System and method for on-line payment transactions

摘要

An e-commerce transaction system accommodates transactions between a consumer and merchant without requiring that the consumer provide any sensitive credit card or other personal information. The transaction is carried out by a system provider. The consumer opens an account with the system provider and is provided with an account number and access code. The consumer uses the account number and access code in transactions with the merchant. The merchant communicates with the system provider to verify the customer information and to obtain payment on the transaction. The system provider communicates with a credit card bank to verify credit card information of the consumer and to debit a certain amount to be held in the customer account for later transactions.