Patent Application
20120265685
The present invention relates generally to the use of secure data to complete a wireless transaction, and more particularly to a system and method for dynamically adjusting the contactless data emulation produced by a portable communication device based on physical world geo-location information.
Wireless transactions using RFID-based proximity cards are fairly common place. For instance, many workers use RFID keycards to gain access to their workplace and drivers use RFID passes to pay tolls at highway speeds. RFID, which stands for radio-frequency identification, uses electromagnetic waves to exchange data between a terminal and some object for the purpose of identification. More recently, companies have been trying to use RFIDs supported by cellular telephones to implement an electronic payment product (i.e. credit and/or debit card). However, basic RFID technology raises a number of security concerns that have prompted modifications of the basic technology. Still, widespread adoption of RFID as a mechanism for electronic payments has been slow.
Near Field Communication (NFC) is another technology that uses electromagnetic waves to exchange data. NFC waves are only transmitted over a short-range (on the order of a few inches) and at high-frequencies. NFC devices are already being used to make payments at point of sale devices. NFC is an open standard (see, e.g. ISO/IEC 18092) specifying modulation schemes, coding, transfer speeds and RF interface. There has been wider adoption of NFC as a communication platform because it provides better security for financial transactions and access control. Other short distance communication protocols are known and may gain acceptance for use in supporting financial transactions and access control.
Regardless of the wireless communication protocol selected there are bound to be operation errors both within the devices the protocol is implemented on (called “wireless wallets” in the present specification) as well as within communications between the wireless wallet and local host devices (e.g. point of sale terminals, keycard access control terminals), within the local host devices; within any server-side equipment that must interact with the local host devices (e.g. for confirmation or approval); and within communications between the wireless wallet, its mobile network and beyond. For instance, a consumer may have trouble completing a purchase using the “credit card” embedded in his smartphone in a big-box retail store at the point of sale because of one or more problems with (1) the NFC connection between the consumer's phone and the POS; (2) the secure data is corrupt on the consumer's smartphone; (3) the consumer's electronic wallet account has been disabled by the card issuer; (4) the POS device has outdated NFC communication software; etc.
A problem arises in that no single company is presently responsible for coordinating the troubleshooting of failed electronic wallet transactions. As such, a consumer may have a difficult time determining which—if any—of the foregoing potential problems is preventing the desired electronic wallet transaction. Thus, the consumer may stop using the electronic wallet or may not be able to complete a transaction with that particular retailer leading the consumer to try to consummate a similar transaction at a competitor.
One problem that may prevent successful completion of a transaction is due the myriad of communications protocols associated with the various different point of sale terminals available. So, for instance, the protocol necessary to successfully communicate wirelessly with an IBM point of sale terminal may be very different from the protocol necessary to communication with an NCR terminal. Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a system and method for using geo-location data (where available) to try to predetermine the likely point of sale terminal device present in the retail establishment co-located with the portable communication device.
A related problem arises in that diagnostic software that can facilitate diagnosis of the problem has not been developed for deployment and use on smartphone or similar devices.
Accordingly, the present invention seeks to provide one or more solutions to the foregoing problems and related problems as would be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art having the present specification before them. These and other objects and advantages of the present disclosure will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art having the present drawings, specifications, and claims before them. It is intended that all such additional systems, methods, features, and advantages be included within this description, be within the scope of the disclosure, and be protected by the accompanying claims.
This invention involves, in part, a system for automatically selecting a credential among a plurality of credentials on a portable communication device based on a geo-location of the portable communication device and based on a user preference, for use in an electronic wallet transaction. The system includes a geo-location device configured to detect the geo-location of the portable communication device; a location identification service unit configured to be activated by a pre-determined user input, and configured to determine a merchant where the portable communication device is most likely to be located based on said geo-location; means for storing preferences corresponding to the plurality of credentials; and means for automatically determining which of the plurality of credentials to use for the electronic wallet transaction based on the preferences.
In one embodiment, the invention relates to a system for automatically emulating a preferred electronic credential from among a plurality of electronic credentials. The system is associated with a portable communication device having a geo-location identification service configured to detect a current geo-location of the portable communication device. The system comprises an interface for obtaining predetermined user preferences for the plurality of electronic credentials wherein at least some of the preferences relate to the geo-location of the portable communication device; a processor configured to compare the current geo-location of the portable communication device with each of the predetermined user preferences and to select a preferred electronic credential from the plurality of electronic credentials; and a secure element having a proximity payment system environment (PPSE), wherein each of the plurality of credentials are stored in the PPSE, wherein the processor further reorganizes the plurality of credentials such that the preferred electronic credential is placed in the PPSE to be emulated during a series of transactions.
The interface provides the ability to prioritize the predetermined user preferences. The interface may also provide the ability to select between two or more electronic credentials from the plurality of electronic credentials when a preference conflict arises. In addition, the interface displays one or more coupons, the processor further facilitating selection of one or more of the coupons and reorganizing the plurality of credentials such that the electronic credential associated with each selected one of the one or more coupons is placed in the PPSE to be emulated during a series of transactions.
The portable communication device may further include a real-time service that indicates a current date and time, the processor further configured to compare the current date and time with each of the predetermined user preferences such that selection of the preferred electronic credential from the plurality of electronic credentials may be based in some part on the current date and time as well as the current geo-location of the portable communication device.
For a better understanding of the present disclosure, non-limiting and non-exhaustive embodiments are described in reference to the following drawings. In the drawings, like reference numerals refer to like parts through all the various figures unless otherwise specified.
The present invention now will be described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, which form a part hereof, and which show, by way of illustration, specific exemplary embodiments by which the invention may be practiced. This invention may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein; rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of the invention to those skilled in the art. Among other things, the present invention may be embodied as methods or devices. Accordingly, the present invention may take the form of an entirely hardware embodiment, an entirely software embodiment or an embodiment combining software and hardware aspects. The following detailed description is, therefore, not to be taken in a limiting sense.
The present invention provides a system and method that can be utilized with a variety of different portable communication devices, including but not limited to PDA's, cellular phones, smart phones, laptops, tablet computers, and other mobile devices that include cellular voice and data service as well as preferable access to consumer downloadable applications. One such portable communication device could be an iPhone, Motorola RAZR or DROID; however, the present invention is preferably platform and device independent. For example, the portable communication device technology platform may be Microsoft Windows Mobile, Microsoft Windows Phone 7, Palm OS, RIM Blackberry OS, Apple OS, Android OS, Symbian, Java or any other technology platform. For purposes of this disclosure, the present invention has been generally described in accordance with features and interfaces that are optimized for a smart phone utilizing a generalized platform, although one skilled in the art would understand that all such features and interfaces may also be used and adapted for any other platform and/or device.
The portable communication device includes one or more short proximity electromagnetic communication devices, such as an NFC, RFID, or Bluetooth transceiver. It is presently preferred to use an NFC baseband that is Compliant with NFC IP 1 standards (www.nfcforum.org), which provides standard functions like peer-to-peer data exchange, reader-writer mode (i.e., harvesting of information from RFID tags), and contactless card emulation (per the NFC IP 1 and ISO 14443 standards) when paired with a secure element on the portable communication device and presented in front of a “contactless payment reader” (see below at point of sale). As would be understood in the art by those having the present specification, figures, and claims before them, the NFC IP 1 standards are simply the presently preferred example, which could be exported—in whole or in part—for use in association with any other proximity communication standard. It is further preferred that the portable communication device include an NFC/RFID antenna (conformed to NFC IP 1 and ISO 14443 standards) to enable near field communications. However, as would be understood in the art NFC/RFID) communications may be accomplished albeit over even shorter ranges and potential read problems.
The portable communication device also includes a mobile network interface to establish and manage wireless communications with a mobile network operator. The mobile network interface uses one or more communication protocols and technologies including, but not limited to, global system for mobile communication (GSM), 3G, 4G, code division multiple access (CDMA), time division multiple access (TDMA), user datagram protocol (UDP), transmission control protocol/Internet protocol (TCP/IP), SMS, general packet radio service (GPRS), WAP, ultra wide band (UWB), IEEE 802.16 Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMax), SIP/RTP, or any of a variety of other wireless communication protocols to communicate with the mobile network of a mobile network operator. Accordingly, the mobile network interface may include as a transceiver, transceiving device, or network interface card (NIC). It is contemplated that the mobile network interface and short proximity electromagnetic communication device could share a transceiver or transceiving device, as would be understood in the art by those having the present specification, figures, and claims before them.
The portable communication device further includes a user interface that provides some means for the consumer to receive information as well as to input information or otherwise respond to the received information. As is presently understood (without intending to limit the present disclosure thereto) this user interface may include a microphone, an audio speaker, a haptic interface, a graphical display, and a keypad, keyboard, pointing device and/or touch screen. As would be understood in the art by those having the present specification, figures, and claims before them, the portable communication device may further include a location transceiver 400 that can determine the physical coordinates of device on the surface of the Earth typically as a function of its latitude, longitude and altitude. This location transceiver preferably uses GPS technology, so it may be referred to herein as a GPS transceiver; however, it should be understood that the location transceiver can additionally (or alternatively) employ other geo-positioning mechanisms, including, but not limited to, triangulation, assisted GPS (AGPS), E-OTD, CI, SAI, ETA, BSS or the like, to determine the physical location of the portable communication device on the surface of the Earth.
The portable communication device will also include a microprocessor and mass memory. The mass memory may include ROM, RAM as well as one or more removable memory cards. The mass memory provides storage for computer readable instructions and other data, including a basic input/output system (“BIOS”) and an operating system for controlling the operation of the portable communication device. The portable communication device will also include a device identification memory dedicated to identify the device, such as a SIM card. As is generally understood, SIM cards contain the unique serial number of the device (ESN), an internationally unique number of the mobile user (IMSI), security authentication and ciphering information, temporary information related to the local network, a list of the services the user has access to and two passwords (PIN for usual use and PUK for unlocking). As would be understood in the art by those having the present specification, figures, and claims before them, other information may be maintained in the device identification memory depending upon the type of device, its primary network type, home mobile network operator, etc.
In the present invention each portable communication device is thought to have two subsystems: (1) a “wireless subsystem” that enables communication and other data applications as has become commonplace with users of cellular telephones today, and (2) the “secure transactional subsystem” which may also be known as the “payment subsystem”. It is contemplated that this secure transactional subsystem will preferably include a Secure Element, similar (if not identical) to that described as part of the Global Platform 2.1.X, 2.2, or 2.2.X (www.globalplatform.org). The secure element has been implemented as a specialized, separate physical memory used for industry common practice of storing payment card track data used with industry common point of sale; additionally, other secure credentials that can be stored in the secure element include employment badge credentials (enterprise access controls), hotel and other card-based access systems and transit credentials.
As shown in
Standard at merchants today is an Internet Protocol connected payment system that allows for transaction processing of debit, credit, prepay, and gift products of banks and merchant service providers. By swiping a magnetic stripe enabled card at the magnetic reader of a Point of Sale Terminal 75 (see
A retailer's point of sale device 75 may be connected to a network via a wireless or wired connection. This point of sale network may include the Internet in addition to local area networks (LANs), wide area networks (WANs), direct connections, such as through a universal serial bus (USB) port, other forms of computer-readable media, or any combination thereof. On an interconnected set of LANs, including those based on differing architectures and protocols, a router acts as a link between LANs, enabling messages to be sent from one to another. In addition, communication links within LANs typically include twisted wire pair or coaxial cable, while communication links between networks may utilize analog telephone lines, full or fractional dedicated digital lines including T1, T2, T3, and T4, Integrated Services Digital Networks (ISDNs), Digital Subscriber Lines (DSLs), wireless links including satellite links, or other communications links known to those skilled in the art. Furthermore, remote computers and other related electronic devices could be remotely connected to either LANs or WANs via a modem and temporary telephone link. In essence, the point of sale network may utilize any communication method that allows information to travel between the point of sale devices and financial services providers for the purpose of validating, authorizing and ultimately capturing financial transactions at the point of sale for payment via the same financial service providers.
As also illustrated in
The server of the system management back end 300 may comprise one or more general-purpose computers that implement the procedures and functions needed to run the system back office in serial or in parallel on the same computer or across a local or wide area network distributed on a plurality of computers and may even be located “in the cloud” (preferably subject to the provision of sufficient security). The computer(s) comprising the server may be controlled by Linux, Windows®, Windows CE, Unix, or a Java® based operating system, to name a few. The system management back end server is operably associated with mass memory that stores program code and data. Data may include one or more databases, text, spreadsheet, folder, file, or the like, that may be configured to maintain and store a knowledge base, user identifiers (ESN, IMSI, PIN, telephone number, emailaM address, billing information, or the like).
The system management back end server supports a case management system to provide call traffic connectivity and distribution across the client computers in the customer care center. In a preferred approach using VoIP voice channel connectivity, the case management system is a contact/case management system distributed by Contactual, Inc. of Redwood City, Calif. The Contactual system is a standard CRM system for a VoIP-based customer care call center that also provides flexibility to handle care issues with simultaneous payments and cellular-related care concerns. As would be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art having the present specification, drawings and claims before them other case management systems may be utilized within the present invention such as Salesforce (Salesforce.com, inc. of San Francisco, Calif.) and Novo (Novo Solutions, Inc. of Virginia Beach, Va.).
Each client computer associated with the system management back end server has a network interface device, graphical user interface, and voice communication capabilities that match the voice channel(s) supported by the client care center server, such as VoIP. Each client computer can request status of both the cellular and secure transactional subsystems of a portable communication device. This status may include the contents of the soft memory and core performance of portable communication device, the NFC components: baseband, NFC antenna, secure element status and identification.
As shown in
Where the secure element 120 has multiple credentials, the desire and even need to present more than one of those credentials in a single transaction is likely to arise. For instance, a user may want to split the cost of a transaction between two credit cards, a credit card and debit card, or the like. In another example, where the electronic payment system also stores coupons or other discount offers the user may desire to use the coupons and then place the remaining balance on an electronic credit card. As would be understood by those having the present specification before them the possible permutations are endless.
The secure element 120 is commonly compliant with the EMVCo specifications. Secure elements that follow EMVCo specifications employ Proximity Payment System Environment (PPSE), where the PPSE is a directory of available credentials currently stored in the secure elements. As shown in
When the portable communication device 50 is brought near a contactless reader (as illustrated in
The function of the PPSE may be illustrated with the credentials depicted in PPSE 121 of
In the legacy mode of operation under our present example, the arrangement of the PPSE depicted in
The foregoing examples notwithstanding, in nearly all of the hundreds of millions of smart cards and wallet-enabled portable communication devices in use today, there is only one set of card data inside the secure element and, therefore, only one AID in the PPSE. In this common case, a contactless reader examines the PPSE, finds the sole AID, and then uses that single AID to communicate to the credentials from the smart card to the reader at the point of sale device. If the sole AID is unrecognized by the particular reader, then the attempted contactless transaction fails.
With a user interface and larger memory sizes, a secure element in a portable communication device could easily be used to store and manage multiple sets of credentials. For instance, these credentials may include multiple credit cards, debit cards as well as digital coupons. New credential types can be programmed into legacy readers in the same way that credit (and debit) cards have previously been programmed into the readers (and associated secure elements). However, merely programming additional credential types into the readers will not be fully useful because readers will still only read the PPSE from “top” to “bottom” until the first recognized credential is successfully read and then communications between the secure element and reader would terminate. And a second, subsequent attempted communication between portable communication device and reader would only result in the reader reading the same credential from the top of the PPSE 121a second time.
The present system and method further establishes uniquely created AIDs that are defined to instruct legacy card readers to execute advanced functions, such as multiple credential presentation and the provision of digital receipt printing capability via the secure element. By using AIDs to represent instructions instead of just the credentials that AIDs were intended to represent, the PPSE 121 would act as a simple messaging interface between the secure element 120 and a reader. Each legacy reader would be updated to recognize the newly created command AIDs in the same general manner that contactless readers are updated now (e.g. a technician locally downloads a new file to the reader using a USB memory device). Of course, after the introduction of this idea to the mark the contactless card readers will be initially designed/programmed to recognize the command AIDs that will established within the contactless payment industry based on the present invention.
So, for illustration purposes let's assume the contactless reader in
As in the prior art, the PPSE 121 still contains credentials. In the example of
This system and method is also backwards compatible with legacy readers that have not been reprogrammed with command AIDs. For instance, with reference to the illustration of
An alternative approach is illustrated in
NFC baseband subsystems found within devices 50 are fundamentally capable of transferring information from the reader to the device. Examples of this usage scenario include: sending digital receipts back from the reader to the portable communication device 50 at the end of the transaction.
As shown in
The payment libraries 110 are used by OpenWallet 100 to manage (and perform housekeeping tasks on) the secure element 120, interface with the system management back end, and perform over-the-air (OTA) provisioning via data communication transceiver (including its SMS channel), on the device 50. It is contemplated that the OTA data communications will be encrypted in some manner and an encryption key will be deployed in card service module 420. The payment subsystem 150 may be used to store credentials such as payment card, coupon, access control and ticket data (e.g. transportation, concert). Some of these payment types may be added to the payment subsystem by different applications 200 for use by those applications. In this manner, other third party applications (not shown) may be precluded from accessing the payment subsystem 150.
The secure data store 115 provides secured storage on the portable communication device 50. Various levels of security may be provided depending upon the nature of the data intended for storage in secure data store 115. For instance, secure data store 115 may simply be password-protected at the operating system level of device 50. As is known in these operating systems, the password may be a simple alphanumeric or hexadecimal code that is stored somewhere on the device 50. Alternatively, the data in secure data store 115 is preferably encrypted. More likely, however, the secure data store 115 will be set up as a virtual secure element in the manner disclosed in the co-pending patent application (owned by the assignee of the present application) entitled “System and Method for Providing A Virtual Secure Element on a Portable Communication Device” filed contemporaneously herewith and hereby incorporated by reference.
OpenWallet 100 preferably removes the complexity involved in the storage, maintenance and use of credentials such as card, coupon, ticket, access control data from one or multiple sources or issuers in association with the payment subsystem 150. OpenWallet 100 also preferably enforces access control to the data stored in the payment subsystem 150 and the functions allowed by each application. In one approach, OpenWallet 100 verifies the author/issuer of each third party application stored on the portable communication device 50. This verification may be accomplished by accessing a local authorization database of permitted (i.e., trusted) applications (see
In other words, when an application 200 or wallet user interface 410 needs to interact with the payment subsystem 150 it does so by passing a digital identifier (such as its Issuer ID or App ID), a digital token (i.e., Compile ID or Secret Token ID), the desired action, and any associated arguments needed for the action to the card services module 420. Card services module 420 verifies the digital identifier-digital token pair matches trusted application data in the secure data table (
As noted above, OpenWallet 100 verifies the trusted status of any third party application 200 before that application is allowed access to the secure element 120 (or secure data store 115 and even preferably the meta data repository 125) on the portable communication device 50 to view, select and/or change secure data stored in the payment subsystem 150. In one approach noted above, this verification may be accomplished by accessing a local authorization database of permitted or trusted applications. In a preferred approach, the local authorization database in cooperates with a remote authorization database associated with one or more servers associated with system management back end 300.
The “Issuer Registry” database is a database of approved Issuers. The Issuer ID is unique for each type of credential. In other words, if a bank has multiple types of credentials (e.g. debit cards, credit cards, affinity cards, etc.) each credential type would have its own Issuer ID (e.g. I-BofA-II). In a preferred approach, the Issuer ID as between multiple types of credentials would have some common elements, so as to indicated that the credentials are at least related (e.g. I-BofA-I). In this way applications from same issuer can share data with the other application of the same “extended” issuer. In a preferred approach, card services module 420 can be simplified by requiring even the wallet user interface 410 (which “ships with the system”) to have an Issuer ID (and as well as an Application ID and Compile token).
The “Application Registry” is a database of applications (mostly third party) that have pre-approved by an operating system provider. Like the User A/C Registry, the “Application Registry” and “Issuer Registry” database are maintained on the server side (or otherwise in the cloud) in operable association with OpenIssuance (see
As shown in
When the user seeks to qualify a third party application with the card services module 420 on a device 50, the Compile ID (a digital token) and Application ID (a digital identifier) associated with the third party application may be matched against the Compile ID and Application ID pairs stored in the Card Services Registry stored on the device 50 (see
After the application has been loaded into the Card Services Registry (and the secret token embedded in the application), the third party may launch and may prompt the user to opt-in to provide access to the issuer-specific credential needed for the validated (or trusted) application. In each subsequent launch of the third party trusted application, the embedded Secret Token and/or Application ID are compared to the data in the Card Services Registry on the device. If there is match, the application is trusted and can access the payment subsystem 150 via card service module 420. In this manner, it can be seen that applications 200 or wallet user interface 410 may also be removed from the Card Services Registry and thus would be disabled from accessing the payment subsystem and possibly the application, altogether.
Card services module 420 also preferably uses the trusted application verification step to determine the appropriate level of subsystem access allowed for each application 200. For example, in one embodiment, one application 200a may be authorized to access and display all of the data contained in the payment subsystem 150, where another third party application 200x may be only authorized to access and display a subset of the data contained in the payment subsystem 150. In yet another embodiment, an application may be permitted only to send a payment or transaction requests to OpenWallet 100, but may not itself be permitted to access any of the data contained in the payment subsystem 150. In one approach, assignment of permissions to the application can be thought of as follows:
These permission can be used to form 4 hexadecimal number in the order shown above from most to least significant figure. As shown in the example Card Services Registry of
Where the consumer's portable communication device has geo-location capability (e.g. GPS, Control Plane Location, and/or GSM Localization), OpenWallet automatically queries the device's geo-location capability (i.e. location identification service 400 in
The location-based system disclosed in association with
The location information provided by location identification service 400 may be categorized by the card service module 420 into consumer-based categories (e.g., grocery, gas station, drug store, fashion, beauty, etc.) or any other categorization scheme that may improve the user experience with the OpenWallet 100. Once the store and/or category (or other predetermined criterion associated with the location) is determined, the user's preset preferences may be used to automatically determine which credential to use for the transaction.
Now to illustrate one potential exemplary embodiment of user established preferences. Beginning with
Some credentials may have limited preferences. For example, as shown in
In some situations, depending on the preferences selected for various cards, a conflict may arise. As illustrated in
To illustrate the system, a consumer may make several stops over the course of a day or several days where financial, purchase, or service transactions take place. The system of the invention simplifies this consumer's payment for goods or services, taking public transportation, and attending ticketed events. The exemplary consumer, Sally Shopper, may have a long list of errands and appointments over the course of several days. Having previously registered her wallet 100 and added her credentials (see
Sally may also program her wallet to show preference to a credential based upon a date range (which would be compared against the date generated by the portable communication device). For example, the billing cycle on Sally Shopper's CHARGE-IT card may begin on the 20th of each month. Thus, by adding a date range beginning on the 20th of each month, Sally Shopper gains extra time in which to pay her bill. Finally, Sally may also store an event ticket credential for a night at the theater or a sporting event. These events have an inherent preference in that they occur on one specific date at a particular time at one specific venue all of which is inherently associated with the credential upon its creation.
Starting her day on October 20, Sally Shopper drives to her local Grocery Land market to purchase food and other household staples. Using the location identification service 400 (see
As illustrated in
After the grocery store, Sally may quickly drop her groceries at home so she can run to meet a friend for lunch at her favorite restaurant. Parking is difficult by the restaurant, so Sally heads to the nearest subway station and shakes her phone 50 as she approaches the turnstile. Comparing the phone's current geo-location to the locations stored in the transit map associated with the transit application 200 Sally downloaded to her phone, card service module 420 recognizes that Sally is in a Metropolitan Transit train station and places her train credential at the top of the PPSE 121 from which the train ticket credential is emulated by the secure payment subsystem 150 via the NFC Baseband and read by the turnstile—which is now in close physical proximity (i.e. on the order of a few centimeters) to the phone 50. Sally heads through the turnstile and boards her train.
After dining with her friend, the check arrives. Sally indicates to the waiter she wishes to pay by NFC transaction, so the waiter brings a hand-held NFC reader to Sally's table. Sally shakes her phone, in response to the resulting interrupt card services module 420 uses the location identification service 400 and a database of merchants (which may be stored remotely) to recognize that Sally is in a restaurant, review Sally's preprogrammed preferences (see
Sally and her friend decide to visit their favorite boutique, Hats Off, to look for a fashionable hat and matching gloves for their trip to the theater later that day. Sally finds what she is looking for and brings it to the check-out desk. Sally shakes her phone and pays for her purchases with her Hats Off credit card. After saying good-bye to her friend at the store, Sally Shopper heads back to the train station, again paying at the turnstile and heading home.
That evening Sally plans to attend an 8:00 PM performance of South Pacific at Paramount Theatre. Arriving at Paramount Theatre at 7:00 PM, Sally again shakes her phone as she approaches the theater turnstile, as before card services module 420 recognizes the location generated by location identification service 400 and places the appropriate credential at the top of the PPSE. Had Sally gotten her show date and location mixed up (i.e. the ticket was for the next night or a different theatre), the wallet would not have recognized the inherent preference so it would not bring the South Pacific ticket credential to the top of the PPSE. Sally could then manually pull up the tickets in the wallet and note the mistake by looking at the information associated with the credential.
Sally may add or delete credentials from her wallet as the credential change and/or her preferences change. For instance, if her VISA® card changes it program so that the cash back bonus offered for restaurants is cancelled or alternatively another credential that Sally has offers her a higher cash back bonus then Sally may change her preferences. For purposes of further example, let's assume Sally adds a date range preference to her MASTERCARD® of the 22nd of a first month to the 19th of the next month. This preference will likely reflect the billing cycle of the card in such a way that it provides Sally with additional time to pay for things she buys. In this manner, even if Sally dines at her favorite restaurant for a second time later that week the wallet may behave differently. Here, a preference conflict arises, as illustrated in
Thus, Sally Shopper may use the inventive system for payment in a wide variety of situations with a wide variety of preferences. Shopping at a grocery store, dining, transportation, and attending events are all available. It would be understood by one of skill in the art that these are examples, and the invention is not limited by the range presented herein.
The foregoing description and drawings merely explain and illustrate the invention and the invention is not limited thereto. While the specification is described in relation to certain implementation or embodiments, many details are set forth for the purpose of illustration. Thus, the foregoing merely illustrates the principles of the invention. For example, the invention may have other specific forms without deputing from its spirit or essential characteristic. The described arrangements are illustrative and not restrictive. To those skilled in the art, the invention is susceptible to additional implementations or embodiments and certain of these details described in this application may be varied considerably without departing from the basic principles of the invention. It will thus be appreciated that those skilled in the art will be able to devise various arrangements which, although not explicitly described or shown herein, embody the principles of the invention and, thus, within its scope and spirit.
This application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/279,206, filed on Oct. 21, 2011, which application claims priority from U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/414,847, filed on Nov. 17, 2010 and U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/414,849, filed on Nov. 17, 2010. This application is also a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/284,863, filed on Oct. 28, 2011. All of these applications are incorporated by reference in their entirety.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 61414847 | Nov 2010 | US | |
| 61414849 | Nov 2010 | US |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parent | 13279206 | Oct 2011 | US |
| Child | 13447495 | US | |
| Parent | 13284693 | Oct 2011 | US |
| Child | 13279206 | US |
