SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR APPLYING STORED VALUE TO A FINANCIAL TRANSACTION

• US 20100312636A1
• Filed: 08/18/2010
• Published: 12/09/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 11/08/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: AuthWallet, LLC (Dynamic IP Deals, LLC (d/b/a DynaIP))
• Original Assignee: Fonwallet Transaction Solutions Incorporated
• Inventors: Warmington, Jeffery A., Kaplinsky, Mordechai E., Lewis, Christopher E., Coulter, Todd R.
• Granted Patent: US 9,292,852 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/14.38
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/10 specially adapted for electronic funds transfer [EFT] systems; specially adapted for home banking systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/20 Point-of-sale [POS] network systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/322 Aspects of commerce using mobile devices [M-devices]
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/40 Authorisation, e.g. identification of payer or payee, verification of customer or shop credentials; Review and approval of payers, e.g. check credit lines or negative lists
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/42 Confirmation, e.g. check or permission by the legal debtor of payment
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0238 at point-of-sale [POS]
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/02 Banking, e.g. interest calculation or account maintenance credit or loans G06Q40/03

Abstract

A transaction processing service operates as an intermediary between acquirers of financial transaction requests and issuing institutions that process the financial transaction requests. The intermediary receives an authorization request generated based on a transaction initiated by a customer at a point of purchase. The intermediary service then determines one or more stored value items that can be applied to the transaction. Stored value items may be determined based on the customer'"'"'s identity or based on transaction characteristics, such as the point of purchase or the transaction items. The service sends a transaction notification to a mobile device associated with the customer to notify the customer of the available stored value items. The service then applies the stored value items to pay a portion of the transaction amount and initiates a payment process to pay the remainder of the transaction amount.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method for processing financial transaction data in a computing system including a processor and a storage area, the method comprising:

receiving an authorization request generated as a result of a transaction by a purchaser at a point of purchase, wherein the authorization request includes a purchaser identifier and transaction information, the transaction information including a transaction amount;

based on the authorization request, determining one or more stored value items to apply to the transaction, wherein each stored value item includes an associated value;

transmitting a transaction indication message to a mobile device associated with the purchaser identifier, wherein the transaction indication message includes information about the determined one or more stored value items;

receiving an indication from a user of the mobile device that at least one stored value item should be applied against the transaction;

applying the indicated at least one stored value item to pay a first portion of the transaction amount; and

initiating a payment process to pay a remaining portion of the transaction amount.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein a stored value item is a coupon for use in transactions with a specified merchant or for a specified product.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the associated value is expressed as a currency amount.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the associated value is expressed as a percentage of a portion of the transaction amount.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the associated value is expressed in non-currency units and further comprising converting the non-currency units to a currency amount using a conversion rate before applying the indicated at least one stored value item to the first portion of the transaction amount.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the conversion rate is determined based on characteristics of the transaction.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the transaction information identifies a product purchased during the transaction, and wherein a stored value item is determined based on the identified product.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein a stored value item is associated with an applicable time or time period and the stored value item is determined based on a time associated with the transaction.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein a stored value item is determined based on a transaction history of the purchaser.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein initiating a payment process comprises:

generating a modified authorization request based on the received authorization request, wherein the modified authorization request includes a modified transaction amount based on the remaining portion of the transaction amount; and

transmitting the modified authorization request to an issuing institution for authorization of payment.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more stored value items are uniquely associated with the purchaser identifier in the authorization request.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein a plurality of stored value items are contained in the storage area and each stored value item has associated transaction conditions under which a stored value item is to be applied, and wherein determining the one or more stored value items to apply to the transaction comprises selecting a stored value item from the plurality of stored value items when the associated transaction conditions under which the stored value item is to be applied are satisfied by the authorization request.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the associated transaction conditions include an identity of a product being purchased.

14. The method of claim 12, wherein the associated transaction conditions include a time period during which the stored value item is valid.

15. A system for processing financial transaction data, the system comprising:

a processor;

a storage component;

a communication module configured to receive an authorization request generated as a result of a transaction by a purchaser at a point of purchase, wherein the authorization request includes a purchaser identifier and transaction information, the transaction information including a transaction amount; and

a stored value module configured to;

based on the authorization request, determine one or more stored value item to apply to the transaction, wherein each stored value item includes an associated value;

transmit a transaction indication message to a mobile device associated with the purchaser identifier, wherein the transaction indication message includes information about the determined one or more stored value items;

receive an indication from a user of the mobile device that at least one stored value item should be applied against the transaction;

apply the indicated at least one stored value item to pay a first portion of the transaction amount; and

initiate a payment process to pay a remaining portion of the transaction amount

16. The system of claim 15, wherein a stored value item is a coupon for use in transactions with a specified merchant or for a specified product.

17. The system of claim 15, wherein the associated value is expressed as a currency amount.

18. The system of claim 15, wherein the associated value is expressed in non-currency units and wherein the stored value module is further configured to convert the non-currency units to a currency amount using a conversion rate before applying the indicated at least one stored value item to the first portion of the transaction amount.

19. The system of claim 18, wherein the conversion rate is determined based on characteristics of the transaction.

20. The system of claim 15, wherein the transaction information identifies a product purchased during the transaction, and wherein the stored value item is determined based on the identified product.

21. The system of claim 15, wherein a stored value item is associated with an applicable time or time period and the stored value item is determined based on a time associated with the transaction.

22. The system of claim 15, wherein a stored value item is determined based on a transaction history of the purchaser.

23. The system of claim 15, wherein initiating a payment process comprises:

generating a modified authorization request based on the received authorization request, wherein the modified authorization request includes a modified transaction amount based on the remaining portion of the transaction amount; and

transmitting the modified authorization request to an issuing institution for authorization of payment.

24. The system of claim 15, wherein the one or more stored value items are uniquely associated with the purchaser identifier in the authorization request.

25. The system of claim 15, wherein a plurality of stored value items are contained in the storage area and each stored value item has associated transaction conditions under which a stored value item is to be applied, and wherein determining the one or more stored value items to apply to the transaction comprises selecting a stored value item from the plurality of stored value items when the associated transaction conditions under which the stored value item is to be applied are satisfied by the authorization request.

26. The system of claim 25, wherein the associated transaction conditions include an identity of a product being purchased.

27. The system of claim 25, wherein the associated transaction conditions include a time period during which the stored value item is valid.

28. A computer-readable medium containing instructions for processing financial transaction data in a computing system including a processor and an associated storage area, by a method comprising:

receiving an authorization request generated as a result of a transaction by a purchaser at a point of purchase, wherein the authorization request includes a purchaser identifier and transaction information, the transaction information including a transaction amount;

based on the authorization request, determining one or more stored value items to apply to the transaction, wherein the stored value item includes an associated value;

transmitting a transaction indication message to a mobile device associated with the purchaser identifier, wherein the transaction indication message includes information about the determined one or more stored value items;

receiving an indication from a user of the mobile device that at least one stored value item should be applied against the transaction;

applying the stored value item to pay a first portion of the transaction amount; and

initiating a payment process to pay a remaining portion of the transaction amount.

29. The computer-readable medium of claim 28, wherein a stored value item is a coupon for use in transactions with a specified merchant or for a specified product.

30. The computer-readable medium of claim 28, wherein the associated value is expressed as a currency amount.

31. The computer-readable medium of claim 28, wherein the associated value is expressed in non-currency units and further comprising converting the non-currency units to a currency amount using a conversion rate before applying the indicated at least one stored value item to the first portion of the transaction amount.

32. The computer-readable medium of claim 31, wherein the conversion rate is determined based on characteristics of the transaction.

33. The computer-readable medium of claim 28, wherein the transaction information identifies a product purchased during the transaction, and wherein a stored value item is determined based on a product purchased during the transaction.

34. The computer-readable medium of claim 28, wherein a stored value item is associated with an applicable time or time period and the stored value item is determined based on a time associated with the transaction.

35. The computer-readable medium of claim 28, wherein a stored value item is determined based on a transaction history of the purchaser.

36. The computer-readable medium of claim 28, wherein initiating a payment process comprises:

generating a modified authorization request based on the received authorization request, wherein the modified authorization request includes a modified transaction amount based on the remaining portion of the transaction amount; and

transmitting the modified authorization request to an issuing institution for authorization of payment.

37. The computer-readable medium of claim 28, wherein the one or more stored value items are uniquely associated with the purchaser identifier in the authorization request.

38. The computer-readable medium of claim 28, wherein a plurality of stored value items are contained in the storage area and each stored value item has associated transaction conditions under which a stored value item is to be applied, and wherein determining the one or more stored value items to apply to the transaction comprises selecting a stored value item from the plurality of stored value items when the associated transaction conditions under which the stored value item is to be applied are satisfied by the authorization request.

39. The computer-readable medium of claim 38, wherein the associated transaction conditions include an identity of a product being purchased.

40. The computer-readable medium of claim 38, wherein the associated transaction conditions include a time period during which the stored value item is valid.