UNIFIED PAYMENT CARD
First Claim
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1. An apparatus comprising:
- a gift card having a memory on which is stored a first amount of money, a second amount of money, a first retailer identification of a first retailer, and a second retailer identification of a second retailer;
wherein the first retailer identification associates the first amount of money with the first retailer, so that the first amount of money can be used to buy an item from the first retailer but not from any other retailer;
wherein the second retailer identification associates the second amount of money with the second retailer so that the second amount of money can be used to buy an item from the second retailer but not from any other retailer; and
wherein the first retailer and the second retailer are different.
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Abstract
A consolidation system for consumer gift cards, prepaid purchase cards or loyalty accounts which allows the consumer the flexibility to maintain account with a variety of independent merchants, each account individually tabulated, and access to each account available from a single unitary universal membership card.
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Citations
11 Claims
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1. An apparatus comprising:
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a gift card having a memory on which is stored a first amount of money, a second amount of money, a first retailer identification of a first retailer, and a second retailer identification of a second retailer; wherein the first retailer identification associates the first amount of money with the first retailer, so that the first amount of money can be used to buy an item from the first retailer but not from any other retailer; wherein the second retailer identification associates the second amount of money with the second retailer so that the second amount of money can be used to buy an item from the second retailer but not from any other retailer; and wherein the first retailer and the second retailer are different. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5)
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6. An apparatus for consolidating consumer accounts comprising:
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a first database; a first computing device containing said database; wherein the first database contains information records of at least a first customer identification and a first gift card balance of a first gift card; a first gateway for exchanging information between the first database and one or more independent merchant information systems; wherein the first gateway is configured to receive a first set of customer transaction data from the one or more independent merchant information systems; wherein the first gateway is programmed to transmit the first set of customer transaction data to the first database; wherein the first database is programmed to update the first gift card balance in response to the first set of customer transaction data. - View Dependent Claims (7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. A method comprising
storing a first amount of money, a second amount of money, a first retailer identification of a first retailer, and a second retailer identification of a second retailer on a memory of a gift card; -
wherein the first retailer identification associates the first amount of money with the first retailer, so that the first amount of money can be used to buy an item from the first retailer but not from any other retailer; wherein the second retailer identification associates the second amount of money with the second retailer so that the second amount of money can be used to buy an item from the second retailer but not from any other retailer; and wherein the first retailer and the second retailer are different.
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Specification