The present invention relates generally to the field of managing financial institution customer transaction accounts, and more particularly to methods and systems for routing and posting customer transactions performed with a single token and relationship number for the customer to any number of pre-designated financial institution customer accounts according to pre-defined transaction parameters.
Currently, consumers use many different forms of payment in making purchases such as credit cards, debit cards, and home equity lines of credit, each with its own account number. The particular form of payment used depends, for example, on what is being purchased, and each form of payment typically requires a different type of presentment vehicle. For example, consumers often carry several different plastic credit cards, at least one plastic debit card for electronic withdrawals from a checking account, and special checks or a plastic credit card to draw on an equity line of credit. Carrying a large number of such presentment vehicles is cumbersome and inconvenient for the consumer.
Embodiments of the present invention provide methods and systems for routing and posting customer transactions performed with a single token and relationship number for the customer to any number of pre-designated financial institution customer accounts according to pre-defined transaction parameters.
Embodiments of the invention employ computer hardware and software, including, without limitation, instructions embodied in computer program code encoded on machine readable medium for execution in a processor and memory coupled to the processor, to provide methods and systems in which, for example, a financial institution, such as a bank, issues a single a relationship vehicle (e.g., a relationship presentment card) having a relationship number unique to a customer that is linked to a plurality of the customer's financial institution transaction accounts via pre-defined parameters for determining to which of the customer's accounts to post particular transactions with the relationship presentment card.
Thereafter, when the customer uses the relationship presentment card for a transaction, e.g., by swiping the card through a transaction terminal, such as a merchant POS terminal, the transaction is processed through card association processing channels back to the card issuing financial institution in the same manner as a typical credit card transaction. When the transaction data, including the relationship number, is received by the issuing financial institution, the particular financial institution account of the customer to which the transaction should be posted is identified according to the pre-defined parameters based on the transaction data, and the transaction is posted by the issuing financial institution to the identified financial institution account of the customer.
This summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts in a simplified form that are further described below in the detailed description. This summary is not intended to identify key features or essential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended to be used to limit the scope of the claimed subject matter.
Reference will now be made in detail to embodiments of the invention, one or more examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. Each example is provided by way of explanation of the invention, not as a limitation of the invention. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made in the present invention without departing from the scope or spirit of the invention. For example, features illustrated or described as part of one embodiment can be used on another embodiment to yield a still further embodiment. Thus, it is intended that the present invention cover such modifications and variations that come within the scope of the invention.
Embodiments of the invention propose, for example, a concept utilizing a lifetime relationship presentment vehicle account number that takes advantage, for example, of a large number of businesses in which a financial institution, such as a bank, is typically engaged and links those businesses together in a single type of a relationship vehicle (e.g., a relationship presentment card). Depending on where and when a financial institution customer uses the relationship presentment card for embodiments of the invention, the card is swiped, for example, through a card reader of a transaction terminal, such as a POS terminal, and the transaction is processed through the association processing channels back to the card issuing bank in the same manner as a typical credit card transaction.
It is to be understood that references herein to components, such as the issuer 130, the merchant 140, the acquirer 150, the card association's processing system 160, and the issuer's processing platform 170 include, without limitation, processors coupled to memory and to other processors likewise coupled to memory via computer networks, as well as computer program products stored in machine readable media and executing in such processors and memory.
According to embodiments of the invention, when the transaction data is received by the issuing financial institution 130, a determination as to which of the customer's accounts to post the transaction is made based, for example, on pre-defined parameters, such as where the transaction occurred (i.e., via location or merchants' identification information through the association or by the industry, etc.). Based, for example, on these and other pre-defined parameters related to matters, such as a dollar amount of the transaction or the type or types of accounts that the customer 120 may have, the transaction is then routed and posted any one of the accounts of the customer 120 under the financial institution's umbrella.
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For an example of the process for embodiments of the invention, a particular customer may elect to use his or her debit card product in all of the customer's grocery store transactions and his or her home equity line of credit for all transactions in excess of $1,000. Thus, when the customer's relationship presentment card 110 for embodiments of the invention is swiped at a terminal in connection with a particular transaction and the transaction is processed through the association processing channels 160 back to the bank 130, a determination is made according to the pre-defined parameters 170 to apply the transaction to the customer's debit card account if the transaction occurred at a grocery store or to apply the transaction to the customer's home equity line of credit if the transaction exceeded $1,000, for example, for a home improvement purchase.
For another example of the process for embodiments of the invention, the customer may elect to use his or her general purpose credit card account for “every-day” spending (i.e., non-grocery transactions below $1,000) except for transactions at a particular retail department store and to have such transactions post to the customer's account with the particular store. Accordingly, when the customer's relationship presentment card 110 for embodiments of the invention is swiped at a terminal in connection with a transaction at the particular department store and the transaction is processed through the association processing channels 160 back to the bank 130, a determination is made according to the pre-defined parameters 170 to apply the transaction to the customer's department store account.
It is to be understood that, according to embodiments of the invention, the parameters for determining to which of the customer's accounts to post particular transactions may be pre-defined by either or both of the customer 120 and the financial institution 130. It is to be further understood that the parameters mentioned in the foregoing examples are illustrative only and that the pre-defined parameters 170 for embodiments of the invention include any and all suitable parameters and any suitable combination or combinations of such parameters for determining the appropriate customer's account to which to post a particular transaction.
A key aspect of embodiments of the invention is a financial institution relationship designation, such as a numeric, alphanumeric, or alphabetical designation (referred to herein as the relationship number) on a token, such as a plastic relationship card 110 that remains with the customer throughout the lifetime of the customer's relationship with the financial institution 130. While the physical accounts which the customer 120 has with the financial institution 130 may be changed and modified from time-to-time as the customer's relationship with the financial institution 130 grows over time, the relationship number remains the same.
In embodiments of the invention, a customer's transaction with the customer's relationship presentment card 110 bearing the customer's relationship number is processed through the association processing channels, such as the MASTERCARD® or VISA® processing networks 160, back to the card issuing bank 130 in the same manner as a typical credit card transaction. Thereupon, a determination as to which of the customer's accounts to post the transaction is made based on pre-defined parameters 170, such as the merchant or industry category of the transaction, the type or types of goods or services associated with the transaction, the transaction amount, the location of the transaction, and/or the type or types of accounts which the customer has with the financial institution.
Embodiments of the invention involve a rewards aspect in which, for example, rewards points are posted or awarded exclusively to the financial institution account of the customer 120 to which a particular transaction with the customer's relationship presentment card 110 is posted. In another rewards aspect for embodiments of the invention, rewards points are posted or awarded to a single rewards account associated with the customer's relationship number regardless of the particular financial institution account of the customer to which the transaction is posted.
In a further rewards aspect for embodiments of the invention, assume that one of the customer's accounts with the financial institution 130 is an affinity credit card account that awards affinity reward points, such as airline frequent flier miles, to his or her account corresponding to amounts charged to the account. Assume further that at some point, the customer 120 decides that he or she has enough affinity reward points credited to the particular account and does not wish to have further affinity reward points credited to the account. In this rewards aspect, the customer 120 can elect the account to which reward points for a transaction is to be posted, regardless of the particular financial institution account to which transaction amount itself is to be posted.
In a billing aspect of embodiments of the invention, the customer's financial institution accounts are each invoiced to the customer 120 separately or in a combined statement, at the option of the customer 120. In other words, while the customer 120 has the convenience of a single relationship access vehicle which relieves him or her of the necessity of carrying around and keeping up with numerous payment vehicles on the front end, the customer 120 has the option of receiving separate invoices for each financial institution account or a single combined invoice for all accounts on the back end.
The foregoing specification provides a description with reference to specific exemplary embodiments. It will be evident that various modifications may be made thereto without departing from the broader spirit and scope as set forth in the following claims. The specification and drawings are, accordingly, to be regarded in an illustrative sense rather than a restrictive sense.
This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/996,135 filed Nov. 2, 2007, entitled “METHODS AND SYSTEMS FOR MANAGING FINANCIAL INSTITUTION CUSTOMER ACCOUNTS”, which is incorporated herein by this reference.
Number | Date | Country | |
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60996135 | Nov 2007 | US |