Abstract:
Methods and systems of mobile remittance that are network-agnostic and that allow transfer of funds across any network, regardless of whether these networks have funds transfer agreements with each other. In accordance with aspects of the present invention, the methods and systems of mobile remittance transactions are easy to use and secure, and ensure that the mobile remittance reaches the intended recipient, regardless of whether the recipient is in an urban or rural area.

Description:
[0001]    This application claims priority from U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/477,400, filed on Apr. 20, 2011, titled “Method and System for Mobile Remittance,” which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. 
     
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    1. Field of Invention 
         [0003]    Aspects of the present invention relate to methods and systems for providing a remittance from one mobile device to another. More particularly, aspects of the current invention related to methods and systems for transferring funds from one mobile device to another when the mobile devices do not belong to the same network. 
         [0004]    2. Description of Related Art 
         [0005]    While mobile currency remittance and/or other mobile remittance of monetary/non-monetary value (e.g., credit) via Short Message Services (SMSs) are known in the art, there are currently several problems with the existing methods of mobile remittance. One problem is that such transfers depend on the originating user&#39;s mobile carrier or network and which other carriers have agreements to transfer funds, either nationally or internationally, with the originating carrier. That is, currently, mobile remittance may be achieved only among users of the same carrier or among users of carriers that have agreements with the originating carrier. Another problem in the art today relates to the security of the mobile transaction, as many such remittance transactions are inherently insecure. Further, the current methods for mobile remittance are cumbersome and involve multiple steps, including organizing the sale of and purchasing cash cards or other prepaid cards, signing up authorized agents (such as banks or merchants, for example), and ensuring that the agents have access to funds to provide as part of the remittance transaction, among other steps. In addition, the current methods and systems for mobile remittance are difficult to use, especially in rural areas, where banks/Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) may not be as prevalent as in urban areas, and there is a risk that the mobile remittance may not reach the intended recipient. 
         [0006]    There is a need in the art for methods and systems of mobile remittance that are network-agnostic and that allow transfer of funds across any network, regardless of whether these networks have or do not have direct funds transfer agreements between the initiating and receiving networks. There is another need in the art for mobile remittance transactions that are easy to use and secure, and that ensure that the mobile remittance reaches the intended recipient, regardless of whether the recipient is in an urban or rural area. 
       SUMMARY 
       [0007]    In light of the above described problems and unmet needs, aspects of the present invention solve the above-identified needs, as well as others, by providing methods and systems of mobile remittance that are network-agnostic and that allow transfer of funds across any network, regardless of whether these networks have or do not have funds transfer agreements among each other. In addition, aspects of the present invention provide methods and systems for mobile remittance transactions that are easy to use and secure, and that ensure that the mobile remittance reaches the intended recipient, regardless of whether the recipient is in an urban or rural area. 
         [0008]    Additional advantages and novel features of the invention will be set forth in part in the description that follows, and in part will become more apparent to those skilled in the art upon examination of the following or upon learning by practice of the invention. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0009]    Various example aspects of the systems and methods will be described in detail, with reference to the following figures, wherein: 
           [0010]      FIGS. 1A-H  illustrate various implementations in accordance with aspects of the present invention; 
           [0011]      FIGS. 2A-E  illustrate various implementations in accordance with aspects of the present invention; 
           [0012]      FIGS. 3A-C  illustrate various implementations in accordance with aspects of the present invention; 
           [0013]      FIG. 4  presents an example system diagram of various hardware components and other features, for use in accordance with aspects of the present invention; and 
           [0014]      FIG. 5  is a block diagram of various example system components, for use in accordance with aspects of the present invention. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0015]    These and other features and advantages of this invention are described in, or are apparent from, the following detailed description of various example aspects. 
         [0016]    Referring to  FIG. 1A , therein shown is a local “on” net mobile SMS remittance system  100 , including a mobile network  120  within a given country A, a mobile network  130  within the same country A, a mobile network  140  within a different country B, and a mobile network  150  within country B.  FIG. 1A  illustrates a remittance t being transferred between a sender  110 , who is a subscriber of the mobile network  120 , and another subscriber of the same mobile network A, in accordance with aspects of the present invention. 
         [0017]    Referring to  FIG. 1B , therein shown is a local “off” net mobile SMS remittance system  200 , including a mobile network  220  within a given country A, a mobile network  230  within the same country A, a mobile network  240  within a different country B, and a mobile network  250  within country B.  FIG. 1B  illustrates a remittance t 1  between two subscribers of different mobile networks  220  and  230 , in accordance with aspects of the present invention. 
         [0018]    Referring now to  FIG. 1C , therein shown is an international on net mobile SMS remittance system  300 , including a mobile network  320  within a given country A, a mobile network  330  within the same country A, a mobile network  340  within a different country B, and a mobile network  350  within country B.  FIG. 1C  illustrates a remittance t 2  between two subscribers&#39; mobile networks  320  and  340  located in two different countries, in accordance with aspects of the present invention. 
         [0019]    As can be seen for  FIGS. 1A-C , SMS remittance messages, in accordance with aspects of the present invention, may be sent between two subscribers of any two networks, even networks supporting different carriers, as will be explained in more detail below, regardless of whether the networks have funds transfer agreements with each other or not. 
         [0020]    In accordance with aspects of the present invention, the sender and recipient of the mobile SMS remittance may or may not have an account with a service provider, such as a remittance facilitation center. 
         [0021]    Referring to  FIG. 1D , therein shown is an example SMS telephonic transfer system  400  where the sender  410  has an account with the service provider, and the account has a positive value. According to various aspects, the sender  410  may send a SMS message from mobile network  420  in country A, for example, the SMS message including an M-Pin (a mobile pin number, for example), and an M-Credit (mobile credit, the specified amount of the transfer, for example) to a specific short code. It should be appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the art that this may be achieved via a web browser (e.g., via a Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure (HTTPS) protocol), as an alternative to a mobile SMS message. 
         [0022]    The SMS message may be forwarded to the service provider server  465  via, e.g., a Short Message Peer-to-Peer (SMPP) protocol  450  via the SMS hub  460 , which may capture the sender&#39;s Mobile Subscriber Integrated Services Digital Network (MSISDN) number, may validate the sender via the MSISDN in the prepaid database  455 , and may verify the balance in the sender&#39;s account. Upon a positive outcome of the validation of the sender and of the verification of the sender&#39;s account balance, the service provider server may send a SMS message to the MSISDN of the designated recipient  470 , whether a local recipient or a foreign recipient, containing a system-generated serial number and the M-Credit amount. The recipient  470 , who may be located in country B, for example, receives the SMS message generated by the service provider server. 
         [0023]    An example implementation of a SMS telephonic transfer system  500 , where the sender  510  does not have an account with the service provider  565 , is described in reference to  FIG. 1E . In this example, the SMS telephonic transfer system  500  is described with respect to an American Express® gift card. However, those of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that any other credit card, bank card, gift card or prepaid card may alternatively be used with this implementation. In this implementation, the sender  510  may send an SMS message with the card number an Personal Identification Number (PIN) of the card to a selection of short codes (this may also be achieved via a browser), which may represent various denominations to be transferred. For example, short code 2000 may represent a value of $20, and short code 3000 may represent a value of $30, among other short codes and values. Alternatively, the value of the transfer may be indicated in the SMS message of the sender  510  or otherwise communicated to the service provider&#39;s server  565  via, e.g., a Short Message Peer-to-Peer (SMPP) protocol  550  via the SMS hub  560 . According to various aspects, the server  565  may store the sender&#39;s MSISDN and short code (and/or other indication of amount to be transferred) for billing settlements with the mobile carrier(s) in a database  555 . The server may then send an SMS with a system generated serial number and amount to the MSISDN of the recipient  570 . 
         [0024]      FIG. 1F  is a flow chart illustrating a mobile device enabled fund transfer and cash out method, in accordance with aspects of the present invention. According to various aspects, the method starts when a sender sends a remittance message to service provider server at S 110 , for example in the form of an SMS message sent from the sender&#39;s mobile device, as discussed above. The message may include, for example, a mobile pin number and a credit amount corresponding to funds to be transferred to a recipient. When the service provider receives the message from the recipient, the service provider may validate the remittance message at S 120 , for example by capturing the sender&#39;s MSISDN and comparing the sender&#39;s MSISDN to a reference database, and by verifying the sender&#39;s balance in the sender&#39;s account. When the sender has been validated at S 120 , the service provider may send a message to the recipient that may contain a system-generated serial number and/or gift card or other cash card or credit card number and the amount of funds destined to the recipient in the form of a M-Credit amount at S 130 . 
         [0025]    According to various aspects, once the recipient receives the SMS message with the system-generated serial number and/or gift card or other cash card number and the M-Credit amount at S 130 , the recipient may approach an authorized agent and provide the system-generated serial number to the authorized agent at S 140 . According to various aspects, the recipient may provide the agent with only the system-generated serial number. At S 150 , after receiving the system-generated serial number, the agent may send the system-generated serial number to the service provider&#39;s server via SMS or web browser, for example, in order to obtain a funding credit corresponding to the amount of the remittance. Once the server receives the serial number, the server may validate the serial number at S 160  to confirm that the agent-provided serial number corresponds to the transaction initiated by the sender. Once the serial number is validated at S 160 , the server may send a portion of a PIN number, e.g., the first four digits of an 8 digit PIN to the recipient (alternatively referred to herein as the “recipient key”), and the last four digits to the agent (alternatively referred to herein as the “agent key”), in two separate messages, at S 170 . It should be noted that the 8 digit PIN may actually comprise any number of digits, and any subset of those digits may be sent to the recipient and/or the agent, respectively, at S 170 . Once the recipient receives the portion of the PIN, the recipient may then provide the received 4 digits to the agent at S 180  in order to obtain the remittance. According to various aspects, when the agent receives the recipient key, or recipient portion of the PIN at S 180 , the agent may then send the complete 8 digit PIN, for example via SMS, to the service provider at S 190 . As a result, the server may transfer the funds to the agent&#39;s Mobile wallet (M-wallet) as a mobile credit or M-Credit, along with a commission, for example, at S 195 . It should be noted that absent both the recipient key and the agent key, the service provider may not transfer the funds to the agent, and the transaction may not be completed. When the agent receives the fund, the agent may provide the funds directly to the recipient, for example, in the form of cash, and may keep the commission. 
         [0026]    In an alternative example cash out method, once the recipient receives the SMS message with the system-generated serial number and/or gift card or other cash card number and the M-Credit amount, the recipient may enter the serial number at an authorized ATM or bank, thus bypassing the agent. The ATM bank may contact the service provider server to validate the serial number and the recipient&#39;s MSISDN. Once the verification is complete, the service provider server may provide a one-time PIN number (e.g., 6-digits) to the recipient. Upon entry of the appropriate PIN number, the ATM/bank may then dispense the correct amount to the recipient. 
         [0027]    In accordance with some aspects, although the above discussion indicates that the service provider server communicates with the agent, the service provider may also communicate with main distributors (e.g., in-country partners), who in turn communicate with agents and/or recipients, when the agents are international agents and the in-country partners may be in a better position to communicate with the agents. Most or all members in the distribution hierarchy, which may include in-country partners and agents, may have M-wallets (e.g., a virtual pre-paid card), each of which has an initial value of $0. The cash-out amount with commission may be credited to the M-wallet of the agent and to the in-country partner, if applicable, after the transaction is completed. The agents may be paid from the next level up, e.g. the in-country partner of the service provider, or from a lateral fellow-agent. Thus, the M-credits travel up the hierarchy, from the recipients to the service provider, while the funds travel down the hierarchy, from the service provider to the recipients. Payouts or settlements within the hierarch may be scheduled on any agreed-upon basis (e.g., daily, weekly, monthly). 
         [0028]    An example payout/settlement in accordance with aspects of the present invention will now be described in reference to  FIG. 1G . According to various aspects, if an agent  610  does not wish to wait for the settlement date (e.g., daily, weekly, monthly), the agent  610  may send a request for cash/credit advance out of the agent&#39;s M-wallet to a predetermined SMS code (e.g., “R,35” to request a $35 advance) to the service provider. The service provider may generate, based on the SMS message, a serial number and amount, similar to the remittance flow described above, but without participation of a sender (i.e., the requesting agent is the sender and the recipient in this variation). The requesting agent (e.g., the gas station operator) may then approach a fellow agent (e.g., the grocer) for cash out. A similar cash out mechanism as in the remittance process described above may be applicable here, except that the agent may request a part or the entire payment amount in goods and/or services from the other agent, such as, e.g., 2 lbs of rice and the remainder in cash. In this case, the grocer fellow agent may realize a profit margin on the requested 2 lbs of rice in addition, for example, to the commission. The service provider may also receive a fee from the requesting agent for the transaction. 
         [0029]    In this manner, the recipients themselves may be motivated to sign up as agents, which may require a database entry of the agent&#39;s MSISDN for verification purposes, as their subsequent remittance/payout transactions may be more efficient. The more agents sign up, the more the system may grow, and an ever-expanding mobile commerce ecosystem, as shown in  FIG. 1H , may be created. In  FIG. 1H , the recipient  720  may receive a mobile remittance from a relative, for example. Recipient  720  may then cash that mobile remittance through an agent  710 , and the remittance amount may be transferred to the M-wallet of the agent  710 . According to various aspects, the recipient  720  may wish to become an agent  710 , thereby decreasing the service provider overhead, as the transfers may now be from the M-wallet of the recipient-become-agent  720  to the M-wallet of another agent  710 , for example. Thus, an intra-distribution system may expand. 
         [0030]    Agent recruitment, in accordance with aspects of the present invention may be achieved via a potential agent sending a SMS message to a specific short code for agent registration. Upon receipt of the SMS message, the service provider may respond with an SMS containing an Agent ID (AID) and a message to contact the service provider. The service provider may create a new record with the new AID and the agent&#39;s MSISDN. To complete the registration, the new agent may contact the service provider to provide more information, although this may not be necessary, in accordance with some aspects, and the agent&#39;s record may be updated. Additional information, such as a starter kit including stickers, decal and instruction manual, among other starter kit items, may then be sent to the new agent. 
         [0031]      FIGS. 2A-E  illustrate various implementations in accordance with aspects of the present invention. In  FIG. 2A , a shopper  610  who may be, for example, online via a network such as, e.g., the Internet, may utilize a credit card  630  to place an order at a retailer&#39;s website  620 . According to various aspects, the retailer may not have the ability to process the credit card  630 . Accordingly,  FIGS. 2B-C  illustrate a transaction involving the credit card  630  and the bank  640  that issued the credit card  630 , where the bank  640  communicates with a payment gateway  650  corresponding to aspects of the current invention. As illustrated in  FIG. 1C , the payment gateway  650  may communicate with the bank  640  to request payment from the card issuing bank  640 , and may keep the payment in a virtual account  660 . According to various aspects, and as illustrated in  FIG. 2D , the funds provided from the bank  640  and located in the virtual account  660  in the form of virtual funds may then be sent to a server  670  according to various aspects of the current invention, where the server  670  may be similar to the servers  465  and  565  discussed above. Accordingly, when the server  670  receives the virtual funds transferred by the bank  640  via the payment gateway  650 , the server  670  may then, as illustrated in  FIG. 2E , provide the virtual funds to a device  680  of the merchant, such as, e.g., a mobile device  680  of the merchant, via a mobile transaction as described above. As a result, the merchant may then utilize the device  680  to convert the virtual funds to real funds via, for example, an agent, or an ATM machine, as discussed above with respect to  FIG. 1F , even when the merchant may not have the ability to process a credit card, as is sometimes the case in remote and under-developed parts of the world. 
         [0032]      FIGS. 3A-C  illustrate various implementations in accordance with aspects of the present invention. In  FIG. 3A , a shopper  710  who may be, for example, online via a network such as, e.g., the Internet, may utilize an affiliated prepaid card  730  to place an order at a retailer&#39;s website  720 . According to various aspects, the affiliated pre-paid card  730  may be card funded via a server according to various aspects of the current invention, where the funds have been verified, and the identity of the shopper  710  using the pre-paid card  730  has been validated, by the server. As such, funds from the prepaid card  730  may be transferred to the payment gateway  750 , which may keep the payment in a virtual account. According to various aspects, and as illustrated in  FIG. 3B , the funds provided from the pre-paid card  730  and located in the virtual account in the form of virtual funds may then be sent to a server  770  according to various aspects of the current invention, where the server  770  may be similar to the servers  465  and  565  discussed above. Accordingly, when the server  770  receives the virtual funds transferred by the prepaid card  730  via the payment gateway  750 , the server  770  may then, as illustrated in  FIG. 3C , provide the virtual funds to a device  780  of the merchant, such as, e.g., a mobile device  780  of the merchant, via a mobile transaction. As a result, the merchant may then utilize the device  780  to convert the virtual funds to real funds via, for example, an agent, or an ATM machine, as discussed above with respect to  FIG. 1F . 
         [0033]    In some variations, aspects of the present invention may be directed toward one or more computer systems capable of carrying out the functionality described herein. An example of such a computer system  200  is shown in  FIG. 4 . 
         [0034]    Computer system  200  includes one or more processors, such as processor  204 . The processor  204  is connected to a communication infrastructure  206  (e.g., a communications bus, cross-over bar, or network). Various software aspects are described in terms of this example computer system. After reading this description, it will become apparent to a person skilled in the relevant art(s) how to implement the invention using other computer systems and/or architectures. 
         [0035]    Computer system  200  can include a display interface  202  that forwards graphics, text, and other data from the communication infrastructure  206  (or from a frame buffer not shown) for display on a display unit  230 . Computer system  200  also includes a main memory  208 , preferably random access memory (RAM), and may also include a secondary memory  210 . The secondary memory  210  may include, for example, a hard disk drive  212  and/or a removable storage drive  214 , representing a floppy disk drive, a magnetic tape drive, an optical disk drive, etc. The removable storage drive  214  reads from and/or writes to a removable storage unit  218  in a well-known manner. Removable storage unit  218 , represents a floppy disk, magnetic tape, optical disk, etc., which is read by and written to removable storage drive  214 . As will be appreciated, the removable storage unit  218  includes a computer usable storage medium having stored therein computer software and/or data. 
         [0036]    In alternative aspects, secondary memory  210  may include other similar devices for allowing computer programs or other instructions to be loaded into computer system  200 . Such devices may include, for example, a removable storage unit  222  and an interface  220 . Examples of such may include a program cartridge and cartridge interface (such as that found in video game devices), a removable memory chip (such as an erasable programmable read only memory (EPROM), or programmable read only memory (PROM)) and associated socket, and other removable storage units  222  and interfaces  220 , which allow software and data to be transferred from the removable storage unit  222  to computer system  200 . 
         [0037]    Computer system  200  may also include a communications interface  224 . Communications interface  224  allows software and data to be transferred between computer system  200  and external devices. Examples of communications interface  224  may include a modem, a network interface (such as an Ethernet card), a communications port, a Personal Computer Memory Card International Association (PCMCIA) slot and card, etc. Software and data transferred via communications interface  224  are in the form of signals  228 , which may be electronic, electromagnetic, optical or other signals capable of being received by communications interface  224 . These signals  228  are provided to communications interface  224  via a communications path (e.g., channel)  226 . This path  226  carries signals  228  and may be implemented using wire or cable, fiber optics, a telephone line, a cellular link, a radio frequency (RF) link and/or other communications channels. In this document, the terms “computer program medium” and “computer usable medium” are used to refer generally to media such as a removable storage drive  214 , a hard disk installed in hard disk drive  212 , and signals  228 . These computer program products provide software to the computer system  200 . The invention is directed to such computer program products. 
         [0038]    Computer programs (also referred to as computer control logic) are stored in main memory  208  and/or secondary memory  210 . Computer programs may also be received via communications interface  224 . Such computer programs, when executed, enable the computer system  200  to perform the features of the present invention, as discussed herein. In particular, the computer programs, when executed, enable the processor  210  to perform the features of the present invention. Accordingly, such computer programs represent controllers of the computer system  200 . 
         [0039]    In an aspect where the invention is implemented using software, the software may be stored in a computer program product and loaded into computer system  200  using removable storage drive  214 , hard drive  212 , or communications interface  220 . The control logic (software), when executed by the processor  204 , causes the processor  204  to perform the functions of the invention as described herein. In another aspect, the invention is implemented primarily in hardware using, for example, hardware components, such as application specific integrated circuits (ASICs). Implementation of the hardware state machine so as to perform the functions described herein will be apparent to persons skilled in the relevant art(s). 
         [0040]    In yet another aspect, the invention is implemented using a combination of both hardware and software. 
         [0041]      FIG. 5  shows a communication system  300  involving use of various features in accordance with aspects of the present invention. The communication system  300  includes one or more assessors  360 ,  362  (also referred to interchangeably herein as one or more “users”) and one or more terminals  342 ,  366  accessible by the one or more accessors  360 ,  362 . In one aspect, operations in accordance with aspects of the present invention is, for example, input and/or accessed by an accessor  360  via terminal  342 , such as personal computers (PCs), minicomputers, mainframe computers, microcomputers, telephonic devices, or wireless devices, such as personal digital assistants (“PDAs”) or a hand-held wireless devices coupled to a remote device  343 , such as a server, PC, minicomputer, mainframe computer, microcomputer, or other device having a processor and a repository for data and/or connection to a repository for data, via, for example, a network  344 , such as the Internet or an intranet, and couplings  345 ,  364 . The couplings  345 ,  364  include, for example, wired, wireless, or fiberoptic links. In another aspect, the method and system of the present invention operate in a stand-alone environment, such as on a single terminal. 
         [0042]    While this invention has been described in conjunction with the example aspects outlined above  9 and further described in Attachment A), various alternatives, modifications, variations, improvements, and/or substantial equivalents, whether known or that are or may be presently unforeseen, may become apparent to those having at least ordinary skill in the art. Accordingly, the example aspects of the invention, as set forth above, are intended to be illustrative, not limiting. Various changes may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Therefore, the invention is intended to embrace all known or later-developed alternatives, modifications, variations, improvements, and/or substantial equivalents.