Patent Publication Number: US-2018053169-A1

Title: Middle device used to receive temporary onetime payment information from a NFC enabled smart device or digital wallet to process payment on a non NFC enabled point of sale terminal

Description:
FIELD OF THE TECHNOLOGY 
     At least some of the embodiments disclosed herein relate, in general, to a middle device used to temporally receive, hold and process a form or method of payment, initiated on a user controlled smart NFC enabled device or mobile contactless electronic wallet system, more specifically for use on point of sale terminals or payment accepting systems that do not accept, or lack the ability to accept contactless payment methods, which would enable a user to process the payment though other methods such as, a magnetic stripe reader, chip and pin enabled terminal or a chip and signature enabled point of sale terminal. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     With current advances in the credit card and debit card payment security fields many updates have emerged to help protect both consumers and merchants from fraudulent card activity and payment information theft. Two of the most commonly used payment security methods are the use of chip and pin or chip and signature that requires a chip embedded in the payment card, or contactless payment, which most commonly utilizes a form of close proximity data transfer referred to as Near Field Communication or NFC payment, both methods are able to secure the payment by processing the information with unique digital signature. The United States implemented new requirements in 2015 that would shift the liability to merchants who have not updated their payment methods to accept the more secured chip and signature payment forms, However due to the fast changing security requirements and the expensive cost of the software and hardware required for the implantations, many small merchants are unable to afford the equipment necessary to protect the transactions. Also in the case of many large retailers that have elected to simply not activate the NFC capability in terminals to accept payment methods from smart Near Field Communication devices in a effort to help reduce transaction fees while still avoiding liability for any fraudulent activity, which can leave both the consumers and payment processing companies at risk of either payment or identity theft. With the growth in consumer awareness towards the risk of identity theft and fraudulent card activity and annual increases of smart device users, the use of near field communication contactless payments are estimated to grow by over 216% by the end of 2016. Another added security measure that benefits from many NFC payment methods would be the use of biometric confirmation in order to process the payments before releasing the secured payment data. Aside from the many security benefits from NFC payments, many large companies have begun to offer incentives such as loyalty rewards and push notification coupons to consumer devices that choose to pay with these contactless payment forms. Today, however, many smart device users have not yet adapted to the mobile wallet platform due to the frustration of only a few large retailers and merchants accepting contactless payments. With a device capable of allowing the user to initiate a NFC payment on a terminal that would not be capable of processing a form of contactless payment under regular circumstances, while also not requiring the user to store the full payment information permanently would allow a greater ease to the user while helping to prevent fraud in the case that the device or payment data were compromised. 
     SUMMARY 
     The present disclosure relates to a middle device used to temporally receive and process a secured onetime Near Field Communication payment initiated through a smart device or mobile application such as, a smart phone or mobile electronic wallet, to then utilize the secured payment information data on point of sale terminals that would only be capable of receiving payment processing data through a magnetic stripe reader or a chip and pin processing terminal, without the middle device being required to save or store the secured payment information. After the transaction has been completed or for a designated allotted time frame set by either the device user or the payment processing provider the middle device would delete all payment information and be unable to process future payments until initiated by the user. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS 
       The embodiments are illustrated by way of example and not limitation in the figures of the described drawings in which the references indicate similar elements. 
         FIG. 1  shows a simplified illustration of the receiving device hardware and components used to receive and process the payment information. 
         FIG. 2  shows an illustration of a smart device sending payment information through Near Field Communication to the receiving device utilizing a magnetic stripe reader to process the payment information. 
         FIG. 3  shows an illustration of a smart device sending payment information through Near Field Communication to the receiving device utilizing a Chip and pin or EMV Chip to process the payment information. 
         FIG. 4  shows an illustration of the steps used to process a payment initiated through a smart device or electronic payment card through the onetime payment device onto a terminal unable to process a contactless payment. 
         FIG. 5  shows an illustration of an example of the device utilizing the digital display with a randomized pin or postal code for secure online purchases. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS 
     The following description and drawings are illustrated and are not to be construed as limiting. Numerous specific details are described to provide a thorough understanding. However, in certain instances, well known or conventional details are not described in order to avoid obscuring the description. References to one or more embodiments in the present disclosure are not necessarily references to the same embodiment; and, such references mean at least one. 
     References in this specification to “one embodiment” or “an embodiment” means that a particular feature, structure or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment of the disclosure. The appearances of the phrase “in one embodiment” in various places in the specification are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment, nor are separate or alternative embodiments mutually exclusive of other embodiments. Moreover, various features are described which may be exhibited by some embodiments and not by others. Similarly, various requirements are described which may be requirements for some embodiments but not other embodiments. 
     The Present disclosure relates to a middle device used to receive temporary onetime payment information from a Near Field Communication enabled smart device or digital wallet and process the secured onetime payment on a non NFC updated or activated payment terminal. 
       FIG. 1  provides a design for an overview of at least one embodiment  1 A illustrates the hardware design for the onetime payment device front containing  2 A illustrates the embodiment of, a programmable embedded computer chip that processes the encrypted payment information through chip and pin or EMV payment processing equipped terminals.  3 A illustrates the embodiment of, a power indicator or confirmation indicator.  4 A illustrates the embodiment of, the contactless receiving processor or Near Field Communication antenna.  5 A illustrates the rear of the device and embodiments contained.  6 A illustrates the embodiment of, a temporary memory or data processing chip.  7 A illustrates the embodiment of, a programmable magnetic stripe that processes the encrypted payment information received through a magnetic reader based payment terminal.  8 A illustrates the embodiment of, a power supply device such as a rechargeable or replaceable battery. 
       FIG. 2  illustrates the embodiment of, the process use of a  9 A NFC enabled smart device equipped with a contactless payment application and the user&#39;s payment information loaded into the device, then, initiating the secured payment data transfer.  10 A illustrates the embodiment of, a middle device receiving and temporarily holding the secured payment information to be processed.  11 A illustrates the embodiment of, the middle device used to transfer and process the secure payment information through the non-enabled point of sale terminal utilizing the common magnetic stripe reader. 
       FIG. 3  illustrates the embodiment of, the process use of a  12 A NFC enabled smart device equipped with a contactless payment application and the user&#39;s payment information loaded into the device, then, initiating the secured payment data transfer.  13 A illustrates the embodiment of, a middle device receiving and temporarily holding the secured payment information to be processed.  14 A illustrates the embodiment of, the middle device used to transfer and process the secure payment information through the non-enabled point of sale terminal utilizing chip and pin or a EMV (Europay, MasterCard and Visa) payment processing device. 
       FIG. 4  illustrates the embodiment of, the steps used to further demonstrate a payment processed utilizing the middle device from beginning to end.  15 A illustrates the embodiment of the smart NFC enabled device initiating a secured payment.  16 A illustrates the embodiment of, the middle device receiving and temporally holding the secured NFC initiated payment card information.  17 A illustrates the embodiment of, the NFC enabled middle device transferring the secured payment card information through the non-enabled contactless payment terminal using the magnetic reader or the computer chip EMV processing device.  18 A illustrates the embodiment of, the point of sale terminal processing and checking the secured payment information created by the smart device.  19 A illustrates the embodiment of, the merchant&#39;s payment processing vendor verifying the transaction.  20 A illustrates the embodiment of, the middle onetime payment device clearing the secured payment and user card information to reduce the risk of data theft or identity information being compromised after the transactions completion. 
       FIG. 5  illustrates the embodiment of, an example front and rear view of the device utilizing a digital display with the random codes used for secure online or face to face transactions.  21 A illustrates an example of the programmable contact payment chip.  22 A illustrates an example of the digital display showing the single use codes generated by the user&#39;s smart device or electronic wallet to assist in reducing the risk of man in the middle or skimming attacks.  23 A illustrates an example of the devices activation button or power button.  24 A illustrates an example of the programmable magnetic stripe used on out dated terminals to process the secure single use payment.