Secure and efficient payment processing system

Abstract

A method is provided for carrying out commercial transactions. The method includes the steps of: establishing a transaction processing system on an electronic communications network; establishing an account within the transaction processing system for a corresponding account holder; obtaining from the account holder a session description of acceptable future commercial transactions related to the account; administering commercial transactions carried out via the transaction processing system; and, verifying that administered commercial transactions related to the account meet one or more of the session description.

Having thus described the preferred embodiment(s), the invention is now claimed to be: 
     
         1 . A method for processing transactions carried out over the Internet between account holders and merchants, said system comprising:
 registering one or more account holders, said registering generating account holder records for the account holders registered;   receiving a purchase request of a buyer from a merchant over the Internet indicating that the buyer desires to carry out a transaction with the merchant, said transaction including the buyer purchasing one or more selected items;   receiving over the Internet transaction details from the merchant, said transaction details including a cost for the purchase;   comparing a provided authentication data to data in the account holder records, said provided authentication data including at least one of a user name, a password, a personal identification number and a dynamically changing non-predictable code, wherein the buyer is identified as an account holder when there is a sufficient match resulting from the comparison, and the buyer is not identified as an account holder when there is no sufficient match resulting from the comparison;   authorizing completion of the transaction when the buyer is identified as an account holder and establishing an authorization determination for the transaction in accordance with said authorizing, wherein said authorizing includes:   transmitting the transaction details over the Internet to a funding source which determines if the identified account holder has sufficient funds on deposit with the funding source to cover the cost of the purchase; and,   receiving the authorization determination from the funding source over the Internet; and,   communicating over the Internet the authorization determination for the transaction to the participating entity.