System and method for providing promotional pricing

• US 8,533,111 B1
• Filed: 06/23/2008
• Issued: 09/10/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 08/03/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: JP Morgan Chase Bank, N.A. (JP Morgan Chase & Co)
• Original Assignee: JP Morgan Chase Bank, N.A. (JP Morgan Chase & Co)
• Inventors: Hamilton, Stacy M., Rossiter, Janet L.
• Primary Examiner(s): Hammond, III, Thomas M
• Application Number:
  US12/144,096
• Time in Patent Office: 1,905 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 705/39
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/10 specially adapted for electronic funds transfer [EFT] systems; specially adapted for home banking systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/102 Bill distribution or payments
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/105 involving programming of a portable memory device, e.g. IC cards, "electronic purses"
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/204 comprising interface for record bearing medium or carrier for electronic funds transfer or payment credit
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/3672 initialising or reloading thereof
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0226 Incentive systems for frequent usage, e.g. frequent flyer miles programs or point systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0273 Determination of fees for advertising
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/00 Finance; Insurance; Tax strategies; Processing of corporate or income taxes
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/03 Credit; Loans; Processing thereof

Abstract

A system and method for providing promotional pricing is disclosed. One or more pricing offers may be provided to a plurality of credit accounts, wherein the pricing offers may be directed to transactions associated with particular products and/or merchants. It may be determined whether a transaction associated with a credit account qualifies for certain pricing offers based on predetermined criteria. A balance incurred through a transaction may be assigned to a promotional bucket associated with a particular pricing offer if the transaction qualifies for the particular pricing offer, or the balance may be assigned to a default bucket if the transaction does not qualify for any pricing offer, thereby causing a total balance to be distributed among the default bucket and the promotional buckets. Payments associated with the credit account may be allocated to the default bucket and the one or more promotional buckets according to a payment hierarchy.

Claims

1. A computer implemented method for providing promotional pricing, the computer implemented method comprising the steps of:

providing one or more promotional pricing offers to one or more customers who have one or more credit accounts, wherein at least one promotional pricing offer of the one or more promotional pricing offers is directed to a transaction comprising one or more of the following;

a purchase of a specific product,

a purchase of any product within a defined class of products,

a purchase from a specific merchant,

a purchase from any merchant within a defined class of merchants,

a purchase in a specific date and time range, and

a purchase in a specific amount range;

receiving, by at least one computer processor, information associated with a plurality of transactions conducted by a customer of the one or more customers;

determining, by the at least one computer processor, that at least one of the plurality of transactions associated with at least one credit account of the one or more credit accounts of the customer qualifies for the at least one promotional pricing offer based on at least one predetermined criterion, wherein the determination is performed upon completion of the transaction;

creating, by the at least one computer processor, in response to the at least one promotional pricing offer, a first promotional bucket associated with the at least one promotional pricing offer and a default bucket;

linking, by the at least one computer processor, the first promotional bucket and the default bucket with the at least one credit account of the customer;

assigning, by the at least one computer processor, a balance incurred through at least one of the plurality of transactions to the default bucket and the first promotional bucket based on the determination;

receiving, from the customer after the balances have been assigned, an alteration of the assignment of a balance from its assigned bucket to a second bucket, wherein the alteration comprises a request to transfer the balance from the assigned bucket to the second bucket and wherein the second bucket comprises any existing bucket associated with the at least one credit account of the customer;

performing, by the at least one computer processor, the transfer of the balance;

allocating, by the at least one computer processor, payments associated with the at least one credit account to the existing buckets according to a predetermined payment hierarchy, wherein the payments are allocated following processing of the payments;

electronically communicating additional pricing information related to the at least one credit account of the customer, wherein the additional pricing information comprises information regarding at least one other promotional pricing offer to be applied to a new promotional bucket created in response to the at least one other promotional pricing offer and comprises one or more of the following;

an annual percentage rate, a transaction fee, and a rewards amount; and

wherein the at least one other promotional pricing offer is defined by at least one pricing feature comprising one or more of the following;

the annual percentage rate,

the transaction fee,

a finance charge,

a balance payback method,

a payment hierarchy placement,

a transaction amount restriction,

a qualifying transaction type, and

a qualification period;

and further wherein the at least one other promotional pricing offer is associated with at least one transaction type comprising one or more of the following;

general purchases,

specific purchases,

balance transfers,

convenience check transactions,

cash transactions,

quasi-cash transactions,

existing debt, and

foreign purchases.

2. The method according to claim 1, further comprising the steps of:

updating the at least one credit account based on the allocation of the payments;

re-calculating, by at least one computer processor, for at least one of the default bucket and the first promotional bucket, the pricing information, the recalculated pricing information comprising one or more of the following;

the annual percentage rate,

an effective annual percentage rate,

a jurisdiction-specific annual percentage rate,

the transaction fee,

a finance charge, and

a rewards amount.

3. The method according to claim 1, further comprising the steps of:

making one or more hypothetical adjustments to the at least one credit account based on one or more preferences associated with the customer wherein the one or more hypothetical adjustments comprise one or more adjustments in the predetermined payment hierarchy altering a payment allocation and a balance distribution among the existing buckets; and

displaying an impact of the one or more hypothetical adjustments on the at least one credit account involving the altering the payment allocation and the balance distribution among the existing buckets.

4. The method according to claim 3 further comprising the step of:

determining a status of the at least one credit account based on the one or more hypothetical adjustments.

5. The method according to claim 1, further comprising the steps of:

tracking a stream of payments and transactions associated with the at least one credit account based on a history of the at least one credit account; and

determining additional promotional pricing information, comprising an annual percentage rate, for the existing buckets corresponding to the stream of payments and transactions.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein the step of communication further comprises communicating one or more of the following:

one or more annual percentage rates associated with either the first promotional bucket or the default bucket;

one or more effective annual percentage rates associated with either the first promotional bucket or the default bucket;

one or more aggregated annual percentage rates associated with the at least one credit account;

one or more effective annual percentage rates associated with the at least one credit account; and

one or more jurisdiction-specific annual percentage rates associated with the at least one credit account.

7. The method according to claim 1, further comprising the step of:

reporting a first annual percentage rate calculated according to a first standard and a second annual percentage rate calculated according to a second standard, the second standard being derived from a government regulation.

8. The method according to claim 1, further comprising the step of:

adjusting fees and charges for the existing buckets retroactively.

9. The method according to claim 1, wherein the at least one promotional pricing offer is associated with a rewards program.

10. The method according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined payment hierarchy is determined based on one or more business rules.

11. The method according to claim 1, further comprising the steps of:

retroactively adjusting the predetermined payment hierarchy causing at least one past payment to be re-allocated among the default bucket and the first promotional bucket or the second bucket based at least in part on one or more preferences associated with the customer; and

updating the at least one credit account based on the retroactively adjusted payment hierarchy.

12. A computer implemented method for providing promotional pricing, the computer implemented method comprising the steps of:

providing one or more promotional pricing offers to one or more customers who have one or more credit accounts, wherein at least one promotional pricing offer of the one or more pricing offers is directed to a transaction comprising one or more of the following;

a purchase of a specific product,

a purchase of any product within a defined class of products,

a purchase from a specific merchant,

a purchase from any merchant within a defined class of merchants,

a purchase in a specific date and time range, and

a purchase in a specific amount range;

receiving, by at least one computer processor, information associated with a plurality of transactions conducted by a customer of the one or more customers;

determining, by the at least one computer processor, that at least one of the plurality of transactions associated with at least one credit account of the one or more credit accounts of the customer qualifies for the at least one promotional pricing offer based on at least one predetermined criterion, wherein the determination is performed upon completion of the transaction;

creating, by the at least one computer processor, in response to the at least one promotional pricing offer, a first promotional bucket associated with the at least one pricing offer and a default bucket;

linking, by the at least one computer processor, the first promotional bucket and the default bucket with the at least one credit account of the customer;

assigning, by the at least one computer processor, a balance associated with at least one of the plurality of transactions to the first promotional bucket upon the at least one transaction qualifying for the at least one promotional pricing offer;

allocating payments, by the at least one computer processor, associated with the at least one credit account to the existing buckets according to a predetermined payment hierarchy, wherein the payments are allocated following processing of the payments;

making, by the at least one computer processor, one or more hypothetical adjustments to the at least one credit account based at least in part on one or more preferences associated with the customer wherein the one or more hypothetical adjustments comprise one or more adjustments in the predetermined payment hierarchy altering a payment allocation and a balance distribution among the existing buckets; and

displaying a resulting account status of the one or more hypothetical adjustments on the at least one credit account involving altering the payment allocation and the balance distribution among the existing buckets, wherein the displaying is performed interactively following the making of the one or more hypothetical adjustments and subsequent hypothetical adjustments can be made by the customer.

13. The method of claim 12, further comprising the step of:

determining a status of the at least one credit account based on the one or more hypothetical adjustments.

14. The method according to claim 12, wherein each of the one or more promotional pricing offers is defined by at least one pricing feature comprising one or more of the following:

an annual percentage rate,

a transaction fee,

a finance charge,

a balance payback method,

a payment hierarchy placement,

a transaction amount restriction,

a qualifying transaction type, and

a qualification period.

15. The method according to claim 12, wherein each of the one or more promotional pricing offers is associated with at least one transaction type comprising one or more of the following:

general purchases,

specific purchases,

balance transfers,

convenience check transactions,

cash transactions,

quasi-cash transactions,

existing debt, and

foreign purchases.

16. The method according to claim 12, further comprising the steps of:

electronically communicating additional pricing information related to the at least one credit account to the customer, wherein the additional pricing information comprises information regarding at least one other promotional pricing offer to be applied to a new promotional bucket created in response to the at least one other promotional pricing offer and comprises one or more of the following;

an annual percentage rate, a transaction fee, and a rewards amount.

17. The method according to claim 12, further comprising the steps of:

retroactively adjusting the predetermined payment hierarchy causing at least one past payment to be re-allocated among the existing buckets based at least in part on one or more preferences associated with the customer; and

updating the at least one credit account based on the retroactively adjusted payment hierarchy.

18. The method according to claim 12, further comprising the steps of:

updating the at least one credit account based on the payment allocation;

re-calculating, for at least one of the default bucket and the first promotional bucket, the pricing information, the recalculated pricing information comprising one or more of the following;

an annual percentage rate,

an effective annual percentage rate,

a jurisdiction-specific annual percentage rate,

a transactional fee,

a finance charge, and

a rewards amount.

19. A computer implemented system for providing promotional pricing, the system comprising:

a memory, and a computer processor with said computer processor programmed to;

provide one or more promotional pricing offers to one or more customers who have one or more credit accounts, wherein at least one promotional pricing offer of the one or more promotional pricing offers is directed to a transaction comprising one or more of the following;

a purchase of a specific product,

a purchase of any product within a defined class of products,

a purchase from a specific merchant,

a purchase from any merchant within a defined class of merchants,

a purchase in a specific date and time range, and

a purchase in a specific amount range;

receive information associated with a plurality of transactions conducted by a customer of the one or more customers;

determine that at least one of the plurality of transactions associated with at least one credit account of the one or more credit accounts of the customer qualifies for the at least one promotional pricing offer based on at least one predetermined criterion, wherein the determination is performed upon completion of the transaction;

create, in response to the at least one promotional pricing offer, a first promotional bucket associated with the at least one promotional pricing offer and a default bucket;

link the first promotional bucket and the default bucket with the at least one credit account of the customer;

assign a balance incurred through at least one of the plurality of transactions to the default bucket and the first promotional bucket based on the determination;

receive, from the customer after the balances have been assigned, an alteration of the assignment of a balance from its assigned bucket to a second bucket, wherein the alteration comprises a request to transfer the balance from the assigned bucket to the second bucket and wherein the second bucket comprises any existing bucket associated with the at least one credit account of the customer;

perform the transfer of the balance;

allocate payments associated with the at least one credit account to the existing buckets according to a predetermined payment hierarchy, wherein the payments are allocated following processing of the payments;

communicate additional pricing information related to the at least one credit account of the customer, wherein the additional pricing information comprises information regarding at least one other promotional pricing offer to be applied to a new promotional bucket created in response to the at least one other promotional pricing offer and comprises one or more of the following;

an annual percentage rate, a transaction fee, and a rewards amount; and

wherein the at least one other promotional pricing offer is defined by at least one pricing feature comprising one or more of the following;

the annual percentage rate,

the transaction fee,

a finance charge,

a balance payback method,

a payment hierarchy placement,

a transaction amount restriction,

a qualifying transaction type, and

a qualification period;

and further wherein the at least one other promotional pricing offer is associated with at least one transaction type comprising one or more of the following;

general purchases,

specific purchases,

balance transfers,

convenience check transactions,

cash transactions,

quasi-cash transactions,

existing debt, and

foreign purchases.

20. The computer implemented system according to claim 19, with the processor further programmed to:

update the at least one credit account based on the allocation of payments;

re-calculate, for at least one of the existing buckets, the pricing information the recalculated pricing information comprising one or more of the following;

the annual percentage rate,

an effective annual percentage rate,

a jurisdiction-specific annual percentage rate,

the transaction fee,

a finance charge, and

a rewards amount.

21. The computer implemented system according to claim 19, with the processor further programmed to:

make one or more hypothetical adjustments to the at least one credit account based on one or more preferences associated with the customer wherein the one or more hypothetical adjustments comprises one or more adjustments in the predetermined payment hierarchy altering a payment allocation and a balance distribution among the existing buckets; and

display an impact of the one or more hypothetical adjustments on the at least one credit account involving the altering the payment allocation and the balance distribution among the existing buckets.

22. The computer implemented system according to claim 21, with the processor further programmed to:

determine a status of the at least one credit account based on the one or more hypothetical adjustments.

23. The computer implemented system according to claim 19, with the processor further programmed to:

track a stream of payments and transactions associated with the at least one credit account based on a history of the at least one credit account; and

determine additional promotional pricing information for the existing buckets of the at least one credit account corresponding to the stream of payments and transactions, wherein the promotional pricing information comprises an annual percentage rate.

24. The computer implemented system according to claim 19, wherein the processor is further programmed to:

communicate to the customer at least one piece of promotional pricing information comprising one or more of the following;

one or more annual percentage rates associated with either the first promotional bucket or the default bucket;

one or more effective annual percentage rates associated with either the first promotional bucket or the default bucket;

one or more aggregated annual percentage rates associated with the at least one credit account;

one or more effective annual percentage rates associated with the at least one credit account; and

one or more jurisdiction-specific annual percentage rates associated with the at least one credit account.

25. The computer implemented system according to claim 19, with the processor further programmed to:

report a first annual percentage rate calculated according to a first standard and a second annual percentage rate calculated according to a second standard, the second standard being derived from a government regulation.

26. The computer implemented system according to claim 19, with the processor further programmed to:

adjust fees and charges for the existing buckets retroactively.

27. The computer implemented system according to claim 19, wherein the at least one promotional pricing offer of the one or more promotional pricing offers is associated with a rewards program.

28. The computer implemented system according to claim 19, wherein the predetermined payment hierarchy is determined based on one or more business rules.

29. The computer implemented system according to claim 19, with the processor further programmed to:

retroactively adjust the predetermined payment hierarchy causing at least one past payment to be re-allocated among the existing buckets based at least in part on one or more preferences associated with the customer; and

update the at least one credit account based on the retroactively adjusted payment hierarchy.

30. A computer implemented system for providing promotional pricing, the system comprising:

a memory, and a computer processor with said computer processor programmed to;

provide one or more promotional pricing offers to one or more customers who have one or more credit accounts, wherein at least one promotional pricing offer of the one or more pricing offers is directed to a transaction comprising one or more of the following;

a purchase of a specific product,

a purchase of any product within a defined class of products,

a purchase from a specific merchant,

a purchase from any merchant within a defined class of merchants,

a purchase in a specific date and time range, and

a purchase in a specific amount range;

receive information associated with a plurality of transactions conducted by a customer of the one or more customers;

determine that at least one of the plurality of transactions associated with at least one credit account of the one or more credit accounts of the customer qualifies for the at least one promotional pricing offer based on at least one predetermined criterion, wherein the determination is performed upon completion of the transaction;

create, in response to the at least one promotional pricing offer, a first promotional bucket associated with the at least one pricing offer and a default bucket;

link the first promotional bucket and the default bucket with the at least one credit account of the customer;

assign a balance associated with at least one of the plurality of transactions to the first promotional bucket upon the at least one transaction qualifying for the at least one promotional pricing offer;

allocate payments associated with the at least one credit account to the existing buckets according to a predetermined payment hierarchy, wherein the payments are allocated following processing of the payments;

make one or more hypothetical adjustments to the at least one credit account based at least in part on one or more preferences associated with the customer wherein the one or more hypothetical adjustments comprise one or more adjustments in the predetermined payment hierarchy altering a payment allocation and a balance distribution among the existing buckets; and

display a resulting account status of the one or more hypothetical adjustments on the at least one credit account involving altering the payment allocation and the balance distribution among existing buckets, wherein the displaying is performed interactively following the making of the one or more hypothetical adjustments and subsequent hypothetical adjustments can be made by the customer.

31. The computer implemented system according to claim 30, with the processor further programmed to:

determine a status of the at least one credit account based on the one or more hypothetical adjustments.

32. The computer implemented system according to claim 30, wherein each of the one or more promotional pricing offers is defined by at least one pricing feature comprising one or more of the following:

an annual percentage rate,

a transaction fee,

a finance charge,

a balance payback method,

a payment hierarchy placement,

a transaction amount restriction,

a qualifying transaction type, and

a qualification period.

33. The computer implemented system according to claim 30, wherein each of the one or more promotional pricing offers is associated with at least one transaction type comprising one or more of the following:

general purchases,

specific purchases,

balance transfers,

convenience check transactions,

cash transactions,

quasi-cash transactions,

existing debt, and

foreign purchases.

34. The computer implemented system according to claim 30, with the processor further programmed to:

electronically communicate additional pricing information related to the at least one credit account of the customer wherein the additional pricing information comprises information regarding at least one other promotional pricing offer to be applied to a new promotional bucket created in response to the at least one other promotional pricing offer and comprises one or more of the following;

an annual percentage rate, a transaction fee, and a rewards amount; and

provide the customer an option to modify the additional pricing information.

35. The computer implemented system according to claim 30, with the processor further programmed to:

retroactively adjust the predetermined payment hierarchy causing at least one past payment to be re-allocated among the existing buckets based at least in part on one or more preferences associated with the customer; and

update the at least one credit account based on the retroactively adjusted payment hierarchy.

36. The computer implemented system according to claim 30, with the processor further programmed to:

update the at least one credit account based on the payment allocation;

re-calculate, for at least one of the default bucket and the first promotional bucket, the pricing information, the recalculated pricing information comprising one or more of the following;

an annual percentage rate,

an effective annual percentage rate,

a jurisdiction-specific annual percentage rate,

a transactional fee,

a finance charge, and

a rewards amount.