Background of the invention
A unique identification project has been proposed by the planning commission of
India. As part of this project, a unique identifier will be assigned to each resident
which is linked to the person's demographic and biometric information. The
5 unique identifier (UID) will make it possible for residents to easily verify their
identity to both public and private agencies. The UID will guarantee identity and
not rights, benefits or entitlements.
One important aspect of the model is that Know Your Customer (KYC) and/or
10 Know Your Resident (KYR) policies and regulations are adhered to. These
policies are due diligence activities that financial institutions and other regulated
companies must perform to ascertain relevant information from their clients for
the purpose of doing business with them. These policies are becoming
increasingly important globally to prevent identity theft, financial fraud, money
15 laundering and terrorist financing.
Brief Description of the Drawings
An example of the present invention will now be described in detail, by way of
example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:
20 Figure 1 shows schematically a known authentication operating model;
Figure 2 shows schematically an operating model of a welfare disbursement
payment system;
Figure 3 shows schematically an operating model of a cash withdrawal system;
and,
25 Figure 4 shows schematically an operating model of a payment system using
government disbursements.
Detailed Description
At the centre of the UID project is a form of online authentication, where
30 agencies can compare demographic and biometric information of a resident with
a record stored in a central database. This authentication system can be
accessed by banks and other service providers to verify an individual's details
anytime and from anywhere. An exemplary authentication platform and example
-2-
,e uses of the platform are described in February 2012 in the paper "Aadhaar
Enabled Service Delivery" by the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI),
Planning Commission, which is incorporated by reference.
5 Figure 1 depicts the authentication operating model exemplified in the above
paper. The model includes Authentication User Agencies (AUA) 111 and
Authentication Service Agencies (ASA) 112. An AUA 111 is an entity that
utilises the authentication to enable one or more of their services and may
communicate with an ASA 112, which is an agency that has established secure
10 leased line connectivity to the Central Information Data Repository (CIDR) 113 to
transmit authentication requests on behalf of the AUA 111 and receive
responses from the CIDR 113. The ASA 112 and the AUA 111 may of course
be the same entity and may each directly communicate with the CIDR 113 or the
direct service provider.
15
In the exemplary operating model of Figure 1, a resident 114 will request
authentication (step 101) with an authentication device/operator 115. The
authentication device 115 will then communicate with the AUA 111 using a
specific communication protocol (step 102). The AUA 111 will request that the
20 ASA 112 confirm the authentication (step 103). In this model, the ASA 112
passes the user information onto the CIDR 113 which will return a yes or no
response depending on whether the authentication can be granted, i.e. that the
demographic or biometric information presented by the user 114 matches the
information stored for that user in the CIDR 113 (step 104). The ASA 112 then
25 passes this yes or no response to the AUA 111 (step 105). The AUA 111 will
then send the necessary updates and confirmation to the authentication device
115 (step 106) depending on the individual service. The service is then
delivered to the user, most likely by the authentication device 115, but
alternatively by a further electronic system (step 107).
30
In order to allow service providers to communicate with the data repository CIDR
113 there has been defined a set of Application Programming Interfaces (APls)
which are outlined in the April 2012 paper 'Aadhaar Authentication API
-3-
Specification - Version 1.6' by the Unique Identification Authority of India
(UIDAI), Planning Commission, which is incorporated by reference. The APls
defined in the paper use XML and the authentication service is a stateless
service over HTTPS.
5
In addition to setting out APls which define how services should interact with the
CIDR, the paper also sets out an exemplary authentication flow in the case of an
operator assisted transaction at a Point of Service (PoS) terminal as follows:
10 "a) Resident provides [UID] Number, necessary demographic and.
biometric details to terminal devices belonging to the AUAlSA (or
merchant/operator appointed by AUAlSA) to obtain a service offered
by the AUAlSA.
b) [UID] authentication enabled application software that is installed on
15 the device packages these input parameters, encrypts, and sends it to
AUA server over either a mobile/broadband network using AUA
specific protocol.
c) AUA server, after validation adds necessary headers (AUA specific
wrapper XML with license key, transaction id, etc.), and passes the
20 request through ASA server to UIDAI CIDR.
d) [UID] authentication server returns a "yes/no" based on the match of
the input parameters.
e) Based on the response from the [UID] authentication server,
AUAlSA conducts the transaction."
25
Although the extract above describes that the resident provides the necessary
demographic and biometric details, in practice the resident need not provide
their biometric details, in many instances merely using the UID number is
sufficient to identify the resident.
30
A number of the aims and potential advantages of the UID project include (see
http://uidaLgov.in/aadhaar.html, accessed 29 November 2012):
-4-
A guarantee of uniqueness and centralised, online identity verification
which would be the basis for building multiple services and applications, and
facilitating greater connectivity to markets.
The ability to access services and resources, anytime, anywhere in the
5 country.
The provision of an identity infrastructure for ensuring financial inclusion
across the country - banks can link the unique number to a bank account for
every resident, and use the online identity authentication to allow residents to
access the account from anywhere in the country.
10 A foundation for the effective enforcement of individual rights. A clear
registration and recognition of the individual's identity with the state is necessary
to implement their rights - to employment, education, food, etc. The number, by
ensuring such registration and recognition of individuals, would help the state
deliver these rights.
15
One of the potential applications of the project that has been proposed is a
universal, micropayment solution. Such a solution is described in April 2010 in
the paper 'From Exclusion to Inclusion with Micropayments' by the Unique
Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), Planning Commission, which is
20 incorporated by reference.
In particular, this paper sets out the following:
"In the last twenty years, India has undergone a transformation of its
25 economic and regulatory structures. Policy reforms in this period have
led to the increasing maturity of our markets, as well as healthy
regulation. The emphasis on de-licensing, entrepreneurship, the use
of technology and decentralisation of governance to the state and local
level have in particular, shifted India from a restrictive, limited access
30 society to a more empowered, open access economy, where people
are able to access resources and services more easily and effectively.
-5-
But despite these efforts, access to finance has remained scarce in
rural India, and for the poorest residents in the country. Today, the
proportion of rural residents who lack access to bank accounts
remains at 40%, and this rises to over three-fifths of the population in
5 the east and north-east parts of India.
This exclusion is debilitating. Economic opportunity is after all,
intertwined with financial access. Such financial access is especially
valuable for the poor-it offers a cushion to a group whose incomes
10 are often volatile and small. It gives them opportunities to build
savings, insure themselves against income shocks and make
investments. Such savings and insurance protect the poor against
potentially ruinous events-illness, loss of employment, droughts, and
crop failures. However due to the lack of access tet financial services,
15 many of the Indian poor face difficulties in accumulating savings.
To mitigate the lack of financial access in India, the regulator has
focused on improving the reach of financial services in new and
innovative ways - through no-frills accounts, the liberalization of
20 banking and ATM policies, and branchless banking with business
correspondents (BCs), which enables local intermediaries such as selfhelp
groups and kirana stores to provide banking services. Related
efforts have also included the promotion of core-banking solutions in
Regional Rural Banks; and the incorporation of the National Payment
25 Corporation of India (NPCI) to provide a national infrastructure for
payments and settlements in the country.
Advancements in technology such as core banking, ATMs, and mobile
connectivity have also had enormous impact on banking. Mobile
30 phones in particular present an enormous opportunity in spreading
financial services across India. These technologies have reduced the
need for banks to be physically close to their customers, and banks
have been consequently able to experiment with providing services
-6-
through internet as well as mobile banking. These options, in addition
to ATMs, have made banking accessible and affordable for many
urban non-poor residents across the country.
5 With the poor, however, banks face a fundamental challenge that limits
the success of technology and banking innovations. The lack of clear
identity documentation for the poor creates difficulties in establishing
their identity to banks. This has also limited the extent to which online
and mobile banking can be leveraged to reach these communities.
10
Besides challenges of access and identity, a third limitation has been
the cost of providing banking services to the poor who transact in
smaller amounts, commonly referred to as micropayments. Banks
consider such payments unattractive since transaction costs may be
15 too high to bear.
The Unique Identification number (UID), which identifies individuals
uniquely on the basis of their demographic information and biometrics
will give individuals the means to clearly establish their identity to
20 public and private agencies across the country. It will also create an
opportunity to address the existing limitations in financial inclusion.
The UID can help poor residents easily establish their identity to
banks. As a result, banks will be able to scale up their branch-less
banking deployments and reach out to a wider population at lower
25 cost.
An efficient, cost effective payment solution is a dire necessity for
promoting financial inclusion. The UID number and the accompanying
authentication mechanism coupled with rudimentary technology
30 application can provide the desired micropayment solution. This can
bring low-cost access to financial services to everyone, a short
distance from their homes.
-7-
The key features of UID-enabled micropayments outlined in this
document are as follows:
UID Know Your Resident (KYR) sufficient for Know Your Customer
5 (KYC): Banks in India are required to follow customer identification
procedures while opening new accounts, to reduce the risk of fraud
and money laundering. The strong authentication that the UID will
offer, combined with its KYR standards, can remove the need for such
individual KYC by banks for basic, no-frills accounts. It will thus vastly
10 reduce the documentation the poor are required to produce for a bank
account, and significantly bring down KYC costs for banks.
Ubiquitous Business Correspondent (BC) network and BC choice: The
UID's clear authentication and verification processes will allow banks
15 to network with village-based BCs such as self-help groups and kirana
stores. Customers will be able to withdraw money and make deposits
at the local BC. Multiple BCs at the local level will also give customers
a choice of BCs. This will make customers, particularly in villages, less
vulnerable to local power structures, and lower the risk of being
20 exploited by BCs.
A high-volume, low-cost revenue approach: The UID will mitigate the
high customer acquisition costs, high transaction costs and fixed IT
costs that we now face in bringing bank accounts to the poor.
25
Electronic transactions: The UID's authentication processes will allow
banks to verify poor residents both in person and remotely. Rural
residents will be able to transact electronically with each other as well
as with individuals and firms outside the village. This will reduce their
30 dependence on cash, and lower costs for transactions. Once a
general purpose UID-enabled micropayments system is in place, a
variety of other financial instruments such as micro-credit, micro-
-8-
insurance, micro-pensions, and micro-mutual funds can be
implemented on top of this payments system.
The UID-enabled micropayments solution is just one of the many
5 developmental applications of the UID number."
As described above, the UID may provide a method of uniquely identifying a
person or a resident of a country, such that fraud may be reduced and trust and
inclusiveness may be increased. The UID platform allows for the provision of
10 further applications and services using the unique identifier.
In order to provide functionality such as that described above, there may be
established UID-enabled Bank Accounts (UEBAs). UEBAs are linked to aUlD
number and a customer can access their UEVA through a microATM device.
15 The UEBA generally operates as a prepaid account, similar to those used by
mobile operators when charging for talktime. The UEBA provides four main
features:
- a store of cash for savings, with a facility for making electronic deposits
and withdrawals in micro-amounts;
20 - a way to make payments;
- a channel for sending and receiving remittances; and,
- enabling balance queries and transaction history queries.
Other documentation which may aid in understanding the background to the
25 invention can be found at http://uidai.gov.in and http://uidai.gov.in/uidaidocuments.
html#publication, accessed on 29 November 2012.
For the purposes of introducing concepts of embodiments of the present
invention, an international payment system such as that operated by MasterCard
30 International Inc. and international remittance systems such as those described
in W02008/124584 and W02008/124580 may be used. These documents are
incorporated by reference.
-9-
The payment system operates to route and clear funds transfers from the
payment card accounts of senders to the payment card accounts of recipients.
One example of a payment system is the Banknet system, which is well-known
to those who are skilled in the art. The Banknet system is a global
5 telecommunications network linking all MasterCard card issuers, acquirers and
data processing centres into a single financial network. Typically, payment
systems such as Banknet comply with standards specifications which define the
interchange message specifications for the exchange of electronic transactions
made by cardholders using payment cards. ISO 8583 - Financial transaction
10 card originated messages is one such standard. The international remittance
systems described above may utilise these payment systems to initiate a funds
transfer.
Although embodiments of the present invention are described in the context of
15 the UID project in India'and international remittance and payment systems such
as those operated by MasterCard International Inc., it will of course be
understood that the principles of the present invention are not limited to such
systems and projects and are equally applicable to other systems and projects.
20 The Indian government has been investing heavily in multiple welfare programs
to cover under privileged and marginalized families. Emphasis is being placed
on providing economic access for the poor and helping them to be part of Indian
growth.
25 Currently there exist three types of welfare scheme:
Direct cash: This includes schemes like the National Rural Employment
Guarantee Scheme (NREGS) and the National Social Assistance Program
where cash is paid directly to the beneficiary. Money can either be delivered
directly to the beneficiary or payments can be made conditional on the
30 achievement of certain social or development objectives like Janani Suraksha
Yojana.
-10-
Subsidies: This includes schemes where the benefit is passed on to
consumers in the form of subsidies. Such schemes include the Targeted Public
Distribution System (PDS) where beneficiaries are issued food stamps.
Services to individuals: This includes schemes where payments are
5 made to service providers providing supplies and services to consumers. Such
schemes include the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan program which promotes universal
primary education for children and covers funding for school infrastructure,
teacher salaries, books and uniforms.
Here the first two schemes, where the citizen receives the disbursement directly,
10 rely on cash or food stamps as a method of payment.
At present, the average pay-out per NREGS beneficiary stands at around USD
200 per year. The total disbursements of NREGS benefit to the market are in the
region of USD 10 billion per year. It is estimated that the cost of distributing
15 these funds is around 4.5% and, therefore, in the region of USD 450 million per
year.
The welfare programs of India are large, complex systems with millions of
beneficiaries dependent upon them. Many welfare programs rely on manual
20 processes for beneficiary identification. A lack of identity documents among poor
and marginalised residents prevents access to benefits. There is currently
significant fraud in the distribution and receipt of government disbursements as
there exist many duplicate and fake beneficiaries. Residents may also receive
benefits from multiple programs simultaneously when they may not be entitled
25 to. This occurs often with pension related disbursements.
Although the incidence of rural poverty has declined somewhat over the past
three decades, a large proportion of poor people still live in rural areas. Rural
government benefit recipients currently receive 90% of all government benefits.
30 Many rural citizens have difficulty accessing their government benefits. Those
without bank accounts must collect entitlements at local government
administration designations which can be as far as 50km away. Furthermore,
many such citizens are unaware that they are even entitled to benefits.
-11-
Figure 2 depicts an operating model for a UID-linked welfare disbursement
payment system. The model includes a database 201 of UID numbers
associated with a particular welfare disbursement, a welfare bank account 202
5 containing the disbursement funds for the same benefit, a resident 114 with a
resident's bank account 205, a UID Payments Bridge 203 which acts as an
intermediary between the welfare bank account and the resident's bank account
and a central UID information database 204 which contains detailed information
relating to individual UID numbers. In practice the UID Payments Bridge may be
10 implemented using the international payment system or the international
remittance system described above.
In the exemplary operating model of Figure 2, the database of UID numbers 201,
maintained by the welfare provider, provides a UID number to the welfare bank
15 account 202 relating to a resident 114. The database 201 may be maintained by
the welfare provider or a regulatory authority responsible for the UID system. A
payroll instruction relating to the received UID number is then issued by the
welfare provider, either to the database or regulatory authority or to the
Payments Bridge as shown. The instruction is processed by the UID Payments
20 Bridge 203. The Bridge 203 passes the UID number onto the central UID
information database 204 for authentication. The central UID information
database 204, provides details relating to the UID number including the
associated bank account details. When the payroll instruction has been
authenticated and the account details have been provided, the Bridge 203 then
25 arranges the transfer of funds from the welfare provider's bank account 202 to
the resident's bank account 205. The resident 114 may then be notified of this
occurrence so that they are aware the funds are available. The notification may,
for example, be sent by SMS or any other suitable means.
30 Figure 3 depicts an operating model for a transaction verified using UIDauthentication.
The model includes a merchant 301, a bank account belonging to
the merchant 302 and also a UID Payments Bridge 203, a central UID
-12-
information database 204, a resident 114 and the resident's bank account 205
as substantially described above.
Although not shown, rather than having a bank account 205 through which to
5 make the described transactions, the resident could instead have a prepaid
payment card through which to make the transactions. These cards function in a
similar manner to known pre-paid credit instruments, such as pre-paid credit
cards, which are known to those skilled in the art. This applies to all exemplary
models in the present description. In the prepaid card scenario, the stored value
10 amount stored on the card is decremented each time a transaction is effected
and the merchant's account is incremented by the transaction amount. It will be
appreciated that although described with reference to a bank account the
merchant account may comprise a pre-paid or other stored value card.
15 In the exemplary operating model of Figure 3, a UID-authenticated transaction is
initiated when the resident 114 wishes access to their bank account to obtain
cash via a merchant 301. The resident 114 provides the merchant 301 with the
relevant UID information required. A transfer of funds instruction is then sent to
the merchant's bank 302. This instruction is then forwarded to the UID Payments
20 Bridge 203. The Bridge 203 passes the UID information supplied by the resident
onto the central UID information database 204 for authentication. If the
authentication process is successful, the Bridge 203 transmits the authorized
transfer instruction on to the resident's bank account 205 and arranges the
transfer of funds from the resident's bank account 205 to the merchant's bank
25 account 302. The resident 114 and/or merchant 301 may then be notified of this
occurrence so that they are aware the funds have been transferred. The
notification may, for example, be sent by SMS or any other suitable means. The
merchant can then give the transferred amount of funds to the resident in cash.
30 In addition to the problem of accessing the benefits to which residents are
entitled, the lack of access has a knock-on effect for rural merchants who are
limited by the amount of cash in their customer's pockets and are thus missing
out on potential sales.
-13-
According to the present disclosure a system is provided which comprises newly
created prepaid accounts for government benefit recipients that are established
at a predetermined banking institution. The system enables the recipients to
5 make purchases at their local merchants via an online UID-authenticated
payment transaction.
This system will enable rural merchants to complete a sale by capturing a
customer's UID (which includes biometric and other data as previously captured
10 and recorded by the government). The transaction can be verified using UIDauthentication
and can be checked against the existing funds in the customer's
UID-enabled prepaid account. Assuming there exists sufficient funds and the
customer verifications are successful, the sale is complete and money is
transferred to the merchants designated bank account.
15
The system utilises the international payment system described above to carry
out the transfer of funds between bank accounts. In order to make the payment,
the system checks the authentication of the resident using the UID,
demographic or biometric information. Optionally, the destination or originating
20 bank account associated with that UID may be determined by consulting the
central UID information database. The payment system may be in
communication with a payment platform adapted to communicate with the
central UID information database or may itself be operable to carry out the
authentication steps. In the payment platform example, the payment platform
25 may instruct the payment system to make the payment from the bank account of
the resident to the merchant's bank account once the authentication has been
deemed successful.
A schematic diagram of this example is shown in Figure 4 which depicts an
30 operating model for a transaction verified using UID-authentication. The model
includes a merchant 401, a bank account belonging to the merchant 402 and
also a UID Payments Bridge 203, a central UID information database 204, a
-14-
resident 114 and the resident's bank account 205 as substantially described
above.
In the exemplary operating model of Figure 4, a UID-authenticated transaction is
5 initiated when the resident 114 wishes to purchase goods and/or services from a
merchant 401. The resident 114 provides the merchant 401 with the relevant
UID information required. A transfer of funds instruction is then sent to the
merchant's bank 402. This instruction is then forwarded to the payments
platform 403. The platform 403 passes the UID information supplied by the
10 resident onto the central UID information database 204 for authentication. If the
authentication process is successful, the platform 403 transmits the authorized
transfer instruction on to the resident's bank account 205 and arranges the
transfer of funds from the resident's bank account 205 to the merchant's bank
account 402. The resident 114 and/or merchant 401 may then be notified of this
15 occurrence so that they are aware the funds have been transferred. The
notification may, for example, be sent by SMS or any other suitable means.
As described above, the bank account 205 may instead be a prepaid card 406.
In this embodiment, Government payments such as social security or pensions
20 are loaded to a recipient's pre-paid card account. The recipient receives a
notification, for example via SMS, that the funds have been loaded into their
prepaid account.
When attempting a purchase at a merchant, the recipient identifies themselves
25 using a unique identifier, such as a UID number or a biometric factor such as, for
example, fingerprint authentication. The recipient's account is set up by the
government and linked to their UID, and other authentication factors if
applicable, to allow for a seamless user experience by the recipient. Provided
that there are sufficient funds in the recipient's prepaid account, the recipient-
30 merchant transaction occurs in the usual manner, whereby the stored value
amount stored on the card is decremented each time a transaction is effected
and the merchant's account is incremented by the transaction amount. It will be
-15-
appreciated that although described with reference to a bank account the
merchant account may comprise a pre-paid or other stored value card.
Currently, locations in which Indian residents can access welfare benefits are
5 exclusively in the top 200 cities. Rural merchants are thus limited in their sales
potential by the amount of the cash in the pockets of their customers. The above
system will enable rural government benefit recipients to access and spend their
funds at their preferred local merchant in an easier, more convenient, more
secure, and cost-effective way, while providing significant incentives for all the
10 necessary players in the process to participate, for example end-users,
merchants, government, and banks.
The system will create an enormous incentive for merchants to participate in the
initiative given the increase in sales they stand to make.
15
Additionally, there currently exists significant levels of fraud in the distribution
and receipt of government disbursements in India. The proposed system is
particularly advantageous since it will result in the dramatic decrease in fraud
and the more efficient distribution of entitlements that this system will bring to the
20 market. The system will also reduce crime, since there is no longer any
available cash to steal or extort from vulnerable residents.
Initially 50 million beneficiaries located in 200,000 rural habitations that benefit
from NREGS will be targeted. Current government benefits including pension,
25 fertilizer subsidy, scholarships and PDS totalling an estimated USD 25 billion per
year and costing the government around USD 1.125 billion per year to disburse
could also make use of an online UID-authenticated payment transaction
system. The combination of NREGS and the other appropriate funds currently
cost the government an estimated value of USD 1.575 billion to distribute per
30 year.
The implementation of the system is expected to open a huge new market of
previously un-served customers, banks and merchants. The cost of
-16-
disbursement can be lowered substantially saving the Indian government
significant funds and also helping to achieve the desired universal inclusion in
economic growth.
5 Further, the implementation of this system is expected to enable merchants to
make sales that were previously never available to them.
The implementation of this system would lead to consumers receiving enormous
benefits from these new government funded UID-enabled prepaid accounts.
10
The flow charts and descriptions thereof herein should not be understood to
prescribe a fixed order of performing the method steps described therein. Rather
the method steps may be performed in any order that is practicable. As used
herein and in the appended claims, the term "payment card account" includes a
15 credit card account or a deposit account that the account holder may access
using a debit card. The term "payment card account number" includes a number
that identifies a payment card account or a number carried by a payment card,
or a number that is used to route a transaction in a payment system that handles
debit card and/or credit card transactions. The term "payment card" includes a
20 credit card or a debit card. Although the present invention has been described in
connection with specific exemplary embodiments, it should be understood that
various changes, substitutions, and alterations apparent to those skilled in the
art can be made to the disclosed embodiments without departing from the spirit
and scope of the invention.
25

WE CLAIM:
1. A secure distribution system comprising:
a first secure server arranged to store unique identification (UID) data
5 corresponding to a plurality of persons;
a transaction network arranged to mediate at least a portion of
transaction data corresponding to a transaction between a first of the plurality of
persons and an resource disbursement agency;
wherein the first of the plurality of persons has an account into which
10 resources disbursed by the agency are allocated, said account being linked to
the UID data corresponding to the first of the plurality of persons;
a terminal arranged to receive an input from the first of the plurality of
persons such that the persons identification can be verified by accessing the first
secure server.
15
2. The system of Claim 1 wherein the terminal comprises at least one of the
following: a keypad, a biometric fingerprint scanner, a biometric iris scanner, a
biometric voice recorder, a barcode scanner, a OR code scanner.
20 3. The system of either Claim 1 or Claim 2 comprising a reader device
arranged to receive a token from the first of the plurality of persons to identify the
account associated with the first of the plurality of persons.
4. The system of Claim 4 wherein the token is at least one of the following:
25 a debit card, a credit card, a pre-paid stored value card.
5. The system of any preceding claim wherein the terminal is associated
with a third party such that the first of the plurality of persons can access the
disbursed resources at said third party.
30
6. The system of any preceding claim wherein the terminal is a secure
terminal.
7. The system of any preceding claim wherein the transaction comprises
35 crediting an account associated with the first of the plurality of persons with
monies.
8. The system of any preceding claim wherein the resource comprises
monies.
40
9. A method of disbursing a resource between an agency and a first of a
plurality of persons comprising the steps of:
i) allocating resources disbursed by the agency into an account associated
with the first of the plurality of persons, said account being linked to unique
45 identification (UID) data corresponding to the first of the plurality of persons, said
UID data being stored on a first secure server arranged to store UID data
corresponding to the plurality of persons;
ii) mediating the allocation of resources via a transaction network arranged
to mediate at least a portion of the transaction data;
-18-
tI ii) receiving input UID data from the first of the plurality of persons at a
terminal; and
iii) allowing the first of the plurality of persons access to their account subject
verification of the UID data of the first of the plurality of persons verified by the
5 first secure server.
10. The method of Claim 9 comprising receiving a token from the first of the
plurality of persons to identify the account associated with the first of the plurality
of persons at a reader.
10
11. The method of Claim 10 wherein the token is at least one of the following:
a debit card, a credit card, a pre-paid stored value card.
12. The method of anyone of Claims 9 to 11 wherein the terminal is
15 associated with a third party such that the first of the plurality of persons can
access the disbursed resources at said third party.
13. The method of anyone of Claims 9 to 12 comprising crediting an account
associated with the first of the plurality of persons with monies during the
20 transaction.
14. The method of anyone of claims 9 to 13 wherein the resource comprises
monies.