CN108475374B - Payment devices with multiple modes for conducting financial transactions - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention provides payment cards, systems and methods for securely managing financial transactions using payment cards. In one embodiment, the payment card includes a first component incorporated into the plastic base, wherein the first component is configured to provide details of a first alternate account associated with the cardholder's valid credentials. The payment card also includes at least one additional component incorporated into the plastic base. Each additional component is configured to provide details of at least one additional alternate account associated with the cardholder's valid credentials. Each alternate account includes details that are different from the details of each other alternate account. And, at least one alternate account is provided to the merchant for financial transactions with the merchant.

Description

Payment devices with multiple modes of conducting financial transactions

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of US Provisional Application No. 62/282,991, filed August 17, 2015, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

technical field

The present invention relates generally to financial services, and more particularly to payment devices and systems for processing financial transactions.

Background technique

In the late 1940s, the United States introduced plastic payment cards such as credit cards as a way that banks most trusted customers to pay for meals and travel without carrying large amounts of cash. Since then, hundreds of millions of payment cards have been issued by thousands of banks.

However, the security of traditional payment card systems is threatened by several illegal practices. Identity theft, impersonation, fraud, unauthorized access to accounts, and other illegal practices threaten entire systems. Traditional payment cards and the networks used to authorize and process card transactions are vulnerable to widespread exploitation by identity thieves and other criminals. A major form of payment account fraud is the unauthorized use of payment account details when conducting electronic commerce. Another major form of payment account fraud is the manufacture of counterfeit cards and use at merchants' point-of-sale (POS) devices. These forms of fraud themselves are caused by the way the payment cards themselves are manufactured. Specifically, credit card numbers and other payment account details printed or embossed on traditional plastic cards can be easily copied or stolen. In addition, the magnetic strip of a credit card can also be counterfeited. In fact, the losses to banks, merchants, and consumers caused by payment card fraud are growing rapidly. The industry loses nearly $20 billion annually to payment card fraud.

To prevent counterfeiting and misappropriation scams, which are a major source of financial risk for banks and payment brands, major card issuance networks have adopted new technology to ensure that only legitimate cards are used at brick-and-mortar points of sale. These technologies, developed by the Payment Card Industry and Card Issuance Network Consortium (EMVCo), add tamper-resistant computer microchips with confidential storage and computing power to plastic cards. EMVCo is a payments industry conglomerate named after EuroPay, MasterCard and Visa (EuroPay, MasterCard and Visa were the original creators of the organization), but now also includes AmericanExpress, Discover, JCB and Union Pay as equity partners.

The microchip confidentially stores the information and programs needed to generate a unique cryptographic signature when a transaction is made at the merchant's POS device. The calculation process is performed securely and confidentially inside the embedded microchip for each transaction, and the result is sent to the card issuing bank along with the payment account data through the existing payment network, where the same information stored in the card is used to verify the result. authenticating. The stored information will not be disclosed by the issuer, nor can it be extracted from the microchip by any practical means. The microchip embedded card then provides a one-time code for each card transaction performed at the physical point of sale. If all merchants used this new mechanism, the risk of counterfeiting cards through account data theft would be greatly eliminated.

Another way for card issuers to prevent fraud is to provide cards with Near Field Communication (NFC) components. Cards with NFC components allow the user to swipe or present the card within about 10cm of the NFC reader.

However, microchip embedded cards (also known as EMV cards or smart cards) and NFC-enabled cards must also work in an environment where the new standard has not yet become widespread. Many merchants have not yet adopted EMV-enabled terminals that can activate microchip cards and read passwords, or NFC readers that can read wireless communication signals. To ensure payment cards are accepted globally, card issuers include a traditional magnetic stripe on the back of the card.

Additionally, to enable electronic and telephonic commerce, issuers have payment account numbers printed on cards and/or embossed on plastic. In this way, it is not only possible to use microchips or NFC components for financial transactions, but also to use a magnetic stripe in financial transactions by using a POS swipe operation or use an account number in a telephone, or Internet transaction. The method used to communicate account information from the card to the merchant terminal is called a schema. In other words, the microchip card can be used in at least four different financial transaction modes, including, for example, a magnetic stripe mode, various modes using an EMV chip, an NFC mode, and a manual card number entry mode. Microchips can also implement other models, which is why there may be more than four different models of financial transactions.

If a thief encounters one of the newer EMV or NFC payment cards, even for a brief moment in control of the card, he or she can easily steal the sensitive data of the payment account without having to worry about the embedded chip and NFC components. This can be accomplished by reading payment data from a magnetic stripe, thereby counterfeiting the card. Thieves can also steal data for fraudulent e-commerce by taking a picture of the card and capturing the card number. It should be noted that neither the magnetic stripe data nor the printed data are protected by digital security measures such as passwords. The stolen data is then used in less secure retail stores that have not yet adopted an EMV system, or thieves go online to conduct e-commerce transactions.

Therefore, there is a need for more secure payment cards. In order to prevent the above problems, and at the same time to improve consumer satisfaction and improve the management and control experience of payment cards, the present invention introduces several innovative elements for payment cards, financial networks, and authorization and processing of financial transactions.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present disclosure describes payment cards, systems, and methods for securely managing financial transactions using payment cards. Payment cards may take the form of, for example, plastic payment cards, virtual cards, portable commerce devices, one or more components embedded in mobile devices, applications running on mobile devices or computers, and other forms of payment credentials. According to one embodiment, the payment card includes a first component incorporated into the plastic base, the first component configured to provide details of a first alternate account associated with the cardholder's primary financial account.

The payment card may also include additional components incorporated into the plastic base. The additional component is configured to provide details of additional alternate accounts associated with the cardholder's valid credentials. The first alternate account includes details that are different from the details of the second alternate account, and are different from all additional alternate accounts. At least one of the first, second or additional alternate accounts is provided to the merchant for financial transactions with the merchant.

According to another embodiment, the account association device includes at least one network interface configured to communicate with the plurality of merchant terminals via the first network and with the financial institution via the secure network. The account association device also includes a transaction authentication module configured to, based on the first set of details obtained by the first merchant terminal of the first alternative account associated with the payment card owned by the cardholder, provide a transaction authentication module among the plurality of merchant terminals. The first commercial terminal authenticates the first financial transaction. The transaction verification module is further configured to authenticate additional financial transactions for additional merchant terminals of the plurality of merchant terminals based on a different set of details obtained by the additional merchant terminals for additional alternate accounts associated with the cardholder-owned payment card.

According to yet another embodiment, a system for providing security for a payment card is provided. The system includes a first merchant terminal and additional merchant terminals respectively connected to the network. The first merchant terminal is configured to obtain details of the first alternate account from a first set of information associated with a payment card owned by the cardholder. The additional merchant terminal is configured to obtain additional alternate account details from another set of information associated with the payment card. The system also includes an account linking device connected to the network. The account association device is configured to receive details of the first alternate account and the additional alternate account from the first merchant terminal and the additional merchant terminal, respectively. The account association device is also configured to associate the first alternate account and the additional alternate accounts with valid credentials belonging to the cardholder. Additionally, the account linking device manages financial transactions between the financial institution where the cardholder holds valid credentials and the first and additional merchant terminals. The first set of information is different from the other sets of information.

Various embodiments described in this disclosure may include additional systems, methods, features, and advantages that may not necessarily be expressly disclosed herein, but are The detailed description and the accompanying drawings will be apparent later. It is intended that all such systems, methods, features and advantages be included within this disclosure and protected by the appended claims.

Description of drawings

The features and components shown in the following figures are intended to emphasize the general principles of the invention and are not necessarily drawn to scale. For the sake of consistency and clarity, corresponding features and components have been assigned matching reference numerals throughout the drawings.

1 is a block diagram illustrating a payment card system according to various embodiments of the present invention;

2A and 2B are views showing a front view and a rear view, respectively, of a first payment card according to various embodiments of the present invention;

3A and 3B are views showing a front view and a rear view, respectively, of a second payment card according to various embodiments of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing the account association device shown in FIG. 1 according to various embodiments of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating the user account module shown in FIG. 4 in accordance with various embodiments of the present invention.

Detailed ways

The present invention relates to payment devices, hereinafter referred to as payment cards, such as plastic payment cards, virtual cards, wearable commerce devices, components embedded in mobile devices, applications running on mobile devices or computers, and other payment credentials. The present invention also relates to a system and method for conducting financial transactions using a payment device. The present invention may include commercially viable computing services, mobile applications, and websites, and may be implemented in conjunction with financial institutions using the payment cards or other payment devices described herein. The present invention introduces several innovative elements that can be used with existing card and valid credential issuers to prevent various forms of fraud. As used herein, the term "valid credential" refers to a valid funds dispatch tool, which may be, but is not limited to, a credit card, charge card, direct deposit account, savings account, checking account, loyalty card, gift card, or other card or device .

The present invention includes a multi-modal payment device that can be used in different modes for different types of financial transactions. For example, the payment cards described herein may include multiple modes for completing transactions. Some modes may include: those involving microchips embedded in cards, those involving Near Field Communication (NFC) components, those involving magnetic stripes, those involving entering card numbers and Card Security Verification Values (CVVs) in online transactions those modes, and/or other modes. The present invention includes a new fraud reduction feature, a mobile phone application, and a corresponding website for controlling the new fraud reduction feature. In addition, computing services can be used in authorization and processing networks that serve online merchants and retail merchants.

Current payment card issuance practices include the cardholder's unique Primary Account Number (PAN) details, which directly correspond to the cardholder's actual valid credentials, in all the different modes of the payment card (ie, including magnetic stripe, EMV chip, NFC, etc.). However, by using an alternate account number or token in place of the primary account number (PAN), as described in this invention, account linking devices can be interposed between the merchant and the card issuer to increase transaction security, or as part of payment processing. In part, the account associated device may be invoked by the card issuer. The payment device system described herein securely replaces cardholder PAN details in the network prior to transaction authorization and processing. This prevents the cardholder PAN details from being disclosed to the merchant.

The present invention uses multiple sets of distinct, anonymous and unpredictable alternate account details for each payment device. In an example using an actual payment card, one set of surrogate account details could be associated with one or more modes of the EMV chip, another set of surrogate account details could be associated with another mode of the EMV chip, yet another set of surrogate account details Can be associated with the NFC component, yet another set of alternate account details for the magnetic stripe, yet another set of alternate account details for use in e-commerce, and yet another set for manual entry. Using multiple sets of different alternate account details prevents cross-modal payment fraud.

The current practice is that the PAN contained in the EMV chip is the same as the PAN contained in the magnetic strip and printed on the card. In this way, financial transactions are acceptable in the presence of any of the multiple modes, which provides for cross-modal fraud. For example, a thief might intercept EMV card details and create a fake magnetic stripe card. As another example, a thief might use a card data reader to steal both EMV and magnetic stripe account details, and then conduct an unauthorized e-commerce transaction. However, the present invention is not limited to using the same PAN for all modes. Instead, the present invention employs multiple sets of distinct alternate account details corresponding to multiple valid credentials, where each alternate account may be associated with a different schema. In this way, cross-modal payment fraud is prevented.

It should be noted that the payment devices described herein may be implemented as credit cards, debit cards, virtual cards, wearable devices, Internet of Things (IoT) devices, components and/or applications embedded in mobile devices, and/or other financial documents. In other embodiments, the payment devices described herein may be applicable to non-payment devices used in payment environments other than commercial environments. For example, non-payment devices (eg, loyalty cards, mobile devices, and other non-financial credentials) may be suitable for other functions such as being used as proxy credentials in lieu of electronic authentication identification (eg, for health insurance purposes, for driver's license purposes) etc.) to gain access to security points, provide photographic identification to cardholders, and for other purposes. Further, valid credentials associated with alternate account details may be payment credentials and/or non-payment credentials, such as credit credentials, medical insurance credentials, and other financial or non-financial credentials.

The block diagram of FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of a payment card system 10 in which a financial institution 28 issues payment cards, such as credit or debit cards, for customers. In other embodiments, the customer may use other types of proxy credentials other than payment cards, such as mobile devices. According to the embodiment of FIG. 1, payment card system 10 includes a public network 12, one or more user devices 14, one or more merchant terminals 16, one or more wireless communication antennas 18, one or more mobile devices 20, and Account association device 24 .

The term "merchant terminal" is used to describe a physical terminal, website, or other device for providing functionality by a merchant that initiates payment. Merchant terminals can be embedded in POS devices and can be "virtual" as in e-commerce website processing. Additionally, the merchant terminal may be a backend device that does not involve cards, customers, merchants, or merchandise, such as when a recurring payment is initiated due to a service. "Merchant terminal" may represent POS devices, merchant online systems, and other mechanisms owned/controlled by the merchant for making various modes of purchase. The merchant terminal may include any merchant system used in different payment modes using one or more technologies (eg, EMV chip, magnetic strip, NFC, e-commerce, etc.).

Network 12 may include a wide area network, the Internet, a private network, and/or other publicly accessible networks. Additionally, network 12 may include local area networks associated with different businesses. The network 12 may also be in communication with one or more cellular networks connected to the antenna 18 .

User equipment 14, merchant terminal 16, and antenna 18 may be connected to network 12 through one or more wired or wireless connections to enable electronic communication between the various components. The wireless communication antenna 18 may include one or more cellular towers, orbiting satellites, or other wireless communication hubs for communicating with the mobile device 20 .

Account association device 24 may be a server, a web server, software running on a server, a hardware device, or any intermediate computing device or device suitable for providing various transaction services. The account linking device 24 is also connected to a secure network 26, which is also connected to one or more financial institutions 28 and one or more databases 30 through wired or wireless connections. The secure network 26 may be a private network, a local area network, a virtual private network (VPN), or a highly encrypted public network. Account linking device 24 may be configured to store information in database 30 for directing one or more alternate accounts to a real account owned by a cardholder or customer of financial institution 28 .

In a purchase operation, a customer who has been issued a payment card can use the payment card to pay for goods or services. The payment card may be presented to the merchant at one of the merchant terminals 16 . It should be noted that multiple merchant terminals 16 may be associated with the same merchant to obtain account information through different modes. In fact, multiple merchant terminals 16 may be associated with a single device used by the merchant to obtain information on a single POS device. Correspondingly, the POS device can obtain information from the payment card by using a first mode in which a chip is embedded in the card, or by a further mode involving the use of an NFC component or a magnetic strip on the card. In other transactions, such as online or telephone transactions, the card number printed and/or embossed on the card may be entered electronically or by a merchant order taking representative.

Conversely, payment card system 10 may be configured as a system for performing non-payment activities, according to other embodiments. Instead of performing the various functions associated with financial accounts as disclosed herein, the non-payment system may also process other types of credentials for business entities that are not financial institutions.

Account association device 24 uses database 30 to associate any alternate account data values with the cardholder's valid credential details. Any alternate account data values and valid credential details may be provided by the cardholder when registering for services provided by account linking device 24 . In one embodiment, the cardholder may use a mobile application on one of the mobile devices 20 or use a web service provided by the user device 14 (which may be a conventional computer or web browser) through the account association device 24 at any time Change the valid credential details linked to the alternate account. Account association device 24 associates multiple valid credentials with multiple alternate accounts. Valid credentials can be financial or non-financial credentials. In one embodiment, account association device 24 associates valid credentials from card issuing financial institution 28 with a plurality of alternate accounts. In one embodiment, account association device 24 associates valid credentials from card-issuing financial institution 28 and other financial or non-financial institutions with a plurality of alternate accounts.

The account linking device 24 is arranged in the payment card system 10 such that the account linking device 24 receives a message presented by the merchant via one of the merchant terminals 16 requiring authorization to one of a plurality of alternative accounts representing each card All Transactions. The account association facility 24 associates the plurality of alternate accounts with one or more customer valid credentials using a customizable rules engine that verifies one or more of the current transaction data, including but not limited to the current transaction data Facts are sensitive. Current transaction data may include, for example, but not limited to, merchant category code, merchant ID, transaction volume, alternate account number, service code, card security code, and the like.

The account linking device 24 may also access data through the database 30 including, but not limited to, prior transactions presented for a particular alternate account, prior transactions presented for another alternate account associated with the same cardholder customer, prior transactions presented for the same merchant Or the geographic location of the cardholder's primary mobile phone for prior transactions presented at the same merchant location, when the transaction was presented. The geographic location may be determined by, for example, Global Positioning System (GPS), short-range radio signals such as Wi-Fi ^™ , Bluetooth ^™ , Bluetooth Low Energy Beacons, Zigbee ^™ , Z-wave ^™ , or combinations thereof, and other locations Inductive factors to determine. Alternative accounts that can be associated with valid credentials have no balance or established credit themselves, and cannot be used to settle any transactions.

Payment card system 10 may be used to provide security for the use of payment cards. The payment card system 10 may include a first merchant terminal 16 connected to the public network 12, wherein the first merchant terminal 16 is configured to obtain details of the first alternate account from a first set of information associated with a payment card owned by the cardholder. The payment card system 10 may include a second merchant terminal 16 connected to the public network 12, wherein the second merchant terminal 16 is configured to obtain details of a second alternate account from a second set of information associated with the payment card. In this embodiment, the payment card system 10 also includes an account linking device 24 connected to a public network. The account association device 24 is configured to receive details of the first and second alternate accounts from the first and second merchant terminals 16, respectively. The account association device 24 is further configured to associate the first and second alternate accounts with valid credentials belonging to the cardholder. The account linking device 24 also manages financial transactions between the financial institution 28 from which the cardholder obtains valid credentials and the first and second merchant terminals 16 . Furthermore, it should be noted that the first set of information is preferably different from the second set of information.

The payment card system 10 may also include a third merchant terminal 16 connected to the public network 12, wherein the third merchant terminal 16 may be configured to retrieve information from a third, and preferably a different, third set of information associated with the payment card information to obtain details of the third alternate account. In some embodiments, a first set of information is obtained from a microchip on the payment card, a second set of information is obtained from an NFC component embedded in the payment card, a third set of information is obtained from a magnetic stripe on the payment card, and a fourth set of information is obtained Obtained from the card number printed and/or embossed on the payment card. Additional sets of information obtained from other different modalities now known or later developed may also be obtained. The first set of information, the second set of information, the third set of information, the fourth set of information, and other sets of information may be generated by the financial institution. Some of these group information may be entered manually.

Alternative embodiments include a payment card system 10 in which the payment card does not have a printed and/or embossed account number. Likewise, the payment card may have no magnetic strip, or one of the other modes. In this case, the cardholder can use only the magnetic stripe and/or NFC component when using the payment card at the merchant terminal, or the pattern reserved on the card.

A different set of account details can also be communicated to the cardholder for online or telephone transactions. The different set of account details may be sent to the cardholder via a computer (eg, user device 14 ) and/or via a mobile device 20 by post, email, or text message.

In some embodiments, the mobile device 20 associated with the cardholder may be incorporated into the system 10 . One of the merchant terminals 16 may be an online merchant device configured to conduct online transactions, and the mobile device 20 may be configured to store and retrieve a dynamic verification value (d-CVV) generated from the account linking device 24 or to calculate a dynamic verification value, the dynamic verification value. Verification values are sent or manually entered into the online merchant device. In some cases, one or more merchant terminals 16 may be embedded in a point-of-sale (POS) device.

The user device 14 associated with the cardholder is configured to enable the cardholder to manage alternate accounts and valid credentials through the account association device 24 . Account association device 24 is configured to enable cardholders to enter registration information, monitor alternate account activity, enable or disable one or more modes of transactions with payment cards, report loss of payment cards in the event of loss or theft, and provide Information about various valid credentials. For example, account association device 24 may provide a website that includes one or more web pages that enable a cardholder to navigate to the website using user device 14 .

2A and 2B illustrate a first payment card 36 according to various embodiments of the present invention. FIG. 2A shows the front side 38 of the payment card 36 and FIG. 2B shows the back side 40 of the payment card 36 . Payment card 36 may include financial institution 28 name 42 , microchip 44 , card number 46 , customer name 48 , and expiration date 50 located on front face 38 of payment card 36 . In some embodiments, the card number 46 may be embossed on the payment card 36 . Additionally, the back of the payment card 36 may include a magnetic stripe 52 , a signature box 54 and a card verification value (CVV) 56 . Payment card 36 may further include NFC components that may be embedded under the surface of payment card 36 for enabling contactless transactions.

In one embodiment, payment card 36 may be a plastic EMV microchip card issued by the card issuing bank according to the issuance rules established for one of several global branded payment card networks. The payment card 36 is pre-configured and personalized so that it can be used with any EMV enabled merchant POS.

However, the account details contained in the microchip 44 are not the account details of the primary card holder, but are arbitrary values generated by the card issuer. The account details herein may be referred to as "alternative account details". Alternate account details are used as a substitute for valid credentials but are not used to identify any particular customer. Instead, alternate account details relate to alternate accounts generated by the card issuing bank but not associated with any particular valid credential.

In the embodiment of Figure 2, the microchip 44 and magnetic strip 52 contain different payment account numbers, expiration dates, and other token account details for two different alternate accounts. Simply put, the microchip 44 and the magnetic strip 52 appear to represent completely different payment accounts. Transactions made at an EMV-enabled merchant with the microchip 44 will contain different account details than transactions made at the merchant using the magnetic stripe 52 on the same card 36 . Likewise, NFC transactions can use payment account details that are different from enabling EMV mode and magnetic stripe mode.

In one embodiment, the financial institution 28 provides customers with alternative account details for electronic commerce or telephone commerce transactions such that the details are different from the alternative account details for the microchip 44 or the magnetic strip 52 . It should be understood that facsimile, electronic mail, and other forms of electronic and telephone communication may also be used. It should also be understood that for transactions made by mail, alternative account details may be recorded on the mail order. The e-commerce alternative account details may not be printed or embossed on the payment card 36, but provided to the customer separately, or may be printed or embossed on the payment card, depending on the embodiment.

3A and 3B illustrate a second type of payment card 60 in accordance with various embodiments of the present invention. FIG. 3A shows the front side 62 of the payment card 60 and FIG. 3B shows the back side 64 of the payment card 60 . Payment card 60 may include financial institution name 66 and microchip 68 on the front of payment card 60 . It should be noted that payment card 60 does not have the card number and customer name that would normally appear on conventional payment cards. The back 64 of the payment card 60 may be blank or may simply include the name and address of the financial institution. The back 64 thus does not have the traditional magnetic stripe and CVV codes. Payment card 60 does not have a pre-printed card number, embossed account data, expiration date data, cardholder name, or other account data. By making the card anonymous and not including a human-readable account number, routine theft of account data from the front and back of the card is prevented.

Currently, Visa ^TM and MasterCard ^TM include rules for credit and debit cards that require the cardholder's name and account number to be displayed on the card. Therefore, the embodiment of Figure 3 does not comply with these current rules. However, the payment card 60 described in the present invention can be carried openly without risk of loss or theft because the cardholder name and account number cannot be obtained by visual inspection. For online, mail order, telephone and other similar transactions, individual cards or electronic documents can be securely stored in the cardholder's home.

In some embodiments, the payment cards 36, 60 may be fabricated from a plastic substrate. A first component (eg, microchip 44 ) may be incorporated inside the plastic substrate of the card shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 . The first component may be configured to provide details of the first alternate account associated with the cardholder's valid credentials. The payment card 36 of FIG. 2 may also include additional components incorporated into the plastic substrate. These additional components are configured to provide details of additional alternate accounts associated with the cardholder's valid credentials. The first alternate account includes details that are different from those of the second alternate account and are different from all additional alternate accounts. At least one of the first alternate account, the second alternate account, or the additional alternate account is provided (eg, using the merchant terminal 16 ) to the merchant for conducting financial transactions with the merchant.

The merchant is configured to communicate details of at least one alternate account to account association device 24 via network 12 . The account association device 24 is configured to associate at least one of the alternate accounts with one of the cardholder's valid credentials, wherein the account association device 24 is further configured to manage the financial institution 28 associated with the cardholder's primary financial account and with the merchant Financial transactions between associated merchant terminals 16 .

According to some embodiments, the payment card 36 of FIG. 2 may further include additional components (eg, card number 46 ) incorporated into the plastic substrate. The card number can be printed and/or embossed on the plastic substrate. In alternative embodiments, the payment card (eg, payment card 60) may be devoid of at least one of a printed or embossed card number, magnetic stripe, and/or other patterns.

The first alternate account, the second alternate account, and the additional alternate account may be read from the first component, the second component, and the additional component by a point-of-sale (POS) device (eg, the merchant terminal 16 ). To conduct financial transactions, some embodiments may include the use of the mobile device 20 associated with the cardholder.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of the account association device 24 shown in FIG. 1 . In the embodiment of FIG. 4 , the account association device 24 includes a security module 74 , one or more web pages 76 , a user account module 78 , one or more web interfaces 80 , and a transaction authentication module 82 . The one or more network interfaces 80 are configured to enable communications over the first public network 12 and also enable communications over the secure network 26 . The user account module 78 allows a user or customer to perform a number of different actions regarding financial accounts and how payment cards 36, 60 are used. The user account module 78 is described in greater detail below with reference to FIG. 5 .

The security module 74 may include a random number generator for generating a temporary dynamic card verification value (d-CVV). The d-CVV can be sent to the mobile device. Additionally, the security module 74 may include an encryption engine for encrypting data transmitted via the public network 12 . The account linking device 24 may be configured as a web server that allows one or more users to access information from the web page 76 and allows the establishment of a secure connection to enable the transfer of sensitive information such as customer information, card numbers, and the like. The transaction authentication module 82 is configured to use the payment cards 36, 60 to authenticate financial transactions.

In one embodiment, the token account details are encrypted using a key, which may be provided by the security module 74 . In one embodiment, the key is derived from a client-created password. In another embodiment, the key may instead depend on other data including, but not limited to, the identity of the mobile device 20, the cardholder's identity number known to the security module 74 of the account association device 24, the cardholder's identification number for the computer The country in which the service is registered, a passkey controlled by the cardholder's biometric authentication (e.g. fingerprint, iris scan, facial or voice recognition), or a biorhythm pattern that matches one or more body rhythms, said biorhythm pattern These include, but are not limited to, pulse rate, epidermal conductivity, iris size, blink rate, encephalography, electrocardiography, and other factors that, individually or in combination, are considered biomarkers for an individual.

Ordinary plastic cards may have only a three- or four-digit CVV printed on the front or back of the card. E-commerce sites now routinely ask for this value to ensure that the customer is in possession of the card. But because the CVV is a short number printed on the card, it can easily be stolen along with the card account data. Therefore, using a dynamic CVV (d-CVV) that can be generated by the security module 74 for only one transaction at the time of the transaction prevents this form of theft. In some embodiments, instead of using the d-CVV generated for only one transaction, the d-CVV can be applied to multiple transactions associated with a particular merchant or can be used multiple times according to other criteria, such as days range, Certain days of the week, the merchant's area code, the type of purchase, and more. According to some embodiments, a mobile application running on the mobile device 20 associated with the cardholder may be configured to obtain the d-CVV on demand. Alternatively, a website provided by the account association device 24 may be used when the mobile device 20 is unavailable. Therefore, in this case, the account linking device can generate a d-CVV.

In addition to use during financial transactions, the system 10 may alternatively be used for non-payment purposes. For example, system 10 may be used to replace some form of identifier with a token or alternative identifier. Such identifiers may include Social Security numbers (in the United States), public health identification numbers, loyalty programs, and other forms of account numbers that use real numbers that may be at risk of compromise, identity theft, or other fraud.

Account linking facility 24 may also be used to provide restricted transactional access to protected record sets such as medical record requests, laboratory results, credit checks, licenses to practice, business licenses, and the use of government or corporate issued identification numbers other forms of relying party investigations.

Payment card system 10 may also be used for some non-payment transactions, including driver's licenses, border control documents, building and resource access cards, and gift cards. In this embodiment, the payment card 30, 60 uses one or more modes for non-payment purposes while also using one or more modes for payment transactions through separate alternate accounts for the different modes .

In some embodiments, account association device 24 may include at least one network interface 80 configured to communicate with a plurality of merchant terminals over first public network 12 and with financial institutions 28 over secure network 26 . For example, the financial institution 28 may be a bank that issues payment cards 36, 60 for cardholders. The account association device 24 may also include a transaction authentication module 82 configured to: based on the first merchant terminal of the first alternate account associated with the payment card 36, 60 held by the cardholder. A set of details to authenticate a first financial transaction of a first merchant terminal of the plurality of merchant terminals 16 . The transaction authentication module 82 may be further configured to: based on the different second set of details obtained by the second merchant terminal of the second alternate account associated with the payment card 36, 60 held by the cardholder, for the plurality of merchant terminals The second financial transaction of the second merchant terminal in 16 is authenticated.

The transaction authentication module 82 may be further configured to determine whether the alternate account corresponds to the cardholder's valid credentials. The transaction authentication module 82 may also be further configured to determine whether the received alternate account details correspond to expected alternate account details for the payment card mode used. The transaction authentication module 82 is further configured to manage financial transactions between the financial institution 28 and the first and second merchant terminals 16 . The transaction authentication module 82 is further configured to: based on the additional group details obtained by the additional merchant terminals of the additional alternate accounts associated with the primary accounts of the payment cards 36, 60 held by the cardholders, for the plurality of merchant terminals 16. The additional financial transaction of the additional merchant terminal is authenticated. The first set of details may be obtained from the microchip 44 on the payment card 36, 60, the second set of details may be obtained from the magnetic strip 52 on the payment card 36, and the third set of details may be obtained from printing and/or embossing on the payment card 36 The card number 46 is obtained.

Network interface 80 may be further configured to communicate over network 12 with a remote device (eg, user device 14 or mobile device 20 ) associated with the cardholder. The network interface 80 may be further configured to receive instructions from the remote devices 14, 20 to enable the cardholder to manage a master account associated with the payment card 36, 60, wherein managing the master account includes at least one of: entering registration information 86, monitoring 94 Activity of the primary account, enabling and disabling 90 one or more modes of transactions with the payment card, reporting 92 a lost or stolen payment card, and providing 88 information about the first and second alternate accounts.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of the user account module 78 shown in FIG. 4 . In this embodiment, the user account module 78 includes a registration module 86 , a pre-configuration module 88 , an enabling module 90 , a reporting module 92 , and a monitoring module 94 . The user may access the user account module 78 using a mobile application running on the cardholder's mobile device or by accessing a website provided by the account association device 24 using the cardholder's user device 14 .

The user account module 78 enables the cardholder to establish and manage those rules enforced by the account association device 24 on behalf of the cardholder. Such rules may be sensitive to one or more facts known to the cardholder including, but not limited to, the payment value, merchant ID, local time and date encoded in the transaction message, the merchant's registered location at the time of the transaction and the distance from the cardholder's location The geographic distance of the customer's mobile device, the local currency of the transaction, the country in which the transaction occurred, the country in which the merchant is located, whether the transaction appears as a magnetic stripe transaction, EMV transaction or e-commerce, telephone or mail order transaction, and the cardholder authentication methods such as, but not limited to, one or more of the following: entering a personal identification number (PIN) code into a merchant POS terminal, signing a receipt, entering a password into a mobile device, and fingerprint or other biometric identification methods.

Registration module 86 may be configured to enable cardholders to register additional alternate accounts and additional valid credentials. The enabling module 90 may be used to enable the cardholder to enable or disable certain modes or kinds of transactions prior to authentication, or to enable or disable certain transactions themselves, according to various uses foreseen by the cardholder based on various criteria. The enabling module 90 may be used to enable the cardholder to specify from which valid credential the payment fee should be deducted under various possible circumstances and criteria. The reporting module 92 enables the user to report when the payment card 36, 60 is lost or stolen. One embodiment of the reporting module 92 enables the account association device 24 to manually or automatically report relevant information to the user or financial institution 28, including reporting potential fraudulent activity across alternate account details and/or payment cards. The monitoring module 94 allows the user to view previous transactions to monitor all card activity.

The pre-configuration module 88 allows the user to individually distinguish between different sets of alternate account details. Traditional card issuance systems assume that certain data elements are shared between microchips, magnetic stripes, and printed/embossed card numbers. However, in contrast to traditional card issuance systems, the pre-configuration module 88 allows each of these and other elements to be pre-configured using separate data elements. The pre-configuration module 88 is configured to identify, respectively, these different sets of alternate account details, which are stored in a common pre-configuration data file transmitted during the card's pre-configuration step.

If the cardholder's payment card 36, 60 is lost or stolen, the cardholder may experience unauthorized use of their payment card. However, while in some countries the NFC feature can be used by thieves to buy something below a certain cost (eg $100), typically thieves cannot use the EMV feature without the cardholder PIN, where the cardholder The PIN code may be entered during the pre-configuration process using the pre-configuration module 88 . In addition, since the account details for this individual transaction model are different, the stolen card cannot be used for electronic or telephone commerce.

The pre-configuration module 88 may further include receiving cardholder identification information that is not printed on the payment cards 36 , 60 . According to some embodiments, the pre-configuration module 88 may establish cardholder usage rules by requiring the cardholder's mobile device 20 and the transaction using the payment card 36, 60 to coexist. Additionally, the mobile application of the mobile device 20 can be used to immediately block transactions from the free reporting module 92 reporting stolen cards that have been stolen. The user account module 78 may configure its rules to block magnetic stripe transactions unless the cardholder unlocks these magnetic stripe transactions each time they use the mobile application on the mobile device 20 . The latter method effectively prevents the use of counterfeit magnetic stripe cards. The user account module 78 may also configure its rules to block transactions from any and all different modes, or to block transactions that fall within certain criteria, unless the cardholder unlocks these transactions each time.

In one embodiment, the mobile application is available on the cardholder's primary mobile device 20. The mobile application may be used by the cardholder to register an alternate account or valid credential in the user association device 24, controlling the pre-configuration or association between the valid credential and one or more alternate account details pre-configured with the payment card. The mobile application also enables users to enable or disable authorization of transactions that occur through any of the alternative accounts pre-configured for plastic payment cards, report payment cards as lost or stolen, and report payment cards as targeted for sensitive or high-value or high-value cards. Additional authentication factors for risky transactions.

Mobile device 20 may also store in memory alternate account details that may be associated with "card presented" transactions and "card not presented" transactions. These alternate account details may be stored in memory and invoked by the customer by entering a password and/or another authentication factor into the mobile device 20 by the customer. As a means of interacting with the e-commerce website, the mobile application securely holds the e-commerce surrogate account details and displays them to the user based on appropriate authentication through passwords, biometrics and/or other factors. In another embodiment, alternate account details are transmitted by the account association device 24 and received by the mobile device 20 and then invoked by the customer by entering a password and/or another authentication factor into the mobile device 20 by the customer.

The implementations described herein are representative of various possible implementations and examples, but are not intended to limit the invention to certain specific implementations. Rather, various modifications can be made to these embodiments as understood by those skilled in the art. Any such modifications are intended to be within the spirit and scope of the present invention.

Claims (25)

1. A payment card, comprising:

a first component incorporated into the plastic base, the first component configured to provide details of a first alternate account associated with a cardholder account; and

at least one additional component incorporated into the plastic substrate, each of the at least one additional component configured to provide details of at least one additional alternate account associated with the cardholder's account;

wherein the payment card stores alternative account identifiers for a plurality of alternative accounts of the cardholder account, each alternative account including details that are different from the details of each other alternative account, each alternative account being associated with a particular one of the components; and is

Wherein the payment card is configured to provide a different alternative account identifier for the cardholder account for each different mode of providing account details from the payment card to a merchant in a financial transaction with the merchant.

2. The payment card of claim 1, wherein the merchant is configured to transmit details of at least one of the alternative accounts to an account association device via a network, wherein the account association device is configured to associate at least one of the alternative accounts with the cardholder account, and wherein the account association device is further configured to manage financial transactions between a financial institution associated with the cardholder account and a merchant terminal associated with the merchant.

3. The payment card of claim 1, wherein the first component is one of a microchip, a Near Field Communication (NFC) device, and a magnetic strip incorporated into or on the plastic substrate, and the at least one additional component is another of the microchip, NFC device, and magnetic strip.

4. The payment card as claimed in claim 3, wherein one of the at least one additional component comprises a card number printed or embossed on the plastic substrate.

5. The payment card as recited in claim 1, wherein the payment card is free of at least one of a printed or embossed account number and a magnetic stripe.

6. The payment card of claim 1, wherein a mobile device associated with the cardholder is used to complete a financial transaction.

7. The payment card as claimed in claim 1, wherein details of the alternative account are read from the component by a merchant terminal.

8. An account association device, comprising:

at least one network interface configured to communicate with a plurality of merchant terminals via a network and to communicate with a financial institution via the network; and

a transaction authentication module configured to authenticate a financial transaction for a merchant terminal of the plurality of merchant terminals based on a set of details of an alternate account associated with a payment card owned by a cardholder obtained by the merchant terminal and a pattern in which the set of details is obtained by the merchant terminal, the transaction authentication module further configured to determine whether the alternate account corresponds to an expected account identifier for a usage pattern of the transaction, and if the alternate account does not correspond to the usage pattern, reject or suspend the transaction;

wherein the transaction authentication module is further configured to authenticate additional financial transactions for additional merchant terminals of the plurality of merchant terminals based on a further set of different details of additional alternative accounts associated with the payment card owned by the cardholder obtained by the additional merchant terminals and a pattern in which the additional merchant terminals obtain the different details of the additional alternative accounts,

wherein the alternate account and the additional alternate account both correspond to the same cardholder account.

9. The account association device of claim 8, wherein the financial institution dispenses the payment card to the cardholder, and wherein the transaction authentication module is further configured to manage financial transactions between the financial institution and the first and additional merchant terminals and process payments against an account specified in the user account module.

10. The account association device of claim 8, wherein the transaction authentication module is further configured to authenticate additional financial transactions for additional ones of the plurality of merchant terminals based on another, different set of details of additional alternate accounts associated with the payment card owned by the cardholder obtained by the additional merchant terminals.

11. The account association device of claim 10, wherein the first, second and third sets of details are obtained from a microchip, Near Field Communication (NFC) device and magnetic strip on the payment card, and the fourth set of details is obtained from a card number printed or embossed on the payment card, and the further sets of details are obtained by other modes available.

12. The account association device of claim 10, wherein at least one of the merchant terminal and the additional merchant terminal is a point-of-sale (POS) device.

13. The account association device of claim 8, wherein the network interface is further configured to communicate with a remote device associated with the cardholder via a first network.

14. The account association device of claim 13, wherein the network interface is further configured to receive instructions from the remote device to enable the cardholder to manage an account associated with the payment card, wherein managing an account comprises: the method may include the steps of inputting registration information, monitoring activity of the account, enabling and disabling one or more modes of transactions conducted with the payment card, reporting that the payment card has been lost or stolen, and pre-configuring information relating to a plurality of alternative accounts associated with the payment card.

15. The account association device of claim 8, further comprising one or more web pages of a website that enable the cardholder to use a user device to manage the details or navigate to the website.

16. A system for providing security for a payment card, the system comprising:

a first merchant terminal connected to the network, the first merchant terminal configured to obtain details of a first alternate account from a first set of information associated with a payment card owned by a cardholder;

a second merchant terminal connected to the network, the second merchant terminal configured to obtain details of a second alternate account from a second set of information associated with the payment card;

an additional merchant terminal connected to the network, the additional merchant terminal configured to obtain details of an additional alternate account from additional sets of information associated with the payment card, the first alternate account, the second alternate account, and the additional alternate account all associated with the same cardholder account, the additional sets of information including a third set of information and a fourth set of information; and

an account association device connected to the network, the account association device configured to receive details of the first and subsequent alternative accounts from the first and subsequent merchant terminals, respectively, and information indicating respective modes for obtaining the details of the first and subsequent alternative accounts, the account association device further configured to associate the first and subsequent alternative accounts with the cardholder account;

wherein the account association device manages financial transactions between the financial institution holding the account by the cardholder and the first and subsequent merchant terminals, the account association device being further configured to determine whether each alternate account corresponds to an expected account identifier for a respective transaction usage pattern, and if an alternate account does not correspond to a usage pattern, to deny or suspend the transaction; and is

Wherein the first set of information is different from subsequent sets of information.

17. The system of claim 16, further comprising an additional merchant terminal connected to the network, the additional merchant terminal configured to obtain details of additional alternative accounts from additional sets of information associated with the payment card.

18. The system of claim 17, wherein the first, second, and third sets of information are obtained from a magnetic stripe, a microchip, and a Near Field Communication (NFC) device on the payment card, and the fourth set of information is obtained from a card number printed or embossed on the payment card.

19. The system of claim 16, wherein the payment card is free of at least one of a printed or embossed account number and a magnetic stripe.

20. The system of claim 16, further comprising a mobile device associated with the cardholder.

21. The system of claim 20, wherein the mobile device calculates, stores, or receives a dynamic card verification value, d-CVV, in order to verify a transaction.

22. The system of claim 21, wherein at least one of the first merchant terminal, second merchant terminal, and additional merchant terminals is an online merchant device configured to conduct an online transaction, and wherein the mobile device or user transmits the d-CVV to the online merchant device through manual input or other methods.

23. The system of claim 16, wherein at least one of the first and second merchant terminals is embedded within a physical point-of-sale (POS) device.

24. The system of claim 16, further comprising a user device associated with the cardholder that enables the cardholder to manage the account via the account-associated device, and wherein the account-associated device is configured to enable the cardholder to enter registration information, monitor activities of the account and associate them with various alternative accounts, enable and disable one or more modes of transactions conducted with the payment card, report that the payment card has been lost or stolen, and provision information relating to first and second alternative accounts.

25. The system of claim 24, wherein the account-associated device provides a website including one or more web pages that enable the cardholder to navigate to the website using the user device.

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