Discounted card not present rates following failed card present attempts

• US 10,515,354 B1
• Filed: 12/05/2014
• Issued: 12/24/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 12/05/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Block, Inc. (f/k/a Square, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Block, Inc. (f/k/a Square, Inc.)
• Inventors: Ishaq, Naeem
• Primary Examiner(s): Hamilton, Sara C
• Application Number:
  US14/562,285
• Time in Patent Office: 1,845 Days
• Field of Search: 705 35
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/18 involving self-service terminals [SST], vending machines, kiosks or multimedia terminals
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/322 Aspects of commerce using mobile devices [M-devices]
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/34 using cards, e.g. integrated circuit [IC] cards or magnetic cards
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/407 Cancellation of a transaction
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/4093 Monitoring of device authentication
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 7/127 in which both online and offline card verification can take place

Abstract

Merchants that have access to financial transaction card readers sometimes experience failed card reads when attempting a transaction. The merchant may then perform the transaction by manually entering account information from the financial transaction card, which can cause the merchant to be charged a higher fee than would have been charged if the transaction had been performed with the card reader. Technology is disclosed for providing discounted transaction rates for a card not present transaction following a failed card read. This is accomplished by detecting a failed card read of a financial transaction card through a card reader; detecting a card not present transaction including receiving user input of textual account access data; matching the failed card read with the card not present transaction; and crediting a difference between a fee charged for the card not present transaction and a fee which would have been charged for the attempted transaction.

Claims

1. A method for providing a rebate for a fee charged for a card-not-present (CNP) transaction when the CNP transaction follows a failed card read, comprising:

receiving, over a network by one or more servers of a payment processing service and from a card reader associated with a merchant via a mobile device associated with the merchant, data indicating that the card reader experienced a failed card read, wherein the failed card read is associated with an attempt, by the card reader, to read account data from a financial transaction card;

receiving, over the network by the one or more servers and from an application executing on the mobile device associated with the merchant, an indication of a CNP transaction between the merchant and a customer facilitated by the application, wherein the indication of the CNP transaction comprises textual data representing account access data;

matching, by the one or more servers, the failed card read with the CNP transaction; and

at least partly in response to the matching;

computing, by the one or more servers, a rebate amount based at least in part on a difference between a fee charged for the CNP transaction and a fee which would have been charged if the CNP transaction had been performed as a card present transaction; and

crediting, by the one or more servers to an entity responsible for paying a fee for the CNP transaction, the rebate amount.

2. The method of claim 1 further comprising providing, by the one or more servers, to the entity responsible for paying the fee for the CNP transaction, a message including one or more of:

that the rebate amount has been credited to the entity responsible for paying the fee for the CNP transaction;

instructions on how to avoid card read failures in the future;

or

an offer to replace the card reader which may have caused the failed card read.

3. The method of claim 2 further comprising:

determining, by the one or more servers, whether a most likely cause of the failed card read was an equipment fault or an improper use of the card reader;

based on determining that the most likely cause of the failed card read was an equipment fault, including in the message at least the offer to replace the card reader; and

based on determining that the most likely cause of the failed card read was an improper use of the card reader, including in the message at least the instructions on how to use the card reader to avoid card read failures in the future.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein the message is provided as at least one of an email, as a Short Message Service (SMS) text, as a notification in the application that facilitated the CNP transaction, or as a notification in another application executing on the mobile device.

5. The method of claim 2, wherein the message is provided as a notification in the application that facilitated the CNP transaction.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the matching is performed by correlating, between the failed card read and the CNP transaction, one or more of:

a time interval,

a transaction amount for the CNP transaction,

transaction purchaser identification for the CNP transaction,

transaction merchant identification for the CNP transaction, or

identification of items or services involved in the CNP transaction.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein crediting the rebate amount comprises modifying the fee for the CNP transaction to a lower fee that would be charged if the CNP transaction were performed as a card present transaction.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the matching is performed by correlating, between the failed card read and the CNP transaction, one or more of:

a transaction identifier,

a transaction type,

an account number,

an issuing credit agency of the financial transaction card,

an expiration date of the financial transaction card,

a card verification value (cvv) of the financial transaction card,

an address of an owner of the financial transaction card,

a phone number of the owner of the financial transaction card,

an email of the owner of the financial transaction card,

a zip code of the owner of the financial transaction card, or

an identification of the mobile device associated with the merchant.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the card reader associated with the merchant is a component of the mobile device associated with the merchant.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the mobile device is a point-of-sale device.

11. A system comprising

a card reader associated with a merchant;

a mobile device associated with the merchant;

a payment processing server having one or more non-transitory computer-readable media storing instructions executable by one or more processors, wherein the one or more processors, upon execution of the instructions, perform acts comprising;

receiving, over a network from the card reader and via the mobile device, data indicating that the card reader experienced a failed card read, wherein the failed card read is associated with a failed attempt, by the card reader, to read account data from a financial transaction card;

receiving, over the network from an application executing on the mobile device, an indication of a card-not-present (CNP) transaction between the merchant and a customer facilitated by the application, wherein the indication of the CNP transaction comprises textual data representing account access data;

matching the failed card read with the CNP transaction; and

at least partly in response to the matching;

computing a rebate amount based at least in part on a difference between a fee charged for the CNP transaction and a fee which would have been charged if the CNP transaction had been performed as a card present transaction; and

crediting, to an entity responsible for paying a fee for the CNP transaction, the rebate amount.

12. The system of claim 11, wherein the one or more processors, upon execution of the instructions, perform acts further comprising:

providing, to the entity responsible for paying the fee for the CNP transaction, a message including one or more of;

that the rebate amount has been credited to the entity responsible for paying the fee for the CNP transaction;

instructions on how to avoid failed card reads in the future;

or

an offer to replace the card reader which may have caused the failed card read.

13. The system of claim 12, wherein the one or more processors, upon execution of the instructions, perform acts further comprising:

determining whether a most likely cause of the failed card read was an equipment fault or an improper use of the card reader;

based on determining that the most likely cause of the failed card read was an equipment fault, including in the message at least the offer to replace the card reader; and

based on determining that the most likely cause of the failed card read was an improper use of the card reader, including in the message at least the instructions on how to use the card reader to avoid card read failures in the future.

14. The system of claim 12, wherein the message is provided as a notification in the application that facilitated the CNP transaction.

15. The system of claim 12, wherein the message is provided as at least one of an email, as a Short Message Service (SMS) text, as a notification in the application that facilitated the CNP transaction, or as a notification in another application executing on the mobile device.

16. The system of claim 11, wherein the matching is performed by correlating, between the failed card read and the CNP transaction, one or more of:

a time interval,

a transaction amount for the CNP transaction,

transaction purchaser identification for the CNP transaction,

transaction merchant identification for the CNP transaction, or

identification of items or services involved in the CNP transaction.

17. The system of claim 11, wherein the matching is performed by correlating, between the failed card read and the CNP transaction, one or more of:

a transaction identifier,

a transaction type,

an account number,

an issuing credit agency of the financial transaction card,

an expiration date of the financial transaction card,

a card verification value (cvv) of the financial transaction card,

an address of an owner of the financial transaction card,

a phone number of the owner of the financial transaction card,

an email of the owner of the financial transaction card,

a zip code of the owner of the financial transaction card, or

an identification of the mobile device.

18. The system of claim 11, wherein crediting the rebate amount comprises modifying the fee for the CNP transaction to a lower fee that would be charged if the CNP transaction were performed as a card present transaction.

19. The system of claim 11, wherein the card reader is a component of the mobile device.

20. The system of claim 11, wherein the mobile device is a point-of-sale device.

21. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing instructions that, when executed by a computing system, cause the computing system to perform operations comprising:

receiving, over a network from a card reader associated with a merchant via a mobile device associated with the merchant, data indicating that the card reader experienced a failed card read, wherein the failed card read is associated with a failed attempt, by the card reader, to read account data, and wherein the card reader is configured to read account data from a financial transaction card;

receiving, over the network from an application executing on the mobile device associated with the merchant, an indication of a card-not-present (CNP) transaction between the merchant and a customer facilitated by the application, wherein the indication of the CNP transaction comprises textual data representing account access data;

matching the failed card read with the CNP transaction; and

at least partly in response to the matching;

computing a rebate amount based at least in part on a difference between a fee charged for the CNP transaction and a fee which would have been charged if the CNP transaction had been performed as a card present transaction; and

crediting, to an entity responsible for paying a fee for the CNP transaction, the rebate amount.

22. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 21, wherein the instructions cause the system to perform operations further comprising:

providing, to the entity responsible for paying the fee for the CNP transaction, a message including one or more of;

that the rebate amount has been credited to the entity responsible for paying the fee for the CNP transaction;

instructions on how to avoid failed card reads in the future;

or

an offer to replace the card reader which may have caused the failed card read.

23. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 22, wherein the instructions cause the computing system to perform operations further comprising:

determining whether a most likely cause of the failed card read was an equipment fault or an improper use of the card reader;

based on determining that the most likely cause of the failed card read was an equipment fault, including in the message at least the offer to replace the card reader; and

based on determining that the most likely cause of the failed card read was an improper use of the card reader, including in the message at least the instructions on how to use the card reader to avoid card read failures in the future.

24. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 22, wherein the message is provided as at least one of an email, as a Short Message Service (SMS) text, as a notification in the application that facilitated the CNP transaction, or as a notification in another application executing on the mobile device.

25. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 22, wherein the message is provided as a notification in the application that facilitated the CNP transaction.

26. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 21, wherein the matching is performed by correlating, between the failed card read and the CNP transaction, one or more of:

a time interval,

a transaction amount for the CNP transaction,

transaction purchaser identification for the CNP transaction,

transaction merchant identification for the CNP transaction, or

identification of items or services involved in the CNP transaction.

27. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 21, wherein the matching is performed by correlating, between the failed card read and the CNP transaction, one or more of:

a transaction identifier,

a transaction type,

an account number,

an issuing credit agency of the financial transaction card,

an expiration date of the financial transaction card,

a card verification value (cvv) of the financial transaction card,

an address of an owner of the financial transaction card,

a phone number of the owner of the financial transaction card,

an email of the owner of the financial transaction card,

a zip code of the owner of the financial transaction card, or

an identification of the mobile device associated with the merchant.

28. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 21, wherein crediting the rebate amount comprises modifying the fee for the CNP transaction to a lower fee that would be charged if the CNP transaction were performed as a card present transaction.