METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR GEOCODING AUTHORIZATIONS AND FINANCIAL TRANSACTION MESSAGES FOR LOCATION-BASED SERVICES

• US 20140164119A1
• Filed: 12/06/2012
• Published: 06/12/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 12/06/2012
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Mastercard International Incorporated (MasterCard Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: Mastercard International Incorporated (MasterCard Incorporated)
• Inventors: GUINEY, Christopher Andrew, NARAYANAN, Sheila, D'ERIZANS, Richard David, LISCIA, Maurice David, WOODWARD, Andrew St. John
• Application Number:
  US13/707,274
• Publication Number:
  US 20140164119A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/14.58
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/34 using cards, e.g. integrated circuit [IC] cards or magnetic cards
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/387 Payment using discounts or coupons relating to marketing G06Q30/02

Abstract

A method for identifying a geographic location of a financial transaction includes: storing, in a merchant database, a plurality of merchant data entries, wherein each merchant data entry includes at least a merchant identifier and a geographic location; receiving, by a receiving device, an authorization request for a financial transaction, wherein the authorization request includes at least a plurality of data elements containing transaction information; identifying, by a processing device, a first data element in the plurality of data elements including a merchant identification; identifying, in the merchant database, a specific merchant data entry, wherein the merchant identifier of the specific merchant data entry corresponds to the merchant identification; transmitting, by a transmitting device, a reply to the authorization request; and transmitting, by the transmitting device, the geographic location included in the specific merchant data entry.

Claims

1. A method for identifying a geographic location of a financial transaction, comprising:

storing, in a merchant database, a plurality of merchant data entries, wherein each merchant data entry includes at least a merchant identifier and a geographic location;

receiving, by a receiving device, an authorization request for a financial transaction, wherein the authorization request includes at least a plurality of data elements containing transaction information;

identifying, by a processing device, a first data element in the plurality of data elements including a merchant identification;

identifying, in the merchant database, a specific merchant data entry, wherein the merchant identifier of the specific merchant data entry corresponds to the merchant identification;

transmitting, by a transmitting device, a reply to the authorization request; and

transmitting, by the transmitting device, the geographic location included in the specific merchant data entry.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

storing, in an offer database, a plurality of offers, wherein each offer includes at least a distribution location and a distribution distance;

storing, in a consumer database, a plurality of consumer data entries, wherein each consumer data entry is associated with a consumer and includes at least a consumer identifier and a method of distribution;

identifying, by the processing device, a second data element in the plurality of data elements including a consumer identification;

identifying, in the consumer database, a specific consumer data entry where the included consumer identifier corresponds to the consumer identification;

identifying, in the offer database, at least one offer where the included distribution location is within the distribution distance of the geographic location included in the specific merchant data entry; and

distributing, by the method of distribution included in the specific consumer data entry, the identified at least one offer to the consumer associated with the specific consumer data entry.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein each offer of the plurality of offers further includes at least one of:

a distributor, an offer name, an offer description, a quantity, an expiration date, a transaction modifier, terms and conditions, and a limitation on redemption.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein the consumer identifier is a payment account.

5. The method of claim 2, wherein the method of distribution is at least one of:

electronic mail, traditional mail, short message service (SMS) message, multimedia message service (MMS) message, at least one social network, and an application program.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the geographic location included in the specific merchant data entry is transmitted to an offer provider.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the reply to the authorization request includes the geographic location in the specific merchant data entry.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the geographic location is represented by latitude and longitude.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the merchant identifier is one of:

a merchant identification number (MID), a physical address, and a serial number.

10. A method for identifying a geographic location of a financial transaction, comprising:

storing, in a merchant database, a plurality of merchant data entries, wherein each merchant data entry includes at least a merchant identifier, a physical location, and a geographic location;

receiving, by a receiving device, an authorization request for a financial transaction, wherein the authorization request includes a plurality of data elements containing transaction information;

identifying, by a processing device, a first data element in the plurality of data elements including a merchant identification;

identifying, by the processing device, a second data element in the plurality of data elements including a physical locator;

identifying, in the merchant database, a number of merchant data entries where the included merchant identifier corresponds to the merchant identification of the first data element and the included physical location corresponds to the physical locator of the second data element; and

transmitting, by a transmitting device, the geographic location of a single merchant data entry if the number of merchant data entries is one.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein each merchant data entry further includes an identifying value, and the method further comprising:

identifying, if the number of merchant data entries is greater than one, a third data element in the plurality of data elements including an identification value;

identifying, in the merchant database, a specific merchant data entry where the included identifying value corresponds to the identification value of the third data element; and

transmitting, by the transmitting device, the geographic location of the specific merchant data entry.

12. The method of claim 10, further comprising:

storing, in an offer database, a plurality of offers, wherein each offer includes at least a distribution location and a distribution distance;

storing, in a consumer database, a plurality of consumer data entries, wherein each consumer data entry is associated with a consumer and includes at least a consumer identifier and a method of distribution;

identifying, by the processing device, a third data element in the plurality of data elements including a consumer identification;

identifying, in the consumer database, a specific consumer data entry where the included consumer identifier corresponds to the consumer identification;

identifying, in the offer database, at least one offer where the included distribution location is within the distribution distance of the geographic location included in the single merchant data entry; and

distributing, by the method of distribution included in the specific consumer data entry, the identified at least one offer to the consumer associated with the specific consumer data entry.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein each offer of the plurality of offers further includes at least one of:

a distributor, an offer name, an offer description, a quantity, an expiration date, a transaction modifier, terms and conditions, and a limitation on redemption.

14. The method of claim 12, wherein the consumer identifier is a payment account.

15. The method of claim 12, wherein the method of distribution is at least one of:

electronic mail, traditional mail, short message service (SMS) message, multimedia message service (MMS) message, at least one social network, and an application program.

16. The method of claim 10, wherein the geographic location included in the single merchant data entry is transmitted to an offer provider.

17. The method of claim 10, wherein the first data element and the second data element are a single data element.

18. The method of claim 10, wherein the geographic location is represented by latitude and longitude.

19. The method of claim 10, wherein the physical location is one of:

a city and state, a postal code, a municipality, and a street address.

20. The method of claim 10, wherein the merchant identifier is one of:

a merchant name, a merchant identification number (MID), and a merchant trade name.

21. A system for identifying a geographic location of a financial transaction, comprising:

a merchant database configured to store a plurality of merchant data entries, wherein each merchant data entry includes at least a merchant identifier and a geographic location;

a receiving device configured to receive an authorization request for a financial transaction, wherein the authorization request includes at least a plurality of data elements containing transaction information;

a processing device configured to

identify a first data element in the plurality of data elements including a merchant identification, and

identify, in the merchant database, a specific merchant data entry, wherein the merchant identifier of the specific merchant data entry corresponds to the merchant identification; and

a transmitting device configured to

transmit a reply to the authorization request, and

transmit the geographic location included in the specific merchant data entry.

22. The system of claim 21, further comprising:

an offer database configured to store a plurality of offers, wherein each offer includes at least a distribution location and a distribution distance; and

a consumer database configured to store a plurality of consumer data entries, wherein each consumer data entry is associated with a consumer and includes at least a consumer identifier and a method of distribution, wherein

the processing device is further configured to

identify a second data element in the plurality of data elements including a consumer identification,

identify, in the consumer database, a specific consumer data entry where the included consumer identifier corresponds to the consumer identification, and

identify, in the offer database, at least one offer where the included distribution location is within the distribution distance of the geographic location included in the specific merchant data entry, and

the transmitting device is further configured to distribute, by the method of distribution included in the specific consumer data entry, the identified at least one offer to the consumer associated with the specific consumer data entry.

23. The system of claim 22, wherein each offer of the plurality of offers further includes at least one of:

a distributor, an offer name, an offer description, a quantity, an expiration date, a transaction modifier, terms and conditions, and a limitation on redemption.

24. The system of claim 22, wherein the consumer identifier is a payment account.

25. The system of claim 22, wherein the method of distribution is at least one of:

electronic mail, traditional mail, short message service (SMS) message, multimedia message service (MMS) message, at least one social network, and an application program.

26. The system of claim 21, wherein the geographic location included in the specific merchant data entry is transmitted to an offer provider.

27. The system of claim 21, wherein the reply to the authorization request includes the geographic location in the specific merchant data entry.

28. The system of claim 21, wherein the geographic location is represented by latitude and longitude.

29. The system of claim 21, wherein the merchant identifier is one of:

a merchant identification number (MID), a physical address, and a serial number.

30. A system for identifying a geographic location of a financial transaction, comprising:

a merchant database configured to store a plurality of merchant data entries, wherein each merchant data entry includes at least a merchant identifier, a physical location, and a geographic location;

a receiving device configured to receive an authorization request for a financial transaction, wherein the authorization request includes a plurality of data elements containing transaction information;

a processing device configured to

identify a first data element in the plurality of data elements including a merchant identification,

identify a second data element in the plurality of data elements including a physical locator, and

identify, in the merchant database, a number of merchant data entries where the included merchant identifier corresponds to the merchant identification of the first data element and the included physical location corresponds to the physical locator of the second data element; and

a transmitting device configured to transmit the geographic location of a single merchant data entry if the number of merchant data entries is one.

31. The system of claim 30, wherein

each merchant data entry further includes an identifying value;

the processing device is further configured to

identify, if the number of merchant data entries is greater than one, a third data element in the plurality of data elements including an identification value, and

identify, in the merchant database, a specific merchant data entry where the included identifying value corresponds to the identification value of the third data element; and

the transmitting device is further configured to transmit the geographic location of the specific merchant data entry.

32. The system of claim 30, further comprising:

an offer database configured to store a plurality of offers, wherein each offer includes at least a distribution location and a distribution distance; and

a consumer database configured to store a plurality of consumer data entries, wherein each consumer data entry is associated with a consumer and includes at least a consumer identifier and a method of distribution, wherein

the processing device is further configured to

identify a third data element in the plurality of data elements including a consumer identification,

identify, in the consumer database, a specific consumer data entry where the included consumer identifier corresponds to the consumer identification, and

identify, in the offer database, at least one offer where the included distribution location is within the distribution distance of the geographic location included in the single merchant data entry, and

the transmitting device is further configured to distribute, by the method of distribution included in the specific consumer data entry, the identified at least one offer to the consumer associated with the specific consumer data entry.

33. The system of claim 32, wherein each offer of the plurality of offers further includes at least one of:

a distributor, an offer name, an offer description, a quantity, an expiration date, a transaction modifier, terms and conditions, and a limitation on redemption.

34. The system of claim 32, wherein the consumer identifier is a payment account.

35. The system of claim 32, wherein the method of distribution is at least one of:

electronic mail, traditional mail, short message service (SMS) message, multimedia message service (MMS) message, at least one social network, and an application program.

36. The system of claim 30, wherein the geographic location included in the single merchant data entry is transmitted to an offer provider.

37. The system of claim 30, wherein the first data element and the second data element are a single data element.

38. The system of claim 30, wherein the geographic location is represented by latitude and longitude.

39. The system of claim 30, wherein the physical location is one of:

a city and state, a postal code, a municipality, and a street address.

40. The system of claim 30, wherein the merchant identifier is one of:

a merchant name, a merchant identification number (MID), and a merchant trade name.