HK1193900A - Point-of-sale system using prepaid/gift card network - Google Patents

Description

Point-of-sale system using prepaid/gift card network

This application contains material which is subject to copyright protection. The copyright owner has no objection to the facsimile reproduction by anyone of the patent disclosure, as it appears in the patent and trademark office files or records, but otherwise reserves all rights to the copyright whatsoever.

Background

1. Field of the invention

The present invention relates generally to the field of gift cards, and more particularly to a novel system and method for providing a networked gift card.

2. Background of the invention

Gift cards or prepaid cards ("gift cards") are limited currency equivalents or vouchers issued by retailers or banks and are often, but not always, used as substitutes for non-currency gifts. The gift card may resemble a credit card or show a particular theme on a credit card sized plastic card. The card is identified with a particular number or code and typically is not printed or associated with an individual cardholder name. Thus, gift cards are generally available to any holder. Gift cards are supported by online systems for authorization/payment and payment.

U.S. patent application No.20100274659 describes a loyalty system that allows a consumer to accumulate universal loyalty points from one or more merchants, which then converts any desired subset of the universal loyalty points into a loyalty dollar (or monetary equivalent) associated with a particular merchant. The system stores loyalty dollars for each consumer, either in a remotely accessible host database, in a magnetic stripe, or in a smart card database by the merchant. Once a purchase is made at a particular merchant, the consumer may utilize the consumer ID in order to access the consumer's own loyalty dollars for the particular merchant. The loyalty dollar is then applied to the purchase transaction as a discount or rebate. The customer may also reload the loyalty dollar.

Disclosure of Invention

In one embodiment, the present invention provides a method and apparatus for operating a gift card network. The system receives registration data from first and second merchants, wherein each merchant has one or more points of sale, and processes the registration data to establish membership of the merchants in the gift card network. The system then receives card issuance data from the first merchant, the card issuance data reflecting at least the unique serial number and monetary value associated with the network gift card issued by the first merchant. The network gift card is redeemable at the first merchant or other merchant who has established membership in the gift card network. When a transaction occurs in which the card issued by the first merchant is used at the second merchant, transaction data is received from the second merchant, the transaction data indicating that at least a portion of the monetary value of the network gift card has been redeemed at the second merchant. In response to receiving transaction data from the second merchant, the system applies a credit to the first merchant, the credit being equal to or derived from the value that has been redeemed at the second merchant.

The network gift card is advantageous to consumers and merchants in that it can be redeemed at different issuers who are members of the network. The network may be a city, a county, a mini-association within a state, a retailer, and the like. The system may be implemented by a third party without storing or managing consumer account information for member merchants. Since the network gift card is a cardholder cash card, it is flexible and can be used as cash at a member merchant. The network gift card may be issued to a third party as a gift card or as a charity card. The network gift card system does not require the coordination of loyalty programs. Each merchant may monetize as appropriate and add value to the same card as cash. In addition, each merchant may add value to the same card.

In yet another embodiment, the present invention provides a system and method for loading monetary value into a gift card using loyalty points. Scanned gift card data is received at a point of sale site, the scanned gift card data including at least a unique serial number associated with a gift card. An identification of a consumer who purchased the gift card or reloaded the gift card is also received. The customer's identification is used to perform a lookup to determine a dollar value corresponding to the amount of loyalty points available in the customer loyalty point account. The system authorizes the point of sale to load the dollar value onto the loyalty card and then send transaction data to the loyalty point system indicating the amount of points to be subtracted from the customer's loyalty point account.

Drawings

The foregoing and/or other aspects and advantages of the present general inventive concept will become apparent and more readily appreciated from the following description of the embodiments, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a high-level block diagram illustrating the overall process flow according to one embodiment of a network gift card network system;

FIG. 2 is a high-level block diagram illustrating gift card issuance and reloading with loyalty points, according to one embodiment of the invention;

fig. 3 is a detailed block diagram illustrating a reloadable prepaid/gift card transaction flow according to an embodiment of the invention.

Detailed Description

Reference will now be made in detail to the embodiments of the present general inventive concept, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein like reference numerals refer to like elements throughout. The embodiments are described below in order to explain the present general inventive concept by referring to the figures.

FIG. 1 is a high-level diagram illustrating a process flow according to one embodiment of a network gift card system. First, store 101 registers as member 103 in the gift card network system. The registration process may be driven by an interactive web site that serves a secure web interface from the member management module 105 running on a computer as part of the gift card network management system 107, may be driven by code running on the point of sale device, may be performed manually, or via other computer-driven processes. In one embodiment, the registration data generated by the registration process is sent to the member management module 105 via the gift card network 109, and the member management module 105 stores the registration data in the member database 113. Once the store 101 has registered in the gift card network system, it can begin issuing network gift cards.

Next, the issuing store 115 issues the network gift card to the consumer. The network gift card preferably includes a store logo of the issuing store, but also includes a gift card network logo or other indicia indicating that it can be redeemed at other stores that are members of the gift card network.

When a consumer purchases a card, the issuing store 115 accepts payment from the consumer. The transaction may be processed via a point of sale site programmed to upload card data to the gift card network management system 107 via the gift card network 109, including the unique serial number of the network gift card, the issuing store, the monetary value, and other identification data. A gift card management module 117 running on a computer in the gift card network management system 107 checks its gift card and transaction database 119 for the value associated with the network gift card, reports the value on the card back to the point of sale station where the transaction is processed, and saves the transaction in the gift card and transaction database 119. The gift card and transaction database 119 may be integrated with the member database 113. When stored in the gift card and transaction database 119, the gift card management module 117 then reduces the monetary value of the network gift card by the amount that has been redeemed by the consumer.

For the case where the consumer purchases an item at store a with a gift card issued by store B, the gift card network system provides a reconciliation process by which the system collects redeemed values from the issuing store and issues accounts to the store where the consumer uses the card. The account may be an internal account reflected in the gift card and transaction database 119 of the gift card network, may be an account transferred to a third party processing company, may be an electronic funds transfer, or other form of electronic account.

A consumer holding a gift card may purchase additional value at any store 115 that is a member of the gift card network. When additional value is purchased, the gift card network system adds monetary value to the card by updating the gift card and transaction database 119. The magnetic stripe or other form of storage on the card itself may also be updated to reflect the added value. When the gift card becomes expired or is reported lost, the gift card network terminates the card in its record by updating the gift card and transaction database 119.

Figure 2 shows a high level process flow illustrating a point-of-sale embodiment in which a loyalty point distribution and/or reload gift card 201 is used. This embodiment provides a gift card 201 for integration with the store's loyalty point system at its point of sale. Similar to other stored value cards, the gift card 201 may be "recharged" or "reloaded" through payment on the card presented at the point of sale. In the point-of-sale system according to this embodiment, gift cards 201 may be issued, reloaded, and their balance checked. The member store's reward/loyalty points may be converted to monetary value and the cash value may be loaded to the gift card by swiping the card 201 through a Magnetic Stripe Reader (MSR)203 or by scanning the card using a bar code scanner or other point of sale scanner 205 connected to the system.

The workflow for issuing a gift card according to the current embodiment is as follows. First, a cashier or consumer presents a blank gift card 201 at a point of sale for purchase by the consumer. The cashier swipes the blank gift card through the magnetic stripe reader 203 or scans a bar code (or other indicia) on the gift card. The cashier enters the name of the customer into the sales site 207. The point-of-sale station 207 displays the unique serial number of the card in the gift card issuance/reload screen 209 in the point-of-sale station 207. The cashier enters an initial value to be added to the gift card 201 into the sales site 207. The point of sale station performs a lookup in the store's loyalty system database to determine the number of loyalty points present in the customer's account. The sales site 207 uses the loyalty point conversion table 211 to convert the customer's points to monetary values.

If the customer indicates that they want to use their loyalty points to fill in the value being added to the gift card, the cashier may check the check box 213 on the issue/reload screen 209. The cashier presses the "Confirm" button 215 to issue the gift card, and the sales site 207 then saves the information of the issued card to the gift card database 219 and updates the store's loyalty point system to reflect the appropriate reduction in points. Thereafter, the consumer may use the gift card at the store where they purchased it.

A process for reloading a gift card according to the embodiment of loyalty points of fig. 2 will now be described. When the consumer shows the gift card 201 at the point of sale 207 for reloading, the cashier swipes the card through a magnetic stripe reader 203, a bar code scanner 205, or other indicia reading device. The cashier enters the name of the customer into the sales site 207. The point-of-sale station 207 displays the card number in the gift card reload screen 209 along with any value that has been associated with the card 201. The cashier may then enter additional value to be added to the gift card 201. The sales site 207 uses a loyalty point conversion table 211 to convert points to monetary values. If the customer indicates that they would like to use their loyalty points to fill in the value being added to the gift card 201, the cashier may check the publish/reload on-screen check box 213. When the customer chooses to use loyalty points, the sales site uses the loyalty point conversion table 211 to convert the customer's loyalty points to a monetary value. Check balance screen 217 allows the consumer or cashier to check the balance of available loyalty points. The cashier presses the "Confirm" button 215 to issue the gift card, and the point of sale 207 then saves the reloaded card information to the gift card database 219 and updates the store's loyalty point system to reflect the appropriate reduction in points.

Fig. 3 shows a detailed block diagram illustrating the process flow of a transaction according to the first and second embodiments of reloadable prepaid/gift cards. The card sale/activation process is as follows. The consumer arrives at the point of sale station 301 at store a to purchase the gift card. The formatter module 303 running on a computer associated with the point of sale site receives gift card purchase data from the point of sale site 301 via the communication driver 307. The formatter module 303 uses the gift card purchase data to create and send a gift card purchase message to the gift card network to activate the card and set the initial balance of the card.

A gateway kernel 309, which may run on a gateway server associated with the gift card network, receives the transaction message. Based on the card BIN number (the first six digits of the PAN), an authorized route is established. The authorization route includes a formatter 311 and a communication driver 312.

Based on the authorized route, the message is sent to the gift card managing server 313, and the gift card managing server 313 sends a response message to the gateway. The gateway receives the response, matches the originating transaction, and routes the message back to the originating POS station 301.

With continued reference to FIG. 3, the process flow of the card use and authorization request in one embodiment will now be described. The consumer arrives at the point of sale station 301 associated with store a and purchases the product/service with the gift card. A formatter 303 running on a computer associated with the point of sale receives purchase data from the point of sale station via a communications driver 307 and builds and sends a criteria authorization request message. The gateway receives the transaction message and establishes an authorized route based on the card BIN number (the first six digits of the PAN).

Based on the authorized route, the message is sent to the prepaid/gift card management server. The prepaid/gift card managing server 313 transmits an authorization/denial response message to the gateway. The gateway receives the response, matches the originating transaction, and routes the message back to the originating POS station 301.

With continued reference to FIG. 3, an example of a settle close and clearing process according to an embodiment of the present invention will now be described. The POS device must first establish a settlement record to the host for clearing. Since clearing is performed differently for gift cards than for debit/credit transactions, different settlement messages will be routed to the gift card management server — independent of the clearing process performed by the third party credit card transaction processor 315 (e.g., the first data). The BATCH AMOUNT field is generally composed of unsigned values that are input without a plus (+) or minus (-) sign. However, when the return amount exceeds the purchase amount, then the previous negative sign is required to indicate a negative amount. Prepaid card purchases or reloads are represented by negative amounts, while purchases with prepaid/gift cards are represented by positive amounts.

The gateway kernel 309 then routes the settlement message to the gift card management server 313, which gift card management server 313 sends a settlement response message to the gateway. The gateway receives the response, matches the originating clearing transaction, and routes the message back to the originating point-of-sale station 301.

The embodiments of the present invention can be written as computer programs and can be implemented in general-use digital computers that execute the programs using a computer readable recording medium. Examples of the computer readable recording medium include magnetic storage media (e.g., ROM, floppy disks, hard disks, etc.), optical recording media (e.g., CD-ROMs, or DVDs), and storage media such as carrier waves (e.g., transmission through the internet).

Although embodiments of the general inventive concept have been shown and described, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that changes may be made in these embodiments without departing from the principles and spirit of the general inventive concept, the scope of which is defined in the appended claims and their equivalents.

Claims (35)

1. A method for operating a gift card network, comprising:

receiving first registration data from a first merchant having one or more points of sale and processing the first registration data to establish membership of the first merchant in a gift card network;

receiving second registration data from a second merchant having one or more second points of sale and processing the second registration data to establish membership of the second merchant in the gift card network;

receiving card issuance data from the first merchant, the card issuance data reflecting at least a unique serial number and a monetary value associated with a network gift card issued by the first merchant, the network gift card being redeemable at the first merchant or other merchant who has established membership in the gift card network;

receiving transaction data from the second merchant, the transaction data indicating that at least a portion of the monetary value of the network gift card has been redeemed at the second merchant; and

applying an account to the first merchant in response to receiving the transaction data from the second merchant, the account applied to the first merchant being equal to or derived from the value that has been redeemed at the second merchant.

2. A method of loading a monetary value to a gift card comprising:

receiving scanned gift card data at a point of sale site, the scanned gift card data including at least a unique serial number associated with a gift card;

receiving an identification of a consumer who purchased or reloaded the gift card;

performing a lookup using the customer's identification to determine a dollar value corresponding to the amount of loyalty points available in the customer's loyalty point account; and

authorizing the point-of-sale to load the dollar value onto the gift card.

3. The method of claim 2, further comprising sending transaction data to a loyalty point system, the transaction data indicating a number of points to be subtracted from the customer's loyalty point account.

4. A point of sale (POS) reward system comprising:

a POS device associated with a merchant system, the POS device configured to process a sales transaction at a point of sale, thereby processing and monetizing a reward associated with the sales transaction,

wherein the POS device monetizes the reward at the point-of-sale to at least one of a cash card issued by the POS device and an increase in a balance of a pre-existing cash card.

5. The POS reward system of claim 4, wherein the cash-card is issued to a cardholder and easily transferable.

6. The POS reward system of claim 4, wherein the sales transaction includes at least one of a purchase, a sale, an exchange, and a return of merchandise.

7. The POS reward system of claim 4, wherein the merchant system is part of a private network and the cash-card is usable by other merchant systems in the private network.

8. The POS reward system of claim 4, wherein the merchant system is part of a private network and the cash-card is usable with other POS devices in the private network.

9. The POS reward system of claim 8, wherein the private network is an open network and the cash-card is available to any merchant system in the private network.

10. The POS reward system of claim 8, wherein the private network is a closed network and the cash-card is available only to a predetermined group of merchant systems in the private network.

11. The POS reward system of claim 4, wherein monetization of the reward comprises: evaluating, by the POS device, a reward account corresponding to a consumer in the sales transaction;

determining a reward value associated with the sales transaction according to monetization criteria;

correcting the balance of the reward account according to the reward value; and monetizing the reward comprises monetizing the balance of the reward account upward according to the monetization criteria,

wherein if the consumer does not have a pre-existing reward account, setting up the consumer's reward account with the POS device.

12. The POS reward system of claim 11, wherein the reward account is associated with identification information of the consumer.

13. The POS reward system of claim 12, wherein the identifying information is at least one of a name, a phone number, an address, and an email address of the consumer.

14. The POS reward system of claim 11, wherein the reward account owner exists in the private network.

15. The POS reward system of claim 11, wherein the reward account owner is present in the merchant system.

16. The POS reward system of claim 11, wherein the monetization criteria resides in the private network and the POS device evaluates the monetization criteria when processing the reward.

17. The POS reward system of claim 11, wherein the monetization criteria resides in the merchant system and the POS device evaluates the monetization criteria when processing the reward.

18. The POS reward system of claim 11, wherein the monetization criteria is the same for all merchant systems in the private network.

19. The POS reward system of claim 11, wherein the monetization criteria is different for at least one merchant system in the private network.

20. The POS reward system of claim 11, wherein the reward account is managed by a third party that is also responsible for management of the private network.

21. The POS reward system of claim 11, wherein the consumer has online access to the reward account.

22. The POS reward system of claim 11, wherein the cash-card is associated with the reward account.

23. A point of sale (POS) reward system comprising:

a first POS device associated with a first merchant system for processing a first sales transaction at a first point of sale, processing a first reward associated with the first sales transaction, and monetizing the first reward at the point of sale to at least one of a first cash card issued by the POS device and an increase in a balance of a pre-existing cash card,

wherein the first merchant system is part of a private network and the first cash card is usable through other POS devices in the private network.

24. The POS reward system of claim 23, further comprising:

a second POS device associated with a second merchant system for processing a second sales transaction at a second point of sale, processing a second reward associated with the second sales transaction, and monetizing the second reward at the point of sale to at least one of a second cash card issued by the POS device and an increase in balance to another previously existing cash card,

wherein the second merchant system is part of the private network and the second cash card is usable through other POS devices in the private network.

25. The POS reward system of claim 24, wherein the another pre-existing cash-card is the first cash-card.

26. The POS reward system of claim 24, wherein the first cash card is used in the second sales transaction, and the second reward is monetized as an increase to a balance of the first cash card.

27. The POS reward system of claim 23, wherein monetizing the first reward comprises: evaluating, by the first POS device, a reward account corresponding to a consumer in the first sales transaction;

determining a first reward value associated with the first sales transaction according to first monetization criteria;

amending the balance of the reward account according to the first reward value; and monetizing the first reward comprises monetizing the balance of the reward account upward according to the first monetization criteria,

wherein if the consumer does not have a pre-existing reward account, setting up the consumer's reward account with the first POS device.

28. The POS reward system of claim 27, wherein monetizing the second reward comprises:

evaluating, by the second POS device, a reward account corresponding to the consumer in the second sales transaction;

determining a second incentive value associated with the second sales transaction according to a second monetization criteria;

correcting the balance of the reward account according to the second transaction value; and is

Monetizing the second reward includes monetizing the balance of the reward account upward according to the second monetization criteria,

wherein if the consumer does not have a pre-existing reward account, setting up the consumer's reward account with the second POS device.

29. A method of monetizing a reward associated with a sales transaction at a point of sale, the method comprising:

processing a sales transaction at a point of sale by a POS device associated with a merchant system;

determining an award associated with the sales transaction; and

monetizing the reward as one of a cash card issued through the POS and an increase in a balance of a pre-existing cash card,

wherein the merchant system is part of a private network and the cash card is usable through other POS devices in the private network.

30. The method of claim 29, wherein the cash-card is issued to a cardholder and easily transferable.

31. The method of claim 29, wherein the private network is a closed network and the cash card is available only to a predetermined group of merchant systems in the private network.

32. The method of claim 29, wherein:

the determining the reward associated with the sales transaction comprises: evaluating, by the POS device, a reward account corresponding to a consumer in the sales transaction, determining a reward value associated with the sales transaction according to a monetization criteria, and correcting a balance of the reward account according to the reward value, and monetizing the reward includes monetizing the balance of the reward account upward according to the monetization criteria,

wherein if the consumer does not have a pre-existing reward account, setting up the consumer's reward account with the POS device.

33. The method of claim 32, wherein the monetization criteria resides within the private network and the POS device evaluates the monetization criteria when processing the reward.

34. The method of claim 33, wherein the monetization criteria is the same for all merchant systems in the private network.

35. The method of claim 33, wherein the monetization criteria is different for at least one merchant system within the private network.