Method and apparatus for processing credit card transactions
First Claim
1. A method for providing an offer during a transaction between a merchant and a customer, comprising:
- receiving, via an electronic communications network, a request for authorization of a purchase amount for a transaction between a merchant and a customer, the purchase amount to be paid from a financial account of the customer;
determining, by a server comprising at least one processor, an offer based on the received request;
transmitting an authorization of the purchase amount;
transmitting, by the server, the offer for output to the customer on a record of charge,wherein the record of charge includes a first signature line associated with and for indicating acceptance of the purchase amount only and a second signature line associated with and for indicating acceptance of the offer output on the record of charge;
determining that the customer has signed the second signature line of the record of charge, thereby receiving an acceptance of the offer by the customer; and
providing a benefit to the customer after receiving the acceptance,in which the offer defines an obligation for the customer to fulfill in exchange for the benefit,in which the offer is selected from the group consisting of;
a supplemental product offer for the obligation of an additional payment in addition to the purchase amount to be provided by the customer in exchange for a supplemental product, anda cross-subsidy offer for providing a discount toward the purchase amount in exchange for the obligation of the customer accepting an offer of a third party other than the customer and the merchant.
8 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
Systems and methods are disclosed whereby credit and debit card transactions are processed at a merchant point-of-sale terminal in a manner that provides customers the opportunity to receive one or more charge enhancement offers which are presented to the customer on a printed record of charge. The charge enhancement offers may indicate either a reduction or an increase in the original purchase total. In a first embodiment, a customer may receive a discount toward a purchase total in exchange for supplying feedback to a merchant in the form of a survey or questionnaire presented on the record of charge. In a second embodiment, the customer is provided the opportunity to receive a discount toward a purchase total by enlisting a third-party service or to purchase a third-party product by completing a section provided on the record of charge. In a third embodiment, the customer may select from at least one additional charge displayed on a record of charge to be added to a transaction total. Such additional charges may represent, for example, a gratuity for a merchant service. In each embodiment, the reduction or increase of original purchase total is provided by a clearinghouse or issuing bank that processes the credit or debit card transaction and confirms the cardholder'"'"'s acceptance of the charge enhancement offer following completion of the transaction at the point-of-sale terminal.
-
Citations
34 Claims
-
1. A method for providing an offer during a transaction between a merchant and a customer, comprising:
-
receiving, via an electronic communications network, a request for authorization of a purchase amount for a transaction between a merchant and a customer, the purchase amount to be paid from a financial account of the customer; determining, by a server comprising at least one processor, an offer based on the received request; transmitting an authorization of the purchase amount; transmitting, by the server, the offer for output to the customer on a record of charge, wherein the record of charge includes a first signature line associated with and for indicating acceptance of the purchase amount only and a second signature line associated with and for indicating acceptance of the offer output on the record of charge; determining that the customer has signed the second signature line of the record of charge, thereby receiving an acceptance of the offer by the customer; and providing a benefit to the customer after receiving the acceptance, in which the offer defines an obligation for the customer to fulfill in exchange for the benefit, in which the offer is selected from the group consisting of; a supplemental product offer for the obligation of an additional payment in addition to the purchase amount to be provided by the customer in exchange for a supplemental product, and a cross-subsidy offer for providing a discount toward the purchase amount in exchange for the obligation of the customer accepting an offer of a third party other than the customer and the merchant. - View Dependent Claims (2)
-
-
3. A method for providing an offer during a transaction between a merchant and a customer, comprising:
-
receiving, via an electronic communications network, a request for authorization of a purchase amount for a transaction between a merchant and a customer, the purchase amount to be paid from a financial account of the customer; determining, by a server comprising at least one processor, an offer based on the received request; transmitting an authorization of the purchase amount; transmitting, by the server, the offer for output to the customer on a record of charge, wherein the record of charge includes a first signature line associated with and for indicating acceptance of the purchase amount only and a second signature line associated with and for indicating acceptance of the offer output on the record of charge; and determining that the customer signed the second signature line, thereby indicating acceptance of the offer, in which the offer defines an obligation for the customer to fulfill in exchange for a benefit, in which the offer is selected from the group consisting of; a supplemental product offer for the obligation of an additional payment in addition to the purchase amount to be provided by the customer in exchange for a supplemental product, and a cross-subsidy offer for providing a discount toward the purchase amount in exchange for the obligation of the customer accepting an offer of a third party other than the customer and the merchant. - View Dependent Claims (4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32)
-
-
33. A method for processing a transaction between a merchant and a customer, comprising:
-
receiving an indication of a financial account to be charged for a purchase amount corresponding to a transaction; transmitting, via an electronic communications network to a server comprising at least one processor, a request for authorization to charge the financial account for the purchase amount; receiving, from the server in response to the transmitting step, an authorization for the purchase amount and an offer to be presented to the customer; providing the offer to the customer on a record of charge, wherein the record of charge contains a first signature line associated with and for indicating acceptance of the purchase amount only and a second signature line associated with and for indicating acceptance of the offer provided on the record of charge; and determining that the customer signed the second signature line, thereby indicating acceptance of the offer, in which the offer defines an obligation for the customer to fulfill in exchange for a benefit, in which the offer is selected from the group consisting of; a supplemental product offer for the obligation of an additional payment in addition to the purchase amount to be provided by the customer in exchange for a supplemental product, and a cross-subsidy offer for providing a discount toward the purchase amount in exchange for the obligation of the customer accepting an offer of a third party other than the customer and the merchant. - View Dependent Claims (34)
-
Specification