Patent Abstract:
Methods, systems, and computer program products for over the air provisioning of soft cards on devices with wireless communications capabilities are disclosed. According to one method, a soft card provisioning application is instantiated on a device with wireless communications capabilities. A card number for a soft card desired to be provisioned on the device is obtained from a user of the device. The card number is communicated to a provisioning configuration server over an air interface. Card-issuer-specific challenges corresponding to the card number and a provisioning issuer server network address are obtained from the provisioning configuration server. The challenges are presented to the user, and the user&#39;s responses to the challenges are received. A connection is made to the provisioning issuer server corresponding to the network address. The challenge responses are communicated to the provisioning issuer server. Soft card personalization data for activating the soft card is received from the provisioning issuer server. The soft card is provisioned for use on the device based on the personalization data.

Full Description:
TECHNICAL FIELD 
   The subject matter described herein relates to provisioning of soft cards on devices with wireless communications capabilities. More particularly, the subject matter described herein relates to methods, systems, and computer program products for over the air provisioning of soft cards on devices with wireless communications capabilities. 
   BACKGROUND ART 
   Conventional physical payment cards, member cards, and loyalty cards are typically provisioned in a physical secure environment controlled by the card issuer. For example, the card issuer may have a secure facility where cards are provisioned before being sent to users. When a user receives a card, the user typically contacts the card issuer by telephone to activate the card. 
   In order to eliminate the need for users to carry physical cards, card issuers have begun issuing soft cards. As used herein, the term “soft card” refers to a software-implemented entity for facilitating transactions, such as payment transactions. Examples of soft cards include payment cards, such as credit cards, loyalty cards, member cards, identification cards, and other payment and no-payment cards. 
   A soft card may be provisioned on a device with wireless communications capabilities. Devices with wireless communication capabilities may interact with local card readers to enable transactions involving the soft card. Examples of devices with wireless communications capabilities include mobile phones, smart phones, key fobs, physical cards, and personal digital assistants with interfaces to local card readers. Interactions between a device and a reader may occur via an electric and/or magnetic field between the device and the reader. One type of communications channel that may be used between a device capable of supporting a soft card and a card reader for payment transactions is near field communications (NFC). Near field communications typically occur at a distance of within about one wavelength of the communications frequency being used between the device and the contactless card reader. Example of a contactless communications protocol that may be used in communications between a device capable of supporting a soft card and a contactless card reader is an ISO 14443 interface. 
   Devices with wireless communications capabilities may also be capable of data communications with remote entities. For example, devices with wireless communications capabilities may implement HTTP over TCP/IP over an air interface for communicating with remote entities. The air interface protocol used by a device with wireless communications capabilities may vary with the device. Examples of air interface protocols that may be used include GSM, GPRS, CDMA, Bluetooth, etc. 
   In order to utilize a soft card on a device with wireless communications capabilities, the soft card must be provisioned or loaded onto the device. One possible solution for provisioning soft cards on mobile devices is to provision the devices at a secure facility controlled by the card issuer. However, it is impractical to require users to bring their mobile phones or PDAs to a card issuer location for secure provisioning. Accordingly, one conventional provisioning method involves the user calling the card issuer and requesting a soft card. A human operator or a call center at the card issuer obtains user information. The card issuer validates the user and enqueues soft card provisioning requests for multiple users. When a batch of soft card provisioning requests has been obtained by the card issuer, the card issuer provisions the cards as a batch. The time from a soft card request until batch provisioning can range from 3 to 20 days. Such a delay is undesirable for users who desire to use their soft cards immediately. 
   Another problem with conventional card provisioning systems is that the systems are not scalable. For example, card-issuer-specific provisioning systems communicate with back end network devices using proprietary protocols. There is believed to be no system that is capable of provisioning cards issued by different card issuers using a single point of contact for mobile devices. 
   Accordingly, in light of these problems with conventional soft card provisioning methods, there exists a need for improved methods, systems, and computer program products for over the air provisioning of soft cards on devices with wireless communications capabilities. 
   SUMMARY 
   Methods, systems, and computer program products for over the air provisioning of soft cards on devices with wireless communications capabilities are disclosed. According to one method, a soft card provisioning application is instantiated on a device with wireless communications capabilities. A card number for a soft card desired to be provisioned on the device is obtained form the user of the device. The card number is communicated to a provisioning configuration server over an air interface. 
   Card-issuer-specific challenges corresponding to the card number and a provisioning issuer server network address are obtained from the provisioning configuration server. The challenges are presented to the user, and the user&#39;s responses to the challenges are received. A connection is made to the provisioning issuer server corresponding to the network address. The challenge responses are communicated to the provisioning issuer server. Soft card personalization data for provisioning the soft card is received from the provisioning issuer server. The soft card is provisioned for use on the device based on the personalization data. 
   The provisioning of a soft card over the air interface may occur over wireless connection, for example, using HTTP and TCP protocols. A TCP socket may be created for the provisioning connection. The physical layer of the connection may utilize, CDMA, Bluetooth, GPRS, or GSM air interface protocols. Provisioning may occur over the Internet or over a corporate or other intranet. Provisioning may be direct, in that provisioning does not require a voice call. That is, the device user may not be required to call a card issuer or a third party to initiate card provisioning. Provisioning may occur automatically by providing a provisioning application on a mobile device that establishes a connection with a provisioning configuration server in response to being started. Eliminating the need for the user to initiate a voice call to provision a soft card reduces the time required for the provisioning process. 
   The methods and systems described herein for over the air provisioning of soft cards on devices with wireless communications capabilities can be implemented using a computer program product comprising computer executable instructions embodied in a computer readable medium. Exemplary computer readable media suitable for implementing the subject matter described herein include chip memory devices, disk memory devices, programmable logic devices, application specific integrated circuits, and downloadable electrical signals. In addition, a computer program product that implements the subject matter described herein may be located on a single device or computing platform or may be distributed across multiple devices or computing platforms. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     Preferred embodiments of the subject matter described herein will now be explained with reference to the accompanying drawings of which: 
       FIG. 1  is a block diagram of a system for over the air provisioning of a soft card on a device with wireless communications capabilities according to an embodiment of the subject matter described herein; 
       FIG. 2  is a flow chart illustrating exemplary overall steps for manually provisioning a soft card from the perspective of a soft card provisioning application according to an embodiment of the subject matter described herein; 
       FIGS. 3A and 3B  are a flow chart illustrating exemplary detailed steps for provisioning a soft card over an air interface from the perspective of a soft card provisioning application according to an embodiment of the subject matter described herein; 
       FIGS. 4A and 4B  are a flow chart illustrating exemplary detailed steps for preloading provisioning information for a soft card using a web interface according to an embodiment of the subject matter described herein; 
       FIGS. 5A and 5B  are a flow chart illustrating exemplary detailed steps performed by a soft card provisioning application for automatically provisioning a soft card according to an embodiment of the subject matter described herein; 
       FIG. 6  is a flow chart illustrating exemplary overall steps for provisioning a soft card from the perspective of a provisioning configuration server according to an embodiment of the subject matter described herein; 
       FIGS. 7A and 7B  are a flow chart illustrating exemplary detailed steps for the overall provisioning process according to an embodiment of the subject matter described herein; and 
       FIGS. 8A and 8B  are a flow chart illustrating exemplary steps for provisioning a soft card using WAP push methods according to the embodiment of the subject matter described herein. 
   

   DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     FIG. 1  is a block diagram of a provisioning system for provisioning soft cards on devices with wireless communications capabilities according to an embodiment of the subject matter described herein. Referring to  FIG. 1 , system  100  includes a provisioning and payment application  102 , a web provisioning application  104 , an administrative site  106 , a provisioning configuration server  108 , and one or more provisioning issuer servers  110  hosted in card issuer locations. Provisioning and payment application  102  may reside on a device with wireless communication capabilities, such as a mobile telephone, a smart phone, or a personal digital assistant. A wireless network operator  112  may provide the pathway for provisioning communications with provisioning and payment application  102 . This pathway may be an IP connection that is separate from a voice call, eliminating the need for users to initiate provisioning using voice calls. 
   Provisioning and payment application  102  may provide a user interface for the end user to initiate the provisioning of one or more soft cards that reside on the wireless communications device. Provisioning and payment application  102  may communicate with the user to obtain authentication information and may contact provisioning issuer server  110  to obtain soft card personalization data. Exemplary steps performed by provisioning and payment application  102  will be described in further detail below. Provisioning and payment application  102  is also referred to herein as “provisioning application,” since payment functionality is not essential to explaining the subject matter described herein. 
   Web provisioning application  104  may allow a user to perform one or more steps required for provisioning the soft card via a web interface. Web provisioning application  104  may reside on a web server associated with an entity that is separate from the card issuer. Web provisioning application  104  may allow a user to provision multiple cards in one provisioning transaction. Exemplary detailed steps performed by web provisioning application  104  will be described below. 
   Administration site  106  may provide customer support for provisioning soft cards on handheld devices. The functionality of administration site  106  is not essential to the subject matter described herein. Hence, additional detail will not be provided. 
   Provisioning configuration server  108  may store configuration and business process information for a plurality of different card issuers. For example, provisioning configuration server  108  may receive soft card provisioning requests from provisioning and payment application  102 . Provisioning configuration server  108  may identify the card issuer associated with the request based on a card number or an identifier provided in the request. Provisioning configuration server  108  may obtain challenge data from the card issuer and may communicate that challenge data to provisioning and payment application  102 . Provisioning configuration server  108  may provide a single point of contact for mobile device users to provision soft cards. In addition, provisioning configuration server  108  may be configured to communicate with multiple card issuers. As a result, provisioning configuration server  108  provides an easy-to-use, scalable solution to soft card provisioning. 
   Provisioning issuer servers  110  may reside at each different card issuer and may be integrated with each card issuer back office system to provide card provisioning data, card image and card financial information, such as account balance, rewards, pre-printed information on the card and personalized embossed information (expiration date, CVV, name on the card, PAN). For a soft card, the pre-printed and personalized embossed information may be displayed to the user via a graphical user interface associated with the device. Provisioning issuer servers  110  may communicate with provisioning and payment application  102  to authenticate a user and to deliver card personalization data and card image information to application  102 . Provisioning issuer server  110  may also communicate with back office systems  114  and card issuer customer support sites  116 . Back office systems  114  may store user&#39;s personal information and personalization data for soft cards. Customer support sites  116  may provide customer support for card issuer customers. 
   In the example illustrated in  FIG. 1 , the dotted arrows represent automatic provisioning, which is provisioning that involves web application  104  and then using provisioning and payment application  102  to provision multiple cards with single request using web application user name and password. The solid arrows represent manual provisioning, which is provisioning of individual cards one at a time using provisioning and payment application  102 . The remaining arrows represent WAP push provisioning, which will be described in detail below. 
     FIG. 2  is a flow chart illustrating exemplary overall steps for provisioning the soft card on a device with wireless communication capabilities according to an embodiment of the subject matter described herein. The steps in  FIG. 2  may be preformed by provisioning and payment application  102  and/or web provisioning application  104 . The steps illustrated in  FIG. 2  are intended to be generic with regard to automatic or manual provisioning. Referring to  FIG. 2 , in step  200 A, if device is used for first time, provisioning and payment application  102  will configure a secure memory embedded in the device along with a near field communication component. This process may not be repeated for returning user of provisioning and payment application  102 . in step  200 , a request for soft card provisioning is received from the user. For manual provisioning, this step may be performed by provisioning and payment application  102 . For automatic provisioning, the step may be performed by web provisioning application  104 . 
   In step  202 , the card identifier is obtained from the user. The card identifier may be the personal account number (PAN) associated with the soft card request. For manual provisioning, step  202  may be performed by provisioning and payment application  102 . For automatic provisioning, step  202  may be performed by web provisioning application  104 . 
   In step  204 , a card identifier is communicated to provisioning configuration server  108 . In one exemplary implementation, provisioning configuration server  108  may have a 1 to n relationship with provisioning issuer servers  110 . Accordingly, provisioning and payment application  102  and/or web provisioning application  104  may be configured with contact information for a single provisioning configuration server  108 . Eliminating the need for provisioning and payment application  102  and/or web provisioning application  104  to be preconfigured with multiple card issuer identifications allows different cards issued by different issuers to be provisioned in a more efficient manner. In addition, using a provisioning configuration server  108  to control communications with provisioning and payment application  102 , web provisioning application  104 , and card issuer servers  110 , makes system more scalable than card-issuer-specific provisioning systems. In a manual provisioning process, step  204  may be implemented by provisioning and payment application  102 . In an automatic provisioning process, step  204  may be performed by a web provisioning application  104 . 
   In step  206 , provisioning and payment application  102  receives provisioning issuer server information, card type information, such as Paypass, Visa, Discover, and challenge information for the provisioning issuer server identified by provisioning configuration server  108 . In step  207 , provisioning and payment application  102  may create an instance of card type in secure memory for personalization, if no new instance is present for card type. In step  208 A, provisioning and payment application  102  may send all challenge questions received by provisioning configuration server  108  for a specific card issuer to the user. In step  208 , provisioning and payment application  102  obtains challenge response information from the user. In step  210 , provisioning and payment application  102  communicates the challenge response to the provisioning issuer server. In step  212 , provisioning and payment application  102  obtains card personalization data, card image and pre-printed card information and card embossed information from provisioning issuer server  110 . 
   If provisioning and payment application  102  successfully receives the card personalization data over the air interface, then provisioning and payment application  102  provisions the soft card for use on the device by storing the personalization data in memory. If provisioning and payment application  102  fails to successfully receive the soft card personalization data, provisioning and payment application  102  may read card track information from a secure chip associated with the device to obtain and display the last four digits of a card number and display a default card image, either at provisioning time or at payment time. 
     FIGS. 3A and 3B  are a flow chart illustrating exemplary detailed steps performed by provisioning and payment application  102  in a manual provisioning process according to an embodiment of the subject matter described herein. Referring to  FIG. 3A , in step  300 , the device with wireless communication capabilities is powered on. In step  302 , the user waits for the device to start. In step  304 , the user selects provisioning and payment application  102 . In step  306 , the user waits for provisioning and payment application  102  to open. 
   In step  308 , the user selects the manual provisioning option assuming that the near field communication component embedded with secure memory is already configured. As described above, manual provisioning includes provisioning the device with wireless communication capabilities, e.g., using the Internet (HTTP over TCP/IP), without preloading information in a web application. In step  310 , application  102  determines whether the number of cards to be downloaded is less than a predetermined maximum number. The maximum number may be configurable by the developer of soft card provisioning and payment application  102 . In step  312 , if the number of cards to be downloaded is not less than the maximum number, control proceeds to step  314  where the manual provisioning process ends. 
   In step  310 , if the number of cards to be downloaded is less than the maximum number, control proceeds to step  316  where application  102  asks the user to enter the PAN number for the card to be downloaded. Once the user enters the PAN number, control proceeds to step  318  in  FIG. 3B  where the application starts the authentication process. Detailed steps for authenticating the device will be described below. In step  320 , it is determined whether the device is authenticated. If the device is not authenticated, control proceeds to step  322  where application  102  indicates that the phone is not a valid phone with a secure memory and near field communication component. Application  102  may display to the user a message to contact customer support. Control then proceeds to step  314  where the provisioning process ends. 
   In step  320 , if the device is successfully authenticated, control proceeds to step  324  where application  102  obtains card issuer information, card type information and challenge question from provisioning configuration server  108 . In step  325 A, provisioning and payment application  102  may create a new instance of card type if not present. In step  325 B, provisioning and payment application  102  may present the challenge questions to user. In step  326 , the user provides response for the challenge questions. In step  328 , application  102  issues a soft card card download request to the identified provisioning issuer server. The identified provisioning issuer server  110  may communicate with the card issuer back end network to validate the user using the challenge response information provided in the soft card download request. Once the user is validated, provisioning issuer server  110  may provide the soft card personalization data to provisioning and payment application  102 . Application  102  receives the soft card personalization data from the provisioning issuer server. In step  330 , application  102  displays the card image to the user with card nickname and last 4 digits of card PAN number and may store embossed information and pre-printed information in secure memory and record management store (RMS) respectively. In step  332 , application  102  determines whether the user wants to download another card. If the user answers affirmatively, control returns to step  308  where the provisioning process restarts for the next card. If the user does not desire to download another card, control proceeds to step  334  where the provisioning process ends. 
   As stated above, in one implementation, a user may preload some of the information required for the provisioning process using web application  104  for a single card or for multiple cards. The process of pre-validating and preloading information in web application  104  to facilitate soft card provisioning is referred as to a soft card request.  FIGS. 4A and 4B  illustrates exemplary steps that may be performed using web application  104  in initiating a soft card request. Referring to  FIG. 4A , in step  400 , a user provides a PAN number, an expiration date, and other card verification values for a soft card desired to be provisioned. In step  402 , web application  104  communicates the card information to provisioning configuration server  108  and obtains challenge questions and card issuer identification information from provisioning configuration server  108 . In step  404 , web provisioning application  104  determines whether responses to the challenge questions have been provided by the user during enrollment. If all responses to the challenge questions have not been provided, control proceeds to step  406  where web application  104  asks the user for missing responses to the challenge questions. 
   In step  408 , web provisioning application  104  communicates the PAN and responses to the challenge questions to the card issuer. The card issuer validates the card information and responses to the challenge questions with user information stored in card issuer back office database provided during physical card issuance In step  410 , web provisioning application  104  determines whether the validation was successful. If the validation was not successful, control proceeds to step  412  where application  104  asks the user whether the user wants to retry. If the user selects yes, control proceeds to step  414  where the user re-enters the validation information. Validation is then reattempted by the card issuer. 
   If validation is successful, control proceeds to step  418  where application  104  receives confirmation of the validation, the card image, and the account user identifier and/or PAN. Referring to  FIG. 4B , in step  420 , application  104  stores the card image and general account information, such as nickname, expiration date, and account balance information. In step  422 , application  104  displays a confirmation page indicating that the soft card request was successfully completed. In step  424 , application  104  determines whether the user wants to repeat the process for another card. If the user desires to repeat the process for another card, control returns to step  400  and the steps for a soft card request are repeated. If the user does not desire to process another card, control proceeds to step  426  where the soft card request process is terminated and the user is redirected to the home page of the provisioning entity. 
   As stated above, once a user has prestored one or more soft cards using application  104  and the process illustrated in  FIGS. 4A and 4B , the user may automatically provision the soft cards on his or her device with wireless communication capabilities using the auto provisioning process.  FIGS. 5A and 5B  are a flow chart illustrating exemplary steps that may be performed by provisioning and payment application  102  in implementing the auto provisioning process according to an embodiment of the subject matter described herein. Referring to  FIG. 5A , in step  500 , the user powers on the device with wireless communication capabilities. In step  502 , the user waits for the device to start. In step  504 , the user selects provisioning and payment application  102 . In step  506 , the user waits for provisioning and payment application  102  to open. 
   Once provisioning and payment application  102  opens, in step  508 , the user selects the auto provisioning option. Control then proceeds to step  510  where it is determined whether the user&#39;s name and password associated with web application  104  are prestored on the device. If the user&#39;s name and password are not prestored on the device, control proceeds to step  512  where provisioning and payment application  102  asks the user for the user name and password. In step  514 , the user enters the user name and password created during a web enrollment process. Control then proceeds to step  516  where the device authentication process starts. As described above, device authentication may include communicating with provisioning configuration server  108  to determine whether the device is authorized to receive provisioning information. 
   Referring to  FIG. 5B , in step  518 , it is determined whether the authentication was successful. If the authentication was not successful, control proceeds to step  520  where provisioning and payment application  102  indicates that the device is not a valid near field communications (or other wireless communications) handheld mobile trusted device and instructs the user to contact customer support. In step  522 , the auto provisioning process ends. 
   Returning to step  518 , if the device is successfully authenticated, control proceeds to step  524  where the user name and password are validated with web application  104  through provisioning configuration server  108 . In step  526 , it is determined whether the user name and password have been validated. If the user name and password have not been validated, control proceeds to step  528  where it is determined whether the retries exceed a maximum number of retries. If the retries have not exceeded the maximum number, control proceeds to step  530  where the user is prompted to enter the user name and password again. 
   In step  526 , if the user name and password are validated, control proceeds to step  532  where the soft card request data previously stored with web application  104  for the user is downloaded to provisioning and payment application  102 . 
   In step  534 , it is determined whether the number of cards present in provisioning and payment application  102  is less than a maximum number of cards. The number is not less than the maximum number, control proceeds to step  536  where a message is displayed to the user indicating that the application cannot support more than the maximum number of cards. In step  538 , the provisioning process ends. 
   Returning to step  534 , if the number of cards present in the application is less than the maximum number, control proceeds to step  540  where the card personalization information is downloaded to the device with wireless communication capabilities. The personalization process will process one card personalization at a time, if configured number of card configured in web application  104  is greater than 1. In step  542 , the device displays the card to the user. In step  544 , the automatic provisioning process ends. 
   As stated above, provisioning configuration server  108  acts as a point of contact for provisioning and payment application  102  and multiple different card issuers.  FIG. 6  is a flow chart illustrating the exemplary overall steps that may be performed by provisioning configuration server  108  in provisioning a soft card on a device with wireless communication capabilities according to an embodiment of the subject matter described herein. Referring to  FIG. 6 , in step  600 , provisioning configuration server  108  receives card identifier information from a device with wireless communication capabilities. In step  602 , server  108  identifies the card issuer by performing a look up in a database that matches the issuer identification number (IIN) (retrieved from the PAN) numbers to card issuers. Table 1 shown below illustrates exemplary entries that may be included in such a database. 
   
     
       
             
           
             
             
             
           
         
             
               TABLE 1 
             
           
           
             
                 
             
             
               IIN Number to Card Issuer Mappings 
             
           
        
         
             
                 
                 
               Provisioning Issuer Server IP 
             
             
                 
               IIN Number 
               Address 
             
             
                 
                 
             
             
                 
               XXXXXX-XXXXYY 
               128.128.0.1 
             
             
                 
               AAAAAA-AAAABB     
               128.256.0.1 
             
             
                 
               EEEEEE-EEEEFF     
               192.128.0.1 
             
             
                 
                    JJJJJJ-JJJJKK 
               192.256.0.1 
             
             
                 
                 
             
           
        
       
     
   
   In Table 1, the first column includes the IIN number range. The entries illustrated in Table 1 containing alphabetic characters are intended to represent the numeric characters that correspond to an IIN number. As stated above, an IIN number is an issuer identification number of the card issuer issued by ISO. The issuer identification number may be associated with a credit, debit, or charge card. The IIN number is usually the first 3-6 digits of the PAN printed on the face of a physical card or on a graphical image of a soft card. The second column in Table 1 indicates provisioning issuer server IP addresses for different provisioning issuer servers. Provisioning configuration server  108  may provide this information to provisioning and payment application  102  to allow provisioning and payment application  102  to establish secure communication and obtain the soft card personalization data. 
   In step  604 , provisioning configuration server  108  retrieve card-issuer-specific challenge questions from the database configured for specific card issuer. In step  606 , provisioning configuration server  108  communicates the card-issuer-specific challenge questions and card issuer identification information to the provisioning and payment application  102  that resides on the handheld mobile trusted device requesting provisioning of the soft card. 
     FIGS. 7A and 7B  are a flow chart illustrating exemplary detailed steps for both manual and automatic soft card provisioning according to an embodiment of the subject matter described herein. Referring to  FIG. 7A , in step  700 , provisioning and payment application  102  performs a pre-personalization process. During the pre-personalization process, provisioning and payment application  102  may change or manage an encryption key to be used for establishing secure communications. A pre-personalization process may configure base payments and non-payments applets in the secure chip of the near field communication component through provisioning and payment application  102 . Since the functionality of the payment portion is not essential to explaining the subject matter described herein, further description of its operation will not be described. 
   In step  702 , it is determined whether automatic or manual provisioning is being performed. If manual provisioning is being performed, control proceeds to step  704  where the user enters the PAN and response to the challenge questions on the wireless-communications-enabled device. In step  706 , provisioning and payment application  102  creates a secure channel to provisioning issuer server  110  through provisioning configuration server  108  for direct data transfer to and from provisioning issuer server  108 . 
   In step  708 , provisioning and payment application  102  encrypts and sends the PAN identification information and the response to the challenge questions to provisioning information server  708 . In step  710 , provisioning information server  110  communicates the PAN and the response to the challenge questions to the card issuer back end network. 
   In step  712 , provisioning issuer server  110  determines whether the data has been validated. If the data has not been validated, control proceeds to step  714  where provisioning and payment application  102  indicates that the challenge information entered by the user could not be validated. The user may be prompted to try again. In step  716 , the process terminates. 
   Returning to step  712 , if the data is validated, control proceeds to step  718  in  FIG. 7B  where the card issuer back end network provides card personalization data, an encryption key, and a card image to provisioning an issuer server  110 . In step  720 , provisioning issuer server  110  encrypts a packet with the session key and sends it to provisioning and payment application  102 . In step  722 , provisioning and payment application  102  sends the card personalization data to a secure chip present on the mobile trusted handheld device for personalization of the soft card and also stores an image of the soft card in the operating system file system. In step  724 , the manual provisioning process ends. 
   Returning to step  702  in  FIG. 7A , if automatic provisioning is selected, control proceeds to step  725  in  FIG. 7B  where provisioning and payment application  102  creates a secure channel to provisioning issuer server  110  through provisioning configuration server  108  for direct data transfer to and from provisioning issuer server  108 . In step  726 , provisioning and payment application  102  encrypts and sends the PAN and challenge questions and its response received by web application  104  to provisioning issuer server  110  one at a time. In step  728 , provisioning issuer server  110  communicates to the card issuer back end network the responses to the challenge questions for the PAN requested for download. In step  730 , it is determined whether the data is validated. If the data is not validated, step  714  and  716  are performed, as described above. If the data is validated, steps  718  through  724  are performed to load the card image and personalization data on the device. 
   Returning to  FIG. 1 , another method for provisioning a soft card on a device with wireless communications capabilities is WAP push provisioning. WAP or wireless application protocol is a protocol for delivering information to mobile devices.  FIGS. 8A and 8B  are a flow chart illustrating exemplary steps for provisioning a soft card using WAP push provisioning according to an embodiment of the subject matter described herein. Referring to  FIG. 8A , in step  800 , a user contacts card issuer customer support via telephone. The user may provide the mobile phone number, PAN number, CVV and expiration date embossed on the plastic card for the soft card that the user desires to provision on a mobile device. 
   In step  802 , customer support asks challenge questions to the user. The challenge question may be any card-issuer-specific challenge as described above. In step  804 , the card issuer back office application validates the user credentials based on the information provided by the user to customer support. 
   In step  806 , the card issuer back office application posts a WAP push request containing provisioning information for the card to provisioning configuration server  108  through provisioning issuer server  110 . In step  808 , customer support may ask for a cell phone number from user. In step  810 , provisioning configuration server  108  sends a WAP message to soft card provisioning and payment application  102  along with a PAN and flag, indicating user credentials are validated, and card issuer information. In step  812 , the wireless-communications-enabled device receives the WAP message and automatically starts provisioning and payment application  102 . 
   In step  814 , soft card provisioning and payment application  102  reads the parameters passed in the WAP message and starts the provisioning process. In step  816 , soft card provisioning and payment application  102  establishes secure communications with provisioning issuer server  110  through provisioning configuration server  108 . In step  818 , soft card provisioning and payment application  102  sends the provisioning request to provisioning issuer server  110 . 
   In step  820 , based on a static or dynamic card verification value, the card issuer back end network provides card personalization data, an encryption key, and a card image to provisioning issuer server  110 . In step  824 , provisioning issuer server  110  encrypts the packet with a session key and sends it to provisioning and payment application  102 . In step  826 , soft card provisioning and payment application  102  passes the information to secure chip on the device for personalization and stores the card image in the operating system file system. 
   It will be understood that various details of the invention may be changed without departing from the scope of the invention. Furthermore, the foregoing description is for the purpose of illustration only, and not for the purpose of limitation.

Technology Classification (CPC): 7