Methods and systems for facilitating one-time consumer loans arising from declined credit card transactions

• US 7,797,231 B1
• Filed: 08/28/2007
• Issued: 09/14/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 08/28/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Snap Credit Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Loeb Enterprises, LLC
• Inventors: Loeb, Michael R., Rovegno, John F., Vogel, Richard I., McCabe, Edward J.
• Primary Examiner(s): Kazimi; Hani
• Assistant Examiner(s): Scarito; John D
• Application Number:
  US11/895,945
• Time in Patent Office: 1,113 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 705/38
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/10 specially adapted for electronic funds transfer [EFT] systems; specially adapted for home banking systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/00 Finance; Insurance; Tax strategies; Processing of corporate or income taxes
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/02 Banking, e.g. interest calculation or account maintenance credit or loans G06Q40/03
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/03 Credit; Loans; Processing thereof

Abstract

Methods and systems are provided for offering loans to users at a point-of-purchase transaction. Such loans are typically offered upon the decline of a user-tendered payment, for example of a credit or debit card or check, and typically at a retail physical location point of sale and/or at a retail website point of sale. The loan offer process is desirably integrated with the merchant'"'"'s payment processing system. Term sets can be pre-established between the merchant and the loan offerer. Processing to determine whether to offer a loan and under which set of terms is desirably automated such that the decision can be made in substantially real time to motivate the completion of what might constitute an otherwise failed transaction.

Claims

1. A method for making a loan offer to a user in response to a failed point-of-purchase transaction, the method comprising:

(a) receiving at a merchant computer via an electronic communication medium a primary payment option as a request from a user to complete a point-of-purchase transaction;

(b) forwarding from the merchant'"'"'s computer to a payment processor the user'"'"'s request to complete the point-of-purchase transaction;

(c) evaluating the user'"'"'s request at the payment processor to determine whether the user'"'"'s request is accepted or declined;

(d) determining by the payment processor that the user'"'"'s request to complete the point-of-purchase transaction is declined;

(e) receiving at the merchant'"'"'s computer a decline notification from the payment processor indicating that the user'"'"'s request to complete the point-of-purchase transaction has been declined;

(f) the merchant informing the user that the point-of-purchase transaction has been declined;

(g) the user abandoning the point-of-purchase transaction;

(h) determining, by the merchant'"'"'s computer, whether to consider the user for a one-time point-of-purchase loan;

(i) forwarding available user information from the merchant'"'"'s computer to a credit reporting agency to evaluate the user for the one-time point-of-purchase loan in the case where the user is considered for the one-time point-of-purchase loan;

(j) performing a soft credit check of the available user information by a credit reporting agency processor, wherein the soft credit check comprises evaluating the available user information against at least one set of pre-screen criteria;

(k) performing a further credit check of the available user information by the credit reporting agency processor using a pre-established marketing model based on non-consumer specific data;

(l) determining, by the credit reporting agency processor, whether the user qualifies for the one-time point-of-purchase loan based on said soft credit check and said further credit check;

wherein if it is determined that the user does qualify for the one-time point-of-purchase loan the method further comprises;

(1) forwarding an indication from the credit reporting agency processor to the merchant'"'"'s computer that the user qualifies for the one-time point-of-purchase loan;

(2) the merchant computer selecting an appropriate one-time point-of-purchase loan from among a set of pre-established one-time point-of-purchase loans;

(3) the merchant offering the user the selected appropriate one-time point-of-purchase loan via a different electronic communication medium; and

(4) the user accepting the one-time point-of-purchase loan to complete the point-of-purchase transaction.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein steps (a) through (l) are performed in real-time.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein said user'"'"'s request is declined during the point-of-purchase transaction as a result of an insufficient value associated with said user'"'"'s pre-paid card, an incorrect credit card entry, atypical spending on the credit card or an enforcement of a credit limit on the credit card.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein said at least one set of pre-screen criteria is constructed at a pre-operational stage.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein said at least one set of pre-screen criteria defines certain levels of qualification for making one-time point-of-purchase loans.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein said at least one set of pre-screen criteria is hierarchically organized, wherein said hierarchy ranges from a most stringent set of pre-screen criteria to a least stringent set of pre-screen criteria.

7. The method according to claim 6, wherein said step (j) of performing a soft credit check of the available user information by a credit reporting agency processor, further comprises:

sequentially evaluating said user'"'"'s credit worthiness against said at least one set of pre-screen criteria utilizing said hierarchical order until a particular set of pre-screen criteria is satisfied or it is determined that the user does not qualify for the one-time point-of-purchase loan.

8. The method according to claim 1, wherein said pre-established marketing model is constructed at a pre-operational stage.

9. The method according to claim 1, wherein said step (k) of performing a further credit check of the available user information by the credit reporting agency processor using a pre-established marketing model based on non-consumer specific data, further comprises:

utilizing said pre-established marketing model as a pre-filter to utilizing said at least one set of pre-screen criteria.

10. The method according to claim 1, wherein said step (k) of performing a further credit check of the available user information by the credit reporting agency processor using a pre-established marketing model based on non-consumer specific data, further comprises:

utilizing said pre-established marketing model simultaneous with utilizing said at least one set of pre-screen criteria.

11. The method according to claim 1, wherein said available user information forwarded to said credit reporting agency comprises at least one of:

a name, an address, a billing and shipping address, a phone number, a social security number, an e-mail address, an amount of the declined purchase, and user purchase history data.

12. The method according to claim 1, wherein the point-of-purchase transaction is conducted either electronically over a network or at a retail outlet.

13. A point-of-purchase loan facilitator system for facilitating a loan offer to a user in response to a failed point-of-purchase transaction with a merchant, the system comprising:

at least one server configured to provide information exchange between the user, the merchant, a primary payment processor, and a credit reporting agency via an electronic communication medium,

wherein said information exchange includes, in the case where the merchant decides to consider the user for a one-time point-of-purchase loan after the point-of-purchase transaction has been declined by the payment processor and after the user has abandoned the point of purchase transaction, receiving available user information from the merchant and forwarding the available user information to the credit reporting agency to evaluate the user for a one-time point-of-purchase loan via a loan analysis module;

wherein said information exchange further includes receiving from said credit reporting agency a result of said loan analysis module based on a soft credit check which evaluates the available user information against at least one set of pre-screen criteria and a further credit check which evaluates the available user information using a pre-established marketing model based on non-consumer specific data the result indicating that the user qualifies for the one-time point-of-purchase loan and forwarding the result to the merchant;

wherein said information exchange further includes collaborating with the merchant to select an appropriate one-time point-of-purchase loan from among a set of pre-established one-time point-of-purchase loans

said at least one server further comprising a loan offer module configured to offer the user an option to qualify for a selected one-time point-of-purchase loan to complete an incomplete point-of-purchase transaction wherein said offer is made to the user via a different electronic communication medium.

14. A point-of-purchase loan facilitator system, according to claim 13, said at least one server further comprising:

a pre-screen criteria creation module configured to create the at least one set of pre-screen criteria that define certain levels of qualification for making the one-time point-of-purchase consumer loan to said user; and

a marketing model creation module configured to evaluate users for credit-worthiness based upon non-consumer specific data.

15. A point-of-purchase loan facilitator system according to claim 13, further comprising at least one database including information related to one or more of:

said user'"'"'s attempted purchase, decline codes, past declined purchases, purchases that have been contested by a purchaser and user identifications who have defaulted on store credit in the past.

16. A computer readable medium comprising computer executable instructions stored thereon for:

(a) receiving at a merchant computer via an electronic communication medium a primary payment option as a request from a user to complete a point-of-purchase transaction;

(b) forwarding from the merchant'"'"'s computer to a payment processor the user'"'"'s request to complete the point-of-purchase transaction;

(c) evaluating the user'"'"'s request at the payment processor to determine whether the user'"'"'s request is accepted or declined;

(d) determining by the payment processor that the user'"'"'s request to complete the point-of-purchase transaction is declined;

(e) receiving at the merchant'"'"'s computer a decline notification from the payment processor indicating that the user'"'"'s request to complete the point-of-purchase transaction has been declined;

(f) the merchant informing the user that the point-of-purchase transaction has been declined;

(g) the user abandoning the point-of-purchase transaction;

(h) determining, by the merchant'"'"'s computer, whether to consider the user for a one-time point-of-purchase loan;

(i) forwarding available user information from the merchant'"'"'s computer to a credit reporting agency to evaluate the user for the one-time point-of-purchase loan in the case where the user is considered for the one-time point-of-purchase loan;

(j) performing a soft credit check of the available user information by a credit reporting agency processor, wherein the soft credit check comprises evaluating the available user information against at least one set of pre-screen criteria;

(k) performing a further credit check of the available user information by the credit reporting agency processor using a pre-established marketing model based on non-consumer specific data;

(l) determining, by the credit reporting agency processor, whether the user qualifies for the one-time point-of-purchase loan based on said soft credit check and said further credit check;

wherein if it is determined that the user does qualify for the one-time point-of-purchase loan the computer readable medium comprises further computer executable instructions for;

(1) forwarding an indication from the credit reporting agency processor to the merchant'"'"'s computer that the user qualifies for the one-time point-of-purchase loan;

(2) the merchant computer selecting an appropriate one-time point-of-purchase loan from among a set of pre-established one-time point-of-purchase loans;

(3) the merchant offering the user the selected appropriate one-time point-of-purchase loan via a different electronic communication medium; and

(4) the user accepting the one-time point-of-purchase loan to complete the point-of-purchase transaction.