System and Method for Providing Alerts Over a Network
The present disclosure provides system and methods for providing real time alerts over a network. In one respect, transactional data including a card identifier is received by a transaction processor. At least one alert corresponding to the received transactional data may be determined and may be forwarded to a mobile unit associated with the card identifier. Alternatively or in addition, messages received by a card user may be received. At least one alert responsive to the received message may be determined and may be forwarded to a card user via a mobile unit.
1 . A method comprising:
receiving as input transactional data including a card identifier from a point of sale;
determining at least one device alert corresponding to the received transactional data; and
forwarding the at least one alert to a mobile unit associated with the card identifier.
2 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the transactional data further comprises merchant information and a transaction amount.
3 . The method of claim 1 , the mobile unit comprising at least one of a cell phone, a PDA, a pocket computer, and a pager.
4 . The method of claim 1 , wherein forwarding the at least one alert comprises forwarding an activity alert including a transaction amount and a balance.
5 . The method of claim 1 , wherein forwarding the at least one alert comprises forwarding an educational alert including information related to the transactional data.
6 . The method of claim 5 , wherein the information related to the transactional data comprises at least one of merchant information, a decline alert, and a gratuity alert.
7 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the card identifier identifies at least one of a post-pay card and a prepaid card.
8 . The method of claim 1 , wherein forwarding the at least one alert comprises forwarding a tag line and at least one alert.
9 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
receiving as input a message from a user via the mobile unit;
determining at least one alert corresponding to the message from the user; and
forwarding the one or more alerts corresponding to the message to the mobile unit.
10 . The method of claim 1 , wherein forwarding the at least one alert comprises sending a text message via a short message service (SMS) over a short message peer to peer (SMPP) infrastructure to a mobile cellular phone.
11 . The method of claim 1 , wherein forwarding the at least one alert comprises sending electronic mail over a simple mail transfer protocol (SMTP) to at least one of a PDA, portable computer, and a stationary computer.
12 . The method of claim 1 , wherein forwarding the at least one alert comprises sending a text message via a short message service (SMS) over a simple mail transfer protocol (SMTP) to a mobile cellular phone.
13 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising receiving a status message of the forwarding step at a predetermined time interval.
14 . A method for providing real-time account information, the method comprising:
registering a card with an alert system;
receiving at the alert system a message from a user of the card;
determining an alert associated with the received message; and
forwarding the alert to a mobile unit associated with the registered card.
15 . The method of claim 14 , wherein receiving comprises receiving a text message from the user, the text message comprising account information, frequently asked questions, and configuration information.
16 . The method of claim 14 , wherein determining an alert comprises determining a key word in the message.
17 . The method of claim 14 , wherein forwarding the alert comprises forwarding a tag line and the alert.
18 . The method of claim 14 , further comprising:
receiving transactional data from a point of sale including an identifier of the card;
determining an alert associated with the transactional data; and
forwarding the alert to the mobile unit associated with the registered card.
19 . A system comprising:
a transaction processor operable to: receive transactional data including a card identifier, determine an alert associated with the data;
queue the alert for distribution; and
an outgoing alert server coupled to the transaction processor, the server operable to forward the alert to a mobile unit associated with the card identifier.
20 . The system of claim 19 , wherein the transaction processor is further operable to:
receive a message from a card user; and
determining an alert associated with the received message.
21 . The system of claim 19 , wherein the outgoing alert server is further operable to forward the alert associated with the received message to the card user.
22 . The system of claim 19 , wherein the outgoing alert server is in operable connection to a short message service aggregator or the Internet.
23 . The system of claim 19 , wherein the outgoing alert server is operable to forward a tagline with the alert to the mobile unit.