This invention relates to an arrangement and procedure for data processing and data exchange relating to payment transactions, which can be advantageously used to send and receive data between three external systems - i. e. at least one authorization centre, at least one portable device establishing connection by the client and at least one counter system - either to the other two external systems or to one external system, thereby allowing for the completion of payment transactions.

As commonly known, portable wireless devices may be used to solve various tasks. Currently known solutions are suitable, among others, for

voice transmission,

internet access,

- file transfer,

synchronizing mobile phones, PDAs and computers,

replacing wired connections,

granting network access. The shortfall of these known solutions is that they are not suitable for handling payment transactions, as they operate in short range frequency band and with relatively weak transmission power.

Mobile payment solutions on the market are also known. A general feature of these solutions is that they are related to a specific bank or mobile service provider, further all of them use the mobile service providers to handle transactions and during the operation of the system, thereby significantly increasing the operational and service costs.

Among the documents of industrial property law, the wireless safety module described in patent US2004124966 represents the level of prior art, which is connected to a mobile device, preferably to a mobile phone, in order to enable communication between the mobile phone and a terminal, such as an automatic terminal. The wireless safety module is paired with and connected to the mobile device, sending an authentication signal to the mobile device or to the terminal, in order to use the wireless communication route. This known solution is used for cash withdrawal from ATMs and for connecting to vending machines, further its use requires a mobile service provider and an application installed on the mobile chip card, which results in a more complicated arrangement as well as in higher production and operational costs.

The POS terminal and payment method described in patent WO2006001723 also forms part of prior art and can be used for payment for any kind of goods or services through mobile phone networks or any other network, such as the UMTS, by using the smart phone of the customer and a POS terminal only. The essence of this known invention is that communication between two devices is made possible through IR connection, Bluetooth connection or cable. The devices take part in the identification of the information by using these routes. The procedure is based on the confirmation of the offered price on the bank accounts of the buyer and of the seller. In this known solution, the payment transaction is completed with the involvement of a mobile service provider, which makes the procedure more complicated and expensive.

The objective of this invention is to eliminate the shortfalls of the known solutions and to set up an arrangement and procedure for data exchange and data processing relating to payment transactions, which facilitates the transmission of payment data from the devices installed at the point of sale to the authorization centre using simply constructed hardware and software combination, with reliable operation, economic production costs, and low operational costs.

The solution according to the present invention is based on the realization, that by setting up an arrangement and developing a procedure, which has three external systems - at least one authorization centre, at least one portable device establishing connection by the client and at least one counter system-, between which systems the data exchange and data processing is implemented in a specific sequence of transactional messages by sending the transaction using the portable device with human interaction through the portable device connecting unit of the ISM band wireless device, then generating a temporary identifier with the portable device identification data and the authorization centre connecting unit and sending it back to the portable device, then sending the temporary identifier from the portable device with human interaction to the counter system, then sending the payment amount specified in the counter system and affixed with a temporary identifier to the embedded wireless device and from there to the authorization centre, where the payment transaction is approved, then the result of the payment transaction is returned from the authorization centre to the embedded wireless device and from there to the portable device and to the counter system, the objectives of the arrangement and procedure can be achieved.

The most general embodiment of the arrangement according to the invention is implemented according to claim 1. The specific embodiments can be implemented according to claims 2 to 10. The most general embodiment of the procedure according to the invention is implemented according to claim 1 1. The specific procedural variations are described under claims 12 to 14.

The solution according to the invention is described in more detail using the following figures:

Figure 1 shows the most general theoretical block diagram of the arrangement according to the invention,

Figure 2 shows the block diagram of an advantageous embodiment of the embedded wireless device according to the invention,

Figure 3 shows the theoretical drawing of the system design of an advantageous embodiment of the authorization centre connecting unit according to the invention, Figure 4 shows the theoretical drawing of the system design of an advantageous embodiment of the portable device connecting unit according to the invention, and Figure 5 shows the theoretical drawing of the system design of an advantageous embodiment of the counter system connecting unit according to the invention.

Figure 1 shows the most general theoretical block diagram of the arrangement according to the invention. The arrangement has three external systems consisting of at least one authorization centre 1, at least one portable device 3, and at least one counter system 4. The three external systems are formed to be able to receive and send data, so that data exchange and data processing is implemented in a specific sequence of transactional messages. The arrangement also has at least one embedded wireless device 2 implementing the communication between the three external systems. The embedded wireless device 2 is connected to the authorization centre 1 via one communication transmission channel 5A, to the counter system 4 via another communication transmission channel 5B, and to the portable device 3 via ISM band wireless data transmission 6. In an advantageous embodiment of the arrangement according to the invention, the embedded wireless device 2, the portable device 3 and the counter system 4 are installed at a given geographical location (such as the place of trading), while the authorization centre 1 (e. g. a financial institution) is located in a place other than the respective geographical location (the distance maybe even irrelevant).

Figure 2 shows the block diagram of an advantageous embodiment of the embedded wireless device according to the invention. (The outgoing connections are also indicated on the drawing out of the dotted line.) The embedded wireless device 2 has an authorization centre connecting unit 2 A, a portable device connecting unit 2B, and a counter system connecting unit 2C. The authorization centre connecting unit 2A is connected to the portable device connecting unit 2B through one internal transmission network 7A, to the counter system connecting unit 2C through another internal transmission network 7B, and to the authorization centre 1 via one communication transmission channel 5A. The portable device connecting unit 2B is connected to the portable device 3 via ISM band wireless data transmission 6, and the counter system connecting unit 2C is connected to the counter system 4 through the other communication transmission channel 5B, as indicated on the drawing.

Figure 3 shows the theoretical drawing of the system design of an advantageous embodiment of the authorization centre connecting unit 2A according to the invention, where the outgoing connections are also indicated beyond the dotted line. The authorization centre connecting unit 2 A has an approval interface 2A1 implemented with the combination of hardware and software, an approval processing device 2A2 suitable for the completion of transactions, an approval service interface 2A3 and a counter registration interface 2A4. The approval interface 2A1 is connected to the authorization centre 1 with one communication transmission channel 5A, the approval service interface 2A3 is connected to the portable device connecting unit 2B with the one internal transmission network 7A, and the counter registration interface 2A4 is connected to the counter system connecting unit 2C with another internal transmission network 7B.

Figure 4 shows the theoretical drawing of the system design of an advantageous embodiment of the portable device connecting unit 2B according to the invention. (The outgoing connections are also indicated on the drawing beyond dotted line.) The portable device connecting unit 2B has an approval processing interface 2B1, an access service server 2B2 and a portable device interface 2B3. The approval processing interface 2B1 is connected to the authorization centre connecting unit 2 A through one internal transmission network 7A, and the portable device interface 2B3 is connected to the portable device 3 through ISM band wireless data transmission 6. Figure 5 shows the theoretical drawing of the system design of an advantageous embodiment of the counter system connecting unit according to the invention, where the outgoing connections are also indicated on the drawing beyond the dotted line. The counter system connecting unit 2C has an approval processing interface 2C1, a counter registration device 2C2 and a counter system interface 2C3. The approval processing interface 2C1 is connected to the authorization centre connecting unit 2 A through another internal transmission network 7B, and the counter system interface 2C3 is connected to the counter system 4 through another communication transmission channel 5B. The most important units of the arrangement according to the invention and the tasks thereof are the followings:

The authorization centre 1 (which is, in an advantageous embodiment, a server of the service provider), which keeps record of the data (such as the unique identifiers of stored traders) of customers, traders and banks participating in the system according to the arrangement, authorizes and records the transactions, and sends the data required for clearing to the clearing service provider.

The embedded wireless device 2 through the portable device 3 communicates with the customer and the cash register of the counter system 4, and sends the information to the authorization centre 1.. The embedded wireless device 2, the authorization centre connecting unit 2A, the portable device connecting unit 2B and the counter system connecting unit 2C are implemented with hardware and/or software, and the communication between the units is request-service based synchronous or asynchronous communication. The most important part of the authorization centre connecting unit 2A is the approval processing device 2A2, which is responsible for the completion of the transaction and, among others, has to create the approval interface 2A1, the approval service interface 2A3 and the counter registration interface 2A4, has to initiate event monitoring on the approval service interface 2A3 and on the counter registration interface 2A4, as well as react to the occurrence of events.

The most important part of the portable device connecting unit 2B is the access service server 2B2, which creates and launches at least one portable device interface 2B3, creates the approval processing interface 2B1 , and waits for the occurrence of events.

For practical reasons, the counter system connecting unit 2C is formed to be able to manage various kinds of cash registers, so various counter system interfaces 2C3 may be used, taking into consideration that these may be cash registers communicating through serial ports (RS232), networks (TCP/IP), or in a mixed environment. Thus, the most important part of the counter system connecting unit 2C is the counter registration device 2C2, which, among others, has to create the approval processing interface 2C1, make a copy of the required counter system interface 2C3 on which it has to monitor events and react thereto.

In an advantageous situation, the portable device 3 is at least one mobile phone or PDA, and there is ISM band wireless data transmission 6, preferably Bluetooth connection between the portable device 3 and the embedded wireless device 2.

The counter system 4 contains at least one, preferably more cash registers, which are installed at the point of sale. The counter system 4 sends the request for the transaction amount and receives its consideration via communicating with the embedded wireless device 2.

With regard to the above information, the operation of the arrangement according to the invention is as follows:

The data exchange and data processing relating to the payment transactions is performed between three externals systems - meaning at least one authorization centre 1 , at least one portable device 3 and at least one counter system 4 - in a way that the transaction is initiated on the portable device 3 via ISM band wireless data transmission 6 by human interaction through the portable device connecting unit 2B of the embedded wireless device 2. First, the unique identification of the portable device 3 is effected, so that the portable device 3 identifies itself to the portable device connecting unit 2B. Then, the authorization centre connecting unit 2A generates a temporary identifier using the portable device 3 identification data transferred through the one internal transmission network 7A. It is true for the temporary identifier that, for a specific period of time, it is unique at the respective geographical location, meaning the point of sale. (With the exception of the authorization centre 1 located at a distant geographical location, all units of the arrangement are installed at this location.) The temporary identifier is returned to the portable device 3 through the one internal transmission network 7A, the portable device connecting unit 2B and the ISM band wireless data transmission 6. Then, the temporary identifier is sent from the portable device 3 to the counter system 4 by human interaction. Then, the payment amount specified in the counter system 4 and designated with the temporary identifier is sent from the counter system 4 through the other communication transmission channel 5B to the embedded wireless device 2, and then it is forwarded to the authorization centre 1 through the one communication transmission channel 5A. This way the payment amount and the temporary identifier is sent to the authorization centre 1, where the payment transaction is approved. Then, the result of the payment transaction is sent from the authorization centre 1 to the embedded wireless device 2 (first, to the authorization centre connecting unit 2A), then to the portable device connecting unit 2B and to the counter system connecting unit 2C), then it is sent to the portable device 3 and to the counter system 4.

Prior to forwarding the payment amount specified in the counter system 4 and designated with the temporary identifier from the embedded wireless device 2 to the authorization centre 1 , it is also possible to send it preferably to the portable device 3 for confirmation. While the temporary identifier may be of any format, it is preferably a two digits number.

In the course of operation of the arrangement according to the invention, the steps of the procedure are implemented by logical dependency relations, but not in a strict order, so that the payment transaction is first approved in the authorization centre 1 based on the specific payment data, then the result is returned from the authorization centre 1 to the authorization centre connecting unit 2A, then it is forwarded from the authorization centre connecting unit 2A to the portable device connecting unit 2B and to the counter system connecting unit 2C. Thus, these steps have fixed positions, but the preceding or subsequent sequence of actions may change.

The solution according to the invention achieved its objectives and has the following advantages:

- payment transactions may be completed with wireless portable devices by

ISM band wireless data transmission (relatively short range, small transmitting power),

simple design implemented with hardware and software combination, reliable operation,

- economic production costs,

low operational costs.