Item-level information collection for interactive payment experience

• US 9,652,751 B2
• Filed: 07/11/2014
• Issued: 05/16/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 05/19/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Block, Inc. (f/k/a Square, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Block, Inc. (f/k/a Square, Inc.)
• Inventors: Brock, Zachary, Aaron, Paul
• Primary Examiner(s): Obaid, Fateh M
• Application Number:
  US14/329,658
• Publication Number:
  US 20150332237A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,040 Days
• Field of Search: None
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/04 Payment circuits
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/047 using payment protocols involving electronic receipts
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/12 specially adapted for electronic shopping systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/202 Interconnection or interaction of plural electronic cash registers [ECR] or to host computer, e.g. network details, transfer of information from host to ECR or from ECR to ECR
• 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 20/322 Aspects of commerce using mobile devices [M-devices]
• 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 20/42 Confirmation, e.g. check or permission by the legal debtor of payment

Abstract

Disclosed is a technology for collecting item-level transaction information for interactive payment experience. According to one embodiment, a merchant server can maintain a database including the information of financial accounts having a particular classification. The classification indicates that these financial accounts are associated with a payment service system. When the merchant server determines a requested financial transaction involves a financial account classified in the database, the merchant server transmits the item-level transaction information to the payment service system. The payment service system receives the item-level transaction information in real-time or near real-time and generates an interactive digital transaction receipt for a consumer.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

maintaining, at a first computer system of a merchant, a database containing data identifying financial accounts associated with an interactive payment experience service;

in response to an instruction received from a second computer system of the interactive payment experience service, updating the database at the first computer system of the merchant with data identifying a financial account of a user, the financial account of the user being associated with the interactive payment experience service;

receiving, at the first computer system, a request for initiating a payment transaction that relates to the financial account, wherein the request for initiating the payment transaction is based on the user'"'"'s usage of a payment object representing the financial account to purchase goods or services from the merchant;

determining, at the first computer system and based on the database, that the financial account is associated with the interactive payment experience service;

in response to determining that the financial account is associated with the interactive payment experience service, sending, from the first computer system of the merchant to the second computer system of the interactive payment experience service, item-level information about the goods or services involved in the payment transaction, wherein the second computer system of the interactive payment experience service has access to information of the financial account of the user and information to enable the second computer system to communicate with a mobile device of the user, and the interactive payment experience service is not a participant in processing the payment transaction and is not in a payment transaction message flow between the merchant and a card payment network system involved in the transaction;

sending, from the first computer system of the merchant to a third computer system of the card payment network system, transaction information related to the payment object involved in the payment transaction to request an authorization of the payment transaction, wherein the sending of the transaction information is part of the payment transaction message flow between the merchant and the card payment network system;

generating, at the second computer system, a digital transaction receipt that indicates the goods or services involved in the payment transaction based on the item-level information; and

transmitting, to the mobile device from the second computer system, the digital transaction receipt, wherein the mobile device presents the digital transaction receipt as an element of an interactive user interface.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the request for initiating the payment transaction is received from a user device that instructs to place an online purchase order.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the request for initiating the payment transaction is generated when a payment card swipes through a card reader connected to the first computer system or included in the first computer system.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving a process fee discount for completing the payment transaction in exchange for item-level information about the transaction.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the payment processing entity is a payment acquiring entity, a payment account issuer for the financial account, or a card payment network.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving, at the first computer system of the merchant from the second computer system of the interactive payment experience service, a service confirmation code confirming that the merchant has supplied the item-level information about goods or services involved in the payment transaction; and

forwarding the service confirmation code to a card payment network and receiving a processing fee discount of the payment transaction as a reward for item-level information about the transaction.