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FORM 2
The Patent Act 1970
(39 of 1970)
&
The Patent Rules, 2005
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION
(SEE SECTION 10 AND RULE 13)
TITLE OF THE INVENTION
“Money transfer using cellular networks”
APPLICANTS:
Name Nationality Address
Alcatel Lucent France 54 rue de la Boétie, 75008 Paris, France
The following specification particularly describes and ascertains the nature of this
invention and the manner in which it is to be performed:-
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BACKGROUND
Technical Field
[001] The embodiments herein relate to monetary transaction systems and
methods and more particularly, to electronic transferring of money via a third party.
5
Description of the Related Art
[002] Many electronic cash payment systems and methods have been proposed to
transfer money from one user to another. Each of these systems requires a complex series
10 of transactions and verifications to ensure that the overall transaction occurs securely.
[003]There also exist various agent-based money transfer services, such as those
provided by Western Union, Money Gram, Cyber Cash and the like. Usually, these
services involve a series of pre-transaction steps which are to be performed to establish a
relationship with the intermediate agent. Also, establishing relationships with the
15 intermediary is time consuming and requires submission of more documentation than
many would prefer. The agent-based services require a payer to go to an agent’s facility,
have money transferred to a site near the payee, who then needs to approach the same
transfer agent’s site at the same location or another location to receive the money, which
is a slow and often inconvenient arrangement.
20 [004]Generally, the Electronic Fund Transfer (EFT) systems cannot satisfy the
need for an automated transaction system that provides for the transfer of universally
accepted economic value outside of the banking system. In case of money transactions
using cellular communication devices, as in the case of “PayPal Mobile”, the paying
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customer needs to register the mobile number with the agent site on internet and then
transfer the money from the bank account to another customer’s cellular communication
device number, or email-id or the like. The second customer then needs to claim the
received amount by registering on the agent site. The cellular device money transaction
service necessitates the users to share bank account details 5 with the agent site and also the
transaction process is complicated. Further, implementation of this method requires
attaining account information from all banks in a particular geographic area.
SUMMARY
10 [005] In view of the foregoing, an embodiment herein provides a method of
transferring money from a first user to a second user using a cellular network. The
method comprises first user sending details to cellular network of the first user, the
cellular network authorizing the details provided by the first user, cellular network
sending a notification to the first user confirming transfer of the money to the second
15 user, cellular network sending the second user a notification informing receipt of the
money from the first user, cellular network sending the second user a secret code, a
vendor confirming details provided by the second user to the vendor by contacting the
cellular network, the cellular network confirming the details of the second user provided
by the vendor, cellular network authorizing the vendor to pay the money to the second
20 user, cellular network sending a query to the second user for confirming receipt of the
money, and crediting the money to account of the vendor, on the second user confirming
the query. The first user sends the details to the cellular network using at least one of an
Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD) string, a Short Message Service
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(SMS) message or an Interactive Voice Response (IVR) menu. The details send by the
first user to the cellular network comprises of an access code, number of a voucher
obtained by the first user, and Mobile Station International ISDN number (MSISDN) of
the second user. The first user sends the details in a string format
***# to the cellular network.
[006]The cellular network authorizes the voucher number and MSISDN of the
second user on reception of the details from the first user. The vendor confirms the
second user by providing MSISDN of the second user and the secret code provided by
the second user to the cellular network, wherein the vendor uses a format
10 ***# for confirming the second user. The
vendor may also use an Interactive Voice Response (IVR) menu or a Short Message
Service (SMS) message for confirming the second user by providing MSISDN of the
second user and the secret code provided by second user to the cellular network. The
cellular network marks the voucher number as transferred on crediting the money to
15 account of the vendor and sends a confirmation that second user has received the money
to the first user on the second user confirming receipt of the money.
[007]Embodiments herein further disclose a network comprising at least one
means adapted for receiving details from a first user transferring money to a second user,
authorizing details of the second user provided by the first user, sending a notification to
20 the first user confirming transfer of money to the second user, sending the second user a
notification informing receipt of the money from the first user, sending the second user a
secret code, confirming the second user by verifying details provided by the vendor,
authorizing the vendor to pay the money to the second user, sending a query to the
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second user for confirming receipt of the money, and crediting the money to account of
the vendor on the second user confirming the query. The cellular network comprises at
least one means adapted for sending a notification to the vendor on completion of transfer
of the money to the second user.
[008]These and other aspects of the embodiments 5 herein will be better
appreciated and understood when considered in conjunction with the following
description and the accompanying drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
10
[009] The embodiments herein will be better understood from the following
detailed description with reference to the drawings, in which:
[0010] FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating the elements involved in electronic
transferring of money from one user to another user in a cellular communication network,
15 in accordance with the embodiments herein;
[0011] FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an example Service Control Point
(SCP), in accordance with the embodiments herein;
[0012] FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram illustrating the call flow for transfer of
money from one user to another user in a cellular communication network, in accordance
20 with the embodiments herein; and
[0013]FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating a method of transferring money
electronically from one user to another user in a cellular communication network, in
accordance with the embodiments herein.
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DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS
[0014] The embodiments herein and the various features and advantageous details
thereof are explained more fully with reference to the non-limiting embodiments that are
illustrated in the accompanying drawings and detailed in the 5 following description.
Descriptions of well-known components and processing techniques are omitted so as to
not unnecessarily obscure the embodiments herein. The examples used herein are
intended merely to facilitate an understanding of ways in which the embodiments herein
may be practiced and to further enable those of skill in the art to practice the
10 embodiments herein. Accordingly, the examples should not be construed as limiting the
scope of the embodiments herein.
[0015]The embodiments herein achieve a method for transferring money from
one user to another user using a cellular communication device through a cellular
communication network. Referring now to the drawings, and more particularly to FIGS.
15 1 through 4, where similar reference characters denote corresponding features
consistently throughout the figures, there are shown embodiments.
[0016] The embodiment herein discloses a method of electronically transferring a
specified monetary value instantaneously from one user to another user through a cellular
network. A user that needs to transfer money, hereinafter referred to as first user, buys a
20 prepaid voucher of specified monetary value from the market and sends an Unstructured
Supplementary Service Data (USSD) string containing the voucher number and Mobile
Station International ISDN number (MSISDN) of another user to Home Location
Register (HLR) of a cellular network. The Service Control Point (SCP) of cellular
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network authorizes the details provided by the first user and sends a notification along
with a secret code to the recipient of the money as desired by the first user, hereinafter
referred to as the second user. The notification sent by SCP to the second user informs
the second user about the reception of money from the first user. The second user then
provides the secret code to a vendor who sends a message with 5 the secret code and
MSISDN of second user to the SCP of a cellular network through a HLR. SCP then
confirms the second user and authorizes the vendor to pay the money to the second user.
The network then transfers the money to the account of the vendor, on confirming the
reception of money by the second user. Further, the network marks the voucher number
10 as transferred and notifies the first user that the second user has received the money.
[0017]FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating the elements involved in electronic
transferring of money from one user to another user in a cellular communication network,
in accordance with the embodiments herein. The first user 101 buys a voucher of a
specified monetary value that is to be sent to the second user 105. The vouchers are
15 available as prepaid vouchers, for instance prepaid vouchers for mobile phones, landline
Prepaid Cards such as India Telephone (IT) Cards, Callow Cards, Foreign Language
Proficiency Pay (FLPP) Recharge Coupons and the like, in the market. The first user 101
then sends an Unstructured Supplementary Services Data (USSD) string to HLR 103 of
the cellular network 102 of the first user 101. The USSD string sent by the first user 101
20 to the HLR 103 comprises the fields of an access code, the number of the voucher
purchased by the first user 101 and the MSISDN of the second user 105. For instance, the
first user 101 usually sends the details in a string format ***# to the cellular network 102. Service Control Point
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(SCP) 104 of the cellular network 102 authorizes the voucher number and MSISDN of
the second user 105. The SCP 104 then indicates the voucher number as used. Further,
the SCP 104 sends a notification to the first user 101 indicating that the money would be
transferred to second user 105. The SCP 104 also sends a notification message to the
second user 105 informing about the reception of money 5 from the first user 101
accompanied by a secret code. The second user 105 approaches a vendor 106 and
provides the secret code to the vendor 106. The vendor 106 sends a message to the
SCP 104 of the cellular network 102, where the message comprises fields of access code
of the vendor, the secret code given by the second user 105 and the MSISDN of the
10 second user 105. For instance, the vendor 106 uses a format
***# for confirming the second user 105
with the cellular network 102. The SCP 104 authorizes the secret code and MSISDN of
the second user 105 and sends an authorization message to the vendor 106 to pay the
specified amount to the second user 105. The second user 105 receives an USSD
15 notification from SCP 104 querying the reception of the money. The second user 105
sends a confirmation to SCP 105 on receiving the money from the vendor. SCP then
marks the voucher number as transferred and credits the money to the mobile account of
the vendor 106. Further, the first user 101 receives a notification informing that the
money has been transferred to the second user 105 and vendor 106 receives a notification
20 that the transaction is complete.
[0018]FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary Service Control Point
(SCP), in accordance with the embodiments herein. The SCP 104 includes a connection
unit 201, a control unit 202 and a memory unit 203. The control unit 202 is a processor or
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a group of processors executing the instructions of the operating system stored in the
memory unit 203. The USSD service, present in the control unit 203 of the SCP 104,
implements the money transfer service. USSD service is mostly used to query the
available account balance and other similar information in cellular networks. USSD is a
session oriented service and the users can enter the Unstructured 5 Supplementary Services
Data (USSD) command direct from the cellular phone screen. The memory units 203
comprise of a hard disk or RAM modules to store, for example, voucher details provided
by the first user 101, vendor 106 details, user accounts, program code sequences executed
by the control unit 202 and the like. Control unit 202 also influences the functions of
10 connection unit 201 in establishing connection between the first user 101, the second user
105 and the vendor 106.
[0019]FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram illustrating the call flow for transfer of
money from one user to another user in a cellular communication network, in accordance
with the embodiments herein. The first user 101 buys a voucher of a specified monetary
15 value to be transferred to the second user 105 from the market. The first user 101 then
sends a USSD string to HLR 103 of the cellular network 102. The USSD string sent by
the first user 101 to the HLR 103 comprises the fields of an access code, the number of
the voucher purchased by the first user 101 and the MSISDN of the second user 105. For
instance, the first user 101 usually sends the details in a string format
20 ***# to the cellular network
102. The HLR 103 then transmits the USSD string to the Service Control Point (SCP)
104 of the cellular network 102. The SCP 104 of the cellular network 102 authorizes the
voucher number and MSISDN of the second user 105 and marks the voucher number as
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used. Further, the SCP 104 sends a notification to the first user 101 indicating that money
would be transferred to the second user 105. The SCP 104 then sends a notification
message and a secret code to the second user 105 informing about the reception of money
from the first user 101. The second user 105 approaches a vendor 106 and provides the
secret code received from the SCP 104 to the 5 vendor 106. The vendor 106 sends a
message to the SCP 104 of the cellular network, where the message comprises the fields
of access code of the vendor, the secret code given by the second user 105 and the
MSISDN of the second user 105. The vendor 106 uses a format
***# for confirming for confirming the
10 second user 105 with the cellular network 102 as instanced. The SCP 104 authorizes the
secret code and MSISDN of the second user 105 and sends an authorization message to
the vendor 106 to pay the specified amount to the second user 105. The second user 105
receives an USSD notification from SCP 104 querying the reception of the money. The
second user 105 sends a “Yes” to SCP 105 on receiving the money from the vendor. SCP
15 then marks the voucher number as transferred and credits the money to the mobile
account of the vendor 106. Further, the first user 101 receives a notification informing
that the money has been transferred to the second user 105 and vendor 106 receives a
notification that the transaction is complete. The commission structure involved in the
money transfer includes a vendor selling the voucher to the first user 101, the vendor 106
20 paying the money to the second user 105 and the operators of the cellular network.
[0020]FIG. 4 illustrates a flowchart depicting a method of transferring money
electronically from one user to another user in a cellular communication network, in
accordance with the embodiments herein. The first user 101 buys (401) a voucher of
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required monetary value to be transferred to the second user 105 from a vendor. The first
user 101 then sends (402) a USSD string to HLR 103 of the cellular network 102 of the
first user 101. The USSD string sent by the first user 101 to the HLR 103 comprises the
fields of an access code, the number of the voucher purchased by the first user 101 and
the MSISDN of the second user 105. The first user 101 sends the 5 details in a string
format ***# to the cellular
network 102. The Service Control Point (SCP) 104 of the cellular network 102 authorizes
(403) the voucher number and MSISDN of the second user 105. The SCP 104 then marks
the voucher number as used. Further, the SCP 104 sends (404) a notification to the first
10 user 101 indicating that money would be transferred to the second user 105. The SCP 104
also sends (405) a notification message to the second user 105 informing the reception of
money from the first user 101 and a secret code. The second user 105 approaches a
vendor 106 and provides (406) the secret code to the vendor 106. The vendor 106
confirms (407) the second user 105 by sending a message to the SCP 104 of the cellular
15 network, where the message comprises the fields of access code of the vendor, the secret
code given by the second user 105 and the MSISDN of the second user 105. The vendor
106, for instance, uses a format ***# for
confirming for confirming the second user 105 with the cellular network 102. The SCP
104 authorizes (408) the secret code and MSISDN of the second user 105 and sends
20 (409) an authorization message to the vendor 106 to pay the specified amount to the
second user 105. The network 102 then checks (410) with the second user 105 to check if
the amount has been received by the second user 105. If the money is paid to the second
user 105 and the second user 105 confirms the reception of the money by sending a
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“Yes” as a reply to the network 102 query, the network 102 credits (411) the money to
mobile account of the vendor 106. Further, the network 102 notifies (412) the first user
101 that the money has been transferred to the second user and the vendor 106 receives a
notification that the transaction is complete. If the query on reception of money is not
confirmed by the second user 105, the network 102 aborts (5 413) the money transaction to
vendor account and the vendor need to restart the transaction. The various actions in
method 400 may be performed in the order presented, in a different order or
simultaneously. Further, in some embodiments, some actions listed in FIG. 4 may be
omitted.
10 [0021]The embodiment disclosed herein, where the first user 101 sends
information to the HLR of the cellular network regarding the voucher information and the
identity of the second user 105, may alternately involve the first user 101 using an
Interactive Voice Response (IVR) to communicate to the network the voucher number
and the MSISDN of the second user 105.
15 [0022]The embodiment disclosed herein, where the first user 101 sends
information to the HLR of the cellular network regarding the voucher information and the
identity of the second user 105, may alternately involve the first user 101 using a Short
Message Service (SMS) message to communicate to the network the voucher number and
the MSISDN of the second user 105.
20 [0023]The embodiment disclosed herein, where the vendor 106 sends information
to the HLR of the cellular network for confirming the identity of the second user 105,
may alternately involve the vendor 106 using an Interactive Voice Response (IVR) to
communicate to the network the access code of the vendor 106, the secret code as
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provided by the second user 105 and the MSISDN of the second user 105.
[0024]The embodiment disclosed herein, where the vendor 106 sends information
to the HLR of the cellular network for confirming the identity of the second user 105,
may alternately involve the vendor 106 using a Short Message Service (SMS) message to
communicate to the network the access code of the vendor 5 106, the secret code as
provided by the second user 105 and the MSISDN of the second user 105.
[0025]The embodiment disclosed herein can be integrated with the Intelligent
Network (IN) products. The embodiment herein permits the money to be transferred from
one user to another without necessitating the sender or receiver to have a bank account,
10 facilitates immediate money transfer to other users, does not require internet connectivity,
no need to register the mobile numbers with the network to transfer the money, and the
service is in active mode even when the subscriber is in roaming condition.
[0026]The embodiments disclosed herein can be implemented through at least one
software program running on at least one hardware device and performing network
15 management functions to control the network elements. The network elements shown in
Fig. 1 include blocks which can be at least one of a hardware device, a software module
or a combination of hardware device and software module.
[0027]The embodiment disclosed herein specifies that the money transfer service
can be hosted as a separate entity or in combination with the already existing elements of
20 the network. Therefore, it is understood that the scope of the protection is extended to
such a program and in addition to a computer readable means having a message therein,
such computer readable storage means contain program code means for implementation
of one or more steps of the method, when the program runs on a SCP or any suitable
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programmable device. The method is implemented in a preferred embodiment through or
together with a software program written in e.g. Very high speed integrated circuit
Hardware Description Language (VHDL) or C, C++, Java, or using another
programming language, or implemented by one or more VHDL, C, C++, or Java
processes or routines, or several software modules being executed 5 on at least one
hardware device. The hardware device can be any kind of device which can be
programmed including e.g. any kind of computer like a server or a personal computer, an
FPGA, a processor, or the like, or any combination thereof, e.g. one processor and two
FPGAs. The device may also include means which could be e.g. hardware means like e.g.
10 an ASIC, or a combination of hardware and software means, e.g. an ASIC and an FPGA,
or at least one microprocessor and at least one memory with software modules located
therein. Thus, the means are at least one hardware means and/or at least one software
means. The method embodiments described herein could be implemented in pure
hardware or partly in hardware and partly in software. The device may also include only
15 software means. Alternatively, the invention may be implemented on different hardware
devices, e.g. using a plurality of CPUs.
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CLAIMS
What is claimed is:
1. A method of transferring money from a first user (101) to a second user (105)
using a cellular network (102), said method comprising steps of
said first user (101) sending (402) money transfer information 5 to cellular network
(102) of said first user (101);
said cellular network (102) authorizing (403) said information provided by said
first user (101);
said cellular network (102) sending (404) a notification to said first user (101)
10 confirming transfer of said money to said second user (105);
said cellular network (102) sending (405) said second user (105) a notification
informing receipt of said money from said first user (101);
said cellular network (102) sending (406) said second user (105) a secret code;
a vendor (106) confirming (407) information provided by said second user (105)
15 to said vendor (106) by contacting said cellular network (102);
said cellular network (102) confirming said information of said second user (105)
provided by said vendor (106);
said cellular network (102) authorizing (409) said vendor (106) to pay said money
to said second user (105);
20 said cellular network (102) sending a query to said second user (105) for
confirming receipt of said money; and
said cellular network (102) crediting (411) said money to account of said vendor,
on said second user (105) confirming said query;.
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2. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein said first user (101) sends (402) said
information to said cellular network using an Unstructured Supplementary Service Data
(USSD) string.
3. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein said information 5 send by said first
user (101) to said cellular network comprises of
an access code;
number of a voucher, said voucher obtained by said first user (101); and
Mobile Station International ISDN number (MSISDN) of said second user (105).
10
4. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein said first user (101) sends said
information in a string format ***# to said cellular network (102).
15 5. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein said first user (101) uses an
Interactive Voice Response (IVR) menu for sending (402) said information to said
cellular network (102).
6. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein said first user (101) uses a Short
20 Message Service (SMS) message for sending (402) said information to said cellular
network (102).
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7. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein said cellular network (102) authorizes
said voucher number and MSISDN of said second user (105) on reception of said
information from said first user (101).
8. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein said 5 vendor (106) confirms said
second user (105) by providing MSISDN of said second user (105) and said secret code
provided by said second user (105) to said cellular network (102).
9. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein said vendor (106) uses a format
10 ***# for confirming said second user
(105).
10. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein said vendor uses an Interactive Voice
Response (IVR) menu for confirming said second user (105) by providing MSISDN of
15 said second user (105) and said secret code provided by said second user (105) to said
cellular network (102).
11. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein said vendor uses a Short Message
Service (SMS) message for confirming said second user (105) by providing MSISDN of
20 said second user (105) and said secret code provided by said second user (105) to said
cellular network (102).
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12. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein said cellular network (102) marks said
voucher number as transferred on crediting (411) said money to account of said vendor
(106).
13. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein said cellular 5 network (102) sends a
confirmation to said first user (101) on said second user (105) confirming receipt of said
money.
14. A network comprising at least one means adapted for
10 receiving money transfer information from a first user (101) transferring money to
a second user (105);
authorizing (403) information of said second user (105) provided by said first user
(101);
sending (404) a notification to said first user (101) confirming transfer of money
15 to said second user (105);
sending (405) said second user (105) a notification informing receipt of said
money from said first user (101);
sending (406) said second user (105) a secret code;
confirming (407) said second user (105) by verifying information provided by
20 said vendor;
authorizing (408) said vendor (106)to pay said money to said second user (105);
sending a query to said second user (105) for confirming receipt of said money;
and
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crediting (411) said money to account of said vendor (106) on said second user
(105) confirming said query.
15. The network as claimed in claim 14, wherein said cellular network (102)
comprises at least one means adapted for sending (412) a 5 notification to said vendor
(106) on completion of transfer of said money to said second user (105).
10
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ABSTRACT
A method of transferring money from a first user to another user through a
cellular network is disclosed. The method includes a the first user buying a voucher of a
specified money from market and sending a USSD string to a cellular network, the
cellular network authorizing details provided by the first user, sending 5 a notification to
the first user confirming transfer of the money to the second user, sending the second user
a notification informing receipt of the money from the first user, sending the second user
a secret code, a vendor confirming details provided by second user by contacting the
cellular network, the cellular network further confirming the second user, authorizing the
10 vendor to pay the specified money to the second user, crediting the money to the vendor
account, and sending a confirmation to the first user notifying the second user has
received the cash.
FIG. 3
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