Systems and Methods to Provide Credits via Mobile Devices
Systems and methods to provide credits or refunds via mobile phones. In one aspect, a system includes an interchange and a data storage facility storing phone numbers and records of payments associated with the phone numbers. The interchange includes a common format processor and a plurality of converters to interface with a plurality of different controllers of mobile communications. The converters are configured to communicate with the common format processor in a common format and to communicate with the controllers in different formats. The common format processor is to determine a phone number in response to a request from a merchant, to store data representing an amount credited or refunded to the phone number according to the request from the merchant, and to use one of the converters to communicate a message to the mobile phone to indicate availability of the refund or credit.
1 . A method, comprising:
receiving, in a computing device, a request from a merchant, the request identifying a purchase;
determining, by the computing device, a phone number of a mobile phone via which the purchase was paid for;
storing data representing an amount provided from the merchant to a user of the mobile phone, in accordance with the request; and
transmitting, from the computing device, a message to the mobile phone, the message indicating availability of the amount provided by the merchant.
2 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the amount is available to the user of the mobile phone only in a transaction in which the user pays the merchant via the computing device.
3 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the availability of the amount is not based upon a future purchase from the merchant.
4 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
storing data to indicate one or more conditions for the availability of the amount.
5 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the merchant is a first merchant; and the method further comprises:
receiving a payment request for a transaction between the user and a second merchant different from the first merchant; and
applying at least a portion of the amount towards the transaction between the user and the second merchant.
6 . The method of claim 5 , further comprising:
transferring the portion of the amount from the first merchant to the second merchant in response to the transaction between the user and the second merchant.
7 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
charging the merchant according to the amount in response to the request from the merchant.
8 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
providing funds to the user according to the amount.
9 . The method of claim 8 , wherein the providing of the funds comprises sending one or more premium messages from the computing device to the mobile phone of the user to provide the funds.
10 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the computing device is configured to block the merchant from obtaining the phone number of the mobile phone in a transaction to pay for the purchase.
11 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
transmitting a premium message from the computing device to the mobile phone to collect funds for a payment towards the purchase, prior to the receiving of the request.
12 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
generating a code to represent the amount, wherein the message to the mobile phone includes the code.
13 . The method of claim 12 , wherein the phone number is a first phone number; the mobile phone is a first mobile phone; and the method further comprises:
receiving, in the computing device, the code from a second mobile phone having a second phone number different from the first phone number;
associating the code with the second phone number; and
in response to a request for a payment using funds associated with the second phone number, applying at least a portion of the amount represented by the code towards the payment.
14 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the request includes data explicitly specifying the amount.
15 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
determining the amount based on a record of the purchase.
16 . The method of claim 15 , wherein the amount is equal to a price of the purchase paid by the user.
17 . The method of claim 16 , wherein the price includes a fee charged by the computing device.
18 . The method of claim 16 , wherein the price is paid to the merchant.
19 . A computer-readable storage medium storing instructions, the instructions causing a computer to perform a method, the method comprising:
receiving a request from a merchant, the request identifying a purchase;
determining a phone number of a mobile phone via which the purchase was paid for;
storing data representing an amount provided from the merchant to a user of the mobile phone, in accordance with the request; and
transmitting a message to the mobile phone, the message indicating availability of the amount provided by the merchant.
20 . A system, comprising:
a data storage facility to store phone numbers and records of payments made via the phone numbers towards a plurality of purchases; and
an interchange coupled with the data storage facility, the interchange including a common format processor and a plurality of converters to interface with a plurality of controllers, the converters configured to communicate with the controllers in different formats, the converters to communicate with the common format processor in a common format;
wherein in response to a request from a merchant identifying a purchase and based on one record of the records, the common format processor is to determine a phone number of a mobile phone via which the purchase was paid for and to store in the data storage facility data representing an amount provided from the merchant to a user of the mobile phone in accordance with the request; and
wherein the interchange is to use one converter of the converters to communicate a message to the mobile phone to indicate availability of the amount provided by the merchant.