Patent Application
20140037220
Payment cards such as credit or debit cards are ubiquitous. Such cards include a magnetic stripe on which the relevant account number is stored. To consummate a purchase transaction with credit or debit card, the card is swiped through a magnetic stripe reader which is associated with a point of sale (POS) terminal. The magnetic stripe reader reads the account number from the magnetic strip and then routes a transaction authorization request to a payment card system which responds to the POS terminal.
In pursuit of greater convenience and more rapid transactions at POS terminals, payment cards have been developed that allow the account number to be automatically read from the card by radio frequency (RF) communication between the card and a proximity reader which may be incorporated with the POS terminal. Such cards are commonly known as “proximity payment cards” or “contactless payment cards”, and contain a radio frequency identification (RFID) integrated circuit (IC, often referred to as a “chip”) embedded in the card body. A suitable antenna is also embedded in the card body and is connected to the RFID chip to allow the chip to receive and transmit data by RF communication via the antenna. In typical arrangements, the RFID chip is powered from an interrogation signal which is transmitted by the proximity reader and received by the card antenna.
MasterCard International Incorporated, the assignee hereof, has established a widely-used standard, known as “PayPass”, for interoperability of contactless payment cards and proximity readers.
The capabilities of a contactless payment card have recently been incorporated into consumer mobile devices, such as mobile telephones, laptop computers, tablet computers, personal digital assistants (PDAs) and the like, thereby turning such devices into contactless payment devices. These consumer mobile devices capable of operating as contactless payment devices typically include integrated circuitry with the same functionality as the RFID IC of a contactless payment card. For example, a mobile telephone configured to operate as a contactless payment device includes a loop antenna that is coupled to a payment-related IC for use in sending and/or receiving messages in connection with a transaction that involves contactless payment. When a consumer wishes to pay for a purchase by utilizing his or her mobile telephone, the consumer typically first selects a payment account by using a mobile wallet graphical user interface (GUI). The mobile wallet GUI may display several primary account numbers (PANs) that each relate to a payment account so that the consumer can select which payment account to use in a purchase transaction. In some cases, one or more generic images of a credit or debit card that has been stored in memory on the mobile telephone may be displayed along with the PAN, and the generic image may indicate the type of credit card or debit card (for example, MasterCard™ or Visa™) associated with each PAN. After a selection is made, the consumer is typically directed to “tap” his or her phone near an RFID reader.
When a consumer wishes to pay for an online purchase, the consumer typically must enter his or her card details into the website payment application. The consumer may have already entered information associated with several different payment accounts into a particular retail website (such as Amazon.com), and thus he or she will have to identify which one of those payment accounts that he or she wishes to use. This is typically accomplished by the consumer reading the PAN appearing on the website page for each credit and/or debit card and then comparing those numbers to the physical credit or debit card. In some cases, the website may also display one or more generic images of a credit or a debit card alongside the PANs entered by the consumer, which generic images may indicate the type of credit card or debit card (for example, MasterCard™ or Visa™) associated with the PAN.
In the examples described above, when a consumer is shopping online, generic credit and/or debit card images may be displayed to aid the consumer in selecting an account to use to consummate a purchase transaction. However, the actual “look and feel” of the cardholder's payment card is lost in such generic images, because the generic images do not include many visual characteristics that are readily recognizable to the consumer. For example, various branding indications, logos, icons, text indicators, specific color combinations and the like, which are a key means of identification for the consumer, are not included in the generic images. Thus, the inventors recognized that it would be beneficial to provide an image service that would allow third party services, for example, to download the consumer's actual payment card image so that the consumer can quickly select the payment card account that he or she wishes to use for a particular purchase transaction. In the case of online shopping, such actual payment card images may graphically enhance the website of the retailer. The inventors also recognized that the concept could be expanded to include other types of service images for use by third parties and/or consumers, such as health benefits cards, loyalty program cards, transportation passes and the like.
In general, and for the purpose of introducing concepts of embodiments of the present invention, described are methods and apparatus for an image service. In some embodiments, the image service includes a Resolution Service Computer that handles requests to store at least one service image and related data. In an implementation, the Resolution Service Computer is configured to determine a particular service image has been approved by a registered service provider, uploads the service image and related data, assigns a unique identifier to the service image and related data, and stores the service image and related data in an image repository. The Resolution Service Computer also may be configured to receive a request to download a service image and related data, to locate the requested service image and related data, to determine that the requested service image requires transcoding and/or scaling, to perform one or both such operations to generate a modified service image, and then to transmit the modified service image to an entity such as a website or consumer device.
Such operation allows, for example, an electronic device to retrieve a detailed image of the brand that relates to the service, or to otherwise retrieve a detailed image of the service. In some embodiments, the detailed image is provided to a user who may be utilizing a mobile electronic device such as a cell phone, laptop computer, tablet computer, eBook, e-Reader, personal digital assistant (PDA) and the like, or may be using another type of electronic device such as a desktop computer. For example, a user (such as a consumer and/or a cardholder) of a tablet computer may type in a payment card account number or primary account number (PAN) while initiating a purchase transaction on a retailer website. Once the payment card account number is entered, a detailed image of the user's payment card that corresponds to that payment card account number or PAN is caused to appear on the screen of the tablet computer. The detailed image may include easily identifiable characteristics such as, for example, a logo or icon identifying the type of credit or debit card associated with the PAN, one or more background images, identifying text (which may identify the issuer financial institution (FI), for example), a color scheme applicable to a particular credit or debit card issued by a particular bank, a partial or full PAN, and/or an expiry date. The data processing involved in obtaining and/or delivering and displaying the detailed image of the user's payment card on the electronic device is transparent to the user. Thus, the image service provides all of the necessary data to permit the user's electronic device to show a detailed image of a particular service provider (such as a bank-branded payment card, a retailer loyalty card, or a specific health care provider's card and the like) that is associated with the user, wherein previously only the identifying numbers of a payment account, and possibly a generic card image, were provided.
In some embodiments, the Image Repository 102 is a Card Image Repository managed by a service provider company such as MasterCard Worldwide, and may be a web service that allows Issuer FIs to upload approved card image data and related bank identification number (BIN) ranges for storage therein, and for retrieval and display of a particular detailed card image by users and/or merchants or others, for example, on electronic devices and/or on websites. Prior to uploading and/or storing one or more background card images, the image repository may require registration, for example, by an Issuer FI and proof of approval of the detailed image(s) from an entity such as a service provider (such as MasterCard International, Inc.). For example, branding personnel of a card issuer and/or a card service provider may first review a particular payment card design to ensure that it meets certain predetermined branding requirements, such as having a color scheme that does not conflict with and/or dilute a trademarked logo's color scheme that also appears as part of the card image. Such card image requirements may be included in a branding document or licensing agreement that was agreed to by the card issuer and a service provider, for example, and proof may consist of a copy of an approved BIN range document from the service provider or other type of approval indication from the service provider.
Once it has been determined that the background card images have been approved, an Issuer FI may then be permitted to upload the approved background card images and related bank identification number (BIN) ranges for storage in the Card Image Repository. The BIN includes a two-part code assigned to banks and savings associations. The first part of the BIN relates to a location and the second part identifies the bank itself. In an embodiment, each card image receives a Unique Card identifier (ID) when uploaded. In some embodiments, the Unique Card ID is added to the Card Layout Display (CLD) data already associated with a particular payment card account. The CLD data is provided along with other data during payment card personalization, which is a process that occurs at the end of the payment card manufacturing process wherein information, specific to each cardholder, is loaded onto the payment card and/or associated with the consumer's payment card account.
The CLD data can be read by a mobile device application which may use the Unique Card ID to request the detailed card image from the Card Image Repository. For example, a consumer utilizes her cell phone to initialize a purchase transaction. The cell phone transmits the Unique Card ID stored therein with a request to the Card Image Repository for a detailed card image. In this implementation, the Unique Card ID is used by the Card Image Repository to locate the proper payment card image and when found, the Card Image Repository transmits a Uniform Resources Locator (URL) to the mobile device. The URL is used by the cell phone to obtain (download) the detailed card image for display on the mobile device for the consumer. As will be explained below, additional parameters may also be included in the request for the detailed card image that pertain to the resolution and/or format and/or size of the detailed card image to ensure that the downloaded detailed card image will display correctly on the consumer's cell phone or other device.
In another example, during a payment transaction involving a consumer shopping on a merchant's website, the merchant may transmit a PAN entered by that consumer to the Card Image Repository. The PAN can be used to resolve the proper detailed card image by associating it with the correct BIN range that the Issuer FI furnished to the Card Image Repository for a particular Card Image. The data for the correct Card Image may then be transmitted from the Card Image Repository for display on the merchant's website for the consumer. In another example, a retail website may request a particular card image in the absence of a payment transaction by transmitting a request to the Card Image Repository that contains the PAN of a payment card account of a consumer who has registered with the merchant. In this case, a particular detailed card image can be returned from the Card Image Repository for that particular card's PAN. Such operation allows third party E-Commerce sites to use this image service to download their users' particular card images and then present the images to their customers on their website at a later time, such as during a purchase and/or checkout transaction. For example, a consumer shopping on a particular website typically selects items for purchase and descriptions of such items are placed in a virtual “shopping cart” for later checkout. Once the consumer indicates a willingness to pay for the items (for example, by clicking on a “Go to Virtual Shopping Cart” icon), the process includes presenting the consumer with payment options that typically include a choice between different brands of credit and/or debit cards, and in some cases, loyalty cards associated with that consumer. In accordance with aspects described herein, the website may transmit a request to the Card Image Repository to download detailed card image data that corresponds to detailed payment card images of one or more credit and/or debit cards and/or loyalty cards associated with that consumer for display during the checkout process. As mentioned above, many visual characteristics of payment cards are readily recognizable to the consumer. Thus, it is advantageous for a website to display detailed payment card images to consumers which include identifiers such as a full or partial PAN, an expiration date, a branding indication, a logo, an icon, text, specific color combinations and the like, to facilitate the identification of a payment card account for the consumer.
In some embodiments, the Card Image Repository is configured to process a request for a detailed Card Image by downloading one or more various resolutions and/or formats of a service image (such as a health card image or credit card image) for display by one or more devices. Different resolutions and/or formats may be stored by the Card Image Repository for any particular Card Image so that compatible detailed card image data may be provided for download to a variety of different devices, such as cell phones, laptop computers and tablet computers, for example. In addition, some image formats allow meta-data information to be added. In particular, Exchangeable Image File (EXIF) data could be utilized for some or all of the stored images, which permits extra meta-data to be added to certain file formats. (For example, digital cameras save JPEG files with EXIF data, which is useful to record attributes such as camera settings and scene information into the image file.) Other formats, such as Portable Network Graphics (PNG) which is a bitmapped image format employing lossless image compression, allow textual meta-data to be added in ancillary fields.
Referring again to
The Card Image Download component 210 show in
The Card Image repository of
The computer processor 302 may constitute one or more conventional processors. Processor 302 operates to execute processor-executable steps, contained in program instructions described herein, so as to control the Virtual Wallet Server computer 302 to provide desired functionality.
Communication device 304 may be used to facilitate communication with, for example, devices such as Account Issuer server computers, Service Provider server computers, Merchant server computers, and user devices. Communication device 304 may, for example, have capabilities for engaging in data communication over conventional computer-to-computer data networks, and/or may have wireless communications capability (for example, enabling the Resolution Service computer server to communicate directly with a cellular telephone operated by a consumer). Any such data communication may be in digital form and/or in analog form.
Input device 306 may comprise one or more of any type of peripheral device typically used to input data into a computer. For example, the input device 306 may include a keyboard, a computer mouse and/or a touchpad or touch screen. Output device 308 may comprise, for example, a display and/or a printer.
Storage device 310 may comprise any appropriate information storage device or computer readable medium, including combinations of magnetic storage devices (e.g., magnetic tape and hard disk drives), optical storage devices such as CDs and/or DVDs, and/or semiconductor memory devices such as Random Access Memory (RAM) devices and Read Only Memory (ROM) devices, as well as flash memory devices. Any one or more of the listed storage devices may be referred to as a “memory”, “storage” or a “storage medium”.
Thus, it should be understood that the term “computer-readable medium” as used herein refers to any non-transitory storage medium that participates in providing data (e.g., instructions) that may be read by a computer, a processor or a like device. Such a medium may take many forms, including but not limited to, non-volatile media and volatile media. Non-volatile media may include, for example, optical or magnetic disks and other persistent memory. Volatile media may include dynamic random access memory (DRAM), which typically constitutes the main memory. Common forms of computer-readable media include, for example, a floppy disk, a flexible disk, hard disk, magnetic tape, any other magnetic medium, a CD-ROM, DVD, any other optical medium, punch cards, paper tape, any other physical medium with patterns of holes, a RAM, a PROM, an EPROM, a FLASH-EEPROM, any other memory chip or cartridge, or any other medium from which a computer can read.
Various forms of computer readable media may be involved in providing sequences of instructions to a processor. For example, sequences of instruction (i) may be delivered from RAM to a processor, (ii) may be wirelessly transmitted, and/or (iii) may be formatted according to numerous formats, standards or protocols, such as Transmission Control Protocol, Internet Protocol (TCP/IP), Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, TDMA, CDMA, and 3G.
Referring again to
The programs may include a Card Image Registration application 312 that manages a process by which third parties such as service providers, issuing financial institutions, and consumers (i.e., cardholders) may register themselves and/or their mobile devices, for example, with the Card Image Resolution Service server computer 300. In some embodiments, the registration process may allow the third parties to register by accessing, for example via their computer, mobile telephone or tablet computer (not shown), a suitable web page hosted by the Card Image Resolution server computer 300. The information gathered from the third party during the registration process may include BIN numbers and/or BIN ranges, partial or full payment card account number(s) (PANs), and/or mobile telephone number(s) (or other mobile identifiers). The registration process may also require a third party to provide and/or set up verification or authentication data that identifies that particular third party. A registered third party may be permitted to upload Card Images for storage in the Card Image repository 322, query the Card Image repository for one or more Card Images, and/or download a Card Image to, for example, a consumer electronic device such as a mobile telephone.
In addition or alternatively, the registration of third parties with the Resolution Service server computer 300 may be a batch process, for example, in which issuers of payment card accounts transfer payment card account image information to the Resolution Service server computer 100.
The storage device 310 may also store an image upload application 314, a transcoding application 316, a scaling application 318 and an image download application 320 for controlling the Resolution Service server computer 300 to provide for, respectively, receiving Card Images, for transcoding and scaling Card Images, and for transmitting requested Card Images, for example, to a consumer device and/or to a website for display.
Reference numeral 322 in
The application programs of the Virtual Wallet Server computer 300, as described above, may be combined in some embodiments, as convenient, into one, two or more application programs. Moreover, the storage device 310 may store other programs or applications, such as one or more operating systems, device drivers, database management software, web hosting software, and the like.
In an embodiment, a centralized web service-based repository is provided by a service provider for the authorization, storage and retrieval of card and/or service images. Such a “Software as a Service” (SAAS)-based product allows payment card account Issuers (such as retailers, banks or credit unions), for example, to upload their approved card images and associated BIN ranges for use by approved third parties (such as merchants). The approved third parties can utilize the approved card image data to display one or more payment card images for a Cardholder (of payment cards that belong to the Cardholder) on the Cardholder's device. As described above, this is accomplished by the Resolution Service server computer which provides an upload web front-end and an API for querying the image database, and by providing transcoding and scaling services so that the Card Images can be displayed on a number of different devices. Parties such as Issuing Banks, Telephone Company Providers, Service Providers (such as health services providers) and E-Commerce sites can utilize the Resolution Service to provide Card Images for their customers that are substantially or exactly the same as the information shown on a particular customer's service card (such as a payment card), which information can be easily recognized and/or identified by the Cardholder. This is a substantial improvement over providing nothing more than the PAN or other service account number. The Resolution Service may charge a fee to third parties for uploading and/or storing detailed service card images, and/or for otherwise providing access to the database of Card Images.
The flow charts and descriptions appearing herein should not be understood to prescribe a fixed order of performing the method steps described therein. Rather the method steps may be performed in any order that is practicable.
As used herein and in the appended claims, the term “payment card account” includes a credit card account or a deposit account that the account holder may access, for example, by using a debit card. The term “payment card account number” includes a number that identifies a payment card account or a number carried by a payment card, or a number that is used to identify an account in a payment system that handles debit card and/or credit card transactions or to route a transaction in a payment system that handles debit card and/or credit card transactions. The term “payment card” includes a credit card or a debit card (including a pre-paid debit card). The term “payment card account” also includes an account to which a payment card account number is assigned. Thus, a payment card account may include an account to which payment transactions may be routed by a payment system that handles debit card and/or credit card transactions, even if the account in question is not eligible to be charged for purchase transactions or other transactions. A payment card account may also include an account from which payment transactions may be routed by a payment system that handles debit card and/or credit card transactions, even if the account in question is not customarily used, or is not eligible, to be charged for purchase transactions.
Although specific exemplary embodiments have been described herein, it should be understood that various changes, substitutions, and alterations apparent to those skilled in the art can be made to the disclosed embodiments without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the appended claims.
