System and method for implementing financial assistance programs

• US 9,652,765 B2
• Filed: 04/18/2013
• Issued: 05/16/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 08/26/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Visa USA, Inc. (Visa, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Visa International Service Association (Visa, Inc.)
• Inventors: Brockman, Todd J, Antoo, Nizam
• Primary Examiner(s): Poinvil, Frantzy
• Application Number:
  US13/865,639
• Publication Number:
  US 20130232081A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,489 Days
• Field of Search: 705 4- 44, 705 3- 44
• 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 20/38 Payment protocols; Details thereof
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/387 Payment using discounts or coupons relating to marketing G06Q30/02
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/26 Government or public services business processes related to the transportation industry G06Q50/40

Abstract

A system and method to provide food stamp benefits to recipients. The state agency responsible for distributing food stamp benefits to eligible recipients employs an issuer to produce consumer access devices for distribution to the recipients. The consumer access device is encoded with information enabling the food stamp recipients to purchase specified items from merchants. By imprinting the consumer access device with indicia identifying a commercial payment processing network and employing the commercial payment processing network to process the transactions, transaction funded by the food stamp program will appear to be credit or debit transactions personally funded by the food stamp recipient.

Claims

1. A restricted use account transaction processor-implemented method for a government sponsored financial assistance program including at least two different government agencies, wherein each of the at least two different government agencies provides a plurality of benefits to a cardholder, the method comprising:

receiving, at a payment processing network server system, a payment transaction request from a merchant server for a purchase transaction upon engagement of a consumer portable device having a restricted use account, wherein the payment processing network server system is in communication via a shared network with an issuer server system and the merchant server system,

the consumer portable device carrying information including;

identifying information of the cardholder of the consumer portable device; and

a pre-deposited amount associated with the consumer portable device;

generating, by at least one processor of the merchant server system, an issuer authorization request for the purchase transaction based on the received payment transaction request;

transmitting the generated issuer authorization request to the issuer server system, wherein the issuer server system includes a processor and a memory subsystem that stores an entry identifying the cardholder, the plurality of benefits of the cardholder being provided by the at least two different government agencies, and a list of restrictions on each of the benefits;

processing, by the issuer server system processor, the generated issuer authorization request to identify a particular one of the benefits to be used to fund the purchase transaction and determining that at least one item associated with the payment transaction request violates at least one of the restrictions for the particular benefit by comparing the at least one item to the list of restrictions for the particular benefit;

in response to a violation determination, generating, by the issuer server system processor, a distinguishable transaction suspension response message based on the violation; and

,

sending the distinguishable transaction suspension response message from the issuer server system to the merchant server system, said distinguishable transaction suspension response including indicia of a reason for suspending the purchase transaction, and required adjustments of a purchase item included in the purchase transaction based on the at least one of the restrictions; and

conditionally resuming the purchase transaction via the merchant server system upon fulfillment of said required adjustments.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the consumer portable device comprises a prepaid card.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one of the benefits is a food stamp.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the list of restrictions specify allowable usage of the consumer portable device.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the consumer portable device has a name of the cardholder imprinted thereon.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the consumer portable device has a payment processing network name imprinted thereon.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the pre-deposited amount is deposited by an issuer, and said issuer is reimbursed by a restricted account sponsor.

8. A restricted use account transaction system for a government sponsored financial assistance program including at least two different government agencies, wherein each of the at least two different government agencies provides a plurality of benefits to a cardholder, the system comprising:

a payment processing network server system having;

a memory; and

a processor disposed in communication with said memory, and configured to issue a plurality of processing instructions stored in the memory, wherein the processor issues instructions to;

receive a payment transaction request for a purchase transaction upon instantiation of a consumer portable device having a restricted use account, the consumer portable device carrying information including;

identifying information of a cardholder of the consumer portable device; and

a pre-deposited amount associated with the consumer portable device;

generate an issuer authorization request for the purchase transaction based on the received payment transaction request;

transmit the generated issuer authorization request to an issuer server system, wherein the issuer server system includes a processor and a memory subsystem that stores an entry identifying the cardholder, the plurality of benefits of the cardholder being provided by the at least two different government agencies, and a list of restrictions on each of the benefits, wherein the issuer server system processor;

processes the generated issuer authorization request to identify a particular one of the benefits to be used to fund the purchase transaction,

determines that at least one item associated with the payment transaction request violates at least one of the restrictions for the particular benefit by comparing the at least one item to the list of restrictions for the particular benefit, and

in response to a violation, generates a distinguishable transaction suspension response message based on the violation;

send the distinguishable transaction suspension response message from the issuer server system, said distinguishable transaction suspension response message including indicia of a reason for suspending the purchase transaction, and required adjustments of a purchase item included in the purchase transaction based on the at least one of the restrictions; and

conditionally resume the purchase transaction upon fulfillment of said required adjustments.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein the consumer portable device comprises a prepaid card.

10. The system of claim 8, wherein at least one of the benefits is a food stamp.

11. The system of claim 8, wherein the list of restrictions specify allowable usage of the consumer portable device.

12. The system of claim 8, wherein the consumer portable device has a name of the cardholder imprinted thereon.

13. The system of claim 8, wherein the consumer portable device has a payment processing network name imprinted thereon.

14. The system of claim 8, wherein the pre-deposited amount is deposited by an issuer, and said issuer is reimbursed by a restricted account sponsor.

15. A restricted use account transaction processor-implemented method for a government sponsored financial assistance program including at least two different government agencies, wherein each of the at least two different government agencies provides a plurality of benefits to a cardholder, the method comprising:

receiving a payment transaction request for a purchase transaction subsequent to engagement of a consumer portable device, wherein the request comprises;

identifying information of a cardholder of the consumer portable device,

each product or type of product associated with the purchase transaction, and

a total cost of the purchase transaction;

generating, by at least one processor, an issuer authorization request for the purchase transaction based on the received payment transaction request;

transmitting the generated issuer authorization request to an issuer server system, wherein the issuer server system includes a processor and a memory subsystem that stores an entry identifying the cardholder, the plurality of benefits of the cardholder being provided by the at least two different government agencies, and a list of restrictions on each of the benefits;

processing, by the issuer server system processor, the generated issuer authorization request to identify a particular one of the benefits to be used to fund the purchase transaction and determining that at least one item associated with the payment transaction request violates at least one of the restrictions for the particular benefit by comparing the at least one item to the list of restrictions for the particular benefit;

generating, by the issuer server system processor, a distinguishable transaction suspension response message based on the violation;

sending the distinguishable transaction suspension response message from the issuer server system, said distinguishable transaction suspension response message including indicia of a reason for suspending the purchase transaction, and required adjustments of a purchase item included in the purchase transaction based on the at least one of the restrictions; and

conditionally resuming the purchase transaction upon fulfillment of said required adjustments.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the consumer portable device is a prepaid card.

17. The method of claim 15, wherein the consumer portable device is associated with a restricted use account issued by an issuer, and allowable usage of the restricted use account is determined by the issuer.

18. The method of claim 17, further comprising depositing a predetermined amount in the restricted use account.