TRANSACTION EVALUATION FOR PROVIDING REWARDS

• US 20080059303A1
• Filed: 08/07/2007
• Published: 03/06/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 08/31/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Visa USA, Inc. (Visa, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Visa USA, Inc. (Visa, Inc.)
• Inventors: Fordyce, Edward W.
• Granted Patent: US 10,115,112 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/14
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0207 Discounts or incentives, e.g. coupons or rebates
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0223 based on inventory
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0226 Incentive systems for frequent usage, e.g. frequent flyer miles programs or point systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0234 Rebates after completed purchase
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0238 at point-of-sale [POS]
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0239 Online discounts or incentives
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/00 Finance; Insurance; Tax strategies; Processing of corporate or income taxes

Abstract

An amount of loyalty program currency is pre-selected by a consumer and exchanged for a corresponding value-added reward also pre-selected by the consumer. The pre-selected reward, which can be a value added back to the consumer payment device, is given when the consumer conducts their pre-selected transaction using their consumer payment device. The amount of the loyalty program currency can be added back to the consumer payment device, and later exchanged for the consumer pre-selected value-adding rewards, by the consumer'"'"'s transactional use of their consumer payment device. Consumer pre-selected value-added rewards, for instance, can appear as statement credits to an account associated with the consumer payment device. As such, an incentive exists for the consumer to pre-select a transaction to conduct with their consumer payment device to realize a corresponding pre-selected statement credit for such loyal use of their consumer payment device.

Claims

1. In a payment system in which a consumer has an account for a consumer purchase device, any loyalty program having currency in the account which, if the consumer purchase device is used for a transaction that is pre-selected by the consumer:

an amount of the currency that is pre-selected by the consumer is credited to the account; and

a reward that is pre-selected by the consumer is debited to the account.

2. The loyalty program as defined in claim 1, wherein the reward that is pre-selected by the consumer is debited to the account by way of a discount applied to a purchase price that is paid by the consumer at a point of service terminal for the transaction being conducted by the consumer by use of their consumer purchase device.

3. The loyalty program as defined in claim 1, wherein the loyalty program debits the amount of the currency to the account for conducting a purchase with the consumer purchase device.

4. The loyalty program as defined in claim 3, wherein the debited amount of the currency correspond to the amount of the purchase with the consumer purchase device.

5. The loyalty program as defined in claim 1, wherein the transaction is selected from the group consisting of:

a transaction with a merchant within a particular category of merchants;

a transaction with a particular merchant;

a transaction for a good within a particular category of goods;

a transaction for a particular good;

a transaction for a service within a particular category of services;

a transaction for a particular service; and

a combination of the foregoing.

6. The loyalty program as defined in claim 1, wherein the payment system comprises an issuer issuing the consumer payment device associated with the account to the consumer to conduct the transaction with a merchant, the merchant communicating the consumer transaction to an acquirer, the acquirer communicating the consumer transaction to a transaction handler, the transaction handler communicating the consumer transaction to the issuer, and the issuer communicating the consumer transaction to the consumer for payment.

7. A method for a consumer to participate in a loyalty program having business rules by using a consumer payment device associated with an account, the method comprising:

selecting a quantity of loyalty program points to be debited to the account in exchange for a selected monetary loyalty program reward to be credited to the account for a future qualifying transaction conducted with the consumer payment device; and

conducting the qualifying transaction with the consumer payment device to initiate a loyalty program business rule that;

the selected quantity of loyalty program points are deducted from the account; and

the selected monetary loyalty program reward is credited to the account.

8. The method as defined in claim 7, wherein the method is performed in a payment system comprising an issuer issuing the consumer payment device associated with the account to the consumer to conduct the transaction with a merchant, the merchant communicating the consumer transaction to an acquirer, the acquirer communicating the consumer transaction to a transaction handler, the transaction handler communicating the consumer transaction to the issuer, and the issuer communicating the consumer transaction to the consumer for payment.

9. The method as defined in claim 7, wherein the account is debited with a number of loyalty program points that correspond to money spent using the corresponding said consumer payment device.

10. The method as defined in claim 7, further comprising receiving a notice that the account is debited with a number of loyalty program points that correspond to money spent in one of more transactions using the corresponding said consumer payment device.

11. The method as defined in claim 7, further comprising receiving a notice of:

the selected quantity of loyalty program points deducted from the account; and

the selected monetary loyalty program reward credited to the account.

12. The method as defined in claim 7, wherein the selecting further comprises:

inputting data corresponding to the qualifying transaction to a user interface associated with a computing device in communication with a network

13. The method as defined in claim 7, wherein the selecting further comprises:

receiving a presentation of a plurality of the monetary loyalty program rewards each being exchangeable for a respective said quantity of the loyalty program points debited to the account when a corresponding said future qualifying transaction is conducted; and

from among a plurality of the presented said future qualifying transactions that correspond to a same category for the same said monetary loyalty program reward, selecting one said monetary loyalty program reward exchangeable for a different number of the debited loyalty program points than another said monetary loyalty program reward

14. The method as defined in claim 13, wherein the same category is selected from the group consisting of:

the same category of merchants for the same category of goods;

the same category of merchants for the same category of services;

the same category of merchants;

the same category of goods;

the same category of services; and

a combination of the foregoing.

15. A method comprising:

spending money with a consumer payment device corresponding to an account;

receiving a notice of a number of loyalty program points debited to the account corresponding to the money spent with the consumer purchase device;

selecting a quantity of the loyalty program points debited to the account to be exchanged for a selected monetary loyalty program reward to be credited to the account for a future qualifying consumer payment device transaction;

conducting the qualifying consumer payment device transaction; and

receiving a notice of;

the selected quantity of loyalty program points deducted from the account; and

the selected monetary loyalty program reward credited to the account.

16. The method as defined in claim 15, wherein prior to the selecting, receiving a notice of a plurality of the future qualifying consumer payment device transactions anyone of which can be selected for a corresponding said quantity of the loyalty program points debited to the account to be exchanged for a corresponding said selected monetary loyalty program reward to be credited to the account.

17. The loyalty program as defined in claim 15, wherein the qualifying consumer payment device transaction is selected from the group consisting of:

a transaction with a merchant within a particular category of merchants;

a transaction with a particular merchant;

a transaction for a good within a particular category of goods;

a transaction for a particular good;

a transaction for a service within a particular category of services;

a transaction for a particular service; and

a combination of the foregoing.

18. The method as defined in claim 15, wherein the spending of the money with the consumer payment device corresponding to the account occurs within a payment system in which the consumer payment device is issued by an issuer and is associated with the account of a consumer spending the money in a transaction with a merchant, the merchant communicating the consumer transaction to an acquirer, the acquirer communicating the consumer transaction to a transaction handler, the transaction handler communicating the consumer transaction to the issuer, and the issuer communicating the consumer transaction to the consumer for payment.

19. A method comprising:

receiving notice of money spent with a consumer payment device corresponding to an account;

debiting loyalty program points to the account corresponding to the money spent with the consumer purchase device;

receiving, for a future qualifying consumer payment device transaction, a selection of a quantity of the loyalty program points to be debited to the account in exchange for a credit to the account of a selected monetary loyalty program reward;

receiving notice that the qualifying consumer payment device transaction had been conducted;

deducting from the account the selected quantity of loyalty program points; and

adding to the account the selected monetary loyalty program reward.

20. The method as defined in claim 19, wherein the future qualifying consumer payment device transaction is selected from the group consisting of:

a transaction with a merchant within a particular category of merchants;

a transaction with a particular merchant;

a transaction for a good within a particular category of goods;

a transaction for a particular good;

a transaction for a service within a particular category of services;

a transaction for a particular service; and

a combination of the foregoing.

21. The method as defined in claim 19, wherein the money spent with the consumer payment device corresponding to the account occurs within a payment system in which the consumer payment device is issued by an issuer and is associated with the account of a consumer spending the money in a transaction with a merchant, the merchant communicating the consumer transaction to an acquirer, the acquirer communicating the consumer transaction to a transaction handler, the transaction handler communicating the consumer transaction to the issuer, and the issuer communicating the consumer transaction to the consumer for payment.

22. A computer readable medium comprising execution which, when executed by a computer, performs the method as defined in claim 19.

23. A method comprising:

identifying, within a plurality of general consumer payment device transactions corresponding to a plurality of consumer payment devices each having a corresponding account, each said general consumer payment device transaction that corresponds to a qualifying consumer payment device transaction for which a monetary loyalty program reward is to be credited to the corresponding account in exchange for a previously selected quantity of loyalty program points that were previously debited to the account; and

for each said general consumer payment device transaction corresponding to the qualifying consumer payment device transaction, forming a transmission containing a notice that the qualifying consumer payment device transaction had been conducted.

24. The method as defined in claim 23, wherein the qualifying consumer payment device transaction is selected from the group consisting of:

a transaction with a merchant within a particular category of merchants;

a transaction with a particular merchant;

a transaction for a good within a particular category of goods;

a transaction for a particular good;

a transaction for a service within a particular category of services;

a transaction for a particular service; and

a combination of the foregoing.

25. The method as defined in claim 23, further comprising receiving from a merchant compensation for offering to a consumer-loyalty program participant a lower quantity of the loyalty program points that are exchangeable for the monetary loyalty program reward when the consumer payment device having the corresponding account is used to conduct one said qualifying transaction with the merchant, wherein the compensation corresponds to the difference between a normal quantity of the loyalty program points that are exchangeable for the monetary loyalty program reward and the lower quantity of loyalty program points exchangeable for the monetary loyalty program reward.

26. The method as defined in claim 23, wherein the general consumer payment device transactions corresponding to the plurality of consumer payment devices each having a corresponding account occurs within a payment system in which each said consumer payment device is issued by an issuer and is associated with a corresponding said account of a consumer spending money in a transaction with a merchant, the merchant communicating the consumer transaction to an acquirer, the acquirer communicating the consumer transaction to a transaction handler, the transaction handler communicating the consumer transaction to the issuer, and the issuer communicating the consumer transaction to the consumer for payment.

27. A computer readable medium comprising execution which, when executed by a computer, performs the method as defined in claim 23.

28. A method comprising:

receiving an identification of a quantity of loyalty program points exchangeable for a monetary loyalty program reward when a consumer payment device having a corresponding account is used to conduct a qualifying transaction;

identifying, within a plurality of general consumer payment device transactions corresponding to a plurality of the consumer payment devices each having a corresponding said account, each said general consumer payment device transaction that corresponds to the qualifying consumer payment device transaction;

for each said each general consumer payment device transaction corresponding to the qualifying consumer payment device transaction;

forming a transmission containing a notice that the qualifying consumer payment device transaction had been conducted.

29. The method as defined in claim 28, wherein the qualifying consumer payment device transaction is selected from the group consisting of:

a transaction with a merchant within a particular category of merchants;

a transaction with a particular merchant;

a transaction for a good within a particular category of goods;

a transaction for a particular good;

a transaction for a service within a particular category of services;

a transaction for a particular service; and

a combination of the foregoing.

30. The method as defined in claim 29, further comprising receiving from a merchant compensation for offering to a consumer-loyalty program participant a lower quantity of the loyalty program points that are exchangeable for the monetary loyalty program reward when the consumer payment device having the corresponding account is used to conduct one said qualifying transaction with the merchant, wherein the compensation corresponds to the difference between a normal quantity of the loyalty program points that are exchangeable for the monetary loyalty program reward and the lower quantity of loyalty program points exchangeable for the monetary loyalty program reward.

31. The method as defined in claim 28, wherein the consumer payment device having the corresponding account used to conduct the qualifying transaction occurs within a payment system in which the consumer payment device is issued by an issuer and is associated with the account of a consumer spending money in a transaction with a merchant, the merchant communicating the consumer transaction to an acquirer, the acquirer communicating the consumer transaction to a transaction handler, the transaction handler communicating the consumer transaction to the issuer, and the issuer communicating the consumer transaction to the consumer for payment.

32. A computer readable medium comprising execution which, when executed by a computer, performs the method as defined in claim 28.

33. A method comprising:

identifying an account holder and an account of the account holder;

using at least one business rule for a transaction by the account holder to define a redemption event;

upon the redemption event associated with the at least one business rule for the transaction, using a redemption service to facilitate determining a reward to the account of the account holder that is associated with the redemption event;

identifying the transaction associated with the redemption event using a transaction record associated with the redemption event; and

associating the reward with at least one of the redemption service, an issuer, and a merchant.

34. The method as defined in claim 33, further comprising the step of identifying at least one of the redemption event and a corresponding statement credit of the account holder associated with the redemption event using the reward.

35. The method as defined in claim 33, further comprising including at least one of the account number of the account holder associated with the issuer, a unique identifier, and a reward code in a redemption file associated with the redemption event.

36. The method as defined in claim 33, further comprising the account holder transacting one of the following:

a purchase, a points redemption, a points transfer, and a qualifying transaction.

37. The method as defined in claim 33, further comprising including at least one of a reward level, reward code, promotion type, description field, SKU level information of product or service, corresponding statement credit amount, and length of time reward is valid to define the at least one business rule.

38. A computer readable medium comprising execution which, when executed by a computer, performs the method as defined in claim 33.