An Internet billing method comprises establishing an agreement between an Internet access provider and a customer, and an agreement between the Internet access provider and a vendor, wherein the Internet access provider agrees with the customer and the vendor to bill the customer and remit to the vendor for products and services purchased over the Internet by the customer from the vendor. The provider creates access to the Internet for the customer. When the customer orders a product or service over the Internet from a vendor, transactional information transmitted between the customer and the vendor is also transmitted to the provider. The provider then bills the transaction amount to the customer and remits a portion of the transaction amount to the vendor, keeping the differential as a fee for providing the service. As a result of this method, there is no need for any customer account numbers or vendor account numbers to be transmitted over the Internet, thereby maintaining the security of that information.

Internet billing method

A method of payment in an electronic payment system wherein a plurality of customers have accounts with an agent. A customer obtains an authenticated quote from a specific merchant, the quote including a specification of goods and a payment amount for those goods. The customer sends to the agent a single communication including a request for payment of the payment amount to the specific merchant and a unique identification of the customer. The agent issues to the customer an authenticated payment advice based only on the single communication and secret shared between the customer and the agent and status information which the agent knows about the merchant and/or the customer. The customer forwards a portion of the payment advice to the specific merchant. The specific merchant provides the goods to the customer in response to receiving the portion of the payment advice.

Payment and transactions in electronic commerce system

A radio frequency identification device comprises an integrated circuit including a receiver, a transmitter, and a microprocessor. The receiver and transmitter together define an active transponder. The integrated circuit is preferably a monolithic single die integrated circuit including the receiver, the transmitter, and the microprocessor. Because the device includes an active transponder, instead of a transponder which relies on magnetic coupling for power, the device has a much greater range.

Radio frequency data communications device

Disclosed herein are systems, methods, and non-transitory computer-readable storage media for receiving data from a giver at a first time, the data being used to identify a merchant at which a gift from the giver to a recipient is redeemable. The system presents a group of merchants associated with the data to the giver, each merchant of the group of merchants offering a promotion in connection with the gift. The system receives from the giver a selection of a chosen merchant from the group of merchants, the chosen merchant having an associated promotion. The system then generates a policy comprising the gift, the chosen merchant, and the associated promotion such that upon receiving an indication of a triggering event caused by the recipient, the system can apply the gift and the associated promotion according to the policy.

System and method for processing financial transactions

An interior rearview mirror system suitable for use in a vehicle includes an interior rearview mirror assembly having a mirror casing and a transflective reflective element. The transflective reflective element has an electrochromic active region, and a plurality of user input elements is disposed outside of the electrochromic active region and below the electrochromic active region. Each of the individual user input elements is a touch or proximity sensor. A plurality of display elements is disposed behind the transflective reflective element at the electrochromic active region, and each display element is selectively activated by activation of a respective user input element. Each of the individual display elements and its associated respective one of the individual user input elements are located local to one another such that a cognitive relationship between actuation by a user of a respective user input element and activation of its associated display element is established.

Interior rearview mirror system

A typical multi-lane toll plaza environment has roadside collection stations (20b, 20c, 20d). Each of the roadside collection stations (20b, 20c, 20d) communicates over a high-speed short-range microwave or RF communication link (22) with in-vehicle units (34) located in either a single vehicle in its respective lane or in plural vehicles in their lane while the vehicle or vehicles pass through the RF footprint (24) of one of the roadside collection stations (20b, 20c, 20d). The radiation footprint (24) is a function of the antennae in the roadside collection stations (20b, 20c, 20d) and in the in-vehicle units (34). For typical antenna footprints and velocities, only a few milliseconds of time are necessary to complete a transaction for a vehicle.

David Chaum

Papers

Automatic real-time highway toll collection from moving vehicles