Monitoring retail transactions associated with a financial institution-based merchant offer program and determining savings metrics

• US 8,930,265 B2
• Filed: 01/25/2011
• Issued: 01/06/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 01/29/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Bank of America Corp.
• Original Assignee: Bank of America Corp.
• Inventors: Blackhurst, Jason, Upton, Michael W.
• Primary Examiner(s): Niquette, Robert R
• Assistant Examiner(s): LIU, CHIA-YI
• Application Number:
  US13/013,689
• Publication Number:
  US 20110191239A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,442 Days
• Field of Search: 705 35- 45
• US Class Current: 705/39
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/10 specially adapted for electronic funds transfer [EFT] systems; specially adapted for home banking systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0255 based on user history

Abstract

Embodiments of the invention provide for monitoring transactions and providing related savings metrics in association with a financial institution-based merchant offer program. Since the transaction monitoring occurs at the financial institution level, the savings metrics may include both amounts saved by accepting the merchant offers associated with the program and savings amounts lost by conducting a transaction absent a merchant offer when an applicable merchant offer was available.

Claims

1. A method for providing savings monitoring in a financial institution-based merchant-offer program, the method comprising:

monitoring, by a computing device processor, one or more financial institution accounts held by a financial institution customer to identify (1) one or more first transactions conducted by the customer with a plurality of different merchants over a predetermined time period, wherein the first transactions are identified based on customer acceptance of customer-specific first-merchant-offers associated with the financial institution-based merchant-offer program, which were offered to the customer based on customer-specific information, wherein customer-specific information comprises previous purchase transactions using a financial institution account including merchant-offer program transactions and non-merchant-offer program transactions and (2) one or more second transactions, wherein one or more customer-specific second merchant-offers associated with the financial institution-based merchant-offer program were available concurrent with the second transaction, wherein the customer-specific second merchant-offers were associated with an item in the second merchant transactions and wherein the customer-specific second merchant-offers were not applied by the financial institution customer in the second transactions;

determining, by a computing device processor, savings metrics associated with the first transactions and based on savings realized from acceptance of the customer-specific first merchant-offers, wherein the savings metrics include (1) total amount saved for the first transactions over the predetermined time period and (2) total amount saved over a life of the financial institution-based merchant-offer program;

determining, by a computing device processor, lost savings metrics associated with the second merchant transactions and based on savings that could have been realized from acceptance of the customer-specific second merchant-offers, wherein the lost savings metrics include (1) total amount of lost savings for the second transactions over the predetermined time period and (2) total amount of lost savings over the life of the financial institution-based merchant-offer program; and

providing the savings metrics and the lost savings metrics to the financial institution customer.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein providing further comprises providing the savings metrics to the financial institution customer by inclusion in a first transaction receipt.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein determining the savings metrics associated with the first transactions further comprises determining savings amounts associated with the first transactions and further comprising, in response to determining the savings amounts, automatically transferring, by a computing device processor, at least a portion of the savings amounts from a first customer-designated account to a second customer-designated account.

4. An apparatus for providing savings monitoring in a financial institution-based merchant-offer program, the apparatus including:

a computing platform including at least one processor and a memory;

a financial institution-based merchant-offer program application stored in the memory, executable by the processor and configured to communicate customer-specific merchant-offers to financial institution customers based on authentication of the customer;

a transaction monitoring routine stored in the memory, executable by the at least one processor and configured to monitor one or more financial institution accounts held by the financial institution customer to identify (1) one or more first transactions conducted by the customer with a plurality of different merchants over a predetermined time period, wherein the first transactions are identified based on customer acceptance of customer-specific first merchant-offers associated with the financial institution-based merchant-offer program, which were offered to the customer based on customer-specific information, wherein customer-specific information comprises previous purchase transactions using a financial institution account including merchant-offer program transactions and non-merchant-offer program transactions and (2) one or more second transactions, wherein one or more customer-specific second merchant-offers associated with the financial institution-based merchant-offer program were available concurrent with the second transaction, wherein the customer-specific second merchant-offers were associated with an item in the second merchant transactions and wherein the customer-specific second merchant-offers were not applied by the financial institution customer in the second transactions; and

a savings metric determination routine stored in the memory, executable by the processor and configured to determine (1) savings metrics associated with the first transactions and based on savings realized from acceptance of the customer-specific first merchant-offers, wherein the savings metrics include (i) total amount saved for the first transactions over the predetermined time period and (ii) total amount saved over a life of the financial institution-based merchant-offer program and (2) lost savings metrics associated with the second merchant transactions and based on savings that could have been realized from acceptance of the customer-specific second merchant-offers, wherein the lost savings metrics include (i) total amount of lost savings for the second transactions over the predetermined time period and (ii) total amount of lost savings over the life of the financial institution-based merchant-offer program.

5. The apparatus of claim 4, wherein the financial institution-based merchant-offer program application further comprises a user interface routine configured to provide the savings metrics to the financial institution customer.

6. The apparatus of claim 4, further comprising a transaction receipt routine stored in the memory, executable by the processor and configured to provide the savings metrics to the financial institution customer by inclusion in a first transaction receipt.

7. The apparatus of claim 4, wherein the savings metric determination routine is further configured to determine savings amounts associated with the first transactions and further comprising a savings transfer routine stored in the memory, executable by the processor and configured to, in response to determining the savings amounts, automatically transferring at least a portion of the savings amounts from a first customer-designated account to a second customer-designated account.

8. A computer program product comprising:

a non-transitory computer-readable medium comprising;

a first set of codes for causing a computer to monitor the one or more financial institution accounts held by a financial institution customer to identify (1) one or more first transactions conducted by the customer with a plurality of different merchants over a predetermined time period, wherein the first transactions are identified on customer acceptance of customer-specific first merchant-offers associated with the financial institution-based merchant-offer program, which were offered to the customer based on customer-specific information, wherein customer-specific information comprises previous purchase transactions using a financial institution account including merchant-offer program transactions and non-merchant-offer program transactions and (2) one or more second transactions, wherein one or more customer-specific second merchant-offers associated with the financial institution-based merchant-offer program were available concurrent with the second transaction, wherein the customer-specific second merchant-offers were associated with an item in the second merchant transactions and wherein the customer-specific second merchant-offers were not applied by the financial institution customer in the second transactions;

a second set of codes for causing a computer to determine (1) savings metrics associated with the first transactions and based on savings realized from acceptance of the customer-specific first merchant-offers, wherein the savings metrics include (i) total amount saved for the first transactions over the predetermined time period, and (ii) total amount saved over a life of the financial institution-based merchant-offer program, and (2) lost savings metrics associated with the second merchant transactions and based on savings that could have been realized from acceptance of the customer-specific second merchant-offers, wherein the lost savings metrics include (i) total amount of lost savings for the second transactions over the predetermined time period and (ii) total amount of lost savings over the life of the financial institution-based merchant-offer program; and

a third set of codes for causing a computer to provide the one or more savings metrics to the financial institution customer and the one or more lost savings metrics to the financial institution customer.

9. The computer program product of claim 8, wherein the third set of codes is further configured to cause the computer to provide the savings metrics to the financial institution customer by a financial institution-based merchant-offer program user interface application.

10. The computer program product of claim 8, wherein the third set of codes is further configured to cause the computer to provide the savings metrics to the financial institution customer by inclusion in a first transaction receipt.

11. The computer program product of claim 8, wherein the second set of codes is further configured to cause the computer to determine savings amounts associated with the first transactions and further comprising a fourth set of codes for causing a computer to, in response to determining the savings amounts, automatically transfer at least a portion of the savings amounts from a first customer-designated account to a second customer-designated account.