TRANSACTION SERVER CONFIGURED TO AUTHORIZE PAYMENT TRANSACTIONS USING MOBILE TELEPHONE DEVICES
Techniques are disclosed for a mobile telephone, in conjunction with a payment transaction server, to be used directly as a payment device for a variety of financial transactions. Further, the transaction systems and methods for mobile telephone devices described herein allow a mobile telephone to participate in payment transactions in a manner that helps prevent identify theft and without relying on transferring amounts to/from one stored value account to another.
1 . A computer-implemented method for processing payment transactions initiated using a mobile telephone as a payment device, comprising:
receiving a request to enroll a mobile telephone in a payment transaction system, wherein the request includes an indication of an identity of an individual enrolling the mobile telephone and the telephone number of the mobile telephone;
establishing a bank account for the mobile telephone, wherein the bank account is tied to both the individual and the telephone number of the mobile telephone received with the request; and
providing a payment application for installation on the mobile telephone, wherein the payment application, when executed on the mobile telephone, allows the individual to initiate payment transactions using the mobile telephone as the payment device.
2 . The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , further comprising, prior to establishing the bank account for the mobile telephone, validating the identity of the individual enrolling the mobile telephone and the telephone number of the mobile telephone.
3 . The computer-implemented method of claim 2 , wherein validating the identity of the individual enrolling the mobile telephone comprises confirming that a service provider has a mobile telephone account for the mobile telephone associated with a subscriber matching the identity of the individual.
4 . The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , further comprising:
receiving, from the payment application on the mobile telephone, a request to transfer funds to the bank account established for the mobile telephone;
prompting the individual to select a source of funds for the transfer;
initiating a transfer of funds from the selected source to the bank account established for the mobile telephone.
5 . The computer-implemented method of claim 4 , further comprising:
receiving, form the payment application on the mobile telephone, a request to initiate a payment transaction with a merchant;
generating a payment code;
transmitting the payment code to the payment application on the mobile telephone;
receiving, from a point-of-sale system at the merchant, the payment code and a transaction amount;
upon determining sufficient funds are available in the bank account established for the mobile telephone:
transferring funds from the bank account established for the mobile telephone to an account associated with the merchant, and
transmitting, to both the mobile telephone and the point of sale system, a confirmation that the payment transaction was completed successfully.
6 . The computer-implemented method of claim 5 , wherein the payment application on the mobile telephone is configured to generate, from the payment code, a machine readable barcode scanned by the point-of-sale system at the merchant.
7 . The computer-implemented method of claim 5 , wherein the payment application on the mobile telephone is configured to generate, from the payment code, an alphanumeric string keyed into the point-of-sale system at the merchant.
8 . The computer-implemented method of claim 4 , further comprising:
receiving, from the payment application on the mobile telephone, a request to transfer a specified amount of funds from the mobile telephone to a second mobile telephone enrolled in the payment transaction system;
upon determining sufficient funds are available in the bank account established for the mobile telephone, prompting a second individual associated with the second mobile telephone to authorize the request to transfer funds; and
upon receiving a confirmation from the second individual, transferring the specified amount of funds from the account established for the mobile telephone to an account established for the second mobile telephone, wherein the account established for the second mobile telephone is tied to both the second individual and a telephone number of the second mobile telephone.
9 . A computer-readable storage medium containing a program, which, when executed on a processor performs an operation for processing payment transactions initiated using a mobile telephone as a payment device, the operation comprising:
receiving a request to enroll a mobile telephone in a payment transaction system, wherein the request includes an indication of an identity of an individual enrolling the mobile telephone and the telephone number of the mobile telephone;
establishing a bank account for the mobile telephone, wherein the bank account is tied to both the individual and the telephone number of the mobile telephone received with the request; and
providing a payment application for installation on the mobile telephone, wherein the payment application, when installed and executed on the mobile telephone, allows the individual to initiate payment transactions using the mobile telephone as the payment device.
10 . The computer-readable storage medium of claim 9 , wherein the operation further comprises, prior to establishing the bank account for the mobile telephone, validating the identity of the individual enrolling the mobile telephone and the telephone number of the mobile telephone.
11 . The computer-readable storage medium of claim 10 , wherein validating the identity of the individual enrolling the mobile telephone comprises confirming that a service provider has a mobile telephone account for the mobile telephone associated with a subscriber matching the identity of the individual.
12 . The computer-readable storage medium of claim 9 , wherein the operation further comprises:
receiving, from the payment application on the mobile telephone, a request to transfer funds to the bank account established for the mobile telephone;
prompting the individual to select a source of funds for the transfer;
initiating a transfer of funds from the selected source to the bank account established for the mobile telephone.
13 . The computer-readable storage medium of claim 12 , wherein the operation further comprises:
receiving, form the payment application on the mobile telephone, a request to initiate a payment transaction with a merchant;
generating a payment code;
transmitting the payment code to the payment application on the mobile telephone;
receiving, from a point-of-sale system at the merchant, the payment code and a transaction amount;
upon determining sufficient funds are available in the bank account established for the mobile telephone:
transferring funds from the bank account established for the mobile telephone to an account associated with the merchant, and
transmitting, to both the mobile telephone and the point of sale system, a confirmation that the payment transaction was completed successfully.
14 . The computer-readable storage medium of claim 13 , wherein the payment application on the mobile telephone is configured to generate, from the payment code, a machine readable barcode scanned by the point-of-sale system at the merchant.
15 . The computer-readable storage medium of claim 13 , wherein the payment application on the mobile telephone is configured to generate, from the payment code, an alphanumeric string keyed into the point-of-sale system at the merchant.
16 . The computer-readable storage medium of claim 12 , wherein the operation further comprises:
receiving, from the payment application on the mobile telephone, a request to transfer a specified amount of funds from the mobile telephone to a second mobile telephone enrolled in the payment transaction system;
upon determining sufficient funds are available in the bank account established for the mobile telephone, prompting a second individual associated with the second mobile telephone to authorize the request to transfer funds; and
upon receiving a confirmation from the second individual, transferring the specified amount of funds from the account established for the mobile telephone to an account established for the second mobile telephone, wherein the account established for the second mobile telephone is tied to both the second individual and a telephone number of the second mobile telephone.
17 . A system, comprising:
a processor;
a memory containing a transaction server, which when executed by the processor performs an operation for processing payment transactions initiated using a mobile telephone as a payment device, the operation comprising:
receiving a request to enroll a mobile telephone in a payment transaction system, wherein the request includes an indication of an identity of an individual enrolling the mobile telephone and the telephone number of the mobile telephone, and
establishing a bank account for the mobile telephone, wherein the bank account is tied to both the individual and the telephone number of the mobile telephone received with the request; and
a payment application for installation on the mobile telephone, wherein the payment application, when installed and executed on the mobile telephone, communicates with the transaction server to initiate payment transactions using the mobile telephone as the payment device.
18 . The system of claim 17 , wherein the operation further comprises, prior to establishing the bank account for the mobile telephone, validating the identity of the individual enrolling the mobile telephone and the telephone number of the mobile telephone.
19 . The system of claim 18 , wherein validating the identity of the individual enrolling the mobile telephone comprises confirming that a service provider has a mobile telephone account for the mobile telephone associated with a subscriber matching the identity of the individual.
20 . The system of claim 17 , wherein the operation further comprises:
receiving, from the payment application on the mobile telephone, a request to transfer funds to the bank account established for the mobile telephone;
prompting the individual to select a source of funds for the transfer;
initiating a transfer of funds from the selected source to the bank account established for the mobile telephone.
21 . The system of claim 20 , wherein the operation further comprises:
receiving, form the payment application on the mobile telephone, a request to initiate a payment transaction with a merchant;
generating a payment code;
transmitting the payment code to the payment application on the mobile telephone;
receiving, from a point-of-sale system at the merchant, the payment code and a transaction amount;
upon determining sufficient funds are available in the bank account established for the mobile telephone:
transferring funds from the bank account established for the mobile telephone to an account associated with the merchant, and
transmitting, to both the mobile telephone and the point of sale system, a confirmation that the payment transaction was completed successfully.
22 . The system of claim 21 , wherein the payment application on the mobile telephone is configured to generate, from the payment code, a machine readable barcode scanned by the point-of-sale system at the merchant.
23 . The system of claim 21 , wherein the payment application on the mobile telephone is configured to generate, from the payment code, an alphanumeric string keyed into the point-of-sale system at the merchant.
24 . The system of claim 20 , wherein the operation further comprises:
receiving, from the payment application on the mobile telephone, a request to transfer a specified amount of funds from the mobile telephone to a second mobile telephone enrolled in the payment transaction system;
upon determining sufficient funds are available in the bank account established for the mobile telephone, prompting a second individual associated with the second mobile telephone to authorize the request to transfer funds; and
upon receiving a confirmation from the second individual, transferring the specified amount of funds from the account established for the mobile telephone to an account established for the second mobile telephone, wherein the account established for the second mobile telephone is tied to both the second individual and a telephone number of the second mobile telephone.