Electronic Coupon Issuance System for Payment Analytics

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Solution Overview

Problem

Current electronic coupon systems lack efficient mechanisms for issuance, redemption, and analytics, leading to complexities in payment authorization, settlement, and customer loyalty analysis, particularly in integrating social network and group buying company offers.

Innovation Solution

The Electronic Coupon Issuance and Redemption (ECIR) system facilitates coupon issuance and redemption through a virtual payment system, utilizing QR codes and prepaid accounts, enabling real-time payments and analytics for merchants and coupon issuers, while allowing consumers to redeem coupons electronically or with physical cards, and providing analytics on customer purchasing habits.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Productivity

If paper coupons are used at POS terminals, then consumers can get discounts, but the system lacks efficiency in issuance, redemption, and analytics

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvecoupon issuance and redemption efficiencyVSAvoidsystem complexity for payment authorization and settlement

Core Design Contradiction:

ProductivityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent replaces the mechanical paper coupon system with an electronic coupon system stored in a database. Coupons are issued and redeemed electronically through the system, eliminating the need for physical paper coupons and manual handling at POS terminals. This substitution significantly improves efficiency while reducing system complexity through automated electronic processes.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #28Mechanics substitution (Replace mechanical system)

Solution Approach 2:

The patent introduces an electronic coupon system as an intermediary between consumers, merchants, and analytics platforms. This intermediary layer enables automated issuance, redemption tracking, and analytics collection, improving overall system efficiency while providing a unified interface for payment authorization and settlement processes.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

2Productivity

If electronic coupon systems are implemented, then payment efficiency is enhanced, but integration of social network and group buying offers creates complexity

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvepayment processing speedVSAvoidintegration capability for multiple offer types

Core Design Contradiction:

ProductivityVSAdaptability or versatility

Solution Approach 1:

The patent designs the electronic coupon system with universal functionality to handle multiple types of offers including traditional coupons, social network offers, and group buying offers. The system maintains a unified electronic database and processing mechanism that can accommodate diverse offer types without requiring separate systems, thus improving payment efficiency while maintaining adaptability.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #6Universality (Multi-functionality)

Solution Approach 2:

The patent segments different offer types (traditional coupons, social network offers, group buying offers) into distinct categories within the electronic database, allowing each type to be processed according to its specific rules while maintaining a unified system architecture. This segmentation enables efficient processing of each offer type while managing integration complexity through organized data structures.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

3Loss of information

If real-time analytics are provided, then customer loyalty analysis is improved, but data processing requirements increase

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvecustomer purchasing habit analysis accuracyVSAvoidcomputational resources for real-time processing

Core Design Contradiction:

Loss of informationVSUse of energy by moving object

Solution Approach 1:

The patent implements preliminary data collection and organization mechanisms where coupon issuance, redemption, and customer information are systematically recorded in the electronic database as they occur. This preliminary structuring of data enables efficient real-time analytics processing without requiring intensive computational resources, as the data is already organized and ready for analysis.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The patent enables the system to automatically collect, store, and analyze coupon-related data without requiring external intervention. The electronic database self-updates with redemption information and the system automatically generates analytics on customer purchasing habits, reducing the computational burden by leveraging automated data processing rather than intensive real-time calculations.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #25Self-service

Data Source

PatentUS10621605B2Electronic coupon issuance and redemption apparatuses, methods and systems

Publication Date: 2020.04.14 VISA INTERNATIONAL SERVICE ASSOCIATION

AI summary

The ELECTRONIC COUPON ISSUANCE AND REDEMPTION APPARATUSES, METHODS AND SYSTEMS (“ECIR”) transforms user coupon purchase and redemption request inputs via ECIR components into coupon issuance, transaction, and analytics outputs. In some embodiments, the ECIR may receive an inventory request from a coupon program manager, including at least a virtual coupon issue criteria. The ECIR may generate one or more account identifiers, and transmit the account identifiers to the coupon program manager. The ECIR may receive, from the coupon program manager, an issue request along with the purchase information, which may include one or more purchase identifiers corresponding to one or more buyers. The ECIR may determine when the received purchase information satisfies the virtual coupon issue criteria. when it satisfies the criteria, the ECIR may issue one or more virtual coupons having the one or more account identifiers, and transmit the issued virtual cards to the coupon program manager.