System and method for providing smart electronic wallet and reconfigurable transaction card thereof

Abstract

A smart electronic wallet with reconfigurable multiple-account transaction card is provided. The system and method provide measures for storing a plurality of account identifiers from a plurality of traditional single-use transaction cards into a storage memory in a smart wallet. The system and method also provide for storing a reconfigurable multiple-account transaction card within the smart electronic wallet and allowing for it to be dynamically and selectively reconfigured for any one of the plurality of account identifiers stored within the smart electronic wallet. Additionally, a consumer is able to initiate a transfer or trade of transaction cards across different smart electronic wallet devices.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A reconfigurable transaction proxy card selectively encoding at least one of a plurality of account identifiers for emulating account-bearing transactional cards, comprising:
 a substrate having a handheld portable configuration to be carried apart from a transaction terminal;   a transaction-terminal interface unit disposed in said substrate, said transaction-terminal interface unit encoded in selectively reconfigurable manner with different account identifiers corresponding to a plurality of different physical account-bearing transaction cards, said transaction-terminal interface unit as encoded insertable in the transaction terminal to be read as a surrogate for each of the plurality of physical account-bearing transaction cards upon corresponding reconfiguration therefor;   a storage memory disposed in said substrate, said storage memory storing secondary account information related to at least one of the account identifiers;   a controller disposed in said substrate and coupled to said storage memory, said controller selectively retrieving the secondary account information from said storage memory;   an electronic display disposed on said substrate and coupled to said controller and said storage memory for displaying said retrieved secondary account information relating to said account identifier; and,   a fraud detection portion selectively disabling said reconfigurable transaction proxy card responsive to detection of unauthorized use;   wherein said storage memory stores a plurality of the different account identifiers corresponding to the different physical account-bearing transaction cards for selective access.   
     
     
         2 . The reconfigurable transaction proxy card as recited in  claim 1 , wherein said transaction-terminal interface unit includes a passive re-writable magnetic strip having at least one account identifier encoded thereon. 
     
     
         3 . The reconfigurable transaction proxy card as recited in  claim 1 , wherein said transaction-terminal interface unit includes an inductive portion coupled to said controller, said inductive portion being selectively energized to encode an account identifier stored in said storage memory, said account identifier being thereby readable when the inductive portion is energized. 
     
     
         4 . The reconfigurable transaction proxy card as recited in  claim 1 , wherein said fraud detection portion includes an electronic chip disposed on the substrate executing a user authentication unit for selectively disabling said reconfigurable transaction proxy card responsive to detection of an unauthorized user. 
     
     
         5 . A method for electronically emulating a physical transfer of transaction cards across an online enterprise to a smart wallet, comprising:
 actuating a card interface unit to write a first account token captured from a first of a plurality of physical transaction cards to encode in selectively reconfigurable manner a transaction proxy card having a handheld portable configuration to be carried apart from a transaction terminal;   transmitting the first account token to an external enterprise via a network communication unit;   receiving a second account token from the external enterprise via said network communication unit, the second account token corresponding to a second of the plurality of physical transaction cards different from the first physical transaction card;   reconfigurably encoding said transaction proxy card by actuating said card interface unit to write the second account token onto the transaction proxy card;   inserting said transaction proxy card as encoded in the transaction terminal to be read as a surrogate for the second physical transaction card storing the second account token upon corresponding reconfiguration therefor; and,   selectively disabling said transaction proxy card responsive to detection of unauthorized use;   wherein a plurality of the different account identifiers corresponding to the plurality of physical transaction cards are stored on said transaction proxy card for selective access.   
     
     
         6 . The method for electronically emulating a physical transfer of transaction cards across an online enterprise as recited in  claim 5 , further comprising actuating said card interface unit to modify at least one portion of a magnetic strip of the first transaction card to thereby render the first transaction card unredeemable. 
     
     
         7 . The method for electronically emulating a physical transfer of transaction cards across an online enterprise as recited in  claim 6 , wherein the first transaction card is rendered unredeemable by encoding a faulty checksum value onto the first transaction card. 
     
     
         8 . The method for electronically emulating a physical transfer of transaction cards across an online enterprise as recited in  claim 6 , wherein the first transaction card is rendered unredeemable by erasing the at least one portion of the magnetic strip of the first transaction card. 
     
     
         9 . The method for electronically emulating a physical transfer of transaction cards across an online enterprise as recited in  claim 5 , further comprising:
 rendering the first account token in said storage memory as unredeemable, and   confirming the transfer with the external enterprise via said network communication unit.   
     
     
         10 . The reconfigurable transaction proxy card as recited in  claim 1 , further comprising a transceiver disposed in said substrate and coupled to said storage memory, said transceiver configured to receive the account identifier from a transaction card reader recording magnetic strip contents of said at least one predetermined physical account-bearing transaction cards. 
     
     
         11 . The reconfigurable transaction proxy card as recited in  claim 1 , further comprising a plurality of transponder chips disposed on said substrate, each of said transponder chips being configured for different ones of the account identifiers stored in said storage memory. 
     
     
         12 . The reconfigurable transaction proxy card as recited in  claim 1 , further comprising a plurality of network communication chips disposed on said substrate, said transponder chips being configured respectively with different hardware addresses encoded therein corresponding to the account identifiers stored in said storage memory. 
     
     
         13 . The method for electronically emulating a physical transfer of transaction cards across an online enterprise as recited in  claim 5 , further comprising selective actuation of a plurality of transponder chips established on said transaction proxy card for wireless communication different ones of the account identifiers stored in said storage memory. 
     
     
         14 . The method for electronically emulating a physical transfer of transaction cards across an online enterprise as recited in  claim 5 , further comprising selective actuation of a plurality of network communication chips established on said transaction proxy card configured respectively with different hardware addresses encoded therein corresponding to the account identifiers stored in said storage memory.