Loyalty Processing Server Token Matching

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Solution Overview

Problem

Current systems lack an efficient method to integrate loyalty programs with payment card transactions, failing to effectively credit users' loyalty accounts and redeem rewards across multiple retailers, and to provide personalized digital promotions based on purchase history.

Innovation Solution

A loyalty processing system that utilizes a POS terminal and a loyalty processing server to obtain purchase transaction data, match it with payment card transaction tokens, generate and credit loyalty accounts, and communicate notifications, including QR codes for user registration and digital promotions, enabling multi-retailer loyalty accounts and personalized offers.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Adaptability or versatility

If payment card transaction tokens are used as universal identifiers to integrate loyalty programs across multiple retailers, then adaptability and versatility improve, but system complexity increases due to the need to match tokens with purchase transactions and generate loyalty accounts

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvemulti-retailer loyalty integrationVSAvoidsystem complexity

Core Design Contradiction:

Adaptability or versatilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The payment card transaction token is repurposed to serve dual functions: as a payment identifier and as a universal loyalty program identifier across multiple retailers. This eliminates the need for separate loyalty registration systems at each retailer and enables seamless cross-retailer loyalty accumulation and redemption.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #6Universality (Multi-functionality)

Solution Approach 2:

A centralized loyalty processing server acts as an intermediary between payment card processing servers and various retailer loyalty programs. This server matches payment tokens with purchase transactions, generates loyalty accounts, and coordinates crediting across different retailers, thereby managing system complexity centrally while maintaining high adaptability at the retail level.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

2Productivity

If real-time matching of payment tokens with purchase transactions is performed to automatically credit loyalty accounts, then productivity improves, but computational resources and processing time increase

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveloyalty account crediting efficiencyVSAvoidcomputational resources

Core Design Contradiction:

ProductivityVSUse of energy by moving object

Solution Approach 1:

The system performs preliminary actions by capturing and storing payment token information at the point of sale during the transaction process. The loyalty processing server then processes these pre-captured tokens in batches or near-real-time, matching them with purchase transactions to automatically credit loyalty accounts without requiring additional customer actions or extensive real-time computation during peak transaction periods.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

3Ease of operation

If payment card transaction tokens are used instead of traditional loyalty account registration methods, then ease of operation improves, but reliability may be affected by the need to accurately match tokens with user identities

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveuser registration convenienceVSAvoiduser identification accuracy

Core Design Contradiction:

Ease of operationVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The system implements feedback mechanisms where the loyalty processing server continuously monitors and validates the matching between payment tokens and purchase transactions. When matches are confirmed, loyalty accounts are credited with feedback provided to both the user (via notifications) and the retailer (via updated loyalty balances). This continuous validation loop ensures high reliability in user identification while maintaining ease of operation.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #23Feedback

Data Source

PatentUS11783361B1System for generating a loyalty account based upon payment card transaction token and related methods

Publication Date: 2023.10.10 INMAR CLEARING INC

AI summary

A system may include a point-of-sale (POS) terminal, and a server configured to obtain, from the POS terminal, a purchase transaction identifier and a purchase amount associated with a purchase transaction of a given user. The server may also be configured to obtain, from a payment card processing server, a payment card transaction token associated with the purchase transaction, and match the payment card transaction token to the purchase transaction identifier, and based thereon, generate a loyalty account associated with the given user based upon the payment card transaction token. The server may also be configured to credit the loyalty account associated with the given user based upon the purchase amount, and generate and communicate a notification to the given user of the loyalty account and the associated credit.