Automatic Receipt Delivery Across Merchants Using Card-Linked Accounts
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing electronic receipt solutions require significant activation energy from both merchants and customers, involving manual generation and delivery setup, and customers often need to re-learn and re-setup receipt accounts for each new merchant.
Innovation Solution
A digital receipt system that automatically delivers receipts to a stored electronic address based on past transaction data, allowing seamless receipt delivery across multiple merchants without repeated account setup, and includes fraud protection features.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If manual receipt generation and delivery setup is implemented, then receipt delivery can be achieved, but significant activation energy and time are required from both merchants and customers
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary actions by automatically generating receipts and storing delivery preferences in advance. When a transaction occurs, the receipt is automatically generated and delivered using pre-stored customer preferences, eliminating the need for manual setup at the time of transaction.
Solution Approach 2:
The system enables self-service by automatically managing receipt generation and delivery without requiring customer intervention. The system stores customer preferences and uses them to automatically deliver receipts, making the process effortless for customers while reducing activation energy.
2Reliability
If customers set up receipt accounts for each new merchant, then receipt delivery can be ensured, but customers must re-learn and re-setup accounts repeatedly
Solution Approach 1:
The system achieves universality by creating a single receipt account that works across multiple merchants. Customer preferences and account information are stored centrally, allowing the same account to be used for receipt delivery from any merchant in the network, eliminating the need to create separate accounts for each merchant.
Solution Approach 2:
The system introduces an intermediary layer (the centralized receipt delivery system) that mediates between customers and merchants. This intermediary stores customer preferences and handles receipt delivery, allowing customers to interact with multiple merchants through a single unified interface rather than setting up separate accounts with each merchant.
3Ease of manufacture
If merchants build their own infrastructure for electronic receipts, then receipt delivery capability is achieved, but device complexity and costs increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system merges the receipt generation and delivery functionality into a centralized infrastructure shared across multiple merchants. Instead of each merchant building separate receipt systems, they all utilize the same shared infrastructure, reducing individual merchant complexity and costs while maintaining full receipt delivery capability.
Solution Approach 2:
The system introduces an intermediary receipt delivery service that merchants can integrate with minimal effort. This intermediary handles the complex infrastructure requirements for receipt generation, storage, and delivery, allowing merchants to implement electronic receipts without building their own complex infrastructure.
Data Source
AI summary
A method comprising receiving, by a payment processing system (PPS) and from a first point of sale (POS) device associated with a merchant, transaction data associated with a transaction including a first card number and identifier of a first cardholder. The PPS can determine, based on the first card number, that the transaction is associated with an account and store an association between the identifier and the account. The PPS can receive from a second POS device associated with the merchant (or a second merchant) second transaction data associated with a second transaction that includes a second card number. The PPS can determine, based on the second card number, that the second transaction is associated with the account. Based on the association between the account and the identifier, the PPS can transmit a receipt for the second transaction to the first cardholder.