Registers – Systems controlled by data bearing records – Credit or identification card systems
Patent
1997-10-14
2000-11-07
Lee, Michael G
Registers
Systems controlled by data bearing records
Credit or identification card systems
235379, 705 41, G06K 500
Patent
active
061423696
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an electronic wallet, equipment associated therewith, and a method of using an electronic wallet.
The use of smart cards as electronic wallets is well known. A smart card can store electronic credits, representing money, which can be transferred by electronic means from a payer, the owner of the smart card, to a payee, the person with whom a cash transaction is conducted. However, in order to conduct a transaction with an electronic wallet, it is necessary to hand the wallet over to the payee, who will then insert the wallet (smart card) into a till having a smart card reader, enter the sum to be paid into the till which will then deduct the sum from the credits held on the smart card. In cash terms, this amounts to paying for a meal in a restaurant by handing a wallet, containing cash in the form of bank notes to a waiter, allowing him to take the wallet away and remove the cash from it necessary to pay the bill. From the point of view of the payer, this is not entirely a satisfactory way of conducting a cash transaction and entails placing a great deal of trust in the payee.
The use of mobile telephones is now well established. Many mobile telephone systems use SIMs, subscriber information modules, which are in the form of smart cards. A SIM carries a variety of information about a mobile telephone subscriber and the service he is entitled to access. SIMs are usually protected by a PIN (personal identity number), and include encryption algorithms and keys. To use a particular mobile telephone, a subscriber inserts his SIM into the telephone and enters his PIN, service is then available to him from the mobile telephone into which the SIM has been inserted. A similar system can be used to give a subscriber access to a payphone. Transmission over modern digital mobile telephone systems, such as the GSM system, is encrypted. The encryption employed frequently involves the use of asymmetric cyphers, which enable both secure encryption and the use of secure electronic signatures.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention avoids the need for a payer to pass his electronic wallet to a payee, by providing a facility to link payer and payee through a mobile telecommunications network and the PSTN. The payer inserts his electronic wallet into a mobile phone, dials the payees telephone number and transfers the requisite sum of money, in the form of electronic credits, to the payee's till (electronic). The payee can check that the correct sum has been transferred by examining a VDU on the till. Of course, it is not necessary to use a mobile telephone as the communication medium, a telephone connected directly to the PSTN could also be used, provided it is equipped with a suitable smart card reader. The system is also suitable for conducting remote transactions from, for example, an individuals house. In this case, a PC equipped with a modem, or another data terminal, could be used.
According to a first aspect of the present invention there is provided an electronic transaction terminal, for use in the conduct of electronic financial transactions, characterized in that said electronic transaction terminal comprises, in combination, a smart card, owned by a payer, on which is stored a plurality of money credits and a communications module for transferring electronic credits from said smart card to a payee, said smart card including storage means for storing electronic credits and transfer means for adding, or removing electronic credits, said communications module including actuation means for generating a signal for the transfer of electronic credits, routing means for generating an address to which said electronic signal should be addressed, a VDU for displaying data relating to a credit transfer, and a key pad for entering details of an electronic transfer, said electronic transaction terminal adapted so that the payer remains in physical control of the smart card at all times during conduct of a transaction.
Access to said smart card may be contr
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Au-System
Fureman Jared J.
Lee Michael G
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