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`c Attorney's Docket No. 9564-2P
`in Express Mail Label No. EL281362555US
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`COVER SHEET FOR FILING PROVISIONAL PATENT APPLICATION
`
`Box Provisional Patent Application
`Assistant Commissioner for Patents
`Washington, DC 20231
`
`This is a request for filing a
`
`PROVISIONAL PATENT APPLICATION under 37
`Docket No.
`Type a plus sign (+) inside
`this box -»
`
`C.F.R. 1.53(c).
`9564-2P
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`INVENT OR( s VAPPLIC ANT (si
`
`Name:
`Address:
`
`Robert M. Brody
`15 Marshall Lane, Weston, CT 06897
`
`Name:
`Address:
`
`Reuben S. Kennedy
`590 Hilltop Lane, Duluth, GA 30136
`
`TITLE OF THE INVENTION (280 characters maximum)
`
`SYSTEMS AND METHODS ENABLING ANONYMOUS CREDIT
`
`TRANSACTIONS
`
`CORRESPONDENCE ADDRESS
`
`Malvern U. Griffin, III
`Registration No. 38,899
`Customer Number 000826
`
`Tel. Atlanta Office (404) 881-7000
`Fax Atlanta Office (404) 881-7777
`
`ENCLOSED APPLICATION PARTS (check all that apply)
`
`EXl
`Ex]
`1^1
`
`CD
`1
`1
`
`Specification (Number of Pages 23}
`Drawing(s) (Number of Sheets 3)
`Clauns (Number of Claims 2)
`(A complete provisional application does not require claims 37 C.F.R. § 1.51(aX2).)
`
`Small Entity Statement
`
`Other (specify)
`
`0001
`
`VISA - EXHIBIT 1010
`
`

`

`Attorney Docket No. 9564-2P
`Filed: Concurrently Herewith
`Page 2
`
`METHOD OF PAYMENT (check one)
`
`I
`I
`123
`
`Check or money order is enclosed
`
`to cover the filing fee.
`
`The Commissioner is hereby authorized to charge filing fees and credit Deposit Account
`No. 16-0605.
`
`£3
`PROVISIONAL FILING FEE AMOUNTS
`
`Please charge Deposit Account No.
`
`16-0605 for any fee deficiency.
`
`Large Entity $150.00
`Small Entity $ 75.00
`
`Filing Fee Amount:
`
`$75.00
`
`The invention was made by an agency of the United States Government or under a
`
`
`
`
`of the United States Government.
`
`contract with an agency
`
`El
`
`No.
`
`• Yes, the name of
`
`the U.S. Government agency
`
`and the Government contract number are:
`
`Respectfully submitted.
`
`/-
`
`Malvern U. Griffin, III
`Registration No. 38,899
`Date: February 28, 2000
`
`ALSTON & BIRD LLP
`Post Office Drawer 34009
`Charlotte, NC 28234
`Tel. Atlanta Office (404) 881-7000
`Fax Atlanta Office (404) 881-7777
`
`CERTIFICATE OF EXPRESS MAIL
`
`"Express Mail" mailing label number EL281362555US
`Date of Deposit: February 28, 2000
`
`I hereby certify that this paper or fee is being deposited with the United States Postal Service "Express Mail Post
`Office ta-Addressee" service under 27 CFR 1.10 on the date indicated above and is addressed to Box Provisional
`
`PatentVApplication, Assistant Commissioner for Patents, Washington, DC 20231.
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`SYSTEMS AND METHODS ENABLING ANONYMOUS CREDIT
`TRANSACTIONS
`
`FIELD OF THE INVENTION
`The present invention relates to
`the
`electronic payment in exchange
`services, and more specifically, to systems and methods enabling consumers
`to
`goods and services from merchants, using credit cards.
`
`for
`
`goods
`purchase
`
`and
`
`on a
`to
`
`BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
`Shopping for goods and services using a personal computer
`to
`place an order
`network, such as the Internet, has exploded in volume over
`the
`past few
`years due
`ever increasing number of merchants selling goods
`and services via the Internet, as well
`as the increasing number of consumers online. Online shopping, which is a natural
`extension to the more traditional catalog shopping, enables consumers
`to
`quickly and
`efficiently browse through goods at their favorite online stores, without leaving the
`comfort of their own home. The advantages of such shopping are countless- consumers
`can access stores that may be geographically remote, can order
`items not otherwise
`stock or available at a
`local store, can quickly compare
`items from a
`number of
`and can often pay less for
`the same items sold at
`conventional shopping
`stores.
`Most purchases over the Internet are made by credit cards, due
`to
`the
`electronic nature of network transactions, just as
`in conventional catalog ordering.
`However, many consumers are concerned about
`numbers being
`their credit card
`transmitted over networks such as
`the
`Internet because of
`the lack of secure
`communications. Along with the increase of Internet traffic is an increase in opportunity
`for thieves to intercept credit card numbers for
`their own personal use.
`Because credit
`
`in
`
`stores,
`
`remote
`
`and
`
`0003
`
`

`

`presented
`
`for
`
`an
`
`card transactions over the Internet are not face-to-face, a person having a
`stolen credit
`card can charge substantial amounts of goods
`to
`that card before
`credit card company
`the
`or consumer is even aware the
`theft is occurring, which can result in thousands of dollars
`of losses to the consumer, card issuer, or merchant. Furthermore, each time that credit
`card information is communicated to
`a merchant, another opportunity
`is
`unauthorized third party to gain access to
`the
`credit card data.
`In addition to the possibility that credit card information may be stolen each time
`the information is submitted to
`a merchant
`over the network, the use of a credit card also
`enables merchants to store
`information such as the consumer's name, shipping address,
`and credit card information. After the information has once been conveyed,
`it can remain
`on file with the merchant within a customer database. Although this provides some
`advantages, such as the fact that for
`subsequent purchases the
`customer
`need not
`communicate their credit card number to
`the merchant, this also
`results
`in some undesired
`consequences. For instance, many merchants use this
`information for
`solicitation
`purposes, which is an inconvenience to many consumers.
`Additionally, many merchants
`also sell or provide this information to
`other entities who
`use the information to
`their own
`advantage, and without consumer consent. Further, the more purchases a consumer
`makes, the more physical locations where
`their credit and
`personal information is stored
`will be created. This increases the exposure the consumer has to
`fraudulent use of
`this
`data by, for example, a person that gains unlawful access
`the data stored in the
`to
`merchant's storage facilities.
`A number of attempts have been made to alleviate the problem of
`data
`over networks such as the Internet. For instance, many prior art systems attempt to
`encrypt credit card numbers at the consumer's computer, prior to
`transmission over
`network. Once the data has been encrypted it is
`transmitted over the
`network
`the
`to
`desired location, and decrypted and accessible to the receiving party. Credit card
`numbers can be encrypted using any of
`several techniques, such as public key encryption
`and SSL. However, applying encryption techniques when transmitting a list of
`credit
`card numbers requires a merchant to
`have access
`to
`the
`proper decryption
`software.
`Furthermore, encryption may also be overcome by those persons with
`the
`ability to
`intercept credit card numbers transmitted over the network. Therefore, although
`
`protection
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`the
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`encryption technology exists to protect consumer to
`merchant transactions, protecting
`information that is traded with transaction partners remains difficult.
`In addition to problems faced by consumers
`in transactions over networks
`the Internet, merchants also face potential losses and liability due
`to
`For example,
`fraud.
`a person using a stolen credit card number may purchase
`items of
`a merchant,
`value from
`who then provides the items to the thief. When a credit card company refuses
`to
`pay the
`merchant because the merchant accepted credit card payment over the network without
`proof of identity, the merchant will be forced to
`incur loses for
`the
`value of
`What is needed is a system and method that protects consumers and merchants
`alike from the potential theft of credit card information during
`transactions,
`particularly,
`Internet transactions.
`
`such as
`
`the
`
`items.
`
`credit card
`
`SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
`The present invention can take blocks of consumer credit card numbers and create
`dynamic mappings of the card numbers to
`account numbers or
`even other card numbers,
`such as pseudo-random credit card numbers. According to one aspect of the invention,
`the systems and methods of the present invention generates "pseudo-random"
`attributes, which are presented to merchants at
`the
`time of purchase for Internet,
`telephone, or mail order purchases. Because pseudo-random attributes are
`transmitted
`the merchant, the transaction between the
`consumer and merchant will
`be anonymous.
`Pseudo-random attributes include the
`card number, name, billing zip
`code,
`date, and purchase amount, each of which can
`be used singularly or
`in combination
`to
`authenticate a transaction according to
`consumer preferences, which are
`captured when
`the consumer establishes the agent relationship with systems of
`the
`present
`invention.
`Because of the unique nature of the relationship between the authentication server, the
`consumer, and the consumer's data, the systems and methods of the present invention can
`authenticate the consumer in order to verify their
`cardholder or
`account holder status
`transactions made with the systems.
`The systems and methods of the present invention offer
`a number of benefits to
`all
`parties to the transaction. For instance, fraud is prevented by the nature of
`dynamic
`mapping of credit card numbers and the additional authentication mechanisms, most of
`
`to
`
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`enabling
`
`which are configurable by the consumer. Furthermore, the system does not require
`merchant participation, or changes in the
`existing payment
`infrastructure.
`Additionally,
`the flexibility, configuration options, and transparent security method benefits the
`consumer by allowing them to
`configure their card numbers
`for multiple usage
`5 with various levels of security and features such as notification. Also, since the process
`does not require changes in infrastructure from all parties
`involved, the
`service can
`rapidly adopted and used.
`According to one embodiment of the present invention, a system
`for
`anonymous credit transactions between consumers and merchants
`is
`The
`provided.
`system includes an Anonymous Transaction Server (ATS), which receives
`consumer
`information, such as
`the consumer's
`name, credit card
`number, address, telephone
`number, as well as other identification information, and issues
`the
`consumer an
`identification number and password. The ATS can also accept configuration data
`from
`the consumer, indicating the
`type or
`amount of transactions the consumer wishes to enter
`using the protection afforded by the
`system of
`the
`present
`The ATS, which is
`invention.
`in communication with the current credit payment infrastructure, utilizes the consumer
`submitted information to generate a pseudo-random anonymous credit card
`for
`consumer. The anonymous credit card has at least one attribute
`different than at
`that
`is
`least one of the attributes on the consumer's true credit card, such as credit card number.
`20 The anonymous credit card may be used by the consumer in one or more transactions
`with merchants, separating the consumers personal and credit data.
`According to another embodiment of
`the
`invention, a
`system
`for
`enabling a
`consumer to purchase goods and services from a merchant, using an anonymous
`credit
`card, so that the consumer can maintain the confidentiality of
`their
`true
`credit card
`number, is disclosed. The system includes an anonymous transaction server (ATS)
`for
`receiving the consumer's
`true credit card number and producing the
`anonymous credit
`card having anonymous credit card attributes, a merchant, from which the consumer can
`purchase goods or services by providing the merchant with the
`anonymous credit card
`attributes, and a bank in communication with the merchant
`and ATS, wherein the bank
`receives a request for funds from the merchant for
`a value of
`the goods or services to be
`purchased by the consumer, requests the true credit card number from the ATS, and
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`enabling
`
`credit card
`
`true
`
`routing
`
`receives in return the true credit card number from the ATS, after which the bank
`processes the credit transaction and releases funds
`to
`the
`merchant.
`According to another embodiment of
`the
`present invention, a method for
`a consumer to purchase goods and services from a
`merchant, using
`an anonymous credit
`card, so that the consumer can maintain the confidentiality of
`their
`true
`number, is disclosed. The method includes receiving true
`credit card
`attributes from the
`consumer, the true credit card attributes including routing attributes, storing the
`credit card attributes, and producing anonymous credit card attributes corresponding to
`those of the true credit card attributes, wherein at least one anonymous credit card
`attribute is different from at least one
`true
`credit card attribute, and
`wherein the
`anonymous credit card attributes include routing attributes
`identical
`to
`the
`attributes of the true credit card attributes. The method further includes providing the
`anonymous credit card attributes to
`a consumer for
`use
`in a
`credit
`transaction, such
`the consumer can purchase goods or
`services from a merchant, and facilitating
`a
`transaction between the consumer and merchant by receiving, via the routing attributes,
`the anonymous credit card attributes, and mapping the anonymous credit card attributes
`to the true credit card attributes to
`determine the
`credit card attributes such that the
`true
`credit transaction can occur between the
`consumer and merchant.
`According to yet another embodiment of the
`invention, an anonymous
`transaction
`server (ATS) is disclosed. The ATS enables a consumer to purchase goods and services
`from a merchant, using an anonymous credit card, so that
`the
`consumer can maintain the
`confidentiality of
`their true credit card number. The ATS includes an interface for
`receiving from the consumer true
`credit card attributes, a
`database
`for
`storing the
`credit card attributes, and a processor for generating anonymous credit card attributes
`including at least one attribute differing from the
`true
`credit card attributes, and for
`mapping the anonymous credit card attributes to
`the
`true
`credit card attributes, such that
`the consumer can use the anonymous credit card attributes in a
`credit transaction,
`and the
`transaction may be processed by determining the
`true
`credit card attributes of
`consumer.
`
`that
`
`true
`
`the
`
`BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
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`

`FIG. 1 shows a block diagram of a system in accordance with
`the present invention, including a consumer, an anonymous
`transaction
`merchant.
`FIG. 2 shows an illustrative anonymous credit card, according
`present invention.
`FIG. 3 shows a flow chart including two methods in accordance with an
`embodiment of the present invention, wherein an anonymous credit number is
`to facilitate an anonymous transaction.
`
`to
`
`of the
`one
`
`an embodiment of
`server, and
`a
`
`aspect
`
`established
`
`DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
`The present invention now will be described more fully hereinafter with
`reference
`to the accompanying drawings, in which preferred embodiments of
`the
`invention are
`shown. This invention may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should
`not be construed as limited to
`embodiments set forth herein; rather, these
`the
`embodiments are provided so
`that
`this disclosure
`will be thorough and complete, and will
`fully convey the scope of the
`invention to those skilled in the art. Like numbers refer to
`like elements throughout.
`FIG. 1 shows a block diagram of
`a system 5
`according to one embodiment of the
`present invention, including a merchant 10, a consumer 15, an Anonymous Transaction
`Server (ATS) 20, and a bank 25. The system is representative of
`any network through
`which consumers access merchants for
`the
`purchase
`of goods or services, such as via
`conventional telephone networks, computer networks, or
`the
`Similarly, the
`Internet.
`individual components 10, 15, 20, 25
`can be components of separate networks
`in
`communication with each other through
`telephone or computer networks, or a
`combination thereof. For example, according to one aspect of
`the present invention, a
`consumer 15 may be in communication with a merchant 10
`via an Internet connection,
`wherein the merchant 10 offers goods
`for sale via a webpage accessed by the consumer
`through an Internet connection, such as provided by
`an Internet Service Provider (ISP).
`However, the bank 25 may be in communication with the
`Internet
`merchant 10 via
`conventional telephone lines. As will be appreciated by those of skill in the
`art,
`modes of communication between the
`entities of the
`system 5
`FIG. 1 may be
`of
`
`the
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`

`merchant
`
`fimds
`
`accomplished by any well known communication means, and are not limited to any
`particular means stated herein. Furthermore, although the present invention will be
`described herein relative to the Internet, its application is not so limited and is
`intended to
`be used on any distributed system in which merchants and consumers interact for
`the
`purpose of supplying and purchasing goods or
`services through credit transactions.
`As will be appreciated by those of skill in the
`art, three
`components,
`the
`10, consumer 15, and bank 25, in the system 5 illustrated in FIG. 1 are
`representative of
`components which interact to
`facilitate conventional credit transactions.
`Briefly, for
`instance, a consumer 15 can purchase goods and services from a merchant 10 using a
`credit card received from a credit card provider or bank 25, typically, a card issuing bank.
`The consumer 15 pays for a purchase by providing the merchant 10 with
`a credit card,
`which includes, among other information, attributes such as a
`credit card
`number, an
`expiration date, and the consumer's 15 name. To charge the consumer 15 the merchant
`10 communicates with the bank 25 and requests
`bank 25
`the
`to pay for the transaction
`amount on behalf of the consumer 15. Using the card attributes transmitted to
`the bank
`25 from the merchant 10, the bank 25
`determines
`if the
`card is valid and
`if the account
`status is acceptable (e.g., transaction does not exceed credit limit). If the bank 25 deems
`that the card is valid and the account status is acceptable, the
`bank 25
`will release
`to the merchant 10, typically either immediately or
`at the
`end of
`the
`The merchant
`day.
`10 then delivers the goods or services to the consumer 15, and the bank 25 charges
`the
`consumer 15 for the cost of the goods. This conventional system benefits each of the
`parties to the transaction. The consumer 15 can make purchases on credit and pay for
`purchases at a later time, the merchant 10 can conduct more business due
`to
`popularity of credit cards amongst consumers, and the
`bank 25 can
`charge interest for
`credit charges that may not be paid immediately by consumers.
`Although the basic transaction described above currently takes
`place between
`consumers and merchants shopping in conventional 'brick and mortar' stores as well as
`Internet shopping, the system results in a
`number of
`disadvantages.
`Primarily, with
`respect to card-not-present transactions (i.e., where a
`consumer does not physically
`hand
`his or her card to a merchant), there
`is a
`great
`risk that credit card
`attributes will be
`intercepted by a party who will use
`it fraudulently. This could occur, for example, when
`
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`

`consumers use telephone or Internet mail order
`services, and transmit their
`credit card
`number to a merchant who may be geographically
`remote
`to the consumer. Another
`disadvantage is that once merchants obtain credit card information, merchants can use or
`sell the information to persons who may use
`information for solicitational purposes,
`the
`5 which is an inconvenience to many consumers.
`The Anonymous Transaction Server (referred to
`hereinafter as
`ATS) 20
`the
`present invention, illustrated in FIG. 1,
`is a component which
`prevents a merchant 10
`from obtaining a consumer's 10 true credit card number, while concurrently enabling
`consumer to transact business with the merchant 10. According to the present invention,
`the ATS 20 is transparent to the merchant 10, and can be utilized without requiring the
`merchant 10 to
`incorporate any added features to existing
`transaction networks. As with
`the other components of the system 5, the ATS 20 may be in communication with other
`elements of the system via any communication means known to
`of skill in the art.
`those
`Briefly, a consumer 15 who wishes to
`transact anonymously with a merchant 10
`can communicate with the ATS 20, input their true credit card number, and input
`configurations, as will be discussed in detail below. The ATS 20 then generates a
`pseudo-random anonymous credit card, which includes attributes
`indicating
`that
`the
`credit card has been produced by the ATS 20, as well as
`routing attributes which route
`the credit card processing to
`the ATS 20. The purpose of the anonymous card routing
`information will be appreciated more fully below. The ATS 20, using conventional
`memory and databases implemented via a
`computer or
`computer system, stores
`consumer's 15 true credit card attributes (e.g., credit card number, name, etc.)
`and maps
`the consumer's true credit card attributes to
`the pseudo-random anonymous credit card
`attributes provided to
`the consumer 15. As a result, the ATS 20 functions to substitute a
`consumer's true credit card with an anonymous credit card, usable by the
`consumer,
`that the ATS 20 is the only entity that can recognize the consumer by the anonymous
`card.
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`By providing a consumer an anonymous card and mapping that anonymous card
`to the consumer's true credit card, the ATS 20 of
`the present invention enables
`a
`consumer to utilize the anonymous card to
`transparently transact with a merchant 10. As
`in a conventional credit transaction, the merchant 10 accepts the anonymous card number
`
`30
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`

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`from the consumer for processing, without the knowledge
`that
`the
`anonymous card was
`generated by the ATS 20 of
`the present invention as
`opposed
`to
`provider or
`a credit card
`a card issuing bank. The anonymous card is then submitted to
`transaction network.
`the
`The anonymous credit cards routing attributes will then
`deliver
`the
`transaction
`information to the ATS 20
`for processing (through an identifiable branch ID
`for
`the
`affiliated bank, or by the ATS 20 operating as a financial
`The ATS 20 will
`institution).
`then determine configuration options associated with the
`anonymous card number, such
`as whether the transaction amount is acceptable and whether
`the card is still active,
`options that might be selected by the consumer 15,
`as described in detail below.
`10 Alternatively, the ATS 20 may be unable to
`verify the
`card number as
`and will refuse to complete the
`transaction. Finally, if the ATS 20 has verified the
`transaction information, the ATS 20 will determine the
`true
`credit card number from
`the
`anonymous card attributes. The ATS 20 will then transmit the
`true
`credit card number
`with the requested transaction information to
`the bank 25. The bank 25 then processes
`the transaction as any typical credit card transaction.
`According to one aspect of
`the invention, the ATS 20 can comprise a website or
`webserver, and preferably includes a consumer interface, a database for storing true
`credit
`card attributes, and a processor for generating pseudo-random anonymous
`card attributes.
`The processor also controls the functioning of the ATS 20, such as
`the mapping of
`anonymous cards to true credit cards. As shown in FIG. 1, the ATS 20 does not have to
`be in direct communication with
`the merchant 10. Rather, in one embodiment of
`the
`invention, the ATS 20 may only be accessed through a
`bank 25 who may be
`provider of the consumer 15. Because the bank 25 receives anonymous card attributes
`from a merchant 10, and must recognize the card as generated by the ATS 20, it may be
`necessary for the ATS 20 and bank to
`have some pre-existing relationship to
`conditions and/or identifiers so that the bank 25 will accept the anonymous card and will
`know to contact the ATS 20 to receive the consumer's
`true card number, or have the ATS
`20 redirect the transaction to
`15 bank or credit card provider. This is
`the consumer's
`described below, with reference to
`FIG. 2.
`It should be appreciated that because the
`30 merchant's request for funds is
`fulfilled by the bank 25, the ATS 20 is transparent to the
`merchant 10. This implementation does not require that a consumer open a new account
`
`establish
`
`a
`
`anonymous
`
`a credit
`
`card
`
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`
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`
`

`

`already
`
`may
`
`is not
`
`or line of credit with the ATS or a bank or credit card provider. This implementation
`allows the consumer to create an anonymous card mapped to
`existing credit cards
`established by the consumer. In essence, this process is a
`translation service.
`In this
`implementation the transaction traverses
`the payment network twice, so there would be a
`nominal fee to the consumer to cover the cost of the
`additional network transaction.
`According to another embodiment of
`the
`present invention, since
`the ATS 20
`be a partner of a financial lending institution, the consumer may open a new credit card
`account with the partner of the ATS 20.
`Under this concept, the ATS 20 and
`the bank
`would open a new credit account for a
`registered consumer using
`the
`A
`ATS 20.
`dynamic mapping of anonymous card attributes could be made
`to
`the
`new account.
`Using the mappings to
`the ATS/Affiliate Bank account would only require a credit
`payment transaction to
`traverse
`the system 5 a single time, potentially reducing the cost
`of processing the transaction for the ATS 20, bank 25, and
`consumer 15.
`According to yet another embodiment of the present invention, the ATS 20
`can
`function as an independent bank or
`a
`credit card provider, so
`that
`the
`ATS 20
`required to set up a relationship with a bank 25
`or credit card provider. However, the
`ATS 20 would necessarily need to establish credit card accounts with consumers, and
`would function in many respects just as a
`credit card issuing bank.
`In this case, the
`merchant may communicate directly with
`the ATS 20, as
`illustrated
`by the
`dotted
`FIG. 1. In this situation, to process the payment, a
`transaction would go
`the
`directly to
`ATS 20, where the true credit card number is determined, and the
`transaction facilitated.
`This can be distinguished from the
`two
`above
`embodiments, where transactions is
`processed via the bank 25. As will be appreciated by those of
`skill in the
`art,
`according to
`the present invention, the ATS 20 can be either a credit card
`processing facility, a credit
`card provider, or partnered with a bank to
`gain access
`to
`routing attributes
`the
`on
`anonymous credit card.
`As stated above, the ATS 20 generates an anonymous credit card
`having attributes
`indicating that the anonymous card has been produced by
`the ATS 20. Therefore, when
`the merchant requests the transaction to
`be processed, a
`credit card provider,
`such as a
`bank 25 affiliated with the ATS 20, will receive the
`request
`and will identify the card as
`
`line
`
`in
`
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`identification
`
`card
`
`to
`
`the
`
`ranging
`
`comprise
`
`being an anonymous credit card for which it must contact the ATS 20 for
`information.
`The anonymous credit card does not necessarily exist as an actual credit card, but
`can be comprised of entirely of attributes, such as numbers and data. For purposes of
`illustration, FIG. 2 shows an anonymous credit card 28,
`including digits 34, expiration
`date 36, and name 40 attributes for
`the purpose of
`identifying
`the
`anonymous
`accomplish the system of
`the present invention.
`Initially, it should be again noted that
`because a credit card provider, or bank 25, is initially contacted by a merchant 10
`(therefore, the ATS 20 can be invisible to
`merchant 10), an anonymous card produced
`the
`by the ATS 20 must include routing attributes capable of routing
`the
`processing of
`card to the ATS 20.
`As illustrated in FIG. 2, the routing attributes
`typically comprise
`digits
`from 0 to 9, and typically include the
`first 7
`digits of the consumer's true credit card.
`or
`8
`In the illustrative anonymous credit card shown in FIG. 2, the
`routing
`attributes
`a Bank Id 30 and a Branch Id 32. The Bank Id 30 is shown to include the first 5 digits of
`the anonymous card, and the Branch Id 32 is
`shown to
`include
`the
`the
`next 3
`card. However, it should be appreciated by those of
`skill in the
`art
`the routing
`that
`attributes can comprise any number of digits or
`data located anywhere on
`card, so long as the routing attributes match the
`routing attributes of the ATS 20 or the
`affiliated bank(s) so the credit card processing networks can redirect
`the
`transaction
`processing to the correct location. Typically, the ATS 20 would be seen as a
`branch of
`any affiliated bank to facilitate transaction processing. As illustrated in FIG. 2, credit
`cards, such as the anonymous credit card,
`typically also
`include additional attributes,
`as a checksum digit 34 used for card processing, as well as
`an
`expiration date
`40, and additional digits 38 that
`identify the
`card member's
`Usually, credit
`account.
`cards include 16 digits, including the routing information and a
`checksum digit, as well as
`an expiration date comprising two month digits and two year digits. Because the
`anonymous credit card must only uniquely identify the routing attributes, the remaining
`attributes can be generated by the ATS 20
`to
`the anonymous card.
`produce
`The illustrative anonymous card of FIG. 2 comprises 16 digits,
`including 9
`taken up by routing 30, 32 and checksum 34 digits, and including 7
`digits 38 that
`remain
`
`the
`
`digits
`
`of
`
`anonymous
`
`such
`36, name
`
`digits
`
`- 1 1 -
`
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`
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`
`10
`
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`
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`
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`
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`
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`

`

`seven digits
`each branch
`
`is also manipulated by
`
`for
`
`the
`
`available for manipulation. Because the digits can range from 0 to
`9, the
`result in 10 million (107) possible combinations for credit card numbers for
`of an affiliated bank that is identified as
`an ATS 20
`Additionally, however,
`branch.
`many more combinations can be produced if the
`expiration date
`36
`the ATS 20 of the present invention. For example, in addition to the seven digits 38
`available for manipulation, the ATS 20 may also
`set the
`expiration date
`36
`anonymous card. Because the expiration date 36 can comprise 12 possible months, and 4
`possible additional year combinations, credit cards can have one of (10 million*
`12*4)
`480 million number combinations for each ATS 20
`branch, which
`is
`more
`combinations to generate unique anonymous card numbers. Furthermore, even an
`attribute such as the name 40 or billing zip code produced on
`the anonymous credit card
`can be manipulated so that the number of available
`unique anonymous cards becomes
`effectively infinite. Additionally, if the consumer's name is manipulated it may provide
`the consumer 15 the benefit that their true name is not known to
`the merchant 10
`whom he is conducting business.
`According to one aspect of
`the invention, the added benefit of an anonymous
`credit card would be meaningless if the
`anonymous credit card number and other
`anonymous card attributes, such as
`the name, could be int