Patent GB-2375214-A (GB)
Title: Secure payment method and system
Inventor: TREE IAN DAVID
IPC: G06Q30/00
Filed: 2001-05-02
Abstract: A secure payment method and system for payment for a product in electronic form comprises a customer's terminal 1a-c and a merchant's terminal 2a-b connected by a communications network. A customer uses a customer's terminal to request a product and at the customer's terminal, it is determined whether the product has previously been paid for by identifying if there is a corresponding transaction receipt stored at the customer's terminal. If there is a corresponding receipt this is transmitted with the request to the merchant's terminal. At the merchant's terminal, when the request is received, if there is an accompanying transaction receipt, the product is transmitted to the customer's terminal. If there is no accompanying transaction receipt, the transaction is recorded and a transaction receipt is generated and transmitted to the customer's terminal. A central server 3 can be provided to aggregate transactions by periodically polling the merchant's terminal to retrieve transaction data and for periodically polling the customer's terminal to retrieve receipt data. The receipt data and the transaction data can be reconciled in order to authenticate transactions. Methods and apparatus for controlling/limiting consumer spending, time processing sensitive data, providing a user interface and aggregating transactions are also disclosed and claimed. Time sensitive information is processed at a first computer by using its first clock corrected time by comparing that clock time with an external master clock and sent to a second computer using the corrected clock time. The information is processed at the second computer using its clock time which has been corrected by comparing its time with an external master. The spending of a user is controlled by using a client application program for generating a product request, an intermediate application program for controlling the passage of the request in dependence on spending control parameters previously input via a user interface. The apparatus also comprises a transaction storage means and compares the cost of the requested product with the limit. The apparatus may monitor different currencies to ensure the spending limit is not exceeded, a warning being put out, if it does. The apparatus may be over-ridden e.g. on entering a password. The product request can have a unique user identify attached to it before sending. At the receiving computer, the identifier is checked and confirmed before the requested product is sent, thus ensuring secure delivery and payment of products. The user interface downloads a template into which links to products are to be added. An index generating means in which the products to be indexed are organised hierarchically is provided. An interface is generated for displaying a plurality of index interfaces, each formed from said template with added links to the products or groups of products. Preferably the template is in HTML with tags and links to web pages to display the product(s). Transaction aggregation apparatus comprises vendor receiving means for periodically receiving information on a plurality of transactions from a plurality of vendors, receipt data receiving means for periodically receiving receipt information from a plurality of users, transaction reconciliation means for reconciling the transaction information and the receipts and transaction aggregation means for providing aggregated accounts for both individual users and individual suppliers.