System and method for using a boarding pass to facilitate financial transactions

Abstract

A boarding pass can be employed as a financial instrument to make payments and other financial transactions. A passenger name record, a standardized computer reservation system protocol, can be associated with one or more financial accounts. When a point of sale device scans the boarding pass, either on a mobile device, or a traditional paper boarding pass, the passenger name record can be used to find a travel itinerary associated with the customer. By matching the travel itinerary to the location of the point of sale device, and the time, payments can be authorized and then initiated using financial account information associated with the passenger name record. Likewise, a mismatch can provide a basis for denying authorization and subsequent payment.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A system, comprising:
 a processor coupled to a memory that stores instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to:
 determine a passenger name record identifier based on a payment request received in response to a scanning of a boarding pass by a point-of-sale device; 
 identify a travel itinerary based on the passenger name record identifier, wherein the travel itinerary includes a first location and a first time range for which a passenger will be in the first location; 
 compare the first location and the first time range from the travel itinerary to a second location of the point-of-sale device and a second time of the payment request; 
 authenticate the payment request when a result of the comparison indicates that the second location is associated with the first location and the second time is within the first time range, wherein authenticating the payment request comprises:
 automatically selecting a financial account from a set of financial accounts associated with the passenger name record identifier, and 
 initiating a payment in connection with the selected financial account; and 
 
 prevent the payment request in an instance in which the result of the comparison indicates that the second location is not associated with the first location and the second time is not within the first time range. 
   
     
     
         2 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein automatically selecting the financial account is based on a predefined portion of the travel itinerary in which the payment request was initiated. 
     
     
         3 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein automatically selecting the financial account is based on at least one of (i) the second time of the payment request and (ii) a date of the payment request. 
     
     
         4 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein automatically selecting the financial account is based on a selection of the financial account indicated by the payment request. 
     
     
         5 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the instructions further cause the processor to:
 identify a passenger associated with the payment request from a plurality of passengers linked to the passenger name record identifier,   wherein automatically selecting the financial account is based on the identified passenger.   
     
     
         6 . The system of  claim 5 , wherein the instructions further cause the processor to:
 authenticate the passenger before initiating the payment in connection with the selected financial account.   
     
     
         7 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein automatically selecting the financial account is based on a layover location indicated by the travel itinerary. 
     
     
         8 . A method comprising:
 determining a passenger name record identifier based on a payment request received in response to a scanning of a boarding pass by a point-of-sale device;   identifying a travel itinerary based on the passenger name record identifier, wherein the travel itinerary includes a first location and a first time range for which a passenger will be in the first location;   comparing the first location and the first time range from the travel itinerary to a second location of the point-of-sale device and a second time of the payment request;   authenticating the payment request when a result of the comparison indicates that the second location is associated with the first location and the second time is within the first time range, wherein authenticating the payment request comprises:
 automatically selecting a financial account from a set of financial accounts associated with the passenger name record identifier, and 
 initiating a payment in connection with the selected financial account; and 
   preventing the payment request in an instance in which the result of the comparison indicates that the second location is not associated with the first location and the second time is not within the first time range.   
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 8 , wherein automatically selecting the financial account is based on a predefined portion of the travel itinerary in which the payment request was initiated. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 8 , wherein automatically selecting the financial account is based on at least one of (i) the second time of the payment request and (ii) a date of the payment request. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 8 , wherein automatically selecting the financial account is based on a selection of the financial account indicated by the payment request. 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 8 , further comprising:
 identifying a passenger associated with the payment request from a plurality of passengers linked to the passenger name record identifier,   wherein automatically selecting the financial account is based on the identified passenger.   
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 12 , further comprising:
 authenticating the passenger before initiating the payment in connection with the selected financial account.   
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 8 , wherein automatically selecting the financial account is based on a layover location indicated by the travel itinerary. 
     
     
         15 . A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having instructions stored thereon that enable at least one processor to perform operations upon execution of the instructions, the operations comprising:
 determining a passenger name record identifier based on a payment request received in response to a scanning of a boarding pass by a point-of-sale device;   identifying a travel itinerary based on the passenger name record identifier, wherein the travel itinerary includes a first location and a first time range for which a passenger will be in the first location;   comparing the first location and the first time range from the travel itinerary to a second location of the point-of-sale device and a second time of the payment request;   authenticating the payment request when a result of the comparison indicates that the second location is associated with the first location and the second time is within the first time range, wherein authenticating the payment request comprises:
 automatically selecting a financial account from a set of financial accounts associated with the passenger name record identifier, and 
 initiating a payment in connection with the selected financial account; and 
   preventing the payment request in an instance in which the result of the comparison indicates that the second location is not associated with the first location and the second time is not within the first time range.   
     
     
         16 . The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of  claim 8 , wherein automatically selecting the financial account is based on a predefined portion of the travel itinerary in which the payment request was initiated. 
     
     
         17 . The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of  claim 8 , wherein automatically selecting the financial account is based on at least one of (i) the second time of the payment request and (ii) a date of the payment request. 
     
     
         18 . The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of  claim 8 , wherein automatically selecting the financial account is based on a selection of the financial account indicated by the payment request. 
     
     
         19 . The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of  claim 8 , wherein the operations further comprise:
 identifying a passenger associated with the payment request from a plurality of passengers linked to the passenger name record identifier,   wherein automatically selecting the financial account is based on the identified passenger.   
     
     
         20 . The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of  claim 12 , wherein the operations further comprise:
 authenticating the passenger before initiating the payment in connection with the selected financial account.