System and method for categorizing credit card transaction data

• US 20080301042A1
• Filed: 05/30/2007
• Published: 12/04/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 05/30/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Intuit, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Intuit, Inc.
• Inventors: Patzer, Aaron
• Granted Patent: US 7,840,456 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/39
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/10 specially adapted for electronic funds transfer [EFT] systems; specially adapted for home banking systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/06 Buying, selling or leasing transactions
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/02 Banking, e.g. interest calculation or account maintenance credit or loans G06Q40/03
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/12 Accounting

Abstract

A system and method employs a categorized list of business names to identify a category corresponding to transaction information, such as credit card transaction data.

Claims

1. A method of assigning a category to transaction data, comprising:

providing the transaction data corresponding to a transaction, the transaction data comprising an identifier of a business, said identifier comprising sets of characters;

providing a categorized list of a plurality of business names, each of the business names comprising at least one word and assigned to at least one category;

determining a correspondence between at least one set of characters in the identifier of the transaction data and at least one word in each of at least one of the plurality of business names in the categorized list;

for each of at least two of the business names in the categorized list with which a correspondence was identified, assigning a score to said business name, the score responsive to a location of a leftmost set of characters in the transaction data with which the correspondence of a word in the business name was determined, and a number of at least zero other business names that each have a correspondence with a word in the business name and said leftmost set of characters; and

assigning the category to the transaction data responsive to the score and category of the at least two of the business names in the categorized list having a score higher than at least one other of the scores assigned.

2. The method of claim 1:

wherein the transaction data comprises a location;

additionally comprising identifying the location in the transaction data; and

wherein the determining the correspondence step is responsive to the location identified.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein:

the location in the transaction data comprises at least one of a city and state;

the identifying the location step comprises at least one of;

identifying the state in the transaction data; and

identifying the city in the transaction data responsive to the state.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the assigning the category to the transaction data step is additionally responsive to a location of a rightmost set of characters in the transaction data with which the correspondence of a word in the business name was determined.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the assigning the category to the transaction data step is additionally responsive to a manual selection.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the manual selection corresponds to an earlier set of transaction data.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein:

the categorized list comprises at least one hierarchy of categories; and

the assigning the category to the transaction data step is additionally responsive to a category in the hierarchy of categories from which at least two of the categories, for which a correspondence was determined, descend.

8. The method of claim 1, additionally comprising assigning to the transaction data other information about a business corresponding to the category.

9. A system for identifying a category corresponding to transaction data, comprising:

a transaction information receiver having an input operatively coupled for receiving the transaction data corresponding to a transaction, the transaction data comprising an identifier of a business, said identifier comprising sets of characters, the transaction information receiver for providing the transaction data at an output;

a cities business database for storing and providing at an input/output a categorized list of a plurality of business names, each of the business names comprising at least one word and assigned to at least one category;

a business name matcher having a first input coupled to the transaction information receiver output for receiving the transaction data, and an input/output coupled to the cities/business database input/output for receiving the categorized list of business names, the business name matcher for determining a correspondence between at least one set of characters in the identifier of the transaction data and at least one word in each of at least one of the plurality of business names in the categorized list and for providing at an output information related to the correspondence; and

a product identifier having a first input coupled to the business name matcher for receiving the information related to the correspondence, and an input/output coupled to the cities/business database input/output, the product identifier for, for each of at least two of the business names in the categorized list with which a correspondence was identified, assigning a score to said business name, the score responsive to a location of a leftmost set of characters in the transaction data with which the correspondence of a word in the business name was determined, and a number of at least zero other business names that each have a correspondence with a word in the business name and said leftmost set of characters, and for retrieving from the cities/business database and providing at an output an identifier of at least one category corresponding to a business name with a highest score.

10. The system of claim 9:

wherein the transaction data comprises a location;

additionally comprising a location identifier having an input coupled to the transaction information receiver output for receiving at least a portion of the transaction data, the location identifier for identifying the location in the transaction data and providing an indication of the location identified at an output; and

wherein the business name matcher additionally comprises a location input coupled to the location identifier output, and the business name matcher determines the correspondence responsive to the location received at the business name matcher location input.

11. The system of claim 9, wherein:

the location in the transaction data comprises at least one selected from a city and a state;

the location identifier comprises at least one selected from;

a state identifier having an input coupled to the location identifier input, for receiving at least some of the at least the portion of the transaction data, the state identifier for identifying the state in the transaction data and providing an identifier of the state at an output coupled to the location identifier output, the state being a geographic entity that encompasses a plurality of cities; and

a city identifier having a first input coupled to the location identifier input for receiving at least some of the at least the portion of the transaction data, and a second input coupled to the state identifier output for receiving the identifier of the state, the city identifier for identifying the city in the transaction data responsive to the state and providing at an output coupled to the location identifier output an identifier of the city.

12. The system of claim 9, wherein the category associator identifies the category of the transaction data additionally responsive to a location of a rightmost set of characters in the transaction data with which the correspondence of a word in the business name was determined.

13. The system of claim 9:

additionally comprising a manual category manager having an input coupled for receiving an identifier of a category from a user, the manual category manager for providing at an output the identifier of the category; and

wherein the category associator additionally comprises a manual category input coupled to the manual category manager output for receiving the identifier of the category, and the category associator identifies the category of the transaction data additionally responsive to the identifier of the category received at the category associator manual category input.

14. The system of claim 9:

wherein the product identifier provides one identifier of the at least one category at the product identifier output responsive to the score associated with at least one highest scoring category meeting a criteria, and signals at an alternate output responsive to the score associated with at least one highest scoring category not meeting a criteria; and

additionally comprising a cache matcher having a first input coupled to the product identifier alternate output for receiving the signal, and input coupled to the transaction information receiver output for receiving at least a portion of the transaction data, the cache matcher for identifying as the category of the transaction data a category previously identified for a prior transaction corresponding to the at least the portion of the transaction data received at the cache matcher input, and for providing at an output the category identified.

15. The system of claim 9, wherein:

wherein the product identifier provides one identifier of the at least one category at the product identifier output responsive to the score associated with at least one highest scoring category meeting a criteria, and provides at an alternate output a plurality of the identifiers of the at least one category, responsive to the score associated with at least one highest scoring category not meeting a criteria; and

the categorized list comprises at least one hierarchy of categories; and

additionally comprising a common category processor having an input coupled to the product identifier alternate output for receiving the plurality of identifiers of the at least one category, the common category processor for providing at a first output, at least one of the identifiers of the plurality of categories responsive to at least two of the plurality of identifiers of the at least one category being the same, and at least one of the plurality of identifiers of the at least one category meeting a criteria, and for providing at a second output, at least two of the identifiers of the plurality of categories responsive to at least two of the plurality of identifiers of the at least one category not being the same or at least one of the plurality of identifiers of the at least one category not meeting a criteria

a hierarchy traverser, having an input coupled to the common category processor second output for receiving the at least two of the identifiers of the plurality of categories, and an input/output coupled to the cities business database, the hierarchy traverser for identifying and providing at an output an identifier of a category from which a plurality of the at least two of the identifiers of the plurality of categories descend.

16. A computer program product comprising a computer useable medium having computer readable program code embodied therein for assigning a category to transaction data, the computer program product comprising computer readable program code devices configured to cause a computer system to:

provide the transaction data corresponding to a transaction, the transaction data comprising an identifier of a business, said identifier comprising sets of characters;

provide a categorized list of a plurality of business names, each of the business names comprising at least one word and assigned to at least one category;

determine a correspondence between at least one set of characters in the identifier of the transaction data and at least one word in each of at least one of the plurality of business names in the categorized list;

for each of at least two of the business names in the categorized list with which a correspondence was identified, assign a score to said business name, the score responsive to a location of a leftmost set of characters in the transaction data with which the correspondence of a word in the business name was determined, and a number of at least zero other business names that each have a correspondence with a word in the business name and said leftmost set of characters; and

assign the category to the transaction data responsive to the score and category of the at least two of the business names in the categorized list having a score higher than at least one other of the scores assigned.

17. The computer program product of claim 16:

wherein the transaction data comprises a location;

additionally comprising computer readable program code devices configured to cause the computer system to identify the location in the transaction data; and

wherein the computer readable program code devices configured to cause the computer system to determine the correspondence are responsive to the location identified.

18. The computer program product of claim 16, wherein:

the location in the transaction data comprises at least one of a city and state;

the computer readable program code devices configured to cause the computer system to identify the location comprise at least one of computer readable program code devices configured to cause the computer system to;

identify the state in the transaction data; and

identify the city in the transaction data responsive to the state.

19. The computer program product of claim 16, wherein the computer readable program code devices configured to cause the computer system to assign the category to the transaction data are additionally responsive to a location of a rightmost set of characters in the transaction data with which the correspondence of a word in the business name was determined.

20. The computer program product of claim 16, wherein the computer readable program code devices configured to cause the computer system to assign the category to the transaction data are additionally responsive to a manual selection.

21. The computer program product of claim 16, wherein the manual selection corresponds to an earlier set of transaction data.

22. The computer program product of claim 16, wherein:

the categorized list comprises at least one hierarchy of categories; and

the computer readable program code devices configured to cause the computer system to assign the category to the transaction data are additionally responsive to a category in the hierarchy of categories from which at least two of the categories, for which a correspondence was determined, descend.

23. The computer program product of claim 16, additionally comprising computer readable program code devices configured to cause the computer system to assign to the transaction data other information about a business corresponding to the category.