PROVISION OF TRANSPARENT PROXY SERVICES TO A USER OF A CLIENT DEVICE

摘要

A proxy server 110 for the transparent control of electronic commerce transactions is provided through which an individual without a credit card is enabled to shop at online merchant sites. Upon opening an account within the proxy server, the account can be funded using numerous fund sources, for example credit cards, checking accounts, money orders, gift certificates, incentive codes, online currency, coupons, and stored value cards. A user 120 with a funded account can shop at numerous remote servers 140 through the proxy server. When merchandise is selected for purchase, a purchase transaction is executed in which a credit card belonging to the proxy server is temporarily or permanently assigned to the user. The credit card, once loaded with funds from the user's corresponding funded account, is used to complete the purchase transaction. The proxy server provides controls that include monitoring the data streams and, in response, controlling the information flow between the user and the merchant sites.