# US 2014/0194091 A1 · Method and System for User Signup by a Network Service Provider

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- Number: US 2014/0194091 A1
- Document ID: US20140194091A1
- Status: Published application
- Kind: A1
- Application number: 14/209,417
- Filed: 2014-03-13
- Published: 2014-07-10
- Earliest claimed: 2012-12-17
- Assignees: eBay Inc.
- Applicants: Ebay Inc.
- Inventors: Subha Gopalakrishnan
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US20140194091A1

## CPC

- H04M 17/20: {with provision for recharging the prepaid account or card, or for credit establishment}
- G06Q 30/06: Buying, selling or leasing transactions
- G06Q 40/02: Banking, e.g. interest calculation or account maintenance (credit or loans G06Q40/03)
- H04M: TELEPHONIC COMMUNICATION (circuits for controlling other apparatus via a telephone cable and not involving telephone switching apparatus G08)
- G06Q: INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY [ICT] SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES; SYSTEMS OR METHODS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR

## Abstract

A system and a method for performing purchase transactions over a network are provided. The system includes a server controlled by a service provider, including a link to a network; a processor circuit, the processor circuit configured to receive purchase requests from a mobile phone, and to transfer funds from a user account to a vendor account; and a memory circuit storing a plurality of mobile phone numbers and a plurality of personal identification numbers (PINs), wherein each mobile phone number and PIN is associated with a user account. A non-transitory machine-readable medium may include a plurality of machine-readable instructions which when executed by one or more processors of a server controlled by a service provider are adapted to cause the server to perform a method as above.

## Claims

### Claim 1

A method, comprising:
receiving, by a computer system, data corresponding to a phone account;
requesting from a provider of the phone account, by the computer system, account information corresponding to the phone account;
receiving, by the computer system, the account information;
determining, by the computer system based on the account information, whether to authorize a payment account for a user associated with the phone account; and
causing, by the computer system, creation of the payment account for the user;
wherein the payment account is configured to transact payment to one or more vendors other than the provider of the phone account.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The method of claim 1 wherein determining whether to authorize the payment account comprises determining a payment account type.

### Claim 3 (depends on 2)

The method of claim 2 wherein the payment account type is temporary.

### Claim 4 (depends on 1)

The method of claim 1, further comprising determining a phone number based on the received data corresponding to the phone account.

### Claim 5 (depends on 1)

The method of claim 1 wherein causing the creation of the payment account comprises sending information authorizing the creation of the payment account.

### Claim 6 (depends on 1)

The method of claim 1, further comprising associating a personal identification number (PIN) with the payment account.

### Claim 7 (depends on 1)

The method of claim 1, further comprising sending a message to the user confirming the creation of the payment account.

### Claim 8

A computer system comprising:
a server comprising a processor circuit and a link to a network;
wherein the server is configured to:
receive data corresponding to a phone account;
send, to a provider of the phone account via the network, a request for account information corresponding to the phone account;
receive the account information;
determine, based on the account information, whether to authorize a payment account for a user associated with the phone account; and
cause creation of the payment account for the user;
wherein the payment account is configured to transact payment to one or more vendors other than the network service provider.

### Claim 9 (depends on 8)

The computer system of claim 8 wherein the server is further configured to determine whether to authorize a temporary payment account.

### Claim 10 (depends on 9)

The computer system of claim 9 wherein the server is further configured to set an expiration date for the temporary payment account based on a termination date of the phone account.

### Claim 11 (depends on 10)

The computer system of claim 10 wherein the server is further configured to request a bank account number and a routing number from the user before the expiration date.

### Claim 12 (depends on 8)

The computer system of claim 8 wherein:
the received data corresponding to the phone account comprises a phone number; and
the request for account information comprises the phone number.

### Claim 13 (depends on 8)

The computer system of claim 8 wherein the server is further configured to send a message to the user to confirm the creation of the payment account.

### Claim 14 (depends on 13)

The computer system of claim 13 wherein the server is further configured to wait for a response to the message before causing creation of the payment account.

### Claim 15

A non-transitory computer-readable medium comprising instructions which, in response to execution by a computer system, cause the computer system to perform a method comprising:
receiving data corresponding to a phone account;
sending a request for account information corresponding to the phone account to a provider of the phone account;
receiving the account information;
determining whether to authorize a payment account for a user associated with the phone account; and
causing creation of the payment account for the user;
wherein the payment account is configured to transact payment to one or more vendors other than the provider of the phone account.

### Claim 16 (depends on 15)

The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 15 wherein the method further comprises performing an identity or a credit check on the user.

### Claim 17 (depends on 15)

The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 15 wherein the data corresponding to the phone account is received from an application program running on a mobile phone.

### Claim 18 (depends on 15)

The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 15 wherein the account information includes one or more selected from a group consisting of a phone account number, a user address, a user email address, a name, and a phone account type.

### Claim 19 (depends on 15)

The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 15 wherein the method further comprises not causing creation of the payment account when an account type of the phone account is a pre-paid account.

### Claim 20 (depends on 15)

The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 15 wherein the method further comprises associating at least a portion of the account information with the payment account.