Secure environment public register (SEPR)
A Secure Environment Public Register (SEPR) provides a method and system that allows precious metals in the shape of bar(s) or units to be certified, specially numbered to provide exact linkage to an owner, allow secure movement of precious metals between secure facilities, and through a blockchain, allow secure transfer of ownership between individuals and organizations. The SEPR allows gold and other precious metals to be easily held and traded in commerce with all the advantages of holding precious metals. The SEPR system allows exact audits of the metal bars on hand and avoids over-selling units since each bar is serialized and ownership is documented in a public register.
1 . A method of performing a debit card transaction within a physical secure environment (PSE) system, the method comprising:
providing a physical secure environment where a PSE account holder of a PSE account stores at least one certified precious metal unit at a PSE storage facility, the at least one certified precious metal unit having ownership information and location information of the PSE storage facility stored in a PSE account record of the PSE account holder and a corresponding certified precious metal unit record in a certified precious metal unit registry,
wherein the PSE storage facility is at a first location selected, by the PSE account holder, from a plurality of PSE storage facilities at different storage locations;
presenting, by the PSE account holder, a debit card associated with the PSE account of the PSE account holder to one of a merchant point-of-sale (POS) device or a POS Application Programming Interface (API) on an e-commerce site;
transmitting, by the merchant POS device or the POS API, to a PSE service center, a transaction amount of the debit card transaction, a currency type of the debit card transaction, a merchant institution account number, and information of the PSE account of the PSE account holder;
verifying, at the PSE service center, the information of the PSE account of the PSE account holder and the transaction amount against a balance held in the PSE account of the PSE account holder;
determining, at the PSE service center, whether a sufficient amount of the currency type is in a currency sub-account of the PSE account of the PSE account holder to cover the transaction amount;
wherein if the sufficient amount of the currency type to cover the transaction amount is in the currency sub-account, transferring the transaction amount via one of Automated Clearing House (ACH)/International ACH Transfer (IAT) or wire to the merchant institution account number, and
wherein if the sufficient amount of the currency type to cover the transaction amount is not in the currency sub-account, liquidating to a currency value of the currency type, a quantity of certified precious metal units in an identified PSE storage facility identified in a certified precious metal unit sub-account of the PSE account of the PSE account holder to cover the transaction amount in the currency type, and transferring the transaction amount via one of ACH/IAT or wire to the merchant institution account number;
determining if there is a remaining currency amount from liquidating the quantity of the certified precious metal units to the currency value, and depositing the remaining currency amount in the currency sub-account of the PSE account of the PSE account holder; and
updating the PSE account record of the PSE account holder and any corresponding certified precious metal unit records in the certified precious metal unit registry to reflect the transferring of the transaction amount to the merchant institution account number as initiated by the debit card transaction;
wherein the certified precious metal unit registry is a blockchain registry that registers, for each particular precious metal unit, a record including a serial number, ownership information, a particular type of the precious metal unit, a current physical storage facility and transactions associated with the particular precious metal unit.
2 . The method of performing the debit card transaction within the PSE system of claim 1 , wherein the merchant POS device, to which the debit card is presented, is at a physical location.
3 . The method of performing the debit card transaction within the PSE system of claim 1 , wherein the e-commerce site is an e-commerce platform of a merchant.
4 . The method of performing the debit card transaction within the PSE system of claim 1 , wherein the currency type is a currency type of the debit card transaction.
5 . The method of performing the debit card transaction within the PSE system of claim 4 , wherein the PSE account of the PSE account holder contains the currency sub-account configured to maintain the currency value for the currency type.
6 . The method of performing the debit card transaction within the PSE system of claim 1 , wherein the PSE account of the PSE account holder contains the certified precious metal unit sub-account configured to maintain at least one certified precious metal unit stored at the PSE storage facility.
7 . The method of performing the debit card transaction within the PSE system of claim 1 , wherein the liquidating to the currency value further includes selling at least one certified precious metal unit from the PSE account of the PSE account holder at a precious metal market price corresponding to the at least one certified precious metal unit.
8 . The method of performing the debit card transaction within the PSE system of claim 1 , wherein the corresponding certified precious metal unit records in the certified precious metal unit registry are updated to indicate at least one of a sale, transfer or acquisition in PSE account holder ownership information of at least one certified precious metal unit.
9 . The method of performing the debit card transaction within the PSE system of claim 1 , wherein the PSE account record of the PSE account holder is updated to indicate at least one of a sale or transfer in PSE account holder ownership information of at least one certified precious metal unit.
10 . A physical secure environment (PSE) system configured to enable a debit card transaction within the PSE system, the system comprising:
a physical secure environment where a PSE account holder of a PSE account stores at least one certified precious metal unit at a PSE storage facility, the at least one certified precious metal unit having ownership information and location information of the PSE storage facility stored in a PSE account record of the PSE account holder and a corresponding certified precious metal unit record in a certified precious metal unit registry,
wherein the PSE storage facility is at a first location selected, by the PSE account holder, from a plurality of PSE storage facilities at different storage locations;
a debit card associated with the PSE account of the PSE account holder configured to be presented, by the PSE account holder, to one of a merchant point-of-sale (POS) device or a POS Application Programming Interface (API) on an e-commerce site of a merchant; and
a PSE service center configured to:
receive from one of the merchant POS device or the POS API a transaction amount of the debit card transaction, a currency type of the debit card transaction, a merchant institution account number, and information of the PSE account of the PSE account holder;
verify the information of the PSE account of the PSE account holder and the transaction amount against a balance held in the PSE account of the PSE account holder;
determine whether a sufficient amount of the currency type is in a currency sub-account of the PSE account of the PSE account holder to cover the transaction amount;
transfer the transaction amount via one of Automated Clearing House (ACH)/International ACH Transfer (IAT) or wire to the merchant institution account number when the sufficient amount of the currency type is determined to be in the currency sub-account, or
transfer the transaction amount via one of ACH/IAT or wire to the merchant institution account number when the sufficient amount of the currency type to cover the transaction amount is not in the currency sub-account, by liquidating to a currency value of the currency type, a quantity of certified precious metal units in an identified PSE storage facility identified in a certified precious metal unit sub-account of the PSE account of the PSE account holder to cover the transaction amount in the currency type;
determine if there is a remaining currency amount from liquidating the quantity of the certified precious metal units to the currency value, and depositing the remaining currency amount in the currency sub-account of the PSE account of the PSE account holder; and
update the PSE account record of the PSE account holder and any corresponding certified precious metal unit records in the certified precious metal unit registry to reflect the transferring of the transaction amount to the merchant institution account number as initiated by the debit card transaction;
wherein the certified precious metal unit registry is a blockchain registry that registers, for each particular precious metal unit, a record including a serial number, ownership information, a particular type of the precious metal unit, a current physical storage facility and transactions associated with the particular precious metal unit.