Systems and methods to combine transaction terminal location data and social networking check-in

• US 10,438,299 B2
• Filed: 03/14/2012
• Issued: 10/08/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 03/15/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Visa International Service Association (Visa, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Visa International Service Association (Visa, Inc.)
• Inventors: Amaro, Leigh, Ladhawala, Parag
• Primary Examiner(s): Cirnu, Alexandru
• Application Number:
  US13/420,541
• Publication Number:
  US 20120239479A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,764 Days
• Field of Search: 705 1466
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/102 Bill distribution or payments
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/3224 Transactions dependent on location of M-devices
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/384 using social networks
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/386 using messaging services or messaging apps using mobile network messaging services for payment, e.g. SMS G06Q20/3255
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/01 Social networking
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/306 User profiles
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/021 Services related to particular areas, e.g. point of interest [POI] services, venue services or geofences
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/023 using mutual or relative location information between multiple location based services [LBS] targets or of distance thresholds
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/21 for social networking applications

Abstract

A system and method configured to provide enhanced services based on check-in information obtained in a social network system and transaction location information observed in a payment processing system. In one aspect, the transaction location may be used to validate, verify or authenticate the check-in location declared in the social network system. In another aspect, the transaction location can be used as a basis to automate a check-in in the social network system in accordance with a preference of a user. In a further aspect, the transaction location and the check-in location can be correlated to detect inaccurate data, correct the inaccurate data, and/or augment the data in a data warehouse about the locations of transaction terminals.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

establishing a communication channel between a social network system and a computing apparatus having a transaction handler connected in an electronic payment processing network in which the transaction handler interconnects issuer processors and acquirer processors to process authorization of payment transactions between merchant accounts controlled by the acquirer processors and consumer accounts controlled by the issuer processors, wherein;

a data warehouse coupled with the transaction handler stores point of sales (POS) terminal location information identifying;

an identification of a merchant operating a transaction terminal configured on the electronic payment processing network, and

a location of the transaction terminal;

the social network system communicates with mobile devices of users of the social network system to implement a check-in process that allows each respective user of a plurality of users of the social network system to declare, in the social network system, a presence of the respective user at a physical location to facilitate social interaction;

a database of the social network system stores check-in information of the plurality of users of the social network system, wherein for the each respective user in the plurality of users and for each instance of the respective user declaring a physical presence of the respective user at a particular physical location using the check-in process of the social network system, the check-in information records;

an identification of a respective merchant, identified by the respective user in the instance of declaring made using the check-in process of the social network system, and

coordinates of a location of a mobile device used by the respective user in the instance of declaring made using the check-in process of the social network system, wherein the coordinates are determined via a global positioning system; and

a portal of the transaction handler determines that the location of the transaction terminal identified in the POS terminal information and locations of mobile devices recorded in the check-in information are different, the portal configured to record an indicator of a likelihood that the locations of mobile devices recorded in the check-in information are more accurate than the location of the transaction terminal information in the POS terminal information, wherein the portal compares the likelihood to a threshold, and wherein the likelihood increases as a count of declarations indicating a same location increases; and

evaluating, by the computing apparatus, accuracy of the location of the transaction terminal identified in the POS terminal data stored in the data warehouse coupled to the transaction handler, using the check-in information stored in the database of the social network system by;

communicating, using the communication channel, between the computing apparatus and the social network system to facilitate correlation between the check-in information in the social network system and a plurality of transactions made by the plurality of users, initiated on the transaction terminal configured in the electronic payment processing network, and processed by the transaction handler within a predetermined window of time before or after check-ins of the plurality of users;

identifying instances of declarations that are made using the check-in process of the social network system to indicate physical presences of users at an establishment of the merchant operating the transaction terminal by comparing the identification of the merchant included in the POS terminal information about the transaction terminal stored in the data warehouse coupled to the transaction handler and the identification of the respective merchant recorded in the check-in information;

detecting, by the computing apparatus, inaccuracy in the POS terminal information about the transaction terminal stored in the data warehouse, based on comparing the location of the transaction terminal identified in the POS terminal information and locations of mobile devices recorded in the check-in information for the identified instances of declarations, and based at least partially on the likelihood exceeding a predetermined threshold;

generating a set of coordinates representing a position of the transaction terminal by computing an average of coordinates of the locations of the mobile devices recorded in the check-in information for the identified instances of declarations;

replacing, by the portal and in the data warehouse, the location of the transaction terminal with the set of coordinates generated from the locations of the mobile devices recorded in the check-in information; and

communicating, by the portal to a user of the plurality of users, an offer comprising an identifier associated with the merchant, the identifier configured to be presented by the user in a transaction with the merchant and included in an authorization request of the transaction, to further facilitate correlation of the check-in information with the location of the transaction terminal identified in the POS terminal information.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the set of coordinates representing the position of the transaction terminal is generated via:

filtering the coordinates of the locations of the mobile devices recorded in the check-in information for the identified instances of declarations to select a subset; and

determining an average of the subset to generate the set of coordinates as the position of the transaction terminal.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the filtering includes:

identifying a cluster of positions identified by the coordinates of the locations of the mobile devices recorded in the check-in information for the identified instances of declarations; and

selecting the subset based on a predetermined distance threshold for distance between the cluster and positions identified by the coordinates of the locations of the mobile devices recorded in the check-in information for the identified instances of declarations.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the generating the set of coordinates representing a position of the transaction terminal by computing an average of coordinates of the locations of the mobile devices recorded in the check-in information for the identified instances of declarations further comprises computing weights for positions represented by the coordinates of the locations of the mobile devices recorded in the check-in information for the identified instances of declarations.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the weights are computed based on time gaps between the identified instances of declarations at the establishment of the merchant and the transactions initiated on the transaction terminal.

6. A non-transitory computer storage medium storing instructions configured to instruct a computer apparatus to perform a method, the method comprising:

establishing a communication channel between a social network system and the computing apparatus having a transaction handler connected in an electronic payment processing network in which the transaction handler interconnects issuer processors and acquirer processors to process authorization of payment transactions between merchant accounts controlled by the acquirer processors and consumer accounts controlled by the issuer processors, wherein;

a data warehouse coupled with the transaction handler stores point of sales (POS) terminal location information identifying;

an identification of a merchant operating a transaction terminal configured on the electronic payment processing network, and

a location of the transaction terminal;

the social network system communicates with mobile devices of users of the social network system to implement a check-in process that allows each respective user of a plurality of users of the social network system to declare, in the social network system, a presence of the respective user at a physical location to facilitate social interaction;

a database of the social network system stores check-in information of the plurality of users of the social network system, wherein for the each respective user in the plurality of users and for each instance of the respective user declaring a physical presence of the respective user at a particular physical location using the check-in process of the social network system, the check-in information records;

an identification of a respective merchant, identified by the respective user in the instance of declaring made using the check-in process of the social network system, and

coordinates of a location of a mobile device used by the respective user in the instance of declaring made using the check-in process of the social network system, wherein the coordinates are determined via a global positioning system; and

a portal of the transaction handler determines that the location of the transaction terminal identified in the POS terminal information and locations of mobile devices recorded in the check-in information are different, the portal configured to record an indicator of a likelihood that the locations of mobile devices recorded in the check-in information are more accurate than the location of the transaction terminal information in the POS terminal information, wherein the portal compares the likelihood to a threshold, and wherein the likelihood increases as a count of declarations indicating a same location increases; and

evaluating, by the computing apparatus, accuracy of the location of the transaction terminal identified in the POS terminal data stored in the data warehouse coupled to the transaction handler, using the check-in information stored in the database of the social network system by;

communicating, using the communication channel, between the computing apparatus and the social network system to facilitate correlation between the check-in information in the social network system and a plurality of transactions made by the plurality of users, initiated on the transaction terminal configured in the electronic payment processing network, and processed by the transaction handler within a predetermined window of time before or after check-ins of the plurality of users;

identifying instances of declarations that are made using the check-in process of the social network system to indicate physical presences of users at an establishment of the merchant operating the transaction terminal by comparing the identification of the merchant included in the POS terminal information about the transaction terminal stored in the data warehouse coupled to the transaction handler and the identification of the respective merchant recorded in the check-in information;

detecting, by the computing apparatus, inaccuracy in the POS terminal information about the transaction terminal stored in the data warehouse, based on comparing the location of the transaction terminal identified in the POS terminal information and locations of mobile devices recorded in the check-in information for the identified instances of declarations, and based at least partially on the likelihood exceeding a predetermined threshold;

generating a set of coordinates representing a position of the transaction terminal by computing an average of coordinates of the locations of the mobile devices recorded in the check-in information for the identified instances of declarations; and

replacing, by the portal and in the data warehouse, the location of the transaction terminal with the set of coordinates generated from the locations of the mobile devices recorded in the check-in information; and

communicating, by the portal to a user of the plurality of users, an offer comprising an identifier associated with the merchant, the identifier configured to be presented by the user in a transaction with the merchant and included in an authorization request of the transaction, to further facilitate correlation of the check-in information with the location of the transaction terminal identified in the POS terminal information.

7. The non-transitory computer storage medium of claim 6, wherein the set of coordinates representing the position of the transaction terminal is generated via:

filtering the coordinates of the locations of the mobile devices recorded in the check-in information for the identified instances of declarations to select a subset; and

determining an average of the subset to generate the set of coordinates as the position of the transaction terminal.

8. The non-transitory computer storage medium of claim 7, wherein the filtering includes:

identifying a cluster of positions identified by the coordinates of the locations of the mobile devices recorded in the check-in information for the identified instances of declarations; and

selecting the subset based on a predetermined distance threshold for distance between the cluster and positions identified by the coordinates of the locations of the mobile devices recorded in the check-in information for the identified instances of declarations.

9. The non-transitory computer storage medium of claim 6, wherein the generating the set of coordinates representing a position of the transaction terminal by computing an average of coordinates of the locations of the mobile devices recorded in the check-in information for the identified instances of declarations further comprises computing weights for positions represented by the coordinates of the locations of the mobile devices recorded in the check-in information for the identified instances of declarations.

10. The non-transitory computer storage medium of claim 9, wherein the weights are computed based on time gaps between the identified instances of declarations at the establishment of the merchant and the transactions initiated on the transaction terminal.