Systems and methods to provide information

Abstract

Systems and methods are to provide information to facilitate online transactions via mobile communications. In one aspect, a system includes a data storage facility to store and associate personal information of a user with a telephone number of the user, and an interchange coupled with the data storage facility. The interchange includes a common format processor and a plurality of converters to interface with a plurality of different controllers of mobile communications. The converters are configured to communicate with the common format processor in a common format and to communicate with the controllers in different formats. The interchange uses the converters to communicate with the mobile phone of a user to approve the providing of the personal information from the data storage facility to a website.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A computer-implemented method, comprising:
 presenting, by at least one server computer, a website with a field for entering a phone number of a user;   receiving at the server computer a web request including an amount and the phone number of the user entered by the user in relation to a transaction of the user at the web site;   identifying a user account on a data storage facility coupled to the server computer, based on the phone number entered by the user; and   charging the account based on the amount received in the web request.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 communicating with a mobile phone of the user at the phone number of the user to obtain approval for the charging of the account based on the amount.   
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein the communicating comprises:
 transmitting a message to the mobile phone at the phone number; and   receiving a reply to the message back from the mobile phone.   
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 3 , wherein the message and reply are transmitted via short message service (SMS). 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein the communicating comprises:
 transmitting a first code to the mobile phone at the phone number;   providing a web page in response to the web request; and   receiving a second code in the web page in the server computer;   wherein the first code is matched with the second code to determine whether to approve the providing of the user information to the third party website.   
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein the communicating comprises:
 providing from the server computer a first code in a web page in response to the web request; and   receiving a second code from the mobile phone;   wherein the first code is matched with the second code to determine whether to approve the providing of the user information to the third party website.   
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 receiving at the server a first personal identification number (PIN);   wherein the first PIN is matched with a second PIN associated with the phone number in the data storage facility to determine whether to approve the charging of the account.   
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 2 , further comprising:
 making a payment to a third party website in accordance with the web request, using funds associated with the account.   
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 8 , further comprising:
 collecting the funds via at least one premium message originated from or terminated at the mobile phone at the phone number.   
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 identifying user information stored in the account; and   transmitting the user information to the third party website.   
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 10 , wherein the user information includes an address of the user at the third party website.