Programmable credit card

Claim 1

A programmable credit card for enabling accessing of a selected one of a plurality of different credit accounts with the same or different credit card companies through communication with a clearing house for said credit accounts, said credit card comprising: means for storing a basic account number; a keyboard for entering terminal digits which together with said basic account number define a completed account number and which identify a selected one of the plurality of accounts to be accessed, and for entering identification information for the card; processing means, receiving said terminal digits and said identification information from said keyboard, and said basic account number from said storing means, for outputting a drive signal representing said identification information, said terminal digits and said basic account information; and information retaining means, responsive to said drive signal, for temporarily preserving said identification information, and said terminal digits along with said basic account number to provide said completed account number, in a form which is readable by a reader device but is not discernible by the human eye so that upon reading of said completed account number and said identification information by the reader device during a credit transaction the completed account number and the information can be directly transmitted to said clearing house for verification and subsequent debiting of the account corresponding to the selected terminal digits, said processing means further supplying a signal, in a time period approximating time required to complete a transaction, to said information retaining means which eliminates said identification information, said terminal digits and said basic account number.

Claim 9

A method for establishing direct communication between a clearing house for a plurality of accounts with the same or different credit card companies and the holder of a programmable credit card including programmable electronics so as to provide verification of the credit card and to provide debiting of a selected one of said plurality of accounts, said method comprising the steps of: activating the credit card to provide power to the programmable electronics of the credit card; entering an identification number on a keyboard of the credit card; selecting one of said plurality of accounts to debit by entering a multi-digit number via said keyboard which completes an account number stored by said credit card to provide a completed account number; temporarily preserving said identification number and said completed account number in a form that is not discernable to the human eye; using a reader device to read out, from said form that is not discernable to the human eye, the preserved identification number and completed account number; transferring said identification number and said completed account number read out by said reader device to a communications device; using said communications device to transmit said identification number and said completed account number to said clearing house; verifying said identification number at said clearing house; transmitting from said clearing house a verification of debiting of the account corresponding to said completed account number; and eliminating said identification number and said completed account number from said form in response to an erase signal delivered in a time period approximating time required for a transaction to be completed.

Claim 10

A method for establishing direct communication between a clearing house for a plurality of accounts with the same or different credit card companies and the holder of a programmable credit card including programmable electronics so as to provide verification of the credit card and to provide debiting of a selected one of said plurality of accounts, said method comprising the steps of: activating the credit card to provide power to the programmable electronics of the credit card; entering an identification number on a keyboard of the credit card; selecting one of said plurality of accounts to debit by entering a multi-digit number via said keyboard which completes an account number stored by said credit card to provide a completed account number; temporarily preserving said identification number and said completed account number in a form that is not discernable to the human eye; using a reader device to read out, from said form that is not discernable to the human eye, the preserved identification number and completed account number; transferring said identification number and said completed account number read out by said reader device to a communications device; using said communications device to transmit said identification number and said completed account number to said clearing house; verifying said identification number at said clearing house; transmitting from said clearing house a verification of debiting of the account corresponding to said completed account number; and eliminating said identification number and said completed account number from said form in response to an erase signal delivered in a time period approximating time required for a transaction to be completed.