Patent Application
20100174596
Embodiments disclosed herein relate to payment systems. In particular, some embodiments relate to methods, apparatus, systems, means and computer program products for processing and fulfilling mobile offers.
Payment card loyalty programs have been in wide spread use for some time. Most customers who hold payment cards participate in some form of loyalty program, including merchant-specific frequent buyer programs, airline mileage programs, or the like. In general, these programs are successful, as many customers who participate in loyalty programs indicate that their participation in the programs has an impact on their purchasing decisions.
Unfortunately, the ubiquity of these programs has led to dilution of their impact. With so many programs, and so little differentiation, customer's behaviors are not directly driven by the programs. As a result, many customers do not actively participate in many loyalty programs even after they have enrolled.
The reward delivery mechanism for most loyalty programs has primarily been the use of store coupons, statement inserts or other printed coupons that require a customer to redeem the coupon in a future purchase. Currently, it is estimated that the percentage of reward coupons that are redeemed by customers is less than 1% of the total coupons distributed. As card based reward programs and benefits become more widespread, financial institutions and other entities are searching for more cost effective ways to deliver value to their cardholders.
Further, many merchants simply do not have the expertise or ability to effectively use their customer data to develop and administer reward programs. It would be desirable to reduce the barriers to customers to make it easier for them to participate in reward programs and to receive awards. It would further be desirable to provide systems and methods that allow the communication and fulfillment of reward offers using mobile devices such as mobile telephones or the like.
Some embodiments of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/923,306, incorporated herein by reference, provide reward messaging to consumers at the point of interaction by displaying reward messaging on the point of sale or other point of interaction device. In some situations, however, it is desirable to provide messaging at the point of interaction without modifying existing point of sale devices.
Features and advantages of some embodiments of the present invention, and the manner in which the same are accomplished, will become more readily apparent upon consideration of the following detail description of the invention taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, which illustrate preferred and exemplary embodiments and which are not necessarily drawn to scale, wherein:
Applicants have recognized that there is a need for methods, systems, apparatus, means and computer program products for processing rewards transactions. More particularly, there is a need for mobile offer fulfillment and communication which allow cardholders to select offers using their mobile device as well as to receive notifications of reward progress or qualification on their mobile devices. Cardholders may, in some embodiments, be notified of reward progress or qualification substantially at the same time as having completed a qualifying transaction at a point of sale.
In general, embodiments of the present invention allow consumers (otherwise referred to herein as “payment device holders” or “cardholders” to refer to participants who earn rewards pursuant to the present invention) a way to receive a message (such as an SMS message) on their mobile device as soon as they become eligible for rewards based on a transaction. For example, an SMS message may be sent to a cardholder's mobile telephone while the cardholder is still at a merchant POS location if a transaction conducted at the POS location made the cardholder eligible to receive an award (e.g., such as a statement credit, or bonus points at the POS, etc.). Cardholders may also receive messages (such as SMS messages) to update them on their status in promotions. For example, if a cardholder is a participant in a promotion such as a “spend $x at merchant y” or “shop x more times at merchant y to get a reward”, the cardholder may receive a status message as soon as the cardholder completes a qualifying transaction. Embodiments enable “paperless” fulfillment of targeted reward offers without requiring a cardholder to have a coupon or promotional code. Embodiments provide prompt and clear communication of status and earnings to participating cardholders.
Pursuant to some embodiments, rewards may include statement credits as well as bonus points earned through purchases made at participating retail locations. Cardholders will earn rewards by meeting established criteria ranging from a set number of shopping instances to specific individual purchase amounts on given transactions. Here are several illustrative examples of ways that cardholders can earn rewards pursuant to some embodiments:
Those skilled in the art will appreciate that other reward program structures may also be used in conjunction with embodiments of the present invention.
As used herein, the term “offer” is used to refer to a discount, rebate or other promotional feature provided to a consumer. “Offers” may be selected and presented to consumers in a number of different ways. For example, in some embodiments, a location-adjusted propensity score may be used to present offers to consumers based on a scoring system associated with the consumer's shopping history and current location. Such techniques are described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/727,333, filed on even date herewith (Attorney Docket Number M01.161, titled “SYSTEMS AND METHODS TO PROVIDE OFFERS TO MOBILE DEVICES IN ACCORDANCE WITH PROXIMITY-SENSITIVITY SCORES”) which is owned by the assignee of the present application and the contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety for all purposes.
In some embodiments, offers may be selected and presented to consumers by analyzing and segregating payment card account profiles into clusters and targeting offers to cardholders. Offers may be targeted based on analyzing customer transactions with merchants from a merchant category as compared with transactions with merchants from a universe of merchants. Customers who have no transaction history with a merchant may be selected for offers based on similarities with respect to other customers of the merchant. Such targeting techniques are described in PCT Application No. PCT/US2007/086114, filed on Nov. 30, 2007, the contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety for all purposes.
As used herein, features of embodiments will be described in conjunction with “payment devices”. A payment device may include (but is not limited to), for example, credit cards, debit cards, stored value cards, or other payment devices associated with payment accounts. In some embodiments, features may be used in conjunction with “loyalty cards” or devices used to identify a member's participation in a loyalty program. A payment device or loyalty card may be embodied in various forms, including, for example, as a magnetic stripe card, a radio frequency identification (“RFID”) card or other “contactless” card, smart card, or the like. Further, embodiments may also be used in conjunction with virtual cards (e.g., where no physical card is used for a transaction), or other payment devices (such as, for example, contactless key fobs, payment-enabled mobile devices or telephones, or the like). Further, although features will be described in an illustrative example with transactions conducted in the U.S., embodiments may be used in any region or cross-regions.
As used herein, the terms “POS” or “POS terminal” are used to refer to devices provided at a “point of interaction” with a customer to enable the customer to make a purchase or conduct a transaction. For example, a POS device may be a POS terminal located at a physical point of sale location (such as a brick and mortar merchant retail location), or a virtual POS device (such as a “shopping cart” used by an Internet retailer to facilitate a payment transaction over the Internet), or a virtual terminal used by a mail order or telephone retailer to facilitate transactions over the telephone or by mail. In general, as used herein, the term POS or POS terminal refers to any device or set of devices that are provided at a point of interaction with a customer during a purchase or sale transaction.
As used herein, the term “mobile device” refers to handheld or mobile devices carried by cardholders. For example, a mobile device may be a handheld cellular telephone or personal digital assistant. In some embodiments, mobile devices are capable of receiving data or text messages (e.g., such as SMS messages or email messages). In some embodiments, mobile devices are provided with the ability to browse and interact with Websites, allowing cardholders to select offers and interact with certain aspects of the rewards system of the present invention. In some embodiments, the mobile devices are provided with (or updated to have) an application program which allows communication with the rewards system of the present invention. For example, a mobile device with an application pursuant to the present invention may receive rewards messages and other information about offers and participation via XML or other messaging techniques.
Features of some embodiments will now be described by reference to
In some embodiments, user devices 118 are mobile devices carried by the cardholder and which have an application or code which allows the mobile device 118 to receive reward messaging or information pursuant to the present invention. For example, user devices 118 may include mobile phones which are capable of browsing the Internet (e.g., to clip or select offers, or to view rewards status information as discussed further below). The mobile phones may also be capable of receiving short text messages (e.g., such as SMS messages) with information regarding reward eligibility, status or participation. User devices 118 may also include personal computers or other devices which may be operated by participants to update, view or otherwise interact with the rewards system of the present invention. A participant may use several different user devices 118 to interact with the system of the present invention. However, in some embodiments, in order for a participant to receive reward messaging at the point of transaction, at least one of the user devices 118 should be a mobile device carried by the participant.
Those skilled in the art will recognize that a large number of devices and entities may be involved in a payment system pursuant to the present invention. For example, authorization networks 110 may process transactions from a number of different point of sale devices 104, a number of different merchant systems 106, a number of different acquirer systems 108, and a number of different issuer systems 112. For ease of exposition, only a single one of each of these devices, systems or entities is shown in the block diagram of
Point of sale device 104 (also referred to herein as a “POS” device or location) may be any of a number of types of devices, and may also refer to a “point of interaction” such as Internet commerce sites that receive payment account numbers from customers who shop online, mail order or telephone (MOTO) merchants who receive payment account numbers by telephone and/or mail, and physical point of sale terminals located in brick-and-mortar retail stores. In the case of physical point of sale terminals, a payment device 102 (e.g., a credit or debit card) is presented to the terminal by a customer and read by the terminal to input the number of the payment device account to which a purchase transaction is to be charged. In the case of other types of POS locations, the payment device account number is input into the POS location by human data entry or the like. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that a physical embodiment of a payment device is not needed—for example, a “virtual” payment device may be used where the cardholder simply enters (or causes to be entered) a payment device account number.
POS device 104 may be connected to a merchant system 106. A number of different POS devices may be connected to a merchant system. Each merchant system 104 is a computer or computer system that receives transaction data from the POS devices 104 connected to it and that forwards authorization requests and requests to settle purchase transactions to an acquirer 108. In the case of an Internet shopping site, the POS device(s) and the merchant processing system may be integrated together into a single computer system. In some cases (not illustrated), POS device 104 may communicate directly with acquirer systems 106, without an intervening merchant processing system. The term “acquirer” is widely used in the payment processing field, and refers to financial institutions such as banks or other financial systems that have agreements with merchants to receive and forward purchase transaction authorizations and settlement requests on behalf of the merchants. The term “acquirer” also refers to processing agents that act on behalf of such financial institutions or systems. Each acquirer typically serves numerous merchants, and accordingly each acquirer system 108 may be in communication with numerous merchant systems 106.
In some embodiments, one or more merchant systems 106 may directly connect or communicate with authorization systems 110 (e.g., a merchant system may have the capability of transmitting and receiving authorization messages without need for communication with a separate acquirer system 108).
The term “issuer” is widely used in the payment processing field, and refers to financial institutions such as banks or other financial systems that issue payment products (such as payment device, debit card or credit card accounts, etc.) to customers or other account holders. The term “issuer” also refers to processing agents that act on behalf of such financial institutions or systems. Each issuer typically serves a number of account holders. Authorization systems 110 may be in communication with a number of different issuer systems 112.
Authorization systems 110 act to authorize transactions initiated at POS locations 104 involving payment devices associated with the authorization network. In one illustrative example, authorization systems 110 include the BankNet® network operated by MasterCard Worldwide®, which serves to facilitate authorizations of payment transactions involving MasterCard branded payment devices. Those skilled in the art will recognize that other authorization networks are also known and used for processing payment transactions (e.g., such as the payment card authorization networks operated by Visa International Service Association® or American Express®). Authorization systems 110 receive payment authorization request messages from acquirer systems 108, and processes the authorization request messages to authorize or decline a payment transaction. In some embodiments, authorization request messages may be routed to issuer systems 112 for authorization processing. Those skilled in the art will also appreciate that authorization systems 110 may also include a transaction clearing and settlement function; however, for the purpose of this disclosure, the systems 110 will simply be referred to as the authorization systems.
Embodiments as illustrated in
In some embodiments, each reward program administered using features of the invention may include data identifying the types of transactions that qualify for a reward, as well as other eligibility criteria (such as program eligibility dates, etc.). In some embodiments, payment device accounts may qualify based on account ranges (e.g., an issuer may specify that accounts in a certain account number range are eligible for participation in a reward program), or based on individual accounts. In some embodiments, individual accounts (or account ranges) may have different levels of rebate or reward program eligibility. Pursuant to some embodiments, eligibility may be determined using statistical analysis based on prior transaction information associated with individual accounts. In some embodiments, the eligibility may be determined based on spend triggers or amounts at a participating merchant which causes the customer to become eligible for a discount at a second merchant. Further, in some embodiments, eligibility may be determined based on transactions conducted during a specific period of time (e.g., a customer who has not used their account for a while may be given a specific period of eligibility to receive a reward to encourage the customer to use their account). Other targeting techniques may be based on a location propensity scoring system, such as the one described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/727,333, filed on even date herewith (Attorney Docket Number M01.161) which is owned by the assignee of the present application and the contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety for all purposes. Other eligibility criteria will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon reading this disclosure. Cardholder eligibility database 1000 or offer database 900 are used to store the data (or a subset of the data) needed to perform such a lookup under rewards system 116, either on an individual account or an account range basis.
The data stored in (or accessible to) rewards system 116 may include participation criteria including, for example: account numbers or account number ranges, acquirer and or merchant identifiers, information identifying qualifying purchase transactions and thresholds, reward information (a fixed amount, a percentage of a transaction amount, etc.), and current status information (e.g., including each cardholder's current reward balance). The rewards systems 116 may also store one or more phone numbers for cardholders who are participants in the rewards program of the present invention. The registration of these phone numbers will be discussed further below. In general, the phone numbers are used to deliver rewards messaging data to cardholders based on information received in an authorization message. Rewards system 116 further stores (e.g., at database 900 or 1000 or the like) rewards messaging data for delivery to user devices 118 associated with participating cardholders.
Rewards System 116 could also include a front-end offer display mechanism (e.g., a mobile WAP site or a downloadable application) for cardholders to learn about what offers are available and register to participate in specific offers (e.g., User Interface 400).
One or more APIs 117 are provided to allow interaction between devices and the data associated with the rewards system 116. For example, in some embodiments, the offer data may be accessed using an API which provides an interface to the front-end offer display mechanism (e.g., a mobile WAP site or a downloadable application) and Messaging Gateway(s) 120. In one current embodiment, the API is a RESTful web service interface that allows offer data to be retrieved using XML, including targeted and non targeted offers and location based offers. The offer data retrieved via the API may include offer terms and conditions and other details that may be, for example, presented to a consumer for their selection or opt in to participate. In some embodiments, multiple APIs 117 may be provided, allowing access or interaction with one or more data sources associated with the rewards systems 116. In some embodiments, a secure API may also be provided to allow cardholders to access reward status via their mobile device.
In the embodiment depicted in
Transactions which are identified as being associated with a reward offer may result in the generation of one or more messages transmitted to the cardholder via a messaging gateway 120. The messaging gateway 120, for example, may be an SMS gateway which allows the transmission of SMS messages to mobile devices. Pursuant to some embodiments, the messaging text and phone number to be messaged are identified by the reward system 116 in response to reward transaction processing as described herein. A number of different types of messages may be generated and transmitted. For example, in some embodiments, cardholders may receive SMS messages shortly after they complete a reward-qualifying transaction at a point of sale device. The message may update the cardholder of their status in a particular promotion (e.g., such as “Congratulations John—Your purchase qualifies you for a $10 discount the next time you shop at Merchant Name!”). Messages may also congratulate a cardholder on purchases that earn them a reward (e.g., “Congratulations John—You just earned a $10 credit. Your credit will show up on your next billing statement.”). A variety of other messages may be provided to offer real-time discounts and rewards while a consumer is at a point of sale and to reinforce a cardholder's participation and progress in reward programs.
A number of different messaging gateways 120 may be used to transmit messages pursuant to embodiments of the present invention. In some embodiments, gateways 120 may be operated or controlled by mobile operators or networks. In some embodiments, gateways 120 may further be capable of transmitting messages using other messaging protocols (e.g., such as electronic mail, Internet Messaging protocols, XML, or the like). For example, a cardholder may specify one or more desired messaging formats in which to receive their communications regarding rewards. In some embodiments, the messaging formats are preferably formats which allow near-instant communication with a cardholder (e.g., to alert the cardholder about rewards status substantially in real-time or shortly after a purchase is made at a point of sale location).
To illustrate features of some embodiments a typical transaction process will now be described by reference to
The processing begins where the cardholder makes a purchase at a merchant location. The cardholder presents (physically or electronically) his or her payment device 102 at a POS location 104. The POS device causes an authorization request to be transmitted to an authorization network 110 (e.g., through merchant and acquirer systems). The authorization network 110 obtains an authorization response for the transaction (e.g., by stand in processing or by consulting with an issuer 112). In the event the transaction is authorized, a message may be transmitted to rewards system 116 so that a determination may be made whether the cardholder and the transaction are eligible for a reward or other offer. The cardholder's eligibility may be determined, for example, based on a number of variables such as: (1) the cardholder's primary account number or “PAN”, (2) data in the payment transaction authorization request such as the payment amount, (3) the identity of the merchant, and/or (4) the date/time of the transaction.
If the cardholder/transaction is eligible for a reward or offer (or the transaction brings the cardholder closer to earning a reward), the rewards system 116 may cause a message to be transmitted to the user device 118 (through a messaging gateway 120) informing the cardholder of the reward or status. Pursuant to some embodiments, the message transmitted to the user device 118 may be delivered substantially at the same time as an authorization response message is delivered to the POS device 104. That is, the cardholder may be notified of the earning of an offer (or progress toward earning a reward) substantially at the same time as completing the transaction at the POS device. In some embodiments where such substantially in real time communication are not possible, the messaging may be generated at a later time (e.g., in conjunction with transaction clearing processing).
Reference is now made to
Process 200 and all other processes mentioned herein may be embodied in processor-executable instructions read from one or more computer-readable media, such as a floppy disk, a CD-ROM, a DVD-ROM, and a magnetic tape, and then stored in a compressed, uncompiled and/or encrypted format. In some embodiments, hard-wired circuitry may be used in place of, or in combination with, instructions for implementation of processes according to some embodiments. Embodiments are therefore not limited to any specific combination of hardware and software.
Process 200 begins at 202 where information identifying an offer is received. For example, the offer information may be received from a merchant (or an agent associated with a merchant) that wishes to offer rewards in conjunction with the rewards system of the present invention. The information identifying an offer, in some embodiments, includes a number of variables for each offer, including: (i) any application merchant identifiers (e.g., such as “MIDs” described below in conjunction with
Processing continues at 204 where information defining cardholder eligibility is received. The information defining cardholder eligibility may be specified by the merchant sponsor of a particular offer, by an issuer, or by a combination of parties. The data received at 204 may be stored at a database such as the cardholder database 1000 (described below in conjunction with
Processing continues at 206 where the rewards systems processes transaction data, offer data, and cardholder data to identify messages that require transmission. Processing at 206 includes transmitting offer messages to messaging gateway(s) (such as gateways 120 of
Those skilled in the art will appreciate that a variety of other messages may also be triggered and transmitted by the rewards system of the present invention. For example, in some embodiments, discounts may be identified and applied to transactions pursuant to the present invention. As a specific example, a merchant discount may be established which specifies that cardholders making a purchase that exceeds $100 will receive a discount of 10% of the total transaction amount. Embodiments of the present invention allow such discounts to be communicated to the cardholder substantially in real time after the completion of the transaction (e.g., with a message telling the cardholder of the amount of the discount earned as a result of a qualified transaction).
Reference is now made to
In some embodiments, the data provided by the cardholder via the interface of
As shown in
In some embodiments, the user interfaces shown at
Reference is now made to
Pursuant to some embodiments, the user interfaces of
The offer selection process 500 is shown in
Processing continues at 504 where the rewards system 116 updates the cardholder database 1000 with the offer information and opt in confirmation.
Processing continues at 506 where the rewards system 116 identifies any confirmation message associated with the offer and causes the messaging server 120 to transmit the confirmation message to the cardholder's mobile device. In some embodiments, the rewards system 116 causes a single message to be transmitted for each selected offer. In some embodiments, each confirmation message transmitted includes information about how the cardholder can opt out of receiving any additional notifications for that particular offer. In some embodiments, cardholders may be given the ability to opt out of all communications. If a cardholder has previously opted out of receiving messages, the rewards server 116 does not transmit a confirmation message at 506.
As mentioned above, in some embodiments, the Registration process 300 would be structured so that the customer will accept the T&Cs for all offers available and not need to opt-in for each individual offer. In this case, the Offer Selection process 500 will be executed for all offers simultaneously or be included within the Registration process 300.
Process 600 begins at 602 where the rewards system 116 receives filtered transaction data involving a purchase made by a participating cardholder (e.g., at a point of sale system 104). For example, the filtered transaction data may include data that has had declined transactions removed, and that only includes transactions completed at participating merchants (e.g., as identified by MIDs stored in offer database 900).
Processing continues at 604 where the rewards system 116 processes the filtered transaction data to determine which transactions are associated with reward transactions and participating cardholders. For example, processing at 604 may include comparing the filtered transaction data with the cardholder data from database 1000 to identify those transactions that involve participating cardholders and the match offer eligibility rules. The transaction data may be compared to the stored cardholder PAN, and offer rules, including the transaction date, time and amounts.
For those transactions that are eligible for rewards (or that update a cardholder's reward progress or status), the cardholder database is updated to reflect the new status or eligibility. Processing continues at 606 where a determination is made whether the cardholder opted out of receiving messages for that particular offer (or for all offers). If so, no message is transmitted to the cardholder (although the cardholder's reward progress status is updated).
If the cardholder did not opt out of messaging, processing continues at 608 where a determination is made whether any messaging is required. For example, if a cardholder completed a transaction associated with an offer that requires 3 purchases in one month to qualify for a reward, and the merchant sponsoring the reward has specified that a message be generated for each of the 3 purchases, processing at 608 may result in a determination that a message is required.
Processing continues at 610 where a message is generated based on the offer status (in the example, the offer status is that the cardholder has completed the first of three required actions), and the message is transmitted to the cardholder. For example, processing at 610 may result in a message being sent to a messaging gateway 120 for delivery to the cardholder's mobile device. In some embodiments, the messaging can be delivered substantially in real time in response to the cardholder's completion of a purchase at a point of sale, providing the cardholder with near-immediate feedback on their rewards status. In some embodiments, the messaging may include a reminder of the additional steps required to complete the reward.
Processing continues again at 602 as additional transactions are analyzed. In some embodiments, the process 600 is performed in a batch process. In some embodiments, the process 600 is performed as filtered transaction data is received by the rewards system 116.
Processing continues at 704 where the rewards system receives a cardholder request to participate in offer. The processing at 704 may also be referred to as offer “clipping” and may also result in details of the offer being stored on an application of the cardholder's mobile device. By requesting to participate in an offer, the cardholder's request is caused to be updated in the cardholder database 900 (where the offer identifier and opt in information are stored in association with the cardholder's information). In some embodiments, the offer clipping or selection (e.g., as shown in
In some embodiments, a cardholder may be automatically enrolled in all offers after registering for a program. For example, an issuer of cards may specify that all cardholders (or cardholders in a selected account number range) are participants in a specific reward program. The issuer may also specify that cardholders need not opt in to participate in specific offers—instead, cardholders in the program are automatically enrolled in offers pursuant to the program.
Processing continues at 706 where the cardholder uses their registered payment device to complete transactions and where the rewards system 116 identifies reward qualifying transactions. For example, processing at 706 includes the rewards system receiving filtered transaction data and matching transaction data to a cardholder and to an offer, and then comparing the transaction details (including the transaction date and amount) to the offer criteria to determine appropriate messaging and reward actions.
Processing continues at 708 where any messaging is transmitted to the cardholder. Pursuant to some embodiments, SMS messages are transmitted after a qualifying action at the POS (and after the transaction data has been processed at the rewards system 116). A qualifying action at the POS may vary based on each offer's terms and conditions. Examples of qualifying actions could be as follows: (i) Becoming eligible to receive statement rebate, (ii) Making any transaction at the merchant, or (iii). Reaching x % of cumulative spend or transaction threshold before earning rebate.
Pursuant to some embodiments, there is an option set by the cardholder and/or issuer to restrict SMS messaging when the consumer is traveling with his phone in other countries. The customer may receive the message immediately when he returns to his/her home country.
Pursuant to some embodiments, each SMS message has content including a message customized based on data from the cardholder database (e.g., such as the database shown in
When populated with data from the offer database and cardholder database, these messages may render as follows: (i) “Congratulations Albert! You have earned a $25 statement rebate.”, (ii) “Albert, you need to spend only $45.50 within 7 days to earn a $50 rebate.”, and (iii) “Albert, you need to make 2 more transactions within 2 days to earn a $25 rebate.”
In some embodiments, the message will also (1) list the cumulative sum of statement credits and/or bonus points earned and (2) provide a new offer. Those skilled in the art will recognize, upon reading the present disclosure, that a wide variety of types of messages may be generated and presented to cardholders based on the completion of transactions, thereby providing cardholders with nearly instant alerts and feedback regarding their progress toward earning rewards and rebates.
Pursuant to some embodiments, each message (with variable data) may be generated by the rewards system 116 (as shown in
Communication device(s) 820 may facilitate communication with one or more networks and/or external devices. For example, the communications device(s) 820 may allow the rewards system 800 to receive transaction information from the rewards data source 114, receive cardholder registration information from issuers 112, receive data from the messaging gateway 120, and transmit information to and from each of those devices. In some embodiments, one or more APIs are provided to facilitate communication between devices and the rewards system.
Input device(s) 840 may comprise, for example, a keyboard, a keypad, a mouse or other pointing device, a microphone, knob or a switch, an infra-red (IR) port, a docking station, and/or a touch screen. Input device(s) 840 may be used, for example, to manipulate user interfaces presented by output device(s) 850, and may be used by administrators or other system operators to update and maintain the rewards system 800.
Output device(s) 850 may comprise, for example, a display (e.g., a computer monitor), a speaker, and/or a printer. These output devices may be used, for example, to generate reports and/or export information to merchants.
Output device(s) 850 may also include consumer-facing channels. Channels include, but are not limited to mobile WAP sites, downloadable mobile applications, an online website, a direct mail piece, or IVR. These output devices may be used, for example, to display offer content to consumers (such as User Interface 400). In some embodiments, one or more APIs are provided as a mechanism/means to communicate between the processor 810 and the consumer-facing output devices 850. Other embodiments could include a batch process for manual file transfers.
Data storage device 830 may comprise any appropriate information storage device, including combinations of magnetic storage devices (e.g., magnetic tape and hard disk drives), optical storage devices, and/or semiconductor memory devices such as Random Access Memory (RAM) devices and Read Only Memory (ROM) devices.
Data storage device 830 stores instructions adapted to be executed by processor 810, and may also store (or have access to) databases, including the offer database 900 (described below in conjunction with
Data used to populate messages, as well as data used to define offers and offer conditions may be stored in one or more offer databases such as the offer database of
As shown, data table 900 includes a number of fields, including an offer identifier 902, one or more corresponding merchant identifiers (“MIDs”) 904, a rebate amount 906, one or more eligibility rules 908 and one or more messages 910. The offer identifier 902 may be an alphanumeric identifier that uniquely identifies each offer in the database. The offer identifier 902 may be automatically assigned by the rewards system when an offer is created, or it may be assigned in other ways. Each offer identified by an offer identifier 902 is associated with one or more MID's 904 that specify the merchants or merchant locations participating in the offer. The rebate amount 906 may specify the dollar amount or other value associated with the offer (and is the amount or value that a cardholder who completes an offer will receive). The eligibility rules 908 may include a number of data elements that specify the actions that a cardholder must perform in order to receive the rebate amount 906. As described above, a number of different types of eligibility rules may be specified.
Each offer may also include one or more messages 910 which are transmitted to a cardholder as the cardholder takes steps to qualify for a rebate amount 906. For example, messages 910 may include a sequence of messages that are transmitted to participating cardholders as they take steps to qualify for a rebate. As a simple illustrative example, an offer which requires three purchase transactions to be completed within a period of time may include 3 messages—the first sent after the first purchase transaction is completed, the second after the second transaction, and the third after the qualifying transaction. Each message may include variable data to personalize the message to the cardholder and to their particular transaction sequence. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that other types of data and fields may also be included.
The data from the database 900 may be used, for example, to generate cardholder status information or savings statements which may be displayed to the cardholder on user device 118, or printed and delivered via mail, thereby providing the cardholder with a single view of the status of all rewards programs the cardholder is participating in.
Data used to identify cardholders participating in rewards programs pursuant to the present invention, as well as the offers a cardholder has opted to participate in, as well as the cardholder's progress in qualifying for different offers, may be stored in one or more cardholder databases such as the database 1000 of
As shown, database 1000 includes a number of data fields, including a cardholder identifier 1002, a primary account number (“PAN”) 1004, one or more phone numbers 1006, one or more active offer(s) 1008, and opt out data 1010.
Cardholder identifier 1002 may be an alphanumeric identifier that is assigned to each cardholder to uniquely identify them. The PAN 1004 is the account number associated with a payment device (such as a credit card, debit card, prepaid card, bank account, or the like) that the cardholder has registered with the rewards system for use in qualifying for a particular offer. In some embodiments, a cardholder may register more than one payment device. The phone number(s) 1006 may be mobile telephone numbers associated with one or more mobile devices owned or controlled by the cardholder. The phone number provided by a cardholder is, preferably, associated with a mobile device that the cardholder wishes to receive rewards messages and alerts on. Active offer(s) 1008 includes one or more offer identifiers (such as the offer identifiers 902 of offer database 900 described above) that the cardholder has registered for. For example, the active offer(s) 1008 may be the offers selected by the cardholder during a process such as the process described in conjunction with
Opt out data 1010 may include information (including, in some embodiments, a time stamp, an IP address, and other information) indicating that the cardholder has opted out of any messaging associated with a particular offer. For example, a cardholder may wish to not receive messaging related to a particular offer or related to the cardholder's progress toward qualifying for a reward or rebate. The use of opt out data 1010 allows the rewards system to prevent messages from being sent on that particular offer. In some embodiments, if no data is included in opt out data 1010 field, then messages will be sent to the cardholder regarding a particular offer.
Some of the data in database 1000 may be entered during, for example, a cardholder registration process such as the registration process described above in conjunction with
Although the present invention has been described with respect to example embodiments thereof, those skilled in the art will appreciate that various substitutions or modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. For example, the processes have been described with a “payment association” or “authorization systems” such as the MasterCard payment brand and their BankNet® authorization systems. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that other entities may also operate some or all of the process steps (including, for example, closed payment networks, regional or local payment networks, or the like). Further, a “payment device” or “credit card” has been discussed. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that embodiments may be used in conjunction with other payment devices such as stored value cards, gift cards, ACH transactions, checks, debit cards, or the like.
Further, each of the embodiments disclosed herein may be used in conjunction with each other. For example, a transaction may include aspects of reward messaging, discounts and points redemption or some combination thereof. Further, pursuant to some embodiments, individual accounts or account ranges may have different levels of rebates, discounts, types of reward messages, and point redemption rules.
Although the present invention has been described in connection with specific exemplary embodiments, it should be understood that various changes, substitutions, and alterations apparent to those skilled in the art can be made to the disclosed embodiments without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the appended claims.
This application claims the benefit of and priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 61/161,577, filed Mar. 19, 2009, and is a continuation in part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/923,306 the contents of each of which are hereby incorporated by reference herein in their entirety for all purposes.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 61161577 | Mar 2009 | US |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parent | 11923306 | Oct 2007 | US |
| Child | 12727512 | US |
