Transaction maps embedded within or provided with charge-card billing statements

• US 6,883,708 B1
• Filed: 05/20/2004
• Issued: 04/26/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 05/20/2004
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Reno Fiedler, Xiaohui Zhang
• Original Assignee: Reno Fiedler, Xiaohui Zhang
• Inventors: Zhang, Xiaohui, Fiedler, Reno
• Primary Examiner(s): St. Cyr, Daniel
• Application Number:
  US10/848,862
• Time in Patent Office: 341 Days
• Field of Search: 235/380, 235/385, 705/28, 705/34, 705/40
• US Class Current: 235/380
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/04 Payment circuits
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/4016 involving fraud or risk level assessment in transaction processing
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/04 Billing or invoicing

Abstract

A method and system is described herein to summarize and present charge-card transactions through one or more maps linked to charge-card billing statements. In addition to a conventional tabular transaction list, the invented system provides charge-card transaction maps, which display the physical location of points-of-charges geo-referenced to a map. Transactions are listed individually and/or are summarized by the number of transactions, the timing of transactions, the amount of transactions, the transactions categories, local-area and none-local-area transactions, sensitive transactions, geographic unit, or any combination thereof. The method and system integrates database and geographic information system technology with a rule system.

Claims

1. A method and system for geographically presenting and summarizing charge-card transactions and visually alerting a cardholder to sensitive transactions by transaction map(s) in charge-card billing statements, comprising:

integration of a database technology, a geographic information system, and a rule system;

summarizing all or a subset of all transactions by a map which displays geo-referenced points-of-charges;

summarizing the transaction amounts by points-of-charges within the map;

summarizing the number of transactions by points-of-charges within the map;

summarizing categorized transactions by points-of-charges within the map;

summarizing the transactions with significant amounts charged by points-of-charges within the map;

summarizing local-area transactions within the map;

summarizing none-local-area transactions within the map;

summarizing weekday transactions by points-of-charges within the map;

summarizing weekend transactions by points-of-charges within the map;

summarizing weekly transactions by points-of-charges within the map;

the map is not summarized by point-of-charges but summarized by geographic unit.

2. The apparatus as claimed in claim 1, where said summary of transactions by points-of-charges within the map includes displaying symbols or text denoting the points-of-charges based on geo-referenced information about the transaction'"'"'s or a merchant'"'"'s street address, zip code, city, and state for each or some transactions at a place.

3. The apparatus as claimed in claim 1, where said summary of transaction amounts by points-of-charges within the map includes displaying symbols or text at the geo-referenced points-of-charges, where the size, the shape, or the color of the symbols or the text reflect a total or a certain range of transaction amount at a place.

4. The apparatus as claimed in claim 1, where said summary of the number of transactions by points-of-charges within the map includes displaying symbols or text at the points-of-charges, where the size, the shape, or the colors of the symbol or the text reflects an actual number or a certain range of numbers of transactions at a place.

5. The apparatus as claimed in claim 1, where said summary of categorized transactions includes department stores, grocery stores, pharmacies, hotels, travel agencies, restaurants, and gas stations.

6. The apparatus as claimed in claim 1, where said summary of sensitive transactions includes transactions with significant amount of charges in a billing period.

7. The apparatus as claimed in claim 1, where said summary of local and/or non-local transactions includes all places within or outside, respectively, of a cardholder'"'"'s home area, as may be defined by address plus distance function, or any geographic unit, including zip code, phone number area, city or town, county, state, country, or continent.

8. The apparatus as claimed in claim 1, where said summary of weekday transactions by points-of-charges within the map includes displaying symbols or text denoting the geo-referenced points-of-charges for transactions conducted on weekdays.

9. The apparatus as claimed in claim 1, where said summary of weekend transactions by points-of-charges within the map includes displaying symbols or text denoting the geo-referenced points-of-charges for transactions conducted on weekends.

10. The apparatus as claimed in claim 1, where said summary of weekly transactions contains displays of symbols or text where the size, the shape, or the color of the symbols or text identifies transactions that were conducted during a first week, second week, third week and fourth week of a billing period.

11. The apparatus as claimed in claim 1, where said summary of transactions by geographic unit contains displays of geographic units where the size, the shape, the color, the pattern, labeling text, or any combination thereof identifies a transaction pattern or combination thereof.