System and method for facilitating interaction between consumer and merchant

• US 7,599,857 B2
• Filed: 12/04/2003
• Issued: 10/06/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 11/19/2002
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Liberty Peak Ventures, LLC (Dominion Harbor Enterprises, LLC)
• Original Assignee: American Express Travel Related Services Company, Inc. (American Express Company)
• Inventors: Dolce, Soleil Kathleen, Glazer, Elliott, Bishop, Fred
• Primary Examiner(s): Smith, Jeffrey A
• Assistant Examiner(s): Shah, Amee A
• Application Number:
  US10/707,309
• Publication Number:
  US 20040172340A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,133 Days
• Field of Search: 705/26, 705/27, 705/14
• US Class Current: 705/50
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0269 based on user profile or attribute
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/06 Buying, selling or leasing transactions
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0601 Electronic shopping [e-shopping]
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0609 Buyer or seller confidence or verification
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0613 Third-party assisted
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/25875 involving end-user authentication restricting access to computer systems by authenticating users using a predetermined code G06F21/33; arrangements for secret or secure communication including means for verifying the identity or authority of a user of the system H04L9/32; networks authentication protocols H04L63/08; authentication in wireless network security H04W12/06
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/472 End-user interface for requesting content, additional data or services; End-user interface for interacting with content, e.g. for content reservation or setting reminders, for requesting event notification, for manipulating displayed content end-user interfaces for retrieving video data from a database G06F16/739; network services for supporting unicast streaming H04L65/612
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/47815 Electronic shopping payment schemes, payment architectures or payment protocols for electronic shopping systems G06Q20/12
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/812 involving advertisement data advertising per se G06Q30/02
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/17318 Direct or substantially direct transmission and handling of requests

Abstract

An automated method and system is provided for facilitating interaction between a consumer and a merchant using a strong security framework. An offer describing a product and a predetermined means for acceptance is presented via a display. Once the offer has been presented, if the consumer accepts, the system performs various authentications, then facilitates receipt of the acceptance. The system then combines the acceptance data with identification and payment information, and transmits the relevant information to the merchant. Optionally, the system may customize the content or the presentation of the offer based on information about the targeted consumer.

Claims

1. A method for facilitating interaction between a consumer and a merchant comprising the steps of:

receiving, by an interface device, consumer preference information and restriction information associated with a consumer,

wherein the consumer preference information is provided by at least one of the consumer, a parent of the consumer and an employer of the consumer, and

wherein the restriction information is provided by at least one of the parent of the consumer and the employer of the consumer;

storing the consumer preference information and the restriction information in at least one database associated with the consumer;

receiving, by the interface device, offer information from the merchant via a broadcast that reaches a plurality of potential consumers, wherein the offer information relates to a product;

receiving, by the interface device, consumer identification information associated with a card including card information corresponding to the consumer;

retrieving, by the interface device, the consumer preference information and the restriction information from the at least one database based on the received consumer identification information;

customizing, by the interface device, the offer information received from the merchant with prestored offer information retrieved from at least one database, to create an amended offer for the consumer, wherein the prestored information is selected according to the consumer preference information and the restriction information, and wherein the amended offer includes at least one specified method of acceptance determined by at least one of the consumer identification information and the restriction information;

transmitting, from the interface device, the amended offer with the at least one specified method of acceptance to a display for viewing by the consumer;

receiving, by the interface device, an acceptance of the amended offer from the consumer, wherein the acceptance is associated with the amended offer and the acceptance includes the card information;

retrieving, by the interface device, consumer payment information from the database based on the received consumer identification information;

amending, by an amended offer processor, the acceptance with the consumer payment information to create an amended acceptance upon receipt of the acceptance from the consumer by the interface device; and

transmitting, by the interface device, the amended acceptance to the merchant.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of transmitting the amended offer to a display includes transmitting via at least one of television programming and an Internet broadcast.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the consumer preference information includes at least one of demographic information, identification information, and shipping information.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of receiving an acceptance from the consumer includes receiving an acceptance via at least one of a remote control, an electronic pen, a telephone, an automatic dialing device, a microphone, a pager, a radio-frequency device, a personal digital assistant, a smart card, a digital video recorder (DVR), a personal video recorder (PVR), and a simulated button.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein a smart card information includes at least one of authentication information, an embedded certificate, a consumer ID and a password, an identifier, data-encryption information, a digital signature, a secure file structure, and a trusted third-party download.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the consumer preference information, consumer payment information and consumer identification information are provided to at least one database in a registration process performed by the consumer.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising the steps of:

authenticating, by the interface device the consumer; and

managing, by the interface device, consumer identities.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of analyzing, by the interface device, attributes of the consumer to substantially predict an optimal combination of offer content and context.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of amending includes amending the acceptance with at least one of:

consumer loyalty point information, an authorization from an issuer, an authorization from the interface device, a security or wallet server authorization, a consumer authentication, and single-use account number information.

10. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of developing, by the interface device, at least one of a consumer transaction database, and an offer evaluation database.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of transmitting the amended acceptance to the merchant includes at least one of authenticating the consumer, and authorizing a transaction between the consumer and the merchant.

12. A method according to claim 1, wherein the interface device includes the amended offer processor.

13. A system for facilitating interaction between a consumer and a merchant, the system comprising:

an interface device including;

at least one processor for processing digital data;

a memory coupled to said processor for storing digital data;

a device for accepting input of digital data; and

an application program stored in said memory and accessible by said processor for directing processing of digital data by said processor,

wherein said interface device is configured to perform the steps of;

receiving consumer preference information and restriction information associated with a consumer,

wherein the consumer preference information is provided by at least one of the consumer, a parent of the consumer and an employer of the consumer, and

wherein the restriction information is provided by at least one of the parent of the consumer and the employer of the consumer;

storing the consumer preference information and the restriction information in at least one database associated with the consumer;

receiving offer information from the merchant via a broadcast that reaches a plurality of potential consumers, wherein the offer information relates to a product;

receiving consumer identification information associated with a card including card information corresponding to the consumer;

retrieving the consumer preference information and the restriction information from the at least one database based on the received consumer identification information;

customizing the offer information received from the merchant with prestored offer information retrieved from at least one database to create an amended offer for the consumer according to the consumer preference information and the restriction information, and wherein the amended offer includes at least one specified method of acceptance determined by at least one of the consumer identification information and the restriction information;

transmitting the amended offer to a display for viewing by the consumer, wherein the amended offer specifies a method of acceptance;

receiving an acceptance of the amended offer from the consumer, wherein the acceptance is associated with the amended offer and the acceptance includes the card information;

retrieving consumer payment information from the database based on the received consumer identification information;

amending the acceptance with the consumer payment information to create an amended acceptance upon receipt of the acceptance from the consumer by the interface device; and

transmitting the amended acceptance to the merchant.

14. The system of claim 13, wherein the application program causes the processor to perform a step of authenticating the consumer.

15. The system of claim 13, wherein the application program causes the processor to perform a step of storing the offer information in an offer database.

16. The system of claim 13, wherein the application program causes the processor to perform steps of:

enabling consumers to perform a registration process to register consumer preference information; and

storing registered consumer preference information in the database.

17. The system of claim 13, wherein the application program causes the processor to perform a step of analyzing attributes of the consumer to substantially predict an optimal combination of offer content and context.

18. The system of claim 13, wherein the application program causes the processor to perform a step of amending the acceptance with at least one of consumer loyalty point information, an authorization from an issuer, an authorization from the interface device, a security or wallet server authorization, a consumer authentication, smart card information associated with the consumer, and single-use account number information.

19. A system according to claim 13, wherein the amending is performed by an amended offer processor in communication with the interface device.

20. A computer-readable medium having instructions stored therein, which when executed by a processor cause the processor to facilitate interaction between a consumer and a merchant by performing the steps of:

receiving, by an interface device, consumer preference information and restriction information associated with a consumer,

wherein the consumer preference information is provided by at least one of the consumer, a parent of the consumer and an employer of the consumer, and

wherein the restriction information is provided by at least one of the parent of the consumer and the employer of the consumer;

storing the consumer preference information and the restriction information in at least one database associated with the consumer;

receiving, by the interface device, offer information from the merchant via a broadcast that reaches a plurality of potential consumers, wherein the offer information relates to a product;

receiving, by the interface device, consumer identification information associated with a card including card information corresponding to the consumer;

retrieving, by the interface device, the consumer preference information and the restriction information from the at least one database based on the received consumer identification information;

customizing, by the interface device, the offer information received from the merchant with prestored offer information retrieved from at least one database, to create an amended offer for the consumer, wherein the prestored information is selected according to the consumer preference information and the restriction information, and wherein the amended offer includes at least one specified method of acceptance determined by at least one of the consumer identification information and the restriction information;

transmitting, from the interface device, the amended offer with the at least one specified method of acceptance to a display for viewing by the consumer;

receiving, by the interface device, an acceptance of the amended offer from the consumer, wherein the acceptance is associated with the amended offer and the acceptance includes the card information;

retrieving, by the interface device, consumer payment information from the database based on the received consumer identification information;

amending, by an amended offer processor, the acceptance with the consumer payment information to create an amended acceptance upon receipt of the acceptance from the consumer by the interface device; and

transmitting, by the interface device, the amended acceptance to the merchant.