Cost effective card reader and methods to be configured to be coupled to a mobile device

US8701996B2 · kind B2 · utility

Assignee

• INC SQUARE, CO., LTD · JP

Inventors

• Jack Dorsey · San Francisco, US
• William Henderson · San Francisco, US
• Brian Grassadonia · San Francisco, US
• James M. McKelvey · Miami, US
• Xuancong Wen · San Francisco, US

Key dates

• Filing date: Mar 14, 2013
• Grant date: Apr 22, 2014
• Expiry date: Mar 14, 2033

Classification

• Technology area (CPC G): Physics
• CPC primary: G07F7/0886
• WIPO field: IT methods for management
• WIPO sector: Electrical engineering

Abstract

A decoding system, with a decoding engine, runs on a mobile device. The decoding engine decodes signals produced from a read of a first party's financial transaction card. The decoding engine accepts and initializes incoming signals from a read of the first party's financial transaction card until the signals reach a steady state, identifies peaks in the incoming signals and digitizes the identified peaks into bits. A transaction engine is coupled to the decoding engine. The transaction engine receives, as its input, decoded first party's financial transaction card information from the decoding engine, and serves as an intermediary between the first party and a second party. The first party does not have to share his/her financial transaction card information with the second party. The transaction engine is configured to be coupled to a payment system and a first party's financial transaction card institution or a first party's financial account.