Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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CREATING CUSTOMER LOYALTY
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates generally to promotional programs, and more
particularly, to developing loyalty among customers who use payment cards.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
To be successful, all businesses promote their products or services in one way
or
another. Whether a business is selling durable goods (used repeatedly over
time, such as
refrigerators) or non-durable goods~(consumed within a short time, such as
coffee), it has
to find a suitable business method to further the acceptance and sale of
merchandise or
services by consumers through promotional programs. Three promotional programs
are
typically used: personal selling, advertising, and sales promotion.
Personal selling is perhaps the oldest. Appearing late in the 19~' century, in
this
promotional program, a traveling representative of a business concern solicits
orders,
usually in an assigned territory. Early intrepid hucksters carried their goods
on their back
or on their donkey, working their way from a harbor town through the
backcountry
limiting their sales to stock on hand for transactions with would-be
consumers.
Persuasive sales skill was less important in those days of hungry demand, and
orders
were readily forthcoming. Over time, however, with the increasing supply of
manufactured goods, consumers became more discriminating in their purchases.
As the
cost of personal selling has increased dramatically (due to salary, automobile
upkeep,
benefits, and so on), most businesses today rely on advertising to pre-sell
their products
so as to convince consumers to buy before the consumers actually can see and
inspect the
products. The use of salespeople has diminished or changed.
A consumer who has experienced a deluge of credit card offers in the mail is
familiar with sales promotion. The purpose of sales promotion is to round out
advertising
and personal selling. Sales promotion may involve special incentives to induce
consumers to close the sale of goods or services. During a lull in economic
activities,
when demand for consumers' precious dollars becomes especially competitive,
there is a
greater participation in sales promotion by all businesses.
As indicated above, credit card offers are an example of sales promotion.
Consumers today have their pick of credit card issuers to patronize. Consumers
are
inundated with campaigns to switch credit cards with no or low interest rates.
Fail to
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retain consumers' interest, and it takes only a signature for them to switch
to a
competitor's credit card program. Successful credit card issuers woo consumers
to linger
long enough in their credit card programs to turn a profit by providing
promotional
programs, such as a credit card promotional program 108.
~ A credit card 102 is a payment card that is a flat, stiff, usually small,
and
rectangular piece of plastic material bearing financial information that
extends credit
privileges to cardholders so that account balances need not be paid in full
each month, but
in increments over time with interest. To purchase goods or services, such as
a purchased
product 106A (e.g., a sweater), a cardholder presents the credit card 102 to a
clerk who
swipes the credit card 102 through a card reader 104. See FIGURE 1. The
financial
information obtained from the swiping process causes a charge to appear on a
credit
account to pay for the purchased product 106A. To retain the interest of the
cardholder of
the credit card 102, a credit card issuer maintains the credit card
promotional
program 108 to help induce the cardholder to maintain and use the credit
account.
One typical credit card promotional program 108 is an air mile program 110.
For
each dollar that is charged by the cardholder to the credit card 102, the
cardholder earns
one air mile that can be eventually used to redeem an airline ticket for
travel. One
problem with the air mile program 110 is that it requires the cardholder of
the credit
card 102 to spend a substantial sum of money to be qualified for an airline
ticket. For
example, to earn one round trip ticket to an international destination may
require
50,000 miles to be earned. This translates into $50,000 that must be charged
on the credit
card 102 by the cardholder. Typically, it takes an average consumer three to
five years to
earn one airline ticket. Moreover, many air mile programs require the
cardholder of the
credit card 102 to manually tally up earned air miles; call a telephone number
to request a
redeemable coupon; wait in hope that the coupon will be mailed; and attempt to
schedule
a trip without running into a multitude of restrictions, such as blackout
dates, and so on.
Another promotional program is a cash back program 112, which is used by a few
credit card issuers. The cash back program 112 provides a percentage of
charges made
on the credit card 102 as refund money back to the cardholder of the credit
card 102.
However, the cash back program 112 typically requires that the cardholder of
the credit
card 102 spend for at least a year before any money will be returned to the
cardholder of
the credit card 102. In other words, the cardholder of the credit card 102
must wait for
one year until he sees the cash back promised by the issuer of the credit card
102.
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The credit card promotional program 108 makes sense for credit card businesses
whose model is based on use of the credit privileges of the credit card 102
over an
extended period of time. The more the cardholder of the credit card 102
charges to the
credit card 102, the greater the likelihood of a balance being carried from
month to
month. Because interest is imposed on the carried balance, the credit card
issuer is sure
to obtain a stream of revenue from the interest incurred by the cardholder of
the credit
card 102.
While the above model may be appropriate for credit card businesses, it may
not
be appropriate for businesses whose revenue is not dependent on a carried
balance but
instead on the loyalty of the consumer to purchase with certain regularity
goods that are
non-durable, such as coffee. Without a more rewarding promotional program to
retain
the goodwill of consumers, consumers' demand for the goods or services of such
a
business will diminish in the marketplace over time. Thus, there is a need for
a system
and method for rewarding customer loyalty while avoiding or reducing the
foregoing and
other problems associated with existing promotional programs.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The foregoing aspects and many of the attendant advantages of this invention
will
become more readily appreciated as the same become better understood by
reference to
the following detailed description, when taken in conjunction with the
accompanying
drawings, wherein:
FIGURE 1 is a block diagram illustrating a conventional system showing various
problems of credit card promotional programs in retaining consumer interest;
FIGURE 2A is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary system for processing a
dual card that operates on both an open network and a closed network;
FIGURE 2B is a block diagram illustrating a loyalty program for a dual card
that
operates on both an open network and a closed network, according to one
embodiment of
the present invention;
FIGURE 2C is a block diagram illustrating pieces of a system for implementing
a
loyalty program for a dual card, according to one embodiment of the present
invention;
and
FIGURES 3A-3J are process diagrams illustrating a method for rewarding a loyal
customer who uses a dual card, according to one embodiment of the present
invention.
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DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
A dual card 202, which facilitates payment for goods or services from either a
credit account or a stored value account, operates within a system 200
illustrated at
FIGURE 2A. The dual card 202 is a payment card that integrates the ability to
provide
credit privileges and stored value privileges to a cardholder of the dual card
202. The
features, benefits, and advantages of a stored value card are integrated with
the credit card
aspects of the dual card 202. The benefits, features, and advantages of a
credit card are
integrated with a stored value card. The dual card 202 is sponsored by a
sponsor
business, which can emboss the dual card 202 with its brand name and earn
favor and
prestige from the cardholder beyond the mere value of what the sponsor
business sells.
The dual card 202, unlike a credit card or a stored value card, can be used on
both an
open network 206 and a closed network 210 in a system 200. When used on the
open
network 206, the dual card 202 can be accepted anywhere in the world where a
credit
card is accepted as payment for goods or services.
When the dual card 202 is used in the third-party store 204A, credit
privileges are
extended to the cardholder of the dual card 202. Credit payment transactions
are
communicated from the third-party store 204A to a credit card processor via
the open
network 206, which is a system of computers, terminals, and databases
connected by
communication lines to reliably exchange credit payment information. The third-
party
store 204A is a retail business establishment that sells goods or provides
services directly
to consumers. The third-party store 204A is neither associated with the
sponsor business
nor licensed by the sponsor business to use the dual card 202.
The sponsor business has a number of sponsor stores 204B-204C, which are
business establishments where goods of a particular theme are kept for retail
sale or
services of a similar theme are provided to consumers. When the dual card 202
is used at
sponsor stores 204B-2040, both credit privileges and stored value privileges
are extended
to the cardholder of the dual card 202. In other words, the cardholder of the
dual 202 can
use the dual card 202 as a credit card or as a stored value card in the
sponsor stores 204B-
204C. Sponsor stores 204B-204C not only include business establishments of the
sponsor business in which the dual card 202 is accepted, but also other
business
establishments that are licensed to sell goods or provide services created by
the sponsor
business.
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Payment transactions generated from the use of the dual card 202 in the
sponsor
stores 204B-204C are communicated to a dual card support center 212 via the
closed
network 210. The closed network 210 consists of many small and large computers
distributed over a vast geographic area (WAN or wide area network). One
exemplary
implementation of a WAN is the Internet, which is a worldwide collection of
networks
and gateways that use the TCP/IP suite of protocols to communicate with one
another. At
the heart of the Internet is a backbone of high-speed data communication lines
between
major nodes or host computers, including thousands of commercial, government,
educational, and other computer systems that route data and messages.
The dual card support center 212 is preferably maintained by the sponsor
business
to house a number of computers to provide support services, such as access to
account
files associated with cardholders of dual cards or routing of payment
transactions to the
credit card processor 208 or to a stored value processor 214. Whereas the
credit card
processor 208 processes credit payment transactions connected with the credit
account of
the dual card 202, the stored value processor 214 processes stored value
payment
transactions connected with the stored value account of the dual card 202.
Point-of sale machines, located at sponsor stores 204B-204C, can detect
whether
a credit payment transaction or a stored value payment transaction is desired
by a
customer. If a payment transaction is a credit payment transaction, the credit
payment
transaction will be transmitted from a point-of sale machine located in one of
the sponsor
stores 204B-2040 to the dual card support center 212 via the closed network
210. The
dual card support center 212 communicates with the credit card processor 208
to obtain
authorization for the credit payment transaction. Approval or rejection of the
credit
payment transaction is communicated from the credit card processor 208 to the
dual card
support center 212. The dual card support center 212 communicates the approval
or
rejection of the credit payment transaction to the point-of sale machine at
the sponsor
stores 204B-2040 from which the credit payment transaction originated.
Settlement of
credit payment transactions is preferably done at the end of a business day to
credit or
debit/credit accounts of cardholders of dual cards and the sponsor business.
If a payment transaction is a stored value payment transaction, the stored
value
payment transaction is transmitted from a point-of sale machine located in one
of the
sponsor stores 204B-204C to the dual card support center 212 via the closed
network 210.
The dual card support center 212 communicates with the stored value processor
208 to
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obtain authorization for the stored value payment transaction. Approval or
rejection of
the stored value payment transaction is communicated from the stored value
processor 208 to the dual card support center 212. The dual card support
center 212
communicates the approval or rejection of the stored value payment transaction
to the
point-of sale machine at the sponsor stores 204B-204C from which the stored
value
payment transaction originated.
A customer 218 who is a cardholder of the dual card 202 is preferably
qualified
for a loyalty program 216 maintained by the sponsor business. The loyalty
program 216
provides a bounty, reward, premium, subsidy, or grant to customer 218 chiefly
as an
inducement or an incentive for the customer 218 to remain faithful to the
sponsor
business in the use of the dual card 202. The bounty, reward, premium,
subsidy, or grant
is triggered by the usage of the credit card privileges of the dual card 202,
the stored
value privileges of the dual card 202, or a combination of both the credit
privileges and
the stored value privileges. No black out dates or a year-long wait is needed
for various
bounties, rewards, premiums, subsidies, or grants to be earned by the customer
218.
The usage of credit privileges, stored value privileges, or a combination
thereof
over a defined period of time can be calculated to form a loyalty value. This
loya.liy
value can be translated into a bounty, reward, premium, subsidy, or grant by
the loyalty
program 216. Preferably, the bounty, reward, premium, subsidy, or grant is in
the form
of stored value that can be loaded onto the stored value account of the dual
card 202 so as
to allow the customer 218 to easily redeem such a value at a sponsor's store
204B.
However, other suitable bounty, reward, premium, subsidy, or grant is
possible, such as a
donation by the sponsor business on the customer's behalf to a philanthropic
organization,
or merchandise gifts sent from the sponsor business to the customer 218.
The loyalty program 216 of various embodiments of the present invention can be
understood as a feedback loop to reward the customer 218 for his continued
usage of the
dual card 202. The loyalty program 216 creates a commercial coupling between
the
credit privileges of the dual card 202 and the stored value privileges of the
dual card 202.
The bounty, rewaxd, premium, subsidy, or grant generated by the customer 218's
usage of
the credit privileges of the dual card 202 is returned to the customer 218 by
loading the
stored value account associated with the stored value privileges of the dual
card 202 with
a monetary value. This relationship strengthens the loyalty the customer 218
feels with
regard to the credit privileges of the dual card 202 as well as to the stored
value privileges
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of the dual card 202. The customer 218 redeems the bounty, reward, premium,
subsidy,
or grant by visiting the sponsor store 204b, hence strengthening the
commercial
relationship between the sponsor business and the customer 218. Because the
dual
card 202 is sponsored by the sponsor business, which can emboss the dual card
202 with
its brand name, the loyalty program 216 helps to earn favor and prestige for
the sponsor
business from the customer 218 beyond the mere value of what the sponsor
business sells
or provides.
For businesses that supply non-durable goods, such as coffee, it is preferable
that
the loyalty program 216 provide feedback to the customer 218 with more
frequency than
to customers who consume durable goods. For example, a business that relies on
selling
coffee to the customer 218 at the sponsor store 214B relies on the loyalty of
the
customer 218 to purchase coffee with frequency from the sponsor store 204B to
create a
stream of revenue to maintain the sponsor business as a going concern. The
loyalty
program 216 suitably provides a bounty, reward, premium, subsidy, or grant to
entice the
customer 218 to visit the sponsor store 204B more often than other businesses
that sell
non-durable goods.
FIGURE 2C illustrates pieces of a system for implementing the loyalty
program 216 for the sponsor business. As the credit privileges of the dual
card 202 are
used by the customer 218, credit transactions are accrued by the credit card
issuing
bank 220. Preferably, the credit card issuing bank 220 accrues credit
transactions and a
rebate associated with credit transactions with certain regularity, such as at
the end of a
billing cycle for the use of credit privileges by the customer 218 who is the
cardholder of
the dual card 202.
The transactions accrued by the credit card issuing bank 220 include the first
transaction of the dual card 202 by the customer 218. Various bounties,
rewards,
premiums, subsidies, or grants associated with the first transaction of the
dual card 202
include a donation, which comprises a flat dollar amount, to a pre-assigned
philanthropic
organization by the sponsor business. Various other bounties, rewards,
premiums,
subsidies, or grants include a monetary load, which is a flat dollar amount
added to a
stored value account of the dual card 202. Various other transactions accrued
by the
credit card issuing bank 220 include whether the dual card 202 is a first
edition dual card.
Cardholders who signed up within a predetermined period for the dual card are
preferably
rewaxded by a bounty, reward, premium, subsidy, or grant that suitably varies
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to year. One suitable initial reward is merchandise. Subsequent rewards may
suitably
include monetary loads onto the stored value account associated with the dual
card 202.
Further transactions accrued by the credit card issuing bank 220 include a
rebate of a
predetermined percentage point based on all credit card transactions
associated with the
credit privileges of the dual card 202. Another rebate is an auto-reload
rebate, which
preferably has a different percentage point rebate. The auto-reload rebate
occurs when
the customer 218 has registered the dual card 202 with the sponsor business to
use the
credit account associated with the dual card 202 to automatically reload the
stored value
account when the stored value account has diminished to a point below a
certain
threshold.
At a suitable time period, such as at the end of the billing cycle, the credit
card
issuing bank 220 issues a rebate file 222, whose information can be used to
calculate
bounties, rewards, premiums, subsidies, or grants earned by the use of credit
privileges of
the dual card 202 by the customer 218. The rebate file 222 is sent to the dual
card
support center 212 for calculating a loyalty value associated with credit
transactions on
the dual card 202.
Depending on the level of the calculated loyalty value, the sponsor business
contributes an amount of money to a philanthropic organization 224 on behalf
of the
customer 218 who is the cardholder of the dual card 202. Merchandise rewards
226 are
sent to the customer 218 depending on the level of the loyalty value
calculated by the
dual card support center 212 based on the rebate file 222. Various levels of
merchandise
rewards are possible. At one level, merchandise such as mugs, bags of coffee,
and so on
are sent to the customer 218. At another level, higher-value merchandise is
sent to the
customer 218 instead. In other instances, the calculated loyalty value by the
dual card
support center 212 is placed in a loyalty value file 228. The stored value
processor 214
retrieves the loyalty value file 228 and loads the stored value account
associated with the
dual card 202 by an amount indicated by the loyalty value file 228.
Loyalty value can be calculated from credit transactions associated with the
credit
card account of the dual card 202. However, loyalty value can also be
calculated from
stored value transactions as well. When the customer 218 uses stored value
privileges of
the dual card 202, stored value transactions are generated and stored by the
stored value
processor 214. The stored value processor 214 preferably reports those
transactions by
forming a stored value transaction file 215. The dual card support center 212
retrieves
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the stored value transaction file 215 to calculate loyalty value associated
with stored
value transactions. Depending on the level of the loyalty value associated
with stored
value transactions, the sponsor business can donate to the philanthropic
organization 224,
send merchandise rewards 226 to the customer 218, or load the stored value
account
associated with the dual card by a calculated loyalty value amount based on
stored value
transactions.
FIGURES 3A-3J illustrate a method 300 for rewarding a loyal customer who uses
a dual card 202. For clarity purposes, the following description of the method
300 makes
reference to various elements illustrated in connection with a system 200
(FIGURE 2A),
the dual card 202, the stored value processor 214, the credit card issuing
bank 220
(FIGURE 2C), the dual card support center 212, the philanthropic organization
224,
merchandise rewards 226, and the loyalty value file 228.
From a start block, the method 300 proceeds to a set of method steps 302,
defined
between a continuation terminal ("terminal A") and an exit terminal ("terminal
B"). The
set of method steps 302 describes the calculation of loyalty value from credit
card
transactions (e.g., the first credit card transaction, subsequent credit card
transactions, and
auto-reload activities associated with the dual card 202).
From terminal A (FIGURE 3B), the method 300 proceeds to decision block 302
where a test is made to determine whether a credit card transaction recorded
by the credit
card issuing bank 220 is the first credit transaction on the dual card 202. If
the answer is
NO, the method 300 proceeds to another continuation terminal ("terminal Al").
If the
answer to the test at decision block 302 is YES, the method 300 proceeds to
block 304
where the credit card issuing bank 220 creates a file indicating the first
transaction of the
dual card 202. The dual card support center 212 retrieves the file and sends
an
acknowledgment to the credit card issuing bank 220. See block 306. At block
308, the
dual card support center 212 builds a first transaction premium file (which
will be
processed later to provide a bounty, reward, premium, subsidy, or grant to the
customer 218). The method 300 then proceeds to the exit terminal B.
From terminal A1 (FIGURE 3C), the method 400 proceeds to decision block 310
where a test is made to determine whether the credit transaction is an auto-
reload activity.
If the answer to the test at decision block 310 is YES, the method 300
proceeds to another
continuation terminal ("terminal A2"). Otherwise, the answer to the test at
decision
block 310 is NO, and the method 300 proceeds to block 312 where the credit
card issuing
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bank 220 accrues the rebate amount from credit card purchases on the dual caxd
202.
Another test is made to determine whether the rebate amount is greater than a
set amount.
See decision block 314. If the answer to the test at decision block 314 is NO,
the
method 300 loops back to block 312 where the above-described processing steps
are
repeated. Otherwise, the answer to the test at decision block 314 is YES, and
the credit
card issuing bank 220 creates a rebate file 222 reflecting the rebate amount
accrued from
credit card purchases. See block 316. At block 318, the dual card support
center 212
calculates the loyalty value in connection with credit transactions
(hereinafter,
"CC loyalty value") frorn the rebate file 222 for the dual card 202. The
method 300
proceeds to block 320 where the dual card support center 212 builds a file
containing the
calculated CC loyalty value. Next, the method 300 proceeds to the exit
terminal B.
From terminal A2 (FIGURE 3D), the method 400 proceeds to decision block 322
where a test is made to determine whether the credit account of the dual card
202 was
used for auto-reload. If the answer to the test at decision block 322 is NO,
the
method 300 proceeds to terminal A to loop back to decision block 302 where the
above-
described processing steps are repeated. Otherwise, the answer to the test at
decision
block 322 is YES, and the method 300 proceeds to block 324 where the dual card
support
center 212 calculates the loyalty value associated with an auto-reload
transaction. The
dual card support center 212 builds a file reflecting the CC loyalty value
associated with
the auto-reload transaction. See block 326. Next, the method 300 proceeds to
the exit
terminal B.
From the exit terminal B (FIGURE 3A), the method 400 proceeds to a set of
method steps 304, defined between a continuation terminal ("terminal C") and
an exit
terminal ("terminal D"). The set of method steps 304 describes the calculation
of the
loyalty value from stored value transactions in connection with the stored
value account
with the dual card 202.
From terminal C (FIGURE 3E), the method 300 proceeds to decision block 328,
where a test is made to determine whether a file of stored value transactions
has been sent
by the stored value processor 214. If the answer to the test at decision block
328 is NO,
the method 300 loops back to decision block 328 where the above-described
processing
steps are repeated. Otherwise, the answer to the test at decision block 328 is
YES, and
another decision block 330 is entered by the method 300 where a test is made
to
determine whether the dual card reward period has cycled. If the answer to the
test at
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decision block 330 is NO, the method 300 loops back to decision block 328
where the
above-described processing steps are repeated. Otherwise, the answer to the
test at
decision block 330 is YES, and the method 300 proceeds to block 332 where the
method 300 fords the transactions that belong to the dual card from the file
of stored
value transactions. The method 300 then runs a query to calculate the loyalty
value based
on the stored value redemptions (hereinafter SC loyalty value). See block 334.
The
method 300 proceeds to another continuation terminal ("terminal C 1 ").
From terminal Cl (FIGURE 3F), the method 300 proceeds to decision block 336
where a test is made to determine whether the SC loyalty value is sufficient
for
merchandise rewards. If the answer is NO, the method 300 proceeds to another
continuation terminal ("terminal C2"). Otherwise, the answer to the test at
decision
block 336 is YES, and the method 300 determines the tier of the merchandise
reward to
be sent to the customer 218. (The greater the tier, the greater the value of
the
merchandise.) See block 338. At block 340, the method 300 creates a reward
file if the
cardholder, who is the customer 218, has a mailing address that is valid. The
method 300
then proceeds to block 342 where the method 300 sends the reward file to a
fulfillment
vendor. The fulfillment vendor ships the merchandise to the cardholder, which
is the
customer 218. See block 344. The method 300 then enters terminal C2.
From terminal C2 (FIGURE 3G), the method 300 proceeds to decision block 346
where a test is made to determine whether the SC loyalty value is sufficient
for a value
load. If the answer is NO, the method 300 proceeds to the exit terminal D.
Otherwise,
the answer to the test at decision block 346 is YES, and the method 300
determines
whether the cardholder qualifies for the loading level based on the SC loyalty
value. See
block 348. At block 350, the method 300 creates a loading file reflecting the
SC loyalty
value. The method 300 proceeds to block 352 where the stored value processor
receives
the loading file and updates the stored value account associated with the dual
card 202.
The method 300 (optionally) donates money to a philanthropic organization on
behalf of
the cardholder, which is the customer 218. See block 354. The method 300 then
proceeds to the exit terminal D.
From the exit terminal D (FIGURE 3A), the method 300 proceeds to a set of
method steps 306, defined between a continuation terminal ("terminal E") and
an exit
terminal ("terminal F"). The set of method steps 306 describes the loading of
the stored
value account of the dual card 202 by the calculated loyalty value.
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From terminal E (FIGURE 3H), the method 300 proceeds to decision block 356
where a test is made to determine whether there is a first transaction premium
file
(previously created at block 308 and shown at FIGURE 3B). If the answer to the
test at
decision block 356 is NO, the method 300 proceeds to another continuation
terminal
("terminal E1"). If the answer to the test at decision block 356 is YES, the
sponsor
business donates money to a philanthropic organization. See block 358. At
block 360,
the stored value processor 214 receives the first transaction premium file.
The stored
value processor 214 loads funds into the stored value account associated with
the dual
card 202. See block 362. The method 300 then proceeds to terminal El.
From terminal E1 (FIGURE 3I), the method 300 proceeds to decision block 364
where a test is made to determine whether the dual card 202 is a first edition
dual caxd. If
the answer to the test at decision block 364 is NO, the method 300 proceeds to
another
continuation terminal ("terminal E2"). However, if the answer to the test at
decision
block 364 is YES, the method 300 proceeds to another decision block 368 where
another
test is made to determine whether it is the first reward period for first
edition dual cards.
If the answer to the test at decision block 368 is YES, the method 300
instructs a
fulfillment vendor to send merchandise to the cardholder, which is the
customer 218. See
block 370. The method 300 then enters the terminal E2. If the answer to the
test at
decision block 368 is NO, the method 300 proceeds to block 372 where the
method
instructs the stored value processor 214 to load the stored value account of
the
cardholder, which is the customer 218, with an amount. The method 300 then
enters
terminal E2.
From terminal E2 (FIGURE 3J), the dual card support center 212 sends the file
containing the calculated CC loyalty value to the stored value processor 214.
The stored
value processor receives the file, processes the file, and loads the stored
value account
associated with the dual card 202. See block 376. At block 378, the stored
value
processor 214 notifies the dual card support center 212 if an exception was
generated. If
an exception has been generated, the dual card support center 212 resends the
file
containing the calculated CC loyalty value back to the stored value processor
214 for
further processing. The method 300 then enters the exit terminal F from which
the
method 300 terminates execution.
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CA 02517096 2005-08-24
WO 2005/036432 PCT/IB2003/004495
While the preferred embodiment of the invention has been illustrated and
described, it will be appreciated that various changes can be made therein
without
departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.
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