Loyalty Identifier Mapping With Pseudonymous Retailer IDs
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing customer loyalty systems, both physical and virtual, require users to manually manage multiple loyalty programs by providing specific identifiers or membership numbers, which is cumbersome and inefficient, and lack a unified solution that simplifies user experience while being cost-effective for merchants.
Innovation Solution
A centralized loyalty identifier management system that generates a general loyalty identifier for a user, associating it with various specific loyalty programs, allowing users to manage their loyalty benefits through a single identifier, which can be updated and accessed seamlessly across different merchants.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If a single loyalty identifier is used across multiple retailers, then customer convenience is improved, but security and control over personal data deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The system segments the centralized loyalty identifier into multiple distributed pseudonymous identifiers, each retailer receiving only the pseudonym they need. The mapping between real identity and pseudonyms is segmented across multiple trusted authorities rather than held in a single centralized database, thus improving security while maintaining convenience.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces pseudonymous identifiers as intermediaries between the customer's real identity and the retailers' loyalty systems. These pseudonyms act as mediators that enable cross-retailer recognition without exposing the customer's actual identity or allowing any single retailer to control the entire loyalty ecosystem.
2Reliability
If multiple loyalty identifiers are used across different retailers, then security and control are improved, but customer convenience deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates a universal pseudonymous identifier system that serves multiple functions: it works across different retailers, maintains security through distributed control, and provides a consistent user experience. The same pseudonym can be used at any participating retailer, giving the system multi-functional capability that addresses both security and convenience requirements.
3Ease of manufacture
If personal data is centralized in one database, then ease of management is improved, but vulnerability to breaches and loss of control deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The centralized personal data database is segmented into multiple distributed trusted authority databases. Each authority holds only a portion of the mapping information needed to connect real identities to pseudonyms. This segmentation maintains ease of management through standardized protocols while dramatically reducing vulnerability to breaches, as compromising one database does not expose the entire system.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements local quality by allowing each trusted authority to independently manage its own segment of the identifier mapping with specific security characteristics. Each local database can be optimized for its specific security requirements while still contributing to the overall system functionality, thus managing data securely without requiring a single centralized vulnerable point.
Data Source
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AI summary
The proposed technique relates to a method for managing loyalty identifiers, which method is implemented in a loyalty identifiers management server (SIF) and comprises an initialisation phase comprising a step (11) of generating a general loyalty identifier (ID_Gen_U1) for a previously identified user (U1). The proposed technique also relates to a method for processing loyalty data, which method is implemented in a transaction device of a merchant.