Patent Application
20100070405
Aspects of the disclosure relate to assessing the risk of default on mobile payments made using wireless devices.
The penetration of wireless communications in the U.S. and abroad has allowed companies to expand services offered via wireless devices beyond simple two-way communications. Wireless devices such as mobile phones or personal digital assistants can be used for a range of commercial transactions.
The collection of money from a consumer via a wireless device is a mobile payment. In the U.S., mobile payments are primarily effected remotely, by placing orders for wireless products with a wireless device using short code text messaging (SMS) or mobile web payments (WAP). Technology exists to allow mobile phones to be used directly for purchases at point of sale. For example, in some foreign countries, wireless phones may be used as a payment mechanism for purchases of sundries, mass transit fares and parking time. It is expected that similar services will be available in the U.S. in the near future.
Mobile payments may be charged in a variety of ways, including application to a mobile phone bill, credit card or bank account. This new form of commerce is expected to reach widespread use very quickly. The inherent risks of a consumer not being able to meet payment obligations of outstanding balances accrued from making mobile payments could prevent merchants and companies from accepting this new form of payment. To engender trust and reliance, consumers, merchants, companies and industry participants will need a form of assurance that the payments will be made whole.
It would be desirable, therefore, to provide apparatus and methods for determining the risk profile and credit worthiness of wireless device users, and for applying this information in authorizing purchases via wireless device.
It is an object of this invention to provide apparatus and methods for using wireless phone numbers as a proxy to evaluate credit worthiness of mobile payments. Apparatus and methods for creating and applying wireless number risk scores are therefore provided. The apparatus and methods may involve using a wireless phone number to gauge risk of nonpayment, based on information associated with that phone number. This information may include any aspects of customer history and account activity. The customer information may be used to generate a wireless number risk score which can be used as proxy for risk of nonpayment of mobile charges. Wireless number risk scores may be calculated by individual companies or by an industry consortium. At the industry level, companies may allow the exchange and use of information gathered collectively. Industry generated wireless number risk scores may also be made available to the public so consumers with high risk scores can improve credit worthiness.
Systems and methods according to the invention may also be applied to individuals using wireless phones to pay other individuals. For example, an interface (web or mobile-based) could be used by individuals to verify if a wireless number is creditworthy. In such an example, during a garage sale, two people may be engaged in a transaction using mobile phones to effect payment. Using an interface according to the invention, the payee could verify if the payor's mobile number has a low risk of default. Thus, the payee could sell items and accept payment from the payer via a mobile phone.
In a similar embodiment, a web-based interface could be used by individuals to verify if a phone number has a low, medium, or high probability of default or risk. Furthermore, this concept could extend to business-to-business transactions.
In one embodiment of the invention, a customer with a wireless phone number may initiate a purchase from a merchant using a wireless device, such as a mobile phone. The merchant may request authorization for the transaction from the customer's credit or debit account. The wireless number risk score may be used as an indicator of credit worthiness. A low wireless number risk score may result in payment authorization with payment credited to the merchant account. A high wireless number risk score may result in payment denial. Alternatively, a high wireless number risk score may obtain only a conditional payment approval (for example, incurring additional fees). After payment is authorized or denied, the customer may be notified of the outcome by message to the customer's wireless device.
The objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent upon consideration of the following detailed description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which like reference characters refer to like parts throughout, and in which:
Apparatus and methods for using wireless numbers as a proxy to evaluate credit worthiness of mobile payments are provided. A mobile payment involves the collection of money from a consumer via a wireless device. Sample wireless devices include mobile phones, personal digital assistants and tablet PCs. Mobile payments may be made remotely or at point of sale (POS). Mobile payments might be charged to a mobile phone account, charged to a credit card or debited from a deposit account. Mobile payments at POS are not prevalent in the U.S., but are expected to reach widespread use in the near future.
The Wireless Number Portability Act (Act) allows mobile phone users to keep the same number when changing service providers. The Act enables mobile phone users to build a history with a particular wireless phone number. Any aspects of customer history and account activity associated with the wireless number may be used to generate a risk score based on risk of nonpayment of mobile charges. Parameters considered in attaching a level of risk to a wireless number may include number portability, length of wireless service, duration of each call, location of each call, pool of numbers called, frequency of wireless bill payments, consistency of wireless bill payments, channel or method of satisfying bill payments, etc.
In one embodiment of this invention, an entity—e.g., a financial institution or other business entity—may use data associated with a wireless number to calculate a score of credit worthiness for its own internal use. A financial institution generating a wireless number risk score may consider additional factors, such as transaction history of the customer, prior delinquency history in an account, types of payments, amounts of payments, etc.
The apparatus and methods of the invention may apply wireless number risk scores to mobile payments made at POS. Mobile payments at POS might involve a customer purchasing goods or services from a merchant using a wireless device. The goods or services may be charged to a mobile phone account, charged to a credit card or debited from a deposit account.
The apparatus and methods of the invention may enable an entity to apply wireless number risk scoring to a credit purchase at POS via mobile payment. When a customer initiates a mobile payment, the merchant may contact the individual company extending credit for authorization. The authorization request may be transmitted through a web interface, a dedicated phone line or some other medium. In addition to the customer identification and credit account information, the merchant may also provide the customer's wireless phone number. In addition to a standard credit purchase review process, the authorization process may also include additional risk evaluation based on the wireless number risk score.
If the credit purchase via mobile payment is approved, the approval code may be sent to the merchant. Notification that the mobile payment has been accepted may be sent to the customer's wireless device.
If the credit purchase using mobile payment is denied, notification that the mobile payment has been denied may be sent to the customer's wireless device.
The apparatus and methods of the invention may apply wireless number risk scoring to a debit purchase at POS via mobile payment. After a consumer initiates a mobile payment, the merchant may contact the financial institution maintaining the deposit account for authorization. The authorization request may be transmitted through a company web interface, a dedicated phone line or some other medium. In addition to the consumer's personal identification number, the merchant may also provide the consumer's wireless phone number. In addition to determination of whether the account contains sufficient funds to cover the purchase, the authorization process may also include additional risk evaluation based on the wireless number risk score.
If the deposit account contains sufficient funds, the debit purchase may be authorized. The wireless number risk score may be considered as part of the authorization process.
If the deposit account contains insufficient funds, the debit purchase may be rejected. Notification of the rejection may be sent to the consumer's wireless device.
If the debit payment is rejected, a mobile risk score may be used in reaching an immediate decision to extend credit to allow completion of the transaction. If the wireless number risk score is low, the company might verify acceptance of credit payment terms with the customer, and complete the transaction.
Another embodiment of this invention may involve creation of an industry consortium, developing and sharing wireless risk scoring data among participating companies. In one embodiment, participant companies might furnish transaction and payment history for particular wireless numbers. The customer information may first be authenticated, using various customer identifiers such as name, social security number, address, etc. The authenticated information may be allocated into categories for application to specific transactional assessments. Risk scores may be continually updated with this new information. Industry participants might access updated risk scores via an application programming interface (API), a dedicated interface to the network (website), or some other medium. This embodiment relating to creating an industry consortium may also include an adaptation of the embodiment described above concerning individual use of a wireless risk score. For example, participant companies may be provided with access to a web-based system which can assess the individual wireless risk score for individuals or for companies who wish to make a transaction.
In another embodiment of this invention, a wireless number risk score may be used for mobile banking customers. Customers might apply for credit products, such as auto loans or mortgages, or deposit products, such as certificates of deposit, using a wireless device. Wireless number risk scores may be used in conjunction with, or in place of other available risk identifiers in determining whether to grant these applications.
In another embodiment of this invention, wireless number risk scores may be made available to wireless device users. Wireless device users with low wireless risk scores might use this information to improve their risk scores and increase their credit worthiness.
In the following description of the various embodiments, reference is made to the accompanying drawings, which form a part hereof, and in which is shown by way of illustration various embodiments in which the invention may be practiced. It is to be understood that other embodiments may be utilized and structural and functional modifications may be made without departing from the scope and spirit of the present invention.
As will be appreciated by one of skill in the art upon reading the following disclosure, various aspects described herein may be embodied as a method, a data processing system, or a computer program product. Accordingly, those aspects may take the form of an entirely hardware embodiment, an entirely software embodiment or an embodiment combining software and hardware aspects.
Furthermore, such aspects may take the form of a computer program product stored by one or more computer-readable storage media having computer-readable program code, or instructions, embodied in or on the storage media. Any suitable computer readable storage media may be utilized, including hard disks, CD-ROMs, optical storage devices, magnetic storage devices, and/or any combination thereof. In addition, various signals representing data or events as described herein may be transferred between a source and a destination in the form of electromagnetic waves traveling through signal-conducting media such as metal wires, optical fibers, and/or wireless transmission media (e.g., air and/or space).
Input/output (“I/O”) module 109 may include a microphone, keypad, touch screen, and/or stylus through which a user of device 101 may provide input, and may also include one or more of a speaker for providing audio output and a video display device for providing textual, audiovisual and/or graphical output. Software may be stored within memory 115 and/or storage to provide instructions to processor 103 for enabling server 101 to perform various functions. For example, memory 115 may store software used by server 101, such as an operating system 117, application programs 119, and an associated database 121. Alternatively, some or all of server 101 computer executable instructions may be embodied in hardware or firmware (not shown). As described in detail below, database 121 may provide storage for account information, account holder information, account application data and statistics, and any other suitable information.
Server 101 may operate in a networked environment supporting connections to one or more remote computers, such as terminals 141 and 151. Terminals 141 and 151 may be personal computers or servers that include many or all of the elements described above relative to server 101. The network connections depicted in
Additionally, application program 119, which may be used by server 101, may include computer executable instructions for invoking user functionality related to communication, such as email, short message service (SMS), and voice input and speech recognition applications.
Computing device 101 and/or terminals 141 or 151 may also be mobile terminals including various other components, such as a battery, speaker, and antennas (not shown).
The invention is operational with numerous other general purpose or special purpose computing system environments or configurations. Examples of well known computing systems, environments, and/or configurations that may be suitable for use with the invention include, but are not limited to, personal computers, server computers, hand-held or laptop devices, mobile phones and/or other personal digital assistants (“PDAs”), multiprocessor systems, microprocessor-based systems, set top boxes, programmable consumer electronics, network PCs, minicomputers, mainframe computers, distributed computing environments that include any of the above systems or devices, and the like.
The invention may be described in the general context of computer-executable instructions, such as program modules, being executed by a computer. Generally, program modules include routines, programs, objects, components, data structures, etc. that perform particular tasks or implement particular abstract data types. The invention may also be practiced in distributed computing environments where tasks are performed by remote processing devices that are linked through a communications network. In a distributed computing environment, program modules may be located in both local and remote computer storage media including memory storage devices.
At step 208, a high wireless number risk score results in payment denial. At step 209, notification of denial is sent to the merchant. At step 210, notification may be sent to the consumer's wireless device. Certain embodiments of the invention may preferably allow for conditional approval if an additional risk-mitigation fee is paid.
The remaining steps of process 200 illustrate ways an industry consortium might employ a similar system for wireless number risk score evaluation. At step 211, industry participants enter consumer data for authentication. Participants may be merchants, wireless service providers, payment processors, financial institutions, etc. Authenticated information may be absorbed into the scoring process of individual participants 204. At step 212, the authenticated information may also be used to update industry wireless number risk scores. At step 213, scores may be provided to industry participants 214 who use wireless number risk scores in their own operations.
Interface 266 shows that, upon input of a wireless telephone number 268, wireless risk score 270 may be obtained. Wireless risk score 270 may, in certain embodiments of the invention, provide a score on a predetermined scale. As described above, interface 266 may be web-based such that the merchant may preferably access interface 266 from a suitable internet portal.
Industry consortium 272 shows that an interface, such as interface 266, may be available only to members of a suitable internet consortium 272. In such an embodiment of the invention, access to the wireless risk score may be conditional upon subscription to the industry consortium.
The steps of process 300 are now described in more detail. At step 301, a credit purchase is initiated at the point of sale via mobile payment. At step 302, the merchant contacts the credit provider for authorization. Contact may be through a web interface or any other suitable communication network. The merchant may enter information such as the customer's wireless number, credit account information and identification for authentication. At step 303, the credit authorization request triggers a standard credit purchase review. At step 304, a wireless number risk score is generated for the customer. The wireless number risk score may be within acceptable limits (low risk) or may exceed acceptable limits (high risk). At step 305, a high wireless number risk score may result in denial of the credit payment. Notification of denial is sent to the merchant. A message may be sent to the customer's wireless device, notifying the customer that credit has been denied. At step 306, a low wireless number risk score may result in payment authorization. A credit approval code may be sent to the merchant. A message may be sent to the customer's wireless device confirming the approval.
At step 307, a debit purchase is initiated via mobile payment. At step 308, the merchant contacts the company maintaining the deposit account for authorization. Contact may be through a web interface or any other suitable communication network. The merchant may enter information such as the customer's wireless number, the amount of the purchase and the customer's personal identification number for authentication. At step 309, the company may reference any applicable promotional offers. At step 310, a wireless number risk score is generated for the customer. The wireless number risk score may be within acceptable limits (low risk) or may exceed acceptable limits (high risk). At step 311, the availability of funds in the deposit account is assessed. If funds are available, the debit purchase may be approved, at step 312. The customer's account is debited and the merchant's account is credited. A message may be sent to the customer's wireless device confirming the debit payment.
If the customer's account does not show sufficient available funds, the wireless number risk score may be used in an immediate credit evaluation. At step 313, the company may conduct a credit review based on the wireless number risk score. At step 314, a high wireless risk score may result in denial of the debit payment and any extension of credit. Notification of denial is sent to the merchant. Notification of denial may also be sent to the customer's wireless device. At step 315, a low wireless number risk score may result in credit terms being sent to the customer's wireless device for approval. If the customer approves the terms, the merchant's account is credited. A message confirming the credit payment may be sent to the customer's wireless device.
In one embodiment, the industry consortium may provide customers with access to industry calculated wireless number risk scores (at step 408, shown in
The steps of process 400 are now described in greater detail. Steps 401-405 illustrate the process from the industry perspective. At step 401, industry participants furnish transaction and payment history for a particular wireless number. At step 402, the customer information is validated and authenticated. Sample customer identifiers used for authentication might include name, social security number and address. At step 403, a parsing engine allocates transactions and customer details. Sample categories might include channel, segments, industry, merchants, time, date, and wireless carrier. At step 404, wireless number risk scores are calculated and updated. At step 405, industry participants may access updated risk scores. Access may be through an application programming interface (API), a dedicated website or any other suitable communication network.
Steps 406-410 illustrate process 400 from the consumer perspective. At step 406, a customer initiates a point of sale purchase using mobile payment. At step 407, the merchant accesses the industry wireless number scoring data. At step 408, a wireless number risk score is produced for the requested transaction. At step 409, a low risk transaction is authorized and a confirmation message is sent to the customer's wireless device. At step 410, a high risk transaction is denied and notification is sent to the customer's wireless device.
Aspects of the invention have been described in terms of illustrative embodiments thereof. A person having ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that numerous additional embodiments, modifications, and variations may exist that remain within the scope and spirit of the invention.
One of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the apparatus features described herein and illustrated in the FIGS. may be arranged in other than the recited configuration and that one or more of the features may be optional. Also, the methods described herein and illustrated in the FIGS. may be performed in other than the recited order and that one or more steps illustrated may be optional. The above-referenced embodiments may involve the use of other additional elements, steps, computer-executable instructions, or computer-readable data structures. In this regard, other embodiments are disclosed herein as well that can be partially or wholly implemented on a computer-readable medium, for example, by storing computer-executable instructions or modules or by utilizing computer-readable data structures.
Thus, systems and methods for evaluating the credit worthiness of wireless device users have been provided. Persons skilled in the art will appreciate that the present invention can be practiced by other than the described embodiments, which are presented for purposes of illustration rather than of limitation, and that the present invention is limited only by the claims that follow.
