System and computer program product to issue a retail prepaid card including a user-designed external face using a chit and related computer implemented methods
First Claim
1. A method of providing personalized prepaid gift cards, the method comprising:
- activating, by one or more processors, a chit redeemable for a prepaid card responsive to receipt of an activation message associated with an indication that a chit has been purchased by a purchaser at a merchant location, the activation message including a chit identifier and a chit value associated with the purchased chit, the chit including an identification mechanism related to a financial commitment to issue one of a plurality of prepaid cards in an amount associated with the purchased chit value, wherein the activation message identifies the merchant;
receiving, by one or more processors, responsive to activation of the chit, the chit identifier from a remote user device operated by a user when the user attempts to redeem the chit to obtain a the prepaid card;
validating, by one or more processors, the chit identifier received from the user responsive to data indicative of activation;
seeding a prepaid card with the a card value corresponding to the chit value, the prepaid card being a physical card operable to facilitate a financial transaction at the merchant, the financial transaction including redemption of the card value;
sending, by one or more processors to the remote user device, user-selectable design options by which the user configures the appearance of the prepaid card;
receiving, by one or more processors, user-selected design options from the remote user device; and
causing the prepaid card to have an appearance in accordance with the received user-selected design options to be provided to the user, the causing comprising printing the prepaid card in accordance with the user-selected design options.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Embodiments of systems, computer program product, and related computer implemented methods to issue a closed-loop retail prepaid card including a user-designed external face using a chit, the chit being defined by an identification mechanism representing a financial commitment to issue a closed-loop retail prepaid card in an amount associated with a value paid for the chit, are provided. Embodiments of the present invention advantageously provide a service that enables a consumer to purchase, at the storefront of a retail establishment, a chit card that the consumer can subsequently redeem through a graphical user interface of an Internet website for a closed-loop retail prepaid card with a user-designed external face. The user-designed closed-loop retail prepaid card, for example, can be subsequently printed and delivered to an intended recipient. Advantageously, such a service can be made available to any retail establishment that uses a point-of-sale system.
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Citations
20 Claims
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1. A method of providing personalized prepaid gift cards, the method comprising:
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activating, by one or more processors, a chit redeemable for a prepaid card responsive to receipt of an activation message associated with an indication that a chit has been purchased by a purchaser at a merchant location, the activation message including a chit identifier and a chit value associated with the purchased chit, the chit including an identification mechanism related to a financial commitment to issue one of a plurality of prepaid cards in an amount associated with the purchased chit value, wherein the activation message identifies the merchant; receiving, by one or more processors, responsive to activation of the chit, the chit identifier from a remote user device operated by a user when the user attempts to redeem the chit to obtain a the prepaid card; validating, by one or more processors, the chit identifier received from the user responsive to data indicative of activation; seeding a prepaid card with the a card value corresponding to the chit value, the prepaid card being a physical card operable to facilitate a financial transaction at the merchant, the financial transaction including redemption of the card value; sending, by one or more processors to the remote user device, user-selectable design options by which the user configures the appearance of the prepaid card; receiving, by one or more processors, user-selected design options from the remote user device; and causing the prepaid card to have an appearance in accordance with the received user-selected design options to be provided to the user, the causing comprising printing the prepaid card in accordance with the user-selected design options. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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19. A prepaid card machine comprising:
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one or more processors; and non-transitory, tangible computer readable memory in communication with the one or more processors, the memory storing code that when executed by the one or more processors cause the one or more processors to perform the steps including; receiving an activation message, the activation message indicating that a chit has been purchased by a purchaser, and the activation message including a chit identifier and indicating a chit value associated with the purchased chit, the chit including an identification mechanism representing a financial commitment to issue one of a plurality of prepaid cards in an amount associated with the purchased chit value, wherein the activation message identifies the merchant; activating the chit by storing in the memory data indicative of activation; receiving the chit identifier from a user device operated by a user redeeming the chit purchased by the purchaser to obtain a prepaid card; validating the chit identifier received from the user responsive to the data indicative of activation; seeding the prepaid card with the a card value corresponding to the chit value such that the prepaid card is redeemable for the card value, the prepaid card being a physical card operable to facilitate a financial transaction at the merchant, the financial transaction including redemption of the card value; sending, from the prepaid-card provider computer system to the user computer, user-selectable design options by which a the user configures the appearance of the prepaid card; receiving the user-selected design options from the user computer; and causing the prepaid card to have an appearance in accordance with the received user-selected design options to thereby be provided to the user, the causing comprising printing the prepaid card in accordance with the user-selected design options.
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20. A tangible, non-transitory machine readable medium storing instructions that when executed by one or more processors cause steps to be performed, the steps comprising:
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receiving, by one or more processors, an activation message, the activation message indicating that a chit has been purchased by a purchaser, and the activation message including a chit identifier and a chit value associated with the purchased chit, the chit comprises an identification mechanism representing a financial commitment to issue one of a plurality of prepaid cards in an amount associated with the purchased chit value, wherein the activation message identifies the merchant; activating, by one or more processors, the chit responsive to data indicative of activation; receiving, by one or more processors, the chit identifier from a remote user device operated by a user redeeming the chit to obtain the prepaid card; validating the chit identifier received from the user responsive to the data indicative of activation; seeding the prepaid card with the a card value corresponding to the chit value such that the prepaid card is redeemable for the card value, the prepaid card being a physical card operable to facilitate a financial transaction at the merchant, the financial transaction including redemption of the card value; sending, by one or more processors, user-selectable design options by which a the user configures the appearance of the prepaid card; receiving the user-selected design options from the remote user device; and causing the prepaid card to have an appearance in accordance with the received user-selected design options, the causing comprising printing the prepaid card in accordance with the user-selected design options.
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Specification