Abstract:
Methods and systems for performing micropayment transactions over communication networks is provided. These methods and systems enable ubiquitous micropayments by providing a seamless payment solution in which micropayment is one of a plurality of payments facilitated. In an embodiment, the transaction value may be compared to a predefined threshold, and processed as a micropayment if said value is less than said threshold, and otherwise processed using a second processing system. In another embodiment, the transaction may be processed as a micropayment if the payee has previously been verified by the micropayment processing system. In a third embodiment, the transaction takes place using the payee&#39;s website.

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    This is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 11/870,799, filed Oct. 11, 2007, which claims priority of Provisional Application No. 60/829,057, filed Oct. 11, 2006, all the above applications hereby incorporated by reference. 
     
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    As use of the Internet continues to expand, a fundamental change has occurred in the digital content marketplace. For example, the music industry has adopted a new digital form factor used by MP3 players and other digital music players. Pricing schemes for such content, buying behavior and the business model and priorities for the industry have drastically changed as a result of the digital music revolution. For example, digital music can often be purchased via the Internet on an individual song basis, where each song may cost approximately one dollar. 
         [0003]    Other industries are likewise re-evaluating future models in order to satisfy consumers and their anticipated purchasing behaviors. For example, software companies are evaluating new and more dynamic ways to package, distribute and price software, such as via the Internet. In many cases, using the Internet to distribute software to purchase subscriptions to Internet websites and the like will result in an increase in micropayment transactions (transactions having payments under approximately $5). It is projected that 30 billion micropayment transactions will take place globally by 2010. 
         [0004]    One problem with micropayment transactions is that the cost of obtaining payment from the user is high with respect to the purchase price. Current methods of obtaining payment include 1) repeated, single instance payments, 2) aggregating payments, 3) proprietary pre-paid accounts and 4) proprietary payment processing systems. 
         [0005]    Repeated, single instance payments occur when, for example, a credit card is charged once for each micropayment transaction. Acquirers cannot viably provide such a service to merchants because the cost of processing a transaction is too high relative to the transaction amount and standard fee structures. On the other hand, consumers are required to present too much data (i.e., full card details) relative to the size of the payment. Moreover, consumers can have concern regarding control over their data. 
         [0006]    Some merchants aggregate payments in an attempt to overcome these deficiencies. However, payment aggregation does not lessen the cost of processing transactions for all consumers. While the per transaction cost of high-volume consumers is reduced, a low-volume consumer might only make one or two transactions within a billing period. As such, standard fee structures still make the cost of processing transactions for low-volume consumers prohibitive for the acquirer. In addition, payment aggregation causes the merchant to bear an increased risk for unprocessed transactions. For example, a consumer might only purchase a single item, but the merchant would not process the transaction until the end of the billing period, by which time the consumer&#39;s payment card may have exceeded its limit or have been compromised. The consumer can also lose granularity in his transaction statement because all transactions are aggregated into a single transaction. 
         [0007]    Proprietary pre-paid accounts are used for some pay-for-use services. Such accounts are typically used on a per-merchant basis. As such, the services are not generally compatible across business and/or geographic boundaries. Proprietary pre-paid accounts also require consumers to manage separate accounts for each merchant with which they are working and dedicate cash resources to each account. 
         [0008]    Proprietary payment processing systems, in which each merchant&#39;s contract with a third party system to process payments, disadvantage consumers in substantially the same way as proprietary pre-paid accounts. In addition, merchants are required to make significant investments in infrastructure in order to develop such systems. 
         [0009]    It would be desirable to have methods and systems for enabling ubiquitous micropayments in order to expand online purchasing opportunities for merchants and consumers while also being commercially viable for the facilitating entities, e.g. issuers and acquirers. 
         [0010]    The present disclosure is directed to solving or overcoming one or more of the problems described above in the context of a broader, seamless payment solution in which micropayment is one of a plurality of payments facilitated. As such, much of the distinct functionality of the described methods and systems also has unique value to a broader range of payment types. 
       SUMMARY OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
       [0011]    Before the present methods are described, it is to be understood that this invention is not limited to the particular methodologies or protocols described, as these may vary. It is also to be understood that the terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only, and is not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure, which will be limited only by the appended claims. 
         [0012]    It must be noted that as used herein and in the appended claims, the singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” include plural reference unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. Thus, for example, reference to a “transaction” is a reference to one or more transactions and equivalents thereof known to those skilled in the art, and so forth. Unless defined otherwise, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meanings as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art. Although any methods and materials similar or equivalent to those described herein can be used in the practice or testing of the present invention, the preferred methods, devices, and materials are now described. All publications mentioned herein are incorporated herein by reference. Nothing herein is to be construed as an admission that the invention is not entitled to antedate such disclosure by virtue of prior invention. 
         [0013]    In an embodiment, a method of processing a micropayment transaction may include receiving a request for access to an item and a payer identifier from a payee website, requesting and verifying the payer password, determining whether one or more pre-defined account parameters pertaining to an account associated with the payer identifier are satisfied, if so, determining whether a required value for accessing the item is less than a pre-defined threshold, if so, determining whether an account associated with the payer identifier contains funds greater than or equal to the required value, and if so, permitting access to the item. 
         [0014]    In an embodiment, a method of processing a transaction may include receiving a transaction value for a transaction, comparing the transaction value with a predefined threshold, processing the transaction using a first payment processing system if the transaction value is less than the predefined threshold, and processing the transaction using a second payment processing system if the transaction value is greater than the predefined threshold. The first payment processing system may include a micropayment processing system. 
         [0015]    In an embodiment, a method of processing a transaction may include receiving information pertaining to a transaction, determining whether a payee has been previously verified by the micropayment processing system within a defined set of parameters, and, if so, processing the transaction without receiving payer-identifying information from the payer at the time of the current transaction. 
         [0016]    In an embodiment, a method of processing a transaction may include receiving information pertaining to a transaction from the payee, information originally generated by the micropayment processing system and stored by the payee pertaining to the validity of the payer registration with the system, and verification of the payer&#39;s identity from the payer, and, if so, processing the transaction without receiving any payer-identifying information directly from the payer. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0017]    Aspects, features, benefits and advantages of the present invention will be apparent with regard to the following description and accompanying drawings, of which: 
           [0018]      FIG. 1  depicts a dataflow diagram for exemplary participants in a micropayment transaction according to an embodiment. 
           [0019]      FIG. 2  depicts a flow diagram for an exemplary process of processing a micropayment transaction according to an embodiment. 
           [0020]      FIG. 3  depicts a flow diagram for an exemplary settlement process for a micropayment processing system according to an embodiment. 
           [0021]      FIGS. 4A and 4B  depict a flow diagram for an exemplary micropayment purchase from a payee website according to an embodiment. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
       [0022]    A payer is an entity that engages in a value transfer, such as an individual or a small business. The payer participates in a transaction with a payee, usually by purchasing a good or service from the payee and/or by exchanging items, services or other value with the payee. 
         [0023]    A payee is a second entity that engages in a value transfer. A payee participates in a transaction with a payer, usually by providing a good or service to the payer in exchange for value and/or by exchanging items, services or other value with the payer. 
         [0024]    A transaction is a flow of value between entities, such as a payer and a payee. 
         [0025]    A micropayment transaction is a transaction in which the value to be transferred is less than a threshold value, such as, for example and without limitation, approximately five dollars. 
         [0026]      FIG. 1  depicts a dataflow diagram for exemplary participants in a micropayment transaction according to an embodiment. As shown in  FIG. 1 , the micropayment transaction processing system may include a payer  105 , a payee  110 , a micropayment processing server  115 , an acquirer bank  120 , an issuer bank  125 , a payer bank  130 , and a deposit access bank  135  to manage the float of value in the system. Exemplary communications between two parties are depicted by the lines in  FIG. 1  and are described in more detail below in reference to  FIGS. 2 and 3 . Communicating parties may communicate with each other via, for example, the Internet, and intranet and/or any other data network. Other communication methods, such as a telephone, a PDA, a Blackberry, a gaming console, an interactive kiosk and the like may also be used within the scope of the present disclosure. 
         [0027]      FIG. 2  depicts a flow diagram for an exemplary process of processing a micropayment according to an embodiment. As shown in  FIG. 2 , a payer  105  may shop at an online payee  110  and, for example, select  205  one or more goods and/or services for purchase from the payee. If the transaction is a micropayment transaction, a list of selectable payment methods may include an icon for a micropayment processing system  115 . The payer  105  may select the micropayment processing system  115 . The payer may initiate processing of the micropayment transaction by submitting  210  an identifier, such as, for example and without limitation, an email address, a “user ID,” a telephone number and/or any portion thereof. In an embodiment, a “cookie” or other persistent data located on the payer&#39;s network access device may relate to such an identifier. If the payer  105  has already established an account with the payment processing system  115 , the payer  105  may be directed to the system (or to a location within the payee&#39;s website  110  designed to receive information on behalf of the micropayment processing system) to provide  215  a password to authorize payment to the payee. As will be apparent to one with ordinary skill in the art, other authentication methods, such as, without limitation, biometric devices or cryptographic tokens, may be used to authenticate the payer to the micropayment processing system. If the payer has not already established an account with the micropayment processing system  115 , the payer  105  may be directed to a registration sub-system in order to initiate  220  an account setup routine. 
         [0028]    Upon completion of the account setup routine or once the password is entered or the payer is otherwise authenticated to the micropayment processing system if an account had previously been established, a determination may be made as to whether sufficient value is present to complete the transaction. If not, the payer  105  may select a value source from which funds are received  225  by the micropayment processing system  115 . In an embodiment, funds may be received  225  from, for example and without limitation, credit card, debit card, a direct debit from a bank account via, for example, Automated Clearing House (ACH), direct deposit or the like, over the counter to an agent, and/or from a deposited amount. The micropayment processing system  115  may transmit  230  the transaction information supplied by the payer  105  to the acquirer bank  120 . The acquirer bank  120  may facilitate an authorization procedure with a direct debit account or the card acquirer. If the payer  105  is authorized, the acquirer bank  120  may confirm  235  the load of value to the micropayment processing system  115 , which forwards  240  the confirmation to the payer. Otherwise, the micropayment process may terminate  245 . In an alternate embodiment, the payer  105  may be provided with one or more additional opportunities to provide proper authorizing information to the micropayment processing system  115 . 
         [0029]    Once sufficient value is present to complete the transaction, the micropayment processing system  115  may transfer  250  funds from any payer account to any payee account. In an embodiment, a payer account and a payee account may be attributes of the same account. The micropayment processing system  115  may then notify  255  the payer  105  and the payee  110  that the transaction has successfully completed. The payer  105  may then be returned  260  to the payee website  110 . 
         [0030]      FIG. 3  depicts a flow diagram for an exemplary settlement process for a micropayment processing system according to an embodiment. As shown in  FIG. 3 , the acquirer bank  120  may deposit  305  funds into an account operated by the deposit access bank  135 . The deposit access bank  135  may manage the float (float occurs when an account in the system retains a positive balance of funds) and reconcile  310  payments for the micropayment processing system  115 . The deposit access bank  135  may settle  315  its account with each payee on, for example, a periodic basis. For example, the deposit access bank  135  may settle  315  its account with each payee on an hourly, daily, weekly or monthly basis. Other settlement periods may also be used within the scope of this disclosure. 
         [0031]      FIGS. 4A and 4B  depict a flow diagram for an exemplary micropayment transaction performed on a payee website according to an embodiment. As shown in  FIGS. 4A and 4B , a payer may access the payee website via a user interface, such as a web browser. The user interface may display  402  an item or service for purchase to the payer with a message offering the option to pay for the item using a micropayment processing system and a selectable micropayment icon if the item or service has a value below a threshold. In an embodiment, additional information may be displayed  402 , such as a link to an information page describing the micropayment processing system. In an embodiment, the micropayment icon may be selected to initiate micropayment transaction processing. 
         [0032]    Determinations may be made  404  as to whether the payer has previously registered with the micropayment processing system and whether the payee is a Trusted Merchant. In an embodiment, a payee may be required to submit to a qualifying process to be considered a Trusted Merchant. A payer may further be required to select a payee from a list of payees that have been qualified as Trusted Merchants in order for the payee to be a Trusted Merchant for that payer. 
         [0033]    In an embodiment, a payer may elect to have a verification code or token stored as part of the payer&#39;s registered profile with a Trusted Merchant. The payer may make this request when interfacing with the Trusted Merchant or with the micropayment processing system (e.g., through Internet Banking or an interface facilitated to the micropayment processing system independent of a transaction by the Trusted Merchant). Upon receipt of a cardholder request, the micropayment processing system may provide a verification code or token to the Trusted Merchant for storage as part of the registered payer&#39;s profile. In an embodiment, the verification code or token may be generated in response to the payer&#39;s request so that it only verifies transactions by the payer made at the specified Trusted Merchant, may be provided to the Trusted Merchant in a fully encrypted form, and may only be decryptable by the micropayment processing system. In an embodiment, the token may allow session-based authentication. In another embodiment, the token may be used without session-specific authentication. When the payer performs a transaction with the Trusted Merchant, the payee may submit a payment authorization request accompanied by the payer&#39;s verification code or token to the micropayment processing system. The micropayment processing system may decrypt the verification code or otherwise verify a token upon receipt of the payment authorization request and provide an appropriate payment authorization response with all necessary data elements. The payee website may receive the payment authorization response and process the response as appropriate. In an embodiment, if the payer has previously registered, the Trusted Merchant may engage in a transaction with the registered payer without resubmitting identifying information for the parties, such as a password, an email address or the like. 
         [0034]    If the payer has not previously been registered, a registration screen may be displayed  406  requesting profile information from the payer. For example, the payer may provide a name, address, telephone number, and/or the like. Once the payer provides  408  the requested information, a payment selection screen may then be displayed  410 . The payment selection screen may enable the payer to select a payment type, such as a Visa®-branded credit card, the source details for the selected payment type and a load amount. In an embodiment, one or more selections for a load amount may be displayed via a pull-down menu. The micropayment processing system may submit  412  the load transaction to an external authorization service. If the transaction is not authorized, the micropayment processing system may display  410  the payment selection screen again. In an embodiment, if the load transaction fails a second time, the micropayment transaction may fail  414 . If the load transaction is authorized, the micropayment payment system may display  416  a load confirmation screen, which requests, for example, a password and selections and answers for, for example, three security questions. It will be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art that additional or alternate information may be requested from the user within the scope of this disclosure. In addition, an alternate number of security questions, other security verification methodologies and/or load transaction failures may also be included within the scope of this disclosure. 
         [0035]    If the payer successfully completes the registration process or if the payer is determined to be registered, but the payee is not a Trusted Merchant, in step  404 , the micropayment processing system may display  418  a purchase amount, a name for the payee and a description of the item for purchase. The system may further display  418 , for example, a text entry field in which the payer is requested to enter an identifier, such as an email address, and a password corresponding to the entered identifier. A determination may then be made  420  as to whether the entered password corresponds to the identifier. If not, the micropayment processing system may display  422  one or more security questions pre-selected by the payer during the registration process. In an embodiment, the displayed security question may be selected randomly from the pre-selected security questions. The payer&#39;s answer to the displayed security question may be compared  424  with the answer provided during registration. If an improper answer is provided, a denial message may be transmitted  426  to the payee. The payee website may then display  428  a message requesting an alternate form of payment from the payer. If the proper answer is provided, the user may reconfigure and confirm  430  the password for the account and alternately select new security questions and responses. The process may then return to step  418 . 
         [0036]    If the entered password is determined  420  to correspond to the identifier or if the payer is registered and the payee is a Trusted Merchant in step  404 , one or more further determinations may be made. For example, a determination may be made  432  as to whether the transaction amount falls within user-defined account parameters. Such parameters may include, for example and without limitation, whether the payee has been allowed and/or blocked, whether a total value limit is satisfied, whether the transaction satisfies value limits for the payee and/or whether the transaction satisfies time limitations for the account. Other account parameters may be defined within the scope of this disclosure on, for example, a per-payer, per-payee and/or per-account basis. Moreover, for transactions made by payers other than the primary payer for an account, a determination may be made  434  as to whether the primary payer has permitted the transaction. For example, a parent may set a limitation on transactions that a child performs using the account, such as the type, dollar amount or the like for such transactions. If any user-defined account parameters and/or primary payer parameter is not satisfied for a transaction, the payee website may display  436  a denial message to the payer and request that an alternate form of payment be selected. 
         [0037]    If all parameters are satisfied, a determination as to the relationship between a transaction value and a threshold may be made  438 . For example, if the transaction value is greater than and/or equal to a pre-defined threshold, a payment screen may be displayed  440  to the payer. The payment screen may include, for example and without limitation, one or more default payment sources and details, such as a masked account number, for each source. The payer may select a source and the transaction may be submitted  442  for external authorization. If the selected payment source authorizes  444  the transaction, a screen may optionally be displayed  446  to the payer listing, for example, the purchase amount, the payee name, a description of the purchased goods and/or services and the like. The payer may submit the payment without providing additional information. 
         [0038]    If the transaction value is less than and/or equal to a pre-defined threshold, a micropayment processing system may be selected for processing the transaction. The micropayment processing system may determine  448  whether sufficient funds remain in the payer&#39;s account. If not, the micropayment processing system may display  450  a screen requesting that the payer add additional funds to the account from a default payment source, such as a credit card, a bank account, or the like. In an embodiment, the screen may present the default payment source with masked information, such as the last four digits of a credit card number, bank account number, or the like. In an embodiment, the payer may provide an alternate payment source. In an embodiment, amounts to add to the account may be presented in a pull-down menu or similar method having pre-selected amounts. In an embodiment, the screen may include a text entry field in which the payer may specify a particular amount. Once the payer specifies an amount to add to the account, the micropayment processing system may submit  452  the load transaction for external authorization by the selected payment source. If the selected payment source authorizes  444  the transaction, a screen may optionally be displayed  446  to the payer listing, for example, the purchase amount, the payee name, a description of the purchased goods and/or services and the like. The payer may submit the payment without providing additional information. 
         [0039]    If sufficient funds remain in the account or are added to the account, a transaction confirmation may be provided  454  to the payee website. The payee website, upon receipt of the confirmation from the micropayment processing system, may display  456  a confirmation message to the payer and permit  458  access to the goods and/or services. In an embodiment, if the payer desires  460  to purchase additional goods and/or services, the micropayment purchase process for such additional goods and/or services may skip to, for example, step  432 . In an embodiment, the micropayment purchase process may skip to step  432  only if the additional goods and/or services are sought to be purchased during a single access session. In an embodiment, a payer may be required to provide a password again if, for example, a payer does not make a purchase within a pre-defined time period of a previous purchase, a payer has accessed a different website or the like. Alternately, the micropayment purchase process may skip to step  432  if the payee is a Trusted Merchant. 
         [0040]    It will be appreciated that various of the above-disclosed and other features and functions, or alternatives thereof, may be desirably combined into many other different systems or applications. It will also be appreciated that various presently unforeseen or unanticipated alternatives, modifications, variations or improvements therein may be subsequently made by those skilled in the art which are also intended to be encompassed by the disclosed embodiments.