Patent Application

App. No. 13/654,203

Abstract

Claims (40)

1 . A method for obtaining, from a customer enrolled in a loyalty campaign, selection of a transaction instrument to apply to a transaction occurring at a point of sale, the method performed by a computer system and comprising the steps of:

obtaining transaction information from a point of sale device;

determining a mobile device identifier of the customer based on the transaction information;

searching a database to determine whether the mobile device identifier is associated in the database with multiple transaction instrument identifiers;

communicating, if the mobile device identifier is associated with multiple transaction account identifiers, with a mobile device of the customer to obtain from the customer a selection of one of the transaction instrument identifiers;

applying the transaction instrument corresponding to the selected transaction account identifier in payment for the transaction; and

providing to the customer associated with the mobile device identifier a loyalty benefit comprising at least one of a free item, a discount on a purchase, and loyalty points applicable to a purchase.

2 . The method of claim 1 wherein the step of determining the mobile device identifier comprises the steps of searching, when a mobile device identifier is not provided by the point of sale device, a database for a provided transaction account identifier and identifying a mobile device identifier associated with the transaction account identifier in the database.

3 . The method of claim 1 wherein the transaction information includes a purchase amount and wherein the step of communicating with the mobile device comprises providing the purchase amount to the mobile device.

4 . The method of claim 1 wherein the step of communicating with the mobile device comprises communicating via a wallet application previously installed on the mobile device upon enrollment by the customer into the loyalty campaign providing the loyalty benefit.

5 . The method of claim 1 wherein the step of communicating with the mobile device comprises obtaining an indication by the customer of a portion of a purchase price to be applied to a first transaction instrument, and wherein the step of applying the transaction instrument comprises applying the indicated portion of the purchase to the first transaction instrument and applying a remaining portion of the payment to a second transaction instrument.

6 . A computer implemented system for obtaining, from a customer enrolled in a loyalty campaign, selection of a transaction instrument to apply to a transaction occurring at a point of sale, the method performed by a computer system and comprising:

input means for obtaining transaction information from a point of sale device, the transaction information comprising at least one of a mobile device identifier and a transaction account identifier;

computing means for determining the mobile device identifier of the customer based on the transaction information and for searching a database to determine whether the mobile device identifier is associated in the database with multiple transaction instrument identifiers;

communication means for communicating, if the mobile device identifier is associated with multiple transaction account identifiers, with a mobile device of the customer to obtain from the customer a selection of one of the transaction instrument identifiers;

the computing means applying the transaction instrument corresponding to the selected transaction account identifier in payment for the transaction; and

output means for providing to the customer associated with the mobile device identifier a loyalty benefit comprising at least one of a free item, a discount on a purchase, and loyalty points applicable to a purchase.

7 . The system of claims 6 wherein the computing means comprises means for searching a database, when a mobile device identifier is not provided by the point of sale device, for a provided transaction account identifier and identifying a mobile device identifier associated with the transaction account identifier in the database.

8 . The system of claim 6 wherein the input means obtains a purchase amount, and wherein the communication means provides the purchase amount to the mobile device,

9 . The system of claim 6 Wherein the communication means comprises means for communicating with the mobile device via a wallet application previously installed on the mobile device upon involvement by the customer into the loyalty campaign providing the loyalty benefit.

10 . The system of claim 6 wherein the communication means comprises obtaining an indications by the customer of a portion of a purchase price to be applied to a first transaction instrument, and wherein the computing means applies the transaction instrument comprises applying the indicated portion of the purchase to the first transaction instrument and applying a remaining portion of the payment to a second transaction instrument.

11 . A method for obtaining, from a customer enrolled in a loyalty campaign, selection of a transaction instrument to apply to a transaction occurring at a point of sale, the method performed by a mobile communication device and comprising the steps of:

obtaining from a gateway computer system an indication of a transaction involving a user of the mobile device when the gateway computer system determines that a mobile device identifier associated with the mobile communication device is associated with multiple transaction account identifiers in a database;

obtaining from the user a selection of a transaction account identifier from among the multiple transaction account identifiers;

providing the selected transaction account identifier to the gateway computer system to be applied to the transaction;

obtaining from the gateway computer system an indication of a loyalty benefit comprising at least one of a free item, a discount on a purchase, and loyalty points applicable to a purchase; and

communicating the loyalty benefit to the user.

12 . The method of claim 11 wherein the step of obtaining the selection of the transaction account identifier comprises communicating via a wallet application previously installed on the mobile device upon enrollment by the customer into the loyalty campaign providing the loyalty benefit.

13 . The method of claim 11 wherein the step of obtaining the selection of the transaction account identifier comprises providing a pending transactions interface by which the user can select a transaction instrument.

14 . The method of claim 11 wherein the step of obtaining the selection comprises providing a purchase price of the transaction.

15 . The method of claim 11 wherein the step of obtaining the selection of the transaction account identifier comprises obtaining an indication by the customer of a portion of a purchase price to be applied to a first transaction instrument, such that a remaining portion will be applied to a second transaction instrument.

16 . A mobile communication device for obtaining, from a customer enrolled in a loyalty campaign, selection of a transaction instrument to apply to a transaction occurring at a point of sale, the method performed by a mobile communication device and comprising:

input means for obtaining from a gateway computer system an indication of a transaction involving a user of the mobile device When the gateway computer system determines that a mobile device identifier associated with the mobile communication device is associated with multiple transaction account identifiers in a database;

user interface means for obtaining from the user a selection of a transaction account identifier from among the multiple transaction account identifiers;

output means for providing the selected transaction account identifier to the gateway computer system to be applied to the transaction; and

the user interface means obtaining from the gateway computer system an indication of a loyalty benefit comprising at least one of a free item, a discount on a purchase, and loyalty points applicable to a purchase and communicating the loyalty benefit to the user.

17 . The mobile communication device of claim 16 wherein the output means comprises means for communicating via a wallet application previously installed on the mobile device upon enrollment by the customer into the loyalty campaign providing the loyalty benefit.

18 . The mobile communication device of claim 16 wherein the customer input means comprises means for providing a pending transactions interface by which the user can select a transaction instrument.

19 . The mobile communication device of claim 16 wherein the customer input means comprises means for providing a purchase price of the transaction.

20 . The mobile communication device of claim 16 wherein the customer input means comprises means for obtaining an indication by the customer of a portion of a purchase price to be applied to a first transaction instrument, such that a remaining portion will be applied to a second transaction instrument.

Assignments (11)