Patent 19 / Cross-Region Transaction
01 / 11 US11784981B2
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Siten Sanghvi  ·  Granted Oct 10, 2023

Cross-Region Transaction

A user device — including wearables — that detects when a user enters a foreign region, discovers nearby pre-authorized partner processors via geolocation, authenticates cross-region transactions against the home processor, and optionally caches the partner list for full offline operation.

US11784981B2Patent
Jun 4, 2021Filed
28 monthsTime to grant
20 Claims / 3 independentScope
M2M TransferDomain
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Visual patent explainer
02 / The Problem

The user's device has no way to find or connect to foreign financial institutions on its own.

When a user travels abroad with their phone or wearable, their financial app has no mechanism to discover which nearby institutions are authorized to process their transactions. Even if they find one, the device can't authenticate the transaction locally — it has no way to transmit the user's home account context to the foreign processor without a global intermediary network.

No Foreign DiscoveryThe device doesn't know which nearby ATMs or partner institutions have a pre-authorized relationship with the user's home bank
Connectivity DependencyDiscovering and authenticating foreign partners typically requires live network access — failing completely when connectivity is limited or unavailable
No Wearable SupportExisting cross-border payment systems aren't designed for the constrained compute and storage environment of wearable devices — which lack the ability to run full card network stacks
03 / The Invention

The device detects the foreign region, finds partners, authenticates, and initiates — with or without live connectivity.

The user device detects that the user has entered a foreign region, then either queries the home processor for nearby partner processors or searches a locally cached partner list. It authenticates the transaction against the home processor via a pre-authorized M2M connection, optionally requests pre-authorization for the transaction value, and initiates the transaction at the selected partner.

Claim 8 explicitly narrows the device to a wearable — extending the full architecture to watches and other constrained devices. The companion patent US11792165B2 covers the home processor infrastructure side of this same system.

04 / Architecture

Detect. Discover. Authenticate. Initiate.

The device runs the full user-facing workflow: it detects geo-region change, discovers partners (online or from local cache), presents recommendations, authenticates via home processor, optionally pre-authorizes, and initiates the transaction. The home processor handles the infrastructure side — covered in companion patent US11792165B2.

The pre-authorized connection between the home processor and each partner processor is established before the user travels. The device benefits from this pre-established trust without needing to participate in the original setup.

Device Architecture — US11784981B2
Detect: user enters
foreign region
Query home processor
(online)
or
Search local cache
(offline)
Recommend nearby
partner processors
User selects partner
Pre-auth request
(optional)
Authenticate +
initiate transaction
05 / Discovery Modes

Two partner discovery paths. Both lead to the same transaction outcome.

Claims 3 and 4 define two distinct partner discovery modes — online and offline. In online mode, the device submits a geo-location query to the home processor, which searches and returns matching partners. In offline mode, the device carries a locally stored full partner list and searches it directly based on current geo-location.

The offline mode is particularly significant for wearables (Claim 8): a smartwatch operating in a constrained environment or poor connectivity can still discover and connect to foreign partner processors using its locally cached list — no live network required for the discovery step.

Discovery Modes — US11784981B2

Online Mode (Claim 3)

Device transmits geo-location query to home processor. Home searches its partner list and returns results for the user's current foreign region. Requires live M2M connection — always returns the most current partner list.

Offline Mode (Claim 4)

Device stores the full partner list locally in memory. Searches it autonomously based on current geo-location — no network needed for the discovery step. Ideal for wearables and connectivity-constrained environments.

Pre-Authorization (Claim 6–7)

Before initiating the transaction, device requests home processor to pre-authorize the specific transaction type and value. Home checks user credit — if credit ≥ value, pre-auth approved. Prevents execution failures at the partner.

Wearable Device (Claim 8)

The full architecture explicitly extends to wearable electronic devices — enabling smartwatches and other constrained devices to authenticate and initiate cross-region transactions using the same M2M infrastructure.

06 / Device Simulator

The device handles every step of the cross-region transaction lifecycle.

From initial region detection through partner discovery, pre-authorization, authentication, and transaction initiation — the device orchestrates the entire flow. Select a step to trace the user device's actions.

Device Flow Scenarios
07 / Data Transfer

Registration data moves from home to partner — the device initiates the transfer.

Claim 2 covers a critical element of the cross-region architecture: after the user authenticates and selects a partner, the device initiates a transfer of the user's registration data from the home processor to the selected partner. This is what enables the partner to process the transaction without having any prior relationship with the user.

The registration data package (specified in Claim 3 of the companion system patent) includes: user identity, home processor identity, device identity, and a portion of user credit. The partner receives all of this before the transaction begins — eliminating the need for the user to re-register or provide credentials at the foreign institution.

Registration Data Transfer Flow — US11784981B2
1
User authenticates via identity verification at home processor
2
Device initiates data transfer request — asking home processor to push registration data to selected partner
3
Home processor transmits user identity, home processor ID, device ID, and user credit portion to the selected partner
4
Partner processor receives registration data via pre-authorized M2M connection — no user re-registration required
5
Device initiates the transaction at the selected partner — which processes it using the transferred registration data
08 / Applications

Cross-region financial transactions from any user device — phone or wearable.

The device-side architecture enables a wide range of consumer financial scenarios that were previously blocked by the lack of portable identity, geo-aware discovery, and wearable support.

Use Cases — US11784981B2
Express
Smartwatch Foreign ATM User travels to Tokyo with a smartwatch. Device detects foreign region, queries home processor for nearby partner ATMs, presents recommendations. User taps one on the watch face, authenticates with PIN, and initiates withdrawal — no phone needed.
Express
Offline Partner Discovery User is in a low-connectivity area abroad. Device searches its locally cached partner list, finds authorized processors nearby, and recommends them — no network required for discovery. Authentication still goes through the home processor when connectivity is restored.
Express
Pre-Authorized Foreign Purchase Before initiating a €500 purchase at a foreign partner, device requests pre-authorization from home processor. Home confirms user credit ≥ €500 and approves. Transaction proceeds with zero risk of execution failure at the partner side.
Inferred
Seamless Partner Handoff Device pairs with companion infrastructure patent US11792165B2 — device handles discovery and initiation; home processor handles authentication and data transfer. Together they form a complete end-to-end cross-region M2M transaction system.
09 / Citations

Forward Citations

This is a 2023 grant in the M2M transfer and cross-region financial transaction space. The patent's architecture — particularly the offline partner list caching and wearable extension — addresses a distinct gap in portable financial identity. Forward citations, if any, are dynamically rendered on Google Patents.

Verified via static fetch · Jun 2026 · No citations confirmed at time of verification
Related Patents — US11784981B2
Companion Patent — System Side US11792165B2  ·  Oct 17, 2023 Supporting data processing transactions using M2M data transfer — covers the home processor infrastructure that this device-side patent connects to
10 / Wearable Extension

Claim 8 brings the full architecture to constrained wearable devices.

One of the most significant dependent claims is Claim 8 — which explicitly narrows the user device to a wearable electronic device. This is not just a form-factor claim; it extends the full geo-aware discovery, M2M authentication, pre-authorization, and registration-data-transfer architecture to devices that cannot run traditional payment stacks.

Combined with the offline discovery mode (Claim 4), a wearable device can operate the full cross-region transaction workflow without live connectivity for the discovery step — using only the locally stored partner list and initiating authentication when network access is available.

Wearable Capabilities — US11784981B2 Claim 8

Region Detection

Wearable detects that the user has entered a foreign region — using GPS or network-based location available on the device.

Local Partner Cache

Wearable stores the pre-loaded partner list in its own memory — enabling discovery without querying the home processor in real time.

M2M Authentication

Wearable initiates authentication with the home processor via pre-authorized connection — verifying the user's identity with PIN, biometric, or device ID.

Transaction Initiation

After authentication and optional pre-authorization, the wearable initiates the full data processing transaction at the selected partner processor.

11 / Timeline

Patent Lifecycle

Jun 4, 2021
Filed
Application filed — same day as companion patent US11792165B2
18 months
Dec 8, 2022
Published
Pre-grant publication US20220394018A1
10 months
Oct 10, 2023
Granted
US11784981B2 granted — 7 days before companion patent US11792165B2
~18 years
Jan 8, 2042
Expires
Adjusted expiration (includes patent term adjustment)
End / Patent 19