System and method and computer readable code for visualizing and managing digital cash

• US 20070179883A1
• Filed: 08/02/2006
• Published: 08/02/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 01/18/2006
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Digicash
• Original Assignee: Verdicash Incorporated
• Inventors: Questembert, Patrick
• Application Number:
  US11/497,350
• Publication Number:
  US 20070179883A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/39
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/06 Private payment circuits, e.g. involving electronic currency used among participants of a common payment scheme
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/10 specially adapted for electronic funds transfer [EFT] systems; specially adapted for home banking systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/227 characterised in that multiple accounts are available, e.g. to the payer
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 19/00 Complete banking systems; Coded card-freed arrangements adapted for dispensing or receiving monies or the like and posting such transactions to existing accounts, e.g. automatic teller machines data processing equipment for bank accounting G06Q40/02

Abstract

Systems, methods and computer readable code for visualizing and managing digital cash. For example, a system for visualizing digital cash on a computing device includes: a digital cash status engine to determine at least one attribute of a digital cash bundle; and a digital cash management interface to represent said digital cash bundle as a graphical item associated with a visual indication of said at least one attribute, wherein the at least one determined attribute comprises an indication of a World Wide Web location that accepts said digital cash bundle.

Claims

1. A system for visualizing digital cash on a computing device, the system comprising:

a digital cash status engine to determine at least one attribute of a digital cash bundle; and

a digital cash management interface to represent said digital cash bundle as a graphical item associated with a visual indication of said at least one attribute,

wherein the at least one determined attribute comprises an indication of a World Wide Web location that accepts said digital cash bundle.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein said graphical item comprises a graphical logo of a merchant associated with said World Wide Web location.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein said graphical item substantially entirely includes a graphical logo of a merchant associated with said World Wide Web location.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein said digital cash management interface is operative to redirect a World Wide Web browser World Wide Web location upon a user engagement of said graphical item.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein said digital cash bundle comprises a representation of a discount coupon usable at said World Wide Web location.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein said digital cash bundle comprises a representation of a voucher usable at said World Wide Web location,

wherein the voucher is selected from a group consisting of:

a percentage discount voucher,

a pre-defined monetary amount discount voucher, and

a voucher representing a right to receive a free item from said Word Wide Web location.

30. The system of claim 1, further comprising:

a reload interface to receive a first digital cash bundle having a first monetary amount, to receive a payment having a second monetary amount, and to replace the first digital cash bundle with a second digital cash bundle having a third monetary amount,

wherein the third monetary amount is substantially a sum of the first and second monetary amounts.

31. The system of claim 30, wherein said first digital cash bundle is associated with a representation having an indication pointing to a web-site hosting said reload interface, the indication comprises an indication selected from a group consisting of:

a hyperlink to said web-site hosting said reload interface, and a shortcut to said web-site hosting said reload interface.

32. The system of claim 1, wherein said graphical item includes a printable bar-code corresponding to a representation of said at least one attribute of said digital cash bundle.

33. The system of claim 1, wherein said digital cash bundle comprises a digital cash rebate provided to a recipient substantially upon purchase of a product.

34. The system of claim 33, wherein said digital cash rebate represents a credit amount applicable towards at least one purchase from said World Wide Web location.

35. The system of claim 34, wherein said digital cash rebate is associated with a cash redemption date, and wherein said digital cash rebate may be converted to a cash amount as of the cash redemption date in the amount of the digital cash rebate amount less any purchases made from said World Wide Web location using said digital cash rebate.

36. The system of claim 33, wherein said digital cash rebate is provided pre-stored in said product upon said purchase.

37. The system of claim 1, comprising a digital cash bundle delivery component to deliver said digital cash bundle from a vendor associated with said World Wide Web location to said computing device.

38. The system of claim 37, wherein said digital cash bundle delivery component is to notify a user of said computing device that said digital cash bundle is offered to be delivered to said computing device, and to receive the user of from said computing device an indication representing acceptance or rejection of said offer.

7. A method comprising:

generating a digital cash bundle associated with a URL; and

in response to a request to access said URL, generating a code readable by a computing device, the code operative to display an indication of at least one attribute of said digital cash bundle.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein generating comprises:

distributing a plurality of copies of said digital cash bundle to a respective plurality of computing devices.

9. A computing device comprising:

an icon interface to display a graphical item representing a digital cash bundle; and

a web-page interface to present at least one attribute of said digital cash bundle within-a web-page.

10. The computing device of claim 9, wherein the computing device is to launch said web-page interface upon a user engagement of said graphical item.

11. The computing device of claim 9, wherein said at least one attribute comprises a unique serial number corresponding to said digital cash bundle.

12. A system for receiving a digital cash payment, the system comprising:

a payment-receiving component able to receive digital cash payments,

wherein the payment-receiving component comprises at least a graphical payment-receiving component and a textual payment-receiving component,

wherein the graphical payment-receiving component is able to receive digital cash payments upon detection of an engagement of a digital cash bundle, and

wherein the textual payment-receiving component is able to receive digital cash payments upon entry of a textual representation uniquely identifying said digital cash bundle.

13. The system of claim 12, wherein the graphical payment-receiving component is operative to receive said digital cash bundle through a drag-and-drop thereon of a graphical representation of said digital cash bundle.

14. The system of claim 12, wherein said engagement is selected from a group consisting of:

a click on a graphical representation of the digital cash bundle,

a double-click on a graphical representation of the digital cash bundle, and

a selection of a graphical representation of the digital cash bundle.

15. The system of claim 12, further comprising:

a controller to monitor utilization of one or more digital cash bundles through said graphical payment-receiving component and said textual payment-receiving component, and to transfer to a vendor system one or more attributes of the utilized digital cash bundles.

16. A method comprising:

generating first and second digital cash bundles; and

in response to a redemption of the first digital cash bundle, modifying a characteristic of the second digital cash bundle.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein modifying a characteristic comprises:

revoking validity of the second digital cash bundle.

18. The method of claim 16, wherein generating comprises:

generating first and second inter-linked digital cash bundles,

wherein the first digital cash bundle is distributable to a first user and the second digital cash bundle is distributable to a second user.

19. The method of claim 18, further comprising:

sending to the second user a notification of said modifying.

20. A system comprising:

a digital cash clearinghouse component to create a link between first and second digital cash bundles, and to modify an attribute of the first digital cash bundle in response to a modification of an attribute of the second digital cash bundle.

21. The system of claim 20, wherein the digital cash clearing component is to revoke validity of the first digital cash bundle in response to a redemption of the second digital cash bundle.

22. The system of claim 20, wherein the digital cash clearing component is to revoke validity of the first digital cash bundle in response to validity revocation of the second digital cash bundle.

23. A system comprising:

a digital cash management interface

to detect that a first computing device received a first digital cash bundle from a second computing device,

to revoke validity of the first digital cash bundle,

to generate a second digital cash bundle having attributes corresponding to the attributes of the first digital cash bundle, and

to transfer the second digital cash bundle to the first computing device,

wherein the first digital cash bundle has a first unique identifier, and the second digital cash bundle has a second, different, unique identifier.

24. The system of claim 23, wherein the received first digital cash bundle and the generated second digital cash bundle have a substantially identical monetary amount and a substantially identical expiration date.

25. The system of claim 24, wherein the system is to substantially automatically exchange the first digital cash bundle with the second digital cash bundle.

26. A system comprising:

a server

to perform a search based on a received search query,

to serve onto a presentation platform one or more search results associated with the search query, and

to selectively serve onto said presentation platform at least one digital cash bundle associated with a search result of said one or more search results.

27. The system of claim 26, wherein the received search query comprises a query for a product intended for purchase.

28. The system of claim 26, wherein the digital cash bundle comprises a digital discount coupon.

29. The system of claim 26, wherein the digital cash bundle is set to expire at a pre-defined time subsequent to the serving of the digital cash bundle onto the presentation platform.

39. The system of claim 26, wherein said server is further to serve onto said presentation platform indicators of acceptability of digital cash bundles at World Wide Web locations associated with said search results.

40. The system of claim 39, wherein said indicators of acceptability indicate availability of a digital cash voucher capable of being applied towards purchase from said World Wide Web location of a product derived from the search query.

41. The system of claim 40, wherein said indicators of acceptability indicating availability of said digital cash voucher are produced based on a response to an acceptability query to a URL associated with said World Wide Web location.

42. The system of claim 41, wherein the response to said acceptability query includes said digital cash voucher capable of being applied towards purchase of said product from said World Wide Web location.