Generally, a current trend in companies, offering social networking application over the internet, is to create networking platforms that allow third party entities to develop application on those networking platforms. In this manner, the companies offering social networking application over the internet utilize diversity and skills of many third party entities to create applications that benefit users of the networking platform and enhance the value of the social networking application as a whole. These applications, created by the third party entities, are software applications performing a certain task within an environment and structure of the networking platform. The applications include a software utility, a user entertainment application, a game, a communication tool, a monitoring agent and many others. Example of popular and prominent companies offering social networking application over the internet may include, but not limited to, Facebook®, MySpace®, Bebo®, Hi5® and Orkut®. Some examples of popular applications that reside on networking platform offered by Facebook® may include, but not limited to, Scratch and Win® by Backstage Technologies®, Texas Hold'em Poker® by Zynga® and Armies® by FrozenBear®. More often than not, these networking platforms allow these applications to leverage the information hosted by the networking platform. The information includes user data, networking platform data and others.
The monetization methods adopted by the third party entities include subscription fees, advertising, sponsorship, direct payments, payment for offers and many others. For an example, the third party entity may charge a small amount of subscription fee from the users for using their application. In another example, the third party entity may charge the users on a pay-per-use basis i.e. the users pay a fee every time the users uses the applications. In another example, the third party entity may charge the user for virtual goods i.e., digital items that the users can utilize within the third party application. An example of such a digital item may be a type of sword in a gaming application that a user purchases. This sword may bestow additional skills, powers and abilities to the user within the gaming application that are not otherwise available to the users. Another example of digital items may include, but not limited to, a self-expression item, a decorative item such as a clothing for an avatar to wear in a gaming application, a decoration or a property that an avatar may own in the gaming application. Therefore, there exists a need for a system to enable the users to make payment for these applications.
Further, the users accessing these applications may commit fraud and thus the online transaction request may be a fraudulent transaction. For example, fraud may take a form of a credit card chargeback, a reversal of payment through a payment provider or a default of a check or funds. In an example, a user may commit a fraud by accessing and playing a paid game and thereafter requesting a refund pretending a misuse of their credit card by malicious users for purchasing the paid game. In another instance, a user may commit a fraud by deliberately using stolen, illegitimate or hacked data pertaining to credit cards or internet banking with the intent of profiting from the fraud. Therefore, there is a need for a method and system that enables safe online transaction between the companies offering social networking platform, the third party applications and the users.
Skilled artisans will appreciate that elements in the figures are illustrated for simplicity and clarity and are symbolic and have not necessarily been drawn to scale. For example, the dimensions or number of some of the elements in the figures may be exaggerated relative to other elements to help to improve understanding of embodiments of the present invention.
USPTO Backgrounds
USPTO Backgrounds