FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to the field of money transfer.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Millions or billions of monetary transactions occur every day. Many transactions involve the physical transfer of currency or other bills of exchange, but, in some situations, it is desirable to transfer money electronically, to save time and avoid costs. In sophisticated economies, this is easily done on an individual level, through on-line banking facilities and the like. In unsophisticated economies, it is commonplace to involve an intermediary, having premises at which at least one party attends. By way of example, one well-known money transfer service is that operated under the trade-mark WESTERN UNION by Western Union Holdings Ltd. This need to attend at the premises of an intermediary makes electronic money transfer in unsophisticated economies unattractive to some.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A money transfer system forms one aspect of the invention. The system comprises a facility. The facility is for: creating virtual banknotes; assigning virtual banknotes to mobile telephone devices; and providing for the assignment of virtual banknotes as between mobile telephone devices to be modified through telephone messaging.

According to another aspect of the invention, the facility can also be for maintaining a registry. According to another aspect of the invention, the registry can comprise a database of: virtual banknotes; and numbers of mobile telephone devices to which said virtual banknotes are assigned.

According to another aspect of the invention, the registry can further permit the entry of a unique personal identifier number (PIN) for each telephone number in the database.

According to another aspect of the invention, in use, to transfer virtual banknotes assigned to one device to another device, the operator of the one device can: select, from the virtual banknotes assigned to the one device, the virtual banknote(s) to be transferred; and identify the other device by telephone number, such selection and identification being embodied in a SMS message sent from the one device to the facility.

According to another aspect of the invention, on an initial assignment of banknotes to a mobile telephone device, the facility can send an invitation to said device to: link to a WAP page or download software for interacting with the facility; and enter a PIN.

According to another aspect of the invention, in use, to transfer virtual banknotes assigned to one device to another device, the operator of the one device can: select, from the virtual banknotes assigned to said one device, the virtual banknote(s) to be transferred; identify the other device by telephone number; and authorize the transaction through entry of the PIN associated with the one device, such selection and identification being embodied in a SMS message sent by the one device to the facility. According to another aspect of the invention, in use, on a virtual banknote assignment in favor of a mobile telephone device, the facility can: send a notification to said mobile telephone device of said assignment; and update the registry, to reflect the assignment.

According to another aspect of the invention, the system can further comprise a portal for access by retailers; and the facility can be for: assigning virtual banknotes to mobile telephone devices on receipt of orders and payment from said retailers.

According to another aspect of the invention, the facility can also be for accepting banknotes from mobile devices and transferring money to said retailers for subsequent disbursement in exchange therefor.

Other advantages, features and characteristics of the present invention will become more apparent upon consideration of the following detailed description and the appended claims with reference to the accompanying drawing, the latter being briefly described hereinbelow.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Figure 1 is a schematic view of a money transfer system according to an exemplary embodiment of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

An exemplary embodiment of the present invention, a money transfer system 20, is illustrated schematically in Figure 1 , and will be seen to include, at its centre, a facility 22.

The facility takes the form of a computer server 22 which functions to generate two databases which together define a registry. The first database is a database of virtual banknotes. The database permits the creation of multiple banknote records. Each banknote record comprises an identifier field, a denomination field, a currency type field and a location field. The second database is a database of locations, which permits the creation of multiple location records. Each location record comprises a location field, a personal identifier number (PIN) field and an activity field.

The functionality of the facility 22 is most easily described in use.

Depositing

A person wishing to make a deposit visits a retailer who has a computer or telephone device 24 for accessing an online portal which has been made available by the facility 22. The depositor indicates to the retailer the banknote(s) which it wishes to purchase in terms of currency, denomination and quantity, and a mobile telephone device 26 to which the virtual banknotes are to be assigned. The retailer relays the particulars of the order to the facility 22 with device 24. The facility 22 calculates a transaction charge [based on the value of denominations ordered, at then-current exchange rates, as applicable] and checks the location database for the presence of the telephone number of the device 26 in the location fields. If the mobile telephone number exists in the database and the value of the associated activity field, in combination with the transaction charge value, exceeds a predetermined threshold, for example, $ 1000, the facility declines the transaction and responds to the retailer accordingly. [This feature combats money-laundering activity.] Otherwise, the facility responds to the retailer with the transaction charge for acceptance.

Following acceptance of the transaction by the retailer, presumably with the concurrency of the depositor:

• to the extent that banknotes of the type(s) requested have been previously created and are not currently assigned, the banknote database is updated to reflect their assignment to the depositor, i.e. the location fields of the banknotes are updated to include the telephone number indicated by the depositor

• additional banknotes of the type(s) necessary to fulfill the order are created, and the banknote database is suitably populated with their details, i.e. the telephone number indicated by the depositor is entered in the location field of each banknote record

• to the extent that the mobile phone number indicated by the depositor is not already present in the location record database, the location record database is populated with the mobile telephone number

• the activity field associated with the location record of the mobile telephone number is populated with the transaction value, in the case of a new record, or increased to the amount of the transaction value, in the case of an existing record

This triggers an obligation on the part of the retailer to pay for the virtual banknotes issued, who, in turn presumably extracts payment from the depositor. Following assignment of the banknotes, the facility sends a text message to the phone number identified on the order, confirming the assignment of virtual banknotes to meet the order.

First Time Recipients

Upon an initial assignment of banknotes to a particular device, the facility sends an invitation in the form of a text message to the device which allows its bearer to either access a WAP page or download software from the facility onto the device. For security purposes, the first time a device accesses the system, i.e. communicates with the server 22 via the software/WAP page, the operator of the device is prompted to enter:

a PIN (personal identifier number) that must be used to view and disburse the virtual banknotes; and

the number of the telephone,

and the location record is populated accordingly.

Transferring Funds

Virtual banknotes may be transferred. The holder of a device to which banknotes have been assigned (the "transferor device") may, upon accessing the software and entering the PIN associated with that device, select one or more of the banknotes associated to said telephone device and enter the telephone number of a recipient device 28. This information is relayed to the facility 22 in a SMS text message. The facility 22 verifies that the PIN entered by holder of the transferor device against the PIN assigned to the transferor device, and, upon verification:

• updates the banknote database to reflect the new assignee information of the selected banknotes; and

• following assignment of the banknotes, sends a text message to each of the transferor device and the recipient device, confirming the assignment of virtual banknotes.

Withdrawals

A holder of a mobile telephone device to which virtual banknotes have been assigned may redeem the banknotes in currency (paper or otherwise) by visiting a retailer. Once at a retailer, the user selects the banknotes to redeem, enters an identifier of the retailer along with the PIN of the transferor device and then submits the request. The retailer accesses the portal, either via a computer or a telephone, to verify the pending cash-out. As each country requires different forms of identification upon withdrawal, the portal will send a message to the retailer outlining the appropriate ID required from the customer. Once confirmed, the retailer dispenses currency for the amount of the payout. In the event that payout is to be made in a currency other than the denominations of the banknotes being redeemed, the payout value is calculated on the value of the denominations to be redeemed, at then-current exchange rates. The system processes the payout in a manner similar to a mobile to mobile transfer, but whereas in a mobile-to-mobile transfer, the location information for the banknotes in transit is updated to reflect the mobile telephone number of the transferee, in a withdrawal situation, location information for the banknotes is removed, whereby they become part of the virtual "inventory" of the facility. The facility 22 transfers money to said retailer to satisfy the payout. The money transfer to the retailer may be carried out in any conventional fashion. For its involvement, the retailer may be compensated in any number of ways. For example, the retailer may add services fees associated with deposits, deduct services fees from payouts, or receive payment from the operators of the facility calculated on the basis of factors including, inter alia, number of transactions and amount of transactions.

While but a single embodiment of the present invention has been herein shown and described, it will be understood that various changes may be made.

Accordingly, the invention should be understood as limited only by the claims appended hereto, purposively construed.