METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR REWARD CALCULATION AND DISBURSEMENT

• US 20080255940A1
• Filed: 12/19/2007
• Published: 10/16/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 04/12/2007
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Mastercard International Incorporated (MasterCard Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: Mastercard International Incorporated (MasterCard Incorporated)
• Inventors: White, Brigette A., Aguas, Christopher P., Perreault, Bruno D., Erickson, Theresa Ann, Coisman, Jay A., Pastrana, James E.
• Application Number:
  US11/960,281
• Publication Number:
  US 20080255940A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/14
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/02 involving a neutral party, e.g. certification authority, notary or trusted third party [TTP]
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/023 the neutral party being a clearing house
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/12 specially adapted for electronic shopping systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• 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

Abstract

A method includes receiving data that represents purchase transactions received from acquirer financial institutions. The method further includes identifying, from the received data, purchase transactions that qualify for customer rebates. The method further includes transmitting rebate data to certain ones of the acquirer financial institutions. The rebate data identifies the purchase transactions that qualify for customer rebates.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

receiving data that represents purchase transactions received from acquirer financial institutions;

identifying, from the received data, ones of said purchase transactions that qualify for customer rebates; and

transmitting rebate data to ones of said acquirer financial institutions, said rebate data identifying said ones of said purchase transactions that qualify for customer rebates.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein said rebate data includes data that identifies merchants to be charged for said customer rebates by said ones of said acquiring financial institutions.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the purchase transactions were cleared through a payment processing network;

and the method further comprising;

initiating payment transactions in the payment processing network in regard to the identified purchase transactions, the payment transactions for crediting customer rebates to payment card accounts of customers who initiated the identified purchase transactions.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the data that represents the purchase transactions is received by a rewards system computer.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the data that represents the purchase transactions is retrieved by the rewards system computer from a data warehouse.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the data that represents the purchase transactions was stored in the data warehouse by a payment processing network transaction clearing computer.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the rewards system computer initiates said payment transactions by transmitting payment transaction data to the payment processing network transaction clearing computer.

8. The method of claim 7, further comprising:

the payment processing network transaction clearing computer clearing the payment transactions initiated by the rewards system computer.

9. The method of claim 8, further comprising:

the payment processing network transaction clearing computer storing, in the data warehouse, payment transaction data that represents the payment transactions initiated by the rewards system computer and cleared by the payment processing network transaction clearing computer.

10. The method of claim 4, wherein:

the rewards system computer identifies said ones of said purchase transactions by comparing ones of said purchase transactions with rewards program rules.

11. A method comprising:

receiving data that represents purchase transactions received from acquirer financial institutions and cleared through a payment processing network;

identifying, from the received data, ones of said purchase transactions that qualify for customer rebates;

initiating payment transactions in the payment processing network in regard to the identified purchase transactions, the payment transactions for crediting customer rebates to payment card accounts of customers who initiated the identified purchase transactions; and

clearing amounts due in regard to said payment transactions from said acquirer financial institutions to issuer financial institutions, said cleared amounts net of interchange.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the data that represents the purchase transactions is received by a rewards system computer.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the data that represents the purchase transactions is retrieved by the rewards system computer from a data warehouse.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the data that represents the purchase transactions was stored in the data warehouse by a payment processing network transaction clearing computer.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the rewards system computer initiates said payment transactions by transmitting payment transaction data to the payment processing network transaction clearing computer.

16. The method of claim 11, further comprising:

calculating said interchange for said payment transactions based at least in part on interchange applied to purchase transactions related to said payment transactions.

17. A method comprising:

receiving data that represents purchase transactions received from acquirer financial institutions; and

identifying, from the received data, ones of said purchase transactions that qualify for customer rebates;

wherein;

said received data includes purchased item data that identifies at least some items purchased in the purchase transactions; and

said identifying ones of said purchase transactions that qualify for customer rebates is based at least in part on said purchased item data.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein the purchase transactions were cleared through a payment processing network;

and the method further comprising;

initiating payment transactions in the payment processing network in regard to the identified purchase transactions, the payment transactions for crediting customer rebates to payment card accounts of customers who initiated the identified purchase transactions.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein the data that represents the purchase transactions is received by a rewards system computer.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein the data that represents the purchase transactions is retrieved by the rewards system computer from a data warehouse.

21. A method comprising:

receiving data that represents purchase transactions received from acquirer financial institutions;

identifying, from the received data, ones of said purchase transactions that qualify for customer rebates; and

initiating payment transactions in a payment processing network in regard to the identified purchase transactions, the payment transactions for crediting customer rebates to payment card accounts of customers who initiated the identified purchase transactions.

22. The method of claim 21, further comprising:

collecting amounts from merchants to fund said customer rebates.

23. The method of claim 21, wherein the data that represents the purchase transactions is retrieved by a rewards system computer from a data warehouse.

24. The method of claim 23, wherein:

the data that represents the purchase transactions was stored in the data warehouse by a payment processing network transaction clearing computer; and

the rewards system computer initiates said payment transactions by transmitting payment transaction data to the payment processing network transaction clearing computer;

and further comprising;

the payment processing network transaction clearing computer clearing the payment transactions initiated by the rewards system computer.

25. The method of claim 24, wherein:

the rewards system computer identifies said ones of said purchase transactions by comparing ones of said purchase transactions with rewards program rules.