Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
CA 02717206 2010-10-07
MERCHANT OFFER PROGRAM
TECHNICAL FIELD
100011 The present invention generally relates to loyalty programs and more
particularly, to providing an incentive to an account holder for using an
account to
= conduct a transaction.
BACKGROUND
10002] Loyalty programs provide consumers with incentives to shop at certain
loyalty
program participating facilities or to show loyalty to a particular merchant
or service
provider, such as a financial institution. In addition, to receiving discounts
or financial
awards, an incentive may include redeemable goods or services, or special
recognition of some sort, such as an upgrade. Often, financial institutions,
such as an
issuing bank or acquiring bank, support the loyalty program. Loyalty programs
may be
associated with various transaction programs such as a credit card program, a
charge
card program, a debit card program, a prepaid card program, or a gift card
program.
100031 A degree of success of a loyalty program is how well it can target
consumers
that will participate in the program in order to receive the incentives
described and
provided as part of the loyalty program.
10004] These loyalty programs are typically constructed, marketed, qualified,
fulfilled,
or refined with limited interaction between the various participants of the
programs,
which may include merchants, financial institutions such as acquirers and
issuers,
transaction handlers such as credit card companies, and consumers such as an
account holder. For example, a merchant wishing to participate in a co-branded
credit
card program may be confined to loyalty program parameters set by the issuing
bank
such as a credit limit, a bonus mile to purchase ratio, or a redemption option
thereby
not being able to finely target the merchant's potential consumers. The level
of loyalty
program parameter confinement is especially prominent among merchants with a
smaller portion of the market.
100051 Moreover, loyalty programs may be developed with limited access to
detailed
transaction data. For example, some loyalty program participants, such as
financial
institutions, may rely on their own transaction data history to determine the
type of
incentive to provide. However, this data history may be limited in scope
depending on
the degree of transaction specificity the issuer collects or is able to
maintain. Similarly,
merchants wishing to set up a loyalty program may solicit financial
institutions for
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information, gaining limited access to the full scope of the transaction data.
Even if
a merchant gains access to the transaction data, the transaction data may not
be in
a form the merchant can effectively utilize.
[0006] The lack of uniformity in handing transaction data may hamper accurate
communication between participants of the transaction program. For example,
acquirers may identify a single merchant differently; one acquirer may
identify
a merchant by its name and address while another acquirer may identify the
same
merchant by its name and franchise store number. Similarly, each participant
of the
loyalty program may be accustomed to processing transaction data in a
particular
format that may not be the same as the format of another participant of the
loyalty
program. For example, an airline company may analyze transaction data in units
of
"bonus miles per dollar" while an issuer may record dollars spent per month.
[0007] Therefore, packaged loyalty program services of a financial institution
may not
properly meet the needs of merchants that could otherwise benefit from loyalty
programs. Often, loyalty program participants lack detailed information about
transactions and, thus, fail to create an effective and targeted program that
is refined
to meet the specific needs of those funding the programs. It would be an
advance in
the art to provide a platform for collaborating to develop, implement and
refine
transaction programs in a way that lessens the foregoing drawbacks.
SUMMARY
[0008] In one implementation, a computing device facilitates a transfer of
funds from a
sponsor of an incentive to an account of an account holder in an amount
matching an
incentive in a loyalty program. The computing device processes a plurality of
transactions each characterized by a merchant and an account holder engaging
in the
transaction upon an account that an issuer has issued to the account holder.
Each
transaction qualifies for an incentive from among a plurality of incentives in
a loyalty
program. Subsequent to a clearing and settling of one of the qualifying
transactions,
the computing device forms: a transmission, for delivery to the corresponding
sponsor
of the incentive, including a request to debit a value of the incentive from a
funding
balance of the sponsor; and another transmission, for delivery to the issuer
of the
account that was debited a full ticket price of the qualified transaction,
including a
request to credit the value to the account. Here, the interchange fee that the
issuer
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receives for the debiting of the full ticket price from the account remains
intact with the
issuer after the crediting of the value of the incentive to the account.
[0009] In another implementation, a computing device receives a plurality of
transactions each between a merchant and an account holder. The computing
device
receives a rule to determine a value for an incentive in a loyalty program
that
incentivizes the account holder to engage in a transaction with a
participating
merchant in the loyalty program. The computing device determines when each
transaction qualifies for the incentive and determines the value of the
incentive for the
qualified transaction. Subsequent to the clearing and settling of the
qualified
transactions, the computing device forms: a transmission to the merchant
engaged in
the qualified transaction to debit a value of the incentive from a funding
balance; and a
transmission to the issuer of the account used in the qualified transaction to
credit the
value of the incentive to the corresponding account of the account holder.
[0010] In yet another implementation, a server includes a processor and a
computer
readable medium storing computer readable code that, when executed by the
processor, causes the server to perform a method. The server receives a
plurality of
transactions each between a merchant and an account holder and each qualifying
for
an incentive in a loyalty program. Subsequent to the clearing and settling of
one of the
qualified transactions, the server forms: a transmission to the issuer of the
account to
credit a value of the incentive to the account used in the qualified
transaction; and a
transmission to the acquirer of the merchant engaged in the qualified
transaction to
debit the value of the incentive from a funding balance. The interchange fee
of the
issuer associated with the debiting of the full ticket price of the
transaction from the
account remains intact with the issuer after the value of the incentive is
credited to the
account.
[0011] It is understood that this summary section is for illustrative purposes
only and
that the scope or meaning of the claims is to be interpreted in the light of
the
specification.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0012] Implementations of the invention will become more apparent from the
detailed
description set forth below when taken in conjunction with the drawings, in
which like
elements bear like reference numerals.
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[0013] Figure 1 is a schematic illustrating an exemplary system for
collaborating to
develop, implement, and refine a loyalty program via a platform configured to
be
accessible to various collaborative constituents;
[0014] Figure 2 illustrates a flow chart of an exemplary method for
collaborating to
develop, implement, and refine a loyalty program having at least one
parameter;
[0015] Figure 3 is a schematic of an exemplary transaction lifecycle the
phases of
which can be facilitated within the environment of the system illustrated in
Figure 1;
[0016] Figure 4 is a schematic illustrating an exemplary platform and
components of
a loyalty program;
[0017] Figure 5 is a block level diagram illustrating an exemplary transaction
processing system that can be part of the system illustrated in Figure 1;
[0018] Figure 6 illustrates a flow chart of an exemplary method for utilizing
a globally
unique identifier of a merchant to determine an incentive for the loyalty
program;
[0019] Figure 7 is illustrates a flow chart of an exemplary method for
applying a value
of an incentive of a loyalty program to an account of an account holder;
[0020] Figure 8 is illustrates a flow chart continuing the method of Figure 7;
and
[0021] Figure 9 is illustrates a flow chart of an exemplary method for
tracking an
account holder's abuse of the loyalty program.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0022] Implementations enable collaborative constituents to collaborate to
construct,
implement, refine, or a combination thereof, a loyalty program. For example,
entities
within a transaction processing system (e.g., transaction processing
environment) may
become collaborative constituents collaborating during various phases of the
loyalty
program. The transaction processing system may be a payment processing system
such a system having entities including a credit card company, an issuer, an
acquirer,
a consumer, and a merchant.
[0023] Referring to Figure 1, an exemplary system or environment 100 is
illustrated for
collaborative constituents to collaborate on developing, implementing, and
refining a
loyalty program 114 via a platform 112.
[0024] The collaborative constituent may include a consumer 102 such as an
account
holder in the transaction processing system, an issuer 104, a transaction
handler 106
such as a credit card company, an acquirer 108, or a merchant 110. The
merchant
110 may be a person or entity that sells a commodity such as a good, a
service, or a
combination thereof. Examples of the merchant 110 include: a manufacturer, a
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distributor, a retailer, a load agent, a service provider, or a healthcare
provider. In a
business-to-business setting, the consumer 102 may be a second merchant making
a purchase from the merchant 110. Third-party processors may perform many
operational support tasks on behalf of the collaborative constituent, such as
creative
agencies, loyalty program marketing agencies or consultants, business
intelligence
companies or consultants, letter shops, Email and Short Message Service (SMS)
or
Text message delivery agencies, and registered card loyalty program companies.
[0025] A participant of the loyalty program 114 can be, but need not be one of
the
collaborative constituent. For example, the franchisor McDonald's Corporation
may be
one of the collaborative constituents having a McDonald's@ loyalty program
accessible
through the platform 112 and one of a McDonald's@ loyalty program participant;
however, a single McDonald's@ store located in Los Angeles, California may not
be
one of the collaborative constituents but be one of the McDonald's@ loyalty
program
participant wherein purchases made at the single McDonald's@ restaurant would
qualify for the McDonald's@ loyalty program.
[0026] The platform 112 can be a forum accessible via a network, the Internet,
an
extranet, a wireless network, a wire line network, a local area network, a
wide area
network, a messaging system, a correspondence system, or a telephone system
that
is a market place for collaborative constituents to interact to construct,
implement, and
refine the loyalty program 114. The platform 112 may be a part of the
transaction
handler 106 as denoted by broken lines 116 in Figure 1.
[0027] The platform 112 can be scaled to meet the needs of any number of the
collaborative constituents. For example, the platform 112 may be configured to
accommodate a small or a large number of collaborative constituents, globally,
in
multiple languages.
[0028] Moreover, the platform 112 can be scaled to meet the needs of the
participants
of the loyalty program 114. For example, the number of participants of the
loyalty
program 114 for each entity may vary, such as having several franchisees as
the
participants of the loyalty program 114 for a single franchisor. Similarly,
the platform
112 may be configured to allow different numbers of entities to participate in
the loyalty
program 114. For example, the merchant 110 can be a single merchant that may
interact with a single financial institution to create and maintain the
loyalty program
114. Conversely, a large number of merchants can create the loyalty program
114
through interaction with a large number of financial institutions. For
example, all
CA 02717206 2010-10-07
merchants 110 selling clothing in the southwest can interact with several
banks, such
as Wells Fargo and Bank of America, to create and maintain the loyalty program
114.
[0029] Moreover, the platform 112 may be configured to accommodate modularity
in
the loyalty program 114. The modularity in the loyalty program 114 includes
the
loyalty program 114 that has the characteristic of being versatile, allowing
for
a combination of diverse parameters. The loyalty program 114 may be created in
an a
la carte fashion having parameters that mimic those in a pre-existing loyalty
program
and other parameters that may be unique or did not exist before. For example,
the
loyalty program 114 may have parameters include a point to cash back ratio
mimicking
a pre-existing loyalty program.
[0030] The collaborative constituents may set up a profile within the platform
112. The
platform 112 may have a secure Internet setting configured to allow the
collaborative
constituent access to the platform 112. The profile may include information
about the
collaborative constituent. For example, the consumer 102 may set up a profile
including information about the consumer 102 such as a the consumer's 102
name,
the consumer's 102 address, the consumer's 102 account number for an account
within the transaction processing system, the consumer's 102 inputted data
such as
preference for particular promotion or preference for a channel for receiving
promotions, a promotion category that the consumer 102 would like to receive
promotions for, or the consumer's 102 shopping habits, for example. The issuer
104
may set up a profile including information about the issuer 104 such as an
issuer
unique identifier within the transaction processing system (a global unique
identifier
(GUID) that distinguishes the issuer 104 within the transaction processing
system); the
issuer's 104 address; standard loyalty program business rules typically
proposed by
the issuer 104 for a plurality of the loyalty programs 114; the issuer's 104
loyalty
program fulfillment options (e.g., credit to statement or cash back); the
issuer's 104
standard loyalty program parameters, such as cardholder accounts
participating,
branding requirements and other business rules; and information on third
parties that
act as proxies to the issuer 104. The acquirer 108 may set up a profile
including
information about the acquirer 108 such as an acquirer unique identifier (a
GUID that
distinguishes the acquirer 108 within the transaction processing system), the
acquirer's 108 address, a settlement request, an acquirer identification for
the
merchant 110 that is a client of the acquirer 108, or accumulated merchant
daily sale
report. The transaction handler 106 may set up a profile including information
about
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the transaction handler 106 such as transaction message field formatting
requirements, authorization standards for a transaction amount, credit card
spending
limits by credit card type, or demographic analysis. The merchant 110 may set
up a
profile including information about the merchant 110 such as a merchant unique
identifier (e.g., a GUID for the merchant 110 that distinguishes the merchant
110 within
the transaction processing system), a merchant code that may be nonunique
globally,
franchise codes, or a loyalty program business rules that the merchant 110
typically
utilizes, for example.
[0031] The collaborative constituents can access the platform 112, via the
Internet for
example, to negotiate parameters of the loyalty program 114 such that a
negotiated
set of parameters for the loyalty program 114 forms a negotiated agreement to
the
parameters of the loyalty program 114. The negotiated set of parameters for
the
loyalty program 114 are those parameters that remain after the negotiation is
completed among the collaborative constituents, such that the collaborative
constituents left in the negotiation process all agree to the remaining
parameters.
Thereafter, the collaborative constituents can implement and refine or alter
the
remaining parameters of the loyalty program 114, such as by changing a value
of the
reward associated with the loyalty program.
[0032] Each of the collaborative constituent, such as the merchant 110, may
submit
a proposal, via the platform 112, for the loyalty program 114 containing a
parameter
that governs the creation and/or implementation of the loyalty program 114.
The
parameter transmitted in the proposal may be predetermined such that the
merchant
110 can pick the parameter a la cart within a menu provided at the platform
112, or the
parameters may be customized. A parameter may include, for example, the
duration
of a promotion within the loyalty program 114, the good or service promoted,
the value
of the promotion, or a loyalty program business rule such as an algorithm to
determine
whether a purchase qualifies for the promotion. To illustrate, the merchant
110 may
propose a loyalty program business rule as a parameter having a form of: "if
variable
one occurs then offer variable two." Standard promotions that the merchant 110
may
propose include: discounts (e.g., "ten (10%) percent off a purchase of socks
if you use
a Nordstrom e credit card"), rewards, coupons, and spent-and-get promotions. A
coupon promotion may be structured such that if the consumer 102 uses an
account
associated with the transaction processing system to make a purchase at the
merchant 110 store that exceeds $100 U.S. in value, then ten (10) percent will
be
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taken off the purchase value at the merchant's 110 point of service (POS)
device.
Similarly, the promotion may be a spend-and-get promotion such as if the
consumer
102 conducts four purchases made with the account associated with the
transaction
processing system at the merchant's 110 store the consumer's 102 fifth
purchase at
the merchant's 110 store will result in $10.00 U.S. being credited to the
account.
Other variables that can be included in the loyalty program business rule
include: an
upgrade in a value of a commodity being purchased, a discount on a price of
the
commodity being purchased, a rebate, a statement credit for an account within
the
transaction processing system and associated to the consumer 102, or a
combination
of the foregoing.
[0033] The merchant 110 may also select the type of the consumer 102 it wishes
to
target the promotion to at the platform 112. For example, the merchant 110 may
want
to target the consumer 102 based on geographical location or the consumer's
102
transaction history. The merchant's 110 proposal may indicate that the
promotion
should be targeted to the consumers 102 living within 10 miles from the
location of one
of the merchant's 110 franchisee stores. Alternatively, or in combination, the
merchant's 110 proposal may indicate that the promotion should be targeted to
the
consumers 102 that have purchased a particular good or service in the past ¨
such as
the consumers 102 that have purchased baseball cards at competitor stores
within the
past two months. For example, the merchant 110 may wish to target consumers
102
that have purchased Digital Video Discs "DVDs" in the past, the transaction
handler
106 may mine a database containing a plurality of the consumer's 102
transaction
histories, looking for trends of purchases dealing with DVDs. Moreover, once a
set of
eligible consumers is identified, the transaction handler 106 may query the
merchant
110 to refine the set of eligible consumers.
[0034] An exemplary template for establishing a loyalty program or merchant
promotion (114) on the platform (112) is as follows:
[0035] Merchant Name:
[0036] Originator's Contact:
[0037] Date of Request:
[0038] Description of project:
[0039] What are the business objectives?
[0040] Describe the marketing environment: names of competitors, current
attitudes of target audience(s), etc.:
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[0041] Provide logo, if applicable
[0042] What are the business objectives?
[0043] What are the main benefits of this project to each audience, in order
of
priority?
[0044] What is the key message we want to communicate to each audience?
[0045] What do we want each audience to do or believe as a result of this
project?
[0046] What Transaction Processor materials would provide background
information? (Please attach.)
[0047] Additional information or direction:
[0048] What information would help Marketing Communications and Agency
determine the copy tone or style for the overall project? Do certain
components
need a different tone?
[0049] What type of copy input will be provided (copy points, brochures,
Uniform
Resource Locators "URLs")?
[0050] What information would help Marketing Communications and Agency
determine the design tone or style for the overall project?
[0051] Are there any print production issues or requirements for this project?
[0052] Offer Period:
[0053] Offer Redemption Process (e.g. coupon, statement credit). (If using bar
codes, specify type, positioning, size and other requirements here).
[0054] Will offer be available online?
[0055] If offer will be available online, provide online code requirements.
Attach
additional spreadsheet if needed.
[0056] Will offer be available via catalog?
[0057] If offer will be available via catalog, provide code and requirements.
Attach
additional spreadsheet if needed.
[0058] Creative branding guidelines and considerations. If branding guidelines
are available, please provide here as well.
[0059] Delivery method
[0060] Letter with coupon
[0061] Buckslip
[0062] Insert (if doing an insert, please provide size and specs)
[0063] e-mail
[0064] mobile
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[0065] Cashier instructions (to be placed on coupon):
[0066] Merchant messaging (if applicable):
[0067] Phone number and/or URL for offer:
[0068] Who will review each round of creative?
[0069] How many days should we schedule for originator's group to review
rounds if different than a normal transaction handler review time?
[0070] List the primary and secondary target audience(s).
[0071] Potential audience/segments:
[0072] Will there be a customer suppression list? If so, please provide
description
and date this will be available (see Customer Suppression File Format)
[0073] Will a Merchant Store Location List be provided for geo-coding purposes
(if
applicable)?
[0074] Please describe any targeting requirements:
[0075] Location/Geographies:
[0076] Type of program output:
[0077] Qualified Transactions Only
[0078] Calculated Awards
[0079] Discounts
[0080] Bonus Points
[0081] Statement Credits
[0082] Discount File
[0083] Transaction Purchase Start Date:
[0084] Transaction Purchase End Date:
[0085] Cardholder Selection Criteria
[0086] If transactions will be qualified based on cardholder information,
please
complete this section.
[0087] Transactions will be identified at the following level:
[0088] an Issuer code
[0089] Issuer Card Range
[0090] Issuer Bank Identification Number (BIN)
[0091] Participating/Eligible Cardholder List
[0092] Approximate number of participating/eligible cardholders:
[0093] Cardholder files will be updated with the following frequency:
[0094] Daily
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[0095] Weekly
[0096] Monthly
100971 Other ¨ Please specify below:
[0098] Transaction files will be delivered with the following frequency:
[0099] Daily
[0100] Weekly
[0101] Monthly
[0102] At the end of the promotion period
[0103] Other ¨ Please specify below:
[0104] Selection Criteria
[0105] If transactions will be qualified based on specific information, please
provide selection criteria.
[0106] Transactions will be qualified based on (check one):
[0107] Acquirer BIN(s)
[0108] Merchant Category Codes
[0109] List of Specific Participating Merchants
[0110] Merchant Identifiers
[0111] Merchant GUID
[0112] Other (specify);
[0113] Additional Transaction Selection Criteria
[0114] Please briefly describe any additional targeting qualification criteria
that
must be applied.
[0115] Option Limits
[0116] Applies only if calculating awards.
[0117] Program Limits:
[0118] Money Unit amount
[0119] Points
[0120] Number of Awards
[0121] Please specify below:
[0122] Option Limits
[0123] Applies only if calculating awards.
[0124] Cardholder Limits:
[0125] Money Unit amount
[0126] Points
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[0127] Number of Awards
[0128] Bonus Processing:
[0129] Please list the bonus point ratio here.
[0130] Statement Credits
[0131] How is the program funded?
[0132] Merchant funded
[0133] Issuer funded
[0134] Transaction Processor funded
[0135] Third party loyalty provider
[0136] Funding BIN
Please specify funding BIN for statement credit processing
[0137] An exemplary template for establishing a loyalty program profile
includes:
[0138] Please select whether your promotion(s) should be provided to:
[0139] Consumers
[0140] Small Businesses
[0141] Large corporations
[0142] Government entities
[0143] Other commercial entities
[0144] A combination of the foregoing.
[0145] Please select the objective for your promotion:
(tips/templates on
ads/promotions that work for the merchant's stated industry may be suggested¨
the tips/templates will change based upon objectives and the issuer 104 can
edit
the parameters and copy etc.)
[0146] Reward existing customers
[0147] Increase spend from existing customers
[0148] Obtain sales from new customers
[0149] Would you like assistance in creating your promotion?
[0150] Provide some targeting parameters:
[0151] Geographical:
[0152] (i) Region
[0153] (ii) City
[0154] (iii) Draw your own borders
[0155] (iv) Within X miles of your address
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[0156] Check the business types that may buy from you
[0157] Include people from previous promotions?
[0158] Would you like to target customers who spend (include spend
bands)
[0159] Would you like to target customers who are similar in characteristics
to your existing customers?
[0160] How would you like your promotion to appear?
[0161] Statement credit
[0162] Coupon
[0163] Point of Service (POS)
[0164] Email
[0165] Mobile
[0166] Statement insert for bank
[0167] Visa or bank promotion site
[0168] When would you like your promotion to first appear?
[0169] What is the promotion period for your promotion?
[0170] What type of reporting do you require?
[0171] Pricing
[0172] What is your budget? (the merchant 110 enters budget and system
provides approximate number of cardholders addressed based upon
parameters selected)
[0173] Enter # of cardholders desired (system calculates pricing based
upon parameters selected)
[01741 The other collaborative constituents may negotiate with the
collaborative
constituent that submitted the proposal until the parameters of the loyalty
program 114
are agreed upon among the collaborative constituents. For example, the
collaborative
constituent that submitted the proposal may receive a response thereto
indicating that
the parameter for the loyalty program 114 is not agreed upon. Consequently,
the
collaborative constituent that submitted the proposal may transmit a reply to
the
response including an alternative parameter for the loyalty program 114. The
negotiation can continue until the collaborative constituents have agreed on
the
remaining set of parameters for the loyalty program.
[0175] Thereafter, a loyalty program implementer, such as one of the
collaborative
constituents that agreed on a set of parameters for the loyalty program 114,
may
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implement the loyalty program 114. For example, as one of the loyalty program
implementers, the issuer 104 may disseminate a Nordstrom credit card account
number associated with the loyalty program 114 to the consumer 102.
Dissemination
modes may include direct mail, email, cellular phone transmissions, and/or
messages
sent to the consumer 102 via the merchant's 110 POS device (e.g., a message
printed
on the receipt).
[0176] When the consumer 102 uses the Nordstrom credit card account number at
the merchant's 110 POS terminal to purchase a good or service such as a pair
of
socks, a transaction message can be sent from the merchant 110 POS to the
acquirer
108. The transaction message may include fields populated with transaction
data for
the purchase such as the date, the time, a merchant unique identifier, a
promotion
code, a Stock Keeping Unit (SKU), a Universal Product Code (UPC),
manufacturing
codes, geographical distribution codes, or sale, license, or hire value such
as an item
price. The acquirer 108 may send at least portions of the transaction data for
the
purchase to the transaction handler 106 that implements the loyalty program
business
rules (e.g., "ten (10%) percent off a purchase of socks if you use a Nordstrom
credit
card") to the transaction data for the purchase to evaluate whether the
transaction
qualifies for the loyalty program 114 and what benefits the consumer 102
should
receive if the consumer 102 qualifies. The benefit to the consumer 102 making
the
pair of sock purchase with the Nordstrom credit card account number may be a
statement credit on the consumer's 102 Nordstrom credit card account equal to
ten
(10%) percent of the purchase price of the socks. The transaction handler 106,
as
one of the loyalty program implementers, may forward the result of the
evaluation, the
value of the benefit, or combinations thereof to the issuer 104, the merchant
110, or
the consumer 102, for example. The platform 112 may provide several tools to
facilitate the negotiation process of proposal, response, and reply.
[0177] At least a portion of the transaction data for a plurality of
purchases, analysis on
the transaction data for a plurality of purchases, or combinations thereof may
be
accessible to the collaborative constituents via the plafform 112. For
example, the
transaction handler 106 may store in a database the transaction data for a
plurality of
the consumers 102 conducting transactions using a respective account within
the
transaction processing system associated with the consumer 102. The
transaction
handler 106 may allow collaborative constituents access to a portion of the
transaction
data for a plurality of the consumers 102 stored in the database or a copy of
a portion
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of the transaction data for a plurality of the consumers 102 stored elsewhere
via the
platform 112.
[0178] The transaction handler 106 may analyze the transaction data for the
plurality
of the consumers 102 using an algorithm and allow access to the collaborative
constituents to the analysis via the platform. For example, the algorithm's
input may
include a portion of the parameter for the loyalty program (e.g., the
promotion, such as
socks) and data on one or more purchases from one or more of the merchants by
one
or more of the consumers. The algorithm's output may include a quantitative
trend
within the purchases as a function of the parameter for the loyalty program or
portions
thereof. Any conventional or predetermined algorithm for data analysis may be
used
to determine trends within the data of purchases on the account. For example,
data
mining analysis such as Market Basket Analysis, a pattern recognition
analysis,
optimization analysis, statistical analysis, a data mining analysis, algorithm
demographic analysis, classification analysis, or segmentation analysis can be
used.
To illustrate, the consumer 102 who has purchased lawn care items in April for
the last
four years might be identified as being highly likely to purchase lawn care
items this
April. In another example, general consumer trends may be analyzed to
determine
highly correlative events, such as "consumers who purchased a pair of shoes
also buy
a pair of socks within 90 days from the date of purchase of the pair of
shoes." In
another example, the consumer 102 purchase behavior trends may be analyzed to
reveal the consumers 102 that spend significantly larger amounts in
restaurants than
average restaurant patrons.
[0179] The collaborative constituents may repeat the process of proposal,
response,
and optionally reply to refine or alter the remaining set of parameters of the
loyalty
program 114 based in part on the transaction data for a plurality of
purchases,
analysis on the transaction data for a plurality of purchases, or combinations
thereof,
for example.
[0180] The loyalty program 114 illustrated in Figure 1 may be any number of
loyalty
programs 114 that may be created or maintained within the platform 112.
Moreover,
any single of the collaborative constituents may be involved in any number of
the
loyalty programs 114 accessible via the platform 112.
[0181] Referring to Figure 2, an implementation for a method 200 for
collaborating to
develop the loyalty program 114 begins at step 202. At step 202, a proposal
having
parameter(s) for the loyalty program 114 is formed. The parameters may include
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incentives that may be offered to the consumer 102, limits for the incentives
such as a
duration for the availability of the incentive, or the location where the
incentive may be
earned, or a specific time of day when the incentive is available. Parameters
for the
loyalty program 114 may be based on the merchant's current inventory, the
merchant's projected future inventory, or the merchant's past inventory of a
commodity
such as a good or service. The parameters may also include the loyalty program
business rule to determine whether a purchase qualifies for the promotion or
incentive
such as a spent-and-get promotion or a coupon promotion. For example, a coupon
promotion may be structured such that if the consumer 102 uses an account
associated with the transaction processing system to make a purchase at the
merchant's 110 store that exceeds $100 U.S. in value, then 10% will be taken
off the
purchase value at the merchant's 110 POS device at the time of the purchase.
Other
loyalty program business rules may include ratios between the money or value
spent
and the promotion such as: a unit of value spent to a statement credit ratio
(e.g., airline
point spend to a credited U.S. dollar ratio); a unit of value spent to a
redeemable point
ratio; a unit of value spent to a redeemable money ratio; a unit of value
spent to a
redeemable discount ratio; a unit of money spent to a rebate ratio; a unit of
value
spent to a statement credit ratio; a unit of money spent to a good ratio; a
unit of money
spent to service ratio, and combinations thereof.
[01821 The proposal may be formed in accordance with a predetermined loyalty
program rule. The predetermined loyalty program rule may include rules on the
procedure to form and transmitting the proposal and/or rules on the content of
the
proposal for the loyalty program 114. The predetermined loyalty program rule
for the
procedure of forming and transmitting the proposal may include: the format of
the
proposal such as text based message formatting, the prerequisites for
submitting a
proposal such as identifying the entity making the proposal, or contractual
obligations
for transmitting a proposal such as an agreement to negotiate in good faith.
The
predetermined loyalty program rule for the content of the proposal may include
rules
delineating the types of parameters that can be proposed. For example, the
predetermined business rule may require that the loyalty program 114 involve
the use
of the transaction processing system. To illustrate, the predetermined loyalty
program
rule may require that the proposal for the loyalty program 114 must reward the
use of
a particular brand of credit card. Similarly, the predetermined loyalty
program rule may
require that the transaction messages associated with a transaction be in a
particular
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format, such as magnetic stripe format having fields that can be populated.
For
example, the predetermined loyalty program rule may include a rule for
populating the
transaction message with an identifier for the merchant 110 such as the GUID
for the
merchant 110, information on the transaction (e.g., a date or a time of the
transaction,
a transaction amount, or location), information on the reward (e.g., a value
for the
reward, an identifier for the reward), or an identifier for a commodity
purchased during
the transaction.
[0183] At step 204, the proposal is transmitted to a collaborative
constituent.
A transmission of the proposal can be formed that is addressed to at least one
other
collaborative constituent. A third party may transmit the proposal to the
destined
collaborative constituent. For example, the proposal can be addressed to the
collaborative constituent via an email address. Alternatively, the address can
be to
a category of collaborative constituents such as "all issuers within the
transaction
processing system." The third party may then transmit the proposal to the
collaborative constituent in accordance with a workflow identifying the order
of deliver
of the proposal addressed to the collaborative constituent(s). The workflow
may
identify a sequence of collaborative constituents that should receive the
proposal such
as in a series or parallel sequence. To illustrate, the merchant 110 may form
a proposal for a spend-and-get loyalty program (e.g., buy two pairs of shoes
get the
third pair of shoes free). The merchant 110 may address the proposal to two
collaborative constituent that are each issuers 104: Wells Fargo and Bank of
America,
via the transaction handler 106. The transaction handler 106 may receive the
proposal and send the proposal to both Wells Fargo and Bank of America at the
same
time. The transaction handler 106 may analyze the proposal to make sure it
comports
with the predetermined loyalty program rule prior to transmitting the proposal
to either
Wells Fargo or Bank of America.
[0184] At step 206, a response from the collaborative constituent to the
transmitted
proposal is received. The response may be transmitted to the entity that
formed the
proposal and/or to another collaborative constituent via a workflow
identifying
a predefined order of delivery thereof. In the example above, Wells Fargo may
wish to
respond favorably to the merchant's 110 spend-and-get proposal. Consequently,
Wells Fargo may respond by indicating that it will help create and implement
the
spend-and-get loyalty program for the consumers 102 that are account holders
with
Wells Fargo. Wells Fargo may also present a counter proposal in its reply
stating that
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if spend-and-get loyalty program availability to the consumers 102 is limited
to the
months of March through May, Wells Fargo can credit the value of the third
pair of
shoes on the statement of the consumer 102 that is an account holder with
Wells
Fargo such that the consumer 102 can charge the purchase of the third pair of
shoes
at the merchant's 110 store but Wells Fargo will apply a credit for the value
of the third
pair of shoes to the consumer's 102 Wells Fargo account. Consequently, the
response can be used to further negotiate the parameters of the loyalty
program 114
being proposed, for example, by containing a favor or disfavor of the at least
one
parameter for the loyalty program 114.
[0185] The response may contain further detail on how the loyalty program 114
can be
implemented. For example, the issuer 104 may respond to the merchant's 110
proposal for the loyalty program 114 by indicating how the issuer 104 may
market
the loyalty program 114 to the issuer's 104 account holders such as:
identifying the
consumer 102; creating a marketing collateral for the loyalty program 114;
delivering
the marketing message to at least one of the consumers 102; registering a
potential
consumer for the loyalty program 114; or a combination of the foregoing.
[0186] At step 208, a reply to the response can be formed. The reply may also
be in
accordance with the predetermined loyalty program rule for the loyalty program
114.
For example, the reply may state that the merchant 110 expresses favor to
Wells
Fargo's response to the spend-and-get loyalty program proposal further
indicating that
transaction messages from the merchant 110 for each purchase of the consumer
102
will include a code for the spend-and-get loyalty program so that Wells Fargo
can
distinguish the consumer 102 that has made a purchase toward the spend-and-get
loyalty program at the merchant's 110 store. For example, the merchant 110 may
populate a field within the transaction message with "SPGT" to distinguish
transactions
eligible for the spend-and-get loyalty program of the merchant 110.
Alternatively, or in
combination, the issuer may populate a field within the transaction message
with free
form text such as "authorized a third purchase for this customer toward Fry's
OD spend-
and-get loyalty program."
[0187] At step 210, the reply is transmitted to at least one collaborative
constituent.
The reply may be transmitted to any collaborative constituent such as the
collaborative
constituent that sent the response. For example, the merchant 110 may transmit
the
reply of favor to Wells Fargo's response by sending the reply in a Short
Message
Service (SMS) to the transaction handler 106 that forwards the SMS to Wells
Fargo.
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Alternatively, or in combination, the merchant 110 may address the reply to
Bank of
America inquiring if Bank of America is willing to make a better deal than
that sent by
Wells Fargo. Bank of America may transmit a Bank of America response including
a set of parameters that the merchant 110 may find more favorable.
[0188] The workflow for the order of delivery of the proposal, response, or
reply may
be serial (e.g., sequential such that each addressed collaborative constituent
receives
the transmission consecutively), parallel (e.g., such that each addressed
collaborative
constituent receives the transmission concurrently) or a combination thereof.
Moreover, the workflow for the proposal, response, or reply may be the same as
each
other or different from each other. The collaborative constituent can
optionally specify
the workflow for the order of delivery of each of the proposal, response, or
reply.
[0189] The steps of 202 through 210 may be repeated until an agreement is
reached.
For examples, proposals, responses, and replies may contain offers,
counteroffers,
and acceptances from the collaborative constituents developing the parameters
for the
loyalty program 114. The repetition of the steps 202 through 210 may take
several
iterations and collaborative constituents may participate or stop
participating at any
step of 202 through 210.
[0190] The business case for parameters can be made during the negotiation
process
(e.g., steps 202 through 210). The collaborative constituents may evaluate the
business case for the parameter of the loyalty program 114 and argue its
effectiveness
to the other collaborative constituents involved in the negation. For example,
the
business case may entail: determining a cost and a benefit for the parameter;
determining a cost and a benefit for not having the parameter; determining a
business
need that the parameter may address; performing a gap analysis; determining a
reason for the parameter; or determining a reasons for one of favoring and
disfavoring
the parameter.
[0191] The collaborative constituents may use analytical tools to determine
the
effectiveness of at least one parameter of the loyalty program 114 being
negotiated.
The analytical tools can include: a data mining tool; a reporting tool; a
metrics tool;
a demographics tool; an analytic tool; a targeting tool; a statistic tool; a
segmentation
analysis tool; a tool for determining at least a cost and a benefit for the
parameter;
a tool for determining at least a cost and a benefit for not having the
parameter; a tool
for determining the business need that the parameter will address; a tool for
gap
analysis; a tool for determining a reason for the parameter; a tool for
determining the
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reasons for at least one of favoring and disfavoring the parameter; or a
combination of
the foregoing.
[0192] The transaction handler 106 may provide the other collaborative
constituents,
via the platform 112, data mining tools and access to a plurality of the
consumer's 102
transaction data during the negotiation process. For example, the merchant
110, such
as a hardware store, may want to know the transaction history of a plurality
of
the consumers 102 living within 10 miles of the merchant 110 hardware store--
specifically, the transaction history of purchases of florescent lights. The
transaction
handler 106 may have access to a database containing the transaction history
of
a plurality of the consumers 102 across a plurality of the merchants 110
within the
transaction processing system. The transaction handler 106 may allow the
merchant
110 access to an analytical tool, such as a data mining tool, to filter out
the florescent
light transaction history of the consumers 102 within ten miles of the
merchant's 110
hardware store. The outcome of the analytical tool may indicate that only
twenty
florescent light purchases have been made within the last month within the ten
mile
radius of the merchant's 110 hardware store. The merchant 110 may determine
that a
loyalty program centered on florescent lights may not be feasible for the
merchant
110. Consequently, the merchant 110 may transmit a reply indicating that the
merchant 110 will no longer participate in the negotiation of the loyalty
program 114
that is centered around florescent lights.
[0193] At step 212, a negotiated set of parameters to which all remaining
collaborative
constituents have communicated favor to the negotiated set of parameters is
received,
the negotiated set of parameters being the remaining parameters for the
loyalty
program 114. The negotiated set of parameters can be the minimum parameters
that
the collaborative constituents need to agree on in order to implement the
loyalty
program 114. The negotiated set of parameters need not have all of the details
to
implement the loyalty program 114. For example, the address for the location
for all
the merchants 110 that will participate in the loyalty program 114 need not be
settled.
The negotiated set of the parameters for the loyalty program 114 may be
received
from at least one implementer of the loyalty program 114.
[0194] The remaining collaborative constituents need not communicate favor to
each
and every parameter in the negotiated set of parameters; rather, the remaining
collaborative constituents can communicate favor to the negotiated set of the
parameters. The remaining collaborative constitutes can be those that have not
CA 02717206 2010-10-07
expressed a desire to exit the negotiation process or those that have not
contributed to
the negotiation process for a period of time (e.g., days or months), such that
their lack
contribution indicates a desire to exit the negotiation process.
[0195] The communicated favor for the negotiated set of parameters forms
a negotiated agreement to the negotiated set of parameters that can be
communicated to each of the collaborative constituents that remained in the
collaboration and agreed to the negotiated set of the parameters. For example,
the I
transaction handler 106 may transmit the negotiated set of the parameters for
the
loyalty program 114 to the remaining set of the collaborative constituents.
The
transaction handler 106 may determine which of the remaining parameters for
the
loyalty program 114 the remaining set of collaborative constituents have
agreed upon
as being the negotiated set of the parameters for the loyalty program 114. The
transaction handler 106 may address a second transmission to each of the
collaborative constituents among the remaining set of the collaborative
constituents
including the negotiated set of the parameters for the loyalty program.
[0196] To illustrate, the merchant 110 may be a coffee shop wishing to create
and
implement a coffee shop loyalty program for its patrons. The coffee shop owner
may
form a coffee promotion proposal using an interactive interface on a network
in
communication with the transaction processing system, the promotion proposal
including a parameter indicating that the coffee shop loyalty program should
have
a spend-and-get promotion wherein patrons can purchase ten cups of coffee and
receive the eleventh one free.
[0197] The coffee shop owner may use an interface device connected to the
system 100 for collaborating to develop, implement, and refine a loyalty
program, such
as a cellular telephone with an Internet connection, to log on to the
transaction
handler's 106 website and input the proposed spend-and-get promotion
parameters
using the platform 112. Other forms of interface include: a personal computer,
a
personal digital assistant, a hand-held computing device, a mobile computing
device
having telephony functionality, a cellular telephone, a mobile consumer
device, and a
combination of the foregoing. The coffee shop owner may transmit the coffee
promotion proposal to the issuer 104, a Wells Fargo bank, via the transaction
handler 106 such that the transaction handler 106 receives a first
transmission from
the coffee shop owner and the transaction handler 106 send another
transmission
including at least a portion of the first transmission to the Wells Fargo
bank.
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[0198] The Wells Fargo bank can transmit a response indicating favor to the
coffee
promotion proposal further indicating that the coffee shop loyalty program
should be
marketed to patrons living within 10 minutes from the coffee shop. The coffee
shop
owner may agree, submitting a reply to the response expressing favor to the
10-minute limitation not having discussed if the 10 minutes is calculated
based on
using surface streets or the subway. The transaction handler 106 may determine
that
the coffee shop owner and Wells Fargo bank have agree that the spend-and-get
promotion and the 10-minute limitation are the parameters for the coffee shop
loyalty
program thereby forming the negotiated agreement for the coffee shop loyalty
program
even without knowing if the 10-minute limitation is calculated based on using
surface
streets or the subway. The transaction handler 106 may determine that both the
coffee shop owner and Wells Fargo bank have agree to the remaining parameters
for the coffee shop loyalty program by polling the number of favor positions
received
from each of the coffee shop owner and Wells Fargo bank for each of the
remaining
parameters for the coffee shop loyalty program.
[0199] Moreover, parameters that do not comply with a predetermined loyalty
program
rule may be filtered out and not included in the remaining parameter for the
coffee
shop loyalty program. For example, if the coffee shop owner may have proposed
a
parameter for the coffee shop loyalty program stating that cash purchases
count
toward the coffee shop loyalty program; however, one of the predetermined
loyalty
program rules may indicate that only credit purchases may apply toward loyalty
programs developed through the use of the platform 112.
[0200] The negotiated agreement for the coffee shop loyalty program, including
the
negotiated set of parameters, can be communicated back to both the coffee shop
owner and the Wells Fargo bank in a transmission using the workflow or
another
workflow identifying another predefined order of delivery.
[0201] After the negotiated agreement is communicated to each of remaining set
of
the collaborative constituents, which may include one of the loyalty program
implementers, the loyalty program 114 may be refined or altered. The
alteration may
include renegotiating a parameter within the negotiated set of parameters or
negotiating a new parameter. The refinement may occur before or after the
loyalty
program 114 has been implemented as long as the remaining collaborative
constituents agree that the negotiated set of parameters can be further
negotiated.
For example, one of the collaborative constituents within the remaining set of
the
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CA 02717206 2010-10-07
collaborative constituents may address a transmission to the transaction
handler 106
requesting to alter the at least one remaining said parameter for the loyalty
program.
The request may include an affirmative representation that each of the
collaborative
constituents in the remaining set of the collaborative constituents have each
agreed to
the request to alter. Alternatively, or in combination, the transaction
handler 106, for
example, can determine that each of the collaborative constituents in the
remaining
set of the collaborative constituents have each agreed to the request to
alter, such as
by taking a pole through electronic communication with each of the
collaborative
constituents among the remaining set of the collaborative constituents.
[0202] The steps to alter the remaining parameters for the loyalty program may
include
similar steps as the negotiation process (e.g., steps 202 through 212): a
refinement
proposal in accordance with the predetermined loyalty program rule can be
formed
and transmitted to an addressed collaborative constituent; a refinement
response from
the addressed collaborative constituent can be received, wherein the response
is to
the transmitted refinement proposal; a refinement reply to the received
refinement
response in accordance with the predetermined loyalty program rules may be
formed
and transmitted; a second negotiated set of parameters to which all remaining
collaborative constituents have communicated favor to the second negotiated
set of
parameters can be received, the second negotiated set of parameters being the
parameters for the loyalty program 114 that has been refined; and a second
negotiated agreement to the second negotiated set can be communicated to each
of
the of collaborative constituents among a second remaining set of the
collaborative
constituents.
[0203] For example, the coffee shop owner may use the analytical tools
available at
the platform 112 to evaluate the performance of the spend-and-get coffee shop
loyalty
program after it has been implemented for six months. The analytical tool may
isolate
all purchases of coffee at the merchants 110 store for the past six months
across all of
the consumers 102 that made a purchase at the merchant's 110 store. The coffee
shop owner may determine that sales volume for coffee has not increased at his
coffee shop store in the past six months that the spend-and-get coffee shop
loyalty
program has been implemented. The analysis may provide a comparison of sales
volume of the coffee shop of the coffee shop owner against other coffee shops
in the
area. Given the outcome of the analysis, the coffee shop owner may determine
that
the spend-and-get coffee shop loyalty program is not cost effective and should
be
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CA 02717206 2010-10-07
terminated. Alternatively, or in combination, the coffee shop owner may
request that
an analysis be done showing sales volume of all spend-and-get loyalty programs
involving coffee across a plurality of the merchants 110 within a fifteen mile
radius.
Thereafter, the coffee shop owner may decide to alter one of the parameter of
the
spend-and-get coffee shop loyalty program such as by requiring only five
purchases of
coffee prior to receiving the sixth one free.
[0204] A computer program product can be configured to enable a computer to
facilitate the loyalty program 114. Software instructions for enabling the
computer to
perform predetermined operations facilitating construction, marketing, loyalty
program
qualification, fulfillment, and refinement of the loyalty program 114 can be
accessible
from a computer readable medium bearing the software instructions for the
methods
beginning at step 202. For example, the transaction handler 106 may maintain
the
computer such as by controlling access to the platform 112, hosting the
computer, or
controlling the flow of transmissions.
[0205] Figure 3 is a schematic of a transaction lifecycle 300 for the loyalty
program
114 including the phases of a Before Phase 302, a During Phase 304, and an
After
Phase 306. In one embodiment, the platform 112 supports the loyalty program
114
throughout the transaction lifecycle 300.
[0206] At the Before Phase 302, the loyalty program 114 may be created using
the
platform 112. For example, potential consumer information may be analyzed at
the
Before Phase 302 including obtaining one or more transaction files of
corresponding
potential consumers, transforming the files into readable form, and segmenting
and
identifying the potential consumer of the loyalty program 114. Moreover,
negotiations
can occur with collaborative constituents, such as the issuer 104 or the
merchant 110
to construct loyalty program business rules in order to determine what
transactions
may qualify for the loyalty program 114.
[0207] At the During Phase 304, the plafform 112 can facilitate information
exchange.
For example, information in a transaction message associated with a
transaction may
be relayed to a participant of the loyalty program 114 such as the transaction
handler
106 that in turn relays the information in the transaction message to the
other
participant of the loyalty program 114 via the platform 112. Moreover, the
information
in the transaction message may be analyzed such as by qualifying and
authenticating
non-financial data (e.g., authenticating the GUID for the merchant 110).
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[0208] At the After Phase 306, the platform 112 can facilitate the refinement
of the
loyalty program 114. For example, the loyalty program 114 can be refined to
better
meet the needs and intended goals of the participants by evaluating the
transaction
data of a plurality of the consumers 102 that have participated in the loyalty
program
114.
[0209] The actions described for each of the Before Phase 302, the During
Phase 304,
or the After Phase 306, are not limited to a particular phase alone. For
example,
construction of the loyalty program 114, construction of loyalty program
business rules,
analysis of information, and negotiation between collaborative constituents,
can occur
at the Before Phase 302, the During Phase 304, and/or the After Phase 306. For
example, at the After Phase 306, a new parameter of the loyalty program 114
can be
created. Similarly, actions such as facilitating the exchange of transaction
data and
analysis of the transaction message can occur at the Before Phase 302, the
During
Phase 304, and/or the After Phase 306. For example, at the After Phase 306,
the
information in the transaction message may be analyzed. Moreover, actions such
as
further qualifying the transaction message, refining the loyalty program 114
and
fulfillment calculation and realization can occur at the Before Phase 302, the
During
Phase 304, and/or the After Phase 306. For example, at the Before Phase 302,
the
loyalty program 114 may be further refined and the qualifying fulfillment for
the loyalty
program 114 may occur at the During Phase 304 (e.g., discount at the POS).
[0210] Figure 4 is a schematic illustrating various layers of the platform 112
that the
collaborative constituent may have access to and the components of the loyalty
program 114 that the plafform 112 can facilitate.
[0211] Several layers can support the platform 112 including an access
services layer
402, a business logic layer 404, and a data layer 406. The access services
layer 402
of the platform 112 represents the common data interface between collaborative
constituents. Via the access services layer 402, collaborative constituents
can
communicate with one another in a market place type environment. For example,
each collaborative constituent may transmit proposals, responses, and/or
replies
under a predetermined loyalty program rules.
[0212] The business logic layer 404 is the infrastructure within the platform
112 that
supports collaboration between collaborative constituents. For example, the
business
logic layer 404 may include a server, a database, and a program that can
determine
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CA 02717206 2010-10-07
whether the consumer's 102 transaction for the purchase of a hammer qualifies
for the
merchant's 110 loyalty program involving hand carpentry tools.
[0213] The data layer 406 represents transaction and participant data, such as
(but not
limited to) card holder names, addresses, communication preferences and
history, that
may be available to the collaborative constituent at the platform 112. The
transaction
data come from various sources including: information from the consumer 102,
information from the issuer 104, information from the acquirer 108,
information from
the transaction handler 106, or information from the merchant 110, or
information from
a third party, such as demographics. The information from the consumer 102 may
include: the consumer's 102 identification such as name or address, the
consumer's
102 account identification such as account number, the consumer's 102 inputted
data
such as preference for particular incentives, or the consumer's 102 shopping
trends.
The information from the issuer 104 may include: the issuer's 104 unique
identifier, the
issuer's 104 address, the issuer's 104 business rules, the issuer's 104
fulfillment
options, accumulated information about the consumer 102 for a period of time
(e.g.,
types of credit cards the consumer 102 has owned over the past two years), and
information on third parties that act as proxies to the issuer 104. The
information from
the acquirer 108 may include: the acquirer's 108 unique identifier, the
acquirer's 108
address, the GUID for the merchant 110, or accumulated daily sale report of
the
merchant 110. The information from the transaction handler 106 may include:
transaction message field formatting requirements, credit card spending
limits, credit
history, or demographic analyses. Information from the merchant 110 may
include:
the GUID for the merchant 110, the merchant's 110 acquirer code, franchise
codes,
or the merchant's 110 business rules codes. The information from third parties
could
include such information as household income, marriage status, number of
children,
homeowner status, and years in home.
[0214] The transaction data may also includes different types of information
including:
a transaction message; product or service information such product or service
type,
SKU number, chain of distribution, manufacturing codes, and geographical
distribution
codes; sale, license, or hire value information such as an item price; loyalty
program
business rule; loyalty program incentive information such as points,
conditions for
receiving double points, rewards, or cash back; an offer, negotiation, or a
posting
transaction cost information such as cost of processing a token transaction.
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[0215] The collaborative constituents can access the platform 112 to
facilitate various
components of the loyalty program 114 including: a construction 410, a
marketing 412,
a loyalty program qualification 414, a fulfillment 416, and a refinement 418
components of the loyalty program 114.
[0216] The collaborative constituents may access the platform 112 for the
construction
410 component of the loyalty program 114. Through the access services layer
402,
two or more of the collaborative constituents can interact to construct the
loyalty
program 114. The construction 410 of the loyalty program 114 can include:
constructing the business case that supports a parameter of the loyalty
program 114,
posting proposals, negotiating proposals, or identifying potential
participants. For
example, the collaborative constituent may choose from predetermined
parameters
developed by the transaction handler 106 prior to the negotiation in
constructing the
loyalty program 114, negotiating them in isolation or combinations. The
collaborative
constituent, such as the merchant 110, may transmit proposal containing a
parameter
that the merchant 110 wishes another of the collaborative constituents to
accept (e.g.,
express favor to), identify the consumer 102 such as a consumer group desired
to
become a recipient of the proposal, or elect to receive information from the
data layer
406 regarding the consumer 102.
[0217] Through the use of the data layer 406, collaborative constituents can
construct
the loyalty program 114 targeting the consumer 102 and the product purchased.
For
example, the loyalty program 114 can be a loyalty program that utilizes high
level
product information (e.g., a SKU) as a trigger for the loyalty program
business rule.
The trigger can be product category specific "music players," or product line
specific
such as iPode Nano, or a manufacturer such as Apple Computer, Inc. (e.g. " ten
percent off all Apple Computer products if you use your Wells Fargo credit
card.").
Consequently, the collaborative constituent involved in different levels of
the chain of
distribution such as a manufacturer, a distributor, a retailer, or the
merchant 110, can
better target the loyalty program 114 promotion via the platform 112.
[0218] Moreover, the collaborative constituent, such as the issuer 104, can
manage its
participation in the loyalty program 114 such as during the construction 410
component of the loyalty program 114 and through the access services layer
402.
The managing participation in the loyalty program 114 can include: choosing
marketing initiatives; registering the issuer's 104 rewards programs, ensuring
that the
issuer 104 qualifies for certain interchange levels, choosing specific
promotions for the
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consumer 102 to receive or participate in; selecting a method by which
proposal
messages can be delivered; finding the merchant 110 partners for proposals the
issuer 104 would like to run; posting information about proposals the issuer
104 would
like to run for the consumer 102 such as what type of cardholder qualifies for
the
loyalty program 114 or how many cardholders can qualify; obtaining the
consumer's
102 transaction data; or choosing proposal parameters.
[0219] The collaborative constituents may access the platform 112 for the
marketing
412 component of the loyalty program 114. The marketing may include sending a
marketing transmission containing information based in part on the remaining
parameter for the loyalty program 114 (e.g., buy three hamburgers from
Hamburger
Co. and get the fourth free), wherein the third transmission is addressed to
at least one
of the consumers 102. For example, the transaction handler 106 can assist a
collaborative constituent in the creative development of a marketing strategy,
such as
creating the marketing collateral, registering a participant of the loyalty
program 114
such as the consumer 102, or delivering a marketing message to the consumer
102
via a number of channels such as email direct mail, email, text messaging,
media
advertising, pop up advertising, telemarketing, or point of sale
communication. The
registering of the participant of the loyalty program 114 can include
registering
collaborative constituents for the loyalty program 114 or registering entities
that are not
one of the collaborative constituents. For example, the consumer 102 may send
a
transmission indicating that the consumer 102 wishes to have an account that
is
rewarded based on the parameters on the loyalty program 114 the consumer 102
received in the marketing transmission.
[0220] The collaborative constituent may access the platform 112 for the
loyalty
program qualification 414 component of the loyalty program 114. The loyalty
program
business rules may be applied to the transaction data associated with the
consumer's
102 purchase to determine if the purchase qualifies for the reward associated
with the
loyalty program 114. The transaction data may include data that populate a
field
within the transaction message associated with the transaction such as the
merchant
unique identifier, the consumer's 102 account number within the transaction
processing system, and information about the product or service purchased, a
code
for the loyalty program 114, for example.
[0221] The fulfillment 416 component may entail changing the cost of an amount
that
is made payable on an account involved in the transaction based on a value of
the
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CA 02717206 2010-10-07
incentive for the loyalty program 114 or providing value to the consumer
associated
with the account involved in the transaction, such as a free cup of coffee.
[0222] The collaborative constituent may access the platform 112 for the
fulfillment
416 component of the loyalty program 114. For example, once a transaction, or
set of
transactions qualify for fulfillment of the loyalty program 114, the
transaction handler
106 can facilitate fulfillment of that reward in accordance with one of the
remaining
parameter for the loyalty program 114. For example, if the loyalty program 114
is the
coffee shop spend-and-get loyally program, the transactions that qualify for
the coffee
shop spend-and-get loyally program can be electronically tracked and a message
sent
to a cell phone of the consumer 102 that the consumer 102 can receive a free
cup of
coffee the next time the consumer 102 goes to the coffee shop owner's store.
The
transaction handler 106 may take fulfillment actions including: calculating a
the value
of a promotion; awarding bonus points or miles; facilitating providing a
statement
credit, cash back value, or discount value to the participant of the loyalty
program
(e.g., the consumer 102); forwarding the part of the transaction data
regarding the
fulfillment (e.g., the calculated value of the promotion) to another of the
collaborative
constituent or to a support group such as a third party having a contractual
obligation
with the collaborative constituent. The fulfillment actions can occur in real
time, as part
of the clearing and settlement process, or sometime thereafter, for example.
[0223] The collaborative constituents may access the platform 112 for the
refinement
418 component of the loyalty program 114. The collaborative constituent, can
access
tools available at the platform 112 such as reporting, metrics and analytical
tools,
enabling the collaborative constituent to get statically generated analysis,
dynamically
generated analysis, or review forward looking promotional calendars to refine
the
collaborative constituent's marketing strategies. For example, the merchant
110 may
access the platform 112 to evaluate the loyalty program's 114 performance. The
merchant 110 may create reports via statistical software accessible at the
platform 112
and determine the degree that the consumer 102 or any group of the consumers
102
that are targeted as participated in the loyalty program 114 have changed the
consumer's 102 purchasing behavior based on parameters including:
demographics,
SKU numbers, store locations, seasonal variances, or consumer habits of buying
related commodities such as shoes and socks. The merchant 110 may decide to
refine the merchant's 110 range of the consumers 102 that are targeted or
promotions
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CA 02717206 2010-10-07
in the loyalty program 114 by continuing the negotiation process, such as
steps 201
through 210 of Figure 2.
[0224] Although illustrated in a progressive manner, the transaction
components of the
following can follow any order or be concurrent: the construction 410, the
marketing
412, the loyalty program qualification 414, the fulfillment 416, and the
refinement 418
components. For example, the refinement 418 component of the loyalty program
114
may occur during the marketing 412 component such as by narrowing the group of
the
consumers 102 that are targeted, the fulfillment 416 component may occur
during the
transaction component program qualification 314 component such as when the
consumer 102 receives a discount during a purchase, and the marketing 412 can
occur during the fulfillment 416 component such as providing the consumer 102
with a
coupon for the next purchase. Other combinations are readily conceivable to a
person
of ordinary skill in the art.
[0225] As background information for the foregoing description, as will be
readily
understood by persons of ordinary skill in the art, a transaction such as a
payment
transaction, can include participation from different entities that are a
component of
a transaction processing system. An exemplary such transaction processing
system
such as a transaction processing environment is depicted in Figure 5 as a
payment
processing system 500. The payment processing system 500 includes the issuer
104,
the transaction handler 106, such as a credit card company, the acquirer 108,
the
merchant 110, or the consumer 102. The acquirer 108 and the issuer 104 can
communicate through the transaction handler 106. The merchant 110 may utilize
at
least one POS terminal that can communicate with the acquirer 108, the
transaction
handler 106, or the issuer 104. Thus, the POS terminal is in operative
communication
with the payment processing system 500.
[0226] Typically, a transaction begins with the consumer 102 presenting a
portable
consumer device 502 to the merchant 110 to initiate an exchange for a good or
service. The portable consumer device 502 may include a payment card, a gift
card,
a smartcard, a smart media, a payroll card, a health care card, a wrist band,
a machine readable medium containing account information, a keychain device
such
as the SPEEDPASS commercially available from EcconMobil Corporation or
a supermarket discount card, a cellular phone, personal digital assistant, a
pager,
a security card, an access card, a wireless terminal, or a transponder. The
portable
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CA 02717206 2010-10-07
consumer device 502 may include a volatile or non-volatile memory to store
information such as the account number or an account holder's name.
[0227] The merchant 110 may use an acceptance point device, such as a POS
terminal, to obtain account information, such as an account number, from the
portable
consumer device 502. The portable consumer device 502 may interface with the
POS
terminal using a mechanism including any suitable electrical, magnetic, or
optical
interfacing system such as a contactless system using radio frequency or
magnetic
field recognition system or contact system such as a magnetic stripe reader.
The POS
terminal sends a transaction authorization request to the issuer 104 of the
portable
consumer device 502. Alternatively, or in combination, the portable consumer
device
502 may communicate with the issuer 104, the transaction handler 106, or the
acquirer 108.
[0228] The issuer 104 may authorize the transaction using the transaction
handler
106. The transaction handler 106 may also clear the transaction. Authorization
includes the issuer 104, or the transaction handler 106 on behalf of the
issuer 104,
authorizing the transaction in connection with the issuer's 104 instructions
such as
through the use of business rules. The business rules could include
instructions or
guidelines from the transaction handler 106, the consumer 102, the merchant
110, the
acquirer 108, the issuer 104, a financial institution, or combinations
thereof. The
transaction handler 106 may maintain a log or history of authorized
transactions.
Once approved, the merchant 110 can record the authorization, and allow the
consumer 102 to receive the good or service.
[0229] The merchant 110 may, at discrete periods, such as the end of the day,
submit
a list of authorized transactions to the acquirer 108 or other components of
the
payment processing system 500. The transaction handler 106 may compare the
submitted authorized transaction list with its own log of authorized
transactions. If a
match is found, the transaction handler 106 may route authorization
transaction
amount requests from the corresponding acquirer 108 to the corresponding
issuer 104
involved in each transaction. Once the acquirer 108 receives the payment of
the
authorized transaction amount from the issuer 104, it can forward the payment
to the
merchant 110 less any transaction costs, such as fees. If the transaction
involves
a debit or pre-paid card, the acquirer 108 may choose not to wait for the
initial
payment prior to paying the merchant 110.
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[0230] There may be intermittent steps in the foregoing process, some of which
may
occur simultaneously. For example, the acquirer 108 can initiate the clearing
and
settling process, which can result in payment to the acquirer 108 for the
amount of the
transaction. The acquirer 108 may request from the transaction handler 106
that the
transaction be cleared and settled. Clearing includes the exchange of
financial
information between the issuer 104 and the acquirer 108 and settlement
includes the
exchange of funds. The transaction handler 106 can provide services in
connection
with settlement of the transaction. The settlement of a transaction includes
depositing
an amount of the transaction settlement from a settlement house, such as a
settlement
bank, which the transaction handler 106 typically chooses, into a
clearinghouse, such
as a clearing bank, that the acquirer 108 typically chooses. The issuer 104
deposits
the same from a clearinghouse, such as a clearing bank, which the issuer 104
typically
chooses into the settlement house. Thus, a typical transaction involves
various
entities to request, authorize, and fulfill processing the transaction.
[0231] Global unique identifiers, such as GUIDs for the participants of the
loyalty
program 114, can promote uniformity in the exchange of information amongst the
participant of the loyalty program 114 and facilitate the determination of
whether
a transaction between the consumer 102 and the merchant 110 qualifies for an
incentive of the loyalty program 114. The GUID for the merchant 110 may take
the
form of a random code; an indicator of a franchiser for one or more of the
merchants
110; an indicator of a franchisee store number for the merchant 110; an
indicator of a
corporate entity associated with the merchant 110; an indicator of a merchant
category
into which the merchant 110 is classified; or a combination thereof. The GUID
for the
merchant 110 may contain information that can categorize the merchant 110 into
a
merchant category, such as a retail store, having a corresponding merchant
code such
as "RSTR598183" the first four letters indicating that the merchant is
categorized as a
Retail SToRe = RSTR.
[0232] The GUID for the merchant 110 can distinguish the merchant 110 from
other
merchants within the transaction processing system. For example, an acquirer X
may
identify a Neiman Marcus store number 99 by "9999" while another acquirer Y
may
identify a Safeway located at 99th Avenue with "9999." Because "9999" is not
unique within the payment processing system, a purchase at Safeway can not be
distinguished from a purchase at Neiman Marcus. On the other hand, if each of
the
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CA 02717206 2010-10-07
merchants 110 have a unique number within the payment processing system,
purchases at each of the merchants 110 can be distinguished from one another.
102331 In another example, "HD hardware store" may be a franchisor that has a
HD
hardware store loyalty program in connection with the issuer 104 developed
using the
platform 112. HD hardware store may have two franchisee merchants "HD hardware
store X" and "HD hardware store Y" each having different acquirers: Acquirer X
and
Acquirer Y. Acquirer X may keep an internal log on franchisee merchant HD
hardware
store X with an identifier "9999." Acquirer Y may keep a separate internal log
on HD
hardware store Y with an identifier "WQ83." The issuer 104 involved in the HD
hardware store loyalty program may not be able to recognize that hardware
store X
and hardware store Y have the same franchisor via the internal identifiers of
acquirer X
"9999" or acquirer Y "WQ83" respectively; consequently, the issuer 104 may
have
difficulty determining if a purchase at each store would qualify for the HD
hardware
store loyalty program. On the other hand, if HD hardware store's franchisee's
are
each assigned merchant unique identifiers, the issuer 104 may be able to
better
distinguish HD hardware store X or HD hardware store Y as participants of the
HD
hardware store loyalty program.
[0234] Other transaction data that may also be taken into consideration when
determining whether a transaction qualifies for the incentive of the loyalty
program 114
include: SKU numbers, UPCs, a timestamp for the transaction, an account GUID
(e.g.,
an account number for an account within the payment processing system
associated
with the consumer 102), a code identifying the consumer 102 as a valued
customer, or
a code identifying a purchase qualifying for a loyalty program incentive. The
collaborative constituent, such as the transaction handler 106, can transform
the high
level product or service information within the transaction message into a
form usable
to the collaborative constituent. For example, the SKU number can be
subsequently
transformed into banking industry file formats, validated, matched to
corresponding
financial records and delivered to the participant of the loyalty program 114
via a
number of different channels.
[0235] Referring to Figure 6, an exemplary method 600 for determining if a
transaction
between the consumer 102 and the merchant 110 qualifies for the incentive of
the
loyalty program 114 begins at step 602. At step 602, data characterizing the
transaction is received, for example, by one of the loyalty program
implementers
receiving a notice containing the data characterizing transaction from the
acquirer 108.
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CA 02717206 2010-10-07
The data characterizing the transaction may be received in a transmission at a
computer, an electrical device having circuitry to receive electrical signals,
or a radio
frequency receiving device, for example. The transmission may be sent via a
computer network, a wireless network, an electrical communication line, or a
combination thereof.
102361 The data characterizing the transaction can include the date of the
transaction;
the time of the transaction; an identifier for an account such as the account
number of
the consumer's 102 account used in the transaction; a code for the merchant
110 such
as the GUID for the merchant 110 ("merchant GUID"); a code for the commodity
traded in the transaction, such a GUID for the commodity ("commodity GUID"),
SKU
or a UPC of a good or service; or a combination of the foregoing.
[02371 The code for the merchant 110 may be nonunique. For example, the
merchant
110 may have multiple codes associated with it such as when two acquirers 108
each
have a different indicator for the merchant 110. Alternatively, or in
combination, the
code for the merchant 110 may be nonunique because a single indicator may be
associated with multiple merchants 110 such as when the acquirer 108 has the
indicator "XYZ" for a particular Sears store while another acquirer has the
indicator
"XYZ" for a Dairy Queen store.
[02381 At step 604, the GUID for the merchant 110 is optionally determined
using the
data characterizing the transaction, for example, the determination can occur
if the
GUID for the merchant 110 is not in the received data. An algorithm can be
used to
determine the GUID for the merchant 110. For example, a code for the merchant
110
that is nonunique within the payment processing system, the merchant's 110
address,
a GUID for the acquirer, or a combination of the foregoing may serve as input
to the
algorithm to determine the GUID for the merchant 110. To illustrate, the data
characterizing the transaction may include a Wells Fargo merchant code "XYZ"
as
the merchant's 110 code and the information that the merchant's 110 acquirer
is Wells
Fargo branch number 603 located in Chandler Arizona. An algorithm can be used
to
determine the merchant's 110 GUID given "XYZ" and the Wells Fargo branch
number because the algorithm may include computer code for accessing a
database
linking acquirers, their respective merchant codes, and the GUID for the
merchant
110. The transaction handler 106 may have assigned the GUID for the merchant
110
for example, by using the algorithm to determine the GUID for the merchant
110.
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CA 02717206 2010-10-07
[0239] Multiple identifiers, such as a plurality of the merchant GUIDs, the
account
GUIDs, or the commodity GUIDS, may be stored in a database. For example, a
loyalty program database may contain a plurality of merchant GUIDs that exist
in the
payment processing system. Moreover, the merchant GUIDs of those merchants 110
that are participants in a loyalty program 114 can be associated with the
loyalty
program 114 within the loyalty program database. Similarly, the account GUIDs
of
those consumers 102 that are participants in the loyalty program 114 can be
associated with the loyalty program 114 within the loyalty program database
and the
commodity GUIDs of those commodities that are participants in the loyalty
program
114 can be associated with the loyalty program 114 within the loyalty program
database. The loyalty program database can be a network of multiple databases
that
are either co-located or geographically dispersed. The transaction handler 106
may
maintain the loyalty program database.
[0240] Moreover, an incentive for a loyalty program, such as the incentive for
the
loyalty program 114, may be stored in the loyalty program database. For
example, the
loyalty program business rule may be stored the loyalty program database such
that
the incentive may be calculated. The incentives for each of the corresponding
loyalty
programs, such as loyalty program 114, may be associated with the
corresponding
loyalty programs within the loyalty program database.
[0241] Therefore, a GUID, such as the merchant GUID, may be used as a search
term
within the loyalty program database to facilitate determining if the
transaction is eligible
for an incentive of the loyalty program 114 and determining a value of the
incentive of
the loyalty program 114. For example, a search within the loyalty program
database
using the account GUID as a search term may reveal that the consumer 102 with
the
account GUID is one of the participants of the loyalty program 114 and that
the
incentive for loyalty program 114 is a $10 U.S. credit toward the consumer's
102
account associated with the account GUID if the consumer makes a purchase at
the
merchant's 110 store.
[0242] At step 606, a determination is made as to whether the transaction is
eligible for
the incentive of a loyalty program, such as the loyalty program 114, by using
a GUID
matching algorithm. Step 606 may include determining whether the merchant 110,
the
account of the consumer 102, the commodity purchased, or a combination of the
forgoing are participants of the loyalty program 114 by matching the data
characterizing the transaction, such as the GUID for the merchant 110, with
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CA 02717206 2010-10-07
corresponding GUIDs stored in the loyalty program database. Parameters of the
loyalty program business rule may determine how many components of the data
characterizing the transaction should be matched with the corresponding GUIDs
in the
loyalty program database to satisfy becoming eligible for the incentive.
[0243] For example, the loyalty program business rule may have parameters such
that
both the account and the merchant 110 must be participants of the loyalty
program
114 for the transaction to be eligible for the incentive of the loyalty
program 114. The
determination of the eligibility may entail matching both the account GUID and
the
GUID for the merchant 110 characterizing the transaction against a plurality
of account
GUIDs and merchant GUIDs respectively in the loyalty program database. The
loyalty
program database of account GUIDs and merchant GUIDs may associate at least
some of the GUIDs with various transaction programs, such as the loyalty
program
114. Consequently, when a match exists, information about the transaction
program
can be obtained and a determination made as to what loyalty program 114 he
merchant 110 or the account used in the transaction may be a participant of.
[0244] To illustrate, the consumer 102 may be a participant of a Neiman Marcus
apparel loyalty program. The consumer 102 may purchase a pair of shoes from
Neiman Marcus store #33 using the consumer's 102 Neiman Marcus credit card
account. If at step 606 the consumer's 102 Neiman Marcus credit card account
number is matched with a credit card number within the loyalty program
database of
account numbers, information can be obtained about the transaction programs
that the
consumer's 102 Neiman Marcus credit card account may be a participant of. If
the
Neiman Marcus apparel loyalty program is one of the transaction programs that
the
Neiman Marcus credit card account is a participant of, the consumer 102 may
be
eligible for receiving an incentive of the Neiman Marcus apparel loyalty
program.
Similarly, if the GUID for Neiman Marcus store #33 matches with a GUID for
Neiman
Marcus store #33 in the loyalty program database of GUIDs for merchants, it
can be
determined whether the Neiman Marcus store #33 is part of the Neiman Marcus
apparel loyalty program.
[0245] Moreover, the Neiman Marcus apparel loyalty program may be such that
only
Salvatore Ferragamoe brand shoes qualify for the Neiman Marcus apparel
loyalty
program. The data characterizing the transaction may have a GUID for the
merchant's 110 commodity (e.g., Salvatore Ferragamo0 shoes) such as a SKU
number. The SKU number can be matched against a database, such as the loyalty
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CA 02717206 2010-10-07
program database, of SKU numbers to determine if the commodity is a
participant of
the loyalty program. In the example, above, if the consumer 102 purchased the
pair of
Salvatore Ferragamo shoes, the SKU would match the SKUs in the database; thus
the transaction would be a transaction that is eligible toward the incentive
of the
Neiman Marcus apparel loyalty program.
[0246] At step 608, the incentive (e.g., reward) for the loyalty program 114
is derived
for the transaction that is eligible for the incentive. The incentive can be
derived using
the loyalty program business rule for the loyalty program 114. The loyalty
program
implementer may use the loyalty program business rule for the loyalty program
114 to
determine the value of the incentive for the loyalty program 114.
[0247] One of the collaborative constituents may have developed the loyalty
program
business rule. For example, the merchant 110 may have developed a business
rule
for the Neiman Marcus appeal loyalty program such that the consumer 102 may
receive $10 U.S. credit toward the consumer's 102 Neiman Marcus credit card
account when the consumer 102 purchases a pair of Salvatore Ferragamo OD shoes
at
Neiman Marcus store #33.
[0248] One of the loyalty program implementers may facilitate the fulfillment
of the
incentive. For example, the transaction handler 106 may facilitate the
application of
a statement credit to the consumer's 102 account, if the loyalty program
business rule
so delineates. Alternatively or in combination, the facilitation may entail
assisting other
loyalty program implementers to fulfill the incentive, such as by reporting
the value of
the incentive to a third party agency.
[0249] At step 610, information regarding the derived incentive may be
transmitted.
For example, the value of the derived incentive, the date the derived
incentive was
redeemed, the time the derived incentive was redeemed, past incentive that
have
been derived for the loyalty program 114 can be included in a formed
transmission
addressed to the merchant 110 corresponding to the merchant GUID within the
data
characterizing the transaction.
[0250] The transmission may be sent to the merchant 110, the loyalty program
implementer, the third party agency, or the consumer 102. For example, the
consumer 102 may receive a report of all derived loyalty program incentives
that have
been applied to the consumer's 102 account for the past year. Similarly,
reports can
be derived for transactions involving the merchant 110 and transmitted to the
collaborating constituents to facilitate refining the loyalty program 114. The
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CA 02717206 2010-10-07
transmission may be created through the use of a computing device, a
telecommunication device, the portable consumer device 502, or combinations
thereof.
[0251] The data characterizing the transaction or the information regarding
the derived
incentive may be stored in a database, such as the loyalty program database.
For
example, the shopping trends of the consumer 102 may be analyzed using the
loyalty
program database containing the information regarding the derived incentive
and the
data characterizing the transaction.
[0252] Information on incomplete matches may be stored and communicated to the
merchant 110, the consumer 102, or a combination thereof. For example, the
loyalty
program 114 may have a loyalty program business rule indicating that if the
consumer
102 makes a purchase of chairs at the merchant's 110 store, the consumer 102
may
receive cash back for ten (10) percent of the purchase price. Consequently, in
this
example, in order for a transaction to be eligible for the incentive of the
loyalty program
114, each of the merchant GUID, the commodity GUID for the chairs, and the
account
GUID (or account GUID) in the transaction must match corresponding the
merchant
GUID for the merchant 110 in the loyalty program database, the commodity GUID
for
the chairs in the loyalty program database, and the account GUID for the
consumer
102 in the loyalty program database. If any of the merchant GUID, the
commodity
GUID, or the account GUID do not match, the transaction is not eligible for
the
incentive of the loyalty program 114; however, the consumer 102 may
potentially get
the incentive of the loyalty program 114 to incent the consumer 102 to change
their
commercial behavior such that the remaining variables of the loyalty program
business
rule are satisfied. Consequently, a potential incentive may exist when the
loyalty
program business rule is partially satisfied. A transmission can be formed
having
information on the potential incentive, such as information on the variables
that remain
unmatched between the data characterizing the transaction and the various
GUIDs
that are stored in the loyalty program database. The transmission may be
addressed
to the merchant 110 or the consumer 102.
[0253] To illustrate, the consumer 102 may go into a furniture store that is
merchant
110. Both the consumer 102 and the merchant 110 may be participants in the
merchant's 110 loyalty program for chairs. The consumer 102 purchases a table
at
the merchant's 110 store. At the POS, the merchant 102 receives a transmission
indicating the consumer 102 is a member of the merchant's 110 loyalty program
for
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CA 02717206 2010-10-07
chairs. The merchant 110 may convey to the consumer 102 that if the consumer
also
purchases the chairs that go with the table, the consumer 102 may receive a
ten (10)
percent cash back incentive.
[0254] Alternatively, or in combination, the information on the incomplete
matches can
be accumulated in a manner that can be retrieved based on a characteristic of
the
information on the incomplete matches. An algorithm can be used to store the
information on the incomplete matches in the loyalty program database or to
filter the
information on the incomplete matches. For example, the algorithm may filter
the
information on the incomplete matches such that only those incomplete matches
involving merchant 110 are retrieved in a set. The set can then be transmitted
to the
merchant 110. Given the set, the merchant 110 may refine the parameters of the
loyalty program 114 to better capture sales potentials and increase sale
value.
[0255] In yet another implementation, the loyalty program implementer, such as
the
transaction handler 106, facilitates a transfer of funds matching the value of
the
incentive from a sponsor of a loyalty program to the account holder (e.g.,
consumer
102) engaging in a transaction that qualifies for the incentive. A sponsor is
an entity,
such as the issuer 104, the transaction handler 106, the merchant 110, or a
loyalty
program agent, for example, that pays for the incentive of the loyalty
program. For
example, the merchant 110 may be the sponsor of an incentive in a loyalty
program
that encourages account holders to engage in transactions with the merchant
110.
To illustrate, if the incentive is worth 10% of a full ticket price (e.g, a
cost of the
commodity purchased and a tax on the commodity) of $100 U.S., then the
merchant
110 is responsible for paying the incentive worth $10 U.S. (10% of the $100
U.S.).
Here, the loyalty program implementer facilitates the transfer of funds from
the
merchant 110 by request the merchant 110 to pay the $10 U.S. incentive for
deposit to
the account of the account holder.
[0256] As stated previously, the transfer of the value of the incentive to the
account
holder may be in the form of a statement credit to the account of the account
holder
engaged in the transaction that qualifies for the incentive ("qualified
transaction"). For
example, the transaction handler 106 may form a transmission for delivery to
the
issuer 104 of the account. The transmission may include a request that the
account
be credited the value of the incentive, such as requesting that the account be
credited
$10 U.S., in the above example. The issuer 104 may, in turn, apply the credit
and
report the credit on the statement of the account holder.
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CA 02717206 2010-10-07
[0257] In one implementation, the issuer 104 credits the value of the
incentive to the
account of the account holder using protocols used to process the transaction
within
the transaction life cycle 300. The protocols may include the transmission
formatting
rules used for processing of the transaction's: authorization, clearing and
settling,
payment of interchange fees, and returns or refunds requests. For example, the
issuer 104 may credit the value of the incentive using the protocols for
processing of a
refund of the transaction. In a refund, the merchant 110 sends a transmission
to the
acquirer 108 of the merchant 110 requesting that an amount of currency be
refunded
to the account holder matching a price of a returned commodity (e.g., a refund
of $33
U.S. for a pair of returned shoes previously purchased for $33 U.S.). The
transmission formatting rules for refunds may dictate that the transmission to
the
acquirer 108 should be populated with a refund code that distinguishes the
transmission as a refund request within the payment processing system 500. The
acquirer 108 sends a transmission including the return code to the transaction
handler
106. The transaction handler 106, in turn, sends the transmission including
the return
code to the issuer 104 of the account. The issuer then applies the value of
the refund
as a credit to the account.
[0258] Typically, however, when the account holder returns an item for a
refund, the
issuer 104 must return the interchange fees associated with the processing of
the
transaction for the commodity that is being returned for the refund. In the
shoe
example above, the merchant 110 paid an interchange fee (e.g., $5 U.S.) to the
issuer
104 when the account holder used the account to pay for the $33 U.S. shoes.
The
interchange fee may be a function of the total ticket price, the type of
account used in
the transaction, the number of transmissions used to process the transaction,
the size
or type of the merchant 110, the interchange fee rules of the issuer 104, the
interchange fee rules of the transaction handler 106, a combination thereof,
or any
number of other functions as is known in the art. In the shoe example, the
issuer 104
would return the $5 U.S. interchange fee back to the merchant 110 when the
shoes
are returned to the merchant 110.
[0259] The same protocol for processing of a returned commodity may be used to
apply the value of the incentive as a credit to the account of the account
holder. For
example, the loyalty program implementer, such as the transaction handler 106,
may
send the transmission including the refund code to the issuer 104 to credit
the account
of the account holder in an amount matching the value of the incentive. The
issuer
CA 02717206 2010-10-07
104, in turn, can apply the credit to the account. If, however, the value of
the incentive
is credited to the account using the refund protocols (e.g., using the refund
code), the
issuer 104 would, in turn, also refund the interchange fee associated with the
processing of the transaction back to the merchant 110. Therefore, the use of
the
return protocols to credit the value of the incentive to the account,
therefore, may
result in loss of revenue to the issuer 110. This loss of revenue occurs
despite the
issuer 110 having to use its resources to process the transaction for the full
ticket price
and to process the payment of the incentive.
[0260] In another implementation, the issuer 104 credits the value of the
incentive to
the account of the account holder using protocols that are different from
those used in
the transaction life cycle 300. The loyalty program implementer, such as the
transaction handler 106, sends a separate transmission to the issuer 104
requesting
that the value of the incentive be applied as a credit to the account of the
account
holder without using, for example, the refund code. Rather, the transaction
handler
106 and the issuer 104 may have agreed upon other codes that can be used in a
separate transmission that can distinguish the separate transmission as one to
be
processed outside of the transaction life cycle 300. The issuer 104 can, in
turn,
process the request to apply the value of the incentive as a credit
automatically, with
minimal manual intervention, because the transmission follows predetermined
protocols for the application of the credit. To this end, the application of
the credit to
the account does not impact the interchange fee of the issuer 104 associated
with
processing of the transaction within the transaction life cycle 300.
[0261] Moreover, because the application of the value of the incentive as a
credit is
processed separately from the transaction itself, the transaction handler 106
can send
the transmission requesting the application of the value of the incentive as a
credit to
the issuer 104 at any time during the transaction life cycle 300, such as at
the Before
Phase 302, the During Phase 304, or the After Phase 306. For example, the
account
holder may have registered the account in the loyalty program that gives
incentives to
account holders on a monthly basis. Here, the transaction handler 106 may send
the
issuer 106 the transmission including the credit request on a monthly basis
independent of any particular transaction of the account holder.
[0262] Referring to Figures 7 and 8, flow charts illustrate a method 700 in
Figure 7 that
is continued as a method 800 in Figure 8 for applying a value of an incentive
within a
loyalty program to an account of an account holder. The methods 700 or 800 may
41
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CA 02717206 2010-10-07
each be implemented using a computing device such as a server having a
processor
and a computer readable medium storing computer readable code that, when
executed by the processor, causes the server to perform each of the methods
700 or
800.
[0263] At a step 702, the computing device of the loyalty program implementer,
such
as the transaction handler 106, receives loyalty program business rules that
are each
usable to determine a value of an incentive in the loyalty program. As stated
previously, the merchants 110 participating in the loyalty program can provide
the
transaction handler 106 with a loyalty program business rule for determining a
value of
an incentive that the participating merchant 110 may be offering to account
holders.
To illustrate, the participating merchant 110 may use a computer to form a
transmission for delivery to the computing device of the transaction handler
106
including the offer of the participating merchant 110. The offer may be for an
incentive
worth 10% of the full ticket price of transactions with the participating
merchant 110 if
the account holder engages in a transaction at a store of the participating
merchant
110 upon an account that is registered with the loyalty program.
[0264] At a step 704, the computing device, electronically receives a
plurality of
transactions within the payment processing system 500. These transactions may
be
with a plurality of merchants 110 that may or may not be participants in the
loyalty
program each payable upon a plurality of corresponding accounts that may or
may not
be registered with the loyalty program. As stated previously, the plurality of
transactions may each include one or more electronically transmitted
transmissions
including any of: a corresponding authorization request, a corresponding
authorization
response, a corresponding clearing and settling of the transaction, or a
combination
thereof, for example. See e.g., supra 1111 [0225] through [0230] and Figure 5.
To
illustrate, as known by those of ordinary skill in the art, the transaction
may include an
electronic transmission including an authorization request that is sent from
the Point of
Sale of the merchant 110 to the acquirer 108 of the merchant 110. The
authorization
request may include information about the transaction such as the account
identifier of
the account used in the transaction and the merchant identifier of the
merchant 110
engaged in the transaction. The acquirer 108, in turn, forwards the
authorization
request to the transaction handler 106 that forwards the authorization request
to the
corresponding issuer 104 of the account. The issuer 104 of the account then
sends a
transmission to the transaction handler 106 including an authorization
response
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CA 02717206 2010-10-07
approving or denying the transaction as payable upon the account. The
transaction
handler 106 forwards the authorization response back to the merchant 110
engaged in
the transaction via the corresponding acquirer 108.
[0265] At a step 706, the computing device electronically receives a clearing
and
settling request for each of the transactions received in the step 704. As
stated
previously, the transaction handler 106 may facilitate the transfer of funds
for the
transaction from the account of the account holder to the merchant 110 engaged
in the
transaction. See e.g., supra [0230].
[0266] At a step 708, for each of the transactions received in step 704, the
computing
device electronically facilitates the transfer of interchange fees from the
corresponding
merchant 110 to the corresponding issuer 104 of the account used in the
transactions
received in step 702. For example, the business rule of the issuer 104 may
indicate
that the issuer 104 is to receive %.1 of a full ticket price of a transaction
as an
interchange fee for processing of the transaction upon an account that the
issuer 104
has issued to the account holder. The merchant 110 engaged in the transaction
may
be responsible for paying the %.1 interchange fee to the issuer 104. As
previously
described, the interchange fee may be processed as part of the clearing and
settling of
the transaction. For example, the issuer 104 may receive the clearing and
settling
request from the transaction handler 106. The issuer 104 may forward the funds
matching the price of the purchased commodity to the merchant 110 via the
transaction handler 106, less the interchange fees. To illustrate, if the
transaction with
the merchant 110 was for $100 U.S. and the interchange fee is .1% of $100
U.S., then
the issuer 104 may send $99 U.S. ($100 U.S. - .1 X $100 U.S. = $99 U.S.) to
the
transaction handler 106 to forward to the acquirer 108 of the merchant 110.
[0267] At a step 710, the computing device electronically determines whether
the
received transactions of step 702, each qualify for at least one incentive in
the loyalty
program. As stated previously, the loyalty program implementer, such as the
transaction handler 106, may use the loyalty program business rules to
determine if
each of the received transactions qualifies for at least one of the incentives
in the
loyalty program. For example, the transaction handler 106 may use the
computing
device to compare the data in a corresponding authorization request for the
transaction to determine if the data matches the predetermined parameters for
an
incentive in the loyalty program. To illustrate, the loyalty program business
rule may
include that the qualified transaction is one in which a registered account is
used in a
43
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CA 02717206 2010-10-07
transaction with a specified merchant 110. Here, the transaction handler may:
compare the merchant identifier in the authorization request with a merchant
identifier
of the specified merchant 110 to find a match; and compare the account
identifier in
the authorization request with the account identifier of a registered account
to find a
match. If both matches are found, the transaction qualifies for the
corresponding
incentive in the loyalty program.
Alternatively, or in combination, the computing
device may access data about the transaction stored in a database to compare
the
data with the predetermined parameters for the incentive to find corresponding
matches.
[0268] At a step 712, if one of the received transactions of step 702
qualifies for at
least one of the incentives in the loyalty program, the computing device
determines a
value for the corresponding incentive. The value of the incentive can be
determined
using the loyalty program business rules. For example, if the full ticket
price of the
transaction was $100 U.S. and the loyalty program business rule indicates that
the
incentive is worth 10% of the full ticket price of the transaction, then the
computing
device calculates the value of the incentive as $10 U.S.
[0269] At a step 714, the computing device identifies the issuer 104 of the
account
used in the qualified transaction and the sponsor of the corresponding
incentive in the
loyalty program. For example, the computing device may utilize the account
identifier
in the transaction to identify the corresponding issuer 104 of the account.
Similarly,
the computing device may utilize the merchant identifier of the merchant
engaged in
the transaction to identify the sponsor of the incentive. For example, the
transaction
handler 106 may retrieve the identity of the sponsor by accessing data stored
in a
database associating the merchant identifier of the specified merchant 110
with an
identity of the sponsor of the incentive.
[0270] At a step 716, a query is made to determine whether to aggregate the
calculated value of the incentive. If the value is to be aggregated, the
method 700
proceeds back to step 704, repeating steps 704 to 714. Here, the value of
another
incentive is calculated for another qualified transaction that is then
cumulated with the
original incentive. For example, the computing device may sum up the value of
incentives owed by a single sponsor. The aggregated incentives owed by the
sponsor
for multiple qualified transactions may be sent to the sponsor in batch mode.
Similarly,
the value of incentives owed to a single issuer 104 may be cumulated for
multiple
qualified transactions and sent to the issuer 110 in batch mode.
44
CA 02717206 2010-10-07
[0271] Alternatively, if the query of step 714 results in a determination not
to aggregate
the value of the incentive, then the method 700 moves to the step 802 in
Figure 8 via
the cross reference A. At the step 802, the computing device forms a
transmission for
delivery to the identified issuer 106 of step 714 to credit the value of the
incentive to
the account used in the qualified transaction. The information in the
transmission may
be sufficient for the identified issuer 104 to automatically credit the
account the value
of the incentive. For example, the transmission may include a code that
distinguishes
the transmission as one including a request to credit the account such that
the issuer
110 can process the credit without manual intervention.
[0272] As stated previously the transmission for delivery to the identified
issuer 104
may occur outside of the transaction life cycle 300 such that the interchange
fees
remain intact. For example, subsequent to the clearing and settling of the
qualified
transaction, the interchange fee of the identified issuer 104 is not decreased
due to the
application of the value of the incentive as a credit to the account.
[0273] At a step 804, the computing device forms a transmission for delivery
to the
identified sponsor of the incentive to debit a funding balance for the value
of the
incentive. The funding balance may be an amount of currency of the sponsor
that
may be used to pay for the incentive. For example, the sponsor may have a
checking
account that has the funding balance to pay for the incentive. The
transmission may
indicate to the sponsor to debit the checking account the value of the
incentive. In
another example, the sponsor may be the merchant 110 engaged in the
transaction,
the transmission may be for delivery to the acquirer 108 of the merchant 110
to debit a
designated bank account of the merchant 110 that is identified by a funding
Bank
Identification Number (BIN).
[0274] At a step 806, the computing device facilitates a transfer of funds
matching the
value of the incentive from the funding balance to the account used in the
qualified
transaction. For example, the transaction handler 106 may facilitate a
withdrawal of
the funds from the funding BIN to be forwarded to the issuer 110 of the
account. The
issuer 110, having already credited the account used in the qualified
transaction,
becomes whole by receiving the value of the incentive that has already been
credited
to the account. In other examples, the account of the account holder is not
credited
the value of the incentive until the issuer 110 receives the funds from the
sponsor of
the incentive.
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CA 02717206 2010-10-07
[0275] The r funds from the funding balance may be received in any number of
forms.
For example, the funds may be transferred from the funding BIN. In another
example,
the funds may be transferred via a wire transfer from the sponsor for delivery
to the
transaction handler 106. In yet another example, the funds may be transferred
using
an Automated Clearing House, as is known in the art. Any combination thereof
is also
applicable.
[0276] The computing device performs a reporting function at step 808. For
example,
the transaction handler 106 may utilize the computing device to produce a
report for:
the merchant 110, the account holder of the account used in the qualified
transaction,
the issuer 106 of the account, or the sponsor. Each report may indicate the
value of
the incentive or the aggregate incentives transferred to or from each
respective entity
in connection with the loyalty program. Other data can be reported as well,
such as a
frequency of incentives that the sponsor has paid over a predetermined amount
of
time, the percentage of account holders of the issuer 104 using accounts with
qualified
transactions, or the total amount of incentives a particular account holder
has
received. Other reporting functions are also contemplated and applicable.
[0277] An application of the methods 700 and 800, may be illustrated in an
example.
Here, a small business account holder may register an account in the loyalty
program
with the transaction handler 106 by sending a transmission to the computing
device of
the transaction handler 106. Merchants 110 in the payment processing system
500
participating in the loyalty program may have sent the transaction handler 106
loyalty
program business rules that can be used to determine a value of a
corresponding
incentive (step 702). The computing device receives transactions between
merchants
110 and account holders in the payment processing system 500 (step 704). The
computing device may determine if the transactions qualify for at least one of
the
incentives in the loyalty program, such as by matching the merchant identifier
of the
merchant 110 engaged in the transaction with the merchant identifier of the
participating merchant 110 (step 710). After the clearing and settling of the
qualified
transactions in the payment processing system 500, the computing device may
determine a value of corresponding incentives for the qualified transactions
(step 712).
The computing device may, in turn, send: a transmission to the sponsor of the
corresponding incentive to debit the value of the incentive from a funding
balance; and
a transmission to the issuer 106 of the account to credit the value of the
incentive to
the account used in the qualified transaction (step 802 and step 804). The
crediting
46
v =
.õ
CA 02717206 2010-10-07
and debiting requests occur outside of the transaction life cycle 300 and the
interchange fees of the issuer of the account remain intact (e.g., without
being
decreased) with the issuer 104 after the credit is applied.
[0278] Referring to Figure 9, a flow chart illustrates an exemplary method 900
for
tracking abuse of the loyalty program. At step 902, the computing device
electronically
receives a request to reverse the qualified transaction. The transmission may
be from
a Point of Sale device of the merchant 110 that engaged in the qualified
transaction.
For example, the account holder may have returned the commodity purchased with
the qualified transaction. Here, the return may be processed as is known in
the art,
where the merchant 110 receives the returned commodity and the account holder
is
refunded the funds in the amount of the purchased commodity. In one
implementation, the value of the incentive that is credit to the account of
the account
holder is not returned to the sponsor of the incentive; rather, the credit
remains in the
account of the account holder. In this case, abuse of the loyalty program may
be an
issue.
[0279] In a step 904, the computing device stores information about the
request to
reverse a qualified transaction in a database in association with the account.
For
example, the transaction handler 106 may store a frequency of reverse requests
in the
database in association with the account identifier of the account used in the
corresponding qualified transactions.
[0280] At a step 906, the computing device may compare the data about the
account
stored in the database against a predetermined return abuse criterion to find
a match.
For example, a frequency of requests to reverse is compared against a
threshold
number of return requests. If the frequency is determined to exceed the
threshold, the
return abuse criterion is matched. At a step 908, if the match is found, the
current
request to reverse the qualified transaction is declined. For example, the
computing
device may form a transmission to the merchant 110 in response to the
transmission
received in the step 902. The response may indicate that the return is
declined and
the funds used to pay for the commodity will not be refunded to the account.
[0281] In another implementation, the account holder may be encouraged to
register in
the loyalty program by providing the account holder with data about the value
of a
plurality of incentives within the loyalty program that the account holder
would have
received had the account holder been a participant of the loyalty program in
the past.
As stated previously, the transaction handler 106 may store in a database data
about
47
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_
CA 02717206 2010-10-07
transactions processed in the payment processing system 500. The computing
device
of the transaction handler 106 may access the database to determine which
transactions of the account holder, over a predetermined window of time in the
past,
may have qualified for incentives in the loyalty program. The computing device
may,
in turn, calculate the value of the respective incentives that the account
holder would
have received had the account holder registered the account with the loyalty
program.
The value of the respective incentives, or an aggregate thereof, is then
reported to the
account holder. In this manner the account holder may evaluate whether to
register
the account in the loyalty program such that the future transactions of the
account
holder may qualify for the incentives in the loyalty program.
[0282] Various terms may be used herein, which are to be understood according
to the
following descriptions 1 through 8:
[0283] 1. Point of Service (POS) devices includes a device capable of
communicating with a payment device, where the POS device can include a
cellular
phone, personal digital assistant (PDA), a pager, a security card, an access
card,
a smart media, a transponder, personal computer (PC), tablet PC, handheld
specialized reader, set-top box, electronic cash register (ECR), automated
teller
machine (ATM), virtual cash register (VCR), kiosk, security system, or access
system;
[0284] 2. Account holder or consumer includes any person or entity with an
account and/or a payment device associated with an account, where the account
is
within a transaction processing system;
[0285] 3. Issuer includes any entity that issues one or more accounts
and/or
payment devices;
[0286] 4. Merchant includes any entity that supports an POS device;
[0287] 5. Participant includes any consumer, person, entity, charitable
organization, machine, hardware, software, merchant or business who accesses
and
uses the system of the invention, such as any consumer (such as primary member
and supplementary member of an aggregate consumer account), retailer,
manufacturer, and third-party provider, and any subset, group or combination
thereof;
[0288] 6. Redemption includes obtaining a reward using any portion of
points,
coupons, cash, foreign currency, gift, negotiable instruments, or securities;
[0289] 7. Reward includes any discount, credit, good, service, package,
event,
experience (such as wine tasting, dining, travel), or any other item; and
48
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CA 02717206 2013-07-22
[0290] 8.
Portable consumer device includes a card, smartcard, ordinary credit or
debit cards (with a magnetic strip and without a microprocessor), a keychain
device (such
as the SPEEDPASS commercially available from Exxon-Mobil Corporation),
cellular
phone, personal digital assistant (PDA), pager, payment card, security card,
access card,
smart media, or transponder, where each portable consumer device can include a
loyalty
module with a computer chip with dedicated hardware, software, embedded
software, or
any combination thereof that is used to perform actions associated with a
loyalty program.
[0291] It should be understood that the present invention can be implemented
in the form
of control logic, in a modular or integrated manner, using software, hardware
or
a combination of both. The steps of a method, process, or algorithm described
in
connection with the implementations disclosed herein may be embodied directly
in
hardware, in a software module executed by a processor, or in a combination of
the two.
The various steps or acts in a method or process may be performed in the order
shown,
or may be performed in another order. Additionally, one or more process or
method steps
may be omitted or one or more process or method steps may be added to the
methods
and processes. An additional step, block, or action may be added in the
beginning, end,
or intervening existing elements of the methods and processes. Based on the
disclosure
and teachings provided herein, a person of ordinary skill in the art will
appreciate other
ways and/or methods to implement the present invention.
[0292] It is understood that the examples and implementations described herein
are for
illustrative purposes only and that various modifications or changes in light
thereof will be
suggested to persons skilled in the art.
49
LEGAL_21081504 1
