Payment application initiated generation of payment instruments

Abstract

In some examples, a system and method for generating a payment instrument are described. The method includes receiving a unique signature that a recipient intends to associate with the payment instrument; verifying that the received feature meets an acceptability criterion; generating a representation of the received signature, wherein the representation is in a form capable of being physically associated with the payment instrument, and wherein association is established by embedding or exposing the representation on the payment instrument; and causing physical generation of the payment instrument having associated therewith the representation of the signature.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A computer-implemented method for generating a physical payment card customized for a user via a payment processing system, the method comprising:
 receiving, at the payment processing system via a payment application executing on a user device, a request to generate a physical payment card for an account associated with the user;   receiving, at the payment processing system via the payment application executing on the user device, a signature drawn on a user interface of the user device, wherein the signature is to be printed as an image on the physical payment card;   verifying, by the payment processing system, that the received signature conforms to a set of predefined rules;   based on the verification, generating, by the payment processing system, the image of the signature to be printed on the physical payment card;   customizing, by the payment processing system, positioning of the image of the signature on the physical payment card such that the image of the signature is positioned at a predetermined location on the physical payment card; and   causing, by the payment processing system, delivery of the physical payment card to the user, wherein the physical payment card includes the signature at the customized position, and wherein the physical payment card is configured to be used to conduct payment transactions through the payment application associated with the payment processing system.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 obtaining, by a state machine of the payment processing system, a first state corresponding at least to the mobile payment application, a user account, and/or the mobile device where the first state is extracted contemporaneous to the request to generate the physical payment instrument is received;   determining, by the state machine, a second state corresponding at least to the mobile payment application and/or the mobile device substantially contemporaneous to when the user sends the request;   defining, based on the second state, the set of rules, specific to the user, wherein the set of rules dictate acceptability of the signature by the payment processing system; and   determining, based on the set of rules and in real-time, whether or not the received signature is acceptable.   
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein obtaining the first state and the second state includes:
 detecting a list of available communication ports of the mobile device;   selecting, by the processor of the payment processing system, a communication port from amongst the available communication ports for communicating with the mobile device;   establishing one or more communication channels between one or more components within the payment processing system and the mobile device through the selected communication port;   obtaining, by each of the plurality of components, at least one user or device characteristic corresponding to the mobile device, wherein the device characteristic is selected from a group of characteristics including a user profile, timing parameters, radiated performance, wireless performance, quality of communication links, radio frequency response, transmission measurements, receiver measurements, and engineering tolerances; and   associating the first state or the second state of the mobile device based at least in part on the obtained device characteristic.   
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the signature is selected from a group of a picture, an alphanumeric value, a shape, a color, or a template; and the image is a combination of information associated with the signature, account information, and/or placement of the signature and metadata associated with the mobile device or the mobile payment application executing on the mobile device. 
     
     
         5 . A method for generating a customized payment instrument, the method comprising:
 receiving, by a processor of a payment processing system (PPS) and through a mobile device of a recipient, a unique feature that the recipient intends to associate with the payment instrument;   determining, by the payment processing system, whether the received feature conforms to a set of predefined rules;   generating, a representation of the feature, wherein the representation is in a form capable of being physically associated with the payment instrument, wherein the physical association is established by embedding or exposing the representation on the payment instrument; and   causing, by the payment processing system, physical generation of the payment instrument having associated therewith the representation of the feature.   
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 5 , further comprising:
 providing an engagement option on a user interface of a mobile payment application executing on the mobile device of the user, wherein the mobile payment application is communicatively connected to the PPS;   detecting, by the processor of the PPS and in response to an interaction of the user with the engagement option, an indication that the user has submitted the feature to be associated with the payment instrument;   customizing, by the payment processing system, physical positioning of the representation of the feature on the payment instrument;   receiving, from the mobile payment application and by the PPS, a request to cause a physical delivery of the payment instrument to a delivery location, wherein the customized position of the payment instrument includes the representation that substantially corresponds to the feature submitted by the user and/or metadata corresponding to characteristics of the mobile device or the mobile payment application executing on the mobile device.   
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 6 , the method comprising:
 receiving, by the PPS, a notification indicating that the representation has been included in the payment instrument, wherein the representation is one of embedded, embossed, printed or engraved on the payment instrument;   causing the payment instrument having the pattern to be delivered to the delivery location; and   receiving, from a third-party system, another notification that indicates successful delivery of the payment instrument to the delivery location.   
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 6 , further comprising:
 receiving, by the PPS, an indication that the recipient intends to activate the payment instrument having the representation;   generating, on the user interface of the mobile payment application, a set of instructions for the recipient instructing the recipient to capture the representation of the feature;   obtaining, by a state machine of the PPS, a first state corresponding at least to the mobile payment application and/or the mobile device where the first state is extracted contemporaneous to when the user submits the feature;   obtaining, by the state machine, a second state corresponding at least to the mobile payment application and/or the mobile device contemporaneous to when the recipient captures the representation;   comparing the first state and the second state; and   if the first state is substantially different from the second state, notify the user using a communication identifier associated with the user that a possible fraudulent attempt is being made by the recipient to activate the payment instrument.   
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 8 , wherein obtaining the first state includes:
 determining the set of rules based at least on the first state; and   adjusting the set of rules based on previous unsuccessful attempts by the recipient to generate the physical instrument   
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 6 , further comprising:
 receiving, by the PPS, an indication that the recipient intends to provide the feature to be printed on the payment instrument;   determining, by the PPS, a set of signatures associated with the user, wherein the set of signatures are obtained from the user at a point-of-sale terminal associated with the PPS at a prior occasion in response to payment transactions;   requesting, on the interface of the mobile payment application, the user to select a feature from amongst the set of signatures; and   receiving, as a user input, one of the set of signatures as the features to be printed on the payment instrument.   
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 8 , wherein the representation is in a form of a data structure having:
 a. a representation of the feature;   b. a financial account number associated with a monetary account associated with the user; and   c. customer information   
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 5  further comprising generating a notification for the user to confirm if the feature can be printed on the payment instrument. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 5 , wherein the feature is selected from a group of a digital image, a scanned picture, a picture, an alphanumeric value, a shape, a bar code, a QR code, an RFID tag, a pre-stored template of an object, or a color. 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 5 , further comprising:
 upon receiving a request to request the payment instrument via a payment application executing on a user device, determining of an account record exists in association with the user;   if the account record exists, obtaining, by the payment processing system, the account record and modifying the activation status of the account record to indicate association of the account record with the received feature; and   if the account record does not exist, generating, by the payment processing system, a new account record to be associated with the payment instrument and the user, wherein the new account record includes an account number and an activation status of the payment instrument.   
     
     
         15 . A payment processing system for generating a physical payment instrument, the payment instrument comprising:
 a processor configured to execute instructions to:
 receive, by the processor, a unique feature that a recipient intends to associate with the payment instrument; 
 verify that the received feature meets an acceptability criterion; 
 generate, a representation of the received feature, wherein the representation is in a form capable of being physically associated with the payment instrument, wherein association is established by embedding or exposing the representation on the payment instrument; 
 and 
 cause, by the payment processing system, physical generation of the payment instrument having associated therewith the representation of the feature. 
   
     
     
         16 . The payment processing system of  claim 14 , further comprising:
 a state machine configured to process instructions to:
 obtain a first state corresponding at least to a mobile payment application and/or the mobile device where the first state is extracted contemporaneous to when the user submits the feature, and 
 obtain a second state corresponding at least to the mobile payment application and/or the mobile device contemporaneous to when the recipient captures the representation of the feature; and 
   a mapping component configured to:
 compare the first state and the second state; and 
 if the first state differs from the second state by a threshold value, notify the user using a communication identifier associated with the user that a fraudulent attempt is being made by the recipient to activate the payment instrument. 
   
     
     
         17 . The payment processing system of  claim 14 , wherein the feature is selected from a group of a picture, an alphanumeric value, a shape, a bar code, a QR code, an RFID tag, or a color. 
     
     
         18 . The payment processing system of  claim 14 , further includes a tracker configured to:
 track a contextual factor associated with the recipient, wherein the contextual factor is a geographical location of the recipient and a geographical location of a recipient's device; and   configure the set of rules based on the contextual factor.   
     
     
         19 . One or more non-transitory computer-readable media maintaining instructions that, when executed by one or more processors, program the one or more processors to:
 receiving, by a processor of a payment processing system (PPS) and through a mobile device of a recipient, a unique feature that the recipient intends to associate with the payment instrument;   determining, by the payment processing system, whether the received feature conforms to a set of predefined rules;   generating, a representation of the feature, wherein the representation is in a form capable of being physically associated with the payment instrument, and wherein association is established by embedding or exposing the representation on the payment instrument;   and
 causing, by the payment processing system, physical generation of the payment instrument card having associated therewith the representation of the feature. 
   
     
     
         20 . The one or more non-transitory computer-readable media of  claim 19 , wherein the instructions further program the one or more processors to:
 receiving, by the PPS, an indication that the recipient intends to provide the feature to be printed on the payment instrument;   determining, by the PPS, a set of signatures associated with the user, wherein the set of signatures are obtained from the user at a point-of-sale terminal associated with the PPS at a prior occasion in response to payment transactions;   requesting, on the interface of the mobile payment application, the user to select a feature from amongst the set of signatures; and   receiving, as a user input, one of the set of signatures as the features to be printed on the payment instrument.