Computer implemented system for providing data processing service

Abstract

A computer-implemented system is configured to provide data processing services to an entity; the system includes: (i) a data-analysis environment, which includes or accesses a data store that stores data and meta-data for one or more data objects that represent a store of value ('data objects'), such as data objects that are created by the entity; and (ii) an API layer that links the data-analysis environment to (a) a digital wallet publisher, and to (b) a service publisher that publishes data to, and receives data from, the data-analysis environment.

Description

This invention relates to a computer-implemented system configured to provide data processing services to entities; the system includes: (i) a data analytics environment that includes or accesses a data storage facility that stores data and metadata for one or more data objects, representing a storage of values ​​(“data objects”), such as data objects created by entities; and (ii) an API layer that connects the data analytics environment to (a) a digital wallet publisher and to (b) a service publisher that publishes and receives data from the data analytics environment. Abstract

Claims

CLAIMS1. A computer-implemented system configured to provide data processing services to an entity, the system including:(i) a data-analysis environment, which includes or accesses a data store that stores data and meta-data for one or more data objects that represent a store of value ('data objects'), such as data objects that are created by the entity; and(ii) an API layer that links the data-analysis environment to (a) a digital wallet publisher, and to (b) a service publisher that publishes data to, and receives data from, the data-analysis environment.The digital wallet with direct spending from a jar2. The system of claim 1, in which:(i) the service publisher is configured to receive a message defining a proposed transaction from the data-analysis environment, such as a payment transaction relating to the data object associated with the entity; and the system further includes:(ii) a digital wallet app, such as a smartphone or desktop app, that exchanges data with the data-analysis environment and where the digital wallet app includes a user interface that displays one or more user-selectable icons or items that each represent a data object in the data store; and where the data-analysis environment is configured (i) to analyse data or meta-data in the message defining the proposed transaction to allocate that proposed transaction to the relevant data object in the data store and, if the transaction is allowed, then (ii) approve the transaction and initiate the response to the transaction proposer, (iii) to automatically alter the value of the relevant data object and (iv) to automatically alter the value of the data object as shown by the digital wallet app, or if the proposed transaction is not allowed, then (v) decline the transaction and initiate the response to the transaction proposer.Consumer spending intent3. The system of Claim 1 or 2 in which the data-analysis environment is configured to enable a data object to be created, selected, defined or modified by the entity to represent afuture intent or an intended future action, namely one or more of: (a) what they intend to spend on; (b) where they intend to spend; (c) when they intend to spend; (d) who they intend to spend with; (e) how they intend to spend.Auto allocating a transaction to a jar4. The system of any preceding Claim in which the data-analysis environment is configured to receive proposed or completed transaction data from an external digital system, such as a debit card, points / loyalty card, an app running on a smartphone or a webshop, and to analyse the transaction data to automatically allocate the transaction to an appropriate data object by comparing the transaction data with the meta-data for one or more data objects.Dynamic, rule-based, real-time analysis of a proposed transaction5. The system of any preceding Claim in which the data or meta-data for a data object defines (a) one or more permissions that describe who can and cannot transact with a data object or a clusters or group of several individual data objects, and / or (b) one or more rules that describe whether a predefined transaction or other event affecting the data object is permitted or blocked; and the data-analysis environment further includes:(ii) a rules engine that is configured to automatically and in real-time analyse a proposed transaction relating to a specific data object, against the permissions and / or rules stored in the data store, and is configured to automatically send a message or signal that results in the proposed transaction being automatically allowed or blocked.Direct payment from a data object6. The system of any preceding Claim in which the data-analysis environment is configured to analyse in real time a payment transaction to determine if it relates to a specific data object and to analyse any applicable rules or permissions for that data object; and, if the rules or permissions allow the payment transaction, to then process and record the payment transaction against that specific data object in real time.Shared Jars7. The system of any preceding Claim in which the data-analysis environment is configured to enable a data object to be created, selected, defined or modified by the entity torepresent a shared data object that one or more third parties, identified by the entity and whose identities are recorded in the data store, are able to view and / or to transact with.Shared Jar messaging8. The system of any preceding Claim in which a data object is created, selected, defined or modified by the entity to represent a shared data object that one or more third parties, identified by the entity, are able to view and to transact with, and the identities of the third parties is stored as data or meta-data in the data store; and in which the data-analysis environment is configured to enable messages relating to the shared data object be sent between the entity and the third parties.Delegated Permission / devolved spending9. The system of any preceding Claim in which the data-analysis environment is configured to enable the entity to create, select, define or modify a data object to give a third party entity the ability to perform actions in relation to the data object that are delegated by or devolved by the entity to that third party entity, such as initiating a payment transaction from that shared object.Reconciliation10. The system of any preceding Claim in which the data-analysis environment is configured to enable multiple entities to share a data object for a shared transaction or event; and in which the data-analysis environment is configured to automatically reconcile or allocate sums, e.g. after the transaction or event has concluded, among the multiple entities, according to rules or conditions as agreed by the multiple entities.Supplier Messages11. The system of any preceding Claim in which the data-analysis environment:(i) is configured to enable a supplier to create rules relating to one or more of the data objects, the rules being stored in the data store;(ii) includes or accesses a rules engine that is configured to automatically apply those rules when determining if data messages are sent and displayed in relation to the data object or objects.Merchant Specific Jars12. The system of any preceding Claim in which the meta-data for a data object defines which third party merchant or merchants are permitted to transact with the data object.Merchant Intent13. The system of any preceding Claim in which the data-analysis environment is configured to share, with one or more merchants, one or more of the following types of intent- related data, which are collected into a queryable database or data set that is stored in or is accessible by the data-analysis environment: what the user intends to buy using a specific data object; who the user intends to spend their money with, using a specific data object; when the user intends to spend their money, using a specific data object; any transaction entered into by the entity using a specific data object with the merchant or other merchants, such as what was purchased, when it was purchased, where it was purchased, and whether any reward or incentive was used in the purchase.Merchant Rewards14. The system of any preceding Claim in which the data-analysis environment is configured to enable a merchant to define one or more rules for awarding rewards or incentives, the rules being stored in a rules engine in or accessible by the data-analysis environment; and the data-analysis environment is configured to use the rules engine to determine whether to automatically award those rewards or incentives to a data object that satisfies the rule(s).Merchant Matching15. The system of any preceding Claim in which the data-analysis environment is configured to analyse a proposed transaction to automatically identify a counter-party or origin of the proposed transaction, such as a specific merchant that the entity is transacting with.Merchant Money16. The system of any preceding Claim in which the data-analysis environment is configured:(i) to enable the creation, supply, or purchase of, non-fiat currency linked with a specific merchant or group of merchants, such as rewards points or vouchers, and stores these as data objects; and(ii) to analyse in real time a payment transaction to determine if it relates to one of the data objects stored in step (i) above, and to analyse any applicable rules or permissions for that data object; and, if the rules or permissions allow the payment transaction, to determine the value to be exchanged, and then process and record the payment transaction against that specific data object in real time.Indirect Debit17. The system of any preceding Claim in which the data-analysis environment is configured to receive a direct debit request from a specific merchant and, when there is no data record stored in the data store of the entity agreeing to accept a direct debit from that merchant, to meta-tag the amount of the direct debit request as a debt that the user entity owes to the specific merchant and to store that meta-tag to enable the user entity to automatically make future payments to that merchant to progressively pay off that amount.Intent based lending18. The system of any preceding Claim in which the data-analysis environment is configured (i) to store meta-data that defines the entity's future intent or spending plans with a specific merchant; and (ii) to generate financial and / or credit evaluation data for that merchant that automatically uses or takes into account the meta-data that captures the future intent or spending plans of that entity.Cash proxies19. The system of any preceding Claim in which the data-analysis environment is configured (i) to store a data record for the amounts of one or more non-fiat items owned by or associated with that user entity and, (ii) when the user entity starts or enters a proposed transaction in a fiat currency, then the data-analysis environment is configured to retrieve or look up an exchange rate between the non-fiat item type and the fiat currency, and automatically calculate how the transaction could be completed, in whole or part, using the non-fiat items at the prevailing exchange rate.Priority of Payment20. The system of any preceding Claim in which the data-analysis environment is configured to store for a service publisher the specific order in which the available stores of value in their service proposition should be credited or debited, based on the attributes of the transaction and / or the attributes of the available stores of value.One card21. The system of any preceding Claim in which the data-analysis environment is configured: (i) to store for a service publisher multiple different available stores of value in their service proposition that may be credited or debited for a transaction; and(iii) to process a transaction on receipt of a message from a single user controlled item, such as a payment card, a smartphone, a computer, and to then allocate the transaction to one or more of the available stores of value to be credited or debited for the transaction, based on the attributes of the transaction and / or the attributes of the available stores of value.The data store22. The system of any preceding claim in which the data store includes data sets, or data lakes, which define, for a user, financial intent regarding transactions and data objects.

23. The system of any preceding claim in which the data store includes data sets, or data lakes, which are organised into one or more of the following groups: consumer personal; system internal; controller; merchant.

24. The system of any preceding claim in which the data store includes data sets, or data lakes, which define one or more of: permissions; allocation; validity; event handling.

25. The system of any preceding claim in which the data-analysis environment is configured to enable data exchange, via an API, an event handler and a processor layer, between one or more of the data sets, or data lakes, with a digital wallet system.

26. The system of any preceding claim in which the data-analysis environment is configured to enable data exchange, via an API, an event handler and a processor layer, between one or more of the data sets, or data lakes, with an external banking computer system.

27. The system of any preceding claim in which the data-analysis environment is configured to enable data exchange, via an API, an event handler and a processor layer, between one or more of the data sets, or data lakes, with an external merchant computer system.

28. The system of any preceding claim in which the data-analysis environment is configured to enable data exchange, via an API, an event handler and a processor layer, between one or more of the data sets, or data lakes, with an external payment processing computer system.Data objects29. The system of any preceding claim in which a data object defines a start or end point for a transaction, where a transaction is any form of a transfer of value between data objects, or any change in the value of a data object.

30. The system of any preceding claim in which a data object relates to or defines a transaction, including a planned or intended future transaction.

31. The system of any preceding claim in which a transaction is directed or routed to one or multiple data objects.

32. The system of any preceding claim in which a transaction is split and then directed or routed to multiple data objects.

33. The system of any preceding claim in which a transaction is split and then directed or routed to multiple data objects, based on an analysis of the metadata attached to each data object.

34. The system of any preceding claim in which a transaction is itself, or is directed to, a data object, and a defined set of transactions is a derived data object, and the data-analysisenvironment is configured to analyse or process derived data objects for the purpose of one or more of analytics; alarms; events; rules; synthetic accounts.

35. The system of any preceding claim in which a data object is a collection of separate data objects or a collective data object.

36. The system of any preceding claim in which a transaction relating to a collective data object is split up and applied separately to data objects that make up that collective data object according to a pre-set priority.

37. The system of any preceding claim in which a data object is in or associated with several collective data objects.

38. The system of any preceding claim in which a data object is a personal financial data obj ect that (i) is structured or selected by an entity consumer to enable the entity to plan, budget, share and control their finances and (ii) include or is referenced by meta-data defining the personal financial object.

39. The system of any preceding claim in which data objects are financial objects, such as bank accounts, savings accounts, ISA accounts, reward point schemes, synthetic accounts, or any other value representation.

40. The system of any preceding claim in which the data-analysis environment enables visualisation of a data object, as well as clusters or groups of several individual data objects.

41. The system of any preceding claim in which a data obj ect is a digital j ar or other discrete object with a discrete user interface icon, stored in a digital wallet.

42. The system of any preceding claim in which a data object is a ledger entry, such as recorded in a database.

43. The system of any preceding claim in which a data object is a virtual or synthetic subaccount.

44. The system of any preceding claim in which a root or primary virtual account data object is linked to a single account number and / or a single physical card.

45. The system of any preceding claim in which root or primary virtual account data object is linked to a credit card, debit card, QR code or any other payment channel.

46. The system of any preceding claim in which data objects are stored within the data- analysis environment or are stored externally to the environment but are accessible by the data- analysis environment.

47. The system of any preceding claim in which the data-analysis environment enables data and meta-data describing a data object associated with a user to be shared with other entities, such as other users, merchants, financial institutions.

48. The system of any preceding claim in which, where a data object associated with a user is shared with other entities, then the data-analysis environment provides the user and the other entities with a view or point-of-view of that data object that is specific to, and can hence vary, between the user and the other entities.

49. The system of any preceding claim in which the data-analysis environment enables a reward, voucher, gift or incentive redeemed or used by a consumer to be linked to that consumer and shared with the provider of that reward, voucher, gift or incentive.Meta-data50. The system of any preceding claim in which the data objects include or are referenced by meta-data defining each data object.

51. The system of any preceding claim in which the data-analysis environment is configured to process a transaction, where the transaction is defined by meta-data that enables the transaction to be linked to a data object.

52. The system of any preceding claim in which the meta-data defines one or more of the following: how data objects are displayed; how transactions are displayed; tagging; messages.

53. The system of any preceding claim in which the meta-data defines one or more of the following: what happens to data in the data store when change happens, such as the passage of time or new transactions arise, or new data objects are created.

54. The system of any preceding claim in which the meta-data for a data object defines (a) one or more permissions that describe who can and cannot transact with an object or a clusters or group of several individual data objects, and / or (b) one or more rules that describe whether a predefined transaction or other event affecting the data object is permitted or blocked.

55. The system of any preceding claim in which at least some of the meta-data is organised into data sets, or data lakes, which define, for a user, financial intent regarding transactions and data objects.

56. The system of any preceding claim in which at least some of the meta-data is organised into data sets, or data lakes, which are organised into one or more of the following groups: consumer personal; system internal; controller; merchant.

57. The system of any preceding claim in which the data-analysis environment is configured to enable data exchange between one or more of the data sets, or data lakes, with a digital wallet system.

58. The system of any preceding claim in which the data-analysis environment is configured to enable data exchange between one or more of the data sets, or data lakes, with an external banking computer system.

59. The system of any preceding claim in which the data-analysis environment is configured to enable data exchange between one or more of the data sets, or data lakes, with an external merchant computer system.

60. The system of any preceding claim in which the data-analysis environment is configured to enable data exchange between one or more of the data sets, or data lakes, with an external payment processing computer system.

61. The system of any preceding claim in which meta-data for a data object defines one or more rules that describe whether a predefined transaction or other event affecting the data object is permitted or blocked.

62. The system of any preceding claim in which a consumer who has created or selected the data object defines one or more of the rules.

63. The system of any preceding claim in which a third party to a consumer, such as a merchant or a payment channel defines one or more of the rules.

64. The system of any preceding claim in which rules are if / then logic defining the circumstances when a transaction is permitted or blocked.

65. The system of any preceding claim in which rules are if / then logic defining the circumstances whether a predefined transaction can automatically occur and that define customer incentives or rewards.

66. The system of any preceding claim in which rules are if / then logic defining customer incentives or rewards.

67. The system of any preceding claim in which rules define time-based customer incentives or rewards.

68. The system of any preceding claim in which rules define a merchant's incentives or rewards associated with a consumer committing to spend with that merchant.

69. The system of any preceding claim in which rules define which merchants, or which kinds of merchants, can transact with an individual personal financial object.

70. The system of any preceding claim in which rules define the kind of goods that can be purchased, with their costs debited against a specific an individual personal financial objectDigital Wallet71. The system of any preceding claim in which the system includes a digital wallet app, such as a smartphone or desktop app, that exchanges data with the data-analysis environment and where the meta-data for each data object includes a numeric quantity that represents value ('numeric value'), such as a monetary or financial value, and the system is configured to display the numeric value of one or more of the data objects to enable the entity to plan how to use the value represented by the numeric value.

72. The system of any preceding claim in which a digital wallet user interface enables a user to enter an input defining one or more of the following types of user data, which are then processed by the data-analysis environment: what the user intends to buy, using money allocated to a specific data object; who the user intends to spend their money with, using money allocated to a specific data object; when the user intends to spend their money, using money allocated to a specific data object.

73. The system of any preceding claim including a digital wallet user interface with graphical user interface items, icons or labels for one or more of the following categories of data objects that enable the entity to plan, budget, share and control their finances; (a) data objects that represent different spending categories; (b) data objects that represent different saving categories; (c) data objects that represent different data objects shared by other entities; (d) data objects that represent different objects shared with other entities.

74. The system of any preceding claim in which a data object is different from a bank account in that the entity can create or select multiple different data objects, to enable the entity to create a personalised or customised cluster of these data objects.

75. The system of any preceding claim in which a digital wallet user interface enables an entity to create or select multiple different data objects in different categories of data objects that enable the entity to plan, budget, share and control their finances.

76. The system of any preceding claim in which a digital wallet user interface enables an entity to initiate a transaction with an external entity from or to a data object, created by or for that entity, in a manner that automatically alters a numeric value of the data object that represents value.

77. The system of any preceding claim in which a digital wallet user interface enables an entity to initiate a transaction with an external entity from or to a cluster of data objects, created by or for that entity, in a manner that automatically alters the numeric value of the cluster.

78. The system of any preceding claim in which a digital wallet user interface enables an entity to share access to and use of one or more data objects, created by or for that entity, with other external entities.

79. The system of any preceding claim in which a digital wallet user interface enables an entity to prevent or mask viewing or access to one or more private data objects, created by or for that entity, with other external entities.

80. The system of any preceding claim in which a digital wallet user interface enables an entity to determine how data objects, created by or for that entity, are visualised or seen by other external entities.

81. The system of any preceding claim in which a digital wallet user interface enables an entity to set permissions that define if and how a data object, created by or for that entity, can be seen and used by other external entities, such as make purchases, transfer funds in or out, spending limits.

82. The system of any preceding claim in which a digital wallet user interface enables an entity to permit or block transactions with specific data objects, created by or for that entity, atspecific named shops or services, such as to permit a data object relating to food shopping to be used to buy items only from specified stores.

83. The system of any preceding claim in which a digital wallet user interface enables an entity to automate financial activity in relation to data objects, created by or for that user, by time event based rules.

84. The system of any preceding claim in which a digital wallet user interface enables an entity to automate financial activity in relation to data objects, created by or for that entity, by trigger-event based rules.

85. The system of any preceding claim in which a digital wallet user interface displays any one or more of rewards, vouchers, gifts or incentives available to a user from different merchants.

86. The system of any preceding claim in which a digital wallet user interface displays any one or more of rewards, vouchers, gifts or incentives available to an entity if that entity spends a defined amount with a merchant, and if the entity does spend at least that amount, then the reward etc is automatically provided to an appropriate object, shown in the wallet, for that entity.

87. The system of any preceding claim in which a digital wallet user interface displays any one or more of rewards, vouchers, gifts or incentives available to an entity if the entity commits to spend a defined amount with a merchant, and if the entity does in fact spend at least that amount, then the reward etc is automatically provided to an appropriate data object, shown in the wallet, for that entity.

88. The system of any preceding claim in which a digital wallet user interface includes a chat or messaging function to enable a first entity to send chats or messages to other users who share access to the same data objects, such as the first entity's objects.

89. The system of any preceding claim in which a digital wallet user interface enables an entity to construct, view and interact with a collection of data objects, created by or for thatentity, where the data objects: (i) are structured or selected by the entity to enable the entity to plan, budget, share and control their finances and (ii) include meta-data defining each data object; and where the digital wallet user interface enables the entity to initiate a transaction with an external entity from or to a data obj ect, in a manner that automatically alters the numeric value of the data object.

90. The system of any preceding claim in which a digital wallet enables a single payment transaction, made with a single payment card or virtual card, to both pay for goods and / or services and also redeem and / or earn rewards, vouchers, gifts or incentives.

91. The system of any preceding claim in which a digital wallet enables a single payment transaction, made with a single payment card or virtual card, to both pay for goods or services in a manner that is automatically processed in relation to a predefined data object to automatically pay for those goods or services and also to alter the numeric value of that data object.

92. The system of any preceding claim in which a digital wallet enables a single payment transaction, made with a single payment card or virtual card, to both pay for goods or services in a manner that is automatically processed in relation to a predefined data object, and also to earn or redeem rewards, vouchers, gifts or incentives, in a manner that is also automatically processed in relation to a predefined data object to deliver fully accurate attribution to link a purchase by a specific entity to a specific reward, voucher, gift or incentive used by that entity.Transaction processing93. The system of any preceding claim in which the data-analysis environment enables a consumer to initiate a transaction with an external entity from or to a data obj ect, or in a manner that automatically alters the data or meta-data associated with the data object, such as spending directly from or in relation to a specific virtual sub-account or jar.

94. The system of any preceding claim in which the data-analysis environment enables permissions, that define how a shared data object can be used by an external entity, to be processed in real-time to permit or block a transaction initiated by that external entity.

95. The system of any preceding claim in which the data-analysis environment enables permissions, that define how a shared data object can be used by an external entity, to be processed by a Point-of-Sale system in real-time.

96. The system of any preceding claim in which the data-analysis environment enables time-based rules to be defined and to permit or block a transaction depending on whether a time-based rule is satisfied.

97. The system of any preceding claim in which the data-analysis environment enables trigger-event based rules to be defined and to permit or block a transaction depending on whether a trigger-event based rule is satisfied.

98. The system of any preceding claim in which the data-analysis environment is configured to process in real time the time-based rules and the trigger-event based rules.

99. The system of any preceding claim in which the data-analysis environment enables the time event based rules and the trigger-event based rules to be processed at or by a Point-of- Sale system in real-time.

100. The system of any preceding claim in which the data-analysis environment enables a transaction to be reclassified to one or more different data objects.

101. The system of any preceding claim in which the data-analysis environment enables a transaction to be reclassified to one or more different data objects and meta-data defining the reclassification is preserved across all affected data objects.

102. The system of any preceding claim in which the data-analysis environment generates data that enables messages, such as advertising messages and offers of rewards, vouchers, gifts or incentives, to be automatically targeted at consumers with data objects that have meta-data that indicates potential relevance of those messages.

103. The system of any preceding claim in which if the data-analysis environment determines that the numeric value of an appropriate data object is insufficient to meet or satisfy a transaction, then the data-analysis environment is configured to automatically allocate some or all of the proposed transaction to another data object or data objects, according to a predefined priority order.

104. The system of any preceding claim in which the origin of a proposed transaction is determined using a combination of one or more of the following: pattern matching; regular expressions matching; or machine learning.

105. The system of any preceding claim in which the data-analysis environment is configured to output a confidence score associated with the identified origin of the proposed transaction.

106. The system of any preceding claim in which, when the confidence score is higher than a pre-defined threshold, the system is configured to check the data store to see if there are any rules and or rewards that need to be applied to the proposed transaction.

107. The system of any preceding claim in which the data-analysis environment is configured to process and record the transaction against a specific data object in real time to alter a value or balance for that specific data object.

108. The system of any preceding claim in which the data-analysis environment is configured to enable a transaction that relates to a specific data object to be recorded against that specific data object in real time, so that for example a payment from that specific data object is displayed in real time as altering a value or balance for that specific data object.

109. The system of any preceding claim in which meta-data for a data object defines one or more permissions that describe who can and cannot transact with an object or a clusters or group of several individual objects and a consumer or a third party creates the permissions.

110. The system of any preceding claim in which the data-analysis environment is configured to enable a user to transact, such as spend, directly from or in relation to a specificdata object, such as a virtual sub-account or jar or the primary virtual account and the data- analysis environment only approves a proposed transaction if there are sufficient funds in or attributed to that specific data object, such as that specific virtual sub-account.

111. The system of any preceding claim in which the meta-data for a transaction is analysed in the data-analysis environment to profile the entity.

112. The system of any preceding claim in which the data-analysis environment is configured so that any payments relating to a specific data object, such as out from or into a secondary virtual sub-account, are made solely using a digital payment device, such as a debit card or app running on a smartphone.

113. The system of any preceding claim in which the data-analysis environment is configured so that any payments out from or into a specific data object, such as a secondary virtual sub-account, automatically and substantially immediately alters the balance or value of the linked primary virtual account.

114. The system of any preceding claim in which the data-analysis environment enables the amount of a value in a transaction to be a calculated amount.

115. The system of any preceding claim in which the data-analysis environment triggers a transaction to alter the value associated with a source data object to a preset level when a predefined condition is met.

116. The system of any preceding claim in which the data-analysis environment automatically triggers a transaction from a source data object to a target data object when a predefined condition is met.

117. The system of any preceding claim in which the data-analysis environment triggers a fractional series of transactions from a source data object to a target data object118. The system of any preceding claim in which when a proposed transaction data is received, the data-analysis environment is configured to recommend a suitable allocation to one or more jars.Rules119. The system of any preceding claim in which the data-analysis environment includes or accesses rules that are used by a rules engine.

120. The system of any preceding claim in which a rules engine determines in real-time if a transaction with a specific merchant should be blocked or permitted, by using a MID code for that merchant and checking data or meta-data related to that MID code that defines what transactions with that merchant are blocked and what transactions are permitted.

121. The system of any preceding claim in which the rules engine determines in real-time whether to permit or block a transaction for specific types of goods or services by using a MCC code and checking data or meta-data related to that MCC code that defines what types of goods or services are blocked and what types of goods or services are permitted.

122. The system of any preceding claim in which the rules engine determines in real-time whether a transaction altering the numeric value of a data object should be blocked or permitted, such as whether money is permitted to be moved in or out of a virtual sub-account or jar to be spent with a specific merchant or on specific types of goods or services.

123. The system of any preceding claim in which conditionality rules define one or more of the following: merchant name, merchant type, MID code, MCC code, SKU, to hence enable the rules engine to automatically determine in real-time if a proposed transaction that would lead to a debit associated with a data object is permitted or not.

124. The system of any preceding claim in which the rules engine determines in real-time whether to permit or block a debit or credit transaction that directly affects, such as changes the value of a specific data object such as a specific jar.

125. The system of any preceding claim in which the rules engine implements in real-time a debit or credit transaction from a linked series of data objects, such as jars, according to a predefined priority of payments order.

126. The system of any preceding claim in which the priority order includes an ordered list of different types of stores of value, such as money, then crypto, then rewards, then non-fiat currency or redemption points.

127. The system of any preceding claim in which the rules engine implements in real-time a debit or credit transaction from a linked series of data objects so that a debit or credit cascades or flows through the linked series of data objects until conditions defined in the rules engine are met.

128. The system of any preceding claim in which the rules engine determines in real-time whether to permit or block a debit transaction using predefined affordability criteria.

129. The system of any preceding claim in which the rules engine automatically changes, such as rounds up or down, the amount of a payment transaction and attributes the amount of the change to a specific data object.

130. The system of any preceding claim in which the rules engine automatically allocates a single invoice or payment to multiple data objects.Sharing131. The system of any preceding claim in which the data-analysis environment is configured to enable a data object to be shared by a first entity with multiple entities, with each entity having rights to perform actions or events that relate to that data object, as permitted by rules stored in or accessed by the data-analysis environment that are under the control of the first entity, such as devolved spending.

132. The system of any preceding claim in which the data-analysis environment is configured to enable a data object to be shared by a first entity with multiple entities, with each entity having rights for one of more of the following: to read, or pay into, or spend from, that shared data object, or invite new entities to share that data object, in each case as permitted by rules stored in or accessed by the data-analysis environment that are under the control of the first entity.

133. The system of any preceding claim in which, when a data object is transferred to another entity, the meta-data associated with the data object is also transferred to the other entity.

134. The system of any preceding claim in which, when proposed transaction data is received that meets the rules or conditions of the shared data object, the system is configured to automatically allocate the proposed transaction to the shared data object, such as to affect the numeric value of that shared data object.

135. The system of any preceding claim in which, when a proposed transaction data is received, the data-analysis environment is configured to recommend a suitable allocation to the shared data object.

136. The system of any preceding claim in which the data object is a clusters or group of several individual data objects.

137. The system of any preceding claim in which the data analysis environment is configured to provide an entity with a view-only access to specific meta-data linked to a data object associated with another entity.

138. The system of any preceding claim in which the system includes a data-analysis environment configured to enable a consumer to share any data object, such as a virtual subaccount, with a group of people to create a shared data object, or ledger that captures the intent of the group of people, acting towards a shared goal, where that intent is defined by meta-data stored in the data store.

139. The system of any preceding claim in which the data-analysis environment is configured to enable a first entity to create, linked to a primary virtual account of that entity, a data object, for a different entity.

140. The system of any preceding claim in which the data-analysis environment is configured to enable that different entity to create, linked to the primary virtual account of the first entity, another data object for another different entity.Messages141. The system of any preceding claim in which the data-analysis environment is configured to process data messages that relate to a specific data object.

142. The system of any preceding claim in which the data-analysis environment is configured to process data messages that relate to a data object that is shared across several entities to enable a chat group associated with that shared data object.

143. The system of any preceding claim in which meta-data for messages is matched by the data-analysis environment to meta-data for one or more of the data objects when determining if data messages are sent to or visible to any entity that can view the data object.

144. The system of any preceding claim in which a data object is a contact or group of contacts, and the data-analysis environment is configured to process data messages that are between contacts or groups of contacts.

145. The system of any preceding claim in which the data-analysis environment is configured to process data messages that are a notification of a change in data in the data store or a change in a data object.

146. The system of any preceding claim in which the data-analysis environment is configured to process data messages from a supplier, where the supplier is one of the following:a merchant; a service provider; a bank; an asset or wealth manager; an insurance company; a pension provider; a merchant loyalty or reward programme; a group or team or club.

147. The system of any preceding claim in which the data-analysis environment is connected, via an API, to the data infrastructure of one or more of the following suppliers: a merchant; a service provider; a bank, an asset or wealth manager, an insurance company, a pension provider, a merchant loyalty or reward programme, a group or team or club, to enable the provision of services to entities that extends the scope of that supplier data infrastructure.

148. The system of any preceding claim in which the data messages relate to rewards, vouchers, gifts or incentives that affect a data object.

149. The system of any preceding claim in which the data messages relate to data objects that are shared across, or accessible to, several different entities, to enable group messaging that is related to a specific data object.Merchant specific150. The system of any preceding claim in which the data-analysis environment is configured to enable a customer to identify a specific data object for which only transactions with a specific merchant, as identified by a MID code, are permitted, and to define one or more rules so that future transactions are completed from or to this specific data object only if the rule or rules are met.

151. The system of any preceding claim in which the data-analysis environment is configured to enable the creation of a transferrable data object, associated with an amount of value, for which only transactions that meet preset criteria, such as merchant name or type, date ranges, are permitted, and that data object is transferrable between different users, like a voucher or riskless gift card.

152. The system of any preceding claim in which the data-analysis environment is configured to automatically inform a merchant when a data object is created that is specific to that merchant, as identified by a MID (Merchant Identification) code.

153. The system of any preceding claim in which the data-analysis environment is configured to automatically inform a merchant what the future spend from a specific customer is intended to be, using data from the data object(s) that is specific to that merchant.

154. The system of any preceding claim in which the system includes a digital wallet app, such as a smartphone or desktop app, that exchanges data with the data-analysis environment and is configured to share with a merchant one or more of the following types of intent-related data: what the user intends to buy, using money allocated to a specific data object; who the user intends to spend their money with, using money allocated to a specific data object; when the user intends to spend their money, using money allocated to a specific data object.

155. The system of any preceding claim in which the system includes a digital wallet app, such as a smartphone or desktop app, that exchanges data with the data-analysis environment and is configured to share with a merchant one or more of the following types of data: any transaction entered into by the user with the merchant or other merchants, including what was purchased, when it was purchased, where it was purchased, and whether any reward or incentive was used in the purchase.

156. The system of any preceding claim in which the data-analysis environment and is configured to share with one or more merchants one or more of the following types of intent- related data, which are collected into a queryable database or data set: what the user intends to buy, using money allocated to a specific data object; who the user intends to spend their money with, using money allocated to a specific data object; when the user intends to spend their money, using money allocated to a specific data object; any transaction entered into by the user with the merchant or other merchants, including what was purchased, when it was purchased, where it was purchased, and whether any reward or incentive was used in the purchase.

157. The system of any preceding claim in which the data-analysis environment is configured to store personal profiles and preferences and to build an anonymised cohort ofentities that meet criteria defined by a merchant, to enable the merchant to automatically send incentives or rewards targeted at the cohort.Merchant Rewards158. The system of any preceding claim in which the data-analysis environment is configured to share with one or more merchants one or more of the following types of data, which are collected by the merchant into a queryable database or data set: who gets rewards of other incentives and who does not (such as which data objects and their related owning / controlling entities get incentives; when incentives are delivered to a data object; how incentives are delivered to a data object, such as which data channel is used; whether an incentive worked or not, such as whether it triggered or was used in a transaction.

159. The system of any preceding claim in which the data analysis environment is configured to enable one or more merchants to define one or more rules for targeting and / or awarding and / or attributing rewards or other incentives; and the data-analysis environment is configured to automatically target, and / or award and / or attribute those rewards or incentives to a data object that satisfies the rule or rules.

160. The system of any preceding claim in which the data analysis environment is configured to use a feedback loop to learn over time from targeting, and / or awarding and / or attribution data, how to improve targeting of rewards or other incentives.

161. The system of any preceding claim in which the system is configured to perform a large number of testing and analysis of different incentives prior to the moment an end-user spends from a specific jar, and to then generate end-users’ behaviour models.

162. The system of any preceding claim in which the data-analysis environment is configured to generate individual recommendations for how a merchant can engage with a specific end-user in a way that the specific end-user finds appealing based on historical transactional data.

163. The system of any preceding claim in which the data-analysis environment is configured to generate behavioural change triggers, such as using a gamification engine, based on historical transactional data.

164. The system of any preceding claim which the data-analysis environment is configured to generate individual recommendations prior to a point of sale, such as at the moment of intent.

165. The system of any preceding claim in which rules for awarding rewards or other incentives take into account any one or more of the following: merchant loyalty points, longevity with merchant, geo-location data, time stamp data, amount of transaction, or any event or action that relates to the merchant, such as the creation of a data object (i) related to the specific merchant and / or (ii) shared with a number of other user-entities; or the completion of a pre-defined number of transactions; or a pre-commitment to spend a specific amount at the merchant; consumer demographics; consumer behaviour tracked by the data-analysis environment; environmental conditions; merchant specific conditions; specific conditions stored by or accessible to the data-analysis environment.

166. The system of any preceding claim in which the data-analysis environment is configured to automatically apply any rewards or other incentives from a specific merchant for that specific consumer such as hyper-personalised promotions and incentives, to automatically update the amount left in or associated with the appropriate data object.

167. The system of any preceding claim in which the data-analysis environment is configured to enable one or more merchants to define rules for awarding rewards or other incentives; and the data-analysis environment is configured to automatically award those rewards promotions, offers or incentives to an entity whose future intent, defined in a data object, meets those rules, such as whenever money is paid into a merchant-specific virtual subaccount or whenever money is spent with the merchant from that virtual sub-account).

168. The system of any preceding claim in which the data-analysis environment is configured to enable one or more merchants to define any kind of incentive, such as any rules based promotion or discount, such as experiential incentives, save-now and buy-later, as well as more conventional % discount or a two for ones, that is specific to an individual consumeror consumers that meet a demographic profile or meet any other metadata parameters the data- analysis environment captures.

169. The system of any preceding claim in which the data-analysis environment is configured to enable multiple merchants to define any kind of incentive that is common across all the merchants.

170. The system of any preceding claim in which the rules engine automatically awards or redeems rewards or incentives to an entity whose future intent, defined in or by a data object, such as a virtual sub-account, meets certain rules, and the award or redemption occurs in realtime when the entity commits to a future transaction, or that transaction occurs.

171. The system of any preceding claim in which the data-analysis environment is configured to automatically award those rewards or incentives to a data obj ect whenever money is paid into a virtual sub-account or whenever money is spent with the merchant from that virtual sub-account or money is placed into a specific data object.

172. The system of any preceding claim in which data objects defining rewards or other incentives have one or more of the following properties: o Grows over time; o Awarded at time of event; o Awarded on completion of n steps - like a stamp card; o Must be used in a specific; o Must be used between specific times / by this date; o is a random amount; o a random user is selected for a prize; o is awarded for completing a task ; o follows a merchant; o created with a shared j ar with x friends; o requires spending x amount over y period; o is a percentage discount for a transaction spend, based on the total amount of the transaction;o are specific and different amounts based on meeting specific rules or conditions o can be used in whole or part, even in a physical, retail store; o rewards sent to parents are shared with their children to enable parental- consented marketing; o cannot be used by the initial recipient, but can be given away and then used by the subsequent recipient; o increase in value over time; o increase in value over time if shared with others; o deduction or coupon calculated in real-time at the POS; o activates when a user collects a set or series of rewards; o increase as more users collect a reward; o is a money off after a set number of transactions at a specific merchant; o are time-based; o decline in value over time; o only works on specific dates; o can only be given to friends, groups, or children; o can only be given away as gifts; o are rewards for completing a survey, or watching content.

173. The system of any preceding claim in which the system implements in real-time a single debit or credit transaction with a permissioned merchant, according to a predefined priority of payments order, including rewards or incentives data objects associated with that permissioned merchant, and which are defined with a specific priority.

174. The system of any preceding claim in which the system implements a reward that grows over time, and dynamically calculates reward value at the point of redemption, using merchant level MID code blocking or routing.

175. The system of any preceding claim in which rewards are fully or partially transferable on meeting specific rules or conditions defined by the merchant, such as rewards when transferred should be spent at a specific time or geo-location data, or with merchant.

176. The system of any preceding claim in which the data-analysis environment is configured to automatically identify an end-user to a merchant, such as when the end-user enters a store of the merchant or when a specific card or QR code is used, to automatically apply any promotion or offer for that end-user, and to automatically update the amount left in the merchant-specific jar of that end-user.Fraud and AML Monitoring177. The system of any preceding claim in which the data-analysis environment is configured to generate a risk level associated with each end-user based on historical transactional data from each user.

178. The system of any preceding claim in which rewards are provided based on the generated risk level of each end-user.Indirect debit179. The system of any preceding claim in which the data-analysis environment is configured to receive a direct debit request from a specific merchant and, when there is no data record of the entity agreeing to accept a direct debit from that merchant, to meta-tag the amount of any direct debit as a debt that the user entity owes to the specific merchant and to enable the user entity to make future payments to that merchant to progressively pay off that amount.

180. The system of any preceding claim in which a direct debit request from the merchant is in a standard data format and is sent over a standard banking system, such as BACS.

181. The system of any preceding claim in which the data-analysis environment sends a data signal to the merchant that a direct debit request has been accepted.

182. The system of any preceding claim in which unpaid amounts are configured to be automatically repaid in the future in circumstances defined by a rule.

183. The system of any preceding claim in which the system is configured to enable a userentity to input a schedule of payments for the unpaid amounts.

184. The system of any preceding claim in which the system is configured to enable a userentity to manually settle the unpaid amounts or part of the unpaid amounts.

185. The system of any preceding claim in which the system is configured to automatically send an alert to the specific merchant when the direct debit request has been modified.

186. The system of any preceding claim in which the system is configured to provide the customer related parameters to the specific merchant.

187. The system of any preceding claim in which the system is configured to notify the specific merchant of the total amount of the debt that is remaining, on a scheduled basis.Reconciliation188. The system of any preceding claim in which the data-analysis environment is configured to automatically reconcile or allocate any unused amounts after the transaction or event has concluded among the multiple entities, according to rules or conditions as agreed by the multiple entities.

189. The system of any preceding claim in which the data analysis environment is configured to automatically distribute any remaining money or crypto or rewards or non-fiat currency linked to a shared data object between the multiple entities according to rules or conditions as agreed by the multiple entities.

190. The system of any preceding claim in which the rules or conditions define the distribution of any unused amounts according to pre-agreed principles of fairness.

191. The system of any preceding claim in which the rules or conditions prohibit any entity receiving more than they contributedIntent based lending192. The system of any preceding claim in which the data-analysis environment is configured to generate credit evaluation data for a merchant that automatically takes into account data objects that capture future intent or spending plans of one or more entities with the merchant.

193. The system of any preceding claim in which the data-analysis environment is configured to consolidate or group all data objects that capture the future intent or spending intent of multiple user entities with the specific entity.

194. The system of any preceding claim in which the data-analysis environment is configured to generate credit evaluation data for that entity that automatically takes into account the consolidated or grouped data objects that capture future intent or spending intent with that entity.

195. The system of any preceding claim in which the data-analysis environment is configured to automatically generate a revised credit score for that specific entity, that takes into account the consolidated or grouped data objects that capture future intent or spending intent with that entity.

196. The system of any preceding claim in which the data-analysis environment is configured to automatically analyse a loan request for that entity, taking into account the credit evaluation data and / or revised credit score.Cash Proxies197. The system of any preceding claim in which the data-analysis environment is configured to store a data record for the amounts of one or more non-fiat items owned by or associated with that user entity and, when the user entity starts or enters a proposed transaction in a fiat currency, then the data-analysis environment retrieves or looks up an exchange rate between the non-fiat item type and the fiat currency, and automatically calculates how the transaction could be completed, in whole or part, using the non-fiat items at the prevailing exchange rate.

198. The system of any preceding claim in which non-fiat items includes reward points, Crypto tokens, Merchant Money, such as non-fiat currency linked with a specific merchant or group of merchants, such as rewards points.

199. The system of any preceding claim in which the data analysis environment is configured to apply a pre-defined set of rules or conditions to determine if and how much non-fiat items should be used to pay for the transaction.Use cases200. The system of any preceding claim in which the data objects track data associated with one or more of the following: a bank; an asset or wealth manager; an insurance company; a pension provider; a merchant loyalty or reward programme; a group or team or club.

201. The system of any preceding claim in which the data-analysis environment is connected, via an API, to the data infrastructure of one or more entities that publish solutions to consumers, where meta-data for the solutions is matched by the data-analysis environment to meta-data for consumers that describes the consumers' future intent or intended future actions.

202. The system of any preceding claim in which the entities that publish solutions are one of the following: a bank; an asset or wealth manager; an insurance company; a pension provider; a merchant loyalty or reward programme; a group or team or club.

203. The system of any preceding claim in which the data-analysis environment is connected, via an API, to the data infrastructure of one or more of the following entities: a bank, an asset or wealth manager, an insurance company, a pension provider, a merchant loyalty or reward programme, a group or team or club, to enable the provision of services to customers of the entity.

204. The system of any preceding claim in which the data-analysis environment is connected, via an API, to the data infrastructure of one or more of the following entities: a bank, an asset or wealth manager, an insurance company, a pension provider, a merchant loyalty or reward programme, a group or team or club, to enable the provision of services to customers of the entity that extends the scope of that data infrastructure to include data objects that are (i) created by the customer to define the customer's future intent or intended future actions, such as to enable the customer to plan, budget, share and control their finances and (ii) track transactions, such as purchases.

205. The system of any preceding claim in which the system includes a data-analysis environment configured to include digital wallet functionality.

206. The system of any preceding claim in which the data-analysis environment is configured to enable personal budgeting for future spend across different categories, such as shopping, petrol, mobile phone, utilities etc. using data objects, such as virtual sub-accounts, that are specific to each category.

207. The system of any preceding claim in which the data-analysis environment is configured to enable financial contributions to a shared or group social activity and spending on the activity, using a shared data object, such as a shared virtual sub-account, associated solely with that activity.

208. The system of any preceding claim in which the data-analysis environment is configured to enable children's pocket money, by enabling a child to spend directly from a defined data object, but in ways that are controlled in advance by an adult who controls the data object.

209. The system of any preceding claim in which the data-analysis environment is configured to enable long term savings and pensions, by providing a data object, such as a virtual sub-account for savings or pensions, and to enable a customer to set up rules that determine regular payments into that data object.

210. The system of any preceding claim in which the data-analysis environment is configured to enable testing and analysis of different incentives designed to explore what induces consumers and what their demographic parameters are to commit to allocating funds to a specific merchant or data object.Underlying segmented data structure211. The system of any preceding claim in which the data-analysis environment: (i) includes a data record for a root or primary virtual account for an entity, and also data records for one or more data objects of the root or primary account, such as a UUTD or other uniquely defined logical entity, that are defined or created by that entity and are linked to the primary virtual account, the data objects constituting the data objects.

212. The system of any preceding claim in which the data-analysis environment: is configured to include a multi-level hierarchy of accounts, with a root or primary virtual account at the top level, and data objects at a lower level, and one or more core virtual accounts, each specific to one type of store of value, such as either money, or crypto, or rewards, positioned in-between the root or primary virtual account and the data objects, so that transaction data flows from the root or primary virtual account to a core virtual account and then to a data obj ect.

213. A computer-implemented method to provide data processing services to an entity, the method comprising the steps:(i) providing a data-analysis environment which includes or accesses a data store that stores data and meta-data for one or more data objects that represent a store of value ('data objects') that are created by the entity; and(ii) providing an API layer that links the data-analysis environment to (a) a digital wallet provider, and to (b) a data publisher that publishes data to the data-analysis environment;(iii) operating the data-analysis environment by linking the data-analysis environment via the API layer to the (a) a digital wallet provider, and to (b) the data publisher.

214. The method of Claim 213, including the step of using or operating the computer- implemented system defined in any preceding claim 1 - 212.

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