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FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to the technical field of computer systems and communications between computer systems. More specifically, the present invention relates to the technical field of computer systems and communications between computer systems adapted to transfer electronic cash and valuables between users. BACKGROUND ART

Electronic money is now predominant in modern economic and financial systems. It is estimated that about 5% of the money in the world exists in physical means such as coins, banknotes, securities, while about 95% is managed only in electronic format and is allocated on storage devices associated with data processing systems.

Electronic money solves a series of drawbacks associated with using banknotes and other physical means such as banker's drafts and bank checks.

The use of cash requires periodic reintegration of the damaged banknotes, is subject to forging, theft and loss and requires significant accounting management efforts. Electronic money and the introduction of payment instruments such as credit and debit cards have resolved or at least alleviated some of the aforesaid problems. However, credit cards cannot meet all electronic money management needs and in particular, cannot be used to directly transfer cash between two users of electronic money.

The use of banker's drafts or bank checks is still highly frequent despite the many drawbacks associated therewith, among which the main ones being the following: to date, both the banker's draft and bank check is issued only in hard copy and has remained hard copy despite the innovations introduced in the bank field over the last few years; it is to be generated by the issuing bank and delivered physically to the client; the client in turn should physically have the banker's draft in order to issue it in favor of someone, the banker's draft lends itself to being postdated, even though this is not allowed by the law; the bank check is mainly used for legal transactions because the banker's draft is not simultaneous to the stipulation of the contract to which it refers; moreover, managing the entire check issue/payment process is particular costly and risky for the banking system itself. Finally, today's systems for managing and transferring electronic money are not free from defects and drawbacks to be eliminated: indeed they are subjected to complex formalities and procedures which use the user's personal and confidential data and therefore are inefficient, lengthy and difficult to complete and difficult for the user who may for example, be reluctant to disclose the confidential information required to complete the electronic money transfer requested.

Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to introduce a new method and a new system for transferring electronic money between users which does not have the above-mentioned drawbacks and is secure and simple to use, thus contributing to facilitating the progressive replacement both of cash and checks with electronic money.

Further objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description, provided by way of non- limiting example and shown in the accompanying drawings, in which:

fig. 1 shows a block diagram of the architecture of the system according to a first embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 2 shows a block diagram of the architecture of the system according to a second embodiment of the present invention;

figures 3 to 7 show diagrammatic flow diagrams of the method according to the present invention, in which the interactions are noted between the system described and the users of the system described.

SUMMARY DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The system and method described allow an electronic transfer of valuables between two users, each provided with a communication device 10, 20 adapted to exchange data through an interconnected data network 1 1 such as for example, the Internet. The valuables exchanged may be of monetary nature, related to any currency, or may take on other forms such as credits, debits, certificates, etc. In greater detail, the present invention allows an electronic transfer of valuables to be prepared following the exchange of preparatory messages for handling cash, which messages are duly completed, finalized and approved by the users involved before the transfer is made.

The communication devices 10, 20 used for making the aforesaid transfer of valuables may be portable or fixed and may use any cabled or wireless means of communication.

In the preferred embodiments illustrated in accompanying figures 1 and 2, the architecture of system 21 according to the present invention comprises at least a first server 17 which is remotely accessible through an interconnected network 1 1 , for example the Internet, by users provided with communication devices 10, 20. The system 21 of the present invention allows a first user, hereinafter indicated as originator or paying user 100, to transfer valuables to a second user, hereinafter indicated as beneficiary user 101 . None of the users, paying user 100 or beneficiary 101 , is to necessarily have previously registered on system 21 according to the present invention, for example, by creating an account on the first server 17 itself. Registration is contemplated for and may be performed but is not indispensable for using system 21 according to the present invention.

Advantageously, the first server 17 is associated with cryptographic communication protocols or security layers 12, 14, 18, which allow a secure communication on TCP/IP networks (such as for example, Internet) by providing authentication, integrity of the data and encryption.

The first server 17 is also associated with a database 16 adapted to save different information used to facilitate the transactions of the first server 17. The information saved in database 16 for example, may include the accounts of the registered users as well as information related to the unregistered users participating or being invited to participate in a transaction. Information relating to the registered and/or unregistered users may include user identification codes (e.g. name, email address, telephone number, network address, IBAN), the records of the transactions and notices, security data etc., and in general all data and information serving to provide the service according to the present invention.

The first server 17 is also associated with a second server 15 adapted to put the first server 17, and therefore system 21 according to the present invention, into communication with at least one server 13a of at least one bank or financial institution 13. Also said second server 15 is associated with cryptographic communication protocols or security layers 19, which allow a secure communication on TCP/IP networks (such as for example, Internet) by providing authentication, integrity of the data and encryption.

The electronic money transfer according to the present invention occurs in three steps: the paying user 100 generating the payment request for an amount taken from his/her bank account, the beneficiary user 101 receiving and accepting the payment, the bank of the paying user 100 making the payment.

Generating and sending the request.

By using such a section, the paying user 100 will be capable of making an electronic money transfer from his/her current account to a beneficiary user 101 by means of the interaction with server 13a of his/her bank 13 and said first 17 and second 15 servers of system 21 the present invention.

According to the preferred embodiment of the invention shown in figure 1 , the paying user 100 accesses his/her bank's Internet Banking (IB) or Mobile Banking (MB) application from his/her personal computer, tablet or smartphone, in which he/she may select a section therefrom related to the new payment system 21 according to the present invention.

In addition to the history of the preceding transaction, the aforesaid section contains the possibility of making a new transfer to a beneficiary user 101 . If the paying user 100 chooses to proceed, the IB or MB application of the bank 13 of the paying user 100 sends the identification data of the paying user 100 - who was already authenticated by means of SSO - and all the data required to provide the service (for example, the IBAN of the paying user 100, any limits or pending limitations, possible contact details of the beneficiary user 101 if already selected, etc.) to system 21 according to the invention. At this point, the IB or MB application provides the connection with said first server 17 by displaying the screen for completing the transfer request which contains the request to provide the data required to perform the transfer, including: the details of the beneficiary user 101 , the amount to be transferred, the date of the transfer, a security PIN and other data. The IB or MB application provides a go-between between the paying user 100 and the server 17 of system 21 according to the present invention. At this point, the IB or MB application asks the paying user 100 to enter the OTP or the PWD required for device transactions and a confirmation to make the transfer. Finally, system 21 sends the beneficiary user 101 a communication related to the request to make a transfer in favor thereof, said request comprising for example, a hyperlink. Then, system 21 generates and conveniently sends the beneficiary user 101 a OTP associated with the transfer requested by the paying user.

Alternatively, according to the preferred embodiment shown in figure 2, the paying user 100 directly connects to the server 17 of system 21 according to the present invention by means of his/her communication device 10, without going through the IB or MB application of his/her bank 13.

Receiving and accepting the payment.

The beneficiary user 101 receives the hyperlink which takes him/her to an authentication page contained on said first server 17 of system 21 according to the present invention, the beneficiary user 101 enters therein the OTP received from system 21 to perform his/her authentication and access a new page which allows the transfer proposed to be refused or to be accepted by entering any further identification data required (for example, his/her IBAN code to credit the transfer) and any security PIN received from the paying user 100 and by sending the confirmation to accept the transfer to system 21 .

Making the payment.

Once it has received the confirmation from the user to accept the payment, system 21 according to the present invention informs bank 13 to make the transfer ordered and sends a confirmation notice of the transfer to bank 13 both to the paying user 100 and the beneficiary user 101 . Finally, bank 13 makes the payment of the amount requested according to the methods requested and at the date requested.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The following description of an embodiment refers to the accompanying drawings. The following detailed description does not limit the invention. Rather, the scope of the invention is defined by the appended claims.

The reference in the entire description to an "embodiment" or "preferred embodiment" means that a characteristic element, structure or particular feature described with respect to an embodiment is included in at least one embodiment of the subject described. Therefore, the presence of the expression "in one embodiment" or "in a preferred embodiment" or "in the embodiment" or "in the preferred embodiment" in various parts of the description does not necessarily refer to the same embodiment. Moreover, the characteristic elements, structures or particular features described may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments.

According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the home banking web page(s) (Internet Banking or Mobile Banking) used by the paying user 100 to manage his/her current account at bank 13, and generally to manage the transactions associated with checking his/her cash on hand and investments, making payments etc., is provided with a new interactive portion - for example, a simple link or a button or a specific section - through which said paying user 100 may order or schedule a transfer of valuables, for example, an electronic payment in favor of a beneficiary user 101 .

In greater detail, when said paying user 100, who previously was conveniently registered and enabled to take advantage of the services offered by system 21 according to the present invention, wants to make a payment by means of said system 21 , he/she should access as usual the portal of his/her bank 13 and the home banking section thereof.

Access may occur by means of the web browser on his/her personal computer or by means of his/her mobile communication device (smartphone or tablet) on which the paying user 100 has for example, provided to install a suitable application or a suitable software program adapted to make a remote connection by means of said interconnected network 1 1 , to the portal of his/her bank 13 hosted on a remote server 13a. This connection is made in a secure manner by means of using cryptographic protocols or security layers 12 which allow a secure communication from the source to the recipient on TCP/IP networks (such as for example, Internet) by providing authentication, integrity of the data and encryption.

The paying user 100 now has available on his/her home banking page a section by means of which he/she may generate a new payment in favor of a beneficiary user 101 who may be selected from among the names in a pre-existing contacts list - for example, the one of the smartphone of the paying user 100 - or it may be set up from the beginning.

In reference to the accompanying figure 3, to make the transfer of electronic money desired, the paying user 100 accesses is his/her Mobile Banking (MB) or Internet Banking (IB) app by connecting to server 13a of his/her bank 13, authenticating for example, by means of SSO (Single Sign-On), and selecting 25 the payment with system 21 according to the invention by means of for example, a specific button provided in the payment section.

The paying user 100 is shown a message with the option of selecting one contact from the contacts list if the app of bank 13 is capable of accessing the contacts list of the smartphone of the paying user 100 (in the case of access by means of MB) or the contacts list of the Internet Banking app of the paying user 100 (in the case of access by means of IB).

The paying user 100 may therefore decide 26 to take the name of the beneficiary user 101 from his/her contacts list.

If the paying user 100 decides to use a contact from the contacts list, he/she selects it from his/her contacts list, otherwise this step is skipped and regardless of the channel used (Mobile Banking or Internet Banking), the server 13a of bank 13 redirects the paying user 100 onto the server 17 of system 21 according to the present invention, which sends 27 a screen to be completed to create and schedule the payment wanted on the channel used by the paying user 100. The mandatory data include the name and family name, telephone number or email address of the beneficiary user 101 in addition to the amount of the payment, while the optional data may include the IBAN code of the beneficiary user 101 , a security PIN, the reason, notes and the effective date of collection (if the paying user 100 wants to issue a postdated payment). If the paying user 100 has imported the contact details of the beneficiary user 101 from his/her contacts list, the screen to be completed may display certain pre-completed fields. The pre- completed data may be edited at will if they refer to editable fields.

After the paying user 100 has completed 28 the screen, system 21 according to the present invention checks that all the mandatory fields have been completed and the correctness of the format of certain fields (e.g. email, telephone number, amount, security PIN, etc.). If there are blank mandatory fields, system 21 conveniently indicates them on the screen to be completed. If there are incorrect fields, system 21 indicates them using a warning message located in the specific screen field informing the paying user 100 of the reason for the error.

The paying user 100 should necessarily fix the non-conformities indicated in order to proceed.

System 21 runs the conformity check again on the screen completion and enables the progression to the next step if no deformities are detected.

At this point, system 21 runs further checks, for example on the amount entered to ensure it is compatible with any limits defined by bank 13 of the paying user 100; in the case of non-conformities, system 21 usually informs the paying user 100 who in order to continue with the process, should enter a smaller amount that the limit or is to contact bank 13 to change the limit itself.

If the amount entered is compatible with the limits defined by bank 13 and all the other checks are successful, the paying user 100 is directed again to his/her home banking page (IB or MB according to the channel selected) where he/she may view the data entered and enter the OTP or the device password required by his/her bank 13 to send authorization 29 of the payment to be made.

At this point, the paying user 100 may confirm 30, edit or cancel sending the preparatory information for making the transfer to the beneficiary user 101 .

After the last confirmation 30, the creation of the request to make the payment is confirmed by system 21 and the paying user 100 views the results of the transfer creation transaction on his/her device by means of an indication displayed on the IB or MB or his/her bank 13 from within which he/she performed the transactions described.

At this point, system 21 according to the present invention sends 31 a notice containing a link to the beneficiary user 101 (for example, by email, SMS, etc. according to the selection made by the paying user 100) by means of said first server 17.

The beneficiary user 101 opens the link received directly from the browser of the receiving channel. System 21 verifies the expiry data of the link; if the link has expired, system 21 displays a message to the beneficiary user 101 indicating the impossibility to proceed with the transfer and the reason.

If the link is valid, system 21 generates a OTP and sends it to the beneficiary user 101 on the sending channel selected initially by the paying user 100.

System 21 displays the screen with the request to enter the OTP received, to the beneficiary 101 .

The beneficiary user 101 enters 32 the OTP received on the aforesaid screen, and then system 21 verifies the correctness thereof, indicating any errors, and if the OTP entered by the beneficiary 101 is correct, system 21 displays 33, to the beneficiary user 101 , the screen for entering any missing data and the consent to process his/her personal data, when requested. The screen requests the data required to make the transfer requested such as, for example: the IBAN code and the name and family name of the beneficiary user 101 and, when requested, the security PIN selected beforehand by the paying user 100 during the step of generating and sending the payment request and which was sent separately to the beneficiary user 101 .

The beneficiary user 101 enters 34 the data requested. If the paying user 100 entered the data of the beneficiary user 101 (e.g. name, family name, IBAN code) beforehand, then the data entry screen will have certain pre-completed fields. The aforesaid data entry screen may also contain: a summary information policy at the bottom and a link to the complete information policy and, for beneficiary users who would like to save the data entered for future transactions, the possibility of giving consent to registering the datum with link to the specific information policy.

The beneficiary user 101 sends 35 the data to system 21 which ensures all mandatory fields identified by an asterisk have been completed, checks the correctness of the format of certain fields (e.g. IBAN code), the correctness of the security PIN entered by the beneficiary user 101 , and warns of any nonconformities by inviting the beneficiary user 101 to make a correction.

If all fields were correctly completed, system 21 shows the beneficiary user 101 the summary of the data entered and requests confirmation. The beneficiary user 101 sends 36 system 21 the confirmation and system 21 receives 36 the confirmation and saves the data of the beneficiary user 101 .

System 21 checks if the payment is postdate.

If the payment is postdated, system 21 saves it in its database and the beneficiary user 101 sees an acceptance message of the postdated payment

by system 21 on the screen of the selected channel.

System 21 sends bank 37 the information required to create the transfer ordered.

The bank accepts the information received from system 21 and sends system 21 the results of the transaction.

When bank 13 accepts the transaction, system 21 sends 38, 39 the payment acceptance notice both to the paying user 100 and the beneficiary user 101 .

Concerning postdated payments, system 21 constantly checks - at a predetermined frequency -for the presence in the database of postdated payments and sends bank 13 of the paying user 100 the list of transfers to be processed on a given date.

The system 21 and the method according to the present invention do not require the paying user 100 and beneficiary user 101 to be necessarily pre-registered to take advantage of the new above-described payment service offered. However, in further preferred embodiments of the present invention, a mandatory pre- registration may be provided for the paying user 100, for the beneficiary user 101 , or for both.