrypted using the private key provided by the consumer computer 50 or the merchant computer 51 when applying for an account, and the digital certificate identification that is generated by the commerce gateway 52 when the virtual payment account is opened for the participant, i.e., the newly registered consumer or merchant.
- the digital certificate identification is actually submitted by the consumer computer 50 or merchant server 51 in the context of the transaction, even though the commerce gateway 52 originally generated these credentials.
- the term “digital certificate” is used to describe the authorization used; however, it will be appreciated that a higher level of security such as a digital signature, or a digital signature with additional access controls may be desired in order to ensure the highest level of security for all parties involved (i.e., the consumer, the merchant, the commerce gateway, and the credit processing server) in virtual payment account transactions.
- a similar process is performed for a merchant to become an authorized or registered merchant.
- a merchant can apply to become a member by completing an application form on-line.
- a merchant applies to become a participant of the system using a more traditional manual application procedure.
- some combination of an on-line and manual process is used. It will be appreciated that if the merchant application process is performed in whole or in part on-line, a Web browser component (not shown in FIG. 4 ) is used to display Web pages on the merchant's computer display 72 .
- the merchant forms a contract with the provider of the commerce gateway 52 . This contract includes terms such as the billing period and the fee that will be paid to the commerce gateway provider.
- a merchant Since a merchant is selling a product to a consumer who has a virtual payment account, the merchant will not have sub-accounts in the same sense that a consumer has sub-accounts.
- a merchant selling different types of data can have different accounts.
- a book store may have a general account and one or more restricted accounts, for example, the restricted accounts may prohibit sales of adult products to minors. This can be in the form of a rating system (e.g., G, PG, PG13, NC17, R, etc.).
- a digital certificate is installed on the merchant's computer 51 to identify the merchant as a registered merchant in the virtual payment system. The digital certificate is used in combination with a private key generated by the merchant server 51 and a public key generated by the merchant server and sent to the gateway 52 to encrypt/decrypt messages for greater security.
- a merchant can apply for a consumer account.
- a merchant can purchase products as the owner of a virtual payment account.
- a consumer Once a consumer has created and customized his or her virtual payment account, he or she can immediately order products via the Internet if he or she was granted credit during the account application process. If, however, the consumer's virtual payment account is only a prepaid account, prepayment must be made before the consumer can order products. Alternatively, the consumer with only a prepaid account can order products, however, shipment of the product will be held until the prepaid account is sufficiently funded to cover the purchase. More specifically, any registered consumer can order products directly from the Web site of any registered merchant. It will be appreciated that a merchant can be an auction Web site, in which a consumer uses his or her virtual payment account to pay for the goods, services and/or content purchased from the auction Web site.
- the commerce gateway 52 transfers to, and the Web browser 64 of the consumer computer 50 displays, a Web page 150 providing a list of links as shown in FIG. 11A to registered merchants belonging to the virtual payment system. Selection of a merchant link, such as “Albert's Book Emporium” 130 , from the Web page 150 in the consumer's Web browser will then cause download and display of the merchant's Web site associated with that link.
- the consumer may “surf the Web” and visit a registered merchant's Web site, such as “Albert's Book Emporium,” using the Web browser 64 . In either case, once the consumer visits a registered merchant's Web site, the consumer may order and pay for products offered from that Web site using his or her virtual payment account.
- a consumer using consumer computer 50 and Web browser 64 may retrieve the Web page 160 shown in FIG. 1B from the merchant Web site fictitiously known as “Albert's Book Emporium.” The consumer makes a selection of a particular book by manipulating a graphics cursor with a pointing device, such as a mouse above the selection and “single-clicking.” It will be appreciated that other pages, for example a query page in which the consumer requests books by a specified author, may be displayed. It will also be appreciated that the Web page 160 shown in FIG. 1B is a simplified example.
- a merchant site it is common for a merchant site to allow a consumer to select multiple products and place them in a “shopping cart.” The consumer can then view the items in the cart and, if desired, remove items from the cart. Once the consumer has selected the desired items for purchase, the consumer indicates a desire to purchase the selected items, for example, by clicking an “OK” or a “Buy” button. In the simplified example shown in FIG. 11B , the consumer selects an item, such as the book, “Moby Dick” 112 and presses the “Buy” button 163 to initiate the purchase transaction.
- the merchant server 51 After initiating the purchase transaction, the merchant server 51 provides the Web browser 64 of the consumer's computer 50 with the Web page 165 shown in FIG. 11C , which requests shipping information, such as a street address, from the consumer. In response, the merchant server 51 calculates the total cost of the order, including tax and shipping and handling, and provides the consumer with yet another hypertext document 166 as shown in FIG. 11D , which includes various payment options, i.e., major credit cards, such as VISA® or MASTERCARD®, with electronic transmission of credit information.
- a virtual payment account option is also displayed as a payment option for registered merchants. As will be described in more detail below, if the consumer selects the virtual payment account option 169 , the consumer will be presented with various virtual payment account options available to him or her, as shown in FIG. 11E , based on the customization of his or her accounts.
- FIG. 12 illustrates the logic implemented by the Web browser 64 installed on the consumer computer 50 when the virtual payment account option 169 is selected.
- the logic begins in a block 220 and proceeds to a block 222 where a secure connection between the consumer computer 50 and commerce gateway 52 is established.
- the Secure Socket Layer (SSL) protocol is used for establishing a secure connection.
- SSL uses public key encryption incorporated into a Web browser, such as Netscape's NAVIGATOR® Web browser and Netscape's commerce servers, to secure the information being transferred over the Internet.
- SSL uses the digital certificate installed on the consumer's computer 50 to authenticate the consumer as a registered participant before making the connection.
- SSL can still be used in an unauthenticated mode if there is no digital certificate present.
- the logic then proceeds to a block 224 where a consumer authenticator component 65 on the consumer computer 50 is executed. It will be appreciated that the consumer authenticator component 65 can also be included, in part in whole, in the Web browser 64 .
- the consumer authenticator component 65 is shown in more detail in FIG. 13 and described next.
- the consumer authenticator 65 determines whether a consumer is a registered holder of a virtual payment account or, put another way, a registered participant in the closed virtual payment system of the present invention.
- the logic of FIG. 13 begins in a block 243 and proceeds to a block 244 where an authentication request and container are received from the Web browser 64 .
- the container includes: transaction information, such as purchase detail; identification of the parties, such as a consumer identification which identifies the consumer, e.g., the digital certificate previously issued to the consumer when he or she created the virtual payment account as described above; and a merchant identification, e.g., the digital certificate issued to the merchant upon creation of a merchant account; and context, such as transaction date and time.
- a cookie is used to implement the request and container.
- a cookie is a block of data that a Web server stores on a client system. When a user returns to the same Web site, the browser sends a copy of the cookie back to the server. Cookies are used to identify users, to instruct the server to send a customized version of the requested Web page, to submit account information for the user, and for other administrative purposes.
- a cookie includes user-defined data. In the case of the present invention, the user-defined data includes the container described above.
- a test is made to determine if a digital certificate is installed on the consumer computer 50 .
- the digital certificate is but one manner of digital identification. It will be appreciated that other methods of digital identification can be used. If the digital certificate is installed, the digital certificate identification is inserted into the authentication container and the authentication request and container are returned to the Web browser in blocks 248 and 250 .
- the container can be any one of a variety of data formats, for example, one embodiment of the present invention uses a cookie. In an actual embodiment of a present invention, a private key generated by the consumer's computer is also inserted into the container. The private key is never transmitted anywhere in the virtual payment system of the present invention.
- a digital signature is a piece of data that is known to all parties and is processed by a cryptographic algorithm and a private key. The resulting signature can be decrypted only by an associated public key. Thus, the identify of the originator of the piece of data can be confirmed. Due to the high load requirements of public key/private key encryption, a message is typically “signed” by generating a hash or message digest of the message, resulting in a need to only process a small amount of data using the algorithm.
- the hash code is a number that is based on the information within the message, e.g., consumer identification, merchant identification, transaction (for example, purchase) details, and can be generated by any party that knows the algorithm.
- the hash code is then encrypted using the private key of the message originator and can only be decrypted to the correct hash code using the correct public key.
- digital certificate refers to an authentication identify that is recognized by the provider of the virtual payment account that adheres to the provider's non-repudiated purchase policies, which can be a digital certificate, a private key, a digital signature, or a digital signature with additional access controls.
- the logic of FIG. 13 then ends in a block 262 .
- decision block 252 a test is made to determine if “certificate not present” processing should be performed. Certificate not present processing allows a consumer to manually enter identification information when a digital certificate is not present.
- the identification information can include information such as an e-mail address, a password and personal information, for example, a mortgage payment amount. If the result of decision block 252 is positive, the logic proceeds to a block 254 where a certificate not present authorization Web page 700 as shown in FIG. 14 is displayed on the consumer computer 50 by the Web browser 64 .
- the logic then moves to a block 256 where the information entered by the consumer in the certificate not present authorization Web page is used to authenticate the consumer. The authentication status is then returned to the Web browser.
- “roaming” certificates allow a consumer to make purchases from different computers without requiring the consumer to perform certificate not present processing.
- the logic of FIG. 13 then ends in block 262 .
- the logic of FIG. 13 proceeds to a decision block 258 where a test is made to determine if the consumer wishes to apply for a virtual payment account. If the consumer wishes to apply for a virtual payment account, the logic proceeds to a block 260 in which the consumer is allowed to apply for a virtual payment account as shown in FIG. 15 and described next. Otherwise, the consumer authenticator 65 returns an unsuccessful authorization message to the Web browser 64 in a block 261 and the logic ends in block 262 .
- FIG. 15 illustrates the logic implemented by the Web browser 64 when a consumer applies for a virtual payment account. It will be appreciated that applying for a virtual payment account can be invoked by a consumer requesting an account directly from the commerce gateway 52 or by a consumer who is not registered attempting to order a product from a registered merchant. In either case, the logic for applying for a virtual payment account via a Web browser 64 begins in a block 270 and proceeds to a block 271 where a request for an application form is received by the Web browser 64 . The logic then proceeds to a block 272 where a private key is generated and stored on the consumers computer. A corresponding public key is also generated. The private key is used in conjunction with a public key to encrypt and decrypt account identifications.
- the request for an application form is sent to the commerce gateway Web server 87 , along with the public key that is used in conjunction with the private key for encryption and decryption of account identifications as described above.
- the requested application form is then received from the commerce gateway Web server 87 and displayed in the consumer's Web browser in a block 274 .
- the completed account application form is sent to the commerce gateway 52 and processed by an enrollment server component 89 as shown in FIG. 16 , and described next.
- the transaction server component 84 that handles financial transactions also handles non-financial transactions, such as enrollment.
- the logic of the enrollment server 89 shown in FIG. 16 begins in a block 280 and proceeds to a block 282 where a completed application form is received from the Web browser.
- credit information such as income, length of time with current employer, length of time at current residence, etc., is requested from a credit bureau 58 via the credit processing server adapter 86 as shown in FIG. 21 and described later with reference to a purchase authorization request.
- the logic Upon receipt of the credit information, the logic proceeds to a block 286 where the application is scored based on the credit bureau information in combination with internal criteria.
- the internal criteria provides a score for the various pieces of credit information. For example, incomes will be broken down into ranges, with a point value assigned to each range. Similarly points values will be assigned based on the time the applicant has lived at his or her current residence, etc.
- the points for each piece of credit information are combined to determine a score for the applicant. The score equates to the credit worthiness of the consumer and is used to determine if the applicant will receive a credit account (in addition to a prepaid account) and, if so, to establish a credit limit for the applicant, i.e., consumer.
- the result is returned to the Web browser in a block 288 .
- the logic of FIG. 16 then ends in a block 289 and processing returns to FIG. 15 .
- a result page on the consumer's computer containing the response from the transaction server is displayed.
- the result page provides details of the new account for the consumer or contains a message informing the consumer that there was an error creating the account. If the account was successfully created, the enrollment server 89 will also send a digital certificate in a block 278 .
- the logic of FIG. 15 of applying for a virtual payment account then ends in a block 279 and processing returns to FIG. 13 .
- the logic returns to decision block 246 where the test to determine if a digital certificate is installed on the consumer computer 50 is repeated. Depending on the results of decision block 246 , either blocks 248 - 250 or blocks 252 - 256 are repeated for the recent applicant of a virtual payment account. The logic then ends in a block 262 .
- the logic proceeds to a decision block 226 where a test is made to determine if the consumer authentication was successful. If not, the logic proceeds to a block 227 where an error message is displayed on the consumer computer 50 by the Web browser 64 notifying the consumer of the failed authentication.
- the logic of FIG. 12 ends in a block 242 .
- a virtual payment account selection Web page as shown in FIG. 11E is displayed. Included in the requested information of the virtual payment account selection Web page is an identification of the applicable account or sub-account to which the purchase should be applied.
- sub-account 176 and password information 177 are obtained from the consumer from the information entered in the virtual payment account selection Web page 175 of FIG. 1E when the consumer indicates that the information has been entered by selecting “OK” 178 .
- the logic of FIG. 12 then proceeds to a block 232 where the sub-account, password information, and an authentication container are sent to the commerce gateway 52 and processed by the account identification container generator 88 shown in FIG. 17 and described next.
- the logic of FIG. 17 begins in a block 800 and proceeds to a block 802 where the sub-account, password and authentication container are received from Web browser 64 of the consumer computer 50 .
- the logic then proceeds to a block 804 where an internal account identification associated with authentication container is determined.
- An empty account identification container is then created in a block 806 .
- internal account identification and sub-account information is added to the empty account identification container.
- the logic then proceeds to a block 810 where an internal digital signature is applied to the account identification container.
- message digest logic can be used by applying an algorithm that takes a variable length message and produces a fixed length digest as output using a one-way hashing algorithm that establishes the message as cryptographically secure.
- the account identification container is returned to the Web browser 64 in a block 812 .
- the logic of FIG. 17 then ends, and processing returns to FIG. 12 .
- the logic then proceeds to a block 234 where the logic waits to receive the account identification container from the account identification container generator component 88 of the commerce gateway 52 . Once the account identification container is received from the commerce gateway 52 , the logic proceeds to a block 238 where a purchase request is sent to the commerce engine 75 in the form of a request and account identification container for processing as shown in FIG. 18 and described next.
- the commerce engine 75 is the component of the merchant computer that determines whether or not the order will be processed and whether the requested product will ultimately be provided to the consumer. It will be appreciated that commerce engines are well known in the art.
- the commerce engine component 75 used in conjunction with the commerce gateway adapter component 76 allows the virtual payment system of the present invention to expand existing technology that is currently used for traditional credit systems to encompass the virtual payment account of the present system. It will be further appreciated that while the embodiment shown and described modifies the commerce engine to achieve this functionality (which may be possible through existing API calls of the commerce engine), other embodiments are possible.
- This expanded commerce engine functionality is shown in FIG. 18 . The logic of FIG.
- a purchase request and account identification container are received from the Web browser 64 of the consumer computer 50 .
- the logic then proceeds to a decision block 304 where a test is made to determine whether the purchase request should be forwarded to the commerce gateway adapter 76 . If the purchase request is to purchase products using a virtual payment card, the request should be forwarded to the commerce gateway adapter 76 for processing in accordance with the virtual payment system of the present invention. In another embodiment, only the request (without the account identification container) is received from the Web browser in block 302 , and if it is determined in decision block 304 that the purchase request should be forwarded to the commerce gateway adapter 76 , the account identification is then obtained from the Web browser 64 .
- the logic proceeds to a block 306 where the request is forwarded to the commerce gateway adapter.
- the commerce gateway adapter 76 is shown in more detail in FIG. 19 and described next.
- the commerce gateway adapter 76 is a component residing on the merchant server 51 that allows the merchant server to communicate directly with the transaction server component 84 of the commerce gateway 52 in order to expand the authorization function of the commerce engine to include virtual payment account transactions. Accordingly, the logic of FIG. 19 begins in a block 330 proceeds to a block 332 where the forwarded purchase request and account identification container are received from the commerce engine 75 . Next, in a block 334 the purchase request and account identification container are sent to the transaction server 84 in the form of a transaction request for further processing as shown in FIG. 20 and described next.
- the transaction server component 84 of the commerce gateway 52 is responsible for interfacing with the other components of the system and determining whether or not a requested transaction should be applied to a consumer's virtual payment account.
- the logic of FIG. 20 begins in a block 350 and proceeds to a block 352 where the transaction request is received.
- the account identification container is decoded and verified.
- the origin or source of the request as well as the context, i.e., date and time, of the request are then recorded in memory 83 of the commerce gateway 52 in a block 354 .
- the logic proceeds to a decision block 356 where a test is made to determine whether the requested transaction is permissible. A variety of factors can be considered in making the determination of whether a requested transaction is permissible.
- spending limit cannot be exceeded, and user-imposed limitations, such as those put on a young shopper account, e.g., sites from which the young shopper can make purchases and hours during which the young shopper can make purchases as shown in FIG. 9D , cannot be violated.
- the logic proceeds to a block 357 where an impermissible transaction message is sent to the requester (e.g., the commerce gateway adapter 76 in the context of a purchase request).
- the logic of FIG. 20 then ends in a block 376 . If, however, the transaction is permissible, the logic proceeds from decision block 356 to a block 360 where the transaction request is sent to a credit processing server adapter 86 for further processing as shown in FIG. 21 and described next.
- the credit processing server adapter 86 is the component residing on the commerce gateway 52 that allows commerce gateway 52 components, such as the transaction server 84 and the enrollment server 89 to communicate directly with the various sub-systems of the credit processing server 53 , which provide for the application of the requested transaction to the consumer's actual payment account. Accordingly, the logic of FIG. 21 begins in a block 380 and proceeds to a block 382 where the request is received. For example, a purchase authorization request or a refund request are received from the transaction server 84 and a credit information request is received from the enrollment server 89 .
- the request is then formatted to be compatible with the appropriate credit processing sub-system, i.e., the account/billing sub-system 94 , the payment processing sub-system 95 and/or the account enrollment sub-system 96 , on the credit processing server 53 in a block 384 .
- the logic proceeds to a block 386 where the formatted request is then sent to credit processing server 53 for processing by the appropriate credit processing sub-system, as shown in FIG. 22 and described next.
- the logic of FIG. 22 begins in a block 390 and proceeds to a block 392 where the transaction request is received from the credit processing server adapter 86 .
- account data and sub-account data are retrieved in blocks 394 and 396 , respectively from the appropriate database, e.g., account database 97 and financial database 98 .
- Standard credit transaction processing is then performed in a block 398 .
- Examples of standard transactions for the account/billing sub-system 94 include: creating and maintaining accounts, including holding account information and account holder information, such as name and address; calculating interest; calculating minimum monthly payments; generating electronic monthly statements; and calculating other charges, known as discounts.
- the discount is the portion of the transaction amount that will go to the provider of the commerce gateway 52 , and can be determined on a fixed amount per transaction basis or a percentage of transaction amount basis.
- Examples of standard transactions for the payment processing sub-system 95 include: collecting payments from consumers and applying the payments to the consumer's account; transferring funds between merchants and consumer, for example by interfacing with financial institutions 59 for ACH transactions.
- Examples of standard transactions for the account enrollment sub-system include: obtaining credit information from credit bureaus; providing the credit information to the commerce gateway 52 for scoring; determining a credit score based on the credit information and providing the score to the commerce gateway; and providing scoring information to the account/billing sub-system 94 for account creation.
- the logic then proceeds to a block 399 where necessary account adjustments are applied, if applicable.
- the open to buy amount will be reduced by the amount of an authorized purchase transaction.
- loyalty points are accrued at the time of purchase, but committed later, for example during the periodic, e.g., monthly, statement preparation process. Alternatively, loyalty points may not accrue until payment is made for the product to which the points are attributed.
- the transaction result such as the credit information or the purchase authorization, is sent to the credit processing server adapter 86 in a block 400 .
- the logic of FIG. 22 then ends in a block 402 and processing returns to FIG. 21 .
- the result of the transaction request is received from the credit processing sub-system 94 , 95 , 96 in a block 387 .
- the result is then returned to requester, e.g., the result of a purchase authorization request is returned to the transaction server 84 and credit information, for example, a credit limit, is returned to the enrollment server 89 in response to request for a credit information request to be used for establishing a consumer's account.
- requester e.g., the result of a purchase authorization request is returned to the transaction server 84 and credit information, for example, a credit limit, is returned to the enrollment server 89 in response to request for a credit information request to be used for establishing a consumer's account.
- the logic of FIG. 19 then ends in a block 389 and processing returns to the requester, e.g., transaction server 84 ( FIG. 20 ) or enrollment server 89 ( FIG. 16 ).
- the logic proceeds to a block 364 where the transaction record, for example, purchase information including amount of purchase, is stored in memory 83 of the commerce gateway 52 .
- the logic then proceeds to a decision block 366 where a test is made to determine if the transaction was successfully processed. If so, the logic proceeds to a block 370 where a transaction response with a valid status is then sent to the requester (e.g., the commerce gateway adapter 76 or the Web browser 64 , whichever the case may be). If the transaction was not successfully processed, the logic proceeds from decision block 366 to a block 374 where a transaction response with an error status is then returned to the requester in a block 374 .
- the requester e.g., the commerce gateway adapter 76 or the Web browser 64 , whichever the case may be
- the logic of FIG. 20 ends in block 376 and processing returns to the requester.
- the requester is the commerce gateway adapter 76 .
- the logic proceeds to a block 338 where the response including the transaction status is formatted to be compatible with the commerce engine 75 .
- the formatted response is then forwarded to the commerce engine in a block 340 .
- the logic of FIG. 19 then ends in a block 342 and processing returns to the commerce engine 75 in FIG. 18 .
- the authorized and ordered product is shipped to the consumer in a block 310 .
- the ordered product is capable of being downloaded, e.g., the product is an electronically stored good, a URL for a premium content Web site, etc.
- the product will simply be transferred by the merchant server 51 to the consumer computer 50 . Otherwise, the product will be shipped or provided by more traditional methods, e.g., regular mail, hand delivery, etc.
- the logic proceeds to a block 312 where a settlement request is sent to the commerce gateway 52 in order to initiate movement of funds.
- the merchant submits the transaction into a settlement batch for payment when the settlement batch for that merchant is next processed.
- the timing of the processing could be that night or at a later date based on the contract, i.e., terms of the purchase transaction.
- a response confirming fulfillment of the order is sent to the Web browser 64 of the consumer's computer 50 .
- the logic of FIG. 18 then ends in a block 324 .
- the logic proceeds to a block 316 where standard commerce engine processing is performed. More specifically, in block 316 traditional credit or debit card authorization is performed such as approval or denial for the use of a credit card, e.g., VISA® or MASTERCARD®, for the specified purchase amount. Next, the authorized goods are shipped in a block 318 . The logic then proceeds to a block 320 where a settlement request is sent to the traditional credit provider, e.g., VISA® or MASTERCARD®. A response confirming fulfillment of the order is then sent to the Web browser 64 of the consumer computer 50 in a block 322 . The logic of FIG. 18 then ends in block 324 and processing returns to FIG. 12 .
- traditional credit or debit card authorization is performed such as approval or denial for the use of a credit card, e.g., VISA® or MASTERCARD®, for the specified purchase amount.
- VISA® or MASTERCARD® e.g., VISA® or MASTERCARD®
- FIG. 23 is a diagram illustrating the actions taken by the consumer's computer 50 , the merchant server 51 , the commerce gateway 52 , and the credit processing server 53 , for ordering products using a virtual payment account system.
- This diagram presents a high-level view of the detailed processing shown in the flow charts described above.
- a merchant's order form such as the one shown in FIG. 11C is provided to the consumer's computer 50 by the merchant 51 .
- the consumer's computer 50 submits the completed order form including the selection of a virtual payment account as the method of payment to the merchant server 51 .
- An authentication request 506 for this consumer is then sent from the consumer's computer 50 to the commerce gateway 52 over a secure link, such as SSL.
- the authentication status 508 as determined by the consumer authenticator component 65 , is then returned from the commerce gateway 52 to the consumer's computer 50 over the secure link.
- the consumer's computer 50 then sends a sub-account selection 510 to the commerce gateway, and the commerce gateway returns an account identification container 512 to the consumer's computer 50 .
- a purchase request including the account identification container 514 is then sent from the consumer's computer 50 to the merchant server 51 .
- the purchase request including the account identification container 515 is then forwarded from the merchant server 51 to the commerce gateway 52 .
- the commerce gateway 52 then sends a purchase authorization request 516 to the credit processing server 53 .
- the commerce gateway 52 After the commerce gateway 52 receives the authorization status 517 from the credit processing server 53 , the commerce gateway 52 sends a valid transaction authorization 518 to the merchant server 51 . Upon receipt of the valid transaction authorization 518 , the merchant server 51 forwards the valid transaction notification and ships the authorized product 519 to the consumer's computer 50 . If the product is downloadable, it is downloaded from the merchant server 51 to the consumer's computer 50 ; otherwise, the product is shipped via traditional shipping channels, such as by the postal service. Settlement for the purchase is a separate transaction that is later initiated by the merchant.
- the valid transaction authorization 518 sent by the commerce gateway 52 to the merchant server 51 includes information such as a consumer account identification, a merchant identification, a merchant sale offering, a consumer authentication, a merchant authentication, and a master identification, i.e., identification of the commerce gateway 52 provider. Particular to this type of response is an expiration date/time that is used to signal the shorter of the maximum times that the consumer and the merchant are willing to “reserve” funds associated with this transaction. If the transaction, i.e., settlement request 520 , is not received by the commerce gateway 52 before the expiration date/time all funds and goods will be released back to their owners.
- the consumer releases a valid transaction authorization to the provider of the commerce gateway 52 knowing that the merchant has proven ability to ship the goods on demand without delay. This initiates the actual settlement of funds and triggers payment to the merchant in the next settlement batch without any further interaction with the merchant.
- This payment method supports consumer-initiated, pre-approved purchases with expiration date/time, such as auction and gift-certificate purchases.
- FIG. 23 illustrates processing of a valid purchase transaction. If there is an error at any time during the processing, e.g., consumer is not authorized because he or she is not a registered consumer, has exceeded his or her spending limit, etc., processing will terminate after an appropriate error response has been returned to the consumer computer 50 for display to the consumer via the Web browser 64 .
- a contract is formed defining the relationship between the merchant and the commerce gateway provider. That contract defines the terms, such as when payments will be funded and a fee to be given to the commerce gateway provider.
- the commerce gateway fee can be a per transaction fee or a percentage fee based on the amount of a transaction
- the logic for settlement transactions for a virtual payment account is similar to the logic used for processing standard credit card settlement transactions. After the merchant ships the product, the merchant sends a settlement transaction to the commerce gateway as shown in FIG. 24 . It will be appreciated that the logic performed by the merchant server 51 can be performed by the commerce engine component 75 or some other component, for example, a Web browser (not shown) residing on the merchant server 51 .
- FIG. 24 illustrates the logic implemented by merchant server 51 when the merchant wishes to perform a settlement transaction.
- the logic begins in a block 530 and proceeds to a block 532 where a secure connection between the merchant computer 51 and commerce gateway 52 is established using the same logic shown and described with reference to the consumer in block 222 of FIG. 12 .
- the logic then proceeds to a block 534 where the merchant authenticator process is run.
- the merchant authenticator process is similar to the consumer authenticator process shown in FIG. 13 and described above.
- a decision block 536 a test is made to determine if the merchant is a registered participant. If not, the logic proceeds to a block 538 where a merchant authentication error message is displayed on the merchant server display 72 , for example, via a Web browser.
- the logic of FIG. 24 then ends in a block 548 .
- a settlement request is sent to the transaction server on the commerce gateway 52 .
- the transaction server 84 forwards the request to the credit processing server adapter 86 , which in turn forwards the transaction request to the appropriate credit processing sub-system.
- the payment processing sub-system 95 processes the transaction.
- the payment processing sub-system forwards the settlement request to the financial institution 59 .
- the financial institution funds the transactions into the commerce gateway provider's account.
- the commerce gateway provider takes its percentage and pays the merchants their portion.
- the financial institution waits for their billing cycle, e.g., monthly, and then charges the consumers for their purchases plus interest charges.
- the financial institution waits for the consumer payments. If the consumer does not pay, standard late payment processing, such as late notices, finance charges, etc. is performed.
- the transaction server 84 has processed the settlement transaction and provided the results of the settlement transaction to the merchant's computer 51 , the result of the settlement transaction is displayed on the merchant's display 73 , for example, via the merchant server's Web browser.
- the logic of FIG. 24 then ends in block 548 .
- FIG. 25 illustrates the logic implemented by the present invention when a refund transaction is initiated, for example, when a consumer disputes a charge on his or her virtual payment account. As with any payment dispute, it must be determined whether the consumer will receive all or a portion of the disputed amount. This process is external to the virtual payment system of the present invention. The determination of whether dispute has merit is determined by the merchant. If the merchant determines that the dispute has merit, the merchant notifies a customer service representative and a refund transaction is initiated. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 25 and described herein, if it is determined that an amount disputed by a consumer is subject to a refund, a customer service representative initiates the refund, or chargeback, transaction via the administrative computer 54 shown in FIG. 2 .
- the administrative computer is a “dumb terminal” by which the customer service representative enters information directly into the transaction server 84 on the commerce gateway 52 .
- the administrative computer may have a Web browser that allows the administrator to enter the information using Web pages available only on the LAN 44 behind the firewall, i.e., the consumer and merchant do not have access to the administrative Web pages.
- the logic begins in a block 550 and proceeds to a block 552 where a the refund information including account, sub-account, and amount is obtained.
- the refund transaction information is then sent to the transaction server 84 by the administrative computer 54 in a block 554 in the form of a refund request.
- Transaction server 84 processing is shown and described with reference to FIG. 20 .
- the transaction server 84 will forward a transaction request to the credit processing server 53 for processing by the account/billing sub-system 94 as shown in FIG. 22 .
- a refund applied to a consumer's virtual payment account causes the consumer's open to buy amount to increase by the amount of the payment.
- FIG. 25 after the transaction server 84 has processed the refund transaction, the result of the transaction processing is received and displayed by the administrative computer 54 . The logic of FIG. 25 then ends in a block 558 .
- the refund transaction is not initiated by the consumer via the Web browser; therefore, the consumer is notified by other means, for example by sending an e-mail message to the consumer's computer 50 .
- the merchant server 51 may initiate the refund request as opposed to the administrative computer 54 .
- FIGS. 26-29 illustrate some examples of Web pages used by a consumer with a virtual payment account. Processing of these transactions is similar to other transaction processing as illustrated in flow diagrams and described above and, therefore, will not be discussed in further detail herein.
- FIG. 26 illustrates an exemplary Web page summarizing the sub-accounts for a master account 632 .
- FIG. 27 illustrates a Web page containing details of a sub-account 634 .
- FIG. 28 illustrates a transaction summary for the sub-accounts for a given master account 636 .
- FIG. 29 illustrates an exemplary Web page enumerating reward points earned by various sub-account holders for a given master account. It will be appreciated that the reward Web page 638 is not a standard feature of all standard accounts, such as a credit card account.
Abstract
Description
- This application is a division of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/671,320, filed Sep. 24, 2003, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/337,214, filed on Jan. 6, 2003, which in turn is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/370,949, filed on Aug. 9, 1999, priority from the filing dates of which is hereby claimed under 35 U.S.C. § 120, and this application also claims under 35 U.S.C. § 119 the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/140,039, filed on Jun. 18, 1999, all of which applications are expressly incorporated herein by reference.
- This invention generally relates to a method and apparatus for ordering goods, services, and content from one or more other computers connected via common communications links and, more particularly, to a method and apparatus for ordering goods, services and content from computers connected to the Internet using a virtual payment account.
- Communication networks are well known in the computer communications field. By definition, a network is a group of computers and associated devices that are connected by communications facilities or links. Network communications can be of a permanent nature, such as via cables, or can be of a temporary nature, such as connections made through telephone or radio links. Networks may vary in size, from a local area network (LAN) consisting of a few computers or workstations and related devices; to a wide area network (WAN) that interconnects computers and LANs that are geographically dispersed; to a remote access service (RAS) that interconnects remote computers via temporary communication links. An internetwork, in turn, is the joining of multiple computer networks, both similar and dissimilar, by means of gateways or routers that facilitate data transfer and conversion from various networks. A well-known abbreviation for the term internetwork is “Internet.” As currently understood, the capitalized term “Internet” refers to the collection of networks and routers that use the Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) to communicate with one another.
- A representative section of the Internet 40 is shown in
FIG. 1 (Prior Art) in which a plurality of local area networks (LANs) 44 and a wide area network (WAN) 46 are interconnected byrouters 42. Therouters 42 are generally special purpose computers used to interface one LAN or WAN to another. Communication links within the LANs may be twisted wire pair or coaxial cable, while communication links between networks may utilize 56 Kbps analog telephone lines or 1 Mbps digital T-1 lines and/or 45 Mbps T-3 lines. Further, computers and other related electronic devices can be remotely connected to either theLANs 44 or the WAN 46 via a modem and temporary telephone link. Such computers andelectronic devices 48 are shown inFIG. 1 as connected to one of theLANs 44 by a dotted line. It will be appreciated that the Internet comprises a vast number of such interconnected networks, computers, and routers and that only a small, representative section of the Internet 40 is shown inFIG. 1 . - The Internet has recently seen explosive growth by virtue of its ability to link computers located throughout the world. As the Internet has grown, so has the World Wide Web (WWW). The WWW is a vast collection of interconnected or “hypertext” documents (also known as “Web pages”) written in HyperText Markup Language (HTML) that are electronically stored at “Web sites” throughout the Internet. A Web site is a server connected to the Internet that has mass storage facilities for storing hypertext documents and that runs administrative software for handling requests for those stored hypertext documents. A hypertext document normally includes a number of hyperlinks, i.e., highlighted portions of text that link the document to another hypertext document possibly stored at a Web site elsewhere on the Internet. Each hyperlink is associated with a Uniform Resource Locator (URL) that provides the exact location of the linked document on a server connected to the Internet. Thus, whenever a hypertext document is retrieved from any Web server, the document is considered to be retrieved from the Www.
- A user is allowed to retrieve hypertext documents from the WWW, i.e., a user is allowed to “surf the Web,” via a Web browser. A Web browser, such as Netscape's NAVIGATOR® or Microsoft's INTERNET EXPLORER®, is a software program implemented by a Web client, i.e., the user's computer, to provide a graphical user interface to the WWW. Upon request from the user via the Web browser, the Web client accesses and retrieves the desired hypertext document or Web page from the appropriate Web server using the URL for the document and a protocol known as HyperText Transfer Protocol (HTTP). HTTP is a higher-level protocol than TCP/IP and is designed specifically for the requirements of the WWW. It is used on top of TCP/IP to transfer hypertext documents between servers and clients.
- At the advent of the WWW, the information stored on the Internet was freely transferred back and forth between those parties interested in the information. However, the WWW is quickly becoming a channel of commercial activity, whereby a vast number of companies have developed their own Web sites for advertising and selling their goods and services. Commercial activity that takes place by means of connected computers is known as electronic commerce, or e-commerce, and can occur between a user and a vendor through an on-line information service, the Internet, a bulletin board system (BBS), or between vendor and customer computers through electronic data interchange (EDI). A user (also referred to as a consumer or purchaser in the context of e-commerce) may “visit the Web site” of a company, i.e., retrieve the hypertext documents located on the Web server of a particular company, and order any good or service that the company has to offer. If that good or service is in the form of electronically stored information, such as a book, a video, a computer game, etc., the consumer may simply download the good or service from the company's Web site to his or her computer for immediate consumption and use. If the good or service is of a more tangible nature, such as an appliance or article of clothing ordered from an on-line catalog, a more conventional method of delivery, e.g., the postal service or a common carrier, is used.
- A common method of payment for e-commerce purchases is an electronic credit, or e-credit. E-credit is a form of electronic commerce involving credit card transactions carried out over the Internet. Traditional e-credit purchases are paid for by a major credit card, wherein the consumer is required to transmit his or her credit information, for example, an account number and private identification number (PIN), over the Internet to the company's Web site. Many consumers are concerned about the security and confidentiality of such electronic transmissions. Furthermore, many consumers do not have a major credit card with which to make such purchases. Alternative billing systems, such as providing credit information by facsimile or postal service, are much less convenient and often prove enough of a barrier to prohibit the sale altogether. Finally, the traditional methods of billing and payment do not adequately protect the seller or consumer from fraudulent purchases.
- Accordingly, a more effective method and apparatus for ordering and billing for goods, services and content over a network, and ultimately the Internet, is needed. The method and apparatus should protect the seller and consumer from fraudulent purchases. Additionally, the method and apparatus should provide an element of non-repudiation to all transactions. The method and apparatus should also prevent consumers with histories of nonpayment from purchasing additional goods, services and/or content. Finally, the method and apparatus should allow a consumer without a major credit card to purchase goods, services and content over the network.
- This summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts in a simplified form that are further described below in the Detailed Description. This summary is not intended to identify key features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended to be used as an aid in determining the scope of the claimed subject matter.
- The present invention provides a computer program for ordering products from computers connected to the Internet, wherein the consumer is automatically billed for the ordered good, service or content based on a virtual payment account maintained by a commerce gateway.
- In accordance with other aspects of the present invention, the commerce gateway interfaces with a credit processing server to handle the monetary aspects involved in purchasing goods, services and/or content. The credit processing server interfaces with one or more financial institutions that physically handle the consumer's account. For example, a consumer can pay for purchases electronically by transferring funds from a bank account held by the consumer at the financial institution, or by prepaying for the purchases by sending a check to the provider of the commerce gateway. Alternatively, reward points earned by using the virtual payment account can be applied towards purchases.
- In accordance with still other aspects of the present invention, the credit processing server communicates with one or more credit bureaus in order to determine a credit limit for a consumer's virtual payment account.
- In accordance with yet other aspects of the present invention, a virtual payment account can have associated sub-accounts. A sub-account can have a credit limit that is less than the main account credit limit. A sub-account can limit the merchant sites from which goods, services and/or content can be purchased.
- In accordance with further aspects of the present invention, purchases must be made by a registered consumer from a registered merchant. Security is ensured via authentication of the parties to a transaction. Authentication can be performed by verification of a private key, a digital certificate, or a combination thereof, known as a digital signature.
- The foregoing aspects and many of the attendant advantages of this invention will become more readily appreciated as the same become better understood by reference to the following detailed description, when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:
-
FIG. 1 (Prior Art) is a block diagram of a representative portion of the Internet; -
FIG. 2 is a pictorial diagram of a local area network (LAN) connected to the Internet which supplies goods, services and/or content ordered by a consumer using a computer located elsewhere on the Internet in accordance with the present invention; -
FIG. 3 is a block diagram of the several components of the consumer's computer shown inFIG. 2 that is used to order goods, services and/or content from the Internet in accordance with the present invention; -
FIG. 4 is a block diagram of the several components of a merchant server shown inFIG. 2 that provides the ordered goods, services and/or content in accordance with the present invention; -
FIG. 5 is a block diagram of the several components of a commerce gateway shown inFIG. 2 that is used to interface between the Internet and a card processing server in accordance with the present invention; -
FIG. 6 is a block diagram of the several components of a credit processing server shown inFIG. 2 that provides for the payment of the ordered goods, services and/or content in accordance with the present invention; -
FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating the actions taken by the consumer's computer, the commerce gateway, the credit processing server, and a credit bureau to create a virtual payment account for a consumer; -
FIGS. 8A-8E are exemplary pages displayed on a consumer computer when applying for a virtual payment account in accordance with the present invention; -
FIGS. 9A-9D are exemplary Web pages used by a consumer to customize the virtual payment account applied for in accordance with the present invention; -
FIG. 10 illustrates a display notifying the consumer of a digital certificate created in response to a successful creation and customization of a virtual payment account in accordance with the present invention; -
FIGS. 11A-11F are exemplary Web pages used by a consumer to purchase goods, services and/or content in accordance with the present invention; -
FIG. 12 is a flow diagram illustrating the logic used by the consumer's computer to order goods, services and/or content from the Internet using the Web browser; -
FIG. 13 is a flow diagram illustrating the logic used by a consumer authenticator of the consumer computer shown inFIG. 3 to validate that the consumer is a registered virtual payment account participant; -
FIG. 14 is an exemplary Web page for performing certificate not present processing in accordance with the present invention; -
FIG. 15 is a flow diagram illustrating the logic used by the consumer's computer to apply for a virtual payment account using the Web browser; -
FIG. 16 is a flow diagram illustrating the logic used by an enrollment server of the commerce gateway shown inFIG. 5 to establish a new consumer account in accordance with the present invention; -
FIG. 17 a flow diagram illustrating the logic used by an account identification container generator of the commerce gateway shown inFIG. 5 to generate an account identification for a given transaction; -
FIG. 18 is a flow diagram illustrating the logic used by a commerce engine of a merchant computer shown inFIG. 4 to provide for the ordering, shipment and payment of goods, services and/or content over the Internet; -
FIG. 19 is a flow diagram illustrating the logic used by a commerce gateway adapter of the merchant server shown inFIG. 4 to allow the commerce engine to communicate with a transaction server on the commerce gateway; -
FIG. 20 is a flow diagram illustrating the logic used by the transaction server of the commerce gateway shown inFIG. 5 to process an order for goods, services and/or content over the Internet using a virtual payment account; -
FIGS. 21 and 22 are flow diagrams illustrating the logic used by various sub-systems of the credit processing server shownFIG. 6 to provide for payment of goods, services and/or content ordered over the Internet using a virtual payment account; -
FIG. 23 is a diagram illustrating the actions taken by the consumer's computer, the merchant server, the commerce gateway, and the credit processing server to order goods, services and/or content using the virtual payment account; -
FIG. 24 is a flow diagram illustrating the logic used by the merchant's computer to perform a settlement transaction, i.e., initiate transfer of funds; -
FIG. 25 is a flow diagram illustrating the logic used by the administrator's computer to initiate a refund to be applied to a virtual payment account in accordance with the present invention; and -
FIGS. 26-29 are exemplary Web pages used by a consumer to perform account maintenance functions in accordance with the present invention. - As previously described and shown in
FIG. 1 , theInternet 40 is a collection of local area networks and (LANs) 44, wide area networks (WANs) 46,remote computers 48 androuters 42 that use the Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) to communicate with each other. The World Wide Web (WWW), on the other hand, is vast collection of interconnected, electronically stored information located on servers connected throughout theInternet 40. Many companies are now selling goods, services, and access to their premium content over the Internet using the WWW. In accordance with the present invention, a consumer orders goods, services and/or content (referred to interchangeably herein as “products”) over theInternet 40 via a Web browser and is automatically billed for the purchase using his or her virtual payment account without transferring sensitive account information, such as account number and expiration date, over theInternet 40. The virtual payment account allows a consumer to settle transactions of the virtual payment account using a prepaid or credit account. In one actual embodiment of the present invention, the virtual payment account uses bank electronic funds transfers, for example, using the Automated Clearing House (ACH) standard that is maintained by the National Automated Clearing House Association (NACHA)—the standards group promoting electronic commerce standards. In another embodiment, the virtual payment account can be funded using a traditional paper check, with the consumer mailing a check, e.g., via the postal service, to the providers of the virtual payment account system. Alternatively, funds transfer services and electronic bill payment services, such as CHECKFREE®, may be used. Reward points, also known as loyalty points, earned through use of the virtual payment card can also be applied to the consumer's virtual payment account to pay for products. - More specifically, as shown in
FIG. 2 , the consumer purchases goods, services, and/or premium content from amerchant server 51, i.e., a server owned by the merchant that sponsors or sells the product, by placing an order with the merchant server from acomputer 50 connected to theInternet 40. The order is processed and confirmed by acommerce gateway 52 connected to aLAN 44 located elsewhere in theInternet 40. Thecommerce gateway 52 is also connected to acredit processing server 53 via theLAN 44. The credit processing server communicates with one ormore credit bureaus 58 in order to determine the credit worthiness of a consumer. In the actual embodiment of the present invention described herein, thecredit bureau 58 is a server provided and administrated by a credit agency for processing credit reports. Thecredit bureau 58 can be located on theLAN 44 or elsewhere on theInternet 40. In yet another embodiment, the credit processing server can establish a point-to-point connection with a remote credit bureau that is not either connected to theLAN 44 or theInternet 40. It will be appreciated that other methods of communication between thecredit processing server 53 andcredit bureau 58 may be used, for example, a secure Virtual Private Network maintained and operated by the credit bureau exclusively for the purpose of credit rating. Finally, in yet other embodiments, the credit bureau may not actually offer a server at all. Rather, a customer service representative for the credit bureau may process the credit report and manually provide the report to an administrator of the present invention who manually enters the report to thecredit processing server 53. Thecredit processing server 53 also communicates with one or morefinancial institutions 59 for the purpose of obtaining the consumer's payment, i.e., a transfer of funds for the purchase of products. As is the case with thecredit bureaus 58, thefinancial institutions 59 may be other servers in electronic communication with thecredit processing server 53, customer service representatives in more traditional communication with thecredit processing server 53, or some combination thereof. - Finally, in addition to the
commerce gateway 52, theLAN 44 includes anadministrative computer 54 used to administer vendor, and purchaser information and services provided by thecommerce gateway 52 andcredit processing server 53. - In the embodiment of the present invention shown in
FIG. 2 , theLAN 44 is insulated from theInternet 40 by afirewall server 55 that tracks and controls the flow of all data passing through it using the TCP/IP protocol. Thefirewall 55 protects theLAN 44 from malicious in-bound data traffic. TheLAN 44 is a bus network interconnecting the various computers and servers. TheLAN 44 shown inFIG. 2 can be formed of various coupling media such as glass or plastic fiberoptic cables, coaxial cables, twisted wire pair cables, ribbon cables, etc. In addition, one of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the coupling medium can also include a radio frequency coupling media or other intangible coupling media. Any computer system or number of computer systems, including but not limited to workstations, personal computers, laptop computers, servers, remote computers, etc., that is equipped with the necessary interface hardware may be connected temporarily or permanently to theLAN 44 and, thus, theInternet 40. However, if temporarily connected via a telephone link to another device connected to theLAN 44, the interface hardware of both theremote computer 48 and the device to which it is connected must contain a modem. - Finally, those of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that while only one
consumer computer 50, and onemerchant server 51 are depicted inFIG. 2 , numerous consumer computers and merchant servers equipped with the hardware and software components described below may be connected to theInternet 40. It will also be appreciated that the term “consumer” used herein can be applied to any purchaser of goods and/or services and can be applied equally to an individual, non-commercial purchaser or a business or commercial purchaser. In other words, the term “consumer” can apply to any purchaser and the term “merchant” can apply to any vendor. -
FIG. 3 depicts several of the key components of the consumer'scomputer 50. Those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the consumer'scomputer 50 includes many more components then those shown inFIG. 3 . However, it is not necessary that all of these generally conventional components be shown in order to disclose an illustrative embodiment for practicing the present invention. As shown inFIG. 3 , the consumer's computer includes anetwork interface 60 for connecting to aLAN 44 orWAN 46, or for connecting remotely to a LAN or WAN. Those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that thenetwork interface 60 includes the necessary circuitry for such a connection, and is also constructed for use with the TCP/IP protocol, the particular network configuration of the LAN or WAN it is connecting to, and a particular type of coupling medium. - The consumer's
computer 50 also includes aprocessing unit 61, adisplay 62, and amemory 63. Thememory 63 generally comprises a random access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM) and a permanent mass storage device, such as a disk drive. Thememory 63 stores the program code and data necessary for ordering and paying for a product over theInternet 40 in accordance with the present invention. More specifically, thememory 63 stores aWeb browser component 64, such as Netscape's NAVIGATOR® or Microsoft's INTERNET EXPLORER® browsers, and aconsumer authenticator component 65 formed in accordance with the present invention for authenticating a consumer as a registered participant of the virtual payment system prior to performing any virtual payment account transactions. It will be appreciated that these components may be stored on a computer-readable medium and loaded intomemory 63 of theconsumer computer 50 using a drive mechanism associated with the computer-readable medium, such as a floppy or CD-ROM drive. - As will be described in more detail below, the products ordered by the consumer are supplied by a
merchant server 51, described next, following authorization from a remote server, i.e., acommerce gateway 52 described later, located elsewhere on the Internet, e.g., onLAN 44 illustrated inFIG. 2 .FIG. 4 depicts several of the key components of themerchant server 51. Those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that themerchant server 51 includes many more components than those shown inFIG. 4 . However, it is not necessary that all of these generally conventional components be shown in order to disclose an illustrative embodiment of practicing the present invention. As shown inFIG. 4 , themerchant server 51 includes anetwork interface 70 for connecting to aLAN 44 orWAN 46 or for connecting remotely to a LAN or WAN. Those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that thenetwork interface 70 includes the necessary circuitry for such a connection, and is also constructed for use with the TCP/IP protocol, the particular network configuration of the LAN or WAN it is connecting to, and a particular type of coupling medium. - The
merchant server 51 also includes aprocessing unit 71, adisplay 72, and amemory 73. Thememory 73 generally comprises a random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), and a permanent mass storage device, such as a hard disk drive, tape drive, optical drive, floppy disk drive, or combination thereof. In one actual embodiment of the present invention, the memory contains aproduct database 74 that includes the electronically stored good or service ordered by the consumer. In other embodiments of the present invention, theproduct database 74 stores the premium content ordered by the consumer, i.e., the hypertext documents or other electronically stored information considered of monetary value by the merchant. In yet other embodiments of the present invention, the goods may be tangible goods not capable of being electronically stored, in which case the product database includes descriptive information of the products. Thememory 73 also contains acommerce engine component 75 for purchasing a product from a merchant Web site. Thecommerce engine component 75 may be an existing commerce engine, such as MICROSOFT® Site Server, which allows for the payment of products ordered over the Internet using a major credit card, e.g., VISA® or MASTERCARD®. A commercegateway adapter component 76 is also provided to allow thecommerce engine component 75 to interface with thecommerce gateway 52. The commerce gateway adapter component uses and provides application programming interface (API) calls to interface with thecommerce engine 75. Also included in memory is amerchant authenticator component 77 for verifying that the merchant is an authorized or registered merchant of the virtual payment system of the present invention. It will be appreciated that theproduct database 74, thecommerce engine component 75, the commercegateway adapter component 76, and themerchant authenticator component 77 may be stored on a computer-readable medium and loaded intomemory 73 of themerchant server 51 using a drive mechanism associated with the computer-readable medium, such as a floppy or CD-ROM drive. Finally,memory 73 stores aWeb server component 78 for handling requests for stored information received via the Internet and the WWW. -
FIG. 5 depicts several of the key components of thecommerce gateway 52. Those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that thecommerce gateway 52 includes many more components than those shown inFIG. 5 . However, it is not necessary that all of these generally conventional components be shown in order to disclose an illustrative embodiment for practicing the present invention. As shown inFIG. 5 , thecommerce gateway 52 is connected to theLAN 44 via anetwork interface 80. Those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that thenetwork interface 80 includes the necessary circuitry for connecting thecommerce gateway 52 to theLAN 44 and thefirewall 55 and is constructed for use with the TCP/IP protocol, the bus network configuration of theLAN 44, and the particular type of coupling medium. - The
commerce gateway 52 also includes aprocessing unit 81, adisplay 82, and amemory 83. Thememory 83 generally comprises a random access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), and a permanent mass storage device, such as a hard disk drive, tape drive, optical drive, floppy disk drive, or combination thereof. Thememory 83 stores the program code and data necessary for authorizing amerchant server 51 to supply products to consumers and obtaining payment for the products via acredit processing server 53 in accordance with the present invention. More specifically, thememory 83 stores atransaction server component 84 formed in accordance with the present invention for authorizing a merchant to supply the ordered product and obtaining payment for the ordered product from thecredit processing server 53. Also stored inmemory 83 is anenrollment server component 89 formed in accordance with the present invention for determining the credit worthiness of a consumer applicant. An account identificationcontainer generator component 88 is also stored inmemory 83 for determining an internal account identification. - Also stored in the
memory 83 is a credit processingserver adapter component 86 for communicating with acredit processing server 53 described below. It will be appreciated that thetransaction server component 84, the credit processingserver adapter component 86, the account identificationcontainer generator component 88, and theenrollment server component 89 may be stored on a computer-readable medium and loaded intomemory 83 of thecommerce gateway 52 using a drive mechanism associated with the computer-readable medium, such as floppy or CD-ROM drive. Thememory 83 also stores aWeb server component 87 for handling requests for stored information received via theInternet 40 and the WWW. -
FIG. 6 depicts several of the key components of thecredit processing server 53. Those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that thecredit processing server 53 includes many more components than those shown inFIG. 6 . However, it is not necessary that all of these generally conventional components be shown in order to disclose an illustrative embodiment for practicing the present invention. As shown inFIG. 6 , thecredit processing server 53 is connected to theLAN 44 via anetwork interface 90. Those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that thenetwork interface 90 includes the necessary circuitry for connecting thecredit processing server 53 to theLAN 44 and thefirewall 55, and is constructed for use with the TCP/IP protocol, the bus network configuration of theLAN 44, and the particular type of coupling medium. - The
credit processing server 53 also includes aprocessing unit 91, adisplay 92, and amemory 93. Thememory 93 generally comprises a random access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), and a permanent mass storage device, such as a hard disk drive, tape drive, optical drive, floppy disk drive, or combination thereof. Thememory 93 stores the program code and data necessary for authorizing and securing payment for products purchased using a virtual payment card in accordance with the present invention. More specifically, thememory 93 of the credit processing server stores credit processing sub-systems including: an account/billing sub-system 94 for billing a consumer for products purchased using a virtual payment account; apayment processing sub-system 95 for communicating with afinancial institution 59 in order to process payments received for purchases made using a virtual payment account; and anaccount enrollment sub-system 96 for determining the credit limit for an applicant as determined by information received from one ormore credit bureaus 58. Also stored inmemory 93 are anaccount database 97 and afinancial database 98 used to store data required for the account/billing sub-system 94, thepayment processing sub-system 95, and theaccount enrollment sub-system 96 to perform their required functions. It will be appreciated that the account/billing sub-system 94, thepayment processing sub-system 95, theaccount enrollment sub-system 96, theaccount database 97, and thefinancial database 98 may be stored on a computer-readable medium and loaded intomemory 93 of the credit processing system using a drive mechanism associated with the computer-readable medium, such as floppy or CD-ROM drive. It will also be appreciated that the account/billing sub-system 94, thepayment processing sub-system 95, and theaccount enrollment sub-system 96 can comprise, either in full or in part, existing, traditional card payment systems. -
FIGS. 3-6 depict key components of theconsumer computer 50,merchant server 51,commerce gateway 52, andcredit processing server 53 shown inFIG. 2 of one embodiment of the present invention. It will be appreciated that many other implementations and variations are possible. For example, one or more of thecredit processing sub-systems commerce gateway 52 instead of in thecard processing server 53. Alternatively, each of thecredit processing sub-systems additional commerce gateways 52 andcredit processing servers 53 may be located on theLAN 44 or elsewhere on theInternet 40. - The virtual payment system of the present invention is a closed system that provides consumers a secure method for purchasing products over the Internet. The closed system includes only a registered consumer's
computer 50, a registeredmerchant server 51, the commerce gateway 52 (administered by the provider of the virtual payment system), and the credit processing server 53 (which can also be administered by the provider of the virtual payment system). Since the account information necessary for charging the consumer for the purchase is already in the possession of thecommerce gateway 52 and thecredit processing server 53, the closed system of the present invention allows registered consumers to purchase products from registered merchants without transferring sensitive account information to the merchants over the Internet. - In order to become a member of the virtual payment system of the present invention, a consumer becomes a registered user by obtaining a virtual payment account.
FIG. 7 illustrates the actions taken by the consumer'scomputer 50, thecommerce gateway 52, thecard processing system 53, and thecredit bureau 58 to create a virtual payment account for a consumer. The interactions of the various components are illustrated and described in detail later for various transactions performed by the present invention with reference to the flow diagrams shown inFIGS. 12-13 , 15-22, and 24-25. The process of applying for a virtual payment account is initiated when a consumer requests an application form via the Internet using theWeb browser 64 installed on the consumer'scomputer 50. The consumer may apply for a virtual payment account directly from a virtual payment account Web site located at thecommerce gateway 52 or indirectly from a registered merchant site located at themerchant server 51. Once the request for theapplication form 100 is received by thecommerce gateway 52, thecommerce gateway 52 providesconsumer computer 50 theapplication form 102 so that the consumer can complete the form displayed in the Web browser of theconsumer computer 50. - Upon completion of the application form, the
consumer computer 50 submits the completed application form and apublic key 104 to thecommerce gateway 52. The public key is used to decrypt messages encrypted using a private key and to encrypt messages that can by decrypted using the private key, as described later. Thecommerce gateway 52 then submits theapplication data 106 from the completed form to thecredit processing server 53 for account and credit limit authorization. Thecredit processing server 53requests credit information 108 about the consumer from acredit bureau 58. As noted above, thecredit bureau 58 in the actual embodiment of the present invention illustrated herein is aserver 58 administered by a credit bureau in point-to-point communication with thecredit processing server 53. Hence, thecredit processing server 53 requests the desired credit information electronically, e.g., via appropriate database queries, etc., from thecredit bureau 58. - Returning to the illustrated embodiment, the
credit bureau 58 provides the requestedcredit information 110 to thecredit processing server 53 via the point-to-point connection with the credit processing server. Thecredit processing server 53 then evaluates the application and credit information by combining the credit information received from thecredit bureau 58 with application data in order to determine acredit score 111. If the score exceeds a certain threshold, a credit limit is set, and the virtual payment account is created 112. If the score falls below the threshold, a virtual payment account is still created 112, however, all purchases must be prepaid, and the account information is forwarded to a customer service representative for review for a possible later grant of credit. Once the virtual payment account is created, thecredit processing server 53 returns the result of theevaluation 113, e.g., approval/denial, prepaid account only, credit limit, etc., to thecommerce gateway 52 via the Internet. Finally, thecommerce gateway 52 sends anapplication result page 114 to theconsumer computer 50 for display via the consumer computer'sWeb browser 64. -
FIGS. 8A-8E are exemplary Web pages provided to the consumer by theWeb browser 64 of the consumer'scomputer 50 in connection with applying for a virtual payment account as described above. Using theWeb page 600 shown inFIG. 8A , the consumer enters identification information including his or her name and e-mail address and submits the information to theconsumer authenticator 65 by clicking “continue.” Theconsumer authenticator 65 on the consumer'scomputer 50 then generates a private key and a corresponding public key, which are used to encrypt/decrypt messages, as described later, in order to provide increased security for the registered users of the virtual payment system of the present invention. A private keyconfirmation display page 602 as shown inFIG. 8B is then displayed on the consumer'scomputer 50. Next, theWeb pages 604 shown inFIGS. 8C-8D for the application form are displayed to the consumer via the Web browser. The consumer fills out the application form with the appropriate application data on-line. Alternatively, the consumer can request the application on a printed form and submit the printed form via facsimile or regular mail, in which case a customer service representative will enter the information into theaccount database 97 of thecredit processing server 53 via theadministrative user computer 54. The application data includes information such as social security number and income that will be used to determine a credit limit for the consumer. Information entered by the consumer in the application form is also used for demographic purposes. For example, banner advertisements can be displayed via theWeb browser 64 on theconsumer computer 50 and can be targeted to the consumer based on demographic information, such as the consumer's age and geographic location. - After the consumer completes the
application form 604 shown inFIGS. 8C-8D and the application is processed by thecredit processing server 53, aWeb page 606 as shown inFIG. 8E is transferred to and displayed by the consumer computer'sWeb browser 64, which notifies the consumer of the results of the application process, i.e., account approval and details of his or her virtual payment account, including the account credit limit. - Once a virtual payment account has been approved and a credit limit set as described above, the account can be customized by the consumer.
FIGS. 9A-9D illustrate an exemplary set of Web pages downloaded from thecommerce gateway 52 and displayed by theWeb browser 64 of the consumer'scomputer 50 for customizing the consumer's virtual payment account.FIG. 9A illustrates aWeb page 608 for main account customization. As shown inFIG. 9A , the consumer may customize his or her virtual payment account to be either a prepaid account and/or a credit account which can be funded via a bank, such as via a consumer's checking or savings account. The virtual payment account also allows the consumer to earn reward or loyalty points, which can later be used, for example, to make a payment for a purchase, to receive merchant discounts, to purchase frequent flyer miles, etc. As shown inFIG. 9A , the consumer has the option of accumulating loyalty points for later use or obtaining discounts on shipping. It will be appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the art that reward points can be earned by the consumer and applied to his or her virtual payment account in a myriad of different ways, and the examples shown and described are merely meant to be illustrative. - As shown in
FIGS. 9B-9D , the consumer may also customize sub-accounts for his or her own use, or for use by a business partner, spouse and/or children. As will be described in more detail below, the consumer may then impose his or her own spending limits on the sub-accounts. In one actual embodiment, reward points accrue in the main account so that the consumer can transfer the reward points to sub-accounts. It will be appreciated that in other embodiments, reward points could accrue to individual sub-accounts, if the consumer so desires. The illustrated embodiment also allows a consumer to select a family package, a business package, or to create a custom package of sub-accounts. As will be readily recognized by those of ordinary skill in the art, the consumer may be provided with any number, type, or combination of sub-accounts depending on the desires of those providing and administrating the virtual payment system of the present invention. - The consumer can add sub-accounts (e.g., supplemental users, young shoppers, etc.) via the
Web pages FIGS. 9C and 9D . Sub-accounts can be customized for young shoppers as shown inFIG. 9D , for example, by setting spending limits for the young shopper and identifying only those merchant Web sites from which the young shopper can purchase products. - As will be described in more detail below, once the virtual payment account has been authorized and customized, a digital certificate is transferred by the
commerce gateway 52 and installed on theconsumer computer 50. The consumer is notified of the installation by a newuser certificate page 614 displayed on the consumer'scomputer 50 as shown inFIG. 10 . The digital certificate is then used in subsequent transactions to uniquely identify the consumer as a registered holder of a virtual payment account. In an actual embodiment of the present invention, a consumer or merchant is identified as a registered user of the virtual payment system by verifying a digital signature that is a piece of data including a digital certificate identification encrypted using the private key provided by theconsumer computer 50 or themerchant computer 51 when applying for an account, and the digital certificate identification that is generated by thecommerce gateway 52 when the virtual payment account is opened for the participant, i.e., the newly registered consumer or merchant. The digital certificate identification is actually submitted by theconsumer computer 50 ormerchant server 51 in the context of the transaction, even though thecommerce gateway 52 originally generated these credentials. - It will be appreciated that several levels of security can be imposed on on-line transactions. Moving from the lowest level to the highest level, there can be: (1) no security restrictions imposed; (2) minimal security, such as account name and password verification; (3) intermediate security, such as a digital certificate or private key; (4) greater security, such as a digital signature composed of the combination of a digital certificate encrypted using a private key; or (5) maximum security, such as a digital signature and additional access controls, such as an account number, a last purchase verification, hash function, a message digest, or some combination thereof. As will be described later, in the actual embodiment of the virtual card system described herein, the term “digital certificate” is used to describe the authorization used; however, it will be appreciated that a higher level of security such as a digital signature, or a digital signature with additional access controls may be desired in order to ensure the highest level of security for all parties involved (i.e., the consumer, the merchant, the commerce gateway, and the credit processing server) in virtual payment account transactions.
- It will also be appreciated that a similar process is performed for a merchant to become an authorized or registered merchant. In one embodiment, a merchant can apply to become a member by completing an application form on-line. In another embodiment, a merchant applies to become a participant of the system using a more traditional manual application procedure. In yet another embodiment, some combination of an on-line and manual process is used. It will be appreciated that if the merchant application process is performed in whole or in part on-line, a Web browser component (not shown in
FIG. 4 ) is used to display Web pages on the merchant'scomputer display 72. The merchant forms a contract with the provider of thecommerce gateway 52. This contract includes terms such as the billing period and the fee that will be paid to the commerce gateway provider. Since a merchant is selling a product to a consumer who has a virtual payment account, the merchant will not have sub-accounts in the same sense that a consumer has sub-accounts. However, a merchant selling different types of data can have different accounts. For example, a book store may have a general account and one or more restricted accounts, for example, the restricted accounts may prohibit sales of adult products to minors. This can be in the form of a rating system (e.g., G, PG, PG13, NC17, R, etc.). In a similar manner to the consumer application process, once a merchant has been approved and the merchant account customized, a digital certificate is installed on the merchant'scomputer 51 to identify the merchant as a registered merchant in the virtual payment system. The digital certificate is used in combination with a private key generated by themerchant server 51 and a public key generated by the merchant server and sent to thegateway 52 to encrypt/decrypt messages for greater security. - It will be appreciated, as described earlier, that a merchant can apply for a consumer account. In other words, a merchant can purchase products as the owner of a virtual payment account.
- Once a consumer has created and customized his or her virtual payment account, he or she can immediately order products via the Internet if he or she was granted credit during the account application process. If, however, the consumer's virtual payment account is only a prepaid account, prepayment must be made before the consumer can order products. Alternatively, the consumer with only a prepaid account can order products, however, shipment of the product will be held until the prepaid account is sufficiently funded to cover the purchase. More specifically, any registered consumer can order products directly from the Web site of any registered merchant. It will be appreciated that a merchant can be an auction Web site, in which a consumer uses his or her virtual payment account to pay for the goods, services and/or content purchased from the auction Web site. In one actual embodiment of the present invention, the
commerce gateway 52 transfers to, and theWeb browser 64 of theconsumer computer 50 displays, aWeb page 150 providing a list of links as shown inFIG. 11A to registered merchants belonging to the virtual payment system. Selection of a merchant link, such as “Albert's Book Emporium” 130, from theWeb page 150 in the consumer's Web browser will then cause download and display of the merchant's Web site associated with that link. In the alternative, the consumer may “surf the Web” and visit a registered merchant's Web site, such as “Albert's Book Emporium,” using theWeb browser 64. In either case, once the consumer visits a registered merchant's Web site, the consumer may order and pay for products offered from that Web site using his or her virtual payment account. - Returning to the previous example, a consumer using
consumer computer 50 andWeb browser 64 may retrieve theWeb page 160 shown inFIG. 1B from the merchant Web site fictitiously known as “Albert's Book Emporium.” The consumer makes a selection of a particular book by manipulating a graphics cursor with a pointing device, such as a mouse above the selection and “single-clicking.” It will be appreciated that other pages, for example a query page in which the consumer requests books by a specified author, may be displayed. It will also be appreciated that theWeb page 160 shown inFIG. 1B is a simplified example. It is common for a merchant site to allow a consumer to select multiple products and place them in a “shopping cart.” The consumer can then view the items in the cart and, if desired, remove items from the cart. Once the consumer has selected the desired items for purchase, the consumer indicates a desire to purchase the selected items, for example, by clicking an “OK” or a “Buy” button. In the simplified example shown inFIG. 11B , the consumer selects an item, such as the book, “Moby Dick” 112 and presses the “Buy”button 163 to initiate the purchase transaction. - After initiating the purchase transaction, the
merchant server 51 provides theWeb browser 64 of the consumer'scomputer 50 with theWeb page 165 shown inFIG. 11C , which requests shipping information, such as a street address, from the consumer. In response, themerchant server 51 calculates the total cost of the order, including tax and shipping and handling, and provides the consumer with yet anotherhypertext document 166 as shown inFIG. 11D , which includes various payment options, i.e., major credit cards, such as VISA® or MASTERCARD®, with electronic transmission of credit information. In accordance with the present invention, a virtual payment account option is also displayed as a payment option for registered merchants. As will be described in more detail below, if the consumer selects the virtualpayment account option 169, the consumer will be presented with various virtual payment account options available to him or her, as shown inFIG. 11E , based on the customization of his or her accounts. -
FIG. 12 illustrates the logic implemented by theWeb browser 64 installed on theconsumer computer 50 when the virtualpayment account option 169 is selected. The logic begins in ablock 220 and proceeds to ablock 222 where a secure connection between theconsumer computer 50 andcommerce gateway 52 is established. In an actual embodiment of the present invention, the Secure Socket Layer (SSL) protocol is used for establishing a secure connection. This technology uses public key encryption incorporated into a Web browser, such as Netscape's NAVIGATOR® Web browser and Netscape's commerce servers, to secure the information being transferred over the Internet. SSL uses the digital certificate installed on the consumer'scomputer 50 to authenticate the consumer as a registered participant before making the connection. However, it will be appreciated that SSL can still be used in an unauthenticated mode if there is no digital certificate present. The logic then proceeds to ablock 224 where aconsumer authenticator component 65 on theconsumer computer 50 is executed. It will be appreciated that theconsumer authenticator component 65 can also be included, in part in whole, in theWeb browser 64. Theconsumer authenticator component 65 is shown in more detail inFIG. 13 and described next. - The
consumer authenticator 65 determines whether a consumer is a registered holder of a virtual payment account or, put another way, a registered participant in the closed virtual payment system of the present invention. The logic ofFIG. 13 begins in ablock 243 and proceeds to ablock 244 where an authentication request and container are received from theWeb browser 64. The container includes: transaction information, such as purchase detail; identification of the parties, such as a consumer identification which identifies the consumer, e.g., the digital certificate previously issued to the consumer when he or she created the virtual payment account as described above; and a merchant identification, e.g., the digital certificate issued to the merchant upon creation of a merchant account; and context, such as transaction date and time. It will be appreciated that the container is initially empty, and data is then added to the container by various components. As stated earlier, embodiments of the invention implement the consumer authenticator in theWeb browser 64. In such embodiments, a cookie is used to implement the request and container. On the World Wide Web, a cookie is a block of data that a Web server stores on a client system. When a user returns to the same Web site, the browser sends a copy of the cookie back to the server. Cookies are used to identify users, to instruct the server to send a customized version of the requested Web page, to submit account information for the user, and for other administrative purposes. A cookie includes user-defined data. In the case of the present invention, the user-defined data includes the container described above. - Next, in
decision block 246, a test is made to determine if a digital certificate is installed on theconsumer computer 50. The digital certificate is but one manner of digital identification. It will be appreciated that other methods of digital identification can be used. If the digital certificate is installed, the digital certificate identification is inserted into the authentication container and the authentication request and container are returned to the Web browser inblocks FIG. 13 then ends in ablock 262. - If, however, in
decision block 246 it is determined that there is not a digital certificate installed on theconsumer computer 50, the logic proceeds to adecision block 252 where a test is made to determine if “certificate not present” processing should be performed. Certificate not present processing allows a consumer to manually enter identification information when a digital certificate is not present. The identification information can include information such as an e-mail address, a password and personal information, for example, a mortgage payment amount. If the result ofdecision block 252 is positive, the logic proceeds to ablock 254 where a certificate not presentauthorization Web page 700 as shown inFIG. 14 is displayed on theconsumer computer 50 by theWeb browser 64. The logic then moves to ablock 256 where the information entered by the consumer in the certificate not present authorization Web page is used to authenticate the consumer. The authentication status is then returned to the Web browser. In another embodiment of the present invention, “roaming” certificates allow a consumer to make purchases from different computers without requiring the consumer to perform certificate not present processing. The logic ofFIG. 13 then ends inblock 262. - If there is no digital certificate installed (no in decision block 246) and certificate not present processing is not going to be performed, for example, by a user selecting “cancel” 702 in the certificate not present
authorization Web page 700 shown inFIG. 14 (no in decision block 252), the consumer likely does not have a virtual payment account. Accordingly, the logic ofFIG. 13 proceeds to adecision block 258 where a test is made to determine if the consumer wishes to apply for a virtual payment account. If the consumer wishes to apply for a virtual payment account, the logic proceeds to ablock 260 in which the consumer is allowed to apply for a virtual payment account as shown inFIG. 15 and described next. Otherwise, theconsumer authenticator 65 returns an unsuccessful authorization message to theWeb browser 64 in ablock 261 and the logic ends inblock 262. -
FIG. 15 illustrates the logic implemented by theWeb browser 64 when a consumer applies for a virtual payment account. It will be appreciated that applying for a virtual payment account can be invoked by a consumer requesting an account directly from thecommerce gateway 52 or by a consumer who is not registered attempting to order a product from a registered merchant. In either case, the logic for applying for a virtual payment account via aWeb browser 64 begins in ablock 270 and proceeds to a block 271 where a request for an application form is received by theWeb browser 64. The logic then proceeds to ablock 272 where a private key is generated and stored on the consumers computer. A corresponding public key is also generated. The private key is used in conjunction with a public key to encrypt and decrypt account identifications. This provides security in that the private key is known only by the consumer'scomputer 50. Next in ablock 273, the request for an application form is sent to the commercegateway Web server 87, along with the public key that is used in conjunction with the private key for encryption and decryption of account identifications as described above. The requested application form is then received from the commercegateway Web server 87 and displayed in the consumer's Web browser in ablock 274. - Next, in a
block 275, the completed account application form is sent to thecommerce gateway 52 and processed by anenrollment server component 89 as shown inFIG. 16 , and described next. In another embodiment, thetransaction server component 84 that handles financial transactions also handles non-financial transactions, such as enrollment. - The logic of the
enrollment server 89 shown inFIG. 16 begins in ablock 280 and proceeds to ablock 282 where a completed application form is received from the Web browser. Next, in ablock 284 credit information, such as income, length of time with current employer, length of time at current residence, etc., is requested from acredit bureau 58 via the creditprocessing server adapter 86 as shown inFIG. 21 and described later with reference to a purchase authorization request. - Upon receipt of the credit information, the logic proceeds to a
block 286 where the application is scored based on the credit bureau information in combination with internal criteria. The internal criteria provides a score for the various pieces of credit information. For example, incomes will be broken down into ranges, with a point value assigned to each range. Similarly points values will be assigned based on the time the applicant has lived at his or her current residence, etc. The points for each piece of credit information are combined to determine a score for the applicant. The score equates to the credit worthiness of the consumer and is used to determine if the applicant will receive a credit account (in addition to a prepaid account) and, if so, to establish a credit limit for the applicant, i.e., consumer. Next, the result is returned to the Web browser in ablock 288. The logic ofFIG. 16 then ends in ablock 289 and processing returns toFIG. 15 . - Returning to
FIG. 15 , once a response is received from theenrollment server 89 in ablock 276, a result page on the consumer's computer containing the response from the transaction server is displayed. In the case of applying for a virtual payment account, the result page provides details of the new account for the consumer or contains a message informing the consumer that there was an error creating the account. If the account was successfully created, theenrollment server 89 will also send a digital certificate in ablock 278. The logic ofFIG. 15 of applying for a virtual payment account then ends in ablock 279 and processing returns toFIG. 13 . - While the logic of authenticating a consumer as shown in
FIG. 13 and described herein uses a digital certificate as the primary means for authenticating a consumer, it will be appreciated that other methods are possible. For example, a lesser level of security could be employed, whereby a user could be required to enter identifying information, such as the information entered in “certificate not present” processing of blocks 254-256. Alternatively, a greater degree of security could be employed whereby a digital certificate is required and “certificate not present” processing is not allowed. Or, an even greater level of security could be used requiring a digital signature. - Referring again to
FIG. 13 , after the consumer has applied for a virtual payment account, the logic returns to decision block 246 where the test to determine if a digital certificate is installed on theconsumer computer 50 is repeated. Depending on the results ofdecision block 246, either blocks 248-250 or blocks 252-256 are repeated for the recent applicant of a virtual payment account. The logic then ends in ablock 262. - Returning to
FIG. 12 , after consumer authentication is completed inblock 224, the logic proceeds to adecision block 226 where a test is made to determine if the consumer authentication was successful. If not, the logic proceeds to ablock 227 where an error message is displayed on theconsumer computer 50 by theWeb browser 64 notifying the consumer of the failed authentication. The logic ofFIG. 12 ends in ablock 242. - However, if the consumer was successfully authenticated, the logic proceeds to a
block 228 where a virtual payment account selection Web page as shown inFIG. 11E is displayed. Included in the requested information of the virtual payment account selection Web page is an identification of the applicable account or sub-account to which the purchase should be applied. Next, in ablock 230, sub-account 176 andpassword information 177 are obtained from the consumer from the information entered in the virtual payment accountselection Web page 175 ofFIG. 1E when the consumer indicates that the information has been entered by selecting “OK” 178. The logic ofFIG. 12 then proceeds to ablock 232 where the sub-account, password information, and an authentication container are sent to thecommerce gateway 52 and processed by the accountidentification container generator 88 shown inFIG. 17 and described next. - The logic of
FIG. 17 begins in ablock 800 and proceeds to ablock 802 where the sub-account, password and authentication container are received fromWeb browser 64 of theconsumer computer 50. The logic then proceeds to ablock 804 where an internal account identification associated with authentication container is determined. An empty account identification container is then created in ablock 806. Next, in ablock 808, internal account identification and sub-account information is added to the empty account identification container. The logic then proceeds to ablock 810 where an internal digital signature is applied to the account identification container. For example, message digest logic can be used by applying an algorithm that takes a variable length message and produces a fixed length digest as output using a one-way hashing algorithm that establishes the message as cryptographically secure. Finally, the account identification container is returned to theWeb browser 64 in ablock 812. The logic ofFIG. 17 then ends, and processing returns toFIG. 12 . - Returning to
FIG. 12 , after the sub-account password and authentication container are sent to thecommerce gateway 53, the logic then proceeds to ablock 234 where the logic waits to receive the account identification container from the account identificationcontainer generator component 88 of thecommerce gateway 52. Once the account identification container is received from thecommerce gateway 52, the logic proceeds to ablock 238 where a purchase request is sent to thecommerce engine 75 in the form of a request and account identification container for processing as shown inFIG. 18 and described next. - The
commerce engine 75 is the component of the merchant computer that determines whether or not the order will be processed and whether the requested product will ultimately be provided to the consumer. It will be appreciated that commerce engines are well known in the art. Thecommerce engine component 75 used in conjunction with the commercegateway adapter component 76 allows the virtual payment system of the present invention to expand existing technology that is currently used for traditional credit systems to encompass the virtual payment account of the present system. It will be further appreciated that while the embodiment shown and described modifies the commerce engine to achieve this functionality (which may be possible through existing API calls of the commerce engine), other embodiments are possible. This expanded commerce engine functionality is shown inFIG. 18 . The logic ofFIG. 18 begins in ablock 300 and proceeds to ablock 302 where a purchase request and account identification container are received from theWeb browser 64 of theconsumer computer 50. The logic then proceeds to adecision block 304 where a test is made to determine whether the purchase request should be forwarded to thecommerce gateway adapter 76. If the purchase request is to purchase products using a virtual payment card, the request should be forwarded to thecommerce gateway adapter 76 for processing in accordance with the virtual payment system of the present invention. In another embodiment, only the request (without the account identification container) is received from the Web browser inblock 302, and if it is determined indecision block 304 that the purchase request should be forwarded to thecommerce gateway adapter 76, the account identification is then obtained from theWeb browser 64. In either case, if it is determined indecision block 304 that the purchase request should be forwarded to thecommerce gateway adapter 76, the logic proceeds to ablock 306 where the request is forwarded to the commerce gateway adapter. Thecommerce gateway adapter 76 is shown in more detail inFIG. 19 and described next. - The
commerce gateway adapter 76 is a component residing on themerchant server 51 that allows the merchant server to communicate directly with thetransaction server component 84 of thecommerce gateway 52 in order to expand the authorization function of the commerce engine to include virtual payment account transactions. Accordingly, the logic ofFIG. 19 begins in ablock 330 proceeds to ablock 332 where the forwarded purchase request and account identification container are received from thecommerce engine 75. Next, in ablock 334 the purchase request and account identification container are sent to thetransaction server 84 in the form of a transaction request for further processing as shown inFIG. 20 and described next. - The
transaction server component 84 of thecommerce gateway 52 is responsible for interfacing with the other components of the system and determining whether or not a requested transaction should be applied to a consumer's virtual payment account. The logic ofFIG. 20 begins in ablock 350 and proceeds to ablock 352 where the transaction request is received. Next, in ablock 353 the account identification container is decoded and verified. The origin or source of the request as well as the context, i.e., date and time, of the request are then recorded inmemory 83 of thecommerce gateway 52 in ablock 354. Next, the logic proceeds to adecision block 356 where a test is made to determine whether the requested transaction is permissible. A variety of factors can be considered in making the determination of whether a requested transaction is permissible. For example, spending limit cannot be exceeded, and user-imposed limitations, such as those put on a young shopper account, e.g., sites from which the young shopper can make purchases and hours during which the young shopper can make purchases as shown inFIG. 9D , cannot be violated. - If the transaction is not permissible, the logic proceeds to a
block 357 where an impermissible transaction message is sent to the requester (e.g., thecommerce gateway adapter 76 in the context of a purchase request). The logic ofFIG. 20 then ends in ablock 376. If, however, the transaction is permissible, the logic proceeds fromdecision block 356 to ablock 360 where the transaction request is sent to a creditprocessing server adapter 86 for further processing as shown inFIG. 21 and described next. - The credit
processing server adapter 86 is the component residing on thecommerce gateway 52 that allowscommerce gateway 52 components, such as thetransaction server 84 and theenrollment server 89 to communicate directly with the various sub-systems of thecredit processing server 53, which provide for the application of the requested transaction to the consumer's actual payment account. Accordingly, the logic ofFIG. 21 begins in ablock 380 and proceeds to ablock 382 where the request is received. For example, a purchase authorization request or a refund request are received from thetransaction server 84 and a credit information request is received from theenrollment server 89. The request is then formatted to be compatible with the appropriate credit processing sub-system, i.e., the account/billing sub-system 94, thepayment processing sub-system 95 and/or theaccount enrollment sub-system 96, on thecredit processing server 53 in ablock 384. Next, the logic proceeds to ablock 386 where the formatted request is then sent tocredit processing server 53 for processing by the appropriate credit processing sub-system, as shown inFIG. 22 and described next. - For any credit processing sub-system, the logic of
FIG. 22 begins in ablock 390 and proceeds to ablock 392 where the transaction request is received from the creditprocessing server adapter 86. Next, account data and sub-account data are retrieved inblocks account database 97 andfinancial database 98. Standard credit transaction processing is then performed in ablock 398. Examples of standard transactions for the account/billing sub-system 94 include: creating and maintaining accounts, including holding account information and account holder information, such as name and address; calculating interest; calculating minimum monthly payments; generating electronic monthly statements; and calculating other charges, known as discounts. The discount is the portion of the transaction amount that will go to the provider of thecommerce gateway 52, and can be determined on a fixed amount per transaction basis or a percentage of transaction amount basis. Examples of standard transactions for thepayment processing sub-system 95 include: collecting payments from consumers and applying the payments to the consumer's account; transferring funds between merchants and consumer, for example by interfacing withfinancial institutions 59 for ACH transactions. Examples of standard transactions for the account enrollment sub-system include: obtaining credit information from credit bureaus; providing the credit information to thecommerce gateway 52 for scoring; determining a credit score based on the credit information and providing the score to the commerce gateway; and providing scoring information to the account/billing sub-system 94 for account creation. - The logic then proceeds to a
block 399 where necessary account adjustments are applied, if applicable. For example, the open to buy amount will be reduced by the amount of an authorized purchase transaction. In one embodiment of the present invention, loyalty points are accrued at the time of purchase, but committed later, for example during the periodic, e.g., monthly, statement preparation process. Alternatively, loyalty points may not accrue until payment is made for the product to which the points are attributed. Next, the transaction result, such as the credit information or the purchase authorization, is sent to the creditprocessing server adapter 86 in ablock 400. The logic ofFIG. 22 then ends in ablock 402 and processing returns toFIG. 21 . - Returning to
FIG. 21 , the result of the transaction request is received from thecredit processing sub-system block 387. Next, in ablock 388, the result is then returned to requester, e.g., the result of a purchase authorization request is returned to thetransaction server 84 and credit information, for example, a credit limit, is returned to theenrollment server 89 in response to request for a credit information request to be used for establishing a consumer's account. The logic ofFIG. 19 then ends in ablock 389 and processing returns to the requester, e.g., transaction server 84 (FIG. 20 ) or enrollment server 89 (FIG. 16 ). - Returning to
FIG. 20 , once the transaction server receives the response to its transaction request, e.g., authorization result of a purchase request, from the credit processing adapter in ablock 362, the logic proceeds to ablock 364 where the transaction record, for example, purchase information including amount of purchase, is stored inmemory 83 of thecommerce gateway 52. The logic then proceeds to adecision block 366 where a test is made to determine if the transaction was successfully processed. If so, the logic proceeds to ablock 370 where a transaction response with a valid status is then sent to the requester (e.g., thecommerce gateway adapter 76 or theWeb browser 64, whichever the case may be). If the transaction was not successfully processed, the logic proceeds fromdecision block 366 to ablock 374 where a transaction response with an error status is then returned to the requester in ablock 374. - After a
valid transaction response 370, anerror transaction response 374, or animpermissible transaction response 357 is sent to the requester, the logic ofFIG. 20 ends inblock 376 and processing returns to the requester. In the case of a purchase request, the requester is thecommerce gateway adapter 76. - Returning to
FIG. 19 , after the response to the purchase request made by thecommerce gateway adapter 76 is received from the transaction server in ablock 336, the logic proceeds to ablock 338 where the response including the transaction status is formatted to be compatible with thecommerce engine 75. The formatted response is then forwarded to the commerce engine in ablock 340. The logic ofFIG. 19 then ends in ablock 342 and processing returns to thecommerce engine 75 inFIG. 18 . - Returning to
FIG. 18 , once a response is received by thecommerce engine 75 from thecommerce gateway adapter 86 in ablock 308, the authorized and ordered product is shipped to the consumer in ablock 310. It will be appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the art that if the ordered product is capable of being downloaded, e.g., the product is an electronically stored good, a URL for a premium content Web site, etc., the product will simply be transferred by themerchant server 51 to theconsumer computer 50. Otherwise, the product will be shipped or provided by more traditional methods, e.g., regular mail, hand delivery, etc. Once shipment is complete, the logic then proceeds to ablock 312 where a settlement request is sent to thecommerce gateway 52 in order to initiate movement of funds. In an actual embodiment of the present invention, the merchant submits the transaction into a settlement batch for payment when the settlement batch for that merchant is next processed. The timing of the processing could be that night or at a later date based on the contract, i.e., terms of the purchase transaction. Next, in ablock 314, a response confirming fulfillment of the order is sent to theWeb browser 64 of the consumer'scomputer 50. The logic ofFIG. 18 then ends in ablock 324. - Returning to decision block 304, if it is determined that the purchase request should not be forwarded to the
commerce gateway 52, the logic proceeds to ablock 316 where standard commerce engine processing is performed. More specifically, inblock 316 traditional credit or debit card authorization is performed such as approval or denial for the use of a credit card, e.g., VISA® or MASTERCARD®, for the specified purchase amount. Next, the authorized goods are shipped in ablock 318. The logic then proceeds to ablock 320 where a settlement request is sent to the traditional credit provider, e.g., VISA® or MASTERCARD®. A response confirming fulfillment of the order is then sent to theWeb browser 64 of theconsumer computer 50 in ablock 322. The logic ofFIG. 18 then ends inblock 324 and processing returns toFIG. 12 . - Returning to
FIG. 12 , once theWeb browser 64 of theconsumer computer 50 receives a response to its purchase request in ablock 240, the logic proceeds to ablock 241 where an orderconfirmation Web page 180 is displayed as shown inFIG. 11E . The logic ofFIG. 12 then ends inblock 242. -
FIG. 23 is a diagram illustrating the actions taken by the consumer'scomputer 50, themerchant server 51, thecommerce gateway 52, and thecredit processing server 53, for ordering products using a virtual payment account system. This diagram presents a high-level view of the detailed processing shown in the flow charts described above. Upon a request to purchaseproduct 500, such as is shown inFIG. 11B , a merchant's order form, such as the one shown inFIG. 11C is provided to the consumer'scomputer 50 by themerchant 51. The consumer'scomputer 50 submits the completed order form including the selection of a virtual payment account as the method of payment to themerchant server 51. Anauthentication request 506 for this consumer is then sent from the consumer'scomputer 50 to thecommerce gateway 52 over a secure link, such as SSL. Theauthentication status 508, as determined by theconsumer authenticator component 65, is then returned from thecommerce gateway 52 to the consumer'scomputer 50 over the secure link. The consumer'scomputer 50 then sends asub-account selection 510 to the commerce gateway, and the commerce gateway returns anaccount identification container 512 to the consumer'scomputer 50. A purchase request including theaccount identification container 514 is then sent from the consumer'scomputer 50 to themerchant server 51. The purchase request including theaccount identification container 515 is then forwarded from themerchant server 51 to thecommerce gateway 52. Thecommerce gateway 52 then sends apurchase authorization request 516 to thecredit processing server 53. After thecommerce gateway 52 receives theauthorization status 517 from thecredit processing server 53, thecommerce gateway 52 sends avalid transaction authorization 518 to themerchant server 51. Upon receipt of thevalid transaction authorization 518, themerchant server 51 forwards the valid transaction notification and ships the authorizedproduct 519 to the consumer'scomputer 50. If the product is downloadable, it is downloaded from themerchant server 51 to the consumer'scomputer 50; otherwise, the product is shipped via traditional shipping channels, such as by the postal service. Settlement for the purchase is a separate transaction that is later initiated by the merchant. - If the merchant is an auction Web site, the
valid transaction authorization 518 sent by thecommerce gateway 52 to themerchant server 51 includes information such as a consumer account identification, a merchant identification, a merchant sale offering, a consumer authentication, a merchant authentication, and a master identification, i.e., identification of thecommerce gateway 52 provider. Particular to this type of response is an expiration date/time that is used to signal the shorter of the maximum times that the consumer and the merchant are willing to “reserve” funds associated with this transaction. If the transaction, i.e., settlement request 520, is not received by thecommerce gateway 52 before the expiration date/time all funds and goods will be released back to their owners. At a later time, once the consumer has committed to the purchase, the consumer releases a valid transaction authorization to the provider of thecommerce gateway 52 knowing that the merchant has proven ability to ship the goods on demand without delay. This initiates the actual settlement of funds and triggers payment to the merchant in the next settlement batch without any further interaction with the merchant. This payment method supports consumer-initiated, pre-approved purchases with expiration date/time, such as auction and gift-certificate purchases. - It will be appreciated that
FIG. 23 illustrates processing of a valid purchase transaction. If there is an error at any time during the processing, e.g., consumer is not authorized because he or she is not a registered consumer, has exceeded his or her spending limit, etc., processing will terminate after an appropriate error response has been returned to theconsumer computer 50 for display to the consumer via theWeb browser 64. - When a merchant establishes a merchant account, a contract is formed defining the relationship between the merchant and the commerce gateway provider. That contract defines the terms, such as when payments will be funded and a fee to be given to the commerce gateway provider. The commerce gateway fee can be a per transaction fee or a percentage fee based on the amount of a transaction The logic for settlement transactions for a virtual payment account is similar to the logic used for processing standard credit card settlement transactions. After the merchant ships the product, the merchant sends a settlement transaction to the commerce gateway as shown in
FIG. 24 . It will be appreciated that the logic performed by themerchant server 51 can be performed by thecommerce engine component 75 or some other component, for example, a Web browser (not shown) residing on themerchant server 51.FIG. 24 illustrates the logic implemented bymerchant server 51 when the merchant wishes to perform a settlement transaction. The logic begins in ablock 530 and proceeds to ablock 532 where a secure connection between themerchant computer 51 andcommerce gateway 52 is established using the same logic shown and described with reference to the consumer inblock 222 ofFIG. 12 . The logic then proceeds to ablock 534 where the merchant authenticator process is run. The merchant authenticator process is similar to the consumer authenticator process shown inFIG. 13 and described above. Next, in a decision block 536 a test is made to determine if the merchant is a registered participant. If not, the logic proceeds to ablock 538 where a merchant authentication error message is displayed on themerchant server display 72, for example, via a Web browser. The logic ofFIG. 24 then ends in ablock 548. - If the merchant authenticator process is successful, the logic proceeds from
decision block 536 to a block 540 where a settlement request is sent to the transaction server on thecommerce gateway 52. As shown and described inFIG. 20 , thetransaction server 84 forwards the request to the creditprocessing server adapter 86, which in turn forwards the transaction request to the appropriate credit processing sub-system. In the case of a settlement transaction request, thepayment processing sub-system 95 processes the transaction. The payment processing sub-system forwards the settlement request to thefinancial institution 59. The financial institution funds the transactions into the commerce gateway provider's account. The commerce gateway provider takes its percentage and pays the merchants their portion. - The financial institution waits for their billing cycle, e.g., monthly, and then charges the consumers for their purchases plus interest charges. The financial institution waits for the consumer payments. If the consumer does not pay, standard late payment processing, such as late notices, finance charges, etc. is performed.
- Referring to
FIG. 24 , after thetransaction server 84 has processed the settlement transaction and provided the results of the settlement transaction to the merchant'scomputer 51, the result of the settlement transaction is displayed on the merchant'sdisplay 73, for example, via the merchant server's Web browser. The logic ofFIG. 24 then ends inblock 548. -
FIG. 25 illustrates the logic implemented by the present invention when a refund transaction is initiated, for example, when a consumer disputes a charge on his or her virtual payment account. As with any payment dispute, it must be determined whether the consumer will receive all or a portion of the disputed amount. This process is external to the virtual payment system of the present invention. The determination of whether dispute has merit is determined by the merchant. If the merchant determines that the dispute has merit, the merchant notifies a customer service representative and a refund transaction is initiated. In the embodiment shown inFIG. 25 and described herein, if it is determined that an amount disputed by a consumer is subject to a refund, a customer service representative initiates the refund, or chargeback, transaction via theadministrative computer 54 shown inFIG. 2 . In one actual embodiment, the administrative computer is a “dumb terminal” by which the customer service representative enters information directly into thetransaction server 84 on thecommerce gateway 52. In another embodiment, the administrative computer may have a Web browser that allows the administrator to enter the information using Web pages available only on theLAN 44 behind the firewall, i.e., the consumer and merchant do not have access to the administrative Web pages. - Referring to
FIG. 25 , the logic begins in ablock 550 and proceeds to ablock 552 where a the refund information including account, sub-account, and amount is obtained. The refund transaction information is then sent to thetransaction server 84 by theadministrative computer 54 in ablock 554 in the form of a refund request.Transaction server 84 processing is shown and described with reference toFIG. 20 . - As also noted above, in processing the refund request, the
transaction server 84 will forward a transaction request to thecredit processing server 53 for processing by the account/billing sub-system 94 as shown inFIG. 22 . As with the settlement transaction as shown inFIG. 24 and described above, a refund applied to a consumer's virtual payment account causes the consumer's open to buy amount to increase by the amount of the payment. Still referring toFIG. 25 , after thetransaction server 84 has processed the refund transaction, the result of the transaction processing is received and displayed by theadministrative computer 54. The logic ofFIG. 25 then ends in ablock 558. Unlike the purchase transaction, the refund transaction is not initiated by the consumer via the Web browser; therefore, the consumer is notified by other means, for example by sending an e-mail message to the consumer'scomputer 50. It will also be appreciated that in yet other embodiments of the present invention, themerchant server 51 may initiate the refund request as opposed to theadministrative computer 54. - Other transactions normally associated with an account such as a standard credit card account are also applicable to the virtual payment account of the present invention.
FIGS. 26-29 illustrate some examples of Web pages used by a consumer with a virtual payment account. Processing of these transactions is similar to other transaction processing as illustrated in flow diagrams and described above and, therefore, will not be discussed in further detail herein.FIG. 26 illustrates an exemplary Web page summarizing the sub-accounts for amaster account 632.FIG. 27 illustrates a Web page containing details of a sub-account 634.FIG. 28 illustrates a transaction summary for the sub-accounts for a givenmaster account 636.FIG. 29 illustrates an exemplary Web page enumerating reward points earned by various sub-account holders for a given master account. It will be appreciated that thereward Web page 638 is not a standard feature of all standard accounts, such as a credit card account. - While the preferred embodiment of the invention has been illustrated and described, it will be appreciated that various changes can be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. For example, it will also be appreciated that there are other transactions applicable to a the virtual payment account of the present invention, e.g., account closure, the credit limit modification, overdue account notification, etc. It will be appreciated that these transactions can be initiated by various components of the system, for example, a financial institution may institute a change in a credit limit by sending a request to one of the sub-systems on the credit processing server. One of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that the requests for such transactions are processed by the virtual payment system of the present invention in a manner similar to the processing of the purchase settlement and refund transactions described in detail above.
- While illustrative embodiments have been illustrated and described, it will be appreciated that various changes can be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.
Claims (8)
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US20190102776A1 (en) * | 2008-10-04 | 2019-04-04 | Mastercard International Incorporated | Methods and systems for using physical payment cards in secure e-commerce transactions |
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US11282046B2 (en) * | 2020-03-25 | 2022-03-22 | Capital One Services, Llc | System and method for processing a virtual money order |
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US7606760B2 (en) | 2009-10-20 |
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