WO2015062412A1

WO2015062412A1 - Method, device and system for online payment

Info

Publication number: WO2015062412A1
Application number: PCT/CN2014/088617
Authority: WO
Inventors: Dongming XIA
Original assignee: Tencent Technology (Shenzhen) Company Limited
Priority date: 2013-10-28
Filing date: 2014-10-15
Publication date: 2015-05-07
Also published as: TWI520084B; HK1206846A1; TW201516912A; CN104574081A

Abstract

A method, device and system for online payment are disclosed. In some embodiments, the method is performed at a server device having one or more processors and memory for storing programs to be executed by the one or more processors. The method includes receiving an online payment request including information of a payer account and a payee account. The method includes sending prompts for fingerprint information of the payer and the payee to terminal devices associated with the payer and the payee, respectively. The method also includes receiving, from the terminal devices associated with the payer and the payee, first fingerprint information of the payer and second fingerprint information of the payee. The method further includes making the payment from the payer account to the payee account when the payer is authenticated based on the first fingerprint information and the payee is authenticated based on the second fingerprint information.

Description

METHOD, DEVICE AND SYSTEM FOR ONLINE PAYMENT

RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims priority to Chinese Patent Application Serial No. 201310515729.8, entitled “Method, Device and System for Online Payment” , filed on October 28, 2013, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present application generally relates to the field of Internet technologies, and more particularly to a method and related device and system for providing an online payment service.

BACKGROUND

With the rapid development of Internet technologies, online payment using terminal devices such as a smart phone (e.g. , an Android mobile phone or iOS mobile phone) , tablet computer, palmtop computer, mobile Internet device (MID) or personal digital assistant (PAD) has become a convenient and popular method for making payments. Some known systems providing online payment require a user to manually enter authentication information (e.g. , a password, payment code) on a terminal device to complete an online transaction. Such a requirement, however, can potentially cause complicated operations and reduce efficiency of the transaction process. Moreover, such an online payment method can be vulnerable to security attacks as a payee account can easily be compromised (e.g. , by identity theft) .

Thus, a need exists for a method, device and system that can enable a simplified method for user authentication, improve efficiency of the transaction process, and provide a higher level of protection against security attacks.

SUMMARY

The above deficiencies associated with the known online payment method may be reduced or eliminated by the techniques described herein.

In some embodiments, a method for making an online payment from a payer account to a payee account is performed at a server device having one or more processors and memory for storing programs to be executed by the one or more processors. The method includes receiving a request for making the online payment. In some instances, the request includes at least information of the payer account and information of the payee account.

The method includes sending, in response to the request, a first prompt for fingerprint information of the payer to a terminal device associated with the payer and a second prompt for fingerprint information of the payee to a terminal device associated with the payee. The method includes receiving, from the terminal device associated with the payer and in response to the first prompt, first fingerprint information. The method also includes receiving, from the terminal device associated with the payee and in response to the second prompt, second fingerprint information.

The method further includes making a payment from the payer account to the payee account in accordance with a determination that the payer is authenticated based on the first fingerprint information and the payee is authenticated based on the second fingerprint information. In some instances, the payer is authenticated at the server device when the first fingerprint information matches information of a fingerprint of the payer stored at the server device. Similarly, the payee is authenticated at the server device when the second fingerprint matches information of a fingerprint of the payee stored at the server device.

In some instances, the method includes operations associated with storing information of the fingerprint of the payer and information of the fingerprint of the payee at the server device prior to the server device receiving the request for making the online payment. Specifically, the method includes receiving a registration request of the payer and a registration request of the payee. The method includes sending a first notification to the terminal device associated with the payer prompting fingerprint information of the payer and a second notification to the terminal device associated with the payee prompting fingerprint information of the payee. The method includes receiving, from the terminal device associated with the payer and in response to the first notification, information of the fingerprint of the payer. The method also includes receiving, from the terminal device associated with the payee and in response to the second notification, information of the fingerprint of the payee. The method further includes storing the information of the payer’s fingerprint and the information of the payee’s fingerprint.

In some instances, the method includes sending, prior to making the payment, a confirmation request to the terminal device associated with the payer when the payer is authenticated based on the first fingerprint information and the payee is authenticated based on the second fingerprint information. The confirmation request includes at least information of the payer account, information of the payee account, and a payment amount. The method also includes receiving, from the terminal device associated with the payer, a confirmation in response to the confirmation request. The method further includes making the payment from the payer account to the payee account in response to the confirmation.

In some instances, the method includes, prior to the payee being authenticated at the server device, deducting the payment from the payer account in response to the payer being authenticated at the server device. The method includes transferring the deducted payment to the payee account in response to the payee being authenticated at the server device； or otherwise, transferring the deducted payment back to the payer account when the authentication for the payee based on the second fingerprint information fails at the server device.

In some embodiments, a server device includes one or more processors and memory storing one or more programs for execution by the one or more processors. The one or more programs include instructions that cause the server device to perform the method for making an online payment from a payer account to a payee account, as described above.

In some embodiments, a method for making an online payment from a payer account to a payee account using a server device is performed at a terminal device associated with the payer. The terminal device has one or more processors and memory for storing programs to be executed by the one or more processors. The method includes sending, to the server device, a request for making the online payment. The request includes at least information of the payer account and information of the payee account. The method includes receiving, from the server device and in response to the request, a prompt for fingerprint information of the payer. The method also includes sending, to the server device and in response to the prompt, fingerprint information of the payer such that the server device authenticates the payer based on the fingerprint information of the payer. The method further includes receiving, from the server device, a message indicating a successful transaction for the requested online payment when the payer is authenticated based on the fingerprint information at the server device.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The aforementioned features and advantages of the present application as well as additional features and advantages thereof will be more clearly understood hereinafter as a result of a detailed description of preferred embodiments when taken in conjunction with the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a flowchart illustrating a method performed at a server device for making an online payment in accordance with some embodiments.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating a user interface of a terminal device associated with the method in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating a method performed at a server device and two terminal devices for making an online payment in accordance with some embodiments.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating another method performed at a server device and two terminal devices for making an online payment in accordance with some embodiments.

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram illustrating a user interface of a terminal device associated with the method in FIG. 4.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating another method performed at a server device for making an online payment in accordance with some embodiments.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating a method performed at a server device and two terminal devices for making an online payment in accordance with the method in FIG. 6.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating another method performed at a server device and two terminal devices for making an online payment in accordance with some embodiments.

FIG. 9 is a block diagram of a server device configured to provide an online payment service in accordance with some embodiments.

FIG. 10 is a block diagram illustrating structure of a server device in accordance with some embodiments.

FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram illustrating a system configured to provide an online payment service in accordance with some embodiments.

Like reference numerals refer to corresponding parts throughout the several views of the drawings.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

Reference will now be made in detail to embodiments, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. In the following detailed description, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the subject matter presented herein. But it will be apparent to one skilled in the art that the subject matter may be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, well-known methods, procedures, components, and circuits have not been described in detail so as not to unnecessarily obscure aspects of the embodiments.

In order to make the objectives, technical solutions, and advantages of the present application comprehensible, embodiments of the present application are further described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a flowchart illustrating a method 100 performed at a server device for making an online payment in accordance with some embodiments. The server device performing the method 100 can be any type of device that is configured to provide an online payment service and other related services (e.g. , account management, online banking) to users. Such a server device can be configured to be operatively coupled to and communicate with one or more terminal device (s) via one or more network (s) (e.g. , the Internet) . Each of the terminal devices communicating with the server device can be configured to interact with a user operating that terminal device to provide the online payment service and other related services to the user. Particularly, to accomplish an online payment process, the server device communicates with a terminal device operated by a payer and another terminal device operated by a payee such that an online payment is made at the server device from the payer’s account to the payee’s account. Details of a server device and two terminal devices configured to make an online payment are shown and described below with respect to FIG. 11.

The server device performing the method 100 can be any type of device configured to function as a server-side device to provide the online payment service and related services (e.g. , account management, online banking) described herein. Such a server device can typically be configured to communicate with multiple terminal devices via one or more networks. In some embodiments, the server device can be, for example, a background server, a back end server, a database server, a workstation, a desktop computer, a cloud computing server, a data processing server, an instant messaging server, a Social Networking Service (SNS) server, a payment server, and/or the like. In some embodiments, the server device can be a server cluster or server center consisting of two or more servers (e.g. , a data processing server and a database server) . In some embodiments, such a server device can be referred to as, for example, a payment platform server. Details of a server device are shown and described below with respect to FIGS. 9-10.

A terminal device communicating with the server device can be any type of electronic device configured to function as a client-side device to provide the online payment service and related services to a user operating that terminal device. In some embodiments, such a terminal device can be, for example, a cellular phone, a smart phone, a mobile Internet device (MID) , a personal digital assistant (PDA) , a palmtop computer, a tablet computer, an e-reader, a laptop computer, a handheld computer, a wearable device, a desktop computer, a vehicle terminal, and/or the like. In some embodiments, such a terminal device can be referred to as, for example, a client device, a user device, a mobile device, a portable device, a terminal, and/or the like.

A network connecting the server device and a terminal device can be any type of network configured to operatively couple one or more server devices to one or more terminal devices, and enable communications between the server device (s) and the terminal device (s) . In some embodiments, such a network can include one or more networks such as, for example, a cellular network, a satellite network, a local area network (LAN) , a wide area network (WAN) , a wireless local area network (WLAN) , Internet, etc. In some embodiments, such a network can be optionally implemented using any known network protocol including various wired and/or wireless protocols such as, for example, Ethernet, universal serial bus (USB) , global system for mobile communications (GSM) , enhanced data GSM environment (EDGE) , general packet radio service (GPRS) , long term evolution (LTE) , code division multiple access (CDMA) , wideband code division multiple Access (WCDMA) , time division multiple access (TDMA) , Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, voice over internet protocol (VoIP) , Wi-MAX, etc. Furthermore, in some embodiments, a server device can be operatively coupled to a terminal device associated with a payer via a network and operatively coupled to another terminal device associated with a payee via a different network.

A user operating a terminal device can be any person interested in using the online payment service and related services provided by the terminal device and the server device. Such a user can be a payer of a transaction (e.g. , online payment) or a payee of a transaction. In some embodiments, a user can be a payer of a transaction and a payee of another transaction. In some embodiments, a user operating a terminal device can use the online payment service to, for example, make online payments, conduct online shopping, transfer money, etc.

As an example, FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram illustrating a system 1100 configured to provide an online payment service in accordance with some embodiments. As shown in FIG. 11, the system 1100 includes a server device 1105, a terminal device 1102 operated by a payer 1101 and a terminal device 1104 operated by a payee 1103. The server device 1105 is operatively coupled to the terminal device 1102 via a network 1107, and operatively coupled to the terminal device 1104 via a network 1108. The server device 1105 can be structurally and functionally similar to the server device performing the method 100 as described above. The

terminal devices

1102 and 1104 can be structurally and functionally similar to the terminal device described above. The payer 1101 and the payee 1103 can be similar to the user described above, and the networks 1107 and 1108 can be similar to the network described above.

In operation, the payer 1101 can operate the terminal device 1102 to make an online payment from an account of the payer 1101 to an account of the payee 1103. Specifically, for example, the payer 1101 operates the terminal device 1102 to send a request for making the online payment to the server device 1105. In response to receiving the request, the server device 1105 sends a first prompt for fingerprint information of the payer 1101 to the terminal device 1102, and sends a second prompt for fingerprint information of the payee 1103 to the terminal device 1104. In response to the first prompt, the payer 1101 inputs her fingerprint information into the terminal device 1102, which then sends the fingerprint information of the payer 1101 to the server device 1105. Similarly, in response to the second prompt, the payee 1103 inputs her fingerprint information into the terminal device 1104, which then sends the fingerprint information of the payee 1103 to the server device 1105. Identities of the payer 1101 and the payee 1103 are then authenticated at the server device 1105 based on the fingerprint information of the payer 1101 and the fingerprint information of the payee 1103, respectively. In accordance with a determination that the payer 1101 and the payee 1103 are both authenticated, the server device 1105 makes the online payment from the account of the payer 1101 to the account of the payee 1103. Details of the operations associated with making an online payment are shown and described with respect to FIGS. 1-8.

Returning to FIG. 1, in some embodiments, the server device performing the method 100 can include one or more processors and memory. In such embodiments, the method 100 is governed by instructions or code of an application that are stored in a non-transitory computer readable storage medium of the server device and executed by the one or more processors of the server device. The application is associated with providing an online payment service for user accounts. Such an application typically has a server-side portion that is stored in and/or executed at the server device, and a client-side portion that is stored in and/or executed at the terminal devices operatively coupled to the server device. As a result of the server-side portion of the application being executed, the method 100 is performed at the server device. As shown in FIG. 1, the method 100 includes the following steps.

At S101, the server device receives, from a terminal device associated with a payer, a request for making an online payment from the payer’s account to a payee’s account. The request includes information uniquely identifying the transaction. In some embodiments, for example, such information includes information of the payer’s account, information of the payee’s account, and a payment amount.

In some embodiments, the request includes a unique identifier such that requests for different transactions can be differentiated by their different identifiers. Such an identifier can be, for example, a number (e.g. , transaction #1, transaction #2) , a label (e.g. , Joe’s paystub for February, second payment for car loan) , and/or in any other suitable form. In some embodiments, such an identifier of a request (or a transaction) can be included or used in each subsequent communication between the server device and associated terminal devices with respect to that particular transaction. Thus, a receiver (e.g. , a server device, a terminal device) of a communication can determine the corresponding transaction based on the unique identifier of the transaction used in the communication. As a result, a server device or terminal device can be engaged, at the same time, in multiple transactions associated with multiple other devices (server devices and/or terminal devices) , where each communication among the devices can be identified to be associated with one of the multiple transactions using the unique identifier of that transaction.

The account of the payer or the account of the payee can be, for example, a bank account (e.g. , a saving account, a checking account) , a deposit account, a credit card account, a debit card account, a gift card account, a fund account, an investment account, an account for a financial program, an account for a market (e.g. , stock market) , and/or any other type of account associated with financial assets. Such an account can be used for transfer of any suitable financial assets (e.g. , cash, stocks, bonds or other securities) .

The information of the payer’s account or the information of the payee’s account can be any information or data used to uniquely identify the account of the payer or the account of the payee, respectively. Such information can be, for example, an account number, an account ID, a user ID, a name of the account holder (e.g. , name of the payer, name of the payee) , and/or the like. For example, the request can be associated with transferring $1000 from a bank account identified by a first account number to another bank account identified by a second account number. Thus, the request includes the two account numbers and the payment amount of $1000. For another example, the request can be associated with transferring 10 shares of a stock from a stock trading account of a payer identified by the payer’s name to a stock trading account of a payee identified by the payee’s name. Thus, the request includes the payer’s name, the payee’s name and the payment amount of 10 shares of the stock.

At S102, in response to receiving the request, the server device sends a first prompt for fingerprint information of the payer to the terminal device associated with the payer and a second prompt for fingerprint information of the payee to a terminal device associated with the payee. The server device can identify the terminal devices associated with the parties of the transaction (e.g. , the payer and the payee) based on information included in the request. In some embodiments, the server device can identify a terminal device associated with a party of the transaction (e.g. , the payer or the payee) based on the information of that party’s account included in the request. For example, the server device maintains or has access to a database (or any other suitable data structure for storing data) that stores information of the accounts and the terminal devices of users. Particularly, the database links each account of a user to one or more terminal devices operated by (or accessible to) that user. Thus, by looking up information of an account (e.g. , an account number, an account ID, a user ID, a name of the account holder) in the database, the server device can identify the one or more terminal devices operated by (or accessible to) the user associated with that account. In some embodiments, a terminal device can be identified by a unique identifier of that terminal device such as, for example, a SIM (subscriber identity module) number, UIM (unified infrastructure manager) number, IMEI (international mobile equipment identification number) , MAC (media access control) address, etc. , of the terminal device.

After identifying the terminal device (s) associated with a party of the transaction (e.g. , the payer or the payee) , the server device sends a prompt for fingerprint information of that party to the identified terminal device (s) . In some embodiments, when multiple terminal devices associated with a user is identified based on an account of that user, the server device sends a prompt for fingerprint information to one of the multiple terminal devices (e.g. , a default terminal device) . In such embodiments, the server device can send a prompt to other terminal device (s) from the multiple terminal devices if the server device does not receive fingerprint information of the user within a predefined period of time. In some other embodiments, the server device can send prompts for fingerprint information to each of the multiple terminal devices.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating a user interface of a terminal device 200 associated with the method in FIG. 1. The terminal device 200 can be a terminal device operated by a payer or a payee of a transaction, and can be similar to the terminal device described above with respect to performing the method 100 in FIG. 1. As shown in FIG. 2, the user interface of the terminal device 200 displays a message 205 that prompts the user (e.g. , a payer or a payee) operating the terminal device 200 to input her fingerprint information in a fingerprint input area 210. In some embodiments, the terminal device 200 can present the prompt to the user in other suitable methods such as, for example, playing an audio message (e.g. , using a speaker and/or other audio devices of the terminal device 200) .

Following the instruction provided in the prompt, the user can press her finger on the screen of the terminal device 200 within the fingerprint input area 210. The press can be detected by the terminal device 200 (e.g. , using a pressure sensor embedded in the terminal device 200) and then the fingerprint information of the user can be collected by the terminal device 200. In some embodiments, after failing to correctly collect the fingerprint information of the user (e.g. , due to lack of pressure on the screen, incorrect position of the finger, movement of the finger, etc. ) , the terminal device 200 can present a new prompt for fingerprint information (with detailed instructions, not shown in FIG. 2) to the user. In some embodiments, after successfully collecting the fingerprint information of the user, the terminal device 200 can present a confirmation to the user, which indicates the successful acquisition of fingerprint information. Furthermore, the terminal device 200 sends the collected fingerprint information of the user to a server device communicating with the terminal device 200.

Returning to FIG. 1, at S103, the server device receives first fingerprint information from the terminal device associated with the payer in response to the first prompt, and second fingerprint information from the terminal device associated with the payee in response to the second prompt. Subsequently, at S104, the server device makes the payment from the payer’s account to the payee’s account in accordance with a determination that the payer is authenticated based on the first fingerprint information and the payee is authenticated based on the second fingerprint information. Details of user authentication and making a payment are shown and described with respect to FIGS. 4 and 6-8.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating a method 300 performed at a server device 320 and two

terminal devices

310, 330 for making an online payment in accordance with some embodiments. The server device 320 is similar to the server device performing the method 100 as described above with respect to FIG. 1 and the server device 1105 shown and described with respect to FIG. 11. The

terminal devices

310, 330 are similar to the terminal devices described above with respect to FIG. 1 and the terminal device 200 shown and described with respect to FIG. 2. Particularly, the terminal device 310 is associated with a payer and similar to the terminal device 1102 shown and described with respect to FIG. 11； the terminal device 330 is associated with a payee and similar to the terminal device 1104 shown and described with respect to FIG. 11. As shown in FIG. 3, the server device 320 is operatively coupled to and communicates with the terminal devices 310, 330 (e.g. , via one or more networks not shown in FIG. 3) .

In some embodiments, each of the

terminal devices

310, 330 and the server device 320 includes one or more processors and memory. In such embodiments, the method 300 is governed by instructions or code of an application, which includes a server-side portion that is stored in and/or executed at the server device 320, and a client-side portion that is stored in and/or executed at each of the

terminal devices

310, 330. As a result of the server-side portion of the application and the client-side portion of the application being executed at the server device 320 and the

terminal devices

310, 330 respectively, the server device 320 and the

terminal devices

310, 330 collectively perform the method 300 to make an online payment from an account of the payer to an account of the payee. As shown in FIG. 3, the method 300 includes the following steps.

At S301, the terminal device 310 sends a request for making an online payment to the server device 320. The request includes information of the account of the payer, information of the account of the payee, and a payment amount. As described above with respect to S101 of the method 100, the information of the account of a party of the transaction (e.g. , the payer or the payee) can be used to uniquely identify that account of the party and/or the party at the server device 320. Furthermore, in some embodiments, the request includes an identifier that can uniquely associate the request and each subsequent communication of the transaction (e.g. , exchange of prompts and fingerprint information) with the particular transaction.

At S302, the server device 320 sends a first prompt for fingerprint information of the payer to the terminal device 310. Similarly, at 303, the server device 320 sends a second prompt for fingerprint information of the payee to the terminal device 330. As described above with respect to S102 of the method 100, the server device 320 can identify a terminal device associated with a party of the transaction (e.g. , the terminal device 310 associated with the payer, the terminal device 330 associated with the payee) based on, for example, the information of the account of that party and an identifier of the terminal device. In some embodiments, information of an account of a user and an identifier of a terminal device associated with the user can be stored in and linked to each other (e.g. , stored in the same entry, mapped to each other) in a database maintained in or accessible to the server device 320. Thus, the server device 320 can identify terminal device (s) associated with an account of a user by looking up the database using the information of the account.

Although shown in FIG. 3 as in S302 the server device 320 sending the first prompt to the terminal device 310, from which the server device 320 receives the request in S301, in some other embodiments, a server device can send a prompt for fingerprint information to a terminal device different from the terminal device from which the server device receives a request for making an online payment. For example, a user operates a desktop computer to send a request for making an online payment to a server device. The server device identifies a default terminal device associated with the user (or the user’s account) based on information included in the request. Such a default terminal device can be a smart phone of the user. Thus, the server device can send a prompt for fingerprint information to the smart phone of the user without sending a prompt for fingerprint information to the desktop computer.

At S304, the terminal device 310 sends first fingerprint information of the payer to the server device 320. At S305, the terminal device 330 sends second fingerprint information of the payee to the server device 320. As described above with respect to S103 of the method 100 in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, the payer inputs her fingerprint information (i.e. , the first fingerprint information) using the terminal device 310 in response to the first prompt, and the terminal device 310 sends the first fingerprint information to the server device 320. Similarly, the payee inputs her fingerprint information (i.e. , the second fingerprint information) using the terminal device 330 in response to the second prompt, and the terminal device 330 sends the second fingerprint information to the server device 320.

At S306, the server device 320 authenticates the payer based on the first fingerprint information and the payee based on the second fingerprint information. Consequently, at S307, the server device 320 completes the online payment in accordance with the authentication of the payer and payee. Details of user authentication and completing an online payment are shown and described with respect to FIGS. 4 and 6-8.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating another method 400 performed at a server device 480 and two

terminal devices

470, 490 for making an online payment in accordance with some embodiments. The server device 480 is similar to the server device performing the method 100 as described above with respect to FIG. 1 and the

server devices

320, 1105 shown and described with respect to FIGS. 3 and 11. The

terminal devices

470, 490 are similar to the terminal devices described above with respect to FIG. 1 and the terminal device 200 shown and described with respect to FIG. 2. Particularly, the terminal device 470 is associated with a payer and similar to the

terminal devices

310, 1102 shown and described with respect to FIGS. 3 and 11； the terminal device 490 is associated with a payee and similar to the

terminal devices

330, 1104 shown and described with respect to FIGS. 3 and 11. As shown in FIG. 4, the server device 480 is operatively coupled to and communicates with the terminal devices 470, 490 (e.g. , via one or more networks not shown in FIG. 4) .

In some embodiments, each of the

terminal devices

470, 490 and the server device 480 includes one or more processors and memory. In such embodiments, the method 400 is governed by instructions or code of an application, which includes a server-side portion that is stored in and/or executed at the server device 480, and a client-side portion that is stored in and/or executed at each of the

terminal devices

470, 490. As a result of the server-side portion of the application and the client-side portion of the application being executed at the server device 480 and the

terminal devices

470, 490 respectively, the server device 480 and the

terminal devices

470, 490 collectively perform the method 400 to make an online payment from an account of the payer to an account of the payee. As shown in FIG. 4, the method 400 includes the following steps.

At S401, the terminal device 470 sends a first registration request to the server device 480. The first registration request can be initiated by the payer operating the terminal device 470, and for the purpose of registering the payer’s account (or the payer) at the server device 480. In some embodiments, for example, the first registration request can include information associated with the payer, information associated with the payer’s account, and/or information associated with the terminal device 470. For example, the first registration request includes the payer’s name, an account number of the payer’s bank account, and an identifier (e.g. , a SIM number, a UIM number, an IMEI, a MAC address) of the terminal device 470.

In response to receiving the first registration request, the server device 480 stores the information included in the first registration request. For example, the server device 480 stores the information of the payer, information of the payer’s account, and/or information of the terminal device 470 within the same data entry of a database. As a result, for example, any one of the payer, the payer’s account and/or the terminal device 470 can be easily identified based on any other of the payer, the payer’s account and/or the terminal device 470 by looking up the database.

Furthermore, at S402, the server device 480 sends, to the terminal device 470, a first notification prompting fingerprint information of the payer. Sending such a notification to a terminal device in response to a registration request is similar to sending a prompt for fingerprint information of a payer in response to a request for making an online payment, as described with respect to S102 of the method 100 and S302 of the method 300.

In some embodiments, a server device simply sends a notification prompting fingerprint information of a payer to a terminal device from which the server device receives the associated registration request. For example, the server device 480 sends the first notification to the terminal device 470 based on the server device 480 receiving the first registration request from the terminal device 470.

In some other embodiments, a server device determines a destination of a notification prompting fingerprint information of a payer based on information included in the associated registration request. For example, the server device 480 identifies the terminal device 470 as the destination of the first notification based on a determination that the terminal device 470 is operated by and/or accessible to the payer associated with the first registration request (e.g. , information of the terminal device 470 is associated with information of the payer in the database) . In such embodiments, a server device can potentially send a notification prompting fingerprint information of a payer to a terminal device different from the terminal device from which the server device receives the associated registration request.

At S403, the terminal device 470 sends fingerprint information of the payer to the server device 480. Specifically, in response to the first notification, the payer operates the terminal device 470 to obtain fingerprint information of the payer and then send the obtained fingerprint information of the payer to the server device 480. Such operations can be similar to the operations of S103 of the method 100 and S304 of the method 300 described above with respect to FIGS. 1 and 3. Additionally, the terminal device 470 can be configured to acquire fingerprint information of the payer using a user interface similar to that shown and described with respect to FIG. 2.

At S404, the server device 480 stores the fingerprint information of the payer. In some embodiments, the server device 480 can store (e.g. , in a database) the fingerprint information of the payer in connection with other information of the payer such as the payer’s account, the terminal device (s) operated by the payer, etc. Thus, the fingerprint information of the payer can be easily located and retrieved by the server device 480 based on other information of the payer (e.g. , the payer’s name, the payer’s account number, the MAC address of the payer’s terminal device) . For example, the server device 480 can store the fingerprint information of the payer within the same data entry in a database with the payer’s name, the payer’s bank account number, and/or the SIM number of the terminal device 470.

At S405, the server device 480 sends a response for the completion of registration to the terminal device 470. The terminal device 470 can present the response to the payer, indicating to the payer that the registration of the payer’s account at the server device 480 is (successfully) completed. In some embodiments, for example, the terminal device 470 can display a textual message, play an audio message, and/or use any other suitable method to present the response to the payer.

The server device 480 and the terminal device 490 can be configured to collectively perform a registration process for the payee in a similar method as described above with respect to S401-S405. Specifically, at S406, the terminal device 490 sends a second registration request to the server device 480. At S407, the server device 480 sends, to the terminal device 490, a second notification prompting fingerprint information of the payee. At S408, the terminal device 490 sends fingerprint information of the payee to the server device 480. At S409, the server device 480 stores the fingerprint information of the payee. At S410, the server device 480 sends a response for the completion of registration to the terminal device 490.

Note that operations of S401-S410 are performed prior to the transaction of making an online payment from the payer’s account to the payee’s account, which is described in S411-S419 below. Particularly, before the payer initiates the transaction (i.e. , the payer operates the terminal device 470 to send a request for making the online payment to the server device 480 at S411) , both the payer and the payee are considered and treated as an ordinary user of the online payment system (or service) at the server device 480. Similarly stated, each user of the online payment system can go through the same (or substantially the same) registration process of S401-S405 (or S406-S410) to register her account with the server device 480. Such an account can be used to make and/or receive online payments. When an account of a user is used to make an online payment, that user is considered and treated as a payer in that transaction. When an account of a user is used to receive an online payment, that user is considered and treated as a payee in that transaction. Thus, a user can be a payer in one transaction but a payee in another transaction. For the transaction described in S411-S419, it is assumed that the user associated with (e.g. , operating, owning, registered with) the terminal device 470 is the payer and the user associated with (e.g. , operating, owning, registered with) the terminal device 490 is the payee.

Furthermore, although shown in FIG. 4 as S401-S405 being performed prior to S406-S410, in other embodiments, steps of the two registration processes can be performed in any suitable order as long as steps of each registration process follow the order defined in S401-S405 (or S406-S410) . That is, the registration process for the payee (i.e. , S406-S410) can be performed prior to or during the same period (or substantially the same period) as the registration process for the payer (i.e. , S401-S405) . For example, the events can occur in an order of S401-S402-S406-S407-S403-S404-S408-S409-S410-S405.

S411-S419 describe operations of the transaction, i.e. , making an online payment from the payer’s account to the payee’s account. At S411, the terminal device 470 sends a request for making an online payment to the server device 480. The request includes information of the payer’s account, information of the payee’s account, and a payment amount. The operation of S411 is similar to the operations of S101 of the method 100 and S301 of the method 300 described above with respect to FIGS. 1 and 3.

At S412, the server device 480 sends a first prompt for fingerprint information of the payer to the terminal device 470. Similarly, at S413, the server device 480 sends a second prompt for fingerprint information of the payee to the terminal device 490. The operations of S412-S413 are similar to the operations of S102 of the method 100 and S302-S303 of the method 300 described above with respect to FIGS. 1 and 3.

At S414, the terminal device 470 sends fingerprint information of the payer to the server device 480. Similarly, at S415, the terminal device 490 sends fingerprint information of the payee to the server device 480. The operations of S414-S415 are similar to the operations of S103 of the method 100 and S304-S305 of the method 300 described above with respect to FIGS. 1 and 3.

In some embodiments, in a registration process, a notification prompting fingerprint information of a user (e.g. , the first notification in S402) does not specify a particular finger for that user. In response, the user can provide fingerprint information of any one of her fingers. In such embodiments, in a subsequent transaction process, a prompt for fingerprint information of the user (e.g. , the first prompt in S412) typically does not specify a particular finger for a user either. Thus, the user needs to remember which finger she used for registration in order to provide fingerprint information of the appropriate finger for user authentication. Furthermore, in some instances, a server device can lock out a user’s account when authentication based on fingerprint information of that user fails for a number of times exceeding a predetermined threshold (e.g. , two times) . As a result, a user is likely to fail such authentication for multiple times, causing her account to be locked out at the server device, if the user does not know which finger should be used for the authentication (that is, which finger is used in registration) .

In some other embodiments, in a registration process, a notification prompting fingerprint information of a user (e.g. , the first notification in S402) specifies a particular finger (e.g. , thumb of right hand) for that user. In response, the user can provide fingerprint information of the specified finger. In such embodiments, in a subsequent transaction process, a prompt for fingerprint information of the user (e.g. , the first prompt in S412) typically specifies the particular finger for a user. In yet some other embodiments, in a registration process, a user can optionally provide information of which finger being used for the registration. Similarly, in a transaction process, a user can optionally be reminded which finger should be used for authentication. Additionally, in some embodiments, a user can use the same finger or different fingers for registering various accounts (e.g. , a checking account and a saving account) of the user.

After receiving fingerprint information of a party of a transaction (e.g. , the payer or the payee in S414-S415) , a server device compares the received fingerprint information with previously stored fingerprint information of that party. If the two fingerprint information match, the server device determines that the two fingerprint information is associated with the same user (e.g. , the payer or the payee) , thus authenticating that user. Otherwise, if the two fingerprint information does not match, the server device determines that the authentication of the user fails (for one time) . As a result, in some embodiments, the server device can abort the transaction, and optionally send an alert message or an error message to related parties of the transaction. Alternatively, in some other embodiments, the server device can send a new message to the associated terminal device prompting the user to input appropriate fingerprint information. In such embodiments, the server device can abort the transaction after authentication of the user fails for a certain number of times (e.g. , three times) .

In the method 400, the server device 480 compares the fingerprint information received in S414 with fingerprint information received in S403 and stored in S404. If the two fingerprint information match, the server device 480 determines that the two fingerprint information is associated with the same user, which is the payer in the transaction. Thus, the payer is authenticated. Similarly, the server device 480 compares the fingerprint information received in S415 with fingerprint information received in S408 and stored in S409. If the two fingerprint information match, the server device 480 determines that the two fingerprint information is associated with the same user, which is the payee in the transaction. Thus, the payer is authenticated.

In some embodiments, fingerprint information of a finger can be collected at a terminal device and/or stored in a server device in any suitable format (e.g. , an image, a numerical representation, a binary stream, etc. ) , and fingerprint information can be compared at a server device using any suitable fingerprint recognition technology. For example, fingerprint information of a finger can be stored as an image in a server device. Such an image can be compared with another image containing fingerprint information using a suitable image recognition technology and/or image comparison technology. The two images are determined to match if a resulted similarity value is above a predefined threshold (e.g. , 90％) .

After the payer and payee are both authenticated based on their respective fingerprint information, at S416, the server device 480 sends a confirmation request to the terminal device 470. The confirmation request includes information of the payer’s account, information of the payee’s account, and the payment amount. Such a confirmation request is to give the payer a final chance to review and confirm the transaction before the server device 480 completes the transaction.

At S417, the terminal device 470 sends a confirmation in response to the confirmation request to the server device 480. The confirmation indicates that the payer has reviewed and confirmed the transaction. In some embodiments, the payer can confirm the transaction by, for example, pressing a “confirm” button or a “submit” button on a user interface of the terminal device 470, or using any other suitable methods.

As an example, FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram illustrating a user interface of a terminal device 500 associated with the method 400 in FIG. 4. The terminal device 500 can be a terminal device operated by a payer of a transaction, and can be similar to the terminal device 470 shown and described above with respect to FIG. 4. As shown in FIG. 5, the user interface of the terminal device 500 displays a textual message containing information of a transaction, including a payer account number of “1234567899876543210, ” a payee account number of “9876543210123456789, ” and a payment amount of “$1000. ” In some embodiments, the terminal device 500 can present more or less information of the transaction (e.g. , names of the payer and payee, scheduled time of the payment, etc. ) . Following the instruction displayed on the user interface of the terminal device 500, a user operating the terminal device 500 can confirm the payment by clicking the “Yes” button. As a result, the terminal device 500 sends a signal to an associated server device confirming the transaction.

Returning to FIG. 4, at S418, the server device 480 makes the online payment in response to receiving the confirmation from the terminal device 470. Details of making an online payment are described with respect to FIGS. 6-8. At S419, the server device 480 sends a confirmation of the transaction to the terminal device 470. The terminal device 470 then presents the confirmation to the payer (e.g. , display a textual message, play an audio message, etc. ) , indicating to the payer that the transaction is successful. In some embodiments, although not shown in FIG. 4, the server device 480 can send a confirmation of the transaction to the terminal device 490. In such embodiments, the terminal device 490 can present the confirmation to the payee, indicating to the payee that the transaction is successful.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating another method 600 performed at a server device for making an online payment in accordance with some embodiments. The server device performing the method 600 can be similar to the server device performing the method 100 as described above with respect to FIG. 1 and the

server devices

320, 480, 1105 shown and described with respect to FIGS. 3, 4 and 11, respectively. The terminal device performing the method 600 is operatively coupled to and communicates with at least a terminal device associated with a payer and a terminal device associated with a payee. Those terminal devices can be similar to the terminal devices described above with respect to FIGS. 1-5 and 11. Particularly, the terminal device associated with the payer can be similar to the

terminal devices

310, 470 and 1102 shown and described with respect to FIGS. 3, 4 and 11, respectively； the terminal device associated with the payee can be similar to the

terminal devices

330, 490 and 1104 shown and described with respect to FIGS. 3, 4 and 11, respectively.

In some embodiments, the server device performing the method 600 includes one or more processors and memory. In such embodiments, the method 600 is governed by instructions or code of an application, which includes a server-side portion that is stored in and/or executed at the server device, and a client-side portion that is stored in and/or executed at each of the terminal device associated with the payer and the terminal device associated with the payee. As a result of the server-side portion of the application being executed at the server device, the server device performs the method 600 to make an online payment from an account of the payer to an account of the payee. As shown in FIG. 6, the method 600 includes the following steps.

At S601, the server device receives a request for making an online payment. The request includes information of the payer’s account, information of the payee’s account, and a payment amount. The operation of S601 is similar to the operations of S101 of the method 100, S301 of the method 300, and S411 of the method 400 described above with respect to FIGS. 1, 3 and 4.

At S602, the server device sends a first prompt for fingerprint information of the payer to the terminal device associated with the payer. The operation of S602 is similar to the operations of S102 of the method 100, S302 of the method 300 and S412 of the method 400 described above with respect to FIGS. 1, 3 and 4.

At S603, the server device receives first fingerprint information from the terminal device associated with the payer. The server device then deducts the payment from the payer’s account in response to the payer being authenticated based on the first fingerprint information. Operations of authenticating the payer based on the first fingerprint information are similar to the operations of user authentication described above with respect to FIG. 4. Specifically, the server device can compare the first fingerprint information with previously-stored fingerprint information of the payer (e.g. , at S404 of the method 400 in FIG. 4) .

In some embodiments, deduction of the payment from the payer’s account can be performed independent with authentication of the payee. That is, the server device can deduct the payment from the payer’s account in response to the payer being authenticated regardless whether the payee is authenticated. In some embodiments, the server device can make a record of the deduction (e.g. , in a memory of the server device) such that the deducted payment amount can be tracked, thus the same payment amount can be transferred to a payee’s account or transferred back to the payer’s account at a later time. In some embodiments, the server device does not deduct the payment from the payer’s account if authentication of the payer fails based on the first fingerprint information. In such embodiments, the server device can abort the transaction or send a new message to the terminal device associated with the payer prompting for appropriate fingerprint information of the payer.

At S604, the server device sends a second prompt for fingerprint information of the payee to the terminal device associated with the payee. The operation of S604 is similar to the operations of S102 of the method 100, S303 of the method 300 and S413 of the method 400 described above with respect to FIGS. 1, 3 and 4.

At S605, the server device receives second fingerprint information from the terminal device associated with the payee. The server device then transfers the deducted payment to the payee’s account in response to the payee being authenticated based on the second fingerprint information. Similar to the operations of authenticating the payer, operations of authenticating the payee based on the second fingerprint information are similar to the operations of user authentication described above with respect to FIG. 4. Specifically, the server device can compare the second fingerprint information with previously-stored fingerprint information of the payee (e.g. , at S409 of the method 400 in FIG. 4) . Transfer of the payment to the payee’s account is performed after the payment amount is deducted from the payer’s account at S603. Thus, the server device can transfer the payment amount deducted from the payer’s account to the payee’s account in response to both of the payer and the payee being authenticated at the server device.

In such a method as described above in S603 and S605, the server device completes the transaction, i.e. , making the online payment from the payer’s account to the payee’s account. In some other embodiments, a server device can accomplish a transaction of online payment in any other suitable method. For example, the server device can deduct the payment amount from the payer’s account after both the payer and the payee are authenticated. For another example, the server device can tentatively deduct the payment amount from the payer’s account, and transfer the deducted payment amount back to the payer’s account if authentication on the payer fails.

Additionally, although shown in FIG. 6 as S604-S605 being steps after S602-S603, in some other embodiments, the server device can acquire fingerprint information of the payee prior to or during the same period (or substantially the same period) as acquiring fingerprint information of the payer. Similarly, the server device can authenticate the payee based on acquired fingerprint information of the payee prior to or during the same period (or substantially the same period) as authenticating the payer based on acquired fingerprint information of the payer. For example, the operation of S604 can be performed prior to or during the same period (or substantially the same period) as S602-S603.

In some embodiments, an online payment transaction can be performed in an offline mode in accordance with the method 600. Specifically, a payer and a payee of a transaction are not required to be online at the same time to accomplish the transaction. In such embodiments, the payer initiates the transaction (at S601) and provides her fingerprint information to a server device (at S603) . The payer is then authenticated at the server device based on her fingerprint information (at S603) . The above operations associated with the payer do not involve participation of the payee. That is, the payee can be offline during the operations of S601-S604. The server device sends a prompt (e.g. , an offline message) to a terminal device associated with the payee, prompting for the payee’s fingerprint information (at S604) . The payee receives the prompt when she accesses the terminal device. The payee then provides her fingerprint information to the server device (at S605) . Thus, the payee is only required to be online for performing S605 in the transaction. Similarly, the payer is not required to be online for performing S604-S605. Thus, the online payment transaction can be performed when the payer and the payee are not online at the same time.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating a method 700 performed at a server device 720 and two

terminal devices

710, 730 for making an online payment in accordance with the method in FIG. 6. The server device 720 is similar to the server devices shown and/or described with respect to FIGS. 1, 3-4, 6 and 11. The

terminal devices

470, 490 are similar to the terminal devices shown and/or described above with respect to FIGS. 1-6 and 11. Specifically, the terminal device 710 is associated with a payer and similar to the

terminal devices

310, 470 and 1102 shown and described with respect to FIGS. 3, 4 and 11； the terminal device 730 is associated with a payee and similar to the

terminal devices

330, 490 and 1104 shown and described with respect to FIGS. 3, 4 and 11. As shown in FIG. 7, the server device 720 is operatively coupled to and communicates with the terminal devices 710, 730 (e.g. , via one or more networks not shown in FIG. 7) .

In some embodiments, each of the

terminal devices

710, 730 and the server device 720 includes one or more processors and memory. In such embodiments, the method 700 is governed by instructions or code of an application, which includes a server-side portion that is stored in and/or executed at the server device 720, and a client-side portion that is stored in and/or executed at each of the

terminal devices

710, 730. As a result of the server-side portion of the application and the client-side portion of the application being executed at the server device 720 and the

terminal devices

710, 730 respectively, the server device 720 and the

terminal devices

710, 730 collectively perform the method 700 to make an online payment from an account of the payer to an account of the payee. As shown in FIG. 7, the method 700 includes the following steps.

At S701, the terminal device 710 sends a request for making an online payment to the server device 720. The request includes information of the payer’s account, information of the payee’s account, and a payment amount. At S702, the server device 720 sends a first prompt for fingerprint information of the payer to the terminal device 710 in response to the request. At S703, the terminal device 710 sends first fingerprint information of the payer to the server device 720 in response to the first prompt. At S704, the server device 720 deducts the payment from the payer’s account in response to the payer being authenticated based on the first fingerprint information. Operations of S701-S704 correspond to the operations of S601-S603 of the method 600 as described above with respect to FIG. 6.

At S705, the server device 720 sends a second prompt for fingerprint information of the payee to the terminal device 730 in response to the request. At S706, the terminal device 730 sends second fingerprint information of the payee to the server device 720 in response to the second prompt. At S707, the server device 720 transfers the deducted payment to the payee’s account in response to the payee being authenticated based on the second fingerprint information. Operations of S705-S707 correspond to the operations of S604-S605 of the method 600 as described above with respect to FIG. 6.

Although shown in FIG. 7 as S705-S707 being steps after S702-S704, in some other embodiments, the server device 720 can acquire fingerprint information of the payee prior to or during the same period (or substantially the same period) as acquiring fingerprint information of the payer. Similarly, the server device 720 can authenticate the payee based on the acquired fingerprint information of the payee (i.e. , the second fingerprint information) prior to or during the same period (or substantially the same period) as authenticating the payer based on acquired fingerprint information of the payer (i.e. , the first fingerprint information) . For example, the operations of S705-706 can be performed prior to or during the same period (or substantially the same period) as S702-S704.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating another method 800 performed at a server device 880 and two

terminal devices

870, 890 for making an online payment in accordance with some embodiments. The server device 880 is similar to the server devices shown and/or described with respect to FIGS. 1, 3-4, 6-7 and 11. The

terminal devices

870, 890 are similar to the terminal devices shown and/or described above with respect to FIGS. 1-7 and 11. Specifically, the terminal device 870 is associated with a payer and similar to the

terminal devices

310, 470, 710 and 1102 shown and described with respect to FIGS. 3, 4, 7 and 11； the terminal device 890 is associated with a payee and similar to the

terminal devices

330, 490, 730 and 1104 shown and described with respect to FIGS. 3, 4, 7 and 11. As shown in FIG. 8, the server device 880 is operatively coupled to and communicates with the terminal devices 870, 890 (e.g. , via one or more networks not shown in FIG. 8) .

In some embodiments, each of the

terminal devices

870, 890 and the server device 880 includes one or more processors and memory. In such embodiments, the method 800 is governed by instructions or code of an application, which includes a server-side portion that is stored in and/or executed at the server device 880, and a client-side portion that is stored in and/or executed at each of the

terminal devices

870, 890. As a result of the server-side portion of the application and the client-side portion of the application being executed at the server device 880 and the

terminal devices

870, 890 respectively, the server device 880 and the

terminal devices

870, 890 collectively perform the method 800 to make an online payment from an account of the payer to an account of the payee. As shown in FIG. 8, the method 800 includes the following steps.

At S801, the terminal device 870 sends a first registration request to the server device 880. The first registration request is for the purpose of registering the payer’s account (or the payer) at the server device 880. At S802, the server device 880 sends, to the terminal device 870 and in response to the first registration request, a first notification prompting fingerprint information of the payer. At S803, the terminal device 870 sends fingerprint information of the payer to the server device 880 in response to the first notification. At S804, the server device 880 stores the fingerprint information of the payer. At S805, the server device 880 sends a response for the completion of registration to the terminal device 870, confirming to the payer that the registration of the payer’s account (or the payer) is completed. Operations of S801-S805 correspond to the operations of S401-S405 of the method 400 as described above with respect to FIG. 4.

The server device 880 and the terminal device 890 can be configured to collectively perform a registration process for the payee in a similar method as described above with respect to S801-S805. Specifically, at S806, the terminal device 890 sends a second registration request to the server device 880. The second registration request is for the purpose of registering the payee’s account (or the payee) at the server device 880. At S807, the server device 880 sends, to the terminal device 890 and in response to the second registration request, a second notification prompting fingerprint information of the payee. At S808, the terminal device 890 sends fingerprint information of the payee to the server device 880 in response to the second notification. At S809, the server device 880 stores the fingerprint information of the payee. At S810, the server device 880 sends a response for the completion of registration to the terminal device 890, confirming to the payee that the registration of the payee’s account (or the payee) is completed. Operations of S806-S810 correspond to the operations of S406-S410 of the method 400 as described above with respect to FIG. 4.

S811-S820 describe operations of the transaction, i.e. , making an online payment from the payer’s account to the payee’s account. Such a transaction process can be similar to a combination of the transaction process described in S411-S419 of the method 400 with respect to FIG. 4 and the transaction process described in S701-S707 of the method 700 with respect to FIG. 7.

Specifically, at S811, the terminal device 870 sends a request for making an online payment to the server device 880. The request includes information of the payer’s account, information of the payee’s account, and a payment amount. At S812, the server device 880 sends, to the terminal device 870 and in response to the request, a first prompt for fingerprint information of the payer. At S813, the terminal device 870 sends first fingerprint information of the payer to the server device 880 in response to the first prompt. Operations of S811-S813 correspond to the operations of S411, S412 and S414 of the method 400 as described above with respect to FIG. 4, and the operations of S701-S703 of the method 700 as described above with respect to FIG. 7. At S814, the server device 880 deducts the payment from the payer’s account in response to the payer being authenticated based on the first fingerprint information. The operation of S814 corresponds to the operation of S704 of the method 700 as described above with respect to FIG. 7.

At S815, the server device 880 sends, to the terminal device 890 and in response to the request, a second prompt for fingerprint information of the payee. At S816, the terminal device 890 sends second fingerprint information of the payee to the server device 880 in response to the second prompt. At S817, the server device 880 sends a confirmation request to the terminal device 870 in response to the payee being authenticated based on the second fingerprint information. The confirmation request includes information of the payer’s account, information of the payee’s account, and the payment amount. At S818, the terminal device 870 sends a confirmation in response to the confirmation request to the server device 880. Operations of S815-S818 correspond to the operations of S413 and S415-S417 of the method 400 as described above with respect to FIG. 4.

At S819, the server device 880 transfers the deducted payment to the payee’s account in response to the confirmation. The operation of S819 corresponds to the operation of S707 of the method 700 as described above with respect to FIG. 7. At S820, the server device 880 sends a confirmation of the transaction to the terminal device 870. The terminal device 870 then presents the confirmation to the payer indicating that the transaction is successful. In some embodiments, although not shown in FIG. 8, the server device 880 can send a confirmation of the transaction to the terminal device 890, indicating to the payee that the transaction is successful.

FIG. 9 is a block diagram of a server device 900 configured to provide an online payment service in accordance with some embodiments. The server device 900 can be structurally and functionally similar to the server devices shown and/or described with respect to FIGS. 1, 2-4, 6-8 and 11. As shown in FIG. 9, the server device 900 includes a receiving module 901, a transmitting module 902, an authentication module 903, an operation module 904 and a storage module 905. In some embodiments, a server device can include more or less modules than those shown in FIG. 9. For example, a server device can be connected to an external storage device instead of having an internal storage module (e.g. , the storage module 905) .

In some embodiments, each module included in the server device 900 can be a hardware-based module (e.g. , a digital signal processor (DSP) , a field programmable gate array (FPGA) , etc. ) , a software-based module (e.g. , a module of computer code executed at a processor, a set of processor-readable instructions executed at a processor, etc. ) , or a combination of hardware and software modules. Instructions or code of each module can be stored in a memory of the server device 900 (not shown in FIG. 9) and executed at a processor (e.g. , a CPU) of the server device 900 (not shown in FIG. 9) . Overall, the receiving module 901, the transmitting module 902, the authentication module 903, the operation module 904 and the storage module 905 can be configured to collectively perform at least a portion of the methods 100-800 (e.g. , a server-side portion) shown and described above with respect to FIGS. 1-8.

Specifically, the receiving module 901 is configured to, among other functions, receive data and/or information from terminal devices communicating with the server device 900. The data and/or information received at the receiving module 901 includes, for example, registration requests, fingerprint information, requests for making online payments, confirmations, etc. , which are received from terminal devices associated with users (e.g. , payers, payees) . Similarly, the transmitting module 902 is configured to, among other functions, transmit data and/or information to terminal devices communicating with the server device 900. The data and/or information sent from the transmitting module 902 includes, for example, notifications, prompts, responses, confirmation requests, confirmations of transactions, etc. , which are destined to terminal devices associated with users (e.g. , payers, payees) .

The authentication module 903 is configured to, among other functions, authenticate a user (e.g. , a payer, a payee) based on received fingerprint information of the user and previously-stored fingerprint information of the user (e.g. , stored in the storage module 905) . In some embodiments, for example, the authentication module 903 is configured to determine a similarity value between two images containing the two pieces of fingerprint information by comparing the two images using a suitable image comparison technology. In such embodiments, if the resulted similarity value is above a predefined threshold (e.g. , 90％) , the authentication module 903 determines that the two images match, thus authenticating the user.

The operation module 904 is configured to, among other functions, accomplish transactions of online payments. That is, the operation module 904 is configured to make payments from one account (i.e. , payer’s account) to another account (i.e. , payee’s account) . In some embodiments, the operation module 904 is configured to deduct a payment amount from an account of a payer (e.g. , in response to the payer being authenticated by the authentication module 903) . The operation module 904 is also configured to make a record of the deduction (e.g. , in a memory of the server device 900) such that the deducted payment amount can be tracked. The operation module 904 is further configured to transfer the deducted payment amount to an account of a payee (e.g. , in response to the payee being authenticated by the authentication module 903) . Similarly, the operation module 904 is configured to transfer the deducted payment amount back to the account of a payer (e.g. , when authentication of the payee fails at the authentication module 903) .

The storage module 905 is configured to, among other functions, store data and/or information associated with a user, an account of a user, a terminal device associated with a user, and/or the like. In some embodiments, the storage module 905 is configured to store and maintain a database that links various data and/or information of the same user to each other. For example, the database stores an identifier of a user (e.g. , a name of the user) , an identifier of an account of the user (e.g. , an account number) , fingerprint information of the user, an identifier of a terminal device associated with the user (e.g. , a SIM number) , etc. , in a data entry of the database. Thus, the server device 900 can determine other data and/or information of a user by looking up the database based on, for example, an identifier of an account of the user. In some embodiments, the storage module 905 is configured to store fingerprint information of users that is provided by the users during registration. In such embodiments, the authentication module 903 is configured to retrieve the previously-stored fingerprint information of the users from the storage module 905, and then compare the retrieved fingerprint information with recently-received fingerprint information of the users for authentication.

FIG. 10 is a block diagram illustrating structure of a server device 1000 in accordance with some embodiments. The server device 1000 can be structurally and functionally similar to the server devices shown and described above with respect to FIGS. 1, 2-4, 6-9 and 11. As shown in FIG. 10, the server device 1000 includes a processor 1001, a communication bus 1002, a user interface 1003, a network interface 1004, and a memory 1005. In some embodiments, a server device can include more or less devices, components and/or modules than those shown in FIG. 10.

The processor 1001 can be any processing device capable of performing at least a portion of the methods 100-800 (e.g. , a server-side portion) described with respect to FIGS. 1-8. Such a processor can be, for example, a CPU, a DSP, a FPGA, and/or the like. The processor 1001 can be configured to control the operations of other components and/or modules of the server device 1000. For example, the processor 1001 can be configured to control operations of the network interface 1004 and the user interface 1003. For another example, the processor 1001 can be configured to execute instructions or code stored in a software program or module (e.g. , online payment application) within the memory 1005.

The communication bus 1002 is configured to implement connections and communication among the other components of the server device 1000. The user interface 1003 is configured to interact with users operating the server device 1000 by using various input/output means. As shown in FIG. 10, the user interface 1003 includes at least a display screen and a keyboard. The display screen is configured to display data and/or information in a visual form to users operating the server device 1000. The keyboard is configured to provide an input means to the users. In some embodiments, operations of the user interface 1003 (e.g. , the display screen and the keyboard) are controlled by instructions or code stored in the user interface module within the memory 1005.

The network interface 1004 is configured to provide and control network interfaces of the server device 1000 that are used to interact with other network devices (e.g. , terminal devices) . The network interface 1004 can include, for example, a standard wired interface and/or a standard wireless interface (e.g. , a Wi-Fi interface) . In some embodiments, the network interface 1004 is used for connecting one or more terminal devices and performing data communication with the one or more terminal devices. In such embodiments, as described above with respect to FIGS. 1-8, the network interface 1004 is configured to receive, for example, registration requests, fingerprint information of users (e.g. , payers, payees) , requests for making online payments, confirmations on transactions, etc. , from the terminal devices； the network interface 1004 is also configured to transmit, for example, notifications, prompts, responses for completion of registration, confirmation requests, confirmations of successful transactions, etc. , to the terminal devices. In some embodiments, operations of the network interface 1004 are controlled by instructions or code stored in network communications module within the memory 1005.

In some embodiments, the memory 1005 can include, for example, a random-access memory (RAM) (e.g. , a DRAM, a SRAM, a DDR RAM, etc. ) , a non-volatile memory such as one or more magnetic disk storage devices, optical disk storage devices, flash memory devices, or other non-volatile solid state storage devices. In some embodiments, the memory 1005 can include one or more storage devices (e.g. , a removable memory) remotely located from other components of the server device 1000.

As shown in FIG. 10, the memory 1005 includes at least an operating system, a network communications module, a user interface module and an online payment application. In some embodiments, each component, program, application or module included in the memory 1005 can be a hardware-based module (e.g. , a DSP, a FPGA) , a software-based module (e.g. , a module of computer code executed at a processor, a set of processor-readable instructions executed at a processor) , or a combination of hardware and software modules. Instructions or code of each component, program, application or module can be stored in the memory 1005 and executed at the processor 1001. Particularly, at least a portion of the instructions or code of the method 100-800 (e.g. , a server-side portion) shown and described above with respect to FIGS. 1-8 are stored in the online payment application within the memory 1005. In some embodiments, the processor 1001 is configured to perform the instructions or code stored in the online payment application within the memory 1005, as shown and described above with respect to the methods 100-800 in FIGS. 1-8.

While shown and described above with respect to FIGS. 1-8 as online payment transactions being performed in accordance with the methods 100-800, in some other embodiments, an online payment transaction can be performed in a different method. For example, authentication of a payee can be skipped. That is, an online payment can be transferred from an account of a payer to an account of a payee in response to the payer being authenticated, regardless of whether the payee is authenticated. For another example, an opportunity for a final review and confirmation can be provided to a payee in a similar way as that for a payer. Specifically, a server device can send a conformation request including detailed information of a transaction to a terminal device associated with a payee. The payee can review the transaction and confirm it by sending a confirmation signal from the terminal device to the server device. Finally, the server device makes the online payment in response to receiving the confirmation signal from the payee.

The foregoing description, for purpose of explanation, has been described with reference to specific embodiments. However, the illustrative discussions above are not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the present application to the precise forms disclosed. Many modifications and variations are possible in view of the above teachings. The embodiments were chosen and described in order to best explain the principles of the present application and its practical applications, to thereby enable others skilled in the art to best utilize the present application and various embodiments with various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated.

While particular embodiments are described above, it will be understood it is not intended to limit the present application to these particular embodiments. On the contrary, the present application includes alternatives, modifications and equivalents that are within the spirit and scope of the appended claims. Numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the subject matter presented herein. But it will be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art that the subject matter may be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, well-known methods, procedures, components, and circuits have not been described in detail so as not to unnecessarily obscure aspects of the embodiments.

The terminology used in the description of the present application herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the present application. As used in the description of the present application and the appended claims, the singular forms “a, ” “an, ” and “the” are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will also be understood that the term “and/or” as used herein refers to and encompasses any and all possible combinations of one or more of the associated listed items. It will be further understood that the terms “includes, ” “including, ” “comprises, ” and/or “comprising, ” when used in this specification, specify the presence of stated features, operations, elements, and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, operations, elements, components, and/or groups thereof.

As used herein, the term “if” may be construed to mean “when” or “upon” or “in response to determining” or “in accordance with a determination” or “in response to detecting, ” that a stated condition precedent is true, depending on the context. Similarly, the phrase “if it is determined [that a stated condition precedent is true] ” or “if [astated condition precedent is true] ” or “when [astated condition precedent is true] ” may be construed to mean “upon determining” or “in response to determining” or “in accordance with a determination” or “upon detecting” or “in response to detecting” that the stated condition precedent is true, depending on the context.

Although some of the various drawings illustrate a number of logical stages in a particular order, stages that are not order dependent may be reordered and other stages may be combined or broken out. While some reordering or other groupings are specifically mentioned, others will be obvious to those of ordinary skill in the art and so do not present an exhaustive list of alternatives. Moreover, it should be recognized that the stages could be implemented in hardware, firmware, software or any combination thereof.

Claims

A method of making an online payment, comprising:

at a server device having one or more processors and memory for storing programs to be executed by the one or more processors:

receiving a request for making the online payment, the request including at least information of an account of a payer and information of an account of a payee；

sending, in response to the request, a first prompt for fingerprint information of the payer to a terminal device associated with the payer and a second prompt for fingerprint information of the payee to a terminal device associated with the payee；

receiving, from the terminal device associated with the payer and in response to the first prompt, first fingerprint information；

receiving, from the terminal device associated with the payee and in response to the second prompt, second fingerprint information； and

making a payment from the payer’s account to the payee’s account in accordance with a determination that the payer is authenticated based on the first fingerprint information and the payee is authenticated based on the second fingerprint information.
The method of claim 1, wherein the payer is authenticated at the server device when the first fingerprint information matches information of a fingerprint of the payer stored at the server device, and the payee is authenticated at the server device when the second fingerprint matches information of a fingerprint of the payee stored at the server device.
The method of claim 2, further comprising, prior to receiving the request:

receiving a registration request of the payer and a registration request of the payee；

sending a first notification to the terminal device associated with the payer prompting fingerprint information of the payer and a second notification to the terminal device associated with the payee prompting fingerprint information of the payee；

receiving, from the terminal device associated with the payer and in response to the first notification, information of a fingerprint of the payer；

receiving, from the terminal device associated with the payee and in response to the second notification, information of a fingerprint of the payee； and

storing the information of the payer’s fingerprint and the information of the payee’s fingerprint.
The method of claim 1, further comprising:

sending, prior to making the payment, a confirmation request to the terminal device associated with the payer when the payer is authenticated based on the first fingerprint information and the payee is authenticated based on the second fingerprint information, the confirmation request including at least information of the payer’s account, information of the payee’s account, and a payment amount；

receiving, from the terminal device associated with the payer, a confirmation in response to the confirmation request； and

making the payment from the payer’s account to the payee’s account in response to the confirmation.
The method of claim 1, further comprising:

prior to the payee being authenticated at the server device, deducting the payment from the payer’s account in response to the payer being authenticated at the server device； and

transferring the deducted payment to the payee’s account in response to the payee being authenticated at the server device.
The method of claim 1, further comprising:

prior to the payee being authenticated at the server device, deducting the payment from the payer’s account in response to the payer being authenticated at the server device； and

transferring the deducted payment back to the payer’s account when the authentication for the payee based on the second fingerprint information fails at the server device.
The method of claim 1, wherein the first prompt sent to the terminal device associated with the payer does not specify a particular finger for the payer.
The method of claim 1, further comprising:

locking out the payer’s account when authentication for the payer based on fingerprint information received from the terminal device associated with the payer fails for a number of times exceeding a predetermined threshold.
A method of making an online payment, comprising:

at a terminal device having one or more processors and memory for storing programs to be executed by the one or more processors:

sending, to a server device, a request for making the online payment, the request including at least information of an account of a payer operating the terminal device and information of an account of a payee；

receiving, from the server device and in response to the request, a prompt for fingerprint information of the payer；

sending, to the server device and in response to the prompt, fingerprint information of the payer such that the server device authenticates the payer based on the fingerprint information of the payer； and

receiving, from the server device, a message indicating a successful transaction for the requested online payment when the payer is authenticated based on the fingerprint information at the server device.
A method of claim 9, wherein the payer is authenticated at the server device when the fingerprint information of the payer matches information of a fingerprint of the payer stored at the server device.
A method of claim 9, further comprising, prior to sending the request:

sending a registration request to the server device；

receiving, from the server device and in response to the registration request, a notification prompting fingerprint information of the payer； and

sending information of a fingerprint of the payer to the server device in response to the notification such that the server device stores the information of the fingerprint of the payer.
A method of claim 9, further comprising:

receiving, from the server device and prior to receiving the message, a confirmation request including at least information of the payer’s account, information of the payee’s account, and a payment amount； and

sending, to the server device and in response to the confirmation request, a confirmation of the online payment.
A method of claim 9, wherein the prompt for fingerprint information of the payer does not specify a particular finger for the payer.
A server device, comprising:

one or more processors； and

memory storing one or more programs to be executed by the one or more processors, the one or more programs comprising instructions for:

receiving a request for making an online payment, the request including at least information of an account of a payer and information of an account of a payee；

sending, in response to the request, a first prompt for fingerprint information of the payer to a terminal device associated with the payer and a second prompt for fingerprint information of the payee to a terminal device associated with the payee；

receiving, from the terminal device associated with the payer and in response to the first prompt, first fingerprint information；

receiving, from the terminal device associated with the payee and in response to the second prompt, second fingerprint information； and

making a payment from the payer’s account to the payee’s account in accordance with a determination that the payer is authenticated based on the first fingerprint information and the payee is authenticated based on the second fingerprint information.
The server device of claim 14, wherein the payer is authenticated at the server device when the first fingerprint matches information of a fingerprint of the payer stored at the server device, and the payee is authenticated at the server device when the second fingerprint matches information of a fingerprint of the payee stored at the server device.
The server device of claim 14, the one or more programs further comprising instructions for, prior to receiving the request:

receiving a registration request of the payer and a registration request of the payee；

sending a first notification to the terminal device associated with the payer prompting fingerprint information of the payer and a second notification to the terminal device associated with the payee prompting fingerprint information of the payee；

receiving, from the terminal device associated with the payer and in response to the first notification, information of a fingerprint of the payer；

receiving, from the terminal device associated with the payee and in response to the second notification, information of a fingerprint of the payee； and

storing the information of the payer’s fingerprint and the information of the payee’s fingerprint.
The server device of claim 14, the one or more programs further comprising:

sending, prior to making the payment, a confirmation request to the terminal device associated with the payer when the payer is authenticated based on the first fingerprint information and the payee is authenticated based on the second fingerprint information, the confirmation request including at least information of the payer’s account, information of the payee’s account, and a payment amount；

receiving, from the terminal device associated with the payer, a confirmation in response to the confirmation request； and

making the payment from the payer’s account to the payee’s account in response to the confirmation.
The server device of claim 14, the one or more programs further comprising:

prior to the payee being authenticated at the server device, deducting the payment from the payer’s account in response to the payer being authenticated at the server device； and

transferring the deducted payment to the payee’s account in response to the payee being authenticated at the server device.
The server device of claim 14, the one or more programs further comprising:

prior to the payee being authenticated at the server device, deducting the payment from the payer’s account in response to the payer being authenticated at the server device； and

transferring the deducted payment back to the payer’s account when the authentication for the payee based on the second fingerprint information fails at the server device.
The server device of claim 14, the one or more programs further comprising:

locking out the payer’s account when authentication for the payer based on fingerprint information received from the terminal device associated with the payer fails for a number of times exceeding a predetermined threshold.