Customer refunds by a merchant agent
View Patent ↗A customer can obtain a refund for a credit card purchase by interacting with an agent of the merchant. The existing payment infrastructure is used, but without the direct participation of the merchant and without generating a chargeback against the merchant. A customer request for a refund is received and validated against multiple data streams including sales data and/or fraud screening databases. For a validated refund request, refund data is stored in a refund database and communicated over the payment processing network to create the refund from the merchant to the customer credit card.
1. A computer-implemented method to provide a refund of merchant funds to a customer credit card by a merchant agent that processes credit card transactions on behalf of a merchant, the merchant agent having a merchant agent processor in communication with the merchant and with a credit card company via a payment processing computer network, the method comprising:
receiving, by the merchant agent from a customer, a refund request for a purchase made from the merchant with the customer credit card;
generating, by the merchant agent processor, a refund record encoded with refund data associated with the refund request made to the merchant agent by the customer;
communicating the refund data by the merchant agent processor over the payment processing computer network as an agent of the merchant so as to cause the credit card company to create the refund to the customer credit card without the direct participation of the merchant and without the credit card company generating a chargeback against the merchant;
providing, by the merchant agent processor, the merchant with a dispute process representing an opportunity to dispute the refund request; and
upon a successful dispute of the refund request by the merchant, submitting, by the merchant agent processor, a sale transaction to the payment processing computer network to cause the credit card company to charge the customer credit card at least the refunded amount.
2. A method according to claim 1 , further comprising:
validating the refund request information against data stored in the refund record.
3. A method according to claim 1 , further comprising:
prior to receiving the refund request, receiving, by the merchant agent processor, sales data from the merchant and submitting, by the merchant agent processor, a sales transaction to the payment processing computer network to cause the credit card company to charge the customer credit card a sales amount, wherein the refunded amount represents at least a portion of the sales amount, such that the credit card company receives from the merchant agent processor a sales transaction for the sales amount, a refund request for the refunded amount, and a sales transaction for at least the refunded amount without generating a chargeback to the merchant.
4. A method according to claim 1 , wherein the dispute process further comprises:
adjudicating the disputed refund request to determine if the refund should be or should have been issued.
5. A method according to claim 1 , wherein the dispute process further comprises:
delaying the refund until the dispute process is completed.
6. A method according to claim 5 , wherein delaying the refund includes:
placing the refund in an escrow account, and
returning the refund from the escrow account to the merchant if the merchant prevails, or otherwise completing the refund to the customer credit card.
7. A method according to claim 1 , further comprising:
including with customer purchases a logo indicating to the customer the availability of the merchant agent refund process for resolving problems associated with the purchases.
8. A method according to claim 1 , wherein the agent of the merchant is a merchant payment processor.
9. A method according to claim 1 , wherein the refund request is based on a telephone call.
10. A method according to claim 1 , wherein the refund request is based on an interactive web page.
11. A method according to claim 1 , wherein the refund request is based upon a written request.
12. A computer program product comprising a tangible, non-transitory computer readable storage medium having embodied therein program code for providing a refund of merchant funds to a customer credit card by a merchant agent processor of a merchant agent that processes credit card transactions on behalf of a merchant, the program code comprising:
program code for receiving a refund request made to the merchant agent by a customer for a purchase made from the merchant with the customer credit card;
program code for generating a refund record encoded with refund data associated with the refund request made to the merchant agent by the customer;
program code for communicating the refund data over a payment processing computer network as an agent of the merchant so as to cause a credit card company to create the refund to the customer credit card without the direct participation of the merchant and without the credit card company generating a chargeback against the merchant;
program code for providing the merchant with a dispute process representing an opportunity to dispute the refund request; and
program code for submitting, upon a successful dispute of the refund request by the merchant, a sale transaction to the payment processing computer network to cause the credit card company to charge the customer credit card at least the refunded amount.
13. A product according to claim 12 , further comprising:
program code for validating the refund request information against data stored in the refund record.
14. A product according to claim 12 , further comprising:
program code for receiving, prior to the refund request, sales data from the merchant and submitting a sales transaction to the payment processing computer network to cause the credit card company to charge the customer credit card a sales amount, wherein the refunded amount represents at least a portion of the sales amount, such that the credit card company receives from the merchant agent processor a sales transaction for the sales amount, a refund request for the refunded amount, and a sales transaction for at least the refunded amount without generating a chargeback to the merchant.
15. A product according to claim 12 , wherein the program code for the dispute process further comprises:
program code for adjudicating the disputed refund request to determine if the refund should be or should have been issued.
16. A product according to claim 12 , wherein the program code for the dispute process further comprises:
program code for delaying the refund until the dispute process is completed.
17. A product according to claim 16 , wherein the program code for delaying further comprises:
program code for placing the refund in an escrow account, and
program code for returning the refund from the escrow account to the merchant if the merchant prevails, or otherwise completing the refund to the customer credit card.
18. A product according to claim 12 , further comprising:
program code for including with customer purchases a logo indicating to the customer the availability of the merchant agent refund process for resolving problems associated with the purchases.
19. A product according to claim 12 , wherein the agent of the merchant is a merchant payment processor.
20. A product according to claim 12 , wherein the refund request is based on a telephone call.
21. A product according to claim 12 , wherein the refund request is based on an interactive web page.
22. A product according to claim 12 , wherein the refund request is based upon a written request.
23. Apparatus for providing a refund of merchant funds to a customer credit card by a merchant agent that processes credit card transactions on behalf of a merchant, the apparatus comprising:
a merchant interface for communication with the merchant;
a payment processing computer network interface for communication with a credit card company via a payment processing computer network; and
a merchant agent processor configured to:
receive a refund request from a customer for a purchase made from the merchant with the customer credit card;
generate a refund record encoded with refund data associated with the refund request made to the merchant agent by the customer,
communicate the refund data over the payment processing computer network as an agent of the merchant so as to cause the credit card company to create the refund to the customer credit card without the direct participation of the merchant and without the credit card company generating a chargeback against the merchant,
provide the merchant with a dispute process representing an opportunity to dispute the refund request, and,
upon a successful dispute of the refund request by the merchant, submit a sale transaction to the payment processing computer network to cause the credit card company to charge the customer credit card at least the refunded amount.
24. Apparatus according to claim 23 , wherein the merchant agent processor is further configured to receive, prior to the refund request, sales data from the merchant and submit a sales transaction to the payment processing computer network to cause the credit card company to charge the customer credit card a sales amount, wherein the refunded amount represents at least a portion of the sales amount, such that the credit card company receives from the merchant agent processor a sales transaction for the sales amount, a refund request for the refunded amount, and a sales transaction for at least the refunded amount without generating a chargeback to the merchant.