The bank is the largest issuer of Visa cards in the US, according to the Wall Street Journal. It argues that the on-line payment service, which is due to be acquired by internet auction giant eBay, is infringing two patents for “cardless payment systems.”
The patents are similar. According to one of the extracts, First USA Bank’s invention covers the following:
"A Credit Card holder's telephone number is assigned to his or her credit card as an alias. The cardholder is then required to choose a PIN for security purposes. The telephone number is linked to the cardholder's credit card number via a database. When the cardmember enters into a transaction with a merchant, the card need not be present. The cardmember simply provides his or her telephone number and then the PIN. This can be done at any point of sale such as a store, catalog telephone order, or over the internet. The telephone number and PIN are entered and authorization is returned from the credit card company."