System and method for loyalty program distribution and settlement
First Claim
1. A loyalty program settlement method, comprising the steps of:
- facilitating communication with a retailer and a loyalty program offerer over a distributed network;
receiving from said retailer, loyalty program data associated with one or more loyalty programs offered by said offerer; and
processing said loyalty program data to facilitate loyalty program settlement.
2 Assignments
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Accused Products
Abstract
A system and method for facilitating the distribution and settlement of electronic loyalty programs is described. The system facilitates the distribution of electronic punch card loyalty programs from an offerer, such as a product manufacturer, to an end-user and/or retailer. The user downloads the electronic punch card to a loyalty applet maintained on a microchip-enabled device such as a smart card. This smart card may then be used at various retailers to take advantage of the offerer'"'"'s loyalty program. Alternatively, the host system may maintain the loyalty punch card without downloading to the user and provide access to a retailer upon the occurrence of a transaction with the user. The retailer is configured to recognize the presence of a loyalty punch card, process loyalty program information and interact with a host loyalty server system to update loyalty program data. A host system computerized clearing house captures loyalty program data and processes this data for settlement (i.e., invoices offerers and pays retailers) so as to extend the loyalty program relationship from the non-point-of-sale offerer to the end-user through a variety of retailer establishments.
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Citations
27 Claims
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1. A loyalty program settlement method, comprising the steps of:
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facilitating communication with a retailer and a loyalty program offerer over a distributed network;
receiving from said retailer, loyalty program data associated with one or more loyalty programs offered by said offerer; and
processing said loyalty program data to facilitate loyalty program settlement. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
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12. A loyalty program distribution method, comprising the steps of:
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receiving, from at least one offerer, a plurality of loyalty program offers;
formatting said plurality of loyalty program offers into electronic punch card format capable of electronic distribution over a distributed network; and
distributing one or more of said loyalty program offers to a user.
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20. A loyalty program distribution method, comprising the steps of:
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receiving, from at least one offerer, a plurality of loyalty program offers;
formatting said plurality of loyalty program offers into electronic punch card format;
communicating with a user over a distributed network to obtain user'"'"'s selection of one or more of said plurality of loyalty program offers; and
associating, in a host system database, said selected loyalty program offers with said user. - View Dependent Claims (21, 22, 23, 25, 26)
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24. A loyalty program distribution and settlement method, comprising the steps of:
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retrieving an offerer'"'"'s electronic punch card from a user or a host system;
comparing loyalty program information contained within said electronic punch card to the offerer'"'"'s products purchased by said user; and
updating said punch card to reflect the purchase of said offerer'"'"'s products.
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27. A loyalty program distribution and settlement system comprising:
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a computerized distribution system configured to format offerer loyalty programs for distribution over a distributed network to a user and to distribute said programs over said distributed network to said user at said user'"'"'s request; and
a computerized clearing house configured to receive loyalty program data from a retailer, invoice offerer according to a first amount associated with said loyalty program data, and pay said retailer a second amount associated with said loyalty program data.
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Specification