GB2510431A

GB2510431A - Mobile wallet transaction system using different communication protocols

Info

Publication number: GB2510431A
Application number: GB1302040.9A
Authority: GB
Inventors: David Alexander Taylor; Edward Neil Livingston
Original assignee: Barclays Bank PLC
Current assignee: Barclays Bank PLC
Priority date: 2013-02-05
Filing date: 2013-02-05
Publication date: 2014-08-06
Also published as: GB201302040D0; WO2014122453A2; WO2014122453A3

Abstract

An electronic wallet system 1 comprises an electronic wallet 3 on a mobile device 5 and enables payment transactions between a financial institution 7 associated with a user's mobile wallet 3 and a financial institution 9 associated with a retailer's point of sale terminal 11. The mobile wallet 3 may be downloaded as an application software module from the payment service issuer system 13. In use, the electronic wallet receives a request for a transaction and a data communication session is established using a first communication protocol. When it is determined that the data communication session is not available to complete the transaction, the remote system transmits data to complete the transaction using a second communication protocol which is different to the first. The electronic wallet receives the transmitted data and processes the received data to complete the transaction.

Description

tM:;: INTELLECTUAL .*.. PROPERTY OFFICE Application No. 0B1302040.9 RTM DateS August 2013 The following terms are registered trade marks and should be read as such wherever they occur in this document: Discover Mastercard Paypass Mastercard Paypass Visa Visa Paywave Amex Buetooth %rj -Fi Intellectual Properly Office is an operaling name of Ihe Patent Office www.ipo.gov.uk System and Method for Mobile Wallet Transaction Processing

Field of the Invention

[0001] This invention relates to a mobile payment system, and more particularly to system and method for facilitating more efficient processing of mobile electronic wallet transactions.

Background of the Invention

[0002] Mobile payment systems are generally well known, in which portable electronic devices are configured to provide payment from an electronic mobile wallet that is issued by a payment service provider. Typically, the portable electronic devices are configured with mobile wallet hardware and software to enable data communication with the payment service provider's backend system over a data network, to complete a mobile wallet-based transaction with the mobile wallet.

General examples of such mobile payment systems can be found in the Applicant's earlier applications, such as WO 2012/042262.

[0003] In such conventional systems and methods, the mobile wallet establishes a communication session with the backend system for the secure communication of data to complete the transaction. If the communication session is broken due to a lost network connection between the electronic device and the backend system, the mobile wallet typically attempts to reconnect the communication session, often entering a continuous loop for a predefined period of time until the transaction operation is terminated unsuccessfully or until the communication session is re-established.

[0004] What is desired is an improved mobile payment system and method that provides for a more efficient transaction process.

I

Statements of the Invention

[0005] In one aspect of the present invention, a method is provided for processing a transaction from an electronic wallet on a mobile device, the method comprising: receiving, by the electronic wallet, a request for a wallet-based transaction; establishing an electronic data communication session between the mobile device and a remote system using a first communication protocol; transmitting data to initiate the transaction over the established electronic data communication session; determining that the electronic data communication session is not available to complete the transaction; transmitting, by the remote system, data to complete the transaction, using a second communication protocol different to the first communication protocol; receiving, by the electronic wallet, said transmitted data; and processing, by the electronic wallet, the received data to complete the transaction.

[0006] In another aspect, there is provided a method of processing a transaction from an electronic wallet on a mobile device, the method comprising transmitting data to initiate the transaction in an electronic data communication session established between the mobile device and a remote system using a first communication protocol, and receiving data to complete the transaction using a second communication protocol different to the first communication protocol when the electronic data communication session is not available to complete the transaction.

[0007] In yet another aspect, there is provided a system and device arranged to carry out the above methods.

[0008] In other aspects, there are provided computer programs arranged to carry out the above methods when executed by one or more suitable computing devices.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0009] There now follows, by way of example only, a detailed description of embodiments of the present invention, with references to the figures identified below.

Figure 1 is a block diagram showing the main components of a mobile payment system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 2 is a block diagram showing the main elements of a mobile device shown in Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a flow diagram illustrating the main processing steps performed by the mobile device during initial start up of a mobile wallet application module.

Figure 4 is a flow diagram illustrating the main processing steps performed by components of the mobile payment system to process a mobile wallet-based transaction according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 5, which comprises Figures Sa and 5b, illustrates exemplary display screens displayed by the mobile device to the user in exemplary alternative embodiments.

Detailed Description of Embodiments of the Invention Mobile Wallet System [0010] Referring to Figure 1, there is illustrated a block diagram of a mobile wallet system 1 for implementing an electronic wallet 3 on a mobile handset 5, hereinafter referred to as a mobile wallet, according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. Generally, the mobile wallet system 1 enables payment transactions to be effected between a financial institution 7 associated with a user's mobile wallet 3 and a financial institution 9 associated with a merchant (retailer) system, such as a point of sale (PUS) terminal 11, for the purchase of goods or services provided by the merchant, via a backend system 13 of a payment service issuer associated with the mobile wallet 3. Such payment service issuer systems for processing payment transactions via a payment scheme network 15 are of a type that are known to the person skilled in the art of mobile wallet systems and need not be described further. It is appreciated that the user's financial institution 7 and the merchant's financial institution 9 may be the same financial institution.

[0011] The mobile wallet 3 is provided by a payment service issuer system 13, such as an ID card provider, credit card issuer, bank or other financial institution, which is responsible for authorizing and settling the payment of funds for service or products purchased by the user of the mobile handset 5 using the mobile wallet 3. Typically, user details associated with the mobile wallet 3, such as the user's name, address, mobile identification number (MIN) and associated payment account details, are registered with and stored by the payment service issuer system 13, for example when the mobile wallet 3 is initially provided and set up on the mobile device 5. The mobile wallet 3 can be downloaded as an application software module from the payment service issuer system 13 and launched for execution by the mobile device 5. It is appreciated that the payment service issuer system 13 may be a component of the user's financial institution 7 and/or the merchant's financial institution 9.

[0012] The mobile handset 5 can be any suitable mobile device such as a cellular device, a smartphone, etc. that includes software and/or hardware components to communicate to communicate wirelessly with the payment service issuer system 13 and with other mobile devices. In this exemplary embodiment, the mobile handset 5 includes a data network interface 17 for data communication over a data network 19, and a cellular network interface 18 for data communication over a cellular network 20.

The data network 19 may be any suitable data communication network such as a wireless network, a local-or wide-area network including a corporate intranet or the Internet, using for example the TCP/IP protocol. The cellular network 20 may be any suitable cellular data communication network, using for example the GPRS, EDGE, CDMA, UMTS and/or 3G/4G protocol. Such communication protocols are of a type that are known to a person skilled in the art of data networks and need not be described further. It is appreciated that the data network 19 may include at least a portion of the cellular data network 20.

[0013] Merchants (retailers) will be able to participate in the mobile wallet system 1 by ensuring related infrastructure of the associated merchant systems, such as the P05 terminal 11 equipment (which may have many forms such as tablets, P05 integrated with payment terminals etc), payment modules of the merchant websites, payment processors, acquirers, and other hardware and software related equipment, is supported by the mobile wallet 3 and payment service issuer system 13. The mobile wallet 3 may include specific functional support for a number of participating merchant systems of the mobile wallet system 1.

[0014] Optionally, the mobile device 5 and the electronic PUS terminal 11 communicate with one another via a contactless communication link 21, using respective contactless link interfaces 23. The contactless communication link 21 may be for example a near field communication (NEC) link, an infra-red and/or optical link (eg. for bar code scanning), an ultra-sonic link, a radio frequency (eg. REID) link, a wireless link such as Bluetooth or Wi-Ei based on the IEEE 802.11 standards, or any other communication link that does not require direct physical contact.

[0015] As shown in Figure 1, the mobile device S in this embodiment includes a secure element 25 storing wallet application secure data 27 including for example, payment account data identifying one or more mobile payment accounts that have been set up for the mobile wallet 3. The secure element 25 may be a Universal Integrated Circuit Card (UICC) type secure element or an embedded secure element chip, as is known in the art. Other forms of mobile handset software and/or hardware can be implemented to provide built-in secure electronic wallet functionality for accessing the secure element 25, including encryption and decryption of the electronic wallet application secure data 27, as necessary.

[0016] The mobile device 3 also includes a wallet application module 31 storing computer-implementable processing instructions used to control the operation of the mobile device 3, for example to perform mobile wallet-based transactions such as i) set up, register and authorize usage of a new mobile wallet, ii) process a request to load funds from a user's payment account to the mobile wallet, and iii) process a transaction with a merchant via the electronic P05 terminal S to effectively transfer funds from the mobile wallet 3 or a payment account linked with the mobile wallet 3 to a merchant's account. As will be described in further detail below, the wallet application module 31 of the present embodiment is particularly configured to process a mobile wallet-based transaction with the payment service issuer system 13 over the data network 19 and to receive and process data for completing the transaction in a data message transmitted via the cellular network 20, when communication of data over the data network 19 is broken or interrupted. Preferably, the data for completing the transaction is transmitted by the payment service issuer system 13 as a binary coded Short Message System (SMS) data message and received by an SMS listener module 22 of the mobile device 5.

[0017] The wallet application module 31 can be implemented as one or more software components of an operating system running on the mobile device 5 or implemented as one or more separate software applications or modules installed on the mobile device 5. Such software applications may be configured to run as background applications on the mobile device S that monitor receipt of messages or events and activate upon receipt of appropriate messages or events so as to carry out the above operations.

Alternatively, the user can launch the software applications. The wallet application module 31 can instead or additionally be launched via a web browser running on the mobile device 5 and/or executed as a component of a web-based interface. As yet a further alternative, the wallet application module 31 can be stored in the secure element 25, and loaded into a virtual machine of the mobile device 5 to provide the functionality of the present embodiment.

[0018] The payment service issuer system 13 includes a trusted service manager (TSM) module 14 as is known in the art. Typically, the ISM module 14 performs logical data preparation of the data to be communicated to the mobile device 5 by forming appropriate commands to be written to the secure element 25 of the mobile devices.

The precise form of the data depends on the particular implementation of the secure element 25 and/or the payment association network 15 for facilitating payment. The TSM module 14 can also perform encryption of the sensitive payment account information in the mobile payment account data for transmission to the mobile device via the cellular network 20.

[0019] In this embodiment, the TSM module 14 is configured to generate data for completing a mobile wallet-based transaction and to transmit the data to the mobile device S as an SMS message via the cellular network 20. Preferably, the data for completing a transaction is provided as binary data encoded in an Enhanced Messaging Service (EMS) compliant data message, which enables binary data to be included in a normal Short Message (for example the Tnhanced Messaging Service" specification, section 9.2.3.24.10 of the 3GPP 15 23.040 version 4.2.0 Release 4, ETSI TS 123 040 V4.2.0, March 2001). The SMS message is addressed to the MIN of the mobile device 5 and the pre-defined SMS communication port of mobile device 5.

[0020] In this way, the mobile payment system 1 is adapted to efficiently recover from an interruption to the network connectivity via the data network 19 by receiving data for completing the transaction in a data message transmitted by the backend system 13 via the cellular network 20.

Mobile Device [0021] Figure 2 shows in more detail the elements of an exemplary mobile device 5 in the system 1 of Figure 1. As shown in Figure 2, the mobile device 5 includes operating system and hardware 41 having a controller 43 for controlling the mobile device 5, and a user interface 45 arranged to process inputs from a keypad 47 and to control output on a display 49. The keypad 47 and display 49 can be provided as separate hardware entities of the mobile device 5, or alternatively, as an integrated entity such as a touch sensitive display screen user interface. The mobile device S can also include components included in commonly known mobile handsets, such as a microphone, an earpiece speaker, a camera, and/or a GPS sensors/receiver etc., which are not shown.

A working memory 51 is provided for use by the handset operating system and hardware units 41.

[0022] Software and data are transferred via the data network interface 17 and/or via the cellular network interface 18, in the form of signals 53 which can be electronic, electromagnetic, optical, or other signals capable of being received by the data network interface 17 and/or by the cellular network interface 18, via a communication path 55 that carries the signals and can be implemented using wire or cable, fiber optics, a physical phone line, a wireless link, a radio frequency link, or any other suitable communication channel, including any combination of suitable communication channels.

[0023] As mentioned above, the mobile device 5 includes a secure element 25. The mobile device 5 is operable to receive wallet application secure data 37, such as associated payment account details, via the data network interface 17 and/or via the cellular network interface 18, and to store the received wallet application secure data 6 in the secure element 25. The mobile device 3 is also operable to receive transaction authorization request messages from and send authorization messages to the merchant's POS terminal 5 via a contactless communications link interface 37 and the contactless communications link 9. Communication between a POS terminal S and the mobile device 3 can involve transmission of data in a single direction from the mobile device 3 to the POS terminal 5, depending on an implemented protocol (such as the protocols used by the DISCOVER ZIPTM, MasterCard PaypassTM, Visa PaywaveTM and AMEX ExpressPay'M cashless payment systems).

[0024] The mobile device 5 includes a wallet application module 31 as mentioned above, which stores processing instructions used to control the operation of the mobile device 5 to perform the various mobile payment account processes, as will be described in detail below. In this embodiment, the wallet application module 31 comprises a mobile service provider wallet application module 31a, which can be provided by a mobile service provider associated with the mobile device 5 such as a Mobile Network Operator (MNO) or device manufacturer, and a payment service issuer wallet application module 31b, which can be provided by the payment service issuer such as an electronic wallet issuer or a financial institution. The mobile service provider wallet application module 31a or the payment service issuer wallet application module 31b can include a transaction authorization sub-module (not shown) which stores processing instructions used to control the operation of the controller 43 to carry out and authorize a transaction in response to user input from the keypad 47 and transaction authorization request messages received from the merchant's P05 terminal 11 via the contactless communications link interface 23. The payment service issuer wallet application module 31b also stores a plurality of wallet display screens 57 which may be output on display 49 of the user interface 45 to facilitate user interaction with the mobile wallet 3. The wallet application module 31 may also store one or more non-payment application modules (not shown) including processing instructions used to control the operation of the mobile device 5 to perform other non-payment related processes.

[0025] As those skilled in the art will appreciate, although the above discussed functionality is described as being provided by separate service provider wallet application module 31a and issuer wallet application module 31b on the mobile device 3, the mobile wallet 3 functionality may instead be provided by a single module. It is also appreciated that the wallet application module 31 may be provided as one or more hardware and/or software components of the mobile devices.

[0026] As described above, the payment service issuer system 13 is configured to generate and transmit data for completing a transaction to the mobile wallet 3 as an SMS data message. The mobile device 5 includes an SMS listener module 22 as is known in the art, for receiving SMS data messages from the payment service issuer system 13, for example via an SMS gateway (not shown) in the system 1 and notifying the mobile wallet application module 31 of incoming SMS data messages. Typically, the operating system 41 of the mobile device 5 includes an Application Programming Interface (API) for configuring the SMS listener module 22. In this exemplary embodiment, the mobile wallet application module 31 registers and configures the SMS listener module 22 as a listener object to monitor for incoming SMS messages on a pre-defined communication port of the mobile device 5 and to trigger the mobile wallet application 31 to start a process upon receipt of an SMS data message to that port.

[0027] Also schematically illustrated in the exemplary embodiment of Figure 2 are a plurality of security domains which can be implemented in the secure element 25 of the mobile device 5. The secure element 25 is advantageously implemented to be compliant with one or more specifications of a standard infrastructure in order to facilitate communication of data and messages between the mobile device 5 (and the secure element 25) and other entities in the mobile payment system 1. For example, and in accordance with a preferred embodiment, the secure element 4 is compliant with the known GlobalPlatform Card Specifications (for example the "GlobalPlatform Card Specification 2.2", March 2006), and accordingly includes a plurality of security domains for facilitating control of the management of and accessibility to executable operations and sensitive data associated with specific areas of the secure element 4 by the various entities in the mobile payment system 1. The GlobalPlatform Card Specifications (for example the "GlobalPlatform Card Specification 2.2", March 2006) define a hierarchical arrangement of security domains, each defining functionality and data that can be accessed by a respective associated entity, for example, cryptographic keys or certificates, that can be used to support secure channel protocol operations between the mobile device 5 and the entity or entities associated with that particular security domain, and/or to authorize secure element 25 content management functions.

[0028] As shown in the exemplary embodiment of Figure 2, a wallet security domain 61 associated with one or more payment account issuers and other service providers.

In this embodiment, the wallet security domain 61 includes a service provider security domain 63 associated with a particular mobile network operator, an issuer security domain 65 associated with the payment service issuer, a Controlling Authority (CA) security domain 67 associated with a controlling authority (not shown) in the mobile payment system 1, and a Supplementary Security Domain (SSD) 69 associated with an intermediate security domain (not shown) to manage card content and perform cryptographic services for confidentiality. The wallet security domain 61 in this exemplary embodiment includes the securely stored wallet application secure data 37 for use by the wallet application module 31. The wallet security domain 61 can also include one or more optional other service provider security domains (not shown).

The issuer security domain 65 includes one or more payment applet instances 71 which enable the transaction processing functionality using an associated mobile payment account.

[0029] The service provider security domain 63 also include a Proximity Payment System Environment (PPSE) module 73, defining application functionality associated with transaction processing functionality and, in particular, for handling communications with a contactless reader of the P05 terminal 11. The PPSE module 73 facilitates an additional application layer level of control of the transaction processing functionality between a respective one of the transaction applet instances 71 and the contactless communication link interface 23. The PPSE module 73 is a program module inside the secure element 25 but is generally provided in a security domain associated with and controlled by the owner of the secure element 25 and not with a specific payment service issuer, thus providing for segregation that allows for privacy among issuers and mobile network operators.

[0030] Each security domain is associated with one or more respective entities in the mobile payment system 1 depending on the particular business model that is implemented by the mobile payment system 1. The specific implementation details of the various security domains for compliance with the GlobalPlatform Card Specifications are beyond the scope of this application and will be appreciated by the skilled reader. The mobile device 5 can also include one or more other third party application modules (not shown) stored in the secure element 25. The secure element 25 also stores a Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) module 75, which is an application to manage and hold the mobile network operatorTs functionality and secure information, such as a network key 77 and GSM (Global Systems for Mobile Communications) PIN (Personal Identification Number) 79.

Wallet-based Transaction Processing [0031] A brief description has been given above of the components forming part of the mobile payment system 1 of the exemplary embodiment. A more detailed description of the operation of these components in this embodiment will now be given for an example computer-implemented process of a session-based mobile wallet transaction £ that is able to handle a loss of network connectivity, with reference to the flow diagrams of Figures 3 and 4.

[0032] Figure 3 illustrates, by way of background, the initial start up process of the wallet application module 31. As shown in Figure 3, the process begins with the mobile wallet 3 loading and executing the wallet application module 31 at step 53-1.

As discussed above, the wallet application module 31 can be automatically launched by the mobile device 5 operating system 41 or launched in response to a command from another application module or a user input command. At step S3-3, the wallet application module 31 performs an initialisation routine. Typically, this can involve setting up an NFC listener, enabling a backlight of the mobile device 5, etc. At step S3- 5, the wallet application module 31 registers and configures the SMS listener module 22 as a listener object to listen to the SMS communication port of the mobile device 5 and to trigger the mobile wallet application 31 upon receipt of an SMS data message.

At step 53-7, a user start-up process is initiated as is known in the art.

[0033] Figure 4 illustrates an exemplary embodiment of the processing of a transaction by the wallet application module 31 after the initialisation and user set up process of Figure 3 has been completed and the SMS listener module 22 is registered.

The process begins with the wallet application module 31 receiving a user input command for a mobile wallet based transaction, which in this exemplary embodiment is a command to load funds to the mobile wallet 3, for example from an associated payment account at the user's financial institution 7. At step 54-3, the wallet application module 31 establishes a secure communication session with the payment service issuer system 13, for example using HTTPS (Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure) associated with a session state, as is well known in the art.

[0034] Once the secure communication session is established, the wallet application module 31 initiates the transaction at step 54-5 by transmitting data indicative of a request to load a defined amount of funds to the user's mobile wallet 3. The request may also include data identifying a source for the funds, such as a payment account at the user's financial institution 7. At step S4-7, the payment service issuer system 13 receives and processes the request. In this exemplary embodiment, the payment service issuer system 13 processes the transaction to load the requested amount of funds to the user's mobile wallet 3 as registered with the payment service issuer system 13, whereby the funds are made available for subsequent payment transactions using the mobile wallet 3.

[0035] At step 54-9, the payment service issuer system 13 determines if the communication session established with the mobile device 3 is lost. It will be appreciated that the communication session can be broken or interrupted due to various reasons, such as a loss of connectivity to the data network 19, shut down or interruption of the wallet application module 31, component malfunction, etc. If the payment service issuer system 13 determines at step 54-9 that the connection is lost, then at step 54-11, the TSM module 14 generates data to complete the transaction and transmits the generated data to the mobile device S as an SMS via the cellular network 20. The TSM module 14 can address the SMS to the MIN of the mobile device 5 associated with the mobile wallet 3, as pre-registered with the payment service issuer system 13 when the mobile wallet 3 was initially provided and set up.

[0036] In this exemplary embodiment, the TSM module 14 generates binary data that is indicative of confirmation that the load transaction was processed by the payment service issuer system 13. The TSM module 14 then encodes the binary data for completing the transaction in an Enhanced Messaging Service (EMS) compliant data message, which enables binary data to be included in a normal Short Message. In this way, the data for completing the transaction is transmitted by the ISM module 14 as a binary coded SMS data message and received by an SMS listener module 22 of the mobile device S at step S4-1S. As discussed above, the wallet application module 31 is triggered in response to receipt of the binary coded SMS data message.

[0037] At step S4-17, the wallet application module 31 processes the received binary coded SMS data message to identify the binary data for completing the transaction. In this exemplary embodiment, the binary data includes a confirmation code and in response to identifying the confirmation code, the wallet application module 31 completes the transaction, for example by storing data representing the new value of funds available in the mobile wallet 3 and by displaying a confirmation wallet screen at step 54-19. Additionally or alternatively, the binary data can further identify the outcome of a load request, such as success or failure and the new balance.

[0038] On the other hand, if the payment service issuer system 13 determines at step 54-9 that the established communication session is present, then the data to complete the transaction can be transmitted to the wallet application module 31 at step S4-21 over the data network 19 in the usual manner. The wallet application module 31 would then receive the data at step 54-23 and proceed to complete the transaction as described above at step S4-19. Optionally, the payment service issuer system 13 can subsequently transmit a prompt to the wallet application module 31 of the mobile device S via the data network 20, for confirmation of receipt of the data to complete the transaction. If the payment service issuer system 13 fails to receive an acknowledgment message confirming receipt, then the payment service issuer system 13 can proceed to generate and transmit the data in an SMS data message via the cellular network 20 as discussed above at steps 54-11 and 54-13, to ensure that the transaction is completed.

[0039] Optionally, the wallet application module 31 can also be configured to determine if the established communication session with the payment service issuer system 13 is lost or interrupted, for example based on a response time out counter that monitors for a response from the payment service issuer system 13. If no response is received within the predetermined amount of time, the wallet application module 31 can prompt the user for instructions to continue waiting for a response within another predetermined amount of time, or to exit to a main (Home) wallet display screen. An example prompt display screen 57-1 is illustrated in Figure Sa. If the user decides to exit to the main wallet display screen, then the wallet application module 31 can display a further wallet display screen to inform the user that a separate confirmation message will be received to complete the transaction. An example response error display screen 57-1 is illustrated in Figure Sb. This response error display screen 57-1 may also be displayed to the user after a predefined number of time out counters have passed without receiving a response from the payment service issuer system 13.

Alternative Embodiments [0040] It will be understood that embodiments of the present invention are described herein by way of example only, and that various changes and modifications may be made without departing from the scope of the invention.

[0041] For example, in the embodiment described above, the data for completing a transaction is encoded as binary data in an SMS data message. It is appreciated that use of SMS-compliant data messages is preferable as the transmitted data messages are compatible with all known mobile devices. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that alternatively or additionally, the data can be encoded into other types of data messages for transmission to the mobile device independently of the initial communication session, such as via commonly known push notifications via push-enabled notification infrastructure of the backend system, or instant data messages sent over the Internet, such as BlackBerry (RTM) Messenger, Apple (RIM) iMessage and Android (RIM) Cloud to Device Message (C2DM).

[0042] In the embodiment described above, the wallet application module receives a user input command to load funds to the mobile wallet, for example from an associated payment account at the user's financial institution. It will be appreciated that other types of a mobile wallet based transactions and operations are possible, such as notification of an available application update.

[0043] In the exemplary embodiment described above, the mobile device includes a communication interface for facilitating communications over a respective type of contactless communication link. As an alternative, the mobile device may include a plurality of communication interfaces for enabling the plurality of transaction applets to carry out contactless communications over a plurality of respective types of contactless communication links. In this way, the mobile device would be capable of conducting contactiess transactions over a combination of contactiess communication links such as near field communication (NEC), infra-red and/or optical (eg. for bar code scanning), ultra-sonic, radio frequency (eg. REID), wireless such as Bluetooth or Wi-Ei based on the IEEE 802.11 standards, and any other communication link that does not require direct physical contact.

[0044] As a further alternative, the mobile device may be additionally or alternatively configured for conducting mobile transaction operations over any other form of communication link that requires a contact and/or coupling of communication interfaces. In this case, the mobile device may include a plurality of transaction modules operable to process mobile transaction operations with a respective transaction account over a communication link via an associated communication interface of the mobile device. Preferably but not essentially, at least one of the transaction modules is configured for contactless transaction operations over at least one type of contactless communication link.

[0045] In the exemplary embodiment described above, the merchant system is a POS terminal for effecting contactless payment transactions with the mobile wallet. It will be appreciated there are many other alternative ways in which associated data for a payment transaction can be communicated between the mobile wallet 3 and a merchant system 7 via the payment service provider 11 in order to complete a payment transaction. Eor example, the merchant system can instead be a web-based online merchant interface for the sale of goods or services over the Internet.

[0046] In the embodiments described above, the mobile device stores a plurality of application modules (also referred to as computer programs or software) in memory, which when executed, enable the mobile device to implement embodiments of the present invention as discussed herein. As those skilled in the art will appreciate, the software may be stored in a computer program product and loaded into the mobile device using any known instrument, such as removable storage disk or drive, hard disk drive, or communication interface, to provide some examples.

[0047] Alternative embodiments may be envisaged, which nevertheless fall within the scope of the following claims. In particular, it is appreciated that the various embodiments are not necessarily mutually exclusive and can be combined with one or more other embodiments to form new embodiments. For example, the above-described embodiments may be combined to form a mobile payment system having all of the described aspects thereof.

Claims

CLAIMS1. A computer-implemented method of processing a transaction from an electronic wallet on a mobile device, the method comprising: receiving, by the electronic wallet, a request for a wallet-based transaction; establishing an electronic data communication session between the mobile device and a remote system using a first communication protocol; transmitting data to initiate the transaction over the established electronic data communication session; determining that the electronic data communication session is not available to complete the transaction; transmitting, by the remote system, data to complete the transaction, using a second communication protocol different to the first communication protocol; receiving, by the electronic wallet, said transmitted data; and processing, by the electronic wallet, the received data to complete the transaction.
2. The method of claim 1, wherein the remote system determines that the electronic data communication session is not available to complete the transaction, and in response, generates data to complete the transaction.
3. The method of claim 1 or 2, wherein the electronic data communication session is an HTTPS session.
4. The method of claim 3, wherein the remote system determines a session state of the HTTPS session.
5. The method of any preceding claim, wherein the second communication protocol is a Short Messaging System (SMS) protocol.
6. The method of any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the second communication protocol is a push-based messaging protocol.
7. The method of claim 6, wherein the remote system generates binary data to complete the transaction and transmits the generated binary data as an SMS message to a Mobile Identification Number of the mobile device.
8. The method of claim 7, further comprising the electronic wallet registering with an SMS listener module that is operable to trigger the electronic wallet in response to receiving said SMS message.
9. The method of any preceding claim, wherein the request for a wallet-based transaction comprises a request to load a defined amount of funds to the electronic wallet.
10. The method of claim 9, wherein the data for completing the transaction comprises an indication that the defined amount of funds is transferred to the electronic wallet.
11. The method of claim 10, wherein the electronic device processes the received data to update a stored value of available funds in the electronic wallet and to output confirmation of the completed transaction.
12. The method of any preceding claim, further comprising the remote system determining that the electronic data communication session is available to complete the transaction and transmitting said data to complete the transaction using the established electronic data communication session.I
13. The method of claim 12, further comprising transmitting, by the remote system, a prompt for the mobile wallet to acknowledge receipt of the transmitted data to complete the transaction, and in response to determination that acknowledgement is not received from the mobile wallet, transmitting data to complete the transaction using said second communication protocol.
14. The method of claim 12 or 13, further comprising processing a payment transaction with a merchant terminal using the available funds in the electronic wallet.
15. The method of claim 14, wherein the payment transaction is completed over a contactless communication link with the merchant terminal.
16. A computer-implemented method of processing a transaction from an electronic wallet on a mobile device, the method comprising transmitting data to initiate the transaction in an electronic data communication session established between the mobile device and a remote system using a first communication protocol, and receiving data to complete the transaction using a second communication protocol different to the first communication protocol when the electronic data communication session is not available to complete the transaction.
17. A system comprising means for performing all of the steps of the method of any one of claims ito 15.
18. A mobile electronic device comprising means for performing the steps of the method of claim 16.
19. A computer-readable medium comprising program code means for configuring one or more computers to perform the steps of the method of any one of claims 1 to 15.I
20. A computer system substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to, or as illustrated in Figure 1 of the accompanying drawings.
21. A mobile electronic device substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to, or as illustrated in Figure 1 or 2 of the accompanying drawings.
22. A method substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to, or as illustrated in Figures 3 and 4 of the accompanying drawings.