E-coupon settlement and clearing process

• US 10,248,951 B2
• Filed: 12/29/2008
• Issued: 04/02/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 12/01/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Fidelity Information Services, LLC (Fidelity National Information Services Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: Metavante Corporation (Fidelity National Information Services Incorporated)
• Inventors: James, Vicki L., Erdmann, Jeffrey Jay
• Primary Examiner(s): Johnson, Sonji N
• Application Number:
  US12/344,954
• Publication Number:
  US 20090106115A1
• Time in Patent Office: 3,746 Days
• Field of Search: 705 1417
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/10 specially adapted for electronic funds transfer [EFT] systems; specially adapted for home banking systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/20 Point-of-sale [POS] network systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/204 comprising interface for record bearing medium or carrier for electronic funds transfer or payment credit
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/208 Input by product or record sensing, e.g. weighing or scanner processing
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/40 Authorisation, e.g. identification of payer or payee, verification of customer or shop credentials; Review and approval of payers, e.g. check credit lines or negative lists
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0225 Avoiding frauds
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/12 Accounting

Abstract

A system that automates the clearing and settlement of electronic coupons (E-Coupons) by leveraging existing technologies and enabling E-Coupon redemption at any merchant having electronic funds transfer (EFT) capabilities, such as credit/debit card acceptance. The system reduces opportunities for fraud, reduces or eliminates the need for manual clearinghouse counting and sorting of coupons, and provides an electronic audit trail for coupon redemption, tying a specific purchase to a specific coupon. After registering and selecting coupons, consumers then use an E-Coupon card or account access device at a merchant'"'"'s point-of-sale (POS) terminal. E-Coupon values are deducted from the consumer'"'"'s final amount due. Both consumer package goods manufacturers (CPGs) and merchants may be charged a fee. Expired coupons are automatically removed from the account and their value refunded to the CPGs. Reports on redeemed coupons and consumer profiles can be generated and provided to CPGs or merchants.

Claims

1. A method implemented by a processor for electronic coupon redemption and processing, comprising:

providing, for display on a terminal device in communication with the processor via a network, a website listing coupons based on a first data structure that are available for selection by a user, the website being connected to a database comprising the first data structure;

receiving, over the network, a selection of at least one coupon, the at least one coupon being selected from the first data structure, based on a selection of at least one of the coupons listed on the website;

storing, in a second data structure at a transaction processing system, at least one identifier associated with the at least one selected coupon, in association with a consumer account;

receiving, over the network, from a point-of-sale system, information concerning a transaction, the information comprising at least one transaction data detail, data identifying the consumer account, and at least one item identifier representing a purchased item;

processing the transaction using the at least one coupon identifier in the second data structure, the at least one item identifier, and the at least one transaction data detail, wherein processing the transaction comprises comparing the received at least one item identifier to the at least one coupon identifier to determine whether there is a match between the at least one coupon identifier and the received at least one item identifier;

sending, to the point-of-sale system, transaction information for fulfilling the transaction; and

in response to a determination that the at least one identifier still remains in the second data structure after the at least one selected coupon has expired, automatically removing the at least one identifier from the second data structure and automatically releasing funds associated with unused coupons to a coupon sponsor.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one transaction data detail comprises at least one of a transaction total, a Universal Product Code (UPC), a Stock Keeping Unit (SKU) number, or a total coupon discount.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the steps of receiving and sending are performed over an Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) network.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the consumer account is associated with at least one payment device.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the at least one payment device comprises at least one of a card, a key fob, a mobile device, or a computer.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the first data structure comprises all available coupons for selection by the user.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the processing of the transaction further comprises:

based on the comparison, removing the at least one coupon identifier from the second data structure.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein:

based on processing the transaction using the at least one coupon identifier, generating a list comprising the at least one coupon identifier;

generating a modified transaction balance by subtracting a value associated with the at least one coupon identifier from a received transaction balance; and

sending, to the point-of-sale system, the modified transaction balance and the list.

9. A computer system comprising:

at least one storage device comprising instructions; and

a processor configured to execute the instructions to perform operations comprising;

providing, for display on a terminal device in communication with the processor via a network, a website listing coupons based on a first data structure that are available for selection by a user, the website being connected to a database comprising the first data structure;

receiving, over the network, a selection of at least one coupon, the at least one coupon being selected from the first data structure, based on a selection of at least one of the coupons listed on the website;

storing, in a second data structure at the transaction processing system, at least one identifier associated with the at least one coupon, in association with a consumer account;

receiving, over the network, from a point-of-sale system, information concerning a transaction, the information comprising at least one transaction data detail, data identifying the consumer account, and at least one item identifier representing a purchased item;

processing the transaction using the at least one coupon identifier in the second data structure, the at least one item identifier, and the at least one transaction data detail, wherein processing the transaction comprises comparing the received at least one item identifier to the at least one coupon identifier to determine whether there is a match between the at least one coupon identifier and the received at least one item identifier;

sending, to the point-of-sale system, transaction information for fulfilling the transaction; and

in response to a determination that the at least one identifier still remains in the second data structure after the at least one selected coupon has expired, automatically removing the at least one identifier from the second data structure and automatically releasing funds associated with unused coupons to a coupon sponsor.

10. The system of claim 9, wherein the at least one transaction data detail comprises at least one of a transaction total, a Universal Product Code (UPC), a Stock Keeping Unit (SKU) number, or a total coupon discount.

11. The system of claim 9, wherein the steps of receiving and sending are performed over an Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) network.

12. The system of claim 9, wherein the consumer account is associated with at least one payment device.

13. The system of claim 12, wherein the at least one payment device comprises at least one of a card, a key fob, a mobile device, or a computer.

14. The system of claim 9, wherein the first data structure comprises all available coupons for selection by the user.

15. The system of claim 9, wherein the processing of the transaction further comprises:

based on the comparison, removing the at least one coupon identifier from the second data structure.

16. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing instructions which, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to execute a method comprising:

providing, for display on a terminal device in communication with the processor via a network, a website listing coupons based on a first data structure that are available for selection by a user, the website being connected to a database comprising the first data structure;

receiving, over the network, a selection of at least one coupon, the at least one coupon being selected from the first data structure, based on a selection of at least one of the coupons listed on the website;

storing, in a second data structure at a transaction processing system, at least one identifier associated with the at least one selected coupon, in association with a consumer account;

receiving, over the network, from a point-of-sale system, information concerning a transaction, the information comprising at least one transaction data detail, data identifying the consumer account, and at least one item identifier representing a purchased item;

processing the transaction using the at least one coupon identifier in the second data structure, the at least one item identifier, and the at least one transaction data detail, wherein processing the transaction comprise comparing the received at least one item identifier to the at least one coupon identifier to determine whether there is a match between the at least one coupon identifier and the received at least one item identifier;

sending, to the point-of-sale system, transaction information for fulfilling the transaction; and

in response to a determination that the at least one identifier still remains in the second data structure after the at least one selected coupon has expired, automatically removing the at least one identifier from the second data structure and automatically releasing funds associated with unused coupons to a coupon sponsor.

17. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 16, wherein the at least one transaction data detail comprises at least one of a transaction total, a Universal Product Code (UPC), a Stock Keeping Unit (SKU) number, or a total coupon discount.

18. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 16, wherein the first data structure comprises all available coupons for selection by the user.

19. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 16, wherein the processing of the transaction further comprises:

based on the comparison, removing the at least one coupon identifier from the second data structure.

20. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 16, wherein the method further comprises:

based on processing the transaction using the at least one coupon identifier, generating a list comprising the at least one coupon identifier;

generating a modified transaction balance by subtracting a value associated with the at least one coupon identifier from a received transaction balance; and

sending, to the point-of-sale system, the modified transaction balance and the list.