WO2015103922A1

WO2015103922A1 - Method, device and system for managing money transfer

Info

Publication number: WO2015103922A1
Application number: PCT/CN2014/094501
Authority: WO
Inventors: Xiaolong Zhang; Wa YE; Runda CAI; Jiajie XU; Wei Mao; Qiang Lu; Wei Chen; Dacheng ZHUO; Zhenyu Xu
Original assignee: Tencent Technology (Shenzhen) Company Limited
Priority date: 2014-01-08
Filing date: 2014-12-22
Publication date: 2015-07-16
Also published as: JP2017504090A; CN103761484A; JP6444401B2; CN103761484B

Abstract

A method for making a money transfer includes: obtaining, by a first client device, a payment amount; obtaining, by the first client device, application account information from a second client device that is offline, wherein the application account is a login account on a money transfer application installed on the second client device and has an available fund; and sending, by the first client device, the payment amount and the application account information to a processing unit. When the available fund is greater than the payment amount, the processing unit transfers the payment amount from a user's bank account to a merchant's account. When the available fund is less than the payment amount, the processing unit sends a webpage to the second client device to allow the user of the second client device to increase the available fund in the application account when the second client device goes online.

Description

METHOD, DEVICE AND SYSTEM FOR MANAGING MONEY TRANSFER

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to Internet technology field, and more particularly to a method, a device and a system for managing money transfer.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The statements in this section merely provide background information related to the present disclosure and may not constitute prior art.

Offline money transfer, such as offline payment, refers to money transfer without the user’s device (i.e., the buyer’s device) connecting to the Internet. Offline money transfer is favored by the users for its convenience. One way of making offline payment is by using a stored value card, such as a money card, where a user prepays for the card and uses the card at designated stores. Money is deducted from the stored value card until the value becomes zero or less than the requested payment amount.

The stored value cards are generally used for small payments without passwords. Due to its low security, a user generally keeps a small value on the card and re-charges the card, as needed, at designated places. The user needs to be always on the alert whether the card has enough fund or value to make a particular payment.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

To solve the problems of the prior art, the present invention provides a method, a device and a system for managing money transfer to improve efficiency and convenience in money transfer.

In one form, a method for making a money transfer includes: obtaining, by a first client device, a payment amount； obtaining, by the first client device, application account information from a second client device that is offline, wherein the application account is a login account on a money transfer application installed on the second client device and has an available fund； and sending, by the first client device, the payment amount and the application account information to a processing unit. When the available fund is greater than the payment amount, the processing unit transfers the payment amount from a user’s bank account to a merchant’s account. When the available fund is less than the payment amount, the processing unit sends a webpage to the second client device to allow the user of the second client device to increase the available fund in the application account when the second client device goes online.

In another form, a processing unit includes: a receiving module, configured to receive a payment amount sent by a first client device and obtain application account information from a second client device； a determination module, configured to determine an application account of the second client device according to the application account information； and a managing module, configured to transfer money from a bank account corresponding to the application account to a bank account corresponding to the first client device, and deduct the payment amount from an available fund of the application account, according to the payment amount.

In still another form, a first client device includes: an obtaining module, configured to obtain a payment amount and obtain application account information from a second client device； and a sending module, configured to send the payment amount and the application account information to a processing unit, so that the processing unit determines an application account of the second client device according to the application account information, and transfers money from a bank account corresponding to the application account to a bank account corresponding to the first client device, and then deducts the payment amount from an available fund in the application account.

In still another form, a system for managing money transfer includes a first client device, a second client device and a processing unit. The first client device is configured to obtain a payment amount, obtain application account information from the second client device, and send the payment amount and the application account information to the processing unit. The processing unit is configured to receive the payment amount and the application account information, determine an application account of the second client device based on the application account information, and transfer money from a bank account corresponding to the application account to a bank account corresponding to the first client device, and then deduct the payment amount from an available fund in the application account.

Further aspects of the present disclosure will be in part apparent and in part pointed out below. It should be understood that various aspects of the disclosure may be implemented individually or in combination with one another. It should also be understood that the detailed description and drawings, while indicating certain exemplary forms of the present disclosure, are intended for purposes of illustration only and should not be construed as limiting the scope of the disclosure.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In order that the disclosure may be well understood, there will now be described various forms thereof, given by way of example, reference being made to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of exemplary environment for implementing the method for managing money transfer in accordance with the teachings of the present disclosure；

FIGS. 2A and 2B are a flowchart of a method for managing money transfer according to a first embodiment of the present invention； and

Fig. 3 is a block diagram of a processing unit according to an embodiment of the present invention；

Fig. 4 is a block diagram of a first client device according to an embodiment of the present invention； and

Fig. 5 is a block diagram of a processing unit according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF ILLUSTRATED EMBODIMENTS

Other aspects, features, and advantages of this invention will become apparent from the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. The following description is merely exemplary in nature and is not intended to limit the present disclosure or the disclosure's applications or uses.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of exemplary environment 10 for implementing a method of managing money transfer according to any of the embodiments described herein. The method of managing money transfer is implemented by using a first client device 12, a second client device 14, and a processing unit 16. The first and

second client devices

12 and 14 are installed with a money transfer application. The processing unit 16 is a backend server of the money transfer application. The first client device 12 may be a terminal at a merchant side, such as Point of Sale (POS) machines, mobile terminals or desk terminals. The second client device 14 may be a mobile device at a user’s (or buyer’s ) side, such as smart phones, tablets, PCs. At least the user needs to have an application account (or login account) on the money transfer application in order to make money transfer through the application account. Only the first client device 12 at the merchant side needs to be connected to the Internet to allow the user to make money transfer through the application account.

The application account on the second client device 14 is initially “funded” with a predetermined amount of money within a fund limit to allow the user to make a payment using the “fund” in the application account. In fact, there is no actual money in the application account. The application account, however, is tied to one or more user’s bank accounts. When the user opens an application account on the money transfer application, the user authorizes the processing unit 16 or the user’s bank to take money from the user’s bank account up to the predetermined amount. Therefore, when the user makes a payment, the payment amount may be deducted from the available fund (which is initially equal to the predetermined amount) in the application account. The processing unit may withdraw the payment amount from the user’s bank account and deposit the payment amount to a merchant’s bank account. The available fund in the application account is reduced every time the user makes a payment through the application account. To protect the “fund” in the application account, the processing unit 16 may set a fund limit to the fund in the application account by default or according to the user’s instructions. Since the money transfer using the “available fund” in the application account can occur without any verification or passwords, the fund limit can limit the loss in case the second client device is lost or stolen.

Embodiment 1

Referring to FIG. 2, a method 20 for making money transfer according to a first embodiment of the present invention is now described. When a user wishes to make a payment for goods or services, the first client device 12 at the merchant side obtains a payment amount in step 22. The payment amount may be obtained by the first client device 12 through a variety of methods, such as, by using a bar code scanner to scan the bar code on a product to obtain a price of the product, or by manually entering the payment amount on the first client device 12. The first client device 12 may optionally display the payment amount on a data processing page to allow the user to confirm the payment amount.

Next, the first client device 12 obtains the user’s application account information in step 24. The first client device 12 may obtain the user’s application account information from the second client device 14 through a variety of ways, such as by short-distance communication (such as Bluetooth communication) between the first and

second client devices

12 and 14, or by scanning an image code that contains the user’s application account information. The image code may be, for example, a bar code, or a two-dimensional code that is displayed on the second client device 14 when the user logs in the money transfer application to open a payment start page. The user’s application account information may include an available fund in the user’s application account and the user’ identity information.

The image code may be changed and updated every time the user opens the payment start page on the money transfer application to reflect the changes in the available fund in the application account. Alternatively, the image code may be changed every time after the user makes a payment to reflect the changes in the available fund. The image code may be updated automatically by the money transfer application or the processing unit 16 or manually by the user.

Upon receipt of the payment amount in step 22 and user’s application account information in step 24, the first client device 12 sends a payment request to the processing unit 16 for payment processing and the processing unit determines whether there is sufficient fund in the user’s application account in step 26. If the user’s application account has sufficient fund, the processing unit 16 then makes money transfer from the user’s bank account corresponding to the second client device to the merchant’s bank account corresponding to the first client device and deducts the payment amount from the available fund in the user’s application account in step 28.

The application account may be tied to one or more user’s bank accounts when the user opens the application account on the money transfer application. The application account may also be tied to only one client device. Therefore, the one or more user’s bank accounts may be tied to the user’s application account and the second client device. The user may designate one bank account as a default bank account from which the payment amount is withdrawn.

The user’s application account has no “actual money” and thus the “available fund” in the application account merely indicates the amount of money the user can use offline without any verification or passwords. The fund limit of the application account indicates the maximum amount of money the user can use without any verification or passwords. The payment amount is actually transferred from the user’s bank account to the merchant’s bank account. Therefore, when the second device is not connected to the Internet, the user’s application account is similar to a virtual money card which has fund to allow the user to make a payment without entering passwords. However, unlike the stored value card, the user’s application account does not require the user to prepay the predetermined account in order to load value in the application account. Money equal to the payment amount may be taken from the user’s bank account every time the user makes a payment for a particular purchase, up to the predetermined amount. When the user opens the application account and designates a fund limit, the user has authorized the processing unit 16 or the user’s bank to take a predetermined amount of money equal to the fund limit from the user’s bank account. Therefore, the processing unit 16 may allow the user to make a payment before the payment amount is actually withdrawn from the user’ bank account.

Alternatively, the processing unit 16 may take the predetermined amount of money equal to the fund limit and save it in an account over which the processing unit 16 has control when the user opens the application account and sets the fund limit. The processing unit 16 may then transfer the payment amount from the account corresponding to the processing unit 16 to the merchant’s account every time the user makes a payment until the user uses up the available fund in the application account.

The merchant’s account can be an application account or a merchant’s bank account. When the merchant installs the money transfer application, the merchant may designate a bank account to receive payment from the user so that the processing unit 16 can transfer the payment amount to the merchant’s bank account.

After the payment amount is transferred to the merchant’s account, the processing unit 16 sends a notification to the first client device 12 indicating that the payment is successful in step 30. The second client device 12 may or may not receive such notification depending on whether the second client device 14 is connected to the Internet. If the second client device 12 is connected to the Internet, the processing unit 16 also sends a notification to the second client device 12 indicating the payment is successful and provides an update on the application account information, such as description of transaction, time of the transaction, the amount of money deducted, and the remaining available fund. If the second device 14 is not connected to the Internet when the user makes the payment, the processing unit 16 will send an update on the application account information to the second user client 14 as soon as the processing unit 16 detects that the second user client 14 is connected to the Internet.

It is noted that steps 22 to 30 can be performed when the second client device 14 is completely offline. Only the first client device 12 needs to be connected to the Internet to communicate with the processing unit 16.

On the other hand, when the processing unit 16 determines there is insufficient available fund in the user’s application account to make the requested payment, the processing unit 16 sends a notification of insufficient fund to the first client device 12 in step 32. The processing unit 16 then determines whether the second client device 14 is connected to the Internet in step 34. If the second client device 14 is not connected to the Internet, the processing unit 16 then sends a notification to the first client device 12 indicating the payment is declined in step 36. If the second client device 12 is connected to the Internet, the processing unit 16 then sends a notification of insufficient fund to the second client device 14 and also an inquiry asking whether the user wishes to recharge the application account in step 38. If the user does not wish to recharge the application account, the processing unit 16 sends a notification to both the first and

second client devices

12 and 14 indicating that payment is declined in step 36.

If the user confirms his intention to recharge the application account in step 38, the processing unit 16 then sends a recharge page to the second user client 12 and the user can select the recharge amount in step 40. The processing unit 16 may store a default fund limit or a fund limit preset by the user when the user opens the application account for security reasons. When the selected recharge amount is within the default or preset fund limit, the processing unit 16 then sends a bank account selection page to the second user client 14 in step 42. If the selected recharge amount exceeds the default or preset fund limit, the processing unit 16 may send a warning to the second client device 14 and ask the user to change the recharge amount.

The bank account selection page may include one or more user’s bank accounts that have been tied to the application account when the user opens the application account on the money transfer application. The user may designate a default bank account so that money can be transferred from the default bank account to the merchant’s account. The user may have the option of changing or adding a bank account on the bank account selection page for making the payment. After selecting a desired bank account, the processing unit 16 sends a password input page to the second client device for verification in step 46. The passwords do not have to be the passwords to the user’s bank account. The passwords can be the passwords to log in the application account.

After the user enters the password, the processing unit 16 then verifies the users identify in step 48. If the verification fails, the processing unit 16 sends the password input page to the second client device 14 again. If the verification is successful, the processing unit 16 then recharges the user’s application account and also makes money transfer in the payment amount from the user’s bank account to the merchant’s account in step 50. In this step, the money transfer occurs from the user’s bank account corresponding to the application account on the second client device 14 to a merchant’s bank account corresponding to the first client device 12.

Thereafter, the processing unit 16 sends a notification to both the first and

second client devices

12 and 14, indicating that the payment is successful in step 52. In addition, the processing unit 16 may update the user’s application account information such as the updated available fund in the application, payment history, description of purchase, time for the purchase, then sends an update report to the second user client 14.

It is noted that in the steps relating to recharging the application account, the user’s selection of a recharge amount and a bank account and entry of passwords constitute the user’s authorization to the processing unit and the user’s bank to withdraw more money in the amount of the recharge amount from the user’s bank account, in addition to the predetermined amount that is initially agreed upon when the user opens the application account. Therefore, after recharging the application account, the user can continue to use the fund in the application account without any kind of verification or passwords. Whenever more money than previously agreed upon needs to be withdrawn from the user’s bank account, a user’s identify needs to be verified, such as by sending passwords to the login account to the processing unit.

Embodiment 2

Referring to FIG. 3, a processing unit 16, such as a backend server of the money transfer application for implementing the method of making money transfer includes: a receiving module 410, configured to receive a payment amount sent by a first client device and obtain application account information from a second client device； a determination module 420, configured to determine an application account of the second client device according to the identity information； and a managing module 430, configured to transfer money from a user’s bank account to a merchant’s bank account, and deduct the payment amount from an available fund in the application account.

The step of obtaining application account information from the second client device may include reading the application account information by scanning an image code displayed on the second client device. The application account information includes account identification information and user identity information.

The determination module 420 is configured to verify the application account information, based on the account identification information and the user identify information contained in the application account information, and to determine the application account of the second client device to be an account corresponding to the account identification, if the identity verification is passed.

The managing module 430 is further configured to send a password validation notice to the second client device, if the available fund is smaller than the payment amount, and to transfer money from the bank account corresponding to the application account to the bank account corresponding to the first client device, after receiving a money transfer password sent by the second client device that is validated successfully.

Preferably, the managing module 430 is further configured to send a request for replacing bank account to the second client device, if remaining fund in the bank account is less than the payment amount； and, after receiving a bank account information sent by the second client device, transfer money from the bank account corresponding to the application account to the bank account corresponding to the first client device, and deduct the payment amount from the available fund in the application account.

Preferably, it further includes a reset module configured to set the available fund limit of the application account to be an initial fund limit, if a fund limit reset requirement is satisfied.

Preferably, the reset module is arrange to set the available fund limit of the application account to be the initial fund limit, if a fund limit reset period is achieved, or set the available fund limit of the application account to be the initial fund limit, after receiving a request for resetting upper limit sent by the second client device and successfully validating the money transfer password.

Preferably, it further includes a sending module configured to send the current available fund limit of the application account to the second client device, after setting the available fund limit of the application account to be the initial upper limit.

Preferably, it further includes a sending module configured to send the payment amount and a current available fund limit that the payment amount has been deducted, after transferring money from the bank account corresponding to the application account to the bank account corresponding to the first client device and deducting the payment amount from an available fund limit of the application account.

Referring to FIG. 4, the first client device 12 may include an obtaining module 510, configured to obtain a payment amount and obtain application account information from a second client device； a sending module 520, configured to send the payment amount and the application account information to an processing unit 16, so that the processing unit 16 determines an application account of the second client device according to the application account information, and transfers money from a bank account corresponding to the application account to a bank account corresponding to the first client device, and then deducts the payment amount from an available fund limit of the application account, according to the payment amount. Preferably, the obtaining module 510 is configured to obtain and read the application account information by scanning an image code displayed on the second client device.

Embodiment 3

Referring to FIG. 5, a system for managing money transfer according to the present embodiment includes a first client device 12, a second client device 14 and a processing unit 16, such as a backend server of the money transfer application. The first client device 12 is configured to obtain a payment amount, obtain application account information from a second client device, and send the payment amount and the application account information to the processing unit. The processing unit 16 is configured to receive the payment amount and the application account information； determine an application account of the second client device according to the application account information, and transferring money from a bank account corresponding to the application account to a bank account corresponding to the first client device, and then deduct the payment amount from an available fund limit of the application account, according to the application account information.

The processing unit 1900 may include one or more CPUs 1922 (or one or more processors) and storage units 1932, one or more storage mediums 1930 (such as one or more mass storage devices) for storing applications 1942 or data 1944. More specifically, the storage units 1932 and storage mediums 1930 may be temporary storage or persistent storage. The applications stored in the storage mediums 1930 may include one or more modules (not shown) , each of which may include series of instructions. Furthermore, CPU 1922 may communicate with the storage mediums 1930 for performing instructions stored in the storage mediums 1930.

The processing unit 1900 may include one or more powers 1926, one or more wired or wireless network interfaces 1950, one or more input/output interfaces 1958, one or more keyboards 1956, one or more operating systems 1941, such as Windows ServerTM， Mac OS XTM， UnixTM, LinuxTM， FreeBSDTM.

The processing unit 1900 may include a storage unit, one or more programs which are stored in the storage and allotted one or more processes to carry out the instructions of: receiving a payment amount sent by a first client device and obtaining application account information from a second client device； determining an application account of the second client device according to the application account information； transferring money from a bank account corresponding to the application account to a bank account corresponding to the first client device, and deducting the payment amount from an available fund limit of the application account, according to the payment amount.

The first server provided in the present embodiment may include one or more CPUs (or one or more processors) and a storage, one or more storage mediums (such as one or more mass storage devices) for storing applications or data. More specifically, the storage and storage mediums 1930 may be temporary storage or persistent storage. The applications stored in the storage mediums may include one or more modules (not shown) , each of which may include series of instructions. Furthermore, CPU may communicate with the storage mediums 1930 for performing instructions stored in the storage mediums.

The first client device may include a storage, one or more programs which are stored in the storage and allotted one or more processes to carry out the following instructions of obtaining a payment amount, obtaining application account information from a second client device, and sending the payment amount and the application account information to an processing unit. As such, the processing unit determines an application account of the second client device according to the application account information, and transfers money from a bank account corresponding to the application account to a bank account corresponding to the first client device, and then deducts the payment amount from an available fund limit of the application account, according to the application account information.

It should be noted that, the device for managing money transfer in the embodiments mentioned above is divided into several functional modules during the implementing, as explained as an example. But in the actual practice, it can be divided into different functional modules according to their different functions. In other words, the inner structure of the device may be divided into different functional module to carry out a part of or a whole of functions. In addition, the device for managing money transfer is used to implement the method previously described. Therefore, the detailed description regarding the method is omitted herein for clarify.

In any of the embodiments described herein, a method for making money transfer can be achieved when the second client device (of the buyer) is offline. When the payment amount is less than the available fund in the application account, no verification or password is needed. A fund limit may be preset by the user or by default to limit the loss in case the user’s device is lost or stolen. When there is insufficient fund in the application account, the second client device can be connected to the Internet to use the user’s bank account to recharge the application account and make a payment. User’s identity needs to be verified before the application account can be recharged. Therefore, the application account on the money transfer application allows the user to easily make a payment without passwords while without worrying about whether the available remaining fund in the application account is running low. When the payment amount is larger than the available fund, the money in the user’s bank account can provide a backup to the application account. User’s identify in this situation needs to be verified for improved security.

It is understood for person skilled in the art to accomplish part of or whole steps in the embodiment mentioned above by hardware or by instructing the related hardware with program. Such program can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium such as read-only memory, magnetic or optical disk, etc..

While the invention has been described in connection with what are presently considered to be the most practical and preferred embodiments, it is to be understood that the invention is not to be limited to the disclosed embodiments, but on the contrary, is intended to cover various modifications and equivalent arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the invention.

Claims

A method for making a money transfer, comprising:

obtaining, by a first client device, a payment amount；

obtaining, by the first client device, application account information from a second client device that is offline, wherein the application account is a login account on a money transfer application installed on the second client device, the application account having an available fund； and

sending, by the first client device, the payment amount and the application account information to a processing unit；

wherein when the available fund is greater than the payment amount, the processing unit transfers the payment amount from a user’s bank account to a merchant’s account, and when the available fund is less than the payment amount, the processing unit sends a webpage to the second client device to allow the user of the second client device to increase the available fund in the application account when the second client device goes online.
The method according to claim 1, wherein when the available fund is greater than the payment amount, the processing unit transfers the payment amount from the user’s bank account to the merchant’s account without verifying the user’s identity.
The method according to Claim 1, further comprising increasing, by the processing unit, the available fund in the application account after the processing unit verifies the user’s identity.
The method according to claim 1, further comprising deducting the payment amount from the available fund in the application account corresponding to the second client device.
The method according to claim 1, further comprising presetting, by the processing unit, afund limit for the application account.
The method according to claim 5, wherein the fund limit indicates an amount of money the user can use without verification of the user’s identity.
The method according to claim 1, wherein the application account is tied to one or more bank accounts.
The method according to claim 1, further comprising recharging, by the processing unit, the application account by using the bank account corresponding to the second client device.
The method according to claim 8, further comprising obtaining, by the processing unit, passwords from the second client device for verification before the step of recharging the application account.
The method according to claim 1, wherein the step of obtaining application account information from the second client device comprises scanning an image code displayed on the second client device.
The method according to claim 10, further comprising obtaining, by the processing unit, abank account information from the second client device.
The method according to claim 1, further comprising sending, by the processing unit, to the second client device an update on the available fund in the application account.
An processing unit, comprising:

a receiving module, configured to receive a payment amount sent by a first client device and obtain identity information from a second client device；

a determination module, configured to determine an application account of the second client device according to the identity information； and

an managing module, configured to transfer money from a bank account corresponding to the application account to a bank account corresponding to the first client device, and deducting the payment amount from an available fund limit of the application account, according to the payment amount.
The processing unit according to claim 13, wherein the application account information comprises an account identification information and user identify information, and wherein the determination module is configured to verify the application account information according to the account identification information and the user identify information contained in the application account information, and to determine the application account of the second client device to be an account corresponding to the account identification information, if the user identity is verified.
The processing unit according to claim 13, wherein the managing module is further configured to:

send a password validation notice to the second client device, if the available fund limit is smaller than the payment amount； and

transfer money from the bank account corresponding to the application account to the bank account corresponding to the first client device, after receiving a money transfer password sent by the second client device that is validated successfully.
The processing unit according to claim 13, wherein the managing module is further configured to:

send a request for replacing bank account to the second client device, if a remaining money value in the bank account corresponding to the application account is smaller than the payment amount； and

after receiving a bank account information sent by the second client device, transfer money from the bank account corresponding to the bank account information to the bank account corresponding to the first client device, and deducting the payment amount from the available fund limit of the application account.
The processing unit according to claim 13, further comprising a reset module configured to set the available fund limit of the application account to be an initial upper limit that is preset, if an upper limit reset qualification that is preset is satisfied.
The processing unit according to claim 13, wherein the reset module is arrange for:

setting the available fund limit of the application account to be the initial upper limit, if an upper limit reset period that is preset is achieved； or

setting the available fund limit of the application account to be the initial upper limit, after receiving a request for resetting upper limit sent by the second client device and successfully validating the money transfer password.
The processing unit according to claim 13, further comprising a sending module configured to send the current available fund limit of the application account to the second client device, after setting the available fund limit of the application account to be the initial upper limit.
A system for managing money transfer, comprising

a first client device；

a second client device； and

a processing unit,

wherein the first client device is configured to obtain a current payment amount, obtain identity information from the second client device, and send the payment amount and the identity information to the processing unit； and

the processing unit is configured to receive the payment amount and the identity information, determine an application account of the second client device according to the identity information, and transfer money from a bank account corresponding to the application account to a bank account corresponding to the first client device, and then deduct the payment amount from an available fund limit of the application account, according to the payment amount.