Matching Financial Transaction Records to Merchant Profiles

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Solution Overview

Problem

Existing systems face difficulties in accurately matching issuer-generated transaction records with merchant profile records due to variations and anomalies in the data, leading to incorrect matching and incomplete tax reporting.

Innovation Solution

A system and method that utilizes a match logic module to recognize and correct variations in merchant identifying data within transaction records, enabling accurate matching with merchant profile records by normalizing the data to standard formats.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Productivity

If issuer-generated transaction records are used with standard format, then data consistency and processing efficiency are improved, but data accuracy deteriorates due to variations and anomalies introduced by issuers

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvedata processing efficiencyVSAvoidmerchant identifying data accuracy

Core Design Contradiction:

ProductivityVSMeasurement precision

Solution Approach 1:

The system performs preliminary actions by pre-defining variation patterns and correction rules before the matching process. When transaction records are received, the system proactively identifies and corrects variations based on pre-established patterns, enabling accurate matching without requiring complex real-time analysis of each anomaly.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The system changes the data parameters by transforming merchant identifying data from its original varied format into a normalized standard format. This involves detecting variations in field formats, applying correction rules, and converting the data to a consistent representation that matches the merchant profile database schema.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #35Parameter changes

2Measurement precision

If variations in merchant identifying data are corrected, then matching accuracy is improved, but system complexity increases due to the need to recognize and handle multiple variation types

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvemerchant identifying data accuracyVSAvoidmatch logic module complexity

Core Design Contradiction:

Measurement precisionVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The system segments the complex matching task into distinct manageable components: variation detection, variation correction, and record matching. Each component handles specific aspects of the problem independently, making the overall system more manageable and maintainable despite the complexity of handling multiple variation types.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The system introduces an intermediary correction layer between the raw transaction data and the matching process. This intermediary component handles all variation corrections separately, acting as a mediator that transforms varied input data into standardized output data, thereby simplifying the main matching logic.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

3Speed

If transaction records are matched without accounting for variations, then processing speed is maintained, but matching reliability deteriorates leading to incorrect matches and incomplete tax reporting

Engineering Contradiction:

Improverecord matching speedVSAvoidmatching accuracy

Core Design Contradiction:

SpeedVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The system performs variation correction as a preliminary action before the matching process begins. By pre-processing and correcting variations in advance, the system ensures that the subsequent matching operation works with clean, standardized data, maintaining both speed and reliability without requiring complex corrections during the matching itself.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

Data Source

PatentUS8768802B2System and method of matching financial transaction records to merchant records of a merchant profile database

Publication Date: 2014.07.01 VISA USA INC

AI summary

A system and method for matching transaction records to merchant records of a merchant profile database is provided, the transaction records containing transaction data of financial presentation devices that are presentable to a plurality of merchants, the transaction data including merchant identifying data that identifies the merchant for the transaction. The system includes a memory storing a plurality of transaction records, a merchant profile database storing a plurality of merchant profile records, a processor, and a match logic module executable by the processor and adapted to recognize a plurality of variations in the merchant identifying data contained in the transaction records, the match logic module operable to match each of the transaction records to an associated merchant profile record in the merchant profile database according to the recognized variations in the merchant identifying data.