Rating e-commerce transactions

Abstract

Methods of the present invention allow for rating eCommerce transactions. An exemplary method for rating an eCommerce transaction may comprise the steps of identifying a plurality of data indicating the trustworthiness of a Hosting Provider, a Merchant, and/or a Customer, collecting the data, and generating a Transaction Trust Rating for an eCommerce transaction, with the Transaction Trust Rating being based upon the collected data. The Transaction Trust Rating may be stored in a Repository accessible to Internet users. A Transaction Trust Rating Indicator (indicative of the Transaction Trust Rating) also may be provided to the Hosting Provider, Merchant, and/or Customer and may take the form of a certificate for display on a webpage, a change in color of an address bar on a browser, and/or an alphanumeric ranking.

The invention claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method, comprising:
 receiving, by at least one server computer, a request to execute an eCommerce transaction;   identifying, by the at least one server computer, a merchant for the eCommerce transaction, a hosting provider hosting a website of the merchant, and a customer of the eCommerce transaction;   identifying a first metric indicating a trustworthiness of the merchant;   identifying a second metric indicating a trustworthiness of the hosting provider;   identifying a third metric indicating a trustworthiness of the customer;   calculating a fourth metric indicating a trustworthiness of the eCommerce transaction using the first metric, the second metric, and the third metric;   when the fourth metric exceeds a predetermined threshold, executing the eCommerce transaction; and   when the fourth metric does not exceed the predetermined threshold, rejecting the eCommerce transaction.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the first metric indicates a reputation of a domain name registered to the merchant. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the first metric indicates the website of the merchant is or is not secure socket layer (SSL) certified. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the second metric indicates that the hosting provider satisfies or does not satisfy a Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the second metric identifies a security history of a system operated by the hosting provider. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the third metric identifies a purchase history of the customer. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the third metric indicates that the customer is or is not authorized to use a credit card. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 1 , including, after calculating the fourth metric, transmitting an indication of the fourth metric to at least one of the merchant and the customer. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 8 , wherein the indication of the fourth metric is a graphic configured for display on a web page. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 8 , wherein the indication of the fourth metric is at least one of a certificate for display on a webpage, a change in color of an address bar on a browser, and/or an alphanumeric ranking. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 1 , including, when calculating the fourth metric, applying a weighting to at least one of the first metric, the second metric, and the third metric. 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein calculating the fourth metric includes summing numerical values of the first metric, the second metric, and the third metric. 
     
     
         13 . A method, comprising:
 identifying a first metric indicating a trustworthiness of a merchant of a transaction;   identifying a second metric indicating a trustworthiness of a hosting provider of the transaction;   identifying a third metric indicating a trustworthiness of customer of the transaction;   calculating a fourth metric indicating a trustworthiness of the transaction using at least two of the first metric, the second metric, and the third metric; and   when the fourth metric exceeds a predetermined threshold, executing the transaction.   
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 13  including, after calculating the fourth metric, transmitting an indication of the fourth metric to at least one of the merchant and the customer. 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 14 , wherein the indication of the fourth metric is a graphic configured for display on a web page. 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 14 , wherein the indication of the fourth metric is at least one of a certificate for display on a webpage, a change in color of an address bar on a browser, and/or an alphanumeric ranking. 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 13 , including, when calculating the fourth metric, applying a weighting to at least one of the first metric, the second metric, and the third metric. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 13 , wherein calculating the fourth metric includes summing numerical values of the first metric, the second metric, and the third metric. 
     
     
         19 . A system, comprising:
 at least one server computer in communication with a network, the at least one server computer including a processor configured to:   identify a first metric indicating a trustworthiness of a merchant of a transaction;   identify a second metric indicating a trustworthiness of a hosting provider of the transaction;   identify a third metric indicating a trustworthiness of customer of the transaction;   calculate a fourth metric indicating a trustworthiness of the transaction using at least two of the first metric, the second metric, and the third metric; and   when the fourth metric exceeds a predetermined threshold, execute the transaction.   
     
     
         20 . The system of  claim 19 , wherein the processor is configured to, after calculating the fourth metric, transmit an indication of the fourth metric to at least one of the merchant and the customer.