System and method for automated electronic scrip transactions

• US 6,978,250 B1
• Filed: 05/17/1999
• Issued: 12/20/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 05/22/1998
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Citicorp Credit Services Incorporated (Citigroup Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: Citicorp Development Center Incorporated (Citigroup Incorporated)
• Inventors: Takata, Melvin, Hanover, Coleman, Kawan, Joseph C.
• Primary Examiner(s): STAMBER, ERIC W
• Application Number:
  US09/313,297
• Time in Patent Office: 2,409 Days
• Field of Search: 705/14, 705/65, 705/69
• US Class Current: 705/14.36
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/02 involving a neutral party, e.g. certification authority, notary or trusted third party [TTP]
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/06 Private payment circuits, e.g. involving electronic currency used among participants of a common payment scheme
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/10 specially adapted for electronic funds transfer [EFT] systems; specially adapted for home banking systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/12 specially adapted for electronic shopping systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/28 Pre-payment schemes, e.g. "pay before"
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/367 involving electronic purses or money safes
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/3678 e-cash details, e.g. blinded, divisible or detecting double spending
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0236 Incentive or reward received by requiring registration or ID from user
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0239 Online discounts or incentives

Abstract

A system and method for performing and settling an electronic scrip transaction between a merchant and a member includes a database storing accounts for one or more participating merchants, scrip distributors, sponsoring organizations, and members. The system also includes merchant terminals, scrip distributor terminals, sponsoring organization terminals, and a system manager terminal, which are interconnected to one another, as well as to the database, over a network, and a member scrip card, such as a magnetic stripe card or a smart card. Transaction information, including the transaction amount, is entered at a merchant terminal and sent over the network to a scrip distributor terminal or system manager terminal, and the member'"'"'s account is automatically debited by the transaction amount. Additionally, merchant loyalty point credit or tuition credit can be awarded and stored for the member in connection with the transaction amount. The merchant'"'"'s account is automatically credited with a merchant portion of the transaction amount, and the accounts of one or both of the scrip distributor and the sponsoring organization are credited with respective portions of the balance according to percentages on a look-up table also stored in the database.

Claims

1. A method of performing a transaction between a merchant and a member with electronic scrip, comprising:

receiving information relating to the transaction between the merchant and the member, including a transaction amount;

automatically debiting an account of the member by the transaction amount;

automatically crediting a predetermined merchant portion of the transaction amount to an account of the merchant; and

automatically crediting a predetermined balance portion of the transaction amount to at least one of a sponsoring organization account and a scrip distributor account.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein receiving information further comprises entering the information at a terminal.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein entering the information further comprises entering the information at the terminal coupled over a network at at least one of a system manager terminal and a scrip distributor terminal.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein entering the information at the terminal further comprises entering the information at a merchant terminal.

5. The method of claim 2, wherein entering the information further comprises entering data for the member from a scrip card at the terminal.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein entering data further comprises entering the data for the member from a magnetic stripe scrip card at the terminal.

7. The method of claim 5, wherein entering data further comprises entering the data from an application on a smart scrip card for the member at the terminal.

8. The method of claim 5, wherein the data further comprises an account number for the member.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein receiving information further comprises receiving the information by at least one of a system manager at a system manager terminal and a scrip distributor at a scrip distributor terminal.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein receiving the information further comprises receiving the information by the system manager at the system manager from a merchant terminal over a network.

11. The method of claim 9, wherein receiving the information further comprises receiving the information by the scrip distributor at the scrip distributor terminal from a merchant terminal over a network.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein receiving the information further comprises receiving a request for the transaction by at least one of a system manager and a scrip distributor.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein receiving the request by the system manager further comprises receiving the request by the system manager at a system manager terminal from a merchant terminal over a network.

14. The method of claim 12, wherein receiving the request by the scrip distributor further comprises receiving the request by the scrip distributor at a scrip distributor terminal from a merchant terminal over a network.

15. The method of claim 12, wherein receiving the request further comprises receiving data identifying at least one of the member account and the merchant.

16. The method of claim 1, wherein automatically debiting further comprises automatically sending a request for the transaction from a terminal over a network to at least one of a system manager at a system manager terminal and a scrip distributor at a scrip distributor terminal.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein automatically sending the request to the system manager further comprises receiving the request by the system manager at the system manager terminal.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein receiving the request by the system manager further comprises receiving data by the system manager identifying at least one of the member account and the member.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein receiving the data by the system manager further comprises confirming a balance by the system manager in the identified member account adequate to cover the transaction amount.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein confirming the balance by the system manager further comprises confirming the balance by the system manager in at least one account of the member selected from a group consisting of a member scrip account, a member checking account, and a member savings account.

21. The method of claim 16, wherein automatically sending the request to the scrip distributor further comprises receiving the request by the scrip distributor at the scrip distributor terminal.

22. The method of claim 21, wherein receiving the request by the scrip distributor further comprises receiving data by the scrip distributor identifying at least one of the member account and the member.

23. The method of claim 22, wherein receiving the data by the scrip distributor further comprises confirming a balance by the scrip distributor in the identified member account adequate to cover the transaction amount.

24. The method of claim 23, wherein confirming the balance by the scrip distributor further comprises confirming the balance by the scrip distributor in at least one account of the member selected from a group consisting of a member scrip account, a member checking account, and a member savings account.

25. The method of claim 1, wherein automatically debiting the member account further comprises automatically debiting at least one account of the member selected from a group consisting of a scrip account, a banking account, and a checking account.

26. The method of claim 25, wherein automatically debiting the member scrip account further comprises storing data in the member scrip account representing member scrip credit.

27. The method of claim 26, wherein the data representing member scrip credit further comprises transferring the member scrip credit from at least one of a sponsoring organization account and a scrip distributor account.

28. The method of claim 27, wherein transferring the member scrip credit from the organization account further comprises storing data in the organization account representing organization scrip credit.

29. The method of claim 28, wherein storing the data representing organization scrip credit further comprises transferring the organization scrip credit from a scrip distributor account.

30. The method of claim 29, wherein transferring the organization scrip credit further comprises storing data in the scrip distributor account representing distributor scrip credit.

31. The method of claim 30, wherein storing the data representing distributor scrip credit further comprises purchasing the distributor scrip credit from the merchant.

32. The method of claim 27, wherein transferring the member scrip credit from the scrip distributor account further comprises storing data in the scrip distributor account representing distributor scrip credit.

33. The method of claim 32, wherein storing the data representing distributor scrip credit further comprises purchasing the distributor scrip credit from the merchant.

34. The method of claim 1, wherein automatically debiting further comprises automatically sending confirmation of the debit to the merchant.

35. The method of claim 34, wherein automatically sending the confirmation further comprises automatically sending the confirmation to the merchant at a merchant terminal over a network.

36. The method of claim 35, wherein automatically sending the confirmation further comprises automatically sending the confirmation to the merchant terminal over a network by at least one of a system manager at a system manager terminal and a scrip distributor at a scrip distributor terminal.

37. The method of claim 1, wherein automatically debiting further comprises automatically storing merchant loyalty point credit for the member in connection with the transaction amount.

38. The method of claim 37, wherein automatically storing further comprises automatically storing tuition credit for the member in connection with the transaction amount based on attaining a threshold level of stored loyalty point credit.

39. The method of claim 1, wherein automatically crediting the merchant portion further comprises automatically determining the merchant portion according to a predetermined merchant percentage of the transaction amount.

40. The method of claim 39, wherein automatically determining the merchant portion further comprises automatically consulting a look-up table for the predetermined merchant percentage.

41. The method of claim 40, wherein automatically consulting the look-up table further comprises storing the predetermined merchant percentage in the look-up table in a database coupled over a network to at least one of a system manager terminal and a scrip distributor terminal.

42. The method of claim 1, wherein automatically crediting the merchant portion further comprises automatically crediting the merchant portion of the transaction by at least one of a system manager and a scrip distributor.

43. The method of claim 42, wherein automatically crediting the merchant portion by the system manager further comprises automatically crediting the merchant portion by the system manager at a system manager terminal coupled over a network to a database storing the merchant account.

44. The method of claim 43, wherein automatically crediting the merchant portion by the scrip distributor further comprises automatically crediting the merchant portion by the scrip distributor at a scrip distributor terminal coupled over a network to a database storing the merchant account.

45. The method of claim 1, wherein automatically crediting the predetermined balance portion to the scrip distributor account further comprises automatically determining the balance portion for the scrip distributor account according to a predetermined scrip distributor percentage of the transaction amount.

46. The method of claim 45, wherein automatically determining the balance portion for the scrip distributor account further comprise automatically consulting a look-up table for the predetermined scrip distributor percentage.

47. The method of claim 46, wherein automatically consulting the look-up table further comprises storing the look-up table in a database coupled over a network to at least one of a system manager terminal and a scrip distributor terminal.

48. The method of claim 1, wherein automatically crediting the predetermined balance portion to the sponsoring organization account further comprises automatically determining the balance portion for the sponsoring organization account according to a predetermined sponsoring organization percentage of the transaction amount.

49. The method of claim 48, wherein automatically determining the balance portion for the sponsoring organization account further comprises automatically consulting a look-up table for the predetermined sponsoring organization percentage.

50. The method of claim 49, wherein automatically consulting the look-up table further comprises storing the look-up table in a database coupled over a network to at least one of a system manager terminal and a scrip distributor terminal.

51. The method of claim 48, wherein automatically determining the balance portion for the sponsoring organization account further comprises automatically deducting a previously received percentage of the transaction amount from the balance portion for the sponsoring organization account.

67. The method of claim 1, wherein automatically debiting the account of the member further comprises:

providing a scrip clearing center having data processing resources, including one or more signal processing units with associated signal memory for on-line storage of scrip accounts for each of a plurality of scrip participants, consisting at least in part of a scrip distributor, a scrip sponsoring organization, participating merchants, and members;

storing scrip account information in the scrip clearing center by a system manager for at least one member consisting at least in part of a scrip account number associated with the scrip sponsoring organization and providing the member a scrip card associated with the scrip account;

storing pre-paid electronic scrip credit by the system manager in a scrip account of the scrip sponsoring organization purchased from the scrip distributor at a negotiated merchant discount; and

allowing a transfer of a portion of the pre-paid electronic scrip credit from the scrip account of the scrip sponsoring organization to the member'"'"'s scrip account upon receipt by the scrip sponsoring organization of payment for said portion of the pre-paid electronic scrip credit on behalf of the member.

68. The method of claim 67, wherein automatically crediting a predetermined balance portion of the transaction amount further comprises:

crediting a predefined scrip sponsoring organization portion of the transaction amount to an account for the scrip sponsoring organization and a predefined scrip distributor portion of the transaction amount to a scrip distributor account by the system manager, according to look-up table parameters stored in the scrip clearing center.

52. A system for performing a transaction between a merchant and a member with electronic scrip, comprising:

means for receiving information related to the transaction between the merchant and the member, including a transaction amount;

means associated with the information receiving means for automatically debiting an account of the member by the transaction amount;

means associated with the information receiving means for automatically crediting a predetermined merchant portion of the transaction amount to an account of the merchant; and

means associated with the information receiving means for automatically crediting a predetermined balance portion of the transaction amount to at least one of a sponsoring organization account and a scrip distributor account.

53. The system of claim 52, wherein the information receiving means further comprises a terminal.

54. The system of claim 53, wherein the information receiving means further comprises a merchant terminal.

55. The system of claim 54, wherein the information receiving means further comprises the merchant terminal coupled over a network to at least one of a system manager terminal and a scrip distributor terminal.

56. The system of claim 55, further comprising a member scrip card readable by the merchant terminal.

57. The system of claim 56, wherein the member scrip card further comprises at least one of a magnetic stripe scrip card and a smart card.

58. The system of claim 52, wherein the debiting means further comprises a merchant terminal coupled over a network to at least one of a system manager terminal and a scrip distributor terminal.

59. The system of claim 58, wherein the debiting means further comprises a database storing the member account coupled over the network to at least one of the system manager terminal and the scrip manager terminal.

60. The system of claim 59, wherein the member account further comprises at least one of a member scrip account, a member checking account, and a member savings account.

61. The system of claim 52, wherein the means for crediting the merchant portion further comprises a database storing the merchant account coupled over a network to at least one of a system manager terminal and a scrip distributor terminal.

62. The system of claim 61, wherein the means for crediting the merchant portion further comprises a look-up table of predetermined merchant percentage for determining the merchant portion stored in the database.

63. The system of claim 52, wherein the means for crediting the predetermined portion to the scrip distributor account further comprises a database storing the scrip distributor account coupled over a network to at least one of a system manager terminal and a scrip distributor terminal.

64. The system of claim 63, wherein the means for crediting the predetermined balance portion to the scrip distributor account further comprises a look-up table of predetermined scrip distributor percentage for determining the scrip distributor portion stored in the database.

65. The system of claim 52, wherein the means for crediting the predetermined balance portion to the sponsoring organization account further comprises a database storing the sponsoring organization account coupled over a network to at least one of a system manager terminal and a scrip distributor terminal.

66. The system of claim 65, wherein the means for crediting the predetermined balance portion to the sponsoring organization account further comprises a look-up table of predetermined sponsoring organization percentage for determining the sponsoring organization portion stored in the database.

69. A method for performing a transaction between a merchant and a member with electronic scrip, comprising:

providing a scrip clearing center having data processing resources, including one or more signal processing units with associated signal memory for on-line storage of scrip accounts for each of a plurality of scrip participants, consisting at least in part of a scrip distributor, a scrip purchasing organization, participating merchants, and members;

storing scrip account information in the scrip clearing center by the system manager for at least one member consisting at least in part of a scrip account number associated with the purchasing organization and providing the member a scrip card associated with the scrip account;

storing pre-paid electronic scrip credit by the system manager in a scrip account of the scrip purchasing organization purchased from the scrip distributor at a negotiated merchant discount;

allowing a transfer of a portion of the pre-paid electronic scrip credit from the scrip account of the scrip purchasing organization to the member'"'"'s scrip account upon receipt by the scrip purchasing organization of payment for said portion of the pre-paid electronic scrip credit on behalf of the member;

receiving information relating to a transaction between one of the participating merchants and the member by the system manager via a network from a merchant terminal, consisting at least in part of a merchant identifier, member identification and scrip account data for the member from the scrip card, a transaction request, and the transaction amount;

confirming a balance adequate to cover the transaction amount by the system manager in the member'"'"'s scrip account; and

if the balance is adequate, debiting the member'"'"'s scrip account for the transaction amount by the system manager, sending a confirmation of the debit to the merchant terminal via the network by the system manager, and crediting a predefined merchant portion of the transaction amount to an account of the merchant, a predefined scrip purchasing organization portion of the transaction amount to an account for the scrip purchasing organization, and a predefined scrip distributor portion of the transaction amount to a scrip distributor account by the system manager, according to look-up table parameters stored in the scrip clearing center.