System and method for accepting closed loop cards and codes at a merchant point of sale

• US 8,631,999 B2
• Filed: 10/02/2009
• Issued: 01/21/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 02/09/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: GiftCodes.com, LLC
• Original Assignee: GiftCodes.com, LLC
• Inventors: Wolfe, Jason, Romanelli, Mark, Akut, Sanjay, Kelly, Mike, Kelly, Mary Jane
• Primary Examiner(s): Le, Thien M
• Assistant Examiner(s): TAYLOR, APRIL ALICIA
• Application Number:
  US12/573,056
• Publication Number:
  US 20100200652A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,572 Days
• Field of Search: 235/375, 235379-381, 235/383, 705/14, 705/14.1
• US Class Current: 235/379
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/10 specially adapted for electronic funds transfer [EFT] systems; specially adapted for home banking systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/20 Point-of-sale [POS] network systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/28 Pre-payment schemes, e.g. "pay before"
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/40 Authorisation, e.g. identification of payer or payee, verification of customer or shop credentials; Review and approval of payers, e.g. check credit lines or negative lists
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0213 Consumer transaction fees
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0225 Avoiding frauds
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/04 Billing or invoicing
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/00 Finance; Insurance; Tax strategies; Processing of corporate or income taxes
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/42 for ticket printing or like apparatus , e.g. apparatus for dispensing of printed paper tickets or payment cards

Abstract

Disclosed herein are systems, methods, and computer-readable storage media for redeeming a closed loop card/code funded with an amount of money. The system receives from a merchant point of sale an indication of use of a closed loop card/code not issued by the merchant and presented by a consumer, queries and receives a confirmation of an amount of money in an account associated with the closed loop card/code, presents the consumer with an offer to buy the closed loop card/code at a discount price, and upon accepting the offer, closes out the closed loop card/code and pays the discount price to the consumer. Paying the discount price can include applying the discount price to a purchase by the consumer at the merchant. The merchant can provide cash back to the consumer for excess value of the discount price over the consumer'"'"'s purchase. Merchants can apply more than the discount price.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

receiving, via a processor, from a point of sale, an indication of use by a first consumer of a closed loop card, wherein the first consumer is not a merchant;

upon an acceptance of an offer associated with the closed loop card, closing out, via the processor, an account associated with the closed loop card;

replacing the closed loop card with a code, wherein the code enables the first consumer to use at least a portion of an amount of money associated with the code and wherein the code does not represent a physical card; and

offering, to a second consumer, a new closed loop card having a new account and having a redemption parameter associated with the closed loop card, wherein the second consumer is not a merchant.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein replacing the closed loop card comprises paying a discount price by applying a discount price to a purchase by the first consumer at the point of sale.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein a processing merchant associated with the point of sale provides cash back to the first consumer for an excess value of the discount price over the purchase by the first consumer at the point of sale.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein the processing merchant applies more than the discount price to the purchase.

5. The method of claim 2, wherein paying the discount price comprises applying the discount price to a merchant specific card of the first consumer.

6. The method of claim 1, where the code is one of an open loop code and a closed loop code.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising configuring the amount of money in the account associated with the closed loop card.

8. A method comprising:

receiving, via a processor, from a processing merchant, a first indication of use by a first consumer of a closed loop card at a point of sale associated with the processing merchant, wherein the first consumer is not a merchant;

receiving, via the processor, a second indication from the processing merchant that the first consumer has accepted an offer to sell the closed loop card for an amount of money;

based on the second indication and via the processor, verifying collection, at the processing merchant, of the closed loop card, closing out an account associated with the closed loop card, and paying the amount of money to the first consumer as a gift code, wherein the gift code does not represent a physical card; and

offering, to a second consumer, a new closed loop card having a new account and having a redemption parameter associated with the closed loop card, wherein the second consumer is not a merchant.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the processing merchant applies a discount to a purchase by the first consumer.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the processing merchant provides cash back to the first consumer for excess value over the amount of money.

11. The method of claim 9, wherein the processing merchant applies a discount greater than the amount of money.

12. The method of claim 8, wherein paying the amount of money comprises applying a discount price to a merchant specific card of the first consumer.

13. The method of claim 8, wherein the gift code is one of an open loop code and a closed loop code.

14. A system comprising:

a processor; and

a computer-readable storage medium storing instructions which, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to perform operations comprising;

receiving from a point of sale associated with a processing merchant an indication of use by a first consumer of a closed loop card, wherein the first consumer is not a merchant;

upon an acceptance of an offer associated with the closed loop card, closing out an account associated with the closed loop card, and replacing the closed loop card with a code, wherein the code enables the first consumer to use at least a portion of an amount of money associated with the code, wherein the code does not represent a physical card; and

offering, to a second consumer, a new closed loop card having a new account and having at least one redemption parameter associated with the closed loop card, wherein the second consumer is not a merchant.

15. The system of claim 14, wherein the processing merchant applies a discount to a purchase by the first consumer.

16. The system of claim 15, wherein the processing merchant provides cash back to the first consumer for excess value over the amount of money.

17. The system of claim 14, wherein the processing merchant applies a discount greater than the amount of money.

18. The system of claim 14, wherein the computer-readable storage medium further stores instructions which, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to further perform operations further comprising applying a discount price to a merchant specific card of the first consumer.

19. The system of claim 14, wherein the code is one of a closed loop code and an open loop code.

20. A system comprising:

a processor; and

a computer-readable storage medium storing instructions which, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to perform operations comprising;

receiving from a processing merchant an indication of use by a first consumer of a closed loop card, wherein the first consumer is not a merchant and presented by a first consumer at a point of sale associated with the processing merchant;

receiving an indication from the processing merchant that the first consumer has accepted an offer to sell the closed loop card;

based on the indication, verifying collection, at the processing merchant, of the closed loop card, closing out an account associated with the closed loop card, and paying a second amount of money as a gift code, wherein the gift code does not represent a physical card; and

offering, to a second consumer, a new closed loop card having a new account and having a redemption parameter associated with the closed loop card, wherein the second consumer is not a merchant.

21. The system of claim 20, wherein the gift code is one of an open loop gift code and a closed loop gift code.

22. A method comprising:

receiving, via a processor, an indication of use by a first consumer of a first code, wherein the first code is electronic and independent of a physical gift card, wherein the first consumer is not a merchant;

upon an acceptance of an offer associated with the first code and via the processor, closing out an account having an amount of money and associated with the first code, and replacing the first code with a second code, wherein the second code enables the first consumer to use at least a portion of the amount of money, wherein the second code is electronic and independent of a physical gift card; and

offering, to a second consumer, a new closed loop code having a new account and having a redemption parameter associated with the first code, wherein the second consumer is not a merchant.

23. The method of claim 22, wherein each of the first code and the second code are one of an open loop code and a closed loop code.

24. The method of claim 22, wherein the first code is associated with a first merchant and the second code is associated with a second merchant.