Method and system for merchant processing of purchase card transactions with expanded card type acceptance

• US 20040054622A1
• Filed: 09/17/2002
• Published: 03/18/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 09/17/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: First Data Corporation (Fiserv Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: First Data Corporation (Fiserv Incorporated)
• Inventors: Weis, David G., Nimmo, Kathleen K., Strayer, Allen C.
• Granted Patent: US 7,069,244 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/39
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/04 Payment circuits
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/10 specially adapted for electronic funds transfer [EFT] systems; specially adapted for home banking systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/102 Bill distribution or payments
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/105 involving programming of a portable memory device, e.g. IC cards, "electronic purses"
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/1235 with control of digital rights management [DRM]
• 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 20/367 involving electronic purses or money safes
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/4037 Remote solvency checks
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0207 Discounts or incentives, e.g. coupons or rebates
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/06 Buying, selling or leasing transactions
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/00 Finance; Insurance; Tax strategies; Processing of corporate or income taxes
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/04 Trading; Exchange, e.g. stocks, commodities, derivatives or currency exchange
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 7/08 by coded identity card or credit card or other personal identification means without personal verification means G07F7/02

Abstract

Systems and methods for merchant processing of purchase card transactions with expanded card type acceptance are provided. For each merchant, a record is maintained of each card type that the merchant accepts, and merchant-specific transaction processing parameters are associated with each card type. During transaction processing, a card type for the transaction is identified from transaction data submitted by the merchant, and the merchant-specific transaction processing parameters associated with the identified card type are used to control transaction processing.

Claims

1. A method for processing a purchase card transaction submitted by a merchant, comprising:

extracting a purchase card identifier from transaction data submitted by the merchant;

identifying a card type corresponding to the purchase card identifier from a list of card types accepted by the merchant, the list of card types corresponding to a plurality of card products including an interchange card and a private-label card; and

processing the purchase card transaction according to merchant-specific rules determined from merchant-specific processing parameters associated with the identified card type.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein processing the purchase card transaction according to merchant-specific rules includes:

routing the transaction data to a routing destination determined from a first merchant-specific processing parameter associated with the identified card type.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein routing the transaction data includes:

adding the transaction data to a batch of transaction data to be transmitted to the routing destination.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein processing the purchase card transaction according to merchant-specific rules includes:

formatting the transaction data prior to routing the transaction data, wherein the format is determined from a second merchant-specific processing parameter associated with the identified card type.

5. The method of claim 2, wherein the purchase card transaction is an authorization transaction, the method further comprising:

receiving an authorization response from the routing destination; and

transmitting the authorization response to the merchant.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein processing the purchase card transaction according to merchant-specific rules includes:

identifying a transaction type from the transaction data; and

using a first merchant-specific processing parameter associated with the identified card type to determine whether the merchant is authorized to accept the identified transaction type, wherein the purchase card transaction is rejected if the merchant is not authorized to accept the identified transaction type.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the identified transaction type is one of sales transactions, cash advance transactions, return transactions, and payment transactions.

8. The method of claim 6, wherein the identified transaction type is one of authorization transactions and ticket transactions.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein processing the purchase card transaction according to merchant-specific rules includes:

extracting a transaction amount from the transaction data;

determining from a first merchant-specific processing parameter associated with the identified card type whether an acquirer reimburses the merchant;

when the acquirer does not reimburse the merchant, adding the transaction amount to a first running total; and

when the acquirer reimburses the merchant, performing the following acts;

computing a reimbursement amount from the transaction amount; and

adding the transaction amount to a second running total.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein computing a reimbursement amount from the transaction amount includes:

determining a discount rate from a second merchant-specific processing parameter associated with the identified card type; and

computing the reimbursement amount by reducing the transaction amount by the discount rate.

11. The method of claim 9, further comprising:

after processing a batch of purchase card transactions submitted by the merchant, generating a funds transfer transaction from the acquirer to the merchant, wherein the amount transferred by the funds transfer transaction is equal to the second running total.

12. The method of claim 9, further comprising:

after processing a batch of purchase card transactions submitted by the merchant, reporting the first running total and the second running total to the merchant.

13. The method of claim 9, further comprising:

adding the transaction amount to a third running total corresponding to the identified card type.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein the list of card types accepted by the merchant includes at least one private label card issued for a retailer, and the merchant is not an outlet of the retailer.

15. The method of claim 1, wherein identifying a card type corresponding to the purchase card identifier includes:

determining a prefix from the purchase card identifier; and

matching the prefix to a prefix associated with one of the card types in the list of card types accepted by the merchant.

16. A method of processing purchase card transactions, comprising:

defining a plurality of card types, at least one of the plurality of card types corresponding to a purchase card and having associated therewith a plurality of merchant-specific sets of transaction processing parameters;

authorizing each of a plurality of merchants to accept one or more of the plurality of card types; and

upon a cardholder presenting to a merchant the purchase card corresponding to the at least one card type having associated therewith the plurality of merchant-specific sets of transaction processing parameters for a transaction, processing the transaction using one of the plurality of merchant-specific sets of transaction processing parameters that corresponds to the merchant.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein a first one of the plurality of merchant-specific sets of transaction processing parameters includes a first routing destination parameter and a second one of the merchant-specific sets of transaction processing parameters includes a second routing destination parameter different from the first routing destination parameter.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein:

the purchase card bears a first badge identifying a first card issuing entity and a second badge identifying a second card issuing entity;

the first routing destination parameter corresponds to a routing destination for a card product of the first card issuing entity; and

the second routing destination parameter corresponds to a routing destination for a card product of the second card issuing entity.

19. A method for processing purchase card transactions submitted by a plurality of merchants, comprising:

defining a plurality of card types, each card type corresponding to a group of purchase cards and having associated therewith a set of merchant-independent transaction processing parameters;

for each of the plurality of merchants;

creating a merchant card type list for the merchant, the merchant card type list including a subset of the plurality of card types and having a set of merchant-specific transaction processing parameters associated with each card type in the subset; and

for each purchase card transaction;

identifying a card type corresponding to the purchase card used in the purchase card transaction from the merchant card type list for the merchant submitting the purchase card transaction; and

using the merchant-specific transaction processing parameters and the merchant-independent transaction processing parameters associated with the identified card type to control processing of the purchase card transaction.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein the merchant-independent transaction processing parameters include a first parameter identifying a routing destination for transactions.

21. The method of claim 20, wherein using the merchant-specific transaction processing parameters and the merchant-independent transaction processing parameters associated with the identified card type to control processing of the transaction includes:

routing the transaction to the routing destination identified by the first parameter.

22. The method of claim 21, wherein routing the transaction to the routing destination identified by the first parameter includes:

accumulating the transaction in a batch consisting of transactions having the same value for the first parameter.

23. The method of claim 19, wherein:

at least two of the plurality of card types each correspond to a purchase card, each of the at least two card types having associated therewith a different set of merchant-independent transaction processing parameters;

a first merchant card type list for a first one of the plurality of merchants includes a first one of the at least two card types; and

a second merchant card type list for a second one of the plurality of merchants includes a second one of the at least two card types.

24. The method of claim 23, wherein:

the purchase card bears a first badge associated with a first card issuing entity and a second badge associated with a second card issuing entity;

the first one of the at least two card types has associated therewith a set of merchant-independent transaction processing parameters that cause a purchase card transaction involving the purchase card to be processed as a purchase card transaction involving a card product of the first card issuing entity; and

the second one of the at least two card types has associated therewith a set of merchant-independent transaction processing parameters that cause a purchase card transaction involving the purchase card to be processed as a purchase card transaction involving a card product of the second card issuing entity.

25. The method of claim 19, wherein:

the plurality of card types includes a private label card type corresponding to a private label card of an issuing retailer; and

a first merchant card type list for a first merchant includes the private label card type, wherein the first merchant is not an outlet of the issuing retailer.

26. The method of claim 25, wherein a second merchant card type list for a second merchant includes the private label card type, the second merchant being an outlet of the issuing retailer.

27. The method of claim 19, wherein creating a merchant card type list for a merchant includes:

creating a default card type list including at least one of the plurality of card types; and

associating the merchant with the default card type list, whereby the merchant card type list for the merchant automatically includes each card type in the default card type list.

28. The method of claim 27, further comprising:

adding a card type not included in the default card type list to the merchant card type list for the merchant.

29. A method for processing purchase card transactions submitted by a plurality of merchants, wherein each of the plurality of merchants is associated with one of a plurality of acquirers, comprising:

defining a master card product list including a plurality of card types, each card type corresponding to a group of purchase cards and having associated therewith a set of merchant-independent transaction processing parameter values for the group of purchase cards;

for each of the plurality of acquirers, defining an acquirer-level card product list, each acquirer-level card product list including a subset of the plurality of card types;

for each of the plurality of merchants;

associating the merchant with at least one of the card types included in the acquirer-level card product list of the associated acquirer; and

for each card type associated with the merchant, setting values for a set of merchant-specific transaction processing parameters; and

for each purchase card transaction submitted by one of the plurality of merchants;

identifying a card type for the purchase card used in the purchase card transaction from the at least one card type associated with the merchant; and

using the merchant-specific transaction processing parameter values and the merchant-independent transaction processing parameter values associated with the identified card type to control processing of the purchase card transaction.

30. The method of claim 29, wherein the merchant-independent transaction processing parameters include a routing destination parameter.

31. The method of claim 30, wherein the master card product list includes a first card type and a second card type each corresponding to a group of purchase cards, the first card type having a first value for the routing destination parameter and the second card type having a second value for the routing destination parameter, the second value being different from the first value.

32. The method of claim 31, wherein a first acquirer-level card product list of a first acquirer includes the first card type and not the second card type, and a second acquirer-level card product list of a second acquirer includes the second card type and not the first card type.

33. The method of claim 29, wherein:

at least two of the plurality of card types each correspond to a purchase card, each of the at least two card types having associated therewith a different value for at least one of the merchant-independent transaction processing parameters;

a first merchant card type list for a first one of the plurality of merchants includes a first one of the at least two card types; and

a second merchant card type list for a second one of the plurality of merchants includes a second one of the at least two card types.

34. The method of claim 33, wherein:

the purchase card bears a first badge associated with a first card issuing entity and a second badge associated with a second card issuing entity;

the first one of the at least two card types has associated values for the merchant-independent transaction processing parameters that cause the transaction to be processed as a transaction for a card product of the first card issuing entity; and

the second one of the at least two card types has associated values for the merchant-independent transaction processing parameters that cause the transaction to be processed as a transaction for a card product of the second card issuing entity.

35. The method of claim 29, wherein:

the master card product list includes a private label card type corresponding to a private label purchase card issued by a first one of the plurality of acquirers on behalf of an issuing retailer; and

a first merchant card type list for a first one of the merchants includes the private label card type, wherein the first merchant is not an outlet of the issuing retailer.

36. The method of claim 35, wherein a second merchant card type list for a second one of the merchants includes the private label card type, the second merchant being an outlet of the issuing retailer.

37. The method of claim 35, wherein the issuing retailer is associated with the first acquirer and the first merchant is not associated with the first acquirer.

38. A system for processing a purchase card transaction submitted by a merchant, comprising:

an interface configured to receive transaction data for the purchase card transaction;

control logic configured to identify a card type for the purchase card transaction from a list of card types accepted by the merchant using the received transaction data, the list of card types corresponding to a plurality of card products including an interchange card and a private label card; and

control logic configured to process the purchase card transaction according to one or more merchant-specific rules associated with the identified card type.

39. The system of claim 38, wherein the one or more merchant-specific rules include a first rule defining a routing destination for the purchase card transaction and a second rule defining a format to be used for routing the transaction data to the routing destination, the system further comprising:

control logic configured to format the transaction data using the format and to route the formatted transaction data to the routing destination.

40. The system of claim 39, further comprising:

control logic configured to receive an authorization response when the purchase card transaction is an authorization transaction; and

control logic configured to transmit the authorization response to the merchant.

41. The system of claim 38, wherein the list of card types accepted by the merchant includes at least one private label card issued for a retailer, and the merchant is not an outlet of the retailer.

42. The system of claim 38, wherein the control logic configured to identify a card type for the purchase card transaction is further configured to match a prefix determined from the received transaction data to a prefix associated with one of the card types in the list of card types accepted by the merchant.

43. A system for processing purchase card transactions for a plurality of merchants, comprising:

an interface configured to receive transaction data to be processed;

a server configured to perform a transaction processing operation using the transaction data;

a card product data store containing a master card product list, the master card product list defining a plurality of card types and associated merchant-independent processing parameters; and

a merchant master data store containing a merchant card type list for each of the plurality of merchants, each merchant card type list including at least one of the plurality of card types and associated merchant-specific processing parameters,

wherein the server is further configured to use a merchant card type list for a merchant to identify a card type for a purchase card transaction submitted by the merchant and to use the merchant-independent and merchant-specific processing parameters associated with the identified card type to control the transaction processing operation.

44. The system of claim 43, wherein the merchant-independent processing parameters include:

a routing destination parameter identifying a routing destination for transactions; and

a settlement parameter indicating whether an acquirer reimburses merchants for transactions.

45. The system of claim 43, wherein the merchant-specific transaction processing parameters include:

a transaction types parameter indicating which transaction types the merchant is authorized to accept; and

a reimbursement parameter indicating how the merchant is paid for transactions.

46. The system of claim 43, wherein the master card product list is maintained by an acquirer.

47. The system of claim 43, wherein the master card product list is maintained by a third-party provider that provides transaction processing services to a plurality of acquirers, and wherein each merchant is associated with one of the plurality of acquirers.

48. The system of claim 47, wherein the card product data store further contains:

an acquirer card product list for each acquirer, each acquirer card product list including a subset of the plurality of card types defined in the master card product list.

49. The system of claim 48, wherein the master card product list includes a first card type and a second card type each corresponding to the same set of purchase cards, the first card type having a first value for the routing destination parameter and the second card type having a second value for the routing destination parameter, the second value being different from the first value.

50. The system of claim 49, wherein a first acquirer-level card product list of a first acquirer includes the first card type and not the second card type, and a second acquirer-level card product list of a second acquirer includes the second card type and not the first card type.

51. The system of claim 48, wherein the merchant card type list for each merchant includes only card types from the acquirer card product list for the acquirer with which the merchant is associated.

52. The system of claim 43, wherein:

the master card product list includes a private label card type corresponding to a private label purchase card issued on behalf of an issuing retailer; and

a first merchant card type list for a first one of the merchants includes the private label card type, wherein the first merchant is not an outlet of the issuing retailer.

53. The system of claim 52, wherein a second merchant card type list for a second one of the merchants includes the private label card type, the second merchant being an outlet of the issuing retailer.

54. The system of claim 52, wherein the issuing retailer is associated with a first acquirer and the first merchant is not associated with the first acquirer.

55. The system of claim 43, wherein:

at least two of the plurality of card types each correspond to a purchase card, each of the at least two card types having associated therewith a different value for at least one of the merchant-independent transaction processing parameters;

a first merchant card type list for a first one of the plurality of merchants includes a first one of the at least two card types; and

a second merchant card type list for a second one of the plurality of merchants includes a second one of the at least two card types.

56. The system of claim 55, wherein:

the purchase card bears a first badge associated with a first card issuing entity and a second badge associated with a second card issuing entity;

the first one of the at least two card types has associated values for the merchant-independent transaction processing parameters that cause the transaction to be processed as a transaction for a card product of the first card issuing entity; and

the second one of the at least two card types has associated values for the merchant-independent transaction processing parameters that cause the transaction to be processed as a transaction for a card product of the second card issuing entity.

57. The system of claim 43, wherein the card product data store further contains:

a default card type list including at least one of the plurality of card types defined in the master card product list, the default card type list further including default values for the merchant-specific processing parameters,

wherein a merchant card type list for a first one of the merchants automatically includes each card type in the default card type list.

58. The system of claim 57, wherein the merchant master data store contains a merchant record for each merchant, the merchant record for each merchant including a flag,

wherein when the flag is set in the merchant record for a second one of the merchants, the merchant card type list for the second merchant is constructed from card types included in the merchant record without automatically including any card types from the default card type list.

59. The system of claim 57, wherein the card product data store further includes a plurality of default card type lists and each merchant is associated with one of the plurality of default card type lists.

60. A system for processing purchase card transactions submitted by a plurality of merchants, wherein each of the merchants is associated with one of a plurality of acquirers, comprising:

a data store having;

(1) a master card product list including a plurality of card types, each card type corresponding to a group of purchase cards and having associated therewith one or more merchant-independent transaction processing parameters;

(2) a plurality of acquirer-level card product lists, each acquirer-level card product list including a respective subset of the plurality of card types; and

(3) a plurality of merchant card product lists corresponding to the plurality of merchants, each merchant card product list including at least one of the card types included in the acquirer-level card product list of the associated acquirer, each card type in each merchant card product list further having associated therewith one or more merchant-specific transaction processing parameters;

control logic configured to identify a card type for a purchase card used in a purchase card transaction submitted by a merchant, the card type being identified from a merchant card product list corresponding to the merchant submitting the purchase card transaction; and

control logic configured to process the purchase card transaction using the one or more merchant-independent transaction processing parameters and the one or more merchant-specific transaction processing parameters associated with the identified card type.