Method for charging internet services via a mobile telephone

US7319855B1 · kind B1 · utility

Assignee

• T-Mobile Deutschland GmbH · DE

Inventors

• Peter Brune · Bonn, DE
• Patrik Ljungström · Bonn, DE
• Uwe Michel · Bad Honnef, DE
• Jörg Rass · Barth, DE
• Leonhard Schmickler · Bonn, DE

Key dates

• Filing date: Sep 28, 2000
• Grant date: Jan 15, 2008
• Expiry date: Sep 28, 2020

Classification

• Technology area (CPC G): Physics
• CPC primary: G07F17/0014
• WIPO field: IT methods for management
• WIPO sector: Electrical engineering

Abstract

A method is provided for a mobile telephone users to pay small individual fees for certain content when surfing the Internet using a mobile telephone terminal, for example, a WAP-enabled terminal. The method establishes a payment gateway which is accessible by the mobile telephone Internet user via the mobile telephone terminal and by a provider via a provider server. Customer data of the user is held securely in a database of the payment gateway and is not transmitted over the Internet or held in the mobile terminal. A micropayment account opened at a bank is synchronized continuously with the payment gateway. To provide payment of fees for content, a reservation of a certain amount is made in the payment account via the payment gateway and is authorized by the user to the provider allowing the provider to debit amounts against the reservation. Actual charges are transmitted from the provider to the payment gateway and allocated against the reservation debiting the amounts from the micropayment account, crediting the provider and canceling the reserved amount.