System and apparatus for transactions using prepaid cards
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A transaction system comprising:
- an issuing mechanism capable of issuing at least one unique identifying card to a customer;
a rate plan tracking mechanism capable of associating at least one rate plan with said at least one unique identifying card and allowing each of said at least one rate plan to be changed by an authorized administrator;
a payment receiving mechanism capable of receiving and recording a payment amount from said customer, associating a face value to said at least one unique identifying card, and crediting said payment amount to at least one revenue recipient based upon said at least one rate plan in real time; and
a validation mechanism capable of recording that said unique identifying card is presented at a point-of-use and updating said face value associated with said unique identifying card in real time to reflect a transaction based on at least one redemption policy.
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Abstract
A system, method and apparatus having the capability of issuing at least one unique identifying card, associating a payment amount and face value with each unique identifying card and receiving a payment for each unique identifying card. The method, system and apparatus are further capable of crediting the payment to one or more revenue distribution recipients in real time and updating the face value of the unique identifying card in real time to reflect its use for a transaction, and of tracking information about the card and use of the card.
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Citations
50 Claims
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1. A transaction system comprising:
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an issuing mechanism capable of issuing at least one unique identifying card to a customer; a rate plan tracking mechanism capable of associating at least one rate plan with said at least one unique identifying card and allowing each of said at least one rate plan to be changed by an authorized administrator; a payment receiving mechanism capable of receiving and recording a payment amount from said customer, associating a face value to said at least one unique identifying card, and crediting said payment amount to at least one revenue recipient based upon said at least one rate plan in real time; and a validation mechanism capable of recording that said unique identifying card is presented at a point-of-use and updating said face value associated with said unique identifying card in real time to reflect a transaction based on at least one redemption policy. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A transaction system comprising:
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an issuing mechanism capable of issuing at least one unique identifying card to a customer; a rate plan tracking mechanism capable of associating at least one rate plan with at least one unique identifying card and allowing each of said at least one rate plan to be changed by an authorized administrator; a payment receiving mechanism capable of receiving and recording a payment amount from said customer, associating a face value to at least one unique identifying card, designating said at least one unique identifying card so that said at least one unique identifying card may be accepted by at least one vendor as a method of payment, and crediting said payment amount to at least one revenue recipient based upon said at least one rate plan in real time; and a validation mechanism capable of recording that said unique identifying card is presented at a point-of-use, sending a message to said point-of-use indicating in real time whether said at least one unique identifying card has said face value sufficient to complete a transaction and updating said face value of said unique identifying card if said transaction can be completed to reflect said transaction in real time. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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19. A method of managing at least one unique identifying card comprising the steps of:
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creating said at least one unique identifying card; issuing said at least one unique identifying card to at least one customer; associating at least one rate plan with said at least one unique identifying card in real time; receiving and recording a payment amount from said at least one customer; crediting said payment amount to at least one revenue recipient based upon at least one of said at least one rate plan in real time; associating a face value to said at least one unique identifying card in real time; and recording that said at least one unique identifying card has been used for a transaction in real time. - View Dependent Claims (20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31)
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32. A method of managing at least one unique identifying card comprising the steps of:
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creating said at least one unique identifying card; issuing said at least one unique identifying card to at least one customer; associating at least one rate plan with said at least one unique identifying card; receiving and recording a payment amount from said at least one customer; designating said at least one unique identifying card so that said at least one unique identifying card may be accepted by at least one vendor as a method of payment; crediting said payment amount to at least one revenue recipient based upon said at least one rate plan in real time; associating a face value to said at least one unique identifying card; and validating that said at least one unique identifying card has said face value sufficient to complete a transaction, and if said face value is sufficient, updating said face value associated with said at least one unique identifying card in real time to reflect said transaction. - View Dependent Claims (33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43)
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44. An apparatus for managing at least one unique identifying card comprising:
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an input mechanism, said input mechanism constructed and adapted to receive a message identifying at least one customer; an issuing mechanism, said issuing mechanism constructed and adapted to issue at least one unique identifying card to said at least one customer and to associate a face value with said at least one unique identifying card; a payment receiving mechanism, said payment receiving mechanism constructed and adapted to receive payment for said at least one unique identifying card and to credit said payment to at least one revenue recipient in real time. - View Dependent Claims (45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50)
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Specification