WO2002003290A1

WO2002003290A1 - System and method for anonymous recharging of stored value accounts

Info

Publication number: WO2002003290A1
Application number: PCT/US2001/019899
Authority: WO
Inventors: John P. Shannon; Claude C. Bouffard; Jim B. Somerville
Original assignee: Gopin Inc.
Priority date: 2000-06-22
Filing date: 2001-06-22
Publication date: 2002-01-10
Also published as: AU2001271375A1

Abstract

A system for anonymously recharging the value on telephone, gasoline, vending or other stored value accounts enables the setting up of a secondary authentication account for the subsequent application of value on the card or other instrument to conduct cash-like transactions without disclosure of personal information. When a consumer (111) wishes to add value to a depleted card or other instrument, they may communicate with a bank, credit card issuer or other financial institutions (113) to allocate an amount for recharge, which amount may then be communicated without the identity of the consumer to the account administrator. The administrator of the account in turn validates and applies this cash-like credit to the stored value instrument, thus enabling immediate recharging of the amount available on the card. No one party other than the consumer may be aware of the identity of the consumer, purchase information and other details, although transactions may be reconstructed under appropriate legal process.

Description

SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR ANONYMOUS RECHARGING OF STORED VALUE

ACCOUNTS

Field of the Invention

The invention relates to the field of electronic

commerce, and more particularly to a technique for replacing

amounts on a stored value card or other instrument in a manner

which is anonymous to some or all participants in that

process, other than the card holder.

Background of the Invention

Stored value accounts, such as telephone calling cards,

gas cards, duplication service cards, vending machine cards

and other instruments have become a popular technique for

recording and distributing commercial value. Many stored

value accounts permit the card holder to freely use the amount

stored on the instrument down to zero, and then permit the

user to replenish the value on the card by any of a variety of

techniques. For instance, the user may call an (800) number

and provide a credit card or other account from which the

value may be transferred to the empty stored value instrument.

Similarly, a consumer who uses a . stored value account to

execute purchases over the Internet may enter a credit card number or other account number to have an online card

distributor place ^■ new value on their stored value account, for

instance to purchase movies, records, travel or other goods or

services .

However, these types of stored value recharging

techniques encroach on the flexibility and privacy of the

consumer. That is, while the initial purchase of the stored

value card or other instrument may be anonymous, such as by

purchase at a gasoline station, convenience store or other

location with cash, recharging via a credit card or other

authorization may not necessarily be similarly private. The

recharging action therefor involves the potential exposure of

sensitive credit card information to vendors or intermediaries

over the Internet or otherwise.

Likewise, the recording of the recharging action on the

credit card may create a permanent record of the consumer's

purchase activities which the consumer ay not wish to be

recorded or made public. Safer, more robust technology for

repleni-shing stored value accounts is desirable.

Summary of the Invention

The invention overcoming these and other problems in the

art relates to a system and method for recharging stored value

accounts via a transaction server and other infrastructure, in which the identity of the party applying the new value to the

stored value account may be anonymous to the card issuer,

vendors executing purchases against that value and others in

the transaction chain. According to the invention, the action

of placing value on a stored value account may be separated

from a vendor of goods or services, the issuer of the stored

value card, and even the authentication entity providing

validation of the account. In one embodiment, only the

consumer and a bank or other financial institution of the

consumer's choice may be aware of the consumer's identity, but

under, no circumstances does any party other than the consumer

have sufficient information to tie together the consumer's

identity, transaction identification number, the actual goods

or services being purchased, bank account or other

information.

Rather, separate pieces of information may be kept apart

in a transaction matrix ^'according to which no one party may

discern the card holder's identity without legal permission.

Privacy is therefore enhanced, and consumers may be encouraged

to more freely recharge and make use of stored value accounts . Detailed Description of the Drawings

The invention will be described with reference to the

accompanying drawings, in which like elements are referenced

with like numerals.

Figure 1 illustrates the principle elements according to

the. invention.

Figure 2 illustrates a the principle elements of the

transactions involved in distribution, purchase and recharging

actions for a stored value account according to the invention.

Figure 3 illustrates a matrix indicating the availability

of transaction information to parties to the recharging action

of the invention.

Figure 4 illustrates an overall architecture for

transaction processing according to the invention.

Figure 5 illustrates an overall architecture for

transaction processing according to the invention in another

regard.

Detailed Description of Preferred Embodiments

As illustrated in Figures 1 and 4, in an overall

electronic commerce environment in which the invention may

operate, a customer or consumer operating an Internet or other

client 111 communicates via communication link 401 to one or

more of a group of merchants 112 to execute transactions using a stored value account identifier 121 as the method of

payment. The stored value account identifier 121 may be or

include an alphanumeric reference to a database, a •telephone-

calling card, a vending card, a gasoline card, a frequent

flier or other account, card or ^■ instrument representing

commercial value and in general may be anonymously recharged,

in general via a separately maintained account identifier 122.

The client 111 in the environment may be or include, for

instance, a personal computer running the Microsoft Windows™

95, 98, Millenium™, NT™, or 2000, Windows™CE™, PalmOS™, Unix,

Linux, Solaris ™, OS/2 ™, BeOS ™, MacOS ™ or other operating

system or platform. The client 102 may also be or include a

network-enabled appliance such as a WebTV™ unit, radio-enabled

Palm™ Pilot or similar unit, a set- top box, a networkable

game-playing console such as Sony Playstation™ or Sega

Drea cast™, a browser-equipped cellular .telephone, or other

TCP/IP client, a magnetic swipe-card reader connected to a

network via the Internet or a modem, a point of sale terminal,

or othe^'r ^"device .

The communications link 401 to which client 111 is

connected may be, include or interface to any one or more of,

for instance, the Internet, an intranet, a PAN (Personal Area

Network) , a LAN (Local Area Network) , a WAN (Wide Area

Network) or a MAN (Metropolitan Area Network) , a frame relay connection, an Advanced Intelligent Network (AIN) connection,

a synchronous optical network (SONET) connection, a digital

Tl, T3 or El line, Digital Data Service (DDS) connection, DSL

(Digital Subscriber Line) connection, an Ethernet connection,

an ISDN (Integrated Services Digital Network) line, a dial-up

port such as a V.90, V.34 or V.34bis analog modem connection,

a cable modem, an ATM (Asynchronous Transfer Mode) connection,

or FDDI (Fiber Distributed Data Interface) or CDDI (Copper

Distributed Data Interface) connections. The communications

link 401 may furthermore be, include or interface to any one

or more of a WAP (Wireless Application Protocol) link, a GPRS

(General Packet Radio Service) link, a GSM (Global System for

Mobile Communication) link, a CDMA (Code Division Multiple

Access) or TDMA (Time Division Multiple Access) link such as a

cellular phone channel, a GPS (Global Positioning System)

link, CDPD (cellular digital packet data) , a RIM (Research in

Motion, Limited) duplex paging type device, a Bluetooth radio

link, or an IEEE 802.11-based radio frequency link. The

communications link 401 may yet further be, include or

interface to any one or more of an RS-232 serial connection,

an IEEE-1394 (Firewire) connection, an IrDA (infrared) port, a

SCSI (Small Computer Serial Interface) connection. a USB

(Universal Serial Bus) connection or other wired or wireless, digital or analog interface or connection. Other illustrated

communications links may include the same types of resources.

The communications like 401 and other communications link

described herein may employ security measures as desired, such

as by public key encryption techniques, e.g. Secure Socket

Layer (SSL) via the Internet, DES or other measures.

In the illustrated embodiment, including as illustrated

in Figure 4, other communications -resources may include

communications link 410, which may connect a consumer or user

to a bank or other financial institution, such as by any of

the above Internet protocols or via an ATM, deposit slip,

personal check, wire transfer or any other acceptable funds

transfer mechanism.

The communications link 402 may connect the merchant or

vendor to the network, and the communications link 403 may

connect the consumer to the via a point of sale terminal such

as those used for debit card transactions. The communications

links 411, 412 may connect participating banks to banks, a

bank to 'a business and may be or employ virtual private

networks, wire transfer or other techniques.

The communications links 433, 434, 435 may be physical.,

or may be software database, logical or memory linkages in the

case that all functions are integrated in certain

implementations. The communications link 435 may be or interface to the common channel signaling number 7 (CCS#7)

protocol. The communications links 441, 442 may involve non¬

electronic transfer of physical goods (e.g. plastic or paper

cards) , or may involve electronic transfer of information.

The vendor or vendors 112 communicate with the network

account manager 110 sub-element transaction server 421 via

communication link 402, to prepare transaction information for

recording and collection. The transaction server 421 may be or

include, for instance, a workstation running the Microsoft

Windows™ NT™, Windows™ 2000, Unix, Linux, Xenix, IBM AIX,

Hewlett-Packard UX, Novell Netware™, Sun Microsystems

Solaris™, OS/2™, BeOS™, Mach, Apache, OpenStep™ or other

operating system or platform. The transaction server 421 is

in turn connected and acts as a front end resource to the

stored value account database 120 via communications link 431.

The stored value account 120 in turn may consist of a

network of database functions, shown separately as three

discrete elements, namely the recharge database network 422

(indexed by Recharge ID 122), the stored value account

database network 423 which provides an association between

recharge ID 122 and transaction ID 121, and the transaction

authentication database network 424, (indexed by transaction

ID 121) . The stored value account database network 424 may be or

include a Nortel Networks DMS™ 100, 200, 300 or other series

hardware dedicated to switching and processing

telecommunications resources, and may furthermore be or

include, for instance, a workstation running the Microsoft

Windows™ NT™, Windows™ 2000, Unix, Linux, Xenix, IBM AIX,

Hewlett-Packard UX, Novell Netware™, Sun Microsystems

Solaris™, OS/2™, BeOS™, Mach, Apache, OpenStep™ or other

operating .system or platform. The network interface 422

itself communicates via communications link 432 with network

database 120 for purposes of transaction validation.

The transaction authentication database network 424 may

be, include or interface to a line information data base

(LIDB) -type resource operating under the SS7 signaling

standard and accessible in the public telecommunications

network, as understood by persons skilled in the art, for

purposes of authentication, authorization or other transaction

functions against a stored value calling card, vending card or

other "stored value account identifier 121. Transaction

authentication database network 424 may likewise be, include

or interface to resources such as the ATT Corp. Billing

Validation Application (BVA) or the U.S. West Business

Validation Service (BVS) , or others. The authentication

database 110 may further be, include or interface^' to, for example, the Oracle™ relational database sold commercially by

Oracle Corp. Other databases, such as Informix™, DB2

(Database 2) or other data storage or query formats or

platforms such as OLAP (On Line Analytical Processing) , SQL

(Standard Query Language) , Microsoft Access™ or others may

also be used, incorporated or accessed in the invention.

The recharge database network 422 may be or include

similar resources as the transaction authentication database

network 424, configured to manage the bank or other financial

accounts, or a database of such accounts, maintained by or on

behalf of the network account manager 110 for replenishment of

the stored value accounts.

In general, according to the invention the stored value

account 123 to be offered in payment for transactions with the

merchants 112 using transaction identifier 121 may be

rechargeable by transferring value from another account or

resource , using recharge identifier 122. Transaction

identifier 121 may be or include multi-part keys, consisting

of a public identifier such as an account number and a secret

private identifier such as a PIN, or otherwise according to a

variety of available schemes for authenticating the usage of

an ID over an insecure public infrastructure.

The recharge identifier 122 may bear no relationship to

the transaction identifier 121, or it may consist in whole or in part of the transaction identifier or a subset or

permutation thereof. Furthermore, recharge identifier 122 may

identify a bank account number, a checking account number, a

credit card number, customer account number, a direct deposit

number, an automatic bill pay number or other identifier which

can be readily processed as a deposit identifier by the

financial industry.

In terms of the action of obtaining the instrument, as

illustrated in Figure 2, in action 211 the network account

manager 110 creates an individual account 123a consisting of a

unique transaction identifier 121a associated with a unique

recharge identifier 122a. The network account manager 110 may

optionally^' associate a non-zero account balance with the

initially created account, as- is often done with prepaid

telephone cards for example.

The network account manager 110 may distribute accounts

to consumers 111 directly, or may optionally engage the

services of a distributor 114. Assuming the general aspect

where a distributor is engaged, the network_, account manager

110 provides the account information to the distributor 114 in

transaction 202 according to any number of mechanisms such as

are currently used for the distribution of prepaid telephone

cards. A customer Ilia may obtain the account from the

distributor 114 in transaction 203, without providing an opportunity to have their identity associated with the

transaction ID 121a or the recharge identifier 122a. There

are a variety of methods for achieving this security. For

example, the consumer might obtain a card containing the

information from a vending machine, or they might purchase a

card from a retail store, which card has secret information

concealed from the vendor. Or, the consumer might obtain the

information via an Internet, telephone dial-up or other

communication connection, or via mass market distribution such

as in cereal boxes, with CD's or as magazine inserts.

Optionally, as shown in transaction 204, the consumer

Ilia may be required or given the capability to activate the

instrument, or charge up the instrument for the first time,

and/or change any or all of the ID information.

It may be noted- that the activities provide a mechanism

where a consumer Ilia may obtain a stored value account 123a

identified to them as consisting of a transaction ID 121a and

a recharge identifier 122a such that they do not reveal their

identity to the network account manager 110. _ Further, these

activities also provide that the distributor is unable to

associate the consumer's identity Ilia with the transaction ID

121a or the recharge identifier 122a, even if the distributor

knows the identity of the consumer (solved by concealing the

Ids from the distributor) , or if the distributor knows the Ids (solved by the consumer acquiring the account without

revealing their identity) , or both (solved by allowing the

consumer to change the IDs) .

In terms of the purchasing action, as shown in Figure 2,

an individual consumer Ilia may engage with an individual

merchant 112a to initiate a purchase request in communication

211. At least two embodiments of this communication are

possible. In a first embodiment, the consumer discloses

transaction ID 121a to .the merchant in communication 211, such

as is the case with credit card purchases today. The merchant

subsequently initiates communication 212a with the network

account manager 110, which queries the authentication elements

of network database 120 and authenticates the transaction ID

121a, provides validation that account 123a can make good on

the purchase price, confirms authentication to the merchant in

communication 212c, posts a debit to the account maintained in

network database 120 in action ^'213 and remits payment to the

merchant in communication 215, which payment may occur

immediately or substantially later.

Having received confirmation in communication 212c, the

merchant 112a provides the goods to consumer Ilia in

communication 214. This embodiment may pose a potential

security issue in that the merchant may fraudulently use or

distribute the transaction ID 123a. In a preferred embodiment, the consumer Ilia does not disclose the

transaction ID to the merchant in communication 211. Instead,

the in communication 212a the merchant 112a redirects an

authorization request including the amount of purchase to the

network account manager 110, who then engages communication

212b with the consumer Ilia directly. Consumer Ilia provides

transaction information 121a only to the network account

manager, who subsequently informs the merchant 112a of

successful authorization via communication 212c. The

remaining actions and communications 213 through 215 remain

the same as in the first embodiment. Hybrid embodiments

similar to today's debit cards are also possible, where the

merchant or vendor is presented with a portion of the

transaction ID 121a (the debit card number) , and the consumer

provides the rest of the transaction ID 121a (the PIN) to the

network account manager 110 in order to complete the

authorization.

In the course of providing the goods or services

provided, merchant 112a may interact or communicate with other

merchants, suppliers or distributors, and may subsequently

remit to them a portion of the payment received from the

consumer via the network account manager, which communications

are not shown for clarity. In this purchase activity, it may be noted that

consumer's identity Ilia is not required to be revealed to

either the merchant 112a nor the network account manager 110,

and that at most the merchant may learn of the consumer's

transaction ID 121a, or a portion thereof. Furthermore, the

network account manager 110 is not necessarily made aware of

the goods or services provided by the merchant 112a' to the

consumer Ilia.

In terms of the recharging action, as illustrated in

Figure 2, the financial institution 113a may by prearrangement

maintain checking, credit, deposit or other accounts on behalf

of the consumer 113a, from which the consumer may recharge

their stored value account 123. In communication 221, the

consumer Ilia authenticates themselves to the satisfaction of

the financial institution.

In communication 222 the consumer Ilia may transmit a

signal to or otherwise request financial institution 113a to

debit their bank or other account in order to apply new value

to the stored value account 122 maintained by or for the

network account manager 110. If financial institution 113a

determines that the amount presented for debit is valid,

financial institution 113a may issue a communication 224 to

the network account manager or its representative with an

instruction to credit the consumer's authentication account 122 by that same amount. The network account manager thus

receives communication 224 to increase the consumer's

authentication account 130, without any necessary indication

of the identity of the consumer.

Indeed, it is not necessary that the consumer recharging

the account 120 through the recharge identifier 122 be the

user of transaction account 121. It may be noted that for the

recharge operation neither the optional distributor 114, nor

the merchant 112 receives any information concerning recharge

identifier 122. Furthermore, the financial institution does

not receive any information concerning the transaction identifier 121.

While the network account manager must receive both

identifiers 121 and 122, 'and jointly associates them with

account 123, nothing in the recharge operation provides the

network account manager with the identity of consumer Ilia.

As illustrated in Figure 3, the interposition of a

transaction server 421 for transaction purposes with the

network interface entity 422 and network database cooperating

as the network account manager 110, along with financial

institutions 113 and other elements results in increased

security and privacy to the consumer performing the recharging

action on their stored value account 123. As shown in the transaction matrix of Figure 3, only the consumer Ilia is in

possession of all categories of information involved in the

use and recharging of the stored value account 120, including

the consumer's identity, any transaction ID (such as sales

receipt number, purchase order number or other) , the identity

of the goods or services purchased, the bank deposit

identification, and the bank account identification or other

information surrounding the replenishment of stored value or

the purchase of goods or services using that value.

Thus, the distributor 114, as shown in that matrix, may

not be aware of any of those categories of information (except

perhaps the identity of their consumers, but not what they

purchase or details of their financial situation) . Similarly,

the network account manager 110 is only necessarily aware of

the transaction ID and the recharge ID.

The merchants are only aware of the goods and services

they have provided, and possibly some or all of the

transaction ID (except in a preferred embodiment where they do

not possess this information) . Financial institutions 113

such as a bank or credit card issuer may only be aware of the i consumer's identity along with the internal banking

information such as bank deposit ID and bank account ID.

The network account manager 110 learns the transaction ID

associated with the purchase or other transaction, along with the bank deposit ID, in order to properly credit the stored

value account 123 by way of debit from the financial

institution to show account. However network database 120 is

not made aware goods or services purchased since this

information is masked by the transaction server 421 and is not

necessary in the communication between transaction server 421

and network interface 422.

At the same time, according to the invention the

combination of two or more sources of information among the

stored value account issuer 204, financial institution 206,

vendor 208 and authentication entity 210 may provide

sufficient linkage to derive the identity of the consumer, the

identity of the goods or services purchased or other

information when legally necessary and appropriate, such as by

means of a valid subpoena or other inquiry for investigative

purposes.

However, during ordinary circumstances there is no

mechanism for any party other than the consumers 111 to be

aware of -the entire recharging and transaction activities, so

that their overall privacy and security is enhanced.

Moreover, the commercial convenience of vendors 112 is

increased, since the validation of the transaction against an

authenticated stored value account 123 creates a more cash¬

like basis for online or other commerce. A further aspect of the invention is that the stored

value account 123 is preferably instantiated as a network

database 120, which may consist of two or more distinct

databases (or networks of databases) . This network database

performs at least three functions: firstly, authentication of

a transaction ID 121; secondly, maintaining the balance of

funds on account, identified by recharge ID 122, and thirdly

reconciling between these two functions. For example, the

first function may be performed using an authentication

database maintained in one part of the network database (such

as a telephone calling card account) indexed by the

transaction ID 121, which could be a calling card number and

PIN.

The second function could represent a set of bank

accounts or credit card numbers, maintained in another part of

the netv/ork database, possibly by a financial institution,

indexed by the recharge ID. The third function might be a

relational database associating the transaction ID bi-

directionally v/ith a customer number not necessarily related

to the identity of the customer, and the recharge ID with the

corresponding customer number, also bi-directionally. These

parts of the network database may be owned and operated by

different cooperating parties - for example, by financial

institutions providing deposit facilities and by telephone companies providing authentication and billing facilities, and

by service bureaus providing the linkage. Such an

implementation provides that an efficient network of both

credit and debit facilities may be constructed using existing

networks of authentication and billing systems (such as the

telephone billing system) without modification.

In another regard, a network account manager may wish to

permit the value of the stored value of the account to a given

consumer to decrease below zero value (or possibly to a limit)

in affect creating a temporary credit account, depending on

terms of the account and the nature of consumer 202.

While execution of a transaction according to the

invention thus requires the intervention of more parties then

with conventional card recharging, privacy is significantly •

increased while still permitting reconstruction of given

transactions for valid purposes.

An overall architecture according to the invention in

another regard is illustrated in Figure 5, in which the

interconnection of a transaction server 20S, a telephony

engine 208 such as the Nortel Networks DMS™ platform for

interface to the telecommunications network for authentication

and billing and other services, the vendor transaction site or

sites such as Web pages or other portals, the client and other

aspects are shown. In general, according to the overall architecture in

which the invention in one embodiment may operate, consumers

may initiate and execute transactions over a dial-up,

broadband or other Internet or other network connections,

which transactions may be monitored and mediated via

transaction server 206, a telephony engine 208 or other

network interface along with attendant database,

communications and other resources. . The messaging traffic

between the consumer and the vendor, and between the vendor

and the authentication resources, again may be of a partial,

anonymous and/or secure nature.

This is at least in part because the invention does not

demand the transmission of complete identity or account

information, whether in the clear, encrypted or otherwise, at

any one stage of the transaction process. Rather, a subset of

selected attributes, fields or keywords may be queried between

the consumer and the commercial vendor for the separate

transmission to the party, company or other organization

operating- the transaction server 206, telephony engine 208 or

other network interface, or authentication database 210, and

only the party providing the authentication function

necessarily records more complete information in order to

■carry out that task. As shown in that figure and described

above, billing against the consumer's account, telephone bill or otherwise may be triggered by a validated authentication

sequence whose details may never be communicated to the

vendor. The vendor may consequently receive payment directly

or indirectly from banks or other financial intermediaries

separately after that process, with whom the consumer

separately reconciles. Transaction privacy and flexibility

for consumers are therefore enhanced.

The foregoing description of the system and method of the

invention is illustrative, and variations in configuration and

implementation will occur to persons skilled in the art.

For instance, while the recharging cycle has generally

been described as taking place between entities including a

financial institution 113, a Web or other vendor 112 and an

network account manager 110, different of these functions may

be divided amongst other entities and resources, or likewise

combined in certain implementations. For example, the

functions of the network account manager could be performed by

a service bureau, a telephone company (authentication &

transaction billing) , and a bank (payment & recharge) .

Likewise, while the stored value account has been described in

terms of discrete parts (transaction ID, recharge ID) in terms

of separate accounts, the stored value account 123,

transaction ID 121 and recharge ID 123 could either be a subset, a superset or co-extensive set with each other, or

represent multiple accounts.

Similarly, while the invention has generally been

described with respect to the stored value card initially

coded with some amount of value, the invention may also be

applied to stored value accounts whose initial balance is

zero, or which is allowed to remain below zero for a period of

time and periodically recharged, not necessarily to a positive

balance. While the invention has . generally been described as

recharge of the stored value account being initiated by

actions of the consumer, it is possible that the consumer may

be prompted to recharge the account by presentment of a bill

for any negative value. Although the invention has been^'

described as though the value is a financial currency, it

generally applies for other value systems such as loyalty

points and so on, and the term "financial institution" is

intended to generally represent providers or holders of value

whether currency or otherwise. Translation .between different

types of^' value may also be possible. The scope of the

invention is accordingly intended to be limited only by the

following claims.

Claims

What is claimed is:

1. A system for the anonymous recharging of a stored

value account, comprising:

a first interface to a stored value account;

a second interface, communicating with the first

interface, to an anonymous authentication account;

a third interface to a financial account held by an

account holder, communicating with the first interface to

apply value from the financial account to the stored value

account upon instruction of the holder of the financial

account;

wherein the stored value account is recharged by the

value delivered via the third interface, and the anonymous

authentication account is reduced by the value communicated

via the second interface .

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the stored value

account comprises at least one of a telephone calling card

account, a vending card account, a duplication card account, a

gasoline -card account, a private label account, and a frequent

flier account .

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the financial account

comprises at least one of a checking account, a debit account,

a deposit account, and a credit account.

4. The system of claim 1, further comprising a fourth

interface, communicating with a transaction site, a

transaction being executed at the transaction site via the

fourth interface using the stored value account.

5. The system of claim 4, wherein the transaction site

comprises an Internet-enabled transaction site.

6. The system of claim 4, wherein only the account

holder has access to information related to all of the stored

•value account, the financial account, the anonymous

authentication account and the transaction.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein at least one of the

stored value account, the financial account and the anonymous

authentication account comprises a subset of the remainder of

the stored value account, the financial account and the

anonymous authentication account.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein at -least one of the

stored value account, the financial account and the anonymous

authentication account comprises a superset of the remainder

of the- stored value account, the financial account and the

anonymous authentication account.

9. The system of claim 1, wherein at least one of the

stored value account, the financial account and the anonymous

authentication account comprises a coextensive set with the remainder of the stored value account, the financial account

and the anonymous authentication account.

10. The system of claim 1, wherein the stored value

account may store a value less than zero.

11. The system of -claim 1, '_.wherein the anonymous

authentication account is provided by the telecommunications

network.

12. The system of claim 1, wherein the recharging is via

at least one of automatic bill payment and direct deposit.

13. The system of claim 1, wherein the transaction is

conducted with reference to a stored value account indicator,

which a network account manager translates to transaction ID

and authenticates.

14. A method for the anonymous recharging of a stored

value account, comprising the steps of:

a) communicating instructions to a financial institution

to deliver value by deposit to a recharging account;

b) recharging the stored value account by the value

delivered- from the financial institution;

wherein the account to which funds are deposited is

maintained for the purpose of recharging the stored value

account, and where the recharging account is associated with

the stored value account .

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the stored value

account comprises at least one of a telephone calling card

account, a vending card account, a gasoline card account, a

private label account, a duplication card account, and a

frequent flier account.

16. The method of claim 14, wherein the financial

account comprises at least one of a checking account, a debit

account, a deposit account, and a credit account.

17. The method of claim 14, further comprising a step of

c) executing a transaction on a transaction site using the

stored value account .

18. The method of claim 17, wherein the transaction site

comprises an Internet-enabled transaction site.

19. The method of claim 17, wherein only the account

holder has access to information related to all of the stored

value account, the financial account, the anonymous

authentication account and the transaction.

20. The method of claim 14, wherein at least one of the

stored -value account, the financial account and the anonymous

authentication account comprises a subset of the remainder of

the stored value account, the financial account and the

anonymous authentication account.

21. The method of claim 14, wherein at least one of the

stored value account, the financial account and the anonymous authentication account comprises a superset of the remainder

of the stored value account, the financial account and the

anonymous authentication account.

22. The method of claim 14, wherein at least one of the

stored value account, the financial account and the anonymous

authentication account comprises a coextensive set with the

remainder of the stored value account, the financial account

and the anonymous authentication accoun .

23. The method of claim 1.4, wherein the stored value

account may store a value less than zero.

24. The method of claim 14, wherein the anonymous

authentication account is provided by the telecommunications

network.

25. The method of claim 14, wherein the recharging is

via at least one of automatic bill payment and direct deposit.

26. The method of claim 14, wherein the transaction is

conducted _with reference to a stored value account indicator,

which a network account manager translates to transaction ID

and authenticates.