Universal affinity system
First Claim
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1. A method for providing to customers universal access to affinity systems of a plurality of merchants, wherein each merchant is able to operate its own affinity system without sharing information about transactions between the merchant and said customers, the method comprising, at a universal management server:
- receiving requests from said customers, each request from a customer comprising a request to activate a respective universal identifier issued to the customer, and in response to each such request;
allocating memory on the universal management server, the allocated memory defining a personal account locker for the customer, andautomatically enrolling the customer in the affinity systems of one or more merchants using the same universal identifier of the customer to enroll the customer in each merchant affinity system, and thereafter;
receiving from one of said merchants a targeted discount offer and the universal identifier corresponding to each customer in a set of targeted customers who are enrolled in the affinity system of that merchant and in response;
storing the targeted discount offer in the personal account lockers of each customer in the set of targeted customers.
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Abstract
An improved universal affinity system and method is uniquely configured to be implemented and operated with a reduced impact on existing merchant point of sale and affinity systems. The improved system and method also enables merchants to provide highly targeted incentives and advertising to users of the universal affinity system.
43 Citations
21 Claims
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1. A method for providing to customers universal access to affinity systems of a plurality of merchants, wherein each merchant is able to operate its own affinity system without sharing information about transactions between the merchant and said customers, the method comprising, at a universal management server:
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receiving requests from said customers, each request from a customer comprising a request to activate a respective universal identifier issued to the customer, and in response to each such request; allocating memory on the universal management server, the allocated memory defining a personal account locker for the customer, and automatically enrolling the customer in the affinity systems of one or more merchants using the same universal identifier of the customer to enroll the customer in each merchant affinity system, and thereafter; receiving from one of said merchants a targeted discount offer and the universal identifier corresponding to each customer in a set of targeted customers who are enrolled in the affinity system of that merchant and in response; storing the targeted discount offer in the personal account lockers of each customer in the set of targeted customers. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A universal management server for providing to customers universal access to affinity systems of a plurality of merchants, wherein each customer is issued a respective unique universal identifier, the universal management server comprising a processor and a memory and being configured to:
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receive requests from the customers to activate their respective universal identifiers, and in response to each such request; allocate memory on the universal management server, the allocated memory defining a personal account locker for the customer, and automatically enroll the customer in the affinity systems of one or more merchants using the same universal identifier of the customer to enroll the customer in each merchant affinity system, and thereafter; receive from one of said merchants a targeted discount offer and the universal identifier corresponding to each customer in a set of targeted customers who are enrolled in the affinity system of that merchant and in response; store the targeted discount offer in the personal account lockers of each customer in the set of targeted customers. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17)
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18. A non-transitory computer-readable medium having stored thereon instructions which, when executed by a computer, enable the computer provide to customers universal access to affinity systems of a plurality of merchants, wherein each merchant is able to operate its own affinity system without sharing information about transactions between the merchant and said customers, the instructions further causing the computer to:
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receive requests from said customers, each request from a customer comprising a request to activate a respective universal identifier issued to the customer, and in response to each such request; allocate memory on the universal management server, the allocated memory defining a personal account locker for the customer, and automatically enroll the customer in the affinity systems of one or more merchants using the same universal identifier of the customer to enroll the customer in each merchant affinity system, and thereafter; receive from one of said merchants a targeted discount offer and the universal identifier corresponding to each customer in a set of targeted customers who are enrolled in the affinity system of that merchant and in response; store the targeted discount offer in the personal account lockers of each customer in the set of targeted customers. - View Dependent Claims (19, 20, 21)
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Specification