Quisk Inc. announced today it has been awarded a U.S. patent for enabling consumer activated security for a mobile payment system, according to a press release. The security feature enables consumers to "lock" their digital cash account anytime, anywhere to prevent unauthorized use.

The recently issued patent is U.S. Patent 8,788,389: "Methods and Systems for Providing a Customer Controlled Account Lock Feature," according to the announcement. This account locking capability is a security feature for Quisk's patent-pending digital cash payment platform. The Account Lock Feature puts security into the hands of consumers by enabling them to customize the level of security on their Quisk digital cash account, which would be domiciled at a bank. The various account lock features can be activated and deactivated at any time, further protecting the consumer’s digital cash, according to the press release.

Quisk said the Account Lock Feature is just one of many security features engineered into its digital cash platform. No identifiable account numbers are stored or transmitted — a consumer accesses their Quisk digital cash account using their mobile phone number and a unique PIN. Quisk accountholders receive real-time SMS messages of each digital cash transaction, including retail sales, P2P, bill pay and e-commerce. They also have real-time on-line access to all Quisk transactions through their bank portal.

In addition to these consumer-facing security features, Quisk said its platform utilizes state-of-the-art encryption technology, tokenization and risk management.

"Security is of paramount importance to Quisk, and we have appropriately invested to ensure we build state-of-the-art capabilities," Steve Novak, chairman and CEO of Quisk, said in a statement. "Digital cash must be more secure than the credit card paradigm from the last century."