Systems and methods for providing a financial discount or reward

• US 10,528,969 B2
• Filed: 11/22/2017
• Issued: 01/07/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 01/17/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Capital One Services LLC (Capital One Financial Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Capital One Services LLC (Capital One Financial Corporation)
• Inventors: Benjamin, Moshe
• Primary Examiner(s): Elchanti, Tarek
• Application Number:
  US15/820,783
• Publication Number:
  US 20180096377A1
• Time in Patent Office: 776 Days
• Field of Search: 705 1438, 705 16, 705 1433, 705 4, 705 1423, 705 44, 705 1417
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/387 Payment using discounts or coupons relating to marketing G06Q30/02
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0225 Avoiding frauds
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0238 at point-of-sale [POS]

Abstract

The disclosed embodiments include methods and systems for providing a discount or reward at the point of sale. In one embodiment a system for providing a discount at the point of sale is disclosed. The system may be configured to receive transaction data relating to one or more purchase transactions and determine discount eligibility of the one or more purchase transactions. The system may also be configured to determine a discount amount based on the determined discount eligibility and the transaction data and apply the discount to the one or more purchase transactions. Further, the system may also be configured to display the applied discount to the user.

Claims

1. A payment processing system for processing a purchase transaction of a user with a merchant to assess an immediate discount on the purchase transaction, the payment processing system being unaffiliated with the merchant, comprising:

an interface configured for communicating with the merchant over a communications network;

one or more memory devices storing user profile data of the user and software instructions, the user profile data including (i) a discount purchase category selectable by the user via a computing device associated with the user and unassociated with the merchant and (ii) a risk profile associated with the user; and

one or more processors configured to use the data and execute the software instructions to;

receive at the payment processing system via the interface;

a request to authorize a transaction for a payment account of the user, and

transaction data relating to the transaction, the transaction data including a purchase amount, a purchase category associated with the transaction, and a user identifier identifying the user;

identify, based on the user identifier, the user profile data;

determine, from the received transaction data and based on the identified user profile data, a discount eligibility of the transaction based on an algorithm having elements of;

(i) the purchase category associated with the transaction matching a purchase category identified in the user profile data, (ii) the risk profile associated with the user, and (iii) an amount of risk permitted by the payment processing system, wherein the discount eligibility is determined by the payment processing system on an endpoint of the communications network separate from the merchant and remote point of sale;

calculate a discount amount based at least in part on the discount eligibility and the transaction data;

transmit authorization for the purchase amount of the transaction to the merchant based on the purchase amount, without sending information associated with the discount amount determined by the one or more processors of the payment processing system;

automatically assess to the payment account, as part of the transaction, a discounted payment amount calculated from the purchase amount minus the determined discount amount; and

transmit, to the computing device, responsive to completing the transaction, an indication of the assessed discounted payment amount for display on the computing device, such that the indication may be displayed substantially simultaneously with the transmission of the authorization.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the discount eligibility indicates whether at least one of the user or a purchase item of the purchase category associated with the transaction is eligible for a discount.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the discount is based on a purchase price of the purchase item.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to execute the instructions to:

identify a rewards points total associated with the transaction; and

determine the discount amount based on a cash value associated with the rewards points total.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to transmit an indication of the discount amount to the user as a line-item deduction.

6. The system of claim 5, wherein the indication of the line-item deduction is provided in a computerized financial statement.

7. A method for processing a purchase transaction of a user with a merchant to assess an immediate discount on the purchase transaction, the method performed by a computer-implemented payment processing system unaffiliated with the merchant, comprising:

receiving, at the payment processing system via an interface;

a request to authorize a transaction for a payment account of the user, and

transaction data relating to the transaction, the transaction data including a purchase amount, a purchase category associated with the transaction, and a user identifier identifying the user;

identifying, based on the user identifier, user profile data associated with the user, the user profile data including (i) a discount purchase category selectable by the user and (ii) a risk profile associated with the user;

determining, by one or more processors, from the received transaction data and based on a user profile data of the user, a discount eligibility of the transaction based an algorithm having elements of;

(i) the discount purchase category associated with the transaction matching a discount purchase category identified in the user profile data, (ii) the risk profile associated with the user, and (iii) an amount of risk permitted by the payment processing system, wherein the discount eligibility is determined by the payment processing system on an endpoint of the communications network separate from the merchant and remote point of sale;

calculating, by the one or more processors, a discount amount based at least in part on the discount eligibility and the transaction data;

transmitting authorization for the purchase amount of the transaction to the merchant based on the purchase amount, without sending information associated with the discount amount determined by the computer-implemented payment processing system;

automatically assessing to the payment account, as part of the transaction, a discounted payment amount calculated from the purchase amount minus the determined discount amount; and

transmitting, to a computing device, responsive to completing the transaction, an indication of the assessed discounted payment amount for display on the computing device, such that the indication may be displayed substantially simultaneously with the transmission of the authorization.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the discount eligibility indicates whether at least one of the user or a purchase item of the purchase category associated with the transaction is eligible for a discount.

9. The method of claim 7, wherein the discount is based on a purchase price of the purchase item.

10. The method of claim 7, further comprising:

identifying a rewards points total associated with the transaction; and

determining the discount amount based on a cash value associated with the rewards points total.

11. The method of claim 7, further comprising transmitting an indication of the discount amount to the user as a line-item deduction.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the line-item deduction is provided in a computerized financial statement.

13. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing instructions that, when executed by a processor associated with a payment processing system unaffiliated with a merchant, cause the processor to perform operations for processing a purchase transaction of a user with a merchant to assess an immediate discount on the purchase transaction, the operations comprising:

receiving at the payment processing system over a communications network;

a request to authorize a transaction for a payment account of the user, and

transaction data relating to the transaction, the transaction data including a purchase amount, a purchase category associated with the transaction, and a user identifier identifying the user;

identifying, based on the user identifier, user profile data associated with the user, the user profile data including (i) a discount purchase category selectable by the user and (ii) a risk profile associated with the user;

determining, from the received transaction data and based on a user profile data, a discount eligibility of the transaction based on an algorithm having elements of;

(i) the discount purchase category associated with the transaction matching a discount purchase category identified in the user profile data, (ii) the risk profile associated with the user, and (iii) an amount of risk permitted by the payment processing system;

calculating a discount amount based at least in part on the discount eligibility and the transaction data;

transmitting authorization for the purchase amount of the transaction to the merchant based on the purchase amount, without sending information associated with the discount amount determined by the processor of the payment processing system to the merchant;

automatically assessing to the payment account, as part of the transaction, a discounted payment amount calculated from the purchase amount minus the determined discount amount; and

transmitting, to a computing device, responsive to completing the transaction, an indication of the assessed discounted payment amount for display on the computing device, such that the indication may be displayed substantially simultaneously with the transmission of the authorization.