Mobile payment system with rewards points

1. A method of processing a point of sale (POS) transaction between a merchant and a consumer using a mobile device, the method comprising:

receiving, at a mobile payment transaction system, transaction information pertaining to the POS transaction, wherein the transaction information includes a transaction amount and wherein the transaction information is transmitted by the mobile device over a mobile device communication network, the mobile payment transaction system having at least one processor;

in response to receiving the transaction information, authorizing a transaction between the mobile payment transaction system and an intermediate payment processing system corresponding to a first payout amount that is less than the transaction amount, wherein the intermediate payment processing system utilizes a first form of electronic payment;

in response to authorizing the transaction, purchasing, at the mobile payment transaction system and from a secondary payment processing system, a second form of electronic payment different from the first form of electronic payment using a second payout amount, the second form of electronic payment being valued at the transaction amount using a valuation rule, and wherein the second payout amount is less than the first payout amount;

generating, at the mobile payment transaction system, an amount of rewards points to be awarded to the consumer as a result of completion of the POS transaction, wherein the amount of the rewards points is determined based on information associated with the merchant and/or the consumer using a rewards points valuation rule;

communicating, from the mobile payment transaction system for receipt at the mobile device, the second form of electronic payment for completion of the POS transaction; and

in response to receiving, from the mobile device, confirmation of completion of the POS transaction, communicating, from the mobile payment transaction system for receipt at a rewards account associated with the consumer, the amount of rewards points to be awarded to the consumer in response to completion of the transaction.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the mobile device identifies the transaction information by scanning an identification code or receiving a numeric string associated with the transaction amount.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the transaction information further comprises consumer identifier data and merchant identifier data.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein generating the second form of electronic payment comprises:

receiving the transaction information from the intermediate payment processing system;

communicating the transaction information to the secondary processing system; and

generating, at the secondary payment processing system, the second form of electronic payment.

5. The method of claim 4 , wherein communicating the second form of electronic payment for completion of the transaction comprises:

communicating the second form of electronic payment to the mobile device via the intermediate payment processing system.

6. The method of claim 4 , wherein communicating the second form of electronic payment for completion of the transaction comprises:

communicating the second form of electronic payment to the mobile device via the secondary payment processing system.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein:

the second form of electronic payment is an electronic gift card, and

communicating the electronic gift card to the mobile device causes the mobile device to present the electronic gift card for scanning by the merchant.

8. The method of claim 1 , wherein the rewards points valuation rule is determined, by the mobile payment transaction system, before the consumer accepts the transaction.

9. The method of claim 1 , wherein the rewards points valuation rule is determined, by the mobile payment transaction system, from (i) information pertaining to the merchant and not from information pertaining to the consumer or (ii) information pertaining to the consumer and not from information pertaining to the merchant.

10. The method of claim 1 , wherein the rewards points valuation rule is determined, by the mobile payment transaction system, from information pertaining to the merchant, the consumer, or a combination thereof.

11. The method of claim 10 , wherein the information pertaining to the consumer is selected from the group consisting of consumer transaction history, merchant transaction amount, participation in one or more rewards programs, and combinations thereof; and wherein the information pertaining to the merchant is selected from the group consisting of merchant transaction history, merchant transaction amount, merchant product catalog, seasonal relevance, and combinations thereof.

12. The method of claim 1 , wherein the mobile payment transaction system comprises a rewards points processing system, the method further comprising:

generating, at the rewards points processing system, the amount of rewards points to be awarded as a result of the POS transaction.

13. The method of claim 12 , further comprising:

communicating the second form of electronic payment to the intermediate payment processing system for subsequent communication of the second form of electronic payment to the mobile device; and

communicating, from the rewards points processing system to the intermediate payment processing system, a record of the rewards points to be awarded as a result of the transaction.

14. The method of claim 12 , further comprising:

determining authorization of the POS transaction, at the mobile payment transaction system, where if the transaction is denied, then sending a denial of transaction message from the mobile payment transaction system to the mobile device, otherwise, if the POS transaction is authorized, then continuing with the generation of the second form of electronic payment and the generation of the amount of rewards points.

15. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having stored thereon a set of instructions, executable by a processor, for processing a point of sale (POS) transaction between a merchant and a consumer using a mobile device, the instructions comprising:

instructions for receiving, at a mobile payment transaction system, transaction information pertaining to the POS transaction, the transaction information including a transaction amount and wherein the transaction information is transmitted by the mobile device over a mobile device communication network, the mobile payment transaction system having at least one processor;

instructions for, in response to receiving the transaction information, authorizing a transaction between the mobile payment transaction system and an intermediate payment processing system corresponding to a first payout amount that is less than the transaction amount, wherein the intermediate payment processing system utilizes a first form of electronic payment;

instructions for purchasing, at the mobile payment transaction system, from a secondary payment processing system, and in response to authorizing the transaction, a second form of electronic payment different from the first form of electronic payment using a second payout amount, the second form of electronic payment being valued at the transaction amount using a valuation rule, and wherein the second payout amount is less than the first payout amount;

instructions for generating, at the mobile payment transaction system, an amount of rewards points to be awarded to the consumer as a result of completion of the POS transaction, wherein the amount of the rewards points is determined based on information associated with the merchant and/or the consumer using a rewards points valuation rule;

instructions for communicating, from the mobile payment transaction system for receipt at the mobile device, the second form of electronic payment for completion of the POS transaction; and

instructions for, in response to receiving, from the mobile device, confirmation of completion of the POS transaction, communicating, from the mobile payment transaction system for receipt at a rewards account associated with the consumer, the amount of rewards points to be awarded to the consumer in response to completion of the transaction.

16. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 15 , having stored thereon a set of further instructions comprising instructions for identifying, at the mobile device, information for completing the POS transaction by scanning an identification code or keying in a numeric string created for the transaction amount.

17. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 16 , wherein the information for completing the transaction further comprises consumer identifier data and merchant identifier data.

18. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 15 , wherein the instructions for purchasing the second form of electronic payment comprises:

instructions for receiving the transaction information at a mobile payment system;

instructions for communicating the transaction information from the mobile payment system to the secondary payment processing system; and

instructions for generating, at the secondary payment processing system, the second form of electronic payment.

19. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 15 , wherein the instructions for communicating the second form of electronic payment for completion of the transaction comprises:

instructions for communicating the second form of electronic payment from the secondary payment processing system to a mobile payment system; and

instructions for communicating, from the mobile payment system to the mobile device, the second form of electronic payment.

20. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 15 , wherein the second form of electronic payment is an electronic gift card, and wherein the instructions stored thereon include a set of further instructions comprising instructions for presenting the electronic gift card at the mobile device for scanning of the electronic gift card at the mobile device to confirm distribution of the gift card amount to the merchant.

21. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 15 , having stored thereon a set of further instructions comprising instructions for determining the rewards points valuation rule from (i) information pertaining to the merchant and not from information pertaining to the consumer or (ii) information pertaining to the consumer and not from information pertaining to the merchant.

22. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 15 , having stored thereon a set of further instructions comprising instructions for determining the rewards points valuation rule from information pertaining to the merchant, the consumer, or a combination thereof.

23. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 15 , having stored thereon a set of further instructions comprising:

instructions for generating the second form of electronic payment at the secondary payment processing system; and

instructions for generating the amount of rewards points to be awarded as a result of the transaction at a rewards points processing system.

24. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 15 , having stored thereon a set of further instructions comprising:

instructions for communicating, from the secondary payment processing system to the mobile payment system, the second form of electronic payment for subsequent communication of the second form of electronic payment to the mobile device; and

instructions for communicating, from a rewards points processing system to the mobile payment system, a record of the rewards points awarded as a result of the transaction.

25. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 15 , having stored thereon a set of further instructions comprising:

instructions for determining authorization of the transaction, at the mobile payment transaction system, where if the transaction is denied, then sending a denial of transaction message from the mobile payment transaction system to the mobile device, otherwise, if the transaction is authorized, then continuing with the generation of the second form of electronic payment and the generation of the rewards points amount.

26. A system for processing a point of sale (POS) transaction between a merchant and a consumer using a mobile device, the system comprising:

a mobile payment transaction system comprising a processor and a memory;

wherein the mobile payment transaction system is configured,

to receive transaction information pertaining to the POS transaction, the transaction information including a transaction amount and transmitted by the mobile device over a mobile device communication network;

in response to receiving the transaction information, to authorize a transaction between the mobile payment transaction system and an intermediate payment processing system corresponding to a first payout amount that is less than the transaction amount, wherein the intermediate payment processing system utilizes a first form of electronic payment;

in response to authorizing the transaction, to purchase a second form of electronic payment from a secondary payment processing system using a second payout amount, the second form of electronic payment being valued at the transaction amount using a valuation rule, and wherein the second payout amount is less than the first payout amount;

to generate an amount of rewards points to be awarded to the consumer as a result of completion of the POS transaction, wherein the amount of the rewards points is determined based on information associated with the merchant and/or the consumer using a rewards points valuation rule;

to communicate, from the mobile payment transaction system for receipt at the mobile device, the second form of electronic payment for completion of the POS transaction; and

in response to receiving, from the mobile device, confirmation of completion of the POS transaction,

to communicate, from the mobile payment transaction system for receipt at a rewards account associated with the consumer, the amount of rewards points to be awarded to the consumer in response to completion of the transaction.