Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a payment method and system, of particular but by no means exclusive application in the sale of credit, such as for telecommunications services .

Background of the Invention

An existing payment system allows users to purchase mobile telephony credit from an EFTPOS device in data communication with a retailer of such credit. The user pays for credit in a predefined amount (such as $20.00 or $50.00), and thereby purchases a credit certificate held by the retailer. Such credit certificates are obtained by the retailer from the wholesaler (which may be the actual telecommunications provider) periodically, and held in a database of the retailer.

Upon verification of payment, the retailer allocates one of the credit certificates in its database of the appropriate value to the user, and transmits to the EFTPOS device a unique PIN associated with that credit certificate. The printer of the EFTPOS device prints a receipt for the user that includes this PIN. The user then operates his or her portable device to activate the newly acquired credit. This is typically done by telephoning a predefined telephone number that connects the portable device to a voice-interactive system, which prompts the user to enter the aforementioned PIN. A server of the wholesaler checks whether the PIN corresponds to a valid credit certificate and, if so, updates a user account associated with the mobile device of the user according to the value of the purchased credit certificate . Summary of the Invention

According to a first broad aspect, the present invention provides a payment system, comprising: a user operable kiosk adapted to accept a request for an entitlement to a good or service to be provided by a provider and payment for the entitlement; wherein the request identifies a recipient of the entitlement and the system is adapted to respond to the payment by sending data to the provider indicative of the recipient and of the entitlement.

The kiosk may be adapted to accept payment information from the user, and communicate the payment information to a financial institution server.

In one embodiment, the payment information includes a credit card or debit card number.

The kiosk may further comprise a card reader, with the kiosk being adapted to accept payment information from the user with the card reader.

The kiosk may be configured to communicate the payment information to the financial institution server via an intermediate server.

The system may comprise an intermediate server, wherein the kiosk is configured to communicate the payment information to the financial institution server via the intermediate server and the intermediate server is adapted to send the data indicative of the recipient and of the entitlement to the provider.

In another embodiment, the system comprises an intermediate server adapted to send the data indicative of the recipient and of the entitlement to the provider.

In general, the entitlement may be - for example - an entitlement to telecommunications services, to an entertainment service, to use a toll road (so that the Payment amounts to paying a road toll before or after the use of the road) , or to use a car park or parking garage.

The kiosk may also be equipped to vend goods, such as - For example - confectionary, drinks or condoms.

The request may identify the recipient by way of a telephone number.

The system may comprise an intermediate server adapted to communicate with the kiosk and with a plurality of other like kiosks. Indeed, the system may comprise the other kiosks .

The kiosk may be adapted to communicate wirelessly with a mobile communications device.

In a particular embodiment, the provider is a telecommunications provider .

In a certain embodiment, the system comprises a provider server in data communication with the kiosk.

The system may comprise an intermediate server adapted to send the data indicative of the recipient and of the entitlement to the provider, and a provider server in data communication with the intermediate server adapted to receive the data indicative of the recipient and of the entitlement from the intermediate server.

The provider server may be adapted to send a confirmation entitlement to a mobile device. In a particular embodiment, the kiosk further comprises a touch screen, and the kiosk is adapted to accept the request for an entitlement with the touch screen.

The system may comprise a purchase data packet builder controllable by a payment validator to construct a purchase data packet indicative of a user account and of the payment, wherein the system is adapted to forward the purchase data packet to a provider server of the provider, the purchase data packet being adapted to prompt the provider server to update an account record corresponding to the user according to the payment.

According to a second broad aspect, the present invention provides a payment system, comprising: a user operable kiosk adapted to accept a request for an entitlement to a good or service to be provided by a provider and payment for the entitlement; wherein the request identifies a recipient of the entitlement and the system is adapted to respond to the payment by sending entitlement data to a mobile device, the entitlement data being storable on the mobile device as evidence of the entitlement.

According to a third broad aspect, the present invention provides a payment method, comprising: a server receiving information indicative of a requested entitlement to a good or service, of a recipient of the requested entitlement and of payment information pertaining to the requested entitlement from a user operable kiosk in data communication with the server; and the server sending data indicative of the recipient and of the entitlement to a provider of the good or service.

The method may comprise: the server forwarding the payment information to a financial institution; the server receiving payment validation from the financial institution; and the server responding to receipt of the payment validation by performing the sending of the data indicative of the recipient and of the entitlement to the provider of the good or service.

According to a fourth broad aspect, the present invention provides a method for purchasing an entitlement to a good or service using a kiosk, the method comprising the steps of: entering a request for the entitlement to be provided by a provider into the kiosk; entering information that identifies the intended recipient of the entitlement into the kiosk ; entering payment information or a payment into the kiosk; and controlling the kiosk to initiate purchase of the entitlement resulting in electronic transmission of data indicative of the recipient and of the entitlement to the provider .

The entering of the payment information or the payment may constitute the controlling of the kiosk to initiate the purchase .

It should be noted that any of the optional or preferred features of any aspect of the present invention may be Employed where suitable and desirable with any other Aspect of the invention.

Brief Description of the Drawing

In order to do that, the present invention may be more clearly ascertained, embodiments will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanied drawing, in which;

Figure 1 is a schematic payment system according to an embodiment of the present invention, with a user mobile telephone ;

Figure 2 is a schematic view of the user-operable kiosk of the system of figure 1 ;

Figure 3 is a schematic view of the components of a user-operable kiosk of the system of figure 1; Figure 4 is schematic view of the system server of the system of figure 1; and

Figure 5 is a flow diagram of the operation of the payment method implemented by the system of figure 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Detailed Description of the Embodiments

Figure 1 is a schematic view of a payment system 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention, with a user mobile telephone 12. System 10 includes a server 14 of a telecommunications wholesaler or provider (termed "Telco server 14") , a system server 16 and a plurality of user-operable kiosks 18. Kiosks 18 are in data communication with system server 16 over a secure private wireless network 20, Telco server 14 is in data communication with system server 16 over a secure network 22, system server 16 is in data communication with financial institutions servers (not shown) over secure network 24, and telecommunications provider server 16 is in data communication with mobile telephone 12 over a publicly accessible telephony network 26.

Optionally, kiosks 18 are adapted to communicate with mobile telephone 12 wirelessly 28, such as by SMS (over a mobile telephony network) , Bluetooth (trademark) and/or an RFID device) . Figure 2 is a schematic view of an exemplary kiosk 18. Kiosk 18 has an input/output device in a form of a touch screen 30, and a credit/debit card reader (not shown) with a slot 32 for receiving a user credit or debit card. kiosk 18 also has an output tray 34, for outputting receipts, tickets, vouchers, transactions statements, etc, in those embodiments where these are provided to the user.

Figure 3 is a schematic view of the components of kiosk 18 most relevant to the operation of this embodiment of the present invention. These include a processor 40, a memory 42, an I/O card 44 and a card reader 46 (for reading user credit/debit cards) . Processor 40 is adapted to execute software stored in memory 42 , which includes an operating system 50, a display driver 52 (for touch screen 30) , a printer driver 54 for controlling a printer (not shown) provided in kiosk 18, and a server interface 56 for controlling communication with system server 16.

Figure 4 is a schematic view of the components of system server 16 most relevant to the operation of this embodiment of the present invention. These include a processor 60, a memory 62, and an I/O card 44. Processor 60 is adapted to execute software stored in memory 62, which includes an operating system 70, an F/I interface 72 for controlling communication with financial institution servers (such as to query a financial institution as to the validity of a user payment) , a provider interface 74 for controlling communication with the relevant provider (in this example , Telco server 14) , a payment validator 76 for determining whether a user payment is valid (and which employs F/I interface 72 to do so) , and a data packet builder 78 (controlled by payment validator 76) for constructing - and initiating the transmission to Telco server 14 of - a purchase data packet (described in further detail below) if a user payment has been validated. Figure 5 is a flow diagram 80 of a method for paying for mobile telephone credit according to an embodiment of the present invention, as implemented by system 10 of figure 1. Thus, at step 82, a user operates kiosk 18 to request mobile telephone credit. The user does this by selecting an icon displayed on touch screen 30 indicative of such services, followed by subsequent icons for identifying the user' s account (typically by entering the telephone number of relevant device, in this example mobile telephone 12) , and selecting a desired payment value. These subsequent icons may either represent fixed amounts (such as $10, $20, $50 and $70) or allow the user to enter any desired monetary value.

At step 82, kiosk 18 responds by requesting user payment, in response to which - at step 86 - the user effects payment by inserting a credit or debit card, providing suitable authorisation (such as in the form of a PIN) , and confirming that he or she wishes to proceed with the payment .

At step 88, kiosk 18 communicates with system server 16 via server interface 56 and requests validation of the payment. This request is processed by payment validator 76 of system server 16 which communicates via F/I interface 72 with the relevant financial institution. The response of the financial institution is processed by payment validator 76, which forwards to kiosk 18 data indicating whether the payment has been validated or not. If not, processing continues at step 90, where the purchase requested by the user is rejected and processing ends.

If, at step 88, the payment was successful, processing continues at step 92 , where the kiosk provides a purchase receipt to the user. This purchase receipt can assume any suitable form; for example, the kiosk may display a receipt number on touch screen 30, transmit a receipt number to mobile telephone 12, or print a receipt for retrieval by the user from tray 34. In some embodiments, the user is first asked whether he or she would like to receive a receipt, and will be provided with a receipt only if the user operates touch screen 30 to indicate that he or she would like a receipt. It should be noted, however, that this receipt relates to the payment made at step 86, and it is not of itself confirmation that the requested mobile telephone credit has been credited to the user's mobile telephony account with the Telco.

At step 94, payment validator 76 of system server 16 - because the payment has been validated - controls data packet builder 78 of system server 16 to construct a purchase data packet for transmission to Telco server 14. This purchase data packet contains data indicative of the user (typically in the form of the mobile telephone corresponding to the user account) , of the value of the purchased credit, and of the date and time of the payment.

Upon receipt of the purchase data packet, at step 96 Telco server 14 verifies the credit request (including checking that the indicated user account exists and has not been suspended) and applies the corresponding credit to the user's account.

Notification that the account has been credited is then provided to the user, but how this is done depends on whether the Telco server 16 is configured to provide such kiosks. If, at step 98, it is determined that Telco server 16 does not provide such receipts to the kiosk, processing continues at step 100 where Telco server 16 notifies the user directly of the crediting of his or her account, such as by SMS to mobile telephone 12. If, at step 98, it is determined that the Telco server 16 does provide such receipts to kiosk 18, processing continues at step 102 where Telco server 14 notifies kiosk 18 that the user' s account has been credited, after which - at step 104 - kiosk 18 notifies the user that his or her account has been credited (such as by SMS or Bluetooth) . Processing then ends.

It should be noted that the mobile device whose account is to be credited, in this example mobile telephone 12, need not be present when the user purchases credit, as the credit is "activated" without operation of the mobile device. Also, if a receipt is sent to the mobile device, this can be done by - for example - sms, which also does not require the presence of the mobile device. (If kiosk 18 attempts to deliver a receipt by a protocol - such as Bluetooth - that does require that the mobile device be in the vicinity of kiosk 18, this delivery may fail. Nonetheless, the account will still be credited.)

It should also be noted that system server 16 does not - in this embodiment - hold a stock of credit certificates that are progressively sold to users (as is required according to the background art) . However, such credit certificates may optionally be used with the present invention. For example, system server 16 may be provided with a stock of credit certificates by Telco server 14, and kiosk 18 may sell mobile telephony credit to a user only in amounts that are equal to one of the remaining - that is, unsold - credit certificates (e.g. $10, $20, and $50) . Thus, kiosk 18 would only display credit in amounts that are available, at least in principle, and/or check with system server 16 whether a desired amount of credit indeed corresponds to an available credit certificate before proceeding with the sale of the credit. In such cases, the purchase data packet built by data packet builder 78 may include a credit certificate identifier (such as a number) instead of the value of the purchased credit, as the credit certificate identifier would be translatable by Telco server 14 into that value.

In some embodiments , kiosks 18 can be used to purchase other than mobile (or other) telephony credit. For example, in one embodiment, kiosks 18 are identical with those of figures 1 to 3, but are configured to display icons indicative of other services, including — for example, cinema tickets. Xn such embodiments, when a user purchases one or more cinema tickets, the receipt that is transmitted (cf . steps 100 and 104 of figure 5) to the nominated mobile device - such as mobile telephone 12 - constitutes a voucher either redeemable for paper a cinema ticket or itself constituting a cinema ticket. In this embodiment, provider interface 74 communicates a successful user payment for the requested cinema ticket (s) to the cinema's server (instead of, as in the previous example, the Telco server), and the cinema's server responds by transmitting a receipt to the user' s mobile device either directly (cf . communications link 26) or via kiosk (cf. communications link 22, 20, 28) .

Indeed, in some embodiments, kiosks 18 may vend goods, stored within each kiosk. In such examples, system server 16 need not employ provider interface 74 as, once the payment has been approved, the purchased good can be dispensed via tray 34. In some cases, however, system server 16 will nonetheless report the purchase - such as for the purpose of inventory control - via provider interface 74 to the respective server of the original provider of the goods.

Modifications within the scope of the invention may be readily effected by those skilled in the art. It is to be understood, therefore, that this invention is not limited to the particular embodiments described by way of example hereinabove .

In the claims that follow and in the preceding description of the invention, except where the context requires otherwise owing to express language or necessary implication, the word "comprise" or variations such as "comprises" or "comprising" is used in an inclusive sense, that is, to specify the presence of the stated features but not to preclude the presence or addition of further features in various embodiments of the invention.

Further, any reference herein to prior art is not intended to imply that such prior art forms or formed a part of the common general knowledge in Australia or any other country.