Patent ID: 8175975

Claim:
An Internet Protocol (IP) Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) charging system of an IMS network that is operated to authorize financial transactions initiated by an IMS device, the IMS charging system comprising: a function operated to provide charging for sessions by the IMS device in the IMS network; purchasing rules indicating purchases allowed by a user through the IMS device; and a processing system operated to receive transaction data from the IMS device in an IMS charging request, wherein the transaction data is generated by a point-of-sale device of a merchant for an attempted purchase of an item through the IMS device and is received in the IMS device from the point-of-sale device; the processing system further operated to identify the purchasing rules for the user of the IMS device, to process the purchasing rules and the transaction data to determine whether the financial transaction is authorized, and to transmit authorization data to the IMS device in an IMS charging response indicating whether or not the financial transaction is authorized.