AU4621899A

AU4621899A - Electronic payment method

Info

Publication number: AU4621899A
Application number: AU46218/99A
Authority: AU
Inventors: Jean-Louis Sarradin
Original assignee: Sagem SA
Current assignee: Sagem SA
Priority date: 1998-07-03
Filing date: 1999-07-02
Publication date: 2000-01-24
Anticipated expiration: 2019-07-02
Also published as: TR200100053T2; DE69908382T2; EP1110186B1; WO2000002168A2; CA2335925A1; DE69908382D1; FR2780800B1; ES2199578T3; ATE241837T1; FR2780800A1; AU763262B2; WO2000002168A3; ZA200100066B; EP1110186A2

Abstract

The invention concerns a method for facilitating electronic payments which consists in transforming a portable telephone (7) into a payment terminal. More precisely the payment bearing terminal is made up of portable telephone circuits and the circuits of a central system (10) of a telecommunication operator. This combination of circuits enables to dial securely a payment message (5) addressed to a financial institution server (6).

Description

1 ELECTRONIC PAYMENT METHOD An object of the present invention is a method of electronic payment. The aim of the invention is to provide for a very wide dissemination of this kind of payment mode whose usefulness lies in its simplicity and, with certain 5 precautions, its great reliability. There are known methods of payment by bank card, especially those in which an imprint of an embossing on a payment card or a credit card is taken on a payment slip, wherein the authenticity of the payment is ensured by the signature of the card-holder at the bottom of the payment slip. 10 Depending on the different types of legislation, the payment may be considered to be made as soon as the signature is affixed or, in certain countries, only when the card-holder receives a statement of payments at his residence and accepts them or, at least, does not express disagreement about acceptance. The embossing shows characters representing the 15 identity of the card-holder, in particular his account number with a financial institution. This type of payment has been improved by the placing, behind the payment card or credit card, of a magnetic track that reproduces the embossed characters in a magnetically stored form. A magnetic track reader 20 of a payment terminal is capable of reading these characters and printing out the payment slip which also follows a same acceptance route. In the event of acceptance, a financial institution of the creditor makes corresponding transfers of bank money between the debiting party's account with a financial institution and a creditor's account. 25 This type of payment has been the source of fairly large-scale fraud and has had to be secured. The securing system chosen consists of the addition, to the information on the bank identity proper of the card-holder (especially his account number in the financial institution concerned and possibly his address), of a string of additional characters constituting a 30 consistency of the identity information proper. This consistency is computed, as a function of an algorithm proper to the financial institution, on the basis of information pertaining to the identity itself. This consistency is constituted by the addition of a string of characters in the magnetic track but not in the embossed characters. In this respect, this string of characters remains 35 unknown to a basic type of fraudulent individual.

2 At present, there are two systems. The principle is that a prudent buyer should not make payments with a machine that takes embossed imprints, namely a mechanical imprinting machine, unless he has great trust in the vendor, the creditor in the payment. If not, he must accept only 5 magnetic payment. Indeed, for taking embossed imprints, it must be seen to it that the payment slips are not duplicated by the tradesman or by a fraudulent individual. For example, with a duplicated paper invoice slip, a fraudulent tradesman can make false invoices using another mechanical imprinting machine belonging to another tradesman who is an accomplice. 10 Since the magnetic track reader of the electronic terminal is linked up in real time or, periodically, in non-real-time, to a data server of its bank, it can easily be identified, in the same way as a fraudulent tradesman would be identifiable by his invoice slips. The references of this reader, which are transmitted at the same time as each transaction to the creditor's bank, 15 unambiguously designate the creditor. Above all, since the card is inserted into the reader in full view of the card-holder, he can see that it has not been inserted into a second reader. Therefore, this type of transaction has been made more reliable, at least as regards the ethical behaviour of the tradesmen. As far the customers are concerned, the reader verifies the 20 authenticity of the card (in an authentication check). Then, the card checks the holder's confidential code through the reader terminal. For the authentication, the reader can carry out a verification of the card with the consistency information. The reader can therefore detect fraudulent customers. 25 For the customers, the system, especially with the smart card, through which the card-holder can be authenticated by the keying in of a secret code, is a far better means of verifying that the card has not been stolen than a signature which can be imitated. To simplify matters, it will be noted that, at the time when the smart card is inserted, the payment terminal, after 30 authentication, launches a secret code procedure. The failed attempts in this procedure are counted. Beyond a limited number of failed attempts (generally three) the smart card is invalidated. In the event of matching, the transaction can be completed. In all the cases referred to here above, the payment necessitates the 35 presence of the tradesman (or at least of this tradesman's payment terminal), 3 the debiting party's payment card and the presence of the debiting party himself. Now this concomitant presence is not necessarily achieved in mail order sales, whether by telephone, for example by the Minitel system in France, or even by Internet. Indeed, in this case, there is no magnetic or 5 electronic reading terminal to read the information on the debiting party's identity as well as information on consistency which, as the case may be, accompanies this information on identity. In practice, for transactions of this kind, the debiting party is asked to key in the 13, 16, 19 or other embossed numerical characters of this bank 10 account (which also indicate the bank in which he has an account), and also, in a complementary way, the characters representing a date of validity on a keypad (of a telephone set, microcomputer connected to the Internet, a Minitel station). This brings us back to the difficulties of fraud referred to here above. Indeed, anyone having the number of a third party's payment card 15 can make payments with this number (and if need be with the date of validity), and obtain delivery, at any place, of the goods or services purchased. Furthermore, the information on consistency is not available for the users. They are unaware of them and even their own banks will refuse to 20 give it to them. Hence, without a payment terminal authorized by the financial institution, namely connected to this financial institution periodically or in real time, it is not possible to make reliable payments without the risk of having the debiting party's card used by fraudulent individuals. In mail-order sales, especially in France with the use of the Minitel, the 25 information on consistency unknown to the users may be replaced by a preliminary contractual relationship. Thus, a person identified by his address and, as the case may be, his bank account number in the files of the mail order sales institution is also provided with a contract number assigned by the mail-order sales institution. This contract number is not the secret code 30 of the bank card. Nor is it the unknown string of consistency characters. However, it is a substitute for consistency information since, without this contract number, the payment card cannot be used. By giving his contract number, the thief designates himself, and this is a good way to avoid fraud with stolen payment cards. 35 There therefore remains the problem of all mail-order sales lade by 4 catalog or sales by Internet, in which the purchaser has not made prior contact with the mail-order sales institution to have a contract number assigned to him. The only solutions proposed in this case are for the purchaser to disseminate the references of his payment card, with the risks 5 of theft considered here above. According to the invention, this problem will be resolved simply through the use, for payment, of a mobile telephone and, in a main solution, the use of communications management circuits of a central communications operator with whom the user is affiliated by subscription to constitute a 10 transaction message to be made, i.e. to play the role of the payment terminal. Thus, for example, when he takes out his subscription, this user will ask for the incorporation, in the circuits of his mobile telephone, or those of a smart card or smart token used with this mobile telephone, of the information pertaining to his identity (essentially his bank account number) and preferably 15 also the consistency information of his bank card. The mobile telephone, in a way, will comprise, from this viewpoint, a duplication of his payment card. If the user loses his mobile telephone, this mobile telephone is still protected by its own secret starting code in the same way as a smart card would be. At the time of a transaction, the user will key in a specific payment 20 telephone number which, in this main solution, will reach no corresponding party except for a particular function in the operator's central services. At this point in time, the communication set up enables the automatic execution of a specific program. During this specific program, the user keys in and causes the dispatch of a code on the identity of the tradesman from whom he wishes 25 to make a purchase. As the case may be, this code pertains to the transaction itself if this transaction is identified elsewhere. The central services of the telecommunications operator then draw up a payment message. This payment message is set up on the basis of the identification of the debiting party (known by the mobile telephone and automatically 30 communicated to the telecommunications operator) and on the basis of a creditor code (communicated to the user when he sends the tradesman's code after keying it in). The operator's central services use this creditor code or this transaction code sent by the user of the telephone to find the identity of the tradesman and, possibly, an amount of a transaction. This amount, 35 may be keyed in by the telephone user in another way, unless it corresponds 5 to the transaction. Once this payment message has been prepared, the central services of the telecommunications operator furthermore send the corresponding message to a financial institution that corresponds either to the debiting party 5 or to the creditor but preferably to the creditor. This financial institution then performs the transaction as in the case of payments with common electronic terminals. By acting thus, the telecommunications operator, with all its services, replaces in a way an electronic payment terminal. This payment terminal thus made is special in that it is universal. It concerns all the 10 tradesmen and all the financial institutions. All that is needed is for the operator to be able to be linked with the different financial institutions. Two other alternative embodiments will also be described here below, wherein the constitution of the payment message will be shared. An object of the invention is a method of electronic payment in which: 15 - a payment message comprising a piece of information on an amount of a transaction is complemented with a piece of information on the identity of a debiting party of this amount and a piece of information on the identity of a creditor of this amount, - this message is sent to a data server of a financial institution, 20 - the server of this financial institution makes bank money transfers corresponding to this payment, characterized in that - the information on identity of the debiting party is sent from a mobile telephone and to a central system of an operator, 25 - in this central system, the payment message is constituted from the information received on the identity of debiting party, and a creditor identity information, - the message thus constituted is sent to a data server of a financial institution. 30 The invention will be understood more clearly from the following description and the accompanying figures. These figures are given by way of an indication and in no way restrict the scope of the invention. Of these figures : - Figure 1 is a diagrammatic view of a prior art electronic payment 35 method; 6 - Figure 2 is a diagrammatic view of the means implemented in the method of the invention; - Figure 3 is a diagrammatic view of the means of the mobile telephone implemented in the method of the invention ; 5 - Figure 4 is a flow chart of the steps of the method of the invention; - Figure 5 is a comparative view of the different variants of the invention. Figure 1 shows the means used in the prior art for making an electronic payment. In an electronic payment terminal 1, a payment card 2, 10 which is a smart card or a magnetic card, is inserted. With a keypad 3 of the terminal 1, the tradesman keys in the amount of the transaction. In practice, this operation comprises an authentication of the card and an authentication of the holder by a keying in of a secret code which, however, is not essentially relevant here. When this is done, a payment message 5 thus 15 constituted by the terminal 1 comprises the identification of the debiting party, (namely the customer), the amount of the transaction, and the identification of the creditor (namely the tradesman). The identification of the debiting party is taken from the card 2. The identification of the creditor is taken from the terminal 1. The amount is keyed in through the keypad. Other information 20 elements are also given, especially the date of the transaction, the date of validity of the payment card 2, as well as other types of information elements. The customer identification shows the identification proper and, preferably, the string of consistency characters that intrinsically authenticate the identity of the customer. The identification of the tradesman contains the 25 same elements. These elements are available in a memory 4 of the terminal 1. The terminal 1 is connected by a telephone line (wire or RF link or the like) with a server 6 of the creditor's bank. The server 6 of this bank is capable of receiving the message 5 sent, and of processing the financial 30 transaction that corresponds to it. In a known way, the server 6 of the tradesman's bank sends a order of withdrawal from the customer's account to debit this account and credit the tradesman's account which it manages. Figure 2 shows the modification of this transaction according to the invention, especially to make it accessible in a secured way in mail-order 35 sales. This payment mode can sometimes be substituted for payments with 7 the terminal 1, if the tradesman accepts it and if he has made arrangements accordingly. Hereinafter we shall see how, rather than having a pure and simple substitution that prompts the tradesman's distrust, this tradesman can participate in the payment operation with his equipment. In this case, 5 according to the invention, a customer with a mobile telephone 7 consults a mail-order catalog 8 or even consults a connection session 9 on the Internet. Possibly, he may consult a tradesman's show window. In these consultations he spots an article or a service that he wishes to acquire. The information made available to him by the vendor is then, according to the 10 invention, essentially information on a procedure for designating the article or service purchased, and a payment procedure. However these two notions are not necessarily fully separated . It is indeed possible, especially during an Internet session 9, for a single article to be purchasable from the tradesman. In this case, the designation of the 15 article or service will be implicitly included in the tradesman's designation. Hereinafter, we shall see how it is possible, with all the possible variants, to complete the procedure of designating the article or service chosen by the customer. For the time being, as far as the invention is concerned, the only important point is the fact that a payment procedure is made available to the 20 purchaser. This payment procedure may comprise a succession of operations to be performed by the purchaser but, according to the invention, it will essentially comprise the sending of a tradesman's code. Indeed, as stated here above, the payment terminal that will be addressed is a universal 25 terminal. It is not, like the terminal 1, automatically provided with a memory 4 with identification of a specific tradesman. Nor is it automatically connected to a data server 6 of the tradesman's bank. Consequently, in the catalog 8, the session 9 or his payment procedure, the tradesman must indicate a code that concerns him in the telecommunications operator's services. This code 30 could even be the full identification of the tradesman as seen further above. Preferably, it could be simpler. In particular, it could comprise, for example, a trade name followed, as the case may be, by an article number seen in the catalog. Thus, for a mail-order sales company named VPC, and for an article number 0001, the tradesman's code could be VPC, or VPC 0001 as the case 35 may be.

8 According to the invention, for the payment, the mobile telephone 7 will send a message by mobile telephone in a central system 10 of an operator of public telecommunications using mobile telephones. This message essentially comprises the tradesman's code seen here above 5 (VPC, or VPC 0001) as well as the customer identification (namely the identity of the customer and, preferably, the string of consistency characters). As an option, the customer will use his mobile telephone 7 to send the amount of the transaction and the date of the transaction. The amount of the transaction and the date of the transaction are not necessary if the article 10 purchased is already implicitly identified in the tradesman's code. Similarly, they are not necessary if the tradesman is selling only one article. The date can furthermore be attached to the payment message by the operator. To send two essential components, the tradesman's code and the customer identification, the user of the mobile telephone is asked only to key 15 in the tradesman's code. Since the customer identification is contained beforehand in the memories of this mobile telephone, it will be automatically added to the message. After this keying-in of the tradesman's code, the customer gets connected with the central system 10. To this end, he has a specific telephone number at his disposal. 20 The central system 10 of the telecommunications operator comprises at least one base station 11 linked with the mobile telephone by RF means, and with the different circuits of this central system by means of a bus 12. In a known way, these circuits will comprise selection switch circuits 13 and ancillary circuits. The circuits 13 are used for the main function of a 25 telecommunications operator, namely setting up links between different parties. The ancillary circuits may be varied and may comprise, for example, voice boxes 14. The central system 10 is administered by a processor 15 that implements a general program 16. The program 16 is contained in a memory 161 connected to the bus 12. According to the invention, this 30 program 16 will be complemented by a electronic payment sub-program 17 according to the invention. The object of the sub-program 17 is to reconstitute the message 5 and send it to a data server 6 of the tradesman's bank. The sub-program 17 is the specific payment function launched whenever the specific telephone number is accessed. 35 To this end, the central system 10 will comprise a payment memory 18 9 for which each recording may be addressed by a tradesman's code received from the mobile telephone 7. In a recording corresponding to a tradesman's code, a piece of information is thus found pertaining to the identification of the tradesman, especially his bank account, and an identification of the 5 tradesman's bank. This piece of information will be especially useful, once the message 5 has been constituted, to send it to the server 6 of the tradesman's bank. As a variant, the memory 18 will be reduced and will comprise only an tradesman's identification used by the central service 10 to get connected, in 10 real time or non-real time, with a data server 19 of the tradesman in order to draw the information therefrom corresponding to the transaction desired by the holder of the mobile telephone 7. Thus, should the tradesman's code comprise the information elements VPC 0001, the central system 10 will key in a telephone number (corresponding to the tradesman VPC, which it knows 15 in its memory 18). This telephone number is the number of the tradesman's server 19. By an automatic request, the central system 10 can obtain, from this server 19, firstly a bank identification of this tradesman and, secondly, as the case may be, the amount of the transaction pertaining to the corresponding article 0001. 20 As a variant, the processor 15, in executing the program 17, may add the calendar date to the message 5 as well as verify the identification of the customer and of the tradesman. Indeed, in both cases, it will receive identities proper from the entities 7 and 19 as well as the strings of consistency characters. In a preferred variant also, the sub-program 17 can 25 launch a secret code verification to authenticate the holder of the mobile telephone. Or else the sub-program 17 can make this verification by a circuit contained in the mobile telephone 7. In short, the customer identification is sent by the mobile telephone 7 at the time of the transaction. The tradesman's identification is sent by the 30 tradesman's server 19. It is sent beforehand to be stored in a memory 18, or at request, in real time or in non-real time with respect to the instant of the transaction. The amount may be keyed in by the user of the mobile telephone 7. It may be stored beforehand in the memory 18. Or again, it may be sent at request by the server 19. The advantage of using the server 19, and 35 therefore the communication between the central system 10 and this server 10 19, to improve the transaction is that the tradesman may change his bank as he wishes and also that the central system 10 is not legally responsible for the transaction since all it does is to transcribe information given to it to prepare the message 5. In a recording of the memory 18 corresponding to a 5 tradesman's code, preferably, therefore, means of identification of the tradesman will be found, with the string of consistency characters, and means of identification of his bank, namely the expression of the connection protocol that can be used to then send the message 5 to this bank. Figure 3 shows a functional modification of a mobile telephone to 10 make it work according to the invention. The mobile telephone 7, in a known way, comprises a microprocessor 20 connected by a bus 21 to a program memory 22, a data memory 23, a working memory 24, a transmission/reception circuit 25, a keypad 26, and a screen 27. For the link with the outside world, the bus 21 is also connected to a connector 28, which 15 is a smart card connector or the like, as well as to a socket connector 29. The connector 29 is most often used to recharge a battery (not shown) of the mobile telephone. But it can also be used to connect the telephone 7 to a microcomputer 30. The microcomputer 30 is, for example, the one from which an Internet session 9 is launched. However, there should be no 20 confusion between the Internet session (which too could use the mobile telephone as a communications means), and the payment session in which the method of payment according to the invention is implemented. The smart-card connector 28 is optional even if it corresponds to a preferred approach. Indeed, it can be used to connect a detachable smart 25 card 31 which too comprises a bus 32 connected to the connected to the connector 28, a microprocessor 33, a program memory 34 and a data memory 35. The data memory 23 contains various information elements, especially a number known as the IMSI, or International Mobile Set 30 Identification, used for the identification, during a communication of the mobile telephone 7 with a base station 11, of that mobile telephone set which is being used. By opposition, in the memory 35 there will be a number known as a SIM number that corresponds, but this time for the telecommunications operator, to the identity of the user of the mobile 35 telephone. This identity herein actually has a one-to-one correspondence 11 with the telephone number assigned by this operator to the user of the card 31. The smart-card 31 is also commonly called a SIM card for this reason. In a known way, this memory 35 comprises different non-volatile zones, including especially a zone 36 comprising a secret code. During the 5 use of the mobile telephone with the card 31, when it is put into service, the program of the program memory 34 ascertains that the secret code keyed in by the operator on the keypad 26 truly corresponds to the code recorded in the zone 36. There are also known ways in the preferred telephone numbers are placed in it, in memory zones such as 37. The operator can make them 10 appear on the screen 27 and select them for automatic keying in without having to strike all the digits of this telephone number. The specific telephone number could form part of it. According to the invention, and in a preferred way, the SIM card 31 will comprise a zone 38 in the memory 35 in which there will be recorded the 15 information elements on payments made by the holder of the telephone 7. For example, in a recording 39 of the zone 38, the number of the VISA card of the holder of the SIM card 31 has been stored in a first zone 40, and the string of consistency characters corresponding to this number 40 has been stored in a zone 41. If the holder of the SIM card 31 also possesses an 20 American Express card, then this information element will be carried in a recording 42 in the zones 43 and 44 respectively. And, continuing in this way, there could be as many recordings as there are different financial accounts available to the holder of the SIM card 31, or of the mobile telephone. Similarly, a recording 45 shows the references of a mail-order 25 sales company VPC 1 and the contract number taken out with it in the zones 46 and 47 respectively. The choice of the SIM card 31 to contain all the information elements 39 to 47 is preferred because this choice enables the user, the holder of the SIM card 31, to use any mobile telephone 7 whatsoever to make the 30 transaction. Furthermore, it is easier for an operator to receive or modify the SIM cards that he publishes than it is to modify mobile telephones. However it would be possible, especially in countries where the removable characters of the information of the SIM card 31 are not used, to incorporate this information into the memory 23. 35 Rather than having the tradesman's identification taken from the 12 server center 19 through the central system 10, it is possible, by simultaneously connecting the microcomputer 30 to an Internet session and the connector 29, or by keeping the results of the Internet session in memory, to transmit the tradesman's identification information, and even the amount, 5 on the bus 21 through the mobile telephone 7 to prepare the electronic payment message 5. However, even in this case, the central system 10 is preferred since it is this system that will ultimately carry out the verification of consistency. Furthermore, the messages 5 are, in any case, produced by the system 10 to be transmitted to the server 6 of the tradesman's bank. Above 10 all, the link between the mobile telephone 7 and the central system 10 is not a networked Internet link, open to all. It is a private link and therefore much better protected. When the operator is thus implicated in the processing, an exchange protocol is defined between the mobile telephone 7 and the operator. This protocol takes account of the different options offered : 15 preliminary knowledge of the tradesman's identification, real-time debiting, or communication by the customer. Figure 4 shows the operations 48 implemented to carry out the designation procedure and the operations 49 performed according to the invention for the payment procedure. The designation procedure 48 is not 20 necessarily done by the mobile telephone link, using the central system 10 shown in Figure 2. It will preferably be launched by the microcomputer 30 during an Internet session 9. The procedure 48 thus comprises a step 50 of access to the tradesman's services. To this end, the user, for example by means of a modem 51 (figure 2) of his microcomputer 30, keys in the 25 telephone number and the access code with which he can view the information needed for the transaction on his microcomputer 30. When the access 50 to the services is done, a welcoming procedure is 52 is executed. Should the session be an Internet session, the screen of the microcomputer 30 will show all the details of the transaction. This display can 30 be otherwise prompted on the screen of the mobile telephone 7. In this case, however, the information will be shorter. As the case may be, if only a telephone is used, or not even a mobile telephone, there may be a beep showing that the connection has been set up, or even nothing at all. In this case, the designation procedure appearing in the catalog 8 indicates what 35 the customer should expect. After this welcoming procedure, the customer in 13 an operation 53, designates the article or service that he wishes to acquire. He follows the indications given to him for this purpose, either during the session or in the catalog 8. This designation 53 is followed by an operation of taking into account the order 54 by the tradesman, if necessary conditional 5 on payment. The operation 54 terminates the designation procedure 48. This designation 53 and this taking account of the order 54 use the same display means, or communication means, as the step 52. The payment procedure 49 comprises a call or a display of the price. As seen here above, this price may be displayed on a screen and 10 communicated by a voice box, indicated in the catalog 8 or the like. This communication of the price 55 is a preliminary. The payment procedure proper 56 according to the invention corresponds to a sub-program 57 contained in the program memory 22 of the mobile telephone 7, or else preferably contained in the program memory 34 of the SIM card 31. Given 15 the universal character of the progam 57, it could nevertheless be incorporated into all the mobile telephones 7. The program 57 will preferably comprise a first step 58 by which the holder can select that one of the recordings 39, 42 or 45 that he chooses (given his financial possibilities in his different accounts) in order to perform the transaction. 20 Once this selection has been made, or as a preliminary step, the program 57, in a step 59 will ask the customer to type out the tradesman's code referred to here above. This tradesman's code can be read in the catalog 8 or in a session 9. Once the operations 58 and 59 have been performed, the user, with the mobile telephone 7 and in an operation 60, will 25 prompt the dispatch, to the specific telephone number, of these different information elements, namely customer identification preferably comprising the string of consistency characters and tradesman's code. This dispatch is prompted by pressure on a key of the mobile telephone, corresponding to information on procedure given in an instruction book for the mobile 30 telephone, or better still, during the session 48. The central system 10 then receives this message, and takes account of it during an operation 61. The step 61 could be followed, in application of the program 17 contained in the memory 16 of the central system, by a request for secret code verification 62, an encryption 63 and/or a verification 64 that the card is truly in the 35 possession of its owner.

14 The step 61 comprises above all the constitution of the message 5, by the picking up of the necessary information in the memory 18 (or in the server 19). Finally, the step 61 comprises a call to the server 6 of the tradesman's bank. This step 61 is followed by a step 65 for processing the 5 payment, as in the prior art, by the tradesman's bank. Figure 5 summarizes the different ways of implementing the invention. It shows the mobile telephone 7, the standard payment terminal 1 and a smart card 31 that can be used to make the mobile telephone 7 and a smart card 2 function to make payment with the terminal 1. According to the prior 10 art, a link 66 connects the terminal 1, in real time or non-real time, to a modem 67 and to the server 6 of the financial institution of the tradesman who owns the terminal 1. According to the previous description of the invention, the mobile telephone 7 links up with the circuits 10 of the mobile telephony operator so that he can prepare the payment message. These 15 circuits 10 comprise a base station 11 (owned by the mobile telephone operator) and the processing system 12-18 referred to here above. In this first description of the invention, the mobile telephone 7 links up with the base station 11 by an RF link 68. According to a first variant, a private base station 69 is installed a 20 tradesman's premises. This private base station can be placed in a standard telephony connection, for example by a two-wire link 70, with the modem 67. This private base station can furthermore be used as a branch exchange for telephone links of the tradesman. According to the variant of the invention, the private base station 69 gets linked up with the mobile telephone 7 by a 25 private RF link 71. From this viewpoint, in the field of mobile telephony, there are known alternative uses, both public and private, of mobile telephones. For such uses, a mobile telephone holder arriving, for example, at his residence turns off his mobile telephone, and then puts it back into operation in designating the type of use, whether private or public. As the 30 case may be, the mobile telephone then seeks to get connected with a base station, whether private or public, that picks it up. Then a typical recognition procedure is launched. In practice, there is no need even to turn off the mobile telephone. It is possible to launch a procedure for locking into a private base from a use in standby mode in a public network. In this 35 procedure, the locking into the private base is of the same type as a locking 15 into a public network. It is essentially the frequency ranges that change : 27 MHz or 400 MHz for the private uses, instead of 900 MHz or 1800 MHz for the public uses. In other words, according to this first variant, the holder of the mobile 5 telephone starts by leaving the public network, and getting connected to a private network. This private network, to which he gets connected, is not his own but that of the tradesman to whom the private base station 69 belongs. In this variant, the terminal 1 is also linked to the base station base 69, either by an RF link 72, or by a wire link (not shown). In practice, the terminal 1 and 10 the private base station 69 can be made out of one and the same piece of equipment. In this case, all the conditions exist, at the tradesman's premises, for making the payment message. Indeed, according to what has been described here above, the mobile telephone knows the bank identity information pertaining to the debiting customer and can therefore 15 disseminate it to the private base station 69. This broadcasting will be done by a sub-program, contained in the locking-in operation, that is of the same type as the specific connection seen further above. The payment terminal 1 knows and can send the private base station 69 the bank identity information pertaining to the tradesman. The amount of the transaction can be indicated 20 through the keypad of the mobile telephone 7, or the keypad of the terminal 1. The date may be given by the mobile telephone 7, the terminal I or even the base station 69. It is enough that at least one of these pieces of equipment should be provided with a real-time clock. Or again, if the link 70 of the base station 69 with the server 6 is a real-time link, the date may be 25 given by the server 6. As a replacement of the link 71, complemented by a link 72, it can be planned that the mobile telephone will send its identity by an RF link 73 to the terminal 1. The terminal then prepares the payment message and transmits it, as before through the link 66 (or by the link 72), to the server 6. The terminal 1 and/or the private base station 69 may, in this 30 case, complete the payment message. According to a second variant of the invention, the means of constituting the payment message could be brought together elsewhere than with the mobile telephony operator (in the circuits 10 described here above) and even elsewhere than at the tradesman's premises (with the private base 35 station 69). In particular, the base station 69 could be replaced by a public 16 base station 11. However, according to this second variant, the public mobile telephony network comes into play only to route a private telephone link. In this case, the circuits 12-18 (for the part that concerns the construction of the message 5) will be in premises at the disposal of the financial institution. For 5 example, the circuits 12-18 are located in a building of this institution and are connected to the interior of this building by a private link 75 to the server 6. In this case the purchaser may, for example notice an advertisement in the street proposing an article or a service and may immediately purchase this article or service. In this case, he uses his mobile telephone 7 to dial the 10 telephone number displayed in the advertisement. This telephone number connects him, through the RF link 74, to the public base station 11 and, through a telephone link 76 of this base station 11, with the circuits 12-18 installed in the premises of the financial institution managing the server 6. The links 74 and 76, in a private communication, pass through the public 15 network. These links are used to set up the payment message since the circuits 12-18 (through the telephone number keyed in, in this case), comprise the tradesman's identity through the mobile telephone 7, the customer's identity and, through a complementary procedure or preliminary indications (0001) given by the customer, the amount of the transaction being 20 considered. It will be noted that, both in the basic version and in the two alternatives, the links 66, 70, 74 and 76 are private links. They are consequently more resistant to fraud than is possible with links of a type accessible to all as is encountered with the Internet. 25 Thus, with the invention, the mobile telephone 7 is defined as an electronic payment bearer terminal possessing all or part of the functions of the standard terminal 1. According to the invention, these functions are, however, separated. The constitution of the payment message 5 is done gradually in the context of the transmission. A permanent feature of the 30 invention is the fact that the identity of the customer is transmitted by an RF link 68, 71 or 74 between the mobile telephone and the server 6 of the bank. Another essential means of the invention is that, in this transmission, the unit, namely the system called a central system, which receives this identity at least transmitted on a part of its route by RF means, complements the 35 payment message.

17 As a verification step 64, especially for payments made between private individuals, where one of them is the creditor of a sum of money because he is a supplier of a good or a service, the other being the customer purchasing the article or service and the debiting party of the sum of money, 5 it is possible to act as follows. Once the payment message has been constituted and sent with the operator's co-operation according to the different forms of the invention, the central system of this operator picks up a telephone number, preferably the number of a mobile telephone, in the memory 18, in correspondence with the tradesman's code (hence herein in 10 correspondence with the details pertaining to the private supplier). This central system then immediately sends this private party a message to confirm the completion of the payment. The message may be an automatic voice message if the called telephone of the private supplier is a standard telephone. It may be a message that is recordable, at least temporarily, in 15 the memory of the mobile telephone 7, or even that of the SIM circuit 31. In this case, this message may be a message of the SMS or Short Message Service type, with the advantage of being visible on the screen of the mobile telephone of this private supplier. On seeing this telephone message on completion of the processing of the payment, the private supplier may 20 effectively hand over the article or service to the private customer. Naturally, this confirmation may also be envisaged in the case of payment to tradesmen.

Claims

1. A method of electronic payment in which: - there is sent (68, 71, 74), from a mobile telephone (7) of a debiting 5 party, and to a central system (10) of an operator (13), a piece of information pertaining to an amount of a transaction, and a piece of information pertaining to an identity (39) of a creditor, - a payment message is complemented (18, 19) in this central system by means of the received information on creditor identity, by means of a 10 piece of information on debiting party's account, and by means of the information on the amount of the transaction. - this payment message is sent to a data server (6) of a financial institution, - the data server of this financial institution makes bank money 15 transfers corresponding to this payment, characterized in that - a piece of information on creditor's account and/or a value of an amount necessary for this message is taken from a memory of a data server (19) at the creditor's disposal, in using the information on the creditor's 20 identity as an address, direct or indirect, of this data server of the creditor.

2. Method according to claim 1 characterized in that - the operator is a public mobile telephony operator, - at the time of sending (68), a code on the identity of the debiting party is also sent, 25 - the payment message is constituted from a piece of information on the identity of the debiting party corresponding to this code.

3. Method according to claim 1 characterized in that - the information on the identity of the debiting party is sent (71) on a private telephony network (69) of the creditor, 30 - the payment message is prepared (71-73) in this network, and - it is sent (70) to a financial institution of the creditor.

4. Method according to claim 1 characterized in that - the information on identity is sent (74) on a public telephony network, in the context of a private communication (75), and 19 - the payment message is prepared and sent to a party of this private communication in the course of its progress.

5. Method according to one of the claims 1 to 4, characterized in that - the creditor identity information is drawn out of a memory (18) of the 5 central system in using the code as an address in this memory.

6. Method according to one of the claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the number used as the debiting party identity is an account number of this debiting party in a financial institution.

7. Method according to claim 6, characterized in that 10 - the debiting party selects among several (38), in a memory of his mobile telephone, one debiting party identity to be sent, - this debiting party identity corresponding to one of the accounts of this debiting party in one or more financial institutions.

8. Method according to one of the claims 1 to 7, characterized in that 15 - in the debiting party information, a piece of identity information proper and a string of consistency characters are sent, and - the authenticity of the payment messages is verified (61) in the central system by the processing of the consistency characters.

9. Method according to one of the claims 1 to 8, characterized in that 20 - with the central system, a session (62-64) of secret code verification pertaining to the debiting party is prompted.

10. Method according to one of the claims 1 to 9, characterized in that - to sent the message to a server (6) of a financial institution corresponding to this code, the central system reads connection information 25 of this financial institution in one of its memories or in a memory of a data server of the creditor, and - the central system gets connected to this data server of this financial institution.

11. Method according to one of the claims 1 to 10, characterized in 30 that - for sending from the mobile telephone, the information on debiting party identity is recorded beforehand in a memory (35) of this mobile telephone. 20

12. A method according to claim 11, characterized in that the memory of this mobile telephone is made in the form of a detachable memory (31), for example of the smart-card type or smart-token type.

13. Method according to one of the claims 1 to 12, characterized in 5 that - the date of the payment message (5) is added.

14. Method according to one of the claims 1 to 13, characterized in that - the financial institution corresponding to the code is an institution in 10 which the creditor has an account.

15. Method according to one of the claims 1 to 14, characterized in that - the creditor is sent a telephone message informing him of the completion of the processing of the payment message. 15