FIELD OF INVENTION

This invention relates to payment instrument provisioning, and specifically to the authenticating of a request to provision a payment instrument onto an electronic device.

BACKGROUND

Many people routinely carry a portable electronic device (e.g. a smartphone) on their person that has the necessary hardware to communicate with a point of sale device. In view of this, it has been recognised that by virtualising a payment instrument (also known as ‘Tokenisation’), a person can use their electronic device as a payment device without having to make use of a more traditional plastic payment card or other such payment instrument. So-called ‘contactless’ payment using smartphones, where a person brings their smartphone into proximity with a point of sale terminal or PIN Entry Device having Near Field Communication (NFC) capabilities to effect a payment, is an example of this.

A key part of the virtualisation process is the creation of the virtual payment instrument on the electronic device. The process of creating a virtual payment instrument is often referred to in the art as ‘payment instrument provisioning’, ‘instrument provisioning’, ‘card provisioning’, or just simply ‘provisioning’. In the provisioning process, a payment instrument is loaded onto an electronic device, such that a virtual equivalent of the payment instrument (the ‘provisioned payment instrument) is created. Here the provisioned payment instrument may also include other provisioning elements, such as cryptographic keys, and other settings associated with the payment instrument. This allows the electronic device to be used to effect payments, both physically, e.g. at a point of sale in a store and electronically, e.g. online purchasing through apps stored on the electronic device. The provisioned payment instrument is stored securely on the electronic device, which may involve storing the provisioned payment instrument in a so-called ‘Secure Element’ provided on the device, as is known in the art. Alternatively the provisioned payment instrument (including cryptographic keys and settings, if present) can be stored in the so-called ‘cloud’ and not kept in its entirety on the electronic device. This is also known in the art.

As is known in the art of payment instrument provisioning systems, three provisioning ‘paths’ are defined. A first path defines a provisioning process for payment instruments that can be provisioned to an electronic device without the electronic device having to contact the instrument issuer for verification during the provisioning process. A second path defines a provisioning process for payment instruments that cannot be provisioned to an electronic device, such that there is no need to contact the instrument issuer for verification during the provisioning process. This path may contain blacklisted instruments, for example. A third path defines a provisioning process for payment instruments for which approval from an instrument issuer must be sought by the owner of the electronic device and payment instrument before the payment instrument can be provisioned to the device. The present invention is concerned with payment instrument that fall under this third path.

Typically, a user is required to enter various pieces of information associated with the payment instrument into the electronic device that the payment instrument is being provisioned onto. In the case where the payment instrument is a payment card of the type well known in the art, the information usually comprises the user's name, a unique identifier associated with the payment card (e.g. a Primary Account Number or ‘PAN’), the expiry date of the payment card and the cardholder security code from the signature strip. All of this information is typically printed on the payment card. The user can therefore manually enter this information into the electronic device via e.g. a touchscreen or keypad simply by reading it directly from the payment card, or in some cases an image of the payment card is captured by a camera on the electronic device and processed by the device to obtain the necessary information.

A problem with the provisioning process is that it is possible for an unauthorised user to provision a payment instrument without the knowledge or consent of the authorised user. In this specification, an authorised user is understood to be the instrument holder, i.e. the person to whom the payment instrument was issued by an issuer. An unauthorised user can, for example, provision a stolen payment card simply by reading off the required information directly from the payment card and entering it into their own electronic device. Alternatively the unauthorised user can use stolen payment card data bought from what is known in the art as a ‘carding forum’ or other criminal network.

Once successfully provisioned, the unauthorised user is free to use the provisioned payment instrument to commit fraud.

Prior art provisioning techniques attempt to solve this problem by including identity checks in the provision process. For example, in the case where the payment instrument is a payment card, the provisioning process may involve requiring the user to input additional information that is not directly available from the payment card, such as a social security number or a piece of ‘memorable information’ (e.g. mother's maiden name, name of first school, place of birth, etc.). The inputted information is checked against corresponding information stored in the records of the card issuer and the payment card is only provisioned onto the electronic device if the information is found to match. Alternative examples include using out of band communications such as sending a unique SMS code to the cardholder to input, or receiving a phone call where a unique number is played though the cardholders phone. This procedure is adopted for provisioning third path payment instrument.

However, these identity checks do not entirely prevent fraud. It has been found that unauthorised users have been able to successfully pass the identity checks by e.g. using social engineering techniques to gain access to the authorised user's social security number or memorable information or in particular through the simultaneous theft of the payment instrument (e.g. card) and electronic device (e.g. mobile phone). It is therefore clear that improvements in the security of card provisioning are still needed, and in particular which reduce the effectiveness of such social engineering techniques.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In a first aspect, the present invention provides a method of authenticating a request to provision a payment instrument onto an electronic device, comprising: a) initiating a provisioning process on an electronic device, the provisioning process involving the payment instrument; b) receiving secure data at a secure data entry device, the secure data associated with the payment instrument; c) determining whether the received secure data matches secure data stored on a record associated with the payment instrument and, in the affirmative: d) transmitting a request message from the secure data entry device to a server; e) receiving the request message at the server; f) validating the request message; g) transmitting a response message to the secure data entry device, wherein the response message indicates success or failure of the validation; and wherein, in the event the validation was successful, the response message includes authorisation data and the method further comprises: h) receiving data at the electronic device, wherein the authorisation data is received at either by the electronic device receiving a transmission from the secure data entry device or by the electronic device reading a barcode or Quick Response code generated by the secure data entry device; i) transmitting the received data from the electronic device to the server; j) determining, at the server, whether the data transmitted by the electronic device includes the authorisation data; and k) in the affirmative, transmitting approval for the request to provision the payment instrument to the electronic device.

In a second aspect, the present invention provides a system for authenticating a request to provision a payment instrument, the system comprising: an electronic device; a secure data entry device; and a server; wherein the secure data entry device configured to: receive secure data that is associated with the payment instrument, determine whether the received secure data matches secure data stored on a record associated with the payment instrument and, in the affirmative transmit a request message to the server; wherein the server is configured to: receive the request message, validate the request message and transmit a response message to the secure data entry device, wherein the response message indicates success or failure of the validation; and wherein, in the event the validation was successful, the response message includes authorisation data; wherein the electronic device is configured to: initiate a provisioning process thereon, the provisioning process involving the payment instrument; receive data either by receiving a transmission from the secure data entry device or by reading a barcode or Quick Response code generated by the secure data entry device; and transmit the received data to the server; wherein the server is further configured to: determine whether the data transmitted from the electronic device includes the authorisation data; and, in the affirmative, transmit approval for the request to provision the payment instrument to the electronic device.

In a third aspect, the present invention provides a method of authenticating a request to provision a payment instrument onto an electronic device, comprising: a) initiating a provisioning process on the electronic device, the provisioning process involving the payment instrument; b) receiving secure data at a secure data entry device, the secure data associated with the payment instrument; c) determining whether the received secure data matches secure data stored on a record associated with the payment instrument and, in the affirmative: d) transmitting a request message from the secure data entry device to a server; e) receiving the request message at the server and validating the request message; f) transmitting a response message to the secure data entry device, wherein the response message indicates success or failure of the validation; g) generating, at the server, an identification message based on the response message, wherein the identification message is indicative of the success or failure of the validation; and h) based on the identification message, either approving the request to provision the payment instrument or declining the request to provision the payment instrument.

In a fourth aspect, the present invention provides a system for authenticating a request to provision a payment instrument, the system comprising: an electronic device; a secure data entry device; and a server; wherein the electronic device is configured to initiate a provisioning process thereon, the provisioning process involving the payment instrument; wherein the secure data entry device configured to: receive secure data that is associated with the payment instrument, determine whether the received secure data matches secure data stored on a record associated with the payment instrument and, in the affirmative transmit a request message to the server; wherein the server is configured to: receive the request message, validate the request message; transmit a response message to the secure data entry device, wherein the response message indicates success or failure of the validation; generate an identification message based on the response message, wherein the identification message is indicative of the success or failure of the validation; and, based on the identification message, either approve the request to provision the payment instrument or decline the request to provision the payment instrument.

In a fifth aspect, the present invention provides a method of authenticating a request to provision a payment instrument onto an electronic device, comprising: a) receiving secure data at a secure data entry device, the secure data associated with the payment instrument; b) determining whether the received secure data matches secure data stored on a record associated with the payment instrument and, in the affirmative: c) transmitting a request message from the secure data entry device to a server; d) receiving, at the secure data entry device, a response from the server and determining whether the received response contains authorisation data indicating authorisation of a transaction and, in the affirmative: e) receiving the authorisation data at the electronic device, wherein the authorisation data is received either by receiving a transmission from the secure data entry device or by reading a barcode or Quick Response code generated by the secure data entry device; and f) transmitting the authorisation data from the electronic device to the server.

In a sixth aspect, the present invention provides a system for authenticating a request to provision a payment instrument onto an electronic device, comprising: a secure data entry device configured to: receive secure data associated with the payment instrument; determine whether the received secure data matches secure data stored on a record associated with the payment instrument and, in the affirmative, transmit a request message to a server, receive a response from the server and determine whether the received response contains authorisation data indicating authorisation of a transaction; wherein the electronic device is configured to receive the authorisation data and to transmit the authorisation data to the server, wherein the authorisation data is received either by receiving a transmission from the secure data entry device or by reading a barcode or Quick Response code generated by the secure data entry device.

In a seventh aspect, the present invention provides a method of authenticating a request to provision a payment instrument onto an electronic device, comprising: a) receiving, at a server, a provisioning request message from the electronic device; b) receiving, at a server, a request message from a secure data entry device; c) validating the request message; d) transmitting a response message to the secure data entry device, wherein the response message indicates success or failure of the validation; and wherein, in the event the validation was successful, the response message includes authorisation data and the method further comprises: e) receiving, at the server, a message from the electronic device and determining whether the message contains the authorisation data; and f) in the affirmative, transmitting approval for the request to provision the payment instrument to the electronic device.

In an eighth aspect, the present invention provides A system for authenticating a request to provision a payment instrument onto an electronic device, the system comprising a server that is configured to: receive, at the server, a provisioning request message from the electronic device; receive a request message from a secure data entry device; validate the request message; transmit a response message to the secure data entry device, wherein the response message indicates success or failure of the validation; and wherein, in the event the validation was successful, the response message includes authorisation data; receive a message from the electronic device; and determine whether the message contains the authorisation data; and, in the affirmative, transmit approval for the request to provision the payment instrument to the electronic device.

In an ninth aspect, the present invention provides A method of authenticating a request to provision a payment instrument onto an electronic device, comprising: a) receiving, at a server, a unique identifier associated with the payment instrument, the unique identifier received from the electronic device; b) receiving, at a server, a request message from a secure data entry device; c) validating the request message; d) transmitting a response message to the secure data entry device, wherein the response message indicates success or failure of the validation; e) generating an identification message based on the response message, wherein the identification message is indicative of the success or failure of the validation; and f) based on the identification message, either approving the request to provision the payment card or declining the request to provision the payment instrument.

In a tenth aspect, the present invention provides A system for authenticating a request to provision a payment instrument onto an electronic device, the system comprising a server that is configured to: receive a unique identifier associated with the payment instrument from an electronic device; receive a request message from a secure data entry device; validate the request message; transmit a response message to the secure data entry device, wherein the response message indicates success or failure of the validation; generate an identification message based on the response message, wherein the identification message is indicative of the success or failure of the validation; and based on the identification message, either approve the request to provision the payment instrument or decline the request to provision the payment instrument.

In an eleventh aspect, the present invention provides a secure data entry device, comprising: a payment instrument reading module configured to read a payment instrument; a mode select module having a first mode and a second mode, wherein the second mode facilitates identification of a user; and a network interface module;

wherein the secure data entry device is configured to determine if the second mode is selected and further configured to, in the event the determination is in the affirmative, either: transmit authorisation data associated with a transaction involving the payment instrument to an electronic device; or generate a barcode or Quick Response code encoding the authorisation data, the barcode or Quick Response code suitable for being read by the electronic device.

Further preferred features of these aspects of the invention are set out in the appended dependent claims.

