Interest bearing gift card and related methods and systems
First Claim
Patent Images
1. An interest bearing gift card (IBGC) system comprising:
- (a) at least one IBGC encoded with information including a unique identification number approved by the American Banking Association for use in a banking debit network; and
(b) an IBGC sponsor processing hub computer under IBGC sponsor software control and in communication over a banking debit network with a seller'"'"'s pre-existing, standard retail point of sale (POS) device, said IBGC sponsor processing computer (i) receiving IBGC data when said IBGC is swiped through said POS device in a transaction, said IBGC data comprising the IBGC identification number, transaction amount, and account balance amount, (ii) having an IBGC account database corresponding to said IBGC, said IBGC account database comprising balance data representative of (1) the sum of an IBGC activation amount and transaction related or investment credits accrued by the IBGC account, less (2) amounts of current or previous transactions, and (iii) having an IBGC credit database under IBGC sponsor bank software control and in communication over an internal IBGC sponsor bank network with the IBGC account database for updating said IBGC account database on a predetermined periodic basis by transferring data reflecting IBGC transaction related or investment credits on amounts reflected by said IBGC account balance data.
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Accused Products
Abstract
An interest bearing gift card (“IBGC”) and related methods and systems are compatible with various credit and debit card networks and may be employed almost universally. An account associated with the IBGC is credited on a predetermined basis with transaction related credits reflecting an effective monetary return on amounts maintained in the IBGC account.
217 Citations
36 Claims
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1. An interest bearing gift card (IBGC) system comprising:
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(a) at least one IBGC encoded with information including a unique identification number approved by the American Banking Association for use in a banking debit network; and
(b) an IBGC sponsor processing hub computer under IBGC sponsor software control and in communication over a banking debit network with a seller'"'"'s pre-existing, standard retail point of sale (POS) device, said IBGC sponsor processing computer (i) receiving IBGC data when said IBGC is swiped through said POS device in a transaction, said IBGC data comprising the IBGC identification number, transaction amount, and account balance amount, (ii) having an IBGC account database corresponding to said IBGC, said IBGC account database comprising balance data representative of (1) the sum of an IBGC activation amount and transaction related or investment credits accrued by the IBGC account, less (2) amounts of current or previous transactions, and (iii) having an IBGC credit database under IBGC sponsor bank software control and in communication over an internal IBGC sponsor bank network with the IBGC account database for updating said IBGC account database on a predetermined periodic basis by transferring data reflecting IBGC transaction related or investment credits on amounts reflected by said IBGC account balance data. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
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20. A method of using an interest bearing gift card (IBGC) in connection with a transaction, comprising:
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(a) swiping the IBGC through a seller'"'"'s pre-existing, standard retail point of sale (POS) device to transmit IBGC data to an IBGC sponsor processing hub computer under IBGC sponsor software control and in communication over a banking debit network with the POS device, said IBGC data comprising (i) unique IBGC identification information including a number approved by the American Banking Association for use in a banking debit network and (ii) a transaction amount;
(b) accessing an IBGC account database corresponding to said IBGC and maintained on the IBGC sponsor processing hub computer, said IBGC account database comprising balance data representative of (1) the sum of an IBGC account activation amount and transaction related or investment credits accrued by the IBGC account, less (2) amounts of previous transactions;
(c) calculating the difference between the transaction amount and the IBGC balance data using the IBGC sponsor processing hub computer and (i) if such difference is a sufficiently large positive number, transmitting data from said IBGC sponsor processing hub computer to said POS authorizing said transaction, or (ii) if such difference is not a sufficiently large positive number, transmitting data from said IBGC sponsor processing hub computer to said POS denying said transaction; and
(d) updating the IBGC account database using the IBGC sponsor processing hub computer to transmit data to the IBGC account database reflecting (i) the subtraction from the IBGC balance of the amount of an authorized transaction, and (ii) the addition to the IBGC balance of IBGC transaction related or investment credits. - View Dependent Claims (21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31)
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32. An interest bearing gift card (IBGC) adaptable for swiping through a seller'"'"'s preexisting, standard retail point of sale (POS) device to transmit IBGC data to an IBGC sponsor processing hub computer under IBGC sponsor software control and in communication over a banking debit network with the POS device, said IBGC data comprising (i) unique IBGC identification information including a number approved by the American Banking Association for use in a banking debit network and (ii) a transaction amount, said IBGC thereby accessing an IBGC account database corresponding to said IBGC and maintained on the IBGC sponsor processing hub computer, said IBGC account database comprising balance data representative of (1) the sum of an IBGC account activation amount and transaction related or investment credits accrued by the IBGC account, less (2) amounts of previous transactions, said IBGC sponsor processing hub computer thereby calculating the difference between the transaction amount and the IBGC balance data to determine (i) if such difference is a sufficiently large positive number, in which case said IBGC sponsor processing hub computer transmits data to said POS authorizing said transaction, or (ii) if such difference is not a sufficiently large positive number, said IBGC sponsor processing hub computer transmits data to said POS denying said transaction
wherein the IBGC account database uses the IBGC sponsor processing hub computer to transmit data to the IBGC account database reflecting (i) the subtraction from the IBGC balance of the amount of an authorized transaction, and (ii) the addition to the IBGC balance of IBGC transaction related or investment credits.
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35. A method of interacting with a gift card encoded with information including a unique identification number for use in a banking debit network the method comprising:
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receiving gift card data when the gift card is used to make a purchase;
maintaining a gift card account database comprising the gift card'"'"'s identification number, transaction amount, and account balance data representative of the sum of a gift card activation amount and transaction related or investment credits accrued by the gift card account, less amounts of current or previous transactions; and
updating the gift card account database on a predetermined periodic basis by transferring data reflecting gift card transaction related or investment credits on amounts reflected by the gift card account balance data.
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36. A system for interacting with a gift card encoded with information including a unique identification number for use in a banking debit network the method comprising:
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means for receiving gift card data when the gift card is used to make a purchase;
means for maintaining a gift card account database comprising the gift card'"'"'s identification number, transaction amount, and account balance data representative of the sum of a gift card activation amount and transaction related or investment credits accrued by the gift card account, less amounts of current or previous transactions; and
means for updating the gift card account database on a predetermined periodic basis by transferring data reflecting gift card transaction related or investment credits on amounts reflected by the gift card account balance data.
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Specification