NOTIFICATION OF RESOURCES OF INTEREST TO MEMBERS OF A CONSUMER GROUP

• US 20100274598A1
• Filed: 04/22/2009
• Published: 10/28/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 04/22/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Visa USA, Inc. (Visa, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Visa USA, Inc. (Visa, Inc.)
• Inventors: Carlson, Mark, Mowzoon, May M.
• Granted Patent: US 8,160,934 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/7
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/0637 Strategic management or analysis, e.g. setting a goal or target of an organisation; Planning actions based on goals; Analysis or evaluation of effectiveness of goals
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/10 specially adapted for electronic funds transfer [EFT] systems; specially adapted for home banking systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0224 based on user history
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0225 Avoiding frauds
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0229 Multi-merchant loyalty card systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0255 based on user history
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0267 Wireless devices
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0275 Auctions
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0611 Request for offers or quotes
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/08 Auctions

Abstract

An announcement distributor distributes, or auctions an opportunity to distribute, an announcement to an announcement recipient such as a consumer, issuer, merchant, or acquirer within a payment processing system. The announcement when there has been a satisfaction of an announcement condition, such as the consumer being determined to be located within a predetermined spatial zone. The content of the announcement may, in turn, facilitate a subsequent cashless transaction for resources of merchants. Implementations describe various permutations of the content of the announcement, the announcement condition, and the announcement recipient.

Claims

1. A computer implemented method comprising a plurality of steps each being performed using a computing apparatus executing software, the steps including:

in a payment processing system which notifies a member consumer of at least one transaction for resources between any of a plurality of merchants and any said member consumer in a consumer group, wherein each said transaction is conducted on an account issued to one said member consumer that is processed for payment to the one said merchant;

receiving resource data identifying a resource set including resources of interest to at least one of the member consumers in the consumer group;

receiving transaction data for the at least one transaction, wherein the transaction data includes information about a corresponding said resource;

finding a matching resource by a comparison of the resources of interest in the resource set with the corresponding said resource in the received transaction data for the at least one transaction;

and

for each said matching resource, sending a transmission including data about the matching resource for delivery to at least one of the member consumer in the consumer group.

2. The computer implemented method as defined in claim 1, wherein the steps further comprise updating the resource set by removing each said matching resources from the resources of interest in the resource set.

3. The computer implemented method as defined in claim 1, wherein the transmission includes at least one of:

a purchase price of the matching resource;

a time that the matching resource was purchased in the at least one transaction;

a name of the member consumer that purchased the matched said resource;

a date the matching resource was purchased;

a resource identifier of the matching resource;

a manufacturer identifier of the matching resource; and

a message from one of the member consumers.

4. The computer implemented method as defined in claim 1, wherein:

the transmission includes a merchant offer for a future said transaction for the matching resource at a discount price; and

the discount price matches a price previously paid by one said member consumer for the matching resource purchased in the at least one transaction.

5. The computer implemented method as defined in claim 1, wherein the steps further comprise:

obtaining target information including position data usable to determine a position of one of the member consumers;

using the position data to determine the position of the one of the member consumers;

comparing the position to a zone to identify a match, wherein;

a targeting merchant is located in the zone; and

the targeting merchant is capable of engaging in a future said transaction for at least one of the resources of interest in the resource set;

and

forming an announcement for delivery to at least one of;

the one of the member consumers located in the zone; and

the targeting merchant.

6. The computer implemented method as defined in claim 5, wherein the announcement includes at least one of:

data about the one of the member consumers located in the zone;

data about the resource set; and

data about the targeting merchant.

7. The computer implemented method as defined in claim 5, wherein:

the target information includes data from a portable consumer device of the one of the member consumers; and

the portable consumer device is selected from the group consisting of;

a financial card;

a contactless device including a wireless processor, a transmitter, and a receiver;

a smart card;

a cellular telephone;

a personal digital assistant;

a digital audio player;

a global positioning system enabled device;

a portable computing apparatus; and

a combination of the foregoing.

8. The computer implemented method as defined in claim 1, wherein the steps further comprise receiving, in a transmission addressed from one of the member consumers, an indicator that affirmatively distinguishes the corresponding said resource in the received transaction data that is to be used for the finding of the matching resource in the resources of interest in the resource set.

9. The computer implemented method as defined in claim 1, wherein:

a transaction handler within the payment processing system processes each said transaction conducted on a corresponding said account;

each said merchant submits a corresponding said transaction to a corresponding acquirer for processing by the transaction handler who requests a corresponding issuer to obtain a corresponding payment for the submitted transaction from a corresponding said account issued to a corresponding said member consumer by the corresponding said issuer; and

the corresponding said issuer forwards the obtained corresponding payment to the corresponding acquirer to pay the submitting merchant for the submitted transaction.

10. The computer implemented method of claim 1, wherein the steps further comprise receiving at least one request for a transfer of a specified amount of funds from one said account of one of the member consumers to a mutual payment said account that is accessible by each of the member consumers in the consumer group.

11. The computer implemented method of claim 10, wherein the steps further comprise:

receiving an authorization request to make one said transaction payable upon the mutual payment said account for one of the resources in the resource set;

receiving an authorization response to the authorization request including an approval of an issuer of the mutual payment said account to make the one said transaction payable upon the mutual said payment account; and

requesting the issuer of the mutual payment said account to obtain payment therefrom for the one said transaction, wherein the issuer forwards the obtained payment for delivery to a corresponding acquirer of a corresponding said merchant to pay the corresponding said merchant for the one of the resources in the resource set.

12. The computer implemented method of claim 1, wherein the steps further comprise:

receiving at least one request for partial payment towards a current said transaction for at least one of the resources in the resource set, wherein the at least one request for partial payment includes;

an account identifier of a corresponding said account issued to one of the member consumers by an issuer; and

an amount of funds to apply towards the partial payment;

and

facilitating application of the amount of funds of the at least one request for partial payment towards the current said transaction for the at least one of the resources.

13. The computer implemented method of claim 12, wherein the step of facilitating the application of the amount of funds includes:

receiving information about a selected said merchant offering to sell the at least one of the resources; and

sending at least one clearing and settling request, to an issuer of the corresponding said account, to forward the amount of funds for delivery to the selected said merchant as the corresponding partial payment towards the current said transaction for the at least one of the resources in the resource set.

14. An apparatus comprising a computer readable medium including stored instructions that, when executed by a computing apparatus, the computing apparatus performs the steps of:

receiving transaction data for a plurality of transactions of a plurality of merchants, wherein;

each said transaction is conducted by a consumer with one said merchant; and

the transaction data for each said transaction includes;

information about a resource purchased in the transaction; and

a consumer identifier of the consumer;

receiving data specifying a consumer group, wherein each member said consumer in the consumer group has a corresponding said consumer identifier usable to distinguish the member said consumer from other said consumers;

using the consumer identifiers in the transaction data to distinguish the transactions of the each member said consumer from other said consumers;

identifying a predicted resource set including resources predicted to be of interest to the member said consumers based at least in part on the distinguished said transactions; and

announcing information about the predicted resource set to at least one of the member said consumers.

15. The apparatus as defined in claim 14, wherein the computer readable medium further comprises stored instructions that, when executed by the computing apparatus, the computing apparatus performs the steps of:

determining a subset of the predicted resource set based at least in part on corresponding said transaction data of the transactions of a first member said consumer by;

comparing the resources in the predicted resource set with the resources purchased in the corresponding said transactions of the first member said consumer to find one or more matches; and

compiling the subset of the predicted resource set based on the one or more matches;

and

announcing the subset of the predicted resource set to the first member said consumer.

16. The apparatus as defined in claim 14, wherein the computer readable medium further comprises stored instructions that, when executed by the computing apparatus, the computing apparatus performs the steps of:

receiving a query from a first said consumer requesting information about at least the predicted resource set;

using the consumer identifier corresponding to the first said consumer to distinguish the first said consumer as one of the member said consumers; and

announcing, if the first said consumer is one of the member said consumers, the requested information to the first said consumer.

17. The apparatus as defined in claim 14, wherein:

a transaction handler, within the payment processing system, processes the each said transaction upon a corresponding said account of one said consumer engaged in the transaction;

a corresponding said merchant submits a corresponding said transaction to a corresponding acquirer for processing by the transaction handler who requests a corresponding issuer of the corresponding said account to obtain a payment for the transaction from the corresponding said account; and

the corresponding issuer forwards the obtained payment to the corresponding acquirer to pay the corresponding said merchant for the submitted said transaction.

18. A computer implemented method comprising a plurality of steps each being performed using a computing apparatus executing software, the steps including:

in a payment processing system which notifies a member of at least one transaction conducted upon an account for resources of any of a plurality of merchants, wherein each said transaction is processed for payment to the any of the plurality of merchants;

receiving an address for each of a plurality of said members of an interest group for a person of interest;

receiving information about a plurality of said transactions;

distinguishing one or more said transactions each being;

conducted between the person of interest and one said merchant; and

upon an endorsement said account for the resource of the one said merchant;

and

for each of the distinguished one or more said transactions;

facilitating movement of funds from an endorsee under contract with the person of interest for deposit in the endorsement said account to pay the one said merchant for the purchase of the resource; and

transmitting data about the transaction conducted by the person of interest upon the endorsement said account to at least one said address.

19. The computer implemented method as defined in claim 18, wherein the data about the transaction includes information about the resource of the one said merchant.

20. The computer implemented method as defined in claim 18, wherein:

a transaction handler processes each said transaction conducted upon a corresponding said account;

each said merchant submits each said transaction to a corresponding acquirer for processing by the transaction handler who requests a corresponding issuer to obtain a corresponding payment for the each said transaction from the corresponding said account; and

the corresponding issuer forwards the obtained corresponding payment to the corresponding acquirer to pay the submitting said merchant for the submitted said transaction.

21. The computer implemented method as defined in claim 18, wherein, for each of the distinguished one or more said transactions, the steps further comprise:

receiving an authorization request having a merchant indicator associated with the one said merchant;

comparing the merchant indicator in the authorization request with a corresponding said merchant indicator of one of the endorsees to find a match;

and

forwarding an authorization response, responsive to the authorization request, for delivery to the one said merchant engaged in the transaction.