Debit card system and method for implementing incentive award program

• US 5,689,100 A
• Filed: 03/21/1996
• Issued: 11/18/1997
• Est. Priority Date: 03/21/1995
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Blackhawk Network Incorporated (Albertsons Cos., Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Martiz Incorporated
• Inventors: Huff, Lowell, Jackson, Mark, Storey-Waller, Jody A., Ashby, Toni L., Carrithers, David C., Rapp, Steven G., Stone, Gayla L., Resch, Kim A., McGuire, Kelly K.
• Primary Examiner(s): Hajec, Donald T.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Le, Thien Minh
• Application Number:
  US08/620,041
• Time in Patent Office: 607 Days
• Field of Search: 235/380, 235/381, 235/382, 235/379, 235/375, 364/405, 364/406, 340/825.31
• US Class Current: 235/380
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/02 involving a neutral party, e.g. certification authority, notary or trusted third party [TTP]
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/023 the neutral party being a clearing house
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/229 Hierarchy of users of accounts
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/342 Cards defining paid or billed services or quantities
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/3437 the counter having non-monetary units, e.g. trips
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0215 Including financial accounts
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 7/02 by keys or other credit registering devices
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 7/025 by means, e.g. cards, providing billing information at the time of purchase, e.g. identification of seller or purchaser, quantity of goods delivered or to be delivered

Abstract

A debit card system for implementing an incentive award program for a customer having participants. A plurality of debit cards, each assigned to one participant and having a unique account number corresponding to an award account of the participant is part of the system. A bank filter processor accesses program data including data identifying the authorized unique account numbers of the participants, data identifying the authorized merchants and data indicating the balance in each participant'"'"'s award account. The filter processor compares this program data to the following transaction data: the initiating account number of the card initiating the transaction, the merchant identification data of the initiating merchant, and the data regarding the amount of the initiated transaction. The filter processor generates validating data for the transaction when the evaluated transaction data indicates that the transaction has been initiated by an authorized merchant using the unique account number of one of the participants having a sufficient balance in the participant'"'"'s corresponding award account to cover the transaction. Otherwise, invalidating data is generated.

Claims

1. A system for implementing an incentive award program for a customer having participants, said program permitting the participants to obtain as an award products and/or services from authorized merchants who are part of the incentive award program and who are part of a credit/debit card network, which credit/debit card network also includes unauthorized merchants who are not part of the incentive award program and who are part of the credit/debit card network, each merchant having access via an input/output (I/O) port to a credit/debit card network processor of the credit/debit card network, said system comprising:

a. a plurality of debit cards, each assigned to one participant and having a unique account number corresponding to an award account of the participant;

b. a filter processor accessing the following program data;

(1) data identifying the authorized unique account numbers of the participants,

(2) data identifying the authorized merchants, and

(3) data indicating the balance in each participant'"'"'s award account,

said filter processor interfacing with the credit/debit card network processor;

c. means, responsive to a transaction initiated by a merchant using an initiating card having an initiating account number, for transmitting from the credit/debit card network processor to the filter processor the following transaction data;

(1) the initiating account number of the card initiating the transaction,

(2) merchant identification data of the initiating merchant, and

(3) data regarding the amount of the initiated transaction;

d. said filter processor including means for evaluating the transaction data transmitted to the filter processor by the credit/debit card network processor by comparing the transaction data to the program data;

e. said filter processor evaluating means including means for generating validating data for the transaction when the evaluated transaction data indicates that the transaction has been initiated by an authorized merchant using the unique account number of one of the participants having a sufficient balance in the participant'"'"'s corresponding award account to cover the transaction;

f. said filter processor evaluating means including means for generating invalidating data for the transaction when the evaluated transaction data indicates that the initiating account number is not one of the authorized account numbers;

g. said filter processor evaluating means including means for generating invalidating data for the transaction when the evaluated transaction data indicates that the initiating merchant is not one of the authorized merchants;

h. said filter processor evaluating means including means for generating invalidating data for the transaction when the evaluated transaction data indicates that the balance in the award account corresponding to the initiating account number is insufficient to cover the amount of the initiated transaction;

i. said filter processor including means for transmitting the validating or invalidating data to the credit/debit card network processor so that the credit/debit card network processor provides the validating or invalidating data for the evaluated transaction to the initiating merchant.

2. The system of claim 1 wherein the amount of the initiated transaction is in a currency denomination such as dollars, wherein each award account has a point value, wherein the evaluating means converts the point value of the award account corresponding to the initiating account number into the currency denomination of the amount of the initiating transaction, and wherein the evaluating means generates the validating data if the converted point value equals or exceeds the amount of the initiating transaction.

3. The system of claim 2 wherein said filter processor evaluating means comprises a banking processor.

4. The system of claim 1 wherein the filter processor is maintained by a program administrator having a commission account and wherein the program administrator via an automated clearing house credits or deposits a transaction commission amount for each validated transaction to the commission account of the program administrator and debits or removes the transaction commission amount to an account of the initiating merchant.

5. The system of claim 4 wherein the credit/debit card network processor deducts the commission amount credited to the initiating merchant from the merchant'"'"'s proceeds from the validated transaction.

6. The system of claim 1 wherein the debit cards include embossing identifying the customer.

7. The system of claim 1 wherein the debit cards have the same structure as credit cards including a magnetic strip encoded with a number corresponding to the unique account number of the participant whereby the transaction is transparent to the initiating merchants such that the initiating merchant cannot distinguish between transactions using the debit card and transactions using a credit card.

8. The system of claim 7 wherein at least some merchants have a card reader adapted to be connected to the I/O port and wherein the initiating transaction is initiated by reading the magnetic strip of the debit card.

9. The system of claim 1 wherein the filter processor generates redemption reports for each merchant indicating debit card transactions by participants and wherein the filter processor generates award account reports for each participant indicating transactions by such participant and indicating the amount of points in such participant'"'"'s award account.

10. The system of claim 1 wherein the filter processor deletes from the program data authorized unique account numbers which have not initiated a transaction for a predetermined period of time.

11. The system of claim 1 wherein the credit/debit card network processor comprises a merchant processor linked to a switch processor and wherein the filter processor comprises a banking processor linked to an administrator'"'"'s processor.

12. The system of claim 1 wherein the filter processor is maintained by a program administrator having a balance account and wherein, during a force post portion of the transaction, the bank filter processor debits a transaction amount for each validated transaction to the balance account of the program administrator and credits the transaction amount to an account of the initiating merchant.

13. A method for implementing an incentive award program for a customer having participants, said program permitting the participants to obtain as an award products and/or services from authorized merchants who are part of the incentive award program and who are part of a credit/debit card network, which credit/debit card network also includes unauthorized merchants who are not part of the incentive award program and who are part of the credit/debit card network, each merchant having access via an input/output (I/O) port to a credit/debit card network processor of the credit/debit card network, said method comprising the steps of:

a. providing a plurality of debit cards, each assigned to one participant and having a unique account number corresponding to an award account of the participant;

b. accessing the following program data;

(1) data identifying the authorized unique account numbers of the participants,

(2) data identifying the authorized merchants, and

(3) data indicating the balance in each participant'"'"'s award account,

said filter processor interfacing with the credit/debit card network processor;

c. transmitting the following transaction data in response to a transaction initiated by a merchant using an initiating card having an initiating account number;

(1) the initiating account number of the card initiating the transaction,

(2) merchant identification data of the initiating merchant, and

(3) data regarding the amount of the initiated transaction;

d. comparing the transmitted transaction data to the program data;

e. validating the transaction when the comparing step indicates that the transaction has been initiated by an authorized merchant using the unique account number of a participant having a sufficient balance in the participant'"'"'s corresponding award account to cover the transaction;

f. invalidating the transaction when the comparing step indicates that the initiating account number is not one of the authorized account numbers;

g. invalidating the transaction when the comparing step indicates that the initiating merchant is not one of the authorized merchants; and

h. invalidating the transaction when the comparing step indicates that the balance in the award account corresponding to the initiating account number is insufficient to cover the amount of the initiated transaction.

14. The method of claim 13 wherein the steps of initiating, evaluating, validating and invalidating are performed electronically whereby the transaction is paperless.

15. A system for implementing an incentive award program for a customer having participants, said program permitting the participants to obtain as an award products and/or services from authorized merchants who are part of the incentive award program, said system comprising:

a. a credit/debit card network which includes the authorized merchants who are part of the credit/debit card network and which also includes unauthorized merchants who are not part of the incentive award program and who are part of the credit/debit card network, each merchant having access via an input/output (I/O) port to a credit/debit card network processor of the credit/debit card network;

b. a plurality of debit cards, each assigned to one participant and having a unique account number corresponding to an award account of the participant;

c. a filter processor accessing the following program data;

(1) data identifying the authorized unique account numbers of the participants,

(2) data identifying the authorized merchants, and

(3) data indicating the balance in each participant'"'"'s award account,

said filter processor interfacing with the credit/debit card network processor;

d. means, responsive to a transaction initiated by a merchant using an initiating card having an initiating account number, for transmitting from the credit/debit card network processor to the filter processor the following transaction data;

(1) the initiating account number of the card initiating the transaction,

(2) merchant identification data of the initiating merchant, and

(3) data regarding the amount of the initiated transaction;

e. said filter processor including means for evaluating the transaction data transmitted to the filter processor by the credit/debit card network processor by comparing the transaction data to the program data;

f. said filter processor evaluating means including means for generating validating data for the transaction when the evaluated transaction data indicates that the transaction has been initiated by an authorized merchant using the unique account number of one of the participants having a sufficient balance in the participant'"'"'s corresponding award account to cover the transaction;

g. said filter processor evaluating means including means for generating invalidating data for the transaction when the evaluated transaction data indicates that the initiating account number is not one of the authorized account numbers;

h. said filter processor evaluating means including means for generating invalidating data for the transaction when the evaluated transaction data indicates that the initiating merchant is not one of the authorized merchants;

i. said filter processor evaluating means including means for generating invalidating data for the transaction when the evaluated transaction data indicates that the balance in the award account corresponding to the initiating account number is insufficient to cover the amount of the initiated transaction;

j. said filter processor including means for transmitting the validating or invalidating data to the credit/debit card network processor so that the credit/debit card network processor provides the validating or invalidating data for the evaluated transaction to the initiating merchant.

16. A system for implementing an incentive award program for a customer having participants, said program permitting the participants to obtain as an award products and/or services from authorized merchants who are part of the incentive award program and who are part of a credit/debit card network, which credit/debit card network also includes unauthorized merchants who are not part of the incentive award program and who are part of the credit/debit card network, each merchant having access via an input/output (I/O) port to a credit/debit card network processor of the credit/debit card network, said system comprising:

a. a plurality of debit cards, each of the cards having a unique account number corresponding to an award account;

b. a filter processor accessing the following program data;

(1) data identifying the authorized unique account number of each card,

(2) data identifying the authorized merchants, and

(3) data indicating the balance in each award account,

said filter processor interfacing with the credit/debit card network processor;

c. means, responsive to a transaction initiated by a merchant using an initiating card having an initiating account number, for transmitting from the credit/debit card network processor to the filter processor the following transaction data;

(1) the initiating account number of the card initiating the transaction,

(2) merchant identification data of the initiating merchant, and

(3) data regarding the amount of the initiated transaction;

d. said filter processor including means for evaluating the transaction data transmitted to the filter processor by the credit/debit card network processor by comparing the transaction data to the program data;

e. said filter processor evaluating means including means for generating validating data for the transaction when the evaluated transaction data indicates that the transaction has been initiated by an authorized merchant using the unique account number of one of the cards having a sufficient balance in the card'"'"'s corresponding award account to cover the transaction;

f. said filter processor evaluating means including means for generating invalidating data for the transaction when the evaluated transaction data indicates that the initiating account number is not one of the authorized account numbers;

g. said filter processor evaluating means including means for generating invalidating data for the transaction when the evaluated transaction data indicates that the initiating merchant is not one of the authorized merchants;

h. said filter processor evaluating means including means for generating invalidating data for the transaction when the evaluated transaction data indicates that the balance in the award account corresponding to the initiating account number is insufficient to cover the amount of the initiated transaction;

i. said filter processor including means for transmitting the validating or invalidating data to the credit/debit card network processor so that the credit/debit card network processor provides the validating or invalidating data for the evaluated transaction to the initiating merchant.