EP1149367A1

EP1149367A1 - Method for carrying out cash-free payments and system for carrying out said method

Info

Publication number: EP1149367A1
Application number: EP00906257A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Mathias Entenmann
Original assignee: Payboxnet AG
Current assignee: PAYBOX.NET AG
Priority date: 1999-02-02
Filing date: 2000-02-01
Publication date: 2001-10-31
Also published as: ME01248B; CA2361489A1; KR20010108166A; CN1204535C; HRP20010568A2; JP2002541535A; DE19903822A1; RU2242795C2; IL144571A0; MXPA01007779A; CZ20012663A3; CZ301247B6; HU227291B1; TR200102216T2; HUP0105475A2; NO20013777D0; ZA200105872B; YU54801A; WO2000046768A1; HRP20010568B1

Abstract

The aim of the invention is to provide a method for simple yet secure cash-free payments, notably in different places, as well as a system for carrying out said method. According to the invention, a sum of money is read in at a point-of-sale terminal and together with a terminal identifier transmitted to a balancing device where the data are stored temporarily. The payer transmits the point-of-sale terminal identifier to the balancing device via a mobile telephone. The balancing device compares the identifier with that of the stored data and transmits the corresponding sum of money to the radio telephone, where confirmation of payment is requested and transmitted to the balancing device, which then transmits a corresponding book entry to an account-keeping device. The system for carrying out said method comprises a radio telephone which is operated in a radio telephone network, a point-of-sale terminal and a balancing device which can be connected to the radio telephone and the point-of-sale terminal via telecommunications and/or data links.

Description

Procedure for making cashless payments and system for performing the procedure

The invention relates to a method for carrying out cashless payments and a system for carrying out the method.

In recent years, cashless payments have increased considerably for various reasons; et al Buyers do not always have to carry large amounts of money with them in order to be able to make larger purchases, so that on the one hand the risk of theft is reduced and on the other hand spontaneous purchases are also possible. On the seller side, there is no need to handle large amounts of money.

The simplest form of payment of this type, but the check is not very secure, as checks are easily stolen and e.g. can be used without authorization after forging the signature. In addition, their use is cumbersome for the buyer and the dealer.

In the past, therefore introduced credit cards where the cardholder can "pay" with a valid credit card and through his signature, or often only with the credit card number. The risk of abuse is also high here, since no strong security mechanisms are planned. In addition to the signature, the merchant often calls an authentication center, where he can determine whether the card is blocked or not.

That a credit card owner ^¬ always some credit must be given because of the high fees and the fact is, as an alternative S ArtCards which currently also partly be referred to as a money card. Encryption technology is used in these chip cards in order to be able to store amounts of money on the card in such a way that the card can only be loaded by authorized institutions. A PIN is provided for the payment of larger amounts, which is checked directly by the chip card when paying. This type of payment requires considerable effort, since a network of charging stations has to be set up. In addition, retailers must purchase appropriate reading stations.

Patent application WO 98/47116 describes a method for carrying out payments from a customer to a dealer by means of telecommunication devices and a corresponding device for carrying out the method. With this method, the customer first establishes a cellular telephone connection to a so-called telepay device by means of a radio telephone. This facility then asks a dealer identification and an amount to be paid via the existing connection. The telepay device stores these transaction data and sends them to the customer and, after establishing a corresponding communication connection and transmitting a transaction code specific to this transaction and the amount to be confirmed, to the dealer confirmation requests. After the confirmation has been received, the amount is transferred from a bank specified by a customer entry in a database of the telepay device to a bank specified by a dealer entry, or the first bank is requested to transfer. In this case, to secure the current position of the mobile phone either via a determination of the radio cell, the phone is in, or determined by GPS and compared with a ste Li ^¬ permitted places. This process is both technically complicated with regard to the positioning and ^¬ the other hand, the customer has comparatively much information Enter via the radio telephone, which can be tedious and prone to errors given the mostly small buttons and displays. No other data about the transaction, such as the purpose of payment or the like, can simply be entered.

The object of the present invention is therefore to provide a method for simple but secure cashless payment, in particular for the customer, in particular at different locations, and a system for carrying out the method. For the customer, the transaction should be processed by means of a simple confirmation, e.g. by entering a PIN without the need for complex information entry or other operating steps. In addition, as little as possible new infrastructure (hardware or software) should be necessary for both the dealer and the customer, and in the best case scenario, today's equipment with point-of-sale end devices should be sufficient.

The object is achieved by a method having the features of claim 1, which can be carried out with a system having the features of claim 18.

In contrast to the use of credit cards, the necessary, time-limited cell phone connection and the entry of the confirmation during this time mean that the trader cannot use data exchanged during the connection for later transactions.

Furthermore, it is possible through the use of the matching device to perform the payment, access to the dealer without sicherheitsrele ^¬ relevant data of the buyer, such as the identifier. In this respect, the procedure allows anonymous payment.

Furthermore, buyers who already have a mobile phone with a SIM card can easily and cheaply process the execute. A particular advantage of the method is that mobile telephones with a SIM card are already very widespread, so that a large group of users can pay with the method according to the invention without further investments or PINs to be remembered.

The dealer station is also technically very simple, since in the simplest case an electronic cash register with online solvency on the dealer side is sufficient to carry out the method. Likewise, e.g. computers with a modem and suitable software also serve as a dealer station. A second mobile phone is also suitable as a simple dealer station. This enables simple and secure cashless payment.

In addition, spatial proximity between the dealer station and mobile phone is often given, but not necessary.

Furthermore, the customer no longer has to enter the amount to be paid. The method according to the invention has this advantage over the method according to WO / 47116, since today the prices of goods at the checkouts are usually recorded automatically by the price labels or by using barcodes or other identifiers read by means of a reading device connected to the checkout, so that a renewed recording of the purchase price can be avoided.

The object is further achieved by a method and a system for carrying out the method with the features according to claims 3 and 19, respectively.

Except for the benefit of anonymized payment, the second method has the same advantages as the first method; furthermore there is the advantage that the inputs are minimal for the cellular phone user since he is called.

However, unlike the first method, the identifier assigned to the SIM card is sent to the dealer.

The object is further achieved by a method and a system for carrying out the method with the features according to claims 6 and 20, respectively.

The term "interface for wireless data transmission" includes, as is generally the case in this application, corresponding devices for processing the data, i.e. Read out from a memory and send or receive and read into a memory. This may include software tailored to the dealer station or the cellular phone. The wireless transmission can take place using various media, e.g. Light in the infrared or visible range, micro or radio waves or even ultrasound. When using microwaves or radio waves, "BLUETOOTH" is particularly preferred as the interface. A practically non-directional transmission is possible here, which does not require visual contact between the customer's mobile phone and the dealer station. When using light, an IrDA or Air interface is preferred as the interface, in which the transmission by infrared radiation is directed into a limited solid angle range using a specified protocol, which on the one hand reduces interference and on the other hand reduces the possibility of manipulation.

In addition to the advantages of the first method, the advantage of this method is that the dealer does not need to know any data from the buyer, but at the same time the buyer does not have to enter the data of the dealer himself. In the first and second method, it may be necessary in the first step to read in the identifier of the matching device. The identifier of the matching device can, however, also be stored, so that if only one matching device comes into question, a connection is automatically established to this on the basis of the stored identifier, or, if several matching devices come into question, only one is selected from the stored ones must become.

Preferred embodiments of the method and of the system for carrying out the method are characterized in subclaims 2, 4, 5, 7-17 or 21 and 22.

In this application, radio telephones are also understood to mean combinations of radio telephones with other electronic devices such as electronic notebooks or generally terminal devices in a mobile radio network with a telephone component. An important feature, however, is that the devices can only be operated using a SIM card, which is preferably secured by a PIN. SIM cards are generally understood to be so-called system or subscriber identification module cards on which the information necessary for a radio telephone connection, in particular also identifying the connection, is stored and which are to be inserted into a radio telephone in order to operate it in the corresponding network to be able to. These are preferably devices based on the GSM standard, but other standards can also be used which encrypt data transmission and secure mobile phone access by means of data stored in the mobile phone, for example in the form of a SIM card, preferably under further use of an access control by a PIN. In general, in this application, a mobile radio telephone with a SIM card identified by an identifier identifying it is further understood to mean those mobile radio terminals which have permanently installed components. Components with the above-mentioned function of a SIM card, ie in which the information necessary for a radio telephone connection, in particular also identifying the connection, is stored.

In the simplest case, the identifier assigned to or identifying the SIM card can be the telephone number of the radio telephone. In a further embodiment, however, instead of the telephone number, a different identification specified by the user of the telephone, e.g. Identifier of the network operator and a unique identifier in the area of the network operator, such as the account number of the network operator.

Preferred, in particular in the case of the first and third methods, are in any case identifiers which are stored on the SIM card and are transmitted automatically. Confirmations or, in the third method, a connection can then only be established via a connection established to this SIM card, which significantly increases security since, on the one hand, key words alone are very easy to misuse, and on the other hand through the automatic query or transmission of a the SIM card stored ID use of the ID separately from the SIM card is not easily possible and SIM cards with their content are not easy to forge. By using a mobile radio telephone with such a SIM card, only the owner of the SIM card can have the payment confirmed from an account assigned to the SIM card. Another security is that mobile phones with a SIM card are usually secured by a PIN stored on the SIM card, which must be entered when starting up. Since mobile radio connections cannot be intercepted or can only be intercepted with great difficulty, manipulation of the radio connection is practically impossible.

The data to be output can be in the form of speech as well as in the form of graphic or text messages, e.g. can be displayed via the display of the radio telephone. For this purpose, the matching device must transmit the data to the radio telephone in a suitable form.

Data, in particular the confirmation information, can be input into the radio telephone by voice, in which case the matching device must have a voice recognition device, or in the form of key presses that are decoded differently. The information can also be entered using the MFW dialing method (touch tone) or via SMS services using the buttons on the mobile phone.

The display of information and the input of data can in particular also be menu-controlled if the matching device and mobile phone are suitable for this. Preferred for graphically designed menus, e.g. WAP ("wireless application protocol"), but also the HTT or XC protocol, are used (although no connection to the Internet is established).

In addition, it is possible to confirm the confirmation information with further security queries such as Link passwords, PINs, a SecurelD card, biometric tests such as fingerprint tests, voice or speaker recognition or other security devices.

The dealer station has an input and an output device and an interface device for connections to matching devices and is identified by an identifier. certified. The data connections to the matching devices can be pure data connections or any other suitable type of telecommunication connection; the interfaces must then be designed accordingly. In particular, the dealer station can also be a station that can establish mobile radio connections, in the simplest case it is also only a mobile radio telephone.

Instead of identifying the dealer station, in a preferred embodiment, after reading the name and location of the dealer station using the dealer station identifier from a table stored in the matching device, the name and location of the dealer station can be transmitted to the radio telephone and output there.

In the first and second method, the connection between the dealer station and the comparison device can be permanent or it is established before or only after the corresponding information has been entered. This step is then regarded as part of the first transmission step from the dealer station to the matching device. In the latter case, even after the confirmation information has been transmitted, the connection between the comparison device and the dealer station is interrupted again, which is regarded as part of the transmission step to the dealer device.

If there is no connection to the radio telephone in the first or second solution, the transaction is terminated. In this case, a corresponding code is preferably sent to the dealer station, where a corresponding message is issued.

In a preferred embodiment of the first or second method, the trader can also simply include the cause of the transaction or additional information with the comparison transfer direction. In particular if articles are recorded via article descriptions in connection with an article database, eg via article numbers and / or corresponding bar codes, the dealer can very easily transmit this data together with the amount to be paid to the matching device, which then forwards it to the customer. This would not be easily possible with a method as in WO / 9847116, which starts from the mobile radio telephone.

In a preferred embodiment of the first and second methods and the corresponding systems, the radio telephone and the dealer station have interfaces via which identifiers can be transmitted wirelessly from one device to the other. Instead of entering the identifiers, the corresponding identifier can then be transferred from one device to the other via the interface, at the latest in the step in which an identifier would otherwise have to be entered manually. In the case of the first method, the dealer can use this interface to transmit not only his dealer identification, but also additional transaction data to the mobile radio telephone, so that the customer does not have to make any additional entries, i.e. dealer identification, amount, etc.

The interfaces for the wireless data transmission can be designed analogously to the third method, only the processing of the data being modified accordingly.

The IR interface in the radio telephone is designed so that the ID of the SIM card is output via the interface by pressing a button on the phone and / or an ID is read in via the IR interface, stored and stored during an existing telephone connection at the touch of a button, if necessary together with the identifier of the SIM card that can be used to send the telephone connection. Corresponding memory and Call functions are preferably also available in the dealer station.

In a particularly preferred embodiment of the third method and the system suitable for executing it, the dealer station and radio telephone are designed such that the dealer station not only identifies the dealer station but also further information, in particular the amount of money, via the wireless connection, in particular an IR connection , transmitted to the radio telephone and can be saved there temporarily. Furthermore, the radio telephone is designed so that the stored data can be called up and transmitted when there is an existing connection. Then, with the third method, only the identifier of the SIM card needs to be entered.

The matching device contains interface devices for data connections to dealer stations and those for mobile radio connections, as well as dealer and subscriber test devices for checking the identifications of dealer stations and SIM cards authorized for this service, a transaction storage device for storing open transactions, a connection to an account-maintaining device and a control device, which takes over all processing steps and the control of the individual facilities.

The matching device also has an identifier that identifies it, in the simplest case a telephone number or an IP address.

The interface devices are devices via which a connection to a corresponding subscriber can be established and operated. Depending on the network used, in the simplest case it can be simple analog modulators / demodulators, digi Valley networks, however, other digital working interface devices will be used.

The matching device has a subscriber and a dealer test device, with the aid of which it can be checked whether a subscriber or a dealer station is approved for the method. These can be subscriber or dealer memory devices in which at least the identifiers of the SIM cards or dealer stations approved for this service are stored. In the simplest case, these can be simple files or databases in which further information associated with an identifier can also be stored.

In a preferred embodiment, the identifier of a SIM card and the account number assigned to it are stored in the subscriber memory device in the account-maintaining device. If the ID of the SIM card is not its phone number, it is also saved with the ID. The control device then does not transmit the identifier of the SIM card, but rather, based on the information in the subscriber memory device, the account number corresponding to the identifier to the account-maintaining device.

Correspondingly, the identifier of a dealer station and the account number assigned to it can be stored in the dealer storage device at the account-maintaining device. The control device then does not transmit the identifier of the merchant station, but instead transmits the data corresponding to the identifier and identifying the account, in Germany, for example, account number and bank routing number, to the account-maintaining device on the basis of the information in the dealer memory device. The same applies to the subscriber memory device. In a preferred embodiment, the account-maintaining device can be integrated with the matching device, which allows a compact design and a very fast and low-interference processing of the transaction data.

In the transaction data, the method is e.g. by the amount of money and the dealer station ID, in the second and third method additionally by subscriber ID.

In a further preferred embodiment of the first method or the system for carrying out the first method, an open transaction is only saved for a certain time. If no confirmation is received within this time, the open transaction is deleted and the dealer station affected by this open transaction is notified that the transaction has been rejected. As a further security feature, a temporal proximity of the individual connections is therefore necessary.

In a further preferred embodiment, the radio telephone network and the matching device are designed in such a way that the matching device can determine the telephone number of the SIM card of the calling mobile radio telephone, and the telephone number of the SIM card is used as the identifier. In this case, the input of the identifier of the SIM card into the mobile radio telephone can be omitted in the different process variants; instead, the telephone number of the SIM card is always determined in the matching device. At the same time, the first and third procedures then ensure that only the holder of the SIM card can confirm the transaction.

The adjustment device is preferably designed in such a way that manual intervention by operating personnel is possible to correct procedural errors. The dealer station and the adjustment device are preferably designed in such a way that they can carry out several of the different process variants.

In addition to the above-mentioned facility, the necessary data or telecommunication networks must of course be available to be able to carry out the method. In this sense, they are also part of the system for executing the method.

The method according to the invention can also be used particularly advantageously for making payments on the Internet, since there must be no spatial proximity between the radio telephone and the dealer device, or in this case the computer used for the Internet connection is to be regarded as part of the dealer device.

Embodiments of the invention will now be described with reference to the drawings, in which

1 shows a schematic representation of a system according to an embodiment of the invention,

FIG. 2 shows a schematic representation of a dealer station of the system in FIG. 1,

3 shows a schematic illustration of the adjustment device in FIG. 1,

4a and 4b show a highly simplified schematic representation of a method according to an embodiment of the first method according to the invention,

5a and 5b show a highly simplified schematic illustration of a method according to an embodiment of the second method according to the invention and

6 show a highly simplified schematic illustration of a method according to an embodiment of the third method according to the invention. In Fig. 1, a system according to a first embodiment of the invention contains a mobile radio telephone 2 with a SIM card and an IR interface, a dealer station 1 with an IR interface and a matching device 3. There is an IR connection between the mobile radio telephone and its ID can be transmitted to the dealer station via its IR interfaces.

The matching device 3 can be connected to the mobile radio telephone 2 via a mobile radio connection and to the dealer station 1 via a data connection.

The three devices, dealer station 1, matching device 3 and mobile radio telephone 2, or more precisely the SIM card therein, have identifying identifications, which in the present embodiment are the telephone numbers of the dealer station, the matching device and the mobile radio telephone. Instead of the telephone numbers, e.g. IP addresses are used.

The mobile radio telephone 2 has a known and customary SIM card for a given radio telephone network, which has to be activated by entering a PIN, and a known IR interface for exchanging data; it is designed to be able to transmit the data transmitted and stored via the IR interface on demand during an existing telephone connection. It is activated to carry out the method in the corresponding mobile radio network.

In Fig. 2, the dealer station 2 has an input device 5, for example a keyboard, an output device 4, for example a display device such as a monitor, and an infrared interface 6, which is designed so that data exchange with the radio telephone is possible via it, and a cut set 8 for a data connection. A control device 7 is connected to the other devices and processes the inputs, sends data to be displayed to the output device 4 and receives or sends data via the IR interface 6 and / or the data interface 8 as a function of inputs via the input device 5 or the other interfaces .

The matching device 3 in FIG. 3 contains an interface device 9 for data connections to dealer stations and an interface device 14 for mobile radio connections, a transaction data storage device 10 for the temporary storage of transaction data, a dealer test device in the form of a dealer memory device 11 for storing dealer identifiers and corresponding account numbers, and a subscriber test device a subscriber memory device 12 for storing subscriber identifiers and corresponding account numbers, a connection to an account-maintaining device 15, and a control device 13 for processing and exchanging data of the aforementioned devices of the matching device. In the simplest case, this can be a PC or another computer with suitable telecommunication interface cards and corresponding software.

The control devices 7 of the merchant station and 13 of the matching device are designed so that they carry out the steps of the payment process. Different embodiments of the control device result depending on the method.

The sequence of a payment transaction according to an embodiment of the first method is shown below.

A rough overview of the process sequence is shown in tabular form in FIGS. 4a and 4b, with the successive procedural steps in the individual system components, mobile phone 2, matching device 3 and dealer station 1, corresponding columns are listed.

Essentially, an amount of money and a dealer identification are transmitted from the dealer station 1 to the matching device 3 and are stored there after checking the dealer identification. From a mobile radio telephone 2, depending on the version of the radio telephone, the dealer identification is read in before or after establishing a connection to the comparison device 3, which can also be done by voice input, and this is transmitted together with the identification of the SIM card to the comparison device, where the identification of SIM card is checked. By comparing the dealer station identifier with those in the temporarily stored data, the amount of money to be transferred is determined, sent to the mobile radio telephone 2 and output there. After entering confirmation information, this is transmitted to the comparison device 3, which sends the data to the dealer station 1 and, depending on the confirmation information, transmits the data to an account-maintaining device 15.

The method according to this embodiment proceeds in more detail as follows:

First, an amount of money to be paid and the identifier for the matching device 3 are read into the dealer station 1 via the input device 5, whereupon the controller 7 after establishing a data connection to the matching device 3 via the interface device 8 for the data connection and the data connection, the identifier of the dealer station 1 and the amount of money are sent as transaction data to the matching device 3 with this identifier.

In the matching device 3, the data are received via the interface device 9 for the data connection. After comparing the dealer identifier with the dealer identifier entered in the dealer store 11 for checking the admission of this dealer station to the service, the transaction data are written by the control device 13 as an open transaction into the transaction data storage device 10 of the matching device. The identifier, ie the telephone number, of the dealer station is transmitted to the radio telephone 2 via the infrared interface 6 before the data is entered into the dealer station 1, but at the latest after the connection to the matching device 3 has been established. A connection is made from the mobile radio telephone 2 to the matching device 3, and the stored identifier of the dealer station 1 and the identifier of the radio telephone are transmitted to the matching device 3. If the transmission via the infrared interfaces temporarily does not work, the identifier can also be entered using the keyboard. This entry could also be made when using a radio telephone without an IR interface.

In the matching device 3, the dealer station identifier transmitted by the mobile radio telephone 2 is compared with the dealer identifiers of the open transactions stored in the transaction data storage device 10. If such a transaction is not found, the process is terminated, otherwise the transaction data found are transmitted to the mobile radio telephone via the mobile radio interface and output there. Furthermore, the identifier of the mobile radio telephone is compared with the subscriber identifiers entered in the subscriber memory 12 in order to determine whether the subscriber may participate in the service. If there is no such permission, the transaction is terminated and corresponding data are transmitted to the dealer station 1.

After querying and entering confirmation information via the keypad of the mobile radio telephone 2, the confirmation transmit data to the comparison device 3, which in turn transmits the confirmation information to the dealer station 1, where it is output.

The control device 13 of the comparison device 3 checks whether the confirmation data correspond to a rejection or not. In the first case, the transaction is terminated, in the second case the transaction data are read from the transaction data memory 10, the identifiers of the dealer station and the mobile radio telephone are converted into account numbers on the basis of the data in the dealer or transaction data memory, and the transaction data now with account numbers to an account-keeping facility 15 passed. The transaction is deleted from the transaction data store 10.

The matching device 3 continuously checks how long open transactions are in the transaction data memory 10. If a predetermined time limit is exceeded for an open transaction, data are sent to the corresponding dealer station 1, indicating that the transaction was rejected and the open transaction is deleted from the transaction data memory 10.

The course of a payment transaction according to one embodiment of the second method is shown in table form in FIGS. 5a and 5b as a rough overview, with the successive method steps being listed one below the other in the individual system components, mobile radio telephone, matching device and dealer station, corresponding columns.

Essentially, the amount of money, the identifier of the dealer station 1 and the identifier of the SIM card are read in via an IR interface 6 and transmitted to the matching device 3. After checking the dealer identification and the identifier of the This SIM card establishes a connection to the radio telephone 2 on the basis of the identifier of the SIM card and transmits the data which are output by the radio telephone 2. After entry of confirmation information and transmission to the reconciliation device 3, the confirmation information is transmitted to the dealer station 1 and the transaction data to the account management device 15.

The method according to this embodiment proceeds in more detail as follows:

The schematic representations of FIGS. 1 to 3 again apply to the corresponding devices for carrying out the method, but the control devices 7 and 13 have a different mode of operation in accordance with the modified method.

At the dealer station 1, the amount of money to be paid, the identifier for the matching device 3 and, via the infrared interface 6, the identifier of the mobile phone 2 is read into the dealer station. After the data connection to the matching device 3 has been established, the identifier of the dealer station, the identifier of the mobile radio telephone and the amount of money are provided as transaction data. transmit the adjustment device.

The data are received in the matching device via the interface 9 for data connections. The identifiers of the dealer station and that of the SIM card are compared with the identifiers in the dealer memory 11 and the subscriber memory 12, respectively, in order to determine whether dealers and subscribers are authorized to participate in the service. If one of the authorizations is not present, corresponding data is sent to the dealer station 1 and the transaction is terminated. Otherwise, the data of the open transaction are written into the transaction data store 10. Based on the identifier of the SIM card connects to the mobile phone 2 from the matching device and the transaction data is sent to the mobile phone, where the data is output by the mobile phone. If no connection can be established, the transaction is terminated.

Confirmation information is queried by the mobile radio telephone 2 and the entered confirmation data are transmitted to the comparison device 3.

The matching device 3 cancels the transaction if the confirmation data correspond to a rejection or there is no response.

The confirmation information, and possibly further transaction information, is transmitted to the dealer station 1, with an abort being transmitted as a rejection. Optionally, the reason for the rejection can also be transferred. The transaction data is transmitted as in the first method.

The course of a payment transaction according to an embodiment of the third method is shown in a table in FIG. 6 as a rough overview, the successive method steps being listed again in the corresponding system components, mobile telephone, matching device and dealer station, corresponding columns.

Essentially, the identifier of the dealer station 1 is entered into the radio telephone 2, a connection is established to the matching device 3, and the identifier of the dealer station 1 and the SIM card and the amount of money entered via the mobile radio telephone 2 are transmitted to the matching device 3. After checking the identifiers, this at least transfers the amount of money to the merchant station and corresponding transaction data to an account-keeping facility.

The method according to this embodiment proceeds in more detail as follows:

The schematic representations of FIGS. 1 to 3 again apply to the corresponding devices for carrying out the method, but the control devices 7 and 13 have a different mode of operation in accordance with the modified method. First, the dealer station 1 transmits the identifier of the dealer station to the radio telephone and is stored there temporarily. A connection to the matching device 3 is then established via the radio telephone 2.

The amount of money to be paid is read in via the radio telephone 2, the identifier for the dealer station 1 and the identifier for the SIM card are transmitted to the matching device. The matching device 3 uses the dealer memory 11 and the subscriber memory 13 to check whether dealer station 1 and SIM card are registered for the service. If this is not the case, the transaction is terminated, otherwise the account numbers are determined on the basis of the identifiers of the dealer station and the mobile radio telephone or the SIM card from the dealer or subscriber memory, and these account numbers and the amount of money are passed on to an account-holding institution 15 forwarded.

The confirmed amount of money will continue to be transferred to the dealer station 1.

Claims

Claims: Method for carrying out a cashless payment transaction by means of a merchant station (1) identified by a merchant station identifier, a mobile radio telephone (2) with a SIM card identified by an identifier identifying it, and a matching device (3) which comprises a transaction data storage device (10) Has a dealer test facility (11) for checking the identifiers of the dealer stations approved for this method and a subscriber test facility (12) for checking the identifiers of the SIM cards approved for this method and which is connected to account-maintaining devices (15), comprising the steps: reading a amount of money to be paid to the dealer station,

Transmitting the identifier of the dealer station and at least the amount of money to the matching device with this identifier via a data connection,

Checking the approval of the dealer station for the procedure using the dealer test device, aborting the procedure in the absence of approval, otherwise writing the data as an open transaction to the transaction storage device of the matching device, establishing a connection from the mobile radio telephone to the matching device,

Transmission of the identifier of the dealer station and the identifier assigned to the SIM card from the mobile radio telephone to the matching device,

Checking the approval of the SIM card for the procedure using the subscriber test facility, in the event of no approval, termination of the procedure, deletion of the open transaction from the transaction memory and transmission of corresponding data to the dealer station, otherwise comparison of the dealer station identifier transmitted by the mobile radio telephone with that of the Transaction- storage device stored open transactions, if such a transaction is not found, canceling the process and if the process is found,

Transmission of the transaction data to the mobile radio telephone, output of the data by the mobile radio telephone, requesting confirmation information by the mobile radio telephone,

Transmission of the confirmation data to the comparison device,

Transmission of the confirmation information to the dealer station,

Aborting the transaction and deleting the transaction from the transaction memory if the confirmation data correspond to a rejection, and transferring the transaction data from the transaction memory and the identification of the mobile phone to an account-maintaining device and deleting the transaction from the transaction memory in the other case.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that the dealer station (1) and the radio telephone (2) have interfaces (6) for wireless transmission of data from the dealer station to the radio telephone, and that before establishing the mobile radio connection to the Matching device (3) from the dealer station via these interfaces for wireless data transmission, the identifier of the dealer station is transmitted to the mobile radio telephone, and that the identifier stored there can be transferred during the existing connection to the matching device.

3. Method for carrying out a cashless payment transaction by means of a merchant station (1) identified by a merchant station identifier, a mobile radio telephone (2) with a SIM card and an identifier assigned to the SIM card and a matching device (3), which has a transaction storage device (10), a dealer checking device (11) for checking the identifiers of the dealer stations authorized for this method and a subscriber checking device (12) for checking the identifiers of the SIM cards permitted for this method and in the event that the identifier of the SIM card is not its telephone number, for storing the associated telephone numbers of the SIM card and which is connected to account-maintaining devices (15), comprising the steps: reading in an amount of money to be paid and identifying a SIM card of a mobile radio telephone to the dealer station,

Transmitting the identifier of the dealer station, the identifier of the mobile radio telephone and at least the amount of money to the matching device with this identifier via a data connection,

Checking the approval of the dealer station for the procedure by comparison with the entries in the dealer test facility, checking the approval of the SIM card for the procedure using the participant test device,

Termination of the procedure in the absence of approval, otherwise writing of the data as an open transaction in the transaction storage device, if the identifier of the SIM card is not the telephone number, reading the telephone number from the subscriber test device using the identifier,

Establishing a connection from the matching device to the mobile radio telephone,

Transmission of the confirmation data to the comparison device, Cancel the transaction if the confirmation data corresponds to a rejection,

Transfer of the confirmation and possibly further transaction data to the dealer station, transfer of the transaction data from the transaction memory and the identification of the mobile phone to an account-maintaining device and deletion of the transaction from the transaction memory.

4. The method according to claim 3, characterized in that the mobile radio telephone (3) and the dealer station (1) have interfaces for the wireless transmission of data and at the beginning of the method of the mobile radio telephone (3) via these interfaces, the identifier assigned to the SIM card transmitted to the dealer station (1) and stored there so that it can be used in the following steps at the dealer station (1).

5. The method according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the transaction is terminated if confirmation information is not made within a predetermined time after the transmission of the information from the dealer station to the matching device.

6. Method for carrying out a cashless payment transaction by means of a merchant station (1) identified by a merchant station identifier with an interface for a wireless data connection, a mobile radio telephone (2) with a SIM card, an identifier assigned to the SIM card and one of the interfaces for the Wireless data connection of the interface corresponding to the dealer station and a comparison device (3) which has a transaction memory device (10), a dealer test device (11) for checking the identifiers of the dealer stations approved for this method and a has a subscriber checking device (12) for checking the identifiers of the SIM cards approved for this method and which is connected to account-maintaining devices (15), comprising the steps:

Establishing a connection between dealer station (1) and radio telephone (2) via the interfaces for wireless data connection and transmission of the dealer identification to the radio telephone,

Establishing a connection from the radio telephone to the matching device,

Checking the approval of the SIM card for the procedure using the subscriber test facility, in the event of a lack of approval, termination of the procedure, reading in an amount to be paid, the identifier for the dealer station and the identifier of the mobile phone and transmission to the matching device, checking the approval of the dealer station for the procedure using the dealer test facility, termination of the procedure in the absence of approval, otherwise transmission of the identifiers of the dealer station and the mobile phone and the amount of money to an account-maintaining facility,

Transfer of the confirmed amount of money to the dealer station.

7. The method according to claim 6, characterized in that, in addition to the dealer identification, further data of the transaction are transmitted in the first step.

8. The method according to claim 6 or 7, characterized in that in the last step also the identifier assigned to the SIM card is transmitted.

9. The method according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the wireless interface is an infrared light interface.

10. The method according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the wireless interface is a microwave interface.

11. The method according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that still further additional transaction data are transmitted from the dealer station to the matching device or the mobile radio telephone.

12. The method according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that if one of the necessary connections can not be established, the transaction is terminated and, if appropriate, the corresponding, stored open transactions in the transaction memory (19) of the matching device (3) is deleted.

13. The method according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the identifiers are replaced by the corresponding account identifying data prior to transmission to the account-maintaining devices (15).

14. The method according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that if no connection can be established to the dealer station (1) or mobile radio telephone (2), at least one further attempt is made to establish this connection and only then the process is terminated.

5. The method according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that if one of the connections can not be established, a message to the dealer station (1) or the mobile phone (1) is issued before the process is terminated.

16. The method according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the identifier assigned to the SIM card is a stored on the SIM card and identifying the card and in the transmission of data between the mobile phone (2) and matching device (3) The identification assigned to the SIM card is automatically transferred.

17. The method according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the identifier assigned to the SIM card is its telephone number.

18. System for carrying out the method according to claim 1, comprising a dealer station identifier identified by a dealer station identifier (1), a mobile radio telephone (2) with a SIM card and an identifier identifying the SIM card, a comparison device (3) which comprises a transaction data storage device ( 10), a dealer test device (11) for checking the identifiers of the dealer stations approved for this method and a subscriber test device (12) for checking the identifiers of the SIM cards approved for this method and which is connected to account-maintaining devices (15), wherein the dealer station (1) has an input and output device (4, 5) and a device (8) for establishing a data connection to the matching device (3), the matching device (3) further

Interface devices (9) for data connection to dealer stations,

Interface devices (14) for cellular phone connections, as well

Control devices (13) which, after establishing a connection and sending transaction data from a dealer station, checks the approval of the dealer station for the procedure using the dealer test device (11), and aborts the procedure in the absence of approval, but otherwise the transmitted transaction data in the transaction data storage device (10) enters, receives the ID of the SIM card when establishing a connection from a mobile radio telephone (2), checks the approval of the SIM card for the procedure using the subscriber test device (12), and the procedure is terminated if the approval is not given , but otherwise compares the identifier with the entries in the transaction data storage device and, when a transaction with the same SIM card identifier is found, transmits the transaction data found to the mobile radio telephone and to it via the interface device for mobile radio telephone connections it sends a confirmation request, and receives the confirmation data via the interface device for mobile radio telephone connections, interprets it as acceptance or rejection, transmits the confirmation information via the interface device to the dealer station, and transmits the transaction data and the identifier of the mobile radio telephone to the account-holding device upon acceptance.

9. System for performing the method according to claim 3, comprising a dealer station identifier identified by a dealer station (1), a mobile radio telephone (2) with a SIM card and an identifier identifying the SIM card, and a matching device (3) which a transaction data storage device (10), a dealer test device (11) for checking the identifiers of the dealer stations approved for this method and a subscriber test device (12) for checking the identifiers and, if the identifier is not the telephone number, storing the telephone numbers of the SIM cards permitted for this method and which is connected to account-maintaining devices (15), the dealer station (1) having an input and output device (4, 5) and a device (8) for establishing a data connection to the matching device (3), the matching device (3 ) further

Interface devices (9) for data connection to dealer stations,

Interface devices (14) for cellular phone connections, as well

Control devices (13) which, after establishing a connection and sending transaction data from a dealer station, checks the approval of the dealer station for the method using the dealer test device and the approval of the SIM card for the method using the subscriber test device, and the method terminates if there is no authorization, but otherwise enters the transmitted transaction data into the transaction data storage device, via the interface device for mobile radio telephone connections a connection corresponding to that in FIGS Transaction data containing identifier for the mobile radio telephone, transmits the transaction data to the mobile radio telephone and sends a confirmation request to it, and receives the confirmation data via the interface device for mobile radio telephone connections, interprets it as acceptance or rejection, transmits the confirmation information via the interface device to the dealer station, and upon acceptance transmits the transaction data and the identifier of the mobile radio telephone to the account-holding facility.

20. System for performing the method according to claim 6, comprising a dealer station identifier identified by a dealer station (1) with an interface for wireless data transmission, a mobile radio telephone (2) with a SIM card, an identifier identifying the SIM card and one of the interfaces for Wireless data transmission of the interface corresponding to the dealer station, and a comparison device (3), a transaction data storage device (10), a dealer test device (11) for checking the identifiers of the dealer stations approved for this method and a subscriber test device (12) for checking the identifiers of the method has approved SIM cards and is connected to account-maintaining devices (15), the dealer station (1) having an input and output device (4, 5) and a device (8) for establishing a data connection to the matching device, the matching device ( 3) w pus

Interface devices (9) for data connections to dealer stations, Interface devices (14) for cellular phone connections, as well

Control devices (13) which, when establishing a connection from a mobile radio telephone (2), receives the identification of the mobile radio telephone, the amount of money to be paid and the identification of the dealer station, the approval of the dealer station for the method using the dealer test device and the approval of the SIM Checks the card for the procedure using the subscriber test facility, and terminates the procedure if there is no authorization, but otherwise transfers the amount of money via the interface device to the dealer station, and transfers the amount of money, the identifier of the mobile phone and the identifier of the dealer station to the account-holding institution and the corresponding Deletes transaction from the transaction data store.

21. System according to one of claims 18 to 20, characterized in that the matching device (3) has a subscriber test device (12) in which the identification of a mobile radio telephone and the account number assigned to it at the account-holding device, and that the control device is not transmits the identifier of the mobile radio telephone, but on the basis of the information in the subscriber checking device, the account number corresponding to the identifier to the account-holding device.

22. System according to any one of claims 18 to 20, characterized in that the matching device (3) has a dealer checking device (11) in which the identifier has a dealer station and the account number assigned to it at the account-holding facility, and that the control device does not transmit the identifier of the dealer station, but on the basis of the information in the dealer memory device, the account number corresponding to the identifier to the account-holding device.