Abstract:
According to one aspect of the invention, a method for coordinating the management of credit between an Internet user and a plurality of lending institutions via the Internet, includes the steps of receiving account information on at least one credit account from the plurality of lending institutions or the Internet user, storing the account information in a database, receiving selection criteria from the Internet user specifying conditions under which each of the at least one credit account is authorized to be used, receiving from a merchant a request for authorization of a transaction, processing the request including selecting one of the at least one credit account to be used for the transaction, transmitting the account information corresponding to the selected account to the lending institution associated with the selected account, receiving an authorization status from the lending institution, selecting a different account to request authorization from the lending institution associated with the selected account if the authorization status is a denial, and transmitting the authorization status to the merchant.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0001]     1. Field of the Invention  
         [0002]     The present invention relates generally to a universal card to manage multiple accounts. In particular, the present invention relates to a credit/debit card that allows a person to make a credit purchase using a single universal credit card that is associated with pre-established credit accounts. The amount of the purchase is charged to one or more of the pre-established credit accounts based on predetermined criteria chosen by the user.  
         [0003]     2. Discussion of the Related Art  
         [0004]     When making a credit card purchase, a person typically selects a MasterCard™ or Visa™ card to enable the person to make a purchase or acquire a cash advance according to a particular card&#39;s credit/cash advance limit. The standard cards also include substantial annual fees, late payment charges and overdraft fees. In fact, the majority of the accounts will allow a person to incur an overdraft in order to avoid personal embarrassment. In this case, the fees incurred from the overdraft may even be larger than the actual purchase itself.  
         [0005]     The credit industry is a multibillion dollar market where over 80% of revenue is directly attributable to “miscellaneous fees” including late/overdraft fees as opposed to interest revenue on the borrowed money. Therefore, it is obviously in the credit industry&#39;s best interest not to create systems that allow card holders to avoid these “miscellaneous fees” by properly managing their accounts while optimizing their payments so that the lowest interest card is always the primary card that is paid off first.  
         [0006]     In the current credit environment, a person also typically has several credit cards from the same institutions. The majority of card issuers from these institutions allow a person to access account information via the Internet where the person may make payments, view statements and edit personal information. The person directs their browser to the particular site and enters a password for each individual card even if they have several cards with the same institution. In some cases, a person also has to enter multiple login names at the same site as well as multiple passwords associated with each login name.  
         [0007]     The use of several different cards when making a purchase also increases the risk of fraud. It is relatively easy for a person to make a credit purchase using a stolen card. Few merchants actually refuse the purchase if the signature on the back of the card does not appear to match the person&#39;s signature on the credit slip.  
         [0008]     What is needed, therefore, to overcome these inherent limitations of making a credit purchase based on multiple credit cards is a single universal credit card that enables a person to make a purchase based on a predefined criteria as applied to several preestablished credit accounts associated with the universal card.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0009]     According to one aspect of the invention, a method for coordinating the management of credit between an Internet user and a plurality of lending institutions via the Internet, includes the steps of receiving account information on at least one credit account from the plurality of lending institutions or the Internet user, storing the account information in a database, receiving selection criteria from the Internet user specifying conditions under which each of the at least one credit account is authorized to be used, receiving from a merchant a request for authorization of a transaction, processing the request including selecting one of the at least one credit account to be used for the transaction, transmitting the account information corresponding to the selected account to the lending institution associated with the selected account, receiving an authorization status from the lending institution, selecting a different account to request authorization from the lending institution associated with the selected account if the authorization status is a denial, and transmitting the authorization status to the merchant.  
         [0010]     According to another aspect of the invention, a network system for coordinating the management of credit between an Internet user and a plurality of lending institutions via the Internet includes a database for storing and receiving account information, means for receiving account information on at least one credit account from the plurality of lending institutions or the Internet user, means for storing the account information in a database, means for receiving selection criteria from the Internet user specifying conditions under which each of the at least one credit account is authorized to be used, means for receiving from a merchant a request for authorization of a transaction, means for processing the request including selecting one of the at least one credit account to be used for the transaction, means for transmitting the account information corresponding to the selected account to the lending institution associated with the selected account, means for receiving an authorization status from the lending institution, means for selecting a different account to request authorization from the lending institution associated with the selected account if the authorization status is a denial, and means for transmitting the authorization status to the merchant.  
         [0011]     According to yet another aspect of the invention, a network system for coordinating the management of credit between an Internet user and a plurality of lending institutions via the Internet includes a database for storing and receiving account information, a magstripe writing device configured to write data to a magstripe on a card corresponding to a particular account, means for receiving account information on at least one credit account from the plurality of lending institutions or the Internet user, means for storing the account information in a database, and means for receiving selection criteria from the Internet user specifying which credit account information is to be written by the magstripe writing device on the card.  
         [0012]     These and other objects, features, and advantages of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detailed description and the accompanying drawings. It should be understood, however, that the detailed description and specific examples, while indicating preferred embodiments of the present invention, are given by way of illustration and not of limitation. Many changes and modifications may be made within the scope of the present invention without departing from the spirit thereof, and the invention includes all such modifications.  
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0013]     A clear understanding of the various advantages and features of the present invention, as well as the construction and operation of conventional components and mechanisms associated with the present invention, will become more readily apparent by referring to the exemplary, and therefore non-limiting, embodiments illustrated in the following drawings which accompany and form a part of this patent specification.  
         [0014]      FIG. 1  is an illustration of the multiple credit card management system according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention;  
         [0015]      FIG. 2  is an illustration of a front side of a universal card according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention;  
         [0016]      FIG. 3  is an illustration of a back side of a universal card according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention;  
         [0017]      FIG. 4  is an illustration of a multiple credit card management system gateway and interface according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention;  
         [0018]      FIG. 5  is an illustration of the database associated with the multiple credit card management system according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention;  
         [0019]      FIG. 6  is an illustration of the activation of the system according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention;  
         [0020]      FIG. 7  is an illustration of personal security of a universal card according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention;  
         [0021]      FIG. 8  is an illustration of transaction choices in a multiple credit card management system according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention;  
         [0022]      FIG. 9  is an illustration of a customer service center of a universal card according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention;  
         [0023]      FIG. 10  is an illustration of a contact transaction according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention;  
         [0024]      FIG. 11  is an illustration of a frequently asked questions transaction according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention; and  
         [0025]      FIG. 12  is an illustration of the accounts in the multiple credit card management system according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention.  
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
       [0026]     Referring to  FIGS. 1-3 , a universal card  10  allows a person to make a purchase based on predefined criteria. Card  10  includes a memory  12  that is able to store data. Memory  12 , however, is not required for card  10  to be used. In particular, card  10  also includes a credit strip  14  and a telephone strip  16 . Strips  14  and  16  are placed on card  10  a particular distance from a top edge  18  and a bottom edge  20  to enable card  10  to be inserted by the merchant in a standard card reader so that either strip is easily read.  
         [0027]     In one embodiment of the present invention, card  10  is inserted in a stand-alone PDA-type device  22 . Device  22  includes a bar code writer that rewrites strips  14  and/or  16  based on accounts that are chosen by the user. In this regard, reader  22  interfaces via a communication line  24  with a web-based multiple credit management system  26 .  
         [0028]     Management system  26  includes a large-scale database  28  that stores comprehensive data relating to every credit account associated with each user of system  26 .  
         [0029]     Communication line  26  may be a telephone modem, a high speed internet cable, a wireless system, or any other communication link that is well-known by one skilled in the art.  
         [0030]     In an alternative embodiment of the present invention, device  22  is integrated into a personal computer  30  and data from database  28  is stored on a removable storage medium  32  to eliminate the necessity of communicating with management system  26  over communication line  26 . This is useful in the event management system  26  is temporarily inoperable or a communication line is unavailable, yet a user needs to rewrite strips  14  or  16  with different account information.  
         [0031]     Assuming computer  30  is linked with a printer  34 , a user may easily print out a history of all credit transactions stored in memory  12  for a particular day, week, month, etc. This transaction information can also be automatically uploaded into database  28  via communication line  24 .  
         [0032]     As illustrated in  FIG. 4 , after card  10  is inserted into a card reader  36  and swiped by a merchant, information is transmitted via a dataline  38  to management system  26  that serves as a universal card gateway for transactions. Database  28  associated with management system  26  includes all relevant data necessary to complete a purchase including specific credit account numbers, account limits, interest rates, minimum payment data, etc.  
         [0033]     The particular account that is chosen by database  28  for a transaction is determined by a person prior to the purchase. For example, the person may decide to charge all purchases to the account with the lowest interest rate that has the funds available for the particular purchase.  
         [0034]     Based on the predefined criteria, universal card gateway  26  queries an authorizing entity  40  via a dataline  42  to determine whether a successful transaction can be completed. Authorizing entity  40  is a credit card gateway that routes the transaction request via dataline  44  to the appropriate bank  46  that issued the particular account.  
         [0035]     Bank  46  responds to the transaction request by issuing a query to its associated database  48 , and then transmitting the results of the transaction request back to credit card gateway  40  via line  44 . Credit card gateway  40  determines which bank to route the transmission request to based on its associated database  50 .  
         [0036]     The result of the transaction request is transmitted back to the merchant via line  38  by management system  26  as either the transaction is authorized or declined. Various codes associated with the status of the transaction are also transmitted via line  38  as further explanation of the transaction (e.g., if approved, an approval code is transmitted; if declined, a reason for the disapproval of the request is transmitted - insufficient funds, over the limit, expired card, etc.).  
         [0037]     If management system  26  does not received authorization for an approved transaction via line  42  from gateway  40 , system  26  may issue another transaction request based on an alternative account. In this regard, system  26  iterates through all of the available accounts based on the user predefined criteria to attempt to successfully complete the transaction. This process of issuing several queries to gateway  40  is transparent to the merchant and, if possible, a “decline” code is not sent to reader  36  unless and until all of the credit account possibilities are exhausted.  
         [0038]     In operation, when a merchant scans card  10 , system  26  interfaces with credit card gateway  40  to authenticate whether the user is enrolled in the “verified by Visa” or “MasterCard SecureCode” or other appropriate card associations. The authentication request is forwarded via line  44  to the appropriate issuing bank  46  for approval of the transaction. The status of approval is then transmitted back by bank  46  to gateway  40  and then the merchant via management system  26 .  
         [0039]     Magstripe  14  or  16  on the back of card  10  can be “written” because the tiny bar magnets are magnetized in either a north or south pole direction. Strips  14  or  16  are similar to a cassette tape. The magnets are iron-based magnetic particles in a plastic-like film. Each particle is really a very tiny bar magnet about  20  millionths of an inch long.  
         [0040]     There are three tracks on each magstripe  14  or  16 , and each of the tracks are approximately 0.110 inch wide. The ISO/IEC standard 7811 used by banks specifies:  
         [0041]     1. Track one is 210 bits per inch (bpi) and holds 79 six-bit plus parity bit read-only characters;  
         [0042]     2. Track two is 75 bpi and holds 40 four-bit plus parity bit characters; and  
         [0043]     3. Track three is 210 bpi and holds 107 four-bit plus parity bit characters.  
         [0044]     Card  10  uses the first two tracks while the third track is a read/write track that includes an encrypted PIN, country code, currency units and authorized amounts. The usage of the third track is not standardized among banks.  
         [0045]     As explained above, there are two ways a user may use card  10 . In the first manner, strips  14  and/or  16  include account information that is rewritten using a bar code writer device  22 . In the preferred embodiment of the present invention, however, device  22  is not necessary because strips  14  and/or  16  are only written once so that when a merchant swipes card  10 , management system  26  is contacted and system  26  then determines which account to use. In the alternative case, strips  14  and/or  16  are continually rewritten with account information so that when a merchant swipes card  10 , credit card management gateway  40  is directly contacted without first interfacing with management system  26 .  
         [0046]     Strip  16  contains telephone minute account information that may be similarly updated by interfacing with database  28  via gateway  26 .  
         [0047]     In addition to using card  10  to make internet purchases or purchases from various merchants, card  10  can also be used to increase the speed of transactions at fast food restaurants. In particular, card  10  is linked to database  28  that includes separate account information corresponding to particular restaurants (McDonalds, Burger King, etc.).  
         [0048]     The account information relating to these restaurants may be in the form of credit or may be a prepaid account that can only be used for those particular restaurants. In either case, the user presents card  10  at time of payment for the product. The use of card  10  significantly decreases the transaction time for each order. In this regard, over 75% of transaction time in fast food restaurants is expended in the process of “making change” for customers. Therefore, by decreasing the time spent on this process, the restaurant is able to process substantially more orders which directly translates to increased revenue for the restaurant.  
         [0049]      FIG. 5  illustrates the interface between a client  52  and database  28  of management system  26  using a GUI that is available on standard internet browsers as is well-known by those skilled in the art.  
         [0050]     Management system  26  allows client  52  to log into database  28  to view account information for all of the accounts in system  26  using a single login and a single password. In the preferred embodiment of the present invention, database  28  is a large transactional database that is well-known by a person skilled in the art (e.g., Oracle™, Microsoft SQL Server™, MySQL™).  
         [0051]     At a decision block  54 , system  26  determines if client  52  is a first time user. If client  52  is a first time user, then client  52  registers with system  26  for an account in a block  56  by entering into database  28  relevant personal information along with particular information for every account to be managed by system  26 . If client  52  is not a first time user, then client  52  chooses among other options.  
         [0052]     As illustrated in  FIG. 4 , based on database  28 , system  26  selects a particular account for authorization in a block  58 . If the transaction is approved by gateway  40  in a block  60 , then the approved decision is transmitted back to database  28 , which is then routed to the merchant. If the transaction is not approved by gateway in a block  62 , then system  26  iterates through client  52 &#39;s accounts to requery gateway  40 .  
         [0053]     In an alternative embodiment of the present invention, gateway  40  is eliminated and system  26  also functions as a bank that directly authorizes transactions without having to query any additional gateways.  
         [0054]     Payments to particular client accounts are made via a payment block  64 . Client  52  also has the ability to freeze particular accounts via freeze block  66 . Finally, information is continually updated in database  28  via an update block  68 . In addition to relying on clients  52  to update information, data in database  28  pertaining to account information may also be automatically updated when system  26  interfaces with particular accounts for payment or other transactions.  
         [0055]     The information relating to the client accounts includes available balances, interest rate, payment due date, minimum amounts due, account numbers, issuing bank, late fee policies, overlimit fee policies, etc. In the preferred embodiment of the present invention, client  52  pays a percentage of each transaction for the management of the multiple credit accounts with system  26 . In the alternative, a monthly fee may be charged for use of management system  26 .  
         [0056]     As described above, database  28  filters purchases by selecting credit accounts using a particular predefined user criteria. For example, purchases may be applied against a credit account with the lowest interest rate.  
         [0057]     Referring to  FIG. 6 , client  52  activates card  10  in a block  70 . Personal information is entered in a block  72 , and specific account data is entered in a block  74 . Finally, in a block  76 , client  52  has the option to apply for overdraft protection that includes notification via email of overdrafts.  
         [0058]     Referring to  FIG. 7 , client  52  may choose a parental control feature in a block  78 . Client  52  enters a pin number for each member of the family that intends on using card  10  in block  80 . Client  52  also assigns a monthly limit for each pin number in a block  82 . Client  52  may also assign a card pin number to card  10  in a block  84 .  
         [0059]     Referring to  FIG. 8 , client  52  chooses to view transactions from a web page implemented in system  26  via a block  86 . A series of different tabs for various transactions are displayed via a block  88 . The transactions include a deposit transaction  90 , a withdrawal transaction  92 , an electronic mail transaction  94 , and a general account transaction  96 .  
         [0060]     In a Customer Service Center  98  of system  26  in  FIG. 9 , client  52  views account information via a block  100 . Account information includes a block  102  for updating addresses, a block  104  for updating email addresses, a block  106  for requesting PIN information, a block  108  for viewing an account history, a block  110  for reporting lost or stolen cards, a block  112  for updating bank information, a block  114  for signing up for online statements, and a block  116  for updating passwords.  
         [0061]     As illustrated in  FIG. 10 , there is a contact block  118  in Customer Service Center  98  that includes a telephone number  120 , a facsimile number  122 , a correspondence address  124 , a wire transfer routing information block  126 , a listing of payment addresses  128  and a listing of email inquiry addresses  130 .  
         [0062]     As illustrated in  FIG. 11 , there is a frequently asked questions block  132  in Customer Service Center  98  that includes a general questions block  134 , a bill payment block  136 , a password question block  138 , a technical question block  140 , a recent activity block  142  and a statement block  144 .  
         [0063]     Finally, as illustrated in  FIG. 12 , there is an accounts block  146  that applies to both personal and/or business accounts. System  26  is designed to accommodate both individual clients and business clients. In this regard, each of the specific accounts are examples and not limited to a particular type of account. Examples of some account types include financial accounts  148 , telecommunications/media accounts  150 , utility accounts  152  and miscellaneous accounts  154 .  
         [0064]     Financial accounts  148  include credit, debit, checking, savings, retirement (401 k, etc.), stocks/bonds, third party (eTrade™, etc.), annuities, mortgages, lines of credit, student loans, car loans, deferred contributions, etc.  
         [0065]     Telecommunication/media accounts  150  include telephone (minutes, wired, cellular, DSL, ISDN), television (cable), PDA internet access, etc.  
         [0066]     Utility accounts  152  include gas, water, electric, etc.  
         [0067]     Other miscellaneous accounts  154  include airline mileage, department stores, gas stations, gifts/certificates, fast food restaurants, credit reports, etc.  
         [0068]     If a primary account is denied authorization, then an alternative account may be queried based on the predefined criteria established by client  52  via system  26  interfacing with database  28 . These parameters associated with database  28  include which credit account to use, not allowing a person to go over the credit limit of a particular credit account, allowing a person to use a different credit account if another credit account does not have enough available credit for the purchase instead of incurring overlimit fees, and splitting a large purchase among several different accounts.  
         [0069]     System  26  also searches for the credit account with the lowest interest rate prior to processing the transaction. If the account with the lowest interest rate does not have enough credit available for the purchase, database  28  will identify the next lowest interest rate account for the purchase and query if there is enough credit available to complete the transaction.  
         [0070]     As explained above, system  26  may also split the amount of the particular purchase between the multiple credit accounts by using all of the credit available on the lowest interest credit account and applying the remaining amount of the purchase to the next lowest interest rate credit account.  
         [0071]     System  26  provides client  52  with the convenience of not having to carry around multiple credit cards and money saving opportunities. In particular, client  52  uses card  10  to access all current credit cards by simply “activating” a membership.  
         [0072]     System  26  further alerts clients  52  with due dates of payments for individual credit accounts and may withdraw necessary funds from a savings account, a checking account, or another credit account to automatically cover the payment for a particular credit account. Clients  52  may also choose to implement this automatic payment system only if a payment is not received in time to avoid late fees.  
         [0073]     As illustrated in  FIG. 7 , client  52  also has the option of requesting a pin number that must be entered at the moment a card is presented for a transaction. This pin number must be entered in order for the transaction to be processed, thereby adding an extra measure of security against stolen or lost cards, or against children attempting to use a credit account without parental approval.  
         [0074]     Client  52  may also assign a limited amount of money to be used per transaction, thereby limiting and supervising funds being used by children.  
         [0075]     Management system  26  allows client  52  to access and manage all credit and other accounts using a single login and associated password, provides clients  52  with monetary savings based on automatically applying transactions to the lowest interest rate credit account, provides overdraft protection thereby reducing the number of overdraft fees, protects against fraudulent activity with the use of separate pin numbers, supervises third-party use (e.g., children) of card  10  with PIN numbers, reduces the number of cards a client has to access in order to complete a transaction and provides credit protection.  
         [0076]     The scope of the application is not to be limited by the description of the preferred embodiments described above, but is to be limited solely by the scope of the claims that follow. For example, a bar code writing device may be used to write specific bar codes associated with particular accounts without interfacing with system  26  without departing from the scope of the preferred embodiment of the present invention.