Method and apparatus for performing a credit based transaction between a user of a wireless communications device and a provider of a product or service

Abstract

A wireless telecommunications carrier operates a commerce platform in a trusted domain, which may store sensitive information associated with a consumer. During a credit card based transaction, a merchant's POS terminal sends transaction information to an acquirer. The acquirer recognizes the transaction type and responds by routing the transaction information to the commerce platform. The commerce platform validates the transaction by verifying the identity of the user. When the transaction is validated, the commerce platform notifies the acquirer, which initiates a clearing process. When the transaction clears, the acquirer notifies the commerce platform and signals the merchant's POS terminal to output a paper receipt. The commerce platform stores a digital receipt of the transaction and signals the wireless device to output a confirmation message to the consumer. The consumer's credit card number and other sensitive information may be restricted to the trusted domain, which excludes the merchant.A computer system at a commerce platform receives first data packets containing transaction information that includes consumer telephone numbers from a plurality of merchants. The computer system then transmits, over a packet-based wireless network and to a carrier provider gateway, second data packets destined for wireless devices indicated by the consumer telephone numbers, the second data packets containing information for prompting consumers to confirm transaction details corresponding to the received transaction information. The computer system then receives, over the packet-based wireless network, third data packets origination from the wireless devices, the third data packets containing a confirmation of the transaction details responsive to the prompting. In response to the confirmation, the computer system accesses consumer profile data to obtain consumer account information and then transmits the obtained consumer account information and the confirmed transaction details to a clearing network, using packet-based data, to complete the financial transactions.