EP1269739A2 - Data transmission method and device - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention relates to a data transmission method for the topping-up of a pre-paid electronic credit of a service user, by means of a data or telecommunication network, essentially, in real time. Said service user possesses a first electronic transaction account and a service operator possesses a second transaction account and, depending upon a transmitted signal sent from a terminal belonging to the service user, the pre-paid credit is increased by a certain pre-determined electronic monetary value and, simultaneously, the same monetary amount is transferred from the first transaction account to the second transaction account.

Description

description

Data transmission method and arrangement

The invention relates to a data transmission method and a corresponding arrangement for topping up a prepaid electronic credit via a data or telecommunications network.

In addition to the Internet, telecommunications - especially mobile telecommunications - are today an area with rapid technical and economic development and an essential source of economic growth and new social developments. For a large number of people in industrialized countries, the mobile phone ("cell phone") is becoming more and more to a universal communication and information tool and also increasingly used for access to goods and services.

In the past two to three years, the provision of tariffs based on prepaid credit (especially m in the form of so-called prepaid cards) has contributed significantly to the dynamic development of mobile telecommunications. They are perceived as particularly attractive because they do not contain a usage-independent basic fee, enable the user to control costs well and do not impose a contract. In view of the highly dynamic technical and tariff development in this area, this contractual relationship is also a decisive disadvantage for many users who want to use new terminal devices immediately. Prepaid credit is particularly aimed at young and dynamic users who, on the other hand, are still relatively low-income.

There are various methods of topping up the prepaid credit, which have also become established in practice. In addition to the purchase of a voucher, the payment of additional füllbeträgen by credit card, bank transfer order, load ^¬ writing or standing order. These payment methods are profiled etab ^¬ and familiar to the vast majority of users. They are based a he _b largely on stable banking connections and set- turn zen requires a certain credit, which we ^¬ sentliche benefits of prepaid procedure for certain groove ^¬ zergruppen again lost at this point. In some cases, they also involve an annoying, long-term commitment of the customer to a specific, formalized payment method and can only be changed with relatively great effort.

The invention is therefore based on the object of providing an improved data transmission method and an improved arrangement of the type specified above, with which a prepaid account can be refilled flexibly as required in a simple yet secure manner.

This object is achieved in its method aspect by a data transmission method with the features of claim 1 and in its device aspect by a data transmission arrangement with the features of claim 10.

The invention includes the basic idea of using what is known as an “electronic wallet” (eWallet) to replenish a prepaid credit, ie. H. an electronic settlement account set up in a data network which can be electronically connected directly to the prepaid account. It also includes the idea of designing this settlement account - which is also referred to below as the eWallet account - from a terminal device of the holder of the prepaid credit (or a third party) so that it can be "controlled" so that the Prepaid credit can be controlled in real time from the end device.

The proposed method is thus based on existing payment methods from the B2C (business-to-consumer) area for the payment of goods and ordered via the Internet Services. An account management server on which the settlement account is managed - hereinafter also referred to as the eWallet server - acts in the sense of a buyer or sender of the corresponding amount of money. Another server, on which the prepaid credit is managed - hereinafter also referred to as prepaid server - takes over the function of the seller or recipient of the money. In a Sin ^¬ ne provides the prepaid credit created payment possibility (for example, for telecommunications services)

Although the top-up of a prepaid credit will normally be done by the owner himself, i.e. from a settlement account of the owner of the prepaid credit, the proposed solution is not restricted to this. Rather, it also includes replenishing the prepaid account from a third-party eWallet account. This will of course normally not be accessed by the owner of the prepaid account, but rather by the owner of the eWallet account to draw the rebooking.

The proposed solution enables the prepaid account to be replenished in real time; H. with immediate effect both for the owner and user as well as for the operator of the prepaid account. The electronic money is immediately available to the operator, so that the operator does not have to make an advance payment. On the other hand, the owner does not make an advance payment without immediately having the prepaid service available (as is the case with direct debit, for example).

The proposed solution can be implemented as an independent service and can be offered to the users of the prepaid credit as such and runs on a special application server. This is also referred to below as a recharge server with regard to its special function. With the recharge server, the connection and testing processes that are decisive for the execution of the filling process also run. OT) o un o un rH rH m

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5. The recharge server checks at the prepaid server whether the specified prepaid account exists and whether the specified amount can be booked on the account.

6. If this is the case, the reserved amount will be transferred from the service user's eWallet account to a

Server-managed account of the service provider rebooked and at the same time the balance of the prepaid account increased. The latter is done in particular by incrementing a corresponding counter. The money transfer takes place in real time.

7. The sender receives feedback about the successful money transfer.

8. The recipient is optionally informed of the receipt of the amount of money in his prepaid account.

Claims

© H υ r- ooo rH ro Balances the out / debit a log record is created increased by the amount of money and _above over. 4. Datenubertragungsverfahren according to claim 3, characterized in that telt after execution of the transaction from the application server a Bestatigungssignal to the Endgerat of the service user übermit ^¬. 5. Data transmission method according to claim 3 or 4, so that a connection between the application server and the credit management server and for checking the account identifier of the processing account, a connection between the application server and the account management server is established automatically for checking the credit identifier. 6. Data transmission method according to one of claims 3 to 5, d a d u r c h g e k e n n z e i c h n e t that the authentication code or credit and account identifier and the predetermined amount of money are entered on the terminal of the service user by keyboard or voice input as part of a menu control. 7. Data transmission method according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that a first service user is the owner of the prepaid electronic credit and a second service user is the owner of the first electronic settlement account and the increase in the credit of the first service user by the amount of electronic money in response to a transmission signal from a terminal of the second service user. 8. Data transmission method according to claim 7, characterized in that _A emits pplikationsserver to the first and second service user after transfer to first and second Besta actuating signal. 9. Datenubertragungsverfahren according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that at least part of the Ubertragungsvorganges is performed via a mobile radio network ^¬. 10. Data transmission arrangement for replenishing a prepaid electronic credit of a service user via a data or telecommunications network essentially in real time, characterized by a credit payer managed on a credit management server for storing the electronic credit, a first and a second settlement account memory on at least one account management server an application server implemented money transfer software for realizing an electronic transfer of money from the settlement account memory into the credit memory, a terminal connected to the data or telecommunication network of a service user for the input and transmission of data required to replenish the credit the application server and a data connection between the application server, the credit management server, the account management server and the end device for executing the replenishment de s Credit transfer data. 11. Data transmission arrangement according to claim 10, characterized in that the terminal is a mobile radio terminal connected to a mobile radio network and / or the prepaid credit a prepaid card from a service provider is stored in a mobile radio network. 12. Data transmission arrangement according to claim 10 or 11, characterized in that a trigger signal for triggering the money transfer from the settlement account memory in the second settlement account memory and for increasing the counter reading of the credit counter is sent by a first terminal and the prepaid electronic credit one is assigned to the second terminal. 13. Data transmission arrangement according to claim 11 and 12, so that the prepaid card is assigned to the second terminal as a mobile radio terminal. 14. Data transmission arrangement according to one of claims 10 to 13, characterized in that the application server has an authentication code memory and a comparison unit connected to this on the input side for comparing an authentication code received by the first terminal with a stored authentication code and for outputting a release signal for the Payment process if both match. 15. Data transmission arrangement according to claim 14, so that the application server has a decoding unit for obtaining a credit and / or account identifier of the prepaid electronic credit or the processing account from the authentication code.