RETURNS HANDLING IN A PREPAID ARCHITECTURE

• US 20140351132A1
• Filed: 12/26/2013
• Published: 11/27/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 05/22/2013
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Google LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Google Inc. (Alphabet Inc.)
• Inventors: Wieler, Bobby, Butler, Harry Lee IV, Fish, Amir, Rao, Shantan
• Application Number:
  US14/140,819
• Publication Number:
  US 20140351132A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/44
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/28 Pre-payment schemes, e.g. "pay before"
• 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 20/4016 involving fraud or risk level assessment in transaction processing
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0222 During e-commerce, i.e. online transactions

Abstract

A method for maintaining a prepaid payment system comprises a user account that can be utilized to complete a purchase transaction with a merchant. A delayed processing window is introduced between a time when the merchant receives a payment approval notification from the payment system and a time when the payment system transmits a payment request to an issuer of a funding account associated with the user'"'"'s payment system account. The payment system utilizes a user'"'"'s stored value account maintained by the payment system to satisfy the requirements of a prepaid program, and therefore processes the payment request received from the merchant and transmits the payment approval notification without obtaining prior authorization from the issuer of the funding account. The payment system submits one or more payment requests for the funding transaction at a time after the completion of the purchase transaction between the user and the merchant.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method for processing return transactions, comprising:

receiving, by one or more computing devices, a refund request from one or more computing devices operated by a merchant system, the refund request comprising an account identifier for a user account maintained by a payment management system, a transaction value, and a merchant descriptor, and wherein the refund request seeks authorization for a refund transaction between the a user and the merchant system;

determining, by the one or more computing devices, which user account corresponds to the account identifier;

identifying, by the one or more computing devices, one or more of previously-approved payment transactions from the user account;

determining, by the one or more computing devices, which of one or more financial accounts saved in the user account maintained by the payment management system corresponds to the refund request;

in response to determining the one or more financial accounts corresponds to the refund request, submitting, by the one or more computing devices, a refund funding request to an issuer of the one or more financial accounts; and

receiving, by the one or more computing devices, a refund notification from the issuer of the one or more financial accounts.

2. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the one or more financial accounts comprises a stored value account.

3. The computer-implemented method of claim 2, wherein the account management system is the issuer of the stored value account.

4. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the one or more financial accounts comprise bank accounts, debit accounts, credit accounts, gift accounts, or loyalty rewards accounts.

5. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the account identifier comprises an account number, proxy account number, user account device, magnetic stripe card, bar code, or QR code that corresponds to the user'"'"'s payment management system account and can be understood to route the merchant payment request to the account management system.

6. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein determining which of one or more financial accounts saved in the user account maintained by the payment management system corresponds to the refund request comprises comparing the merchant descriptor to an identity of a merchant system involved in the one or more of previously-approved payment transactions identified from the user account.

7. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the merchant descriptor comprises one or more of a merchant identification (ID) code, merchant name, address, phone number, franchise name, franchise location, franchisee or owner name, and franchisee or branch number.

8. A computer program product, comprising:

a non-transitory computer-readable medium having computer-readable program instructions embodied therein that when executed by a computer cause the computer to process return transactions, the computer-readable program instructions comprising;

computer-readable program instructions to receive a refund request from one or more computing devices operated by a merchant system, the refund request comprising an account identifier for a user account maintained by a payment management system, a transaction value, and a merchant descriptor, and wherein the refund request seeks authorization for a refund transaction between the a user and the merchant system;

computer-readable program instructions to determine which user account corresponds to the account identifier;

computer-readable program instructions to identify one or more of previously-approved payment transactions from the user account;

computer-readable program instructions to determine which of one or more financial accounts saved in the user account maintained by the payment management system corresponds to the refund request; and

computer-readable program instructions to submit, in response to determining the one or more financial accounts corresponds to the refund request, a refund funding request to an issuer of the one or more financial accounts.

9. The computer program product of claim 8, wherein the one or more financial accounts comprises a stored value account.

10. The computer program product of claim 9, wherein the account management system is the issuer of the stored value account.

11. The computer program product of claim 8, wherein the one or more financial accounts comprise bank accounts, debit accounts, credit accounts, gift accounts, or loyalty rewards accounts.

12. The computer program product of claim 8, wherein the account identifier comprises an account number, proxy account number, user account device, magnetic stripe card, bar code, or QR code that corresponds to the user'"'"'s payment management system account and can be understood to route the merchant payment request to the account management system.

13. The computer program product of claim 8, wherein determining which of one or more financial accounts saved in the user account maintained by the payment management system corresponds to the refund request comprises computer-readable program instructions to compare the merchant descriptor to an identity of a merchant system involved in the one or more of previously-approved payment transactions identified from the user account.

14. The computer program product of claim 8, wherein the merchant descriptor comprises one or more of a merchant identification (ID) code, merchant name, address, phone number, franchise name, franchise location, franchisee or owner name, and franchisee or branch number.

15. A system for processing return transactions, the system comprising:

a storage medium; and

a processor communicatively coupled to the storage medium, wherein the processor executes application code instructions that are stored in the storage medium and that cause the system to;

receive a refund request from one or more computing devices operated by a merchant system, the refund request comprising an account identifier for a user account maintained by a payment management system, a transaction value, and a merchant descriptor, and wherein the refund request seeks authorization for a refund transaction between the a user and the merchant system;

determine which user account corresponds to the account identifier;

identify one or more of previously-approved payment transactions from the user account;

determine which of one or more financial accounts saved in the user account maintained by the payment management system corresponds to the refund request; and

submit, in response to determining the one or more financial accounts corresponds to the refund request, a refund funding request to an issuer of the one or more financial accounts.

16. The system of claim 15, wherein the one or more financial accounts comprises a stored value account.

17. The system of claim 16, wherein the account management system is the issuer of the stored value account.

18. The system of claim 15, wherein the one or more financial accounts comprise bank accounts, debit accounts, credit accounts, gift accounts, or loyalty rewards accounts.

19. The system of claim 15, wherein the account identifier comprises an account number, proxy account number, user account device, magnetic stripe card, bar code, or QR code that corresponds to the user'"'"'s payment management system account and can be understood to route the merchant payment request to the account management system.

20. The system of claim 15, wherein determining which of one or more financial accounts saved in the user account maintained by the payment management system corresponds to the refund request comprises comparing the merchant descriptor to an identity of a merchant system involved in the one or more of previously-approved payment transactions identified from the user account.

21. The system of claim 15, wherein the merchant descriptor comprises one or more of a merchant identification (ID) code, merchant name, address, phone number, franchise name, franchise location, franchisee or owner name, and franchisee or branch number.