PIN ENTRY DEVICE

Abstract

There is disclosed a PIN entry device (PED) for electronic Point of Sale (EPOS) transactions. The PED has enhanced user I/O functionality but retains the strict security and certification framework of such a device. In addition to the usual PED functionality, the PED disclosed herein allows feedback from a user to be obtained in response to a question. The PED comprises an alphanumeric display for displaying text to a user, a numeric keypad and one or more function keys. The PED is configured to operate to display text to the user on the alphanumeric display to prompt a response from the user. The displayed text corresponds to approved text and unapproved text. The PED is configured to accept responses entered on the numeric keypad or one or more function keys in response to approved text, and to accept only a single key press response when prompted by a display of unapproved text. A corresponding method is also disclosed.

Claims

1. A PIN entry device comprising an alphanumeric display for displaying text to a user, a numeric keypad and one or more function keys, and wherein the PIN entry device is configured to operate to display text to the user on the alphanumeric display to prompt a response from the user, wherein the text corresponds to approved text and unapproved text, and wherein the PIN entry device is configured to accept responses entered on the numeric keypad or one or more function keys in response to approved text, and to accept only a single key press response when prompted by a display of unapproved text.

2. The PIN entry device of claim 1, configured to display unapproved text, to accept a single key press response and to display a second instance of unapproved text only after a time delay has expired.

3. The PIN entry device of claim 1, configured to display unapproved text, to accept a single key press response and to display a second instance of unapproved text, and to accept a second single key press response to the second instance of unapproved text only after a time delay has expired.

4. The PIN entry device of claim 3, configured to generate an error code and/or report if a second one key response is made before the time delay has expired.

5. The PIN entry device of claim 2, wherein the time delay comprises one of over 5 seconds, over 10 seconds, over 30 seconds, substantially 30 seconds and 30 seconds.

6. The PIN entry device of claim 1, configured to display unapproved text, to accept a single key press response and to display a second instance of unapproved text only if a display of approved text has occurred after the display of unapproved text.

7. The PIN entry device of claim 1, configured to display unapproved text, to accept a single key press response and to display a second instance of unapproved text only if a payment card insertion status has changed since the first instance of unapproved text was displayed.

8. A method of operating a PIN entry device comprising an alphanumeric display for displaying text to a user, a numeric keypad and one or more functions keys, the method comprising: displaying text to the user on the alphanumeric display to prompt a response from the user, wherein the text corresponds to approved text and unapproved text; in response to a display of approved text accepting responses entered on the numeric keypad or one or more function keys, and in response to a display of unapproved text accepting only a single key press response.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein in response to the display of unapproved text, accepting a single key press response and then displaying a second instance of unapproved text only after a time delay has expired.

10. The method of claim 8, wherein in response to the display of unapproved text, accepting a single key press response and then displaying a second instance of unapproved text, and in response to the second instance of unapproved text accepting a second single key press response only after a time delay has expired.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein an error code is generated or a report is made if a second one key response is made before the time delay has expired.

12. The method of claim 9, wherein the time delay comprises one of over 5 seconds, over 10 seconds, over 30 seconds, substantially 30 seconds and 30 seconds.

13. The method of claim 8, wherein in response to a display of unapproved text, a single key press response is accepted and a second instance of unapproved text is displayed only if a display of approved text has occurred after the display of unapproved text.

14. The method of claim 8, wherein in response to a display of unapproved text, a single key press response is accepted and a second instance of unapproved text is displayed only if a payment card insertion status has changed since the first instance of unapproved text was displayed.

15. A computer program which, when executed, carries out the method of any of claim 8.

16. One or more computer readable media comprising computer program code operable to carry out the method steps of claim 8.

17-20. (canceled)

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0033] In order that the present invention may be more readily understood, preferred embodiments will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

[0034] FIG. 1 is a schematic representation of a PIN entry device;

[0035] FIG. 2 is a flow chart showing instruction flow according to a first embodiment of the present invention; and

[0036] FIG. 3 is a flow chart showing instruction flow according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0037] FIG. 1 is a schematic representation of a conventional PIN entry device (PED) 100 having an alphanumeric display screen 10 for displaying message text to a user, and a keypad 20 for user input. The keypad comprises a numeric keypad 25 having the numbers 0-9. A number of non-numeric keys may such as function keys 26 “Cancel”, “Clear” and “Enter” are also provided. These may be indicated by symbols such as “X”, “←” etc., as shown in FIG. 1. On some PED devices keys “*” and “#” may also be provided, as may be further function keys such as for example, F1, F2, F3 and F4. The non-numeric keys are non-secure keys, whereas the use of the numeric keys is strictly restricted so as to avoid a user being able to enter their PIN other than when requested by the IC chip.

[0038] The present invention implements a new input/output command for a PED to provide additional functionality which may be used to pose a question to user, such as a rating of a service, and the user to provide an input in response to the question.

[0039] The new command is used in combination with unapproved or arbitrary text and would preferably be implemented during the payment procedure such as during dead time in the processing of a transaction or before/after PIN entry but before completion of the transaction. For example, before the statement “Remove card” or the like is displayed. If the use of the new command is coupled with the transaction process, the command can be used to obtain reliable information such as rating information from the user on the service they have received. The rating information cannot be falsely provided from someone who has not received the service, and the information is not influenced by time passing between the service being received and the user providing the feedback.

[0040] In a first embodiment the new command receives and displays arbitrary text, and then waits for one key press from the user before returning with the value of that key press. The command may be known as “One arbitrary question, one key response” or abbreviated to “AQ1KR”. Importantly the response is limited to a single key press. While it is possible that a rogue user could instruct the arbitrary text to be “Enter PIN”, the command responds to only a single key press from the user. Since all PINs are more than a single key press and almost always consist of four key presses or more the user cannot be misled into entering his PIN because the command does not accept more than a single key press.

[0041] The command may be used to ask the user a question about the service they have received from the vendor. Example questions might include “Was the service friendly? Please rate from 0-9” or “Please rate the food from 0-9.” The user would then be able to use the numeric part of the key pad to input a single response from 0-9 as a rating in answer to the question. An entry of “0” could be used to indicate a poor or the worst result, whereas a rating of “9” could be used to indicate that the service was the best possible.

[0042] The result of the question is collected and sent to a remote ratings server. The remote ratings server may be held by the ratings service provider to collate the results from the vendor or a range of the vendor's outlets or locations. The ratings service provider then provides feedback to the vendor on a regular basis which could be hourly, daily, and/or weekly etc. Alternatively, the results could be stored at a server provided by the vendor on his premises, such as in his store, the results collated locally and provided to the vendor. In some circumstances it may be desirable that the vendor is provided with real-time feedback in answer to the question.

[0043] The AQ1KR command permits the use of an arbitrary question. The questions may be provided from the remote ratings server of the ratings service provider. The question can be selected according to the type of service the vendor provides. For example, the questions asked at a restaurant might be related to the food and the service. At other types establishments the questions could be different. Some establishments might even be provided with multiple questions which can be selectively or randomly provided at the PED device when the AQ1KR command is invoked.

[0044] FIG. 2 is a flow-chart showing additional security measures that would be implemented as part of the AQ1KR command. Despite the security measure of accepting only a single key press in response to the arbitrary question there remains the possibility of threat to a user's PIN from repeated asking of an arbitrary question. It would be possible for a rogue trader or hacker to string together repeats of the command having the identical text “Enter PIN”. Each iteration of the command would permit a numeric input and hence multiple iterations would allow the hacker to build up the user's complete PIN. Since the arbitrary question text would be the same, the user would be unaware that he is actually answering multiple questions, but would expect that the “Enter PIN” question has genuinely been initiated by the IC chip on the card. To avoid this problem according to the first embodiment, the command immediately returns an error code if the command has been run within a preceding timeout period. The timeout period could for example be 30 seconds, 10 seconds, 5 seconds but is preferably set to a default value of 30 seconds.

[0045] The flow chart in FIG. 2 begins by invoking the AQ1KR command at step 101. The next step, 102, is to check to determine if the timeout period has elapsed since the last time the command was called. Alternatively, the timeout period could be from the last time a user input a response to the command. If the timeout period has not elapsed, the command returns an error code at 108. If the timeout period has elapsed the command continues to step 103 by displaying the arbitrary question. In response to the question, the user inputs a single key press at 104. The command records the time at which the single key press occurs at 105. The command has now completed but may be called again. If the command is called again the time at which the command was last invoked (or the time at which the user last provided an input to the command) is checked at step 107 to determine if the timeout has elapsed. Once again an error code is returned if the timeout period has not elapsed and as a result the arbitrary text is not displayed. If the timeout period has elapsed the command continues and displays the arbitrary text. The user may enter a second one key response.

[0046] At the end of the command it may be required that, for example, the “Enter” key is pressed to exit the AQ1KR command at step 106 and return the user's input, such as to the remote ratings server. The pressing of the “enter” also returns to the processing of the payment transaction. Alternatively, the AQ1KR command may return without requiring a press of a key additional to the numeric response.

[0047] In a related but alternative arrangement to the first embodiment the application of the delay or timeout in the second operation of the command could be applied before accepting a second one key response from the user instead of being applied before displaying the second instance of unapproved question. Hence, in this arrangement after the first instance of displaying the unapproved question, followed by the first one-key response, the AQ1KR command immediately proceeds to displaying the second instance unapproved question. At this point the delay or timeout is checked and implemented before accepting the second one-key response.

[0048] An advantage of using unapproved text for the question is that the questions can be tailored to be applicable to the services provided by the vendor. The manner in which the user responses are input (single key) maintains the security of the PED. The use of approved text for questions, such as in the prior art, is detrimental to the security of the PED and means that questions will likely not always fit with the vendor's services.

[0049] In a second embodiment the AQ1KR command is configured to be prevented from being run sequentially without a command involving either card removal or display of approved text occurring between consecutive occurrences of the command. This rule prevents a user from being repeatedly asked for their PIN through the use of the same or similar questions that a hacker could employ to obtain the PIN. For example, a hacker could use unapproved text “Enter PIN” as set out above and accept the first digit of the user's PIN as the single key press. If the hacker were allowed to repeat this unapproved text along with subsequent single key press entries the hacker could build up the PIN. The hacker need not use identical text but could for example use different text having the sequence ““Enter PIN *”, “Enter PIN **”, “Enter PIN ***”. The user would see these changes as natural feedback on their inputs.

[0050] The instruction flow for the second embodiment is shown in the flow-chart of FIG. 3. The figure shows the requirement for approved text to have been displayed between sequential operations of the AQ1KR command. A similar instruction flow would be used if the requirement for card removal between operations of the AQ1KR command was invoked. Returning to FIG. 3, the AQ1KR command is first invoked at step 201. Next, at step 202 a check is made to determine if approved text has been displayed since the last time the AQ1KR command was invoked. If no approved text has been displayed since the last time the command was invoked, the command returns an error as shown at step 206. If approved text has been displayed since the last time the command was invoked the command proceeds to display the unapproved or arbitrary text question, as shown at step 203. As discussed above in relation to the first embodiment, following the display of the arbitrary question, the command is configured to accept a single numeric key input. This input, shown at step 204 in FIG. 3, would correspond to the rating in relation to a question displayed as unapproved text.

[0051] As shown at step 205, to operate the function and the check at step 202 requires an input indicating whether approved text was displayed in the last command that was called.

[0052] Not shown in FIG. 3 is any requirement for the “Enter” key to be pressed to complete the function, but this is an option that may be included as for the first embodiment and shown in FIG. 2.

[0053] The alternative of requiring a card removal command to have occurred between sequential operations of the AQ1KR would replace step 202 with a check of whether certain specific commands had been run. It is possible that both the checks for card removal/insertion commands and a display of approved text could both be performed.

[0054] Aspects of the first and second embodiments may be combined. For example, the checks in the second embodiment prevent the AQ1KR command from being run sequentially without generating an error (or the resulting input being ignored). When the command is called and permitted to run, the elapsed time since it was last called is checked as per the first embodiment. We have described the above embodiments in relation to PED devices where the payment card is a Chip-and-PIN card which is inserted into a slot in the PED. However, the embodiments are equally applicable for use with contactless card payments, or cards that use PINs stored on magnetic strips.

[0055] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that variations may be made to the above embodiments without departing from the scope of the invention that is defined by the appended claims. Although the ten numeric buttons 0 to 9 are proposed for providing the user input, such as a rating, fewer or more buttons could be provided. For example, fewer than ten to represent a smaller range, such as 1 to 5, could be provided.