Patent ID: 8676161

Claim:
A mobile device, comprising: a housing; an antenna mounted in or on the housing for transmitting and receiving transaction signals to and from a point of sale (POS) terminal; at least one user interface element mounted on the housing; a transceiver mounted in the housing and coupled to the antenna; a secure element including processing circuitry and storage elements secured from tampering and unauthorized access mounted in the housing, the secure element coupled to the transceiver and storing a payment application program, the payment application program operable to conduct a pre-sign procedure to verify a personal identification number (PIN) before exchanging transaction signals with the POS terminal; and a secure tick counter mounted in the housing and operated within the secure element, the secure tick counter for enforcing at least one time-out period with respect to transactions such that when the payment application program determines that the at least one time-out period expired then a risk management decision is enforced that depends on a type of the transaction, wherein the secure tick counter comprises: an oscillator; a counter operably coupled to the oscillator; an overflow counter operatively coupled to the counter; and a reset counter; wherein the reset counter is accessible by the payment application and increments upon detection of a reset event of the mobile device.