Centralized Electronic Receipt Enrollment System
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing receipt systems in brick and mortar stores are cumbersome and costly for consumers to enroll in multiple electronic receipt programs, and there is uncertainty about the accuracy of receipts from untrusted merchants, limiting the adoption of electronic receipts.
Innovation Solution
A centralized system that allows consumers to enroll once for electronic receipt preferences across multiple merchants, using a trusted payment processing network to manage receipt preferences and provide support, while merchants can reduce overhead by generating receipts based on standardized data.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If consumers enroll in electronic receipt programs at each merchant individually, then each merchant can provide customized receipts, but the enrollment process becomes costly and burdensome for consumers
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines multiple merchant-specific receipt programs into a single unified electronic receipt program. Consumers enroll once with a central system that aggregates receipt preferences and distributes them to multiple merchants, eliminating the need for separate enrollments at each merchant location.
Solution Approach 2:
The central electronic receipt program serves multiple merchants simultaneously, making the enrollment system universal. A single enrollment process provides consumers with electronic receipt capabilities across all participating merchants, rather than requiring merchant-specific programs.
2Extent of automation
If merchants provide electronic receipts independently, then consumers can receive digital receipts, but consumers doubt the accuracy of receipts from untrusted merchants
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a central payment processing network as an intermediary between merchants and consumers. This trusted intermediary validates and standardizes receipt data before delivery, ensuring accuracy and reliability. The central system acts as a mediator that consumers trust, eliminating doubts about merchant-provided receipt accuracy.
3Ease of operation
If a centralized system manages receipt preferences across multiple merchants, then consumer enrollment becomes simpler, but the system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The central payment processing network serves as an intermediary system that manages receipt preferences across multiple merchants. This intermediary handles the complexity of coordinating between consumers, merchants, and issuers, while presenting a simple enrollment interface to consumers. The intermediary absorbs the system complexity internally while maintaining operational simplicity externally.
Data Source
AI summary
One embodiment of the invention is directed to a system comprising a server and a consumer device in operative communication with the server. The server comprises a processor and a computer readable medium coupled to the processor. The computer readable medium comprises computer readable program code embodied therein. The computer readable program code is adapted to be executed by the processor to receive an authorization request message for a transaction conducted by a consumer with a merchant, send the authorization request message to an issuer, modify an authorization response message to include receipt preference data, and send the authorization response message comprising the receipt data to the merchant, wherein the merchant generates a receipt for the consumer according to the receipt preference data.