Merchant Data Disambiguation via Binary Search for Real-Time Transactions
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Solution Overview
Problem
The existing systems for cashless transactions face challenges in providing accurate and instantaneous merchant location data, especially when a third-party payment provider is involved, leading to poor data quality and inefficiencies in fraud monitoring and instant rewards or rebates.
Innovation Solution
A system and method that utilize a binary-searchable non-transitory computer-readable medium to store unambiguous merchant identification data, allowing for real-time disambiguation of ambiguous merchant identification data through hierarchical partial match criteria, enabling instantaneous merchant location assignment without database updates during the authorization process.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If a third-party payment provider is involved in cashless transactions, then transaction processing capability is extended, but data quality for merchant location identification deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a location lookup service as an intermediary component that sits between the authorization system and the merchant location database. This service receives ambiguous merchant data from third-party payment providers, performs disambiguation using multiple criteria (merchant name, address, city, state, zip code), and returns resolved location information. The intermediary resolves the data quality issue by actively transforming poor-quality input data into high-quality output data without affecting the extended transaction processing capability.
2Loss of information
If traditional database queries are used for merchant location lookup, then data retrieval is performed, but response time increases causing latency
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements preliminary action by pre-processing and storing merchant location data in an optimized format before actual authorization transactions occur. The location lookup service maintains indexed data structures that enable rapid search operations during authorization. By preparing the data structure in advance and using efficient search algorithms, the system achieves fast response times without requiring complex real-time database queries during the critical authorization moment.
3Reliability
If real-time merchant location disambiguation is implemented, then data accuracy for fraud monitoring improves, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies segmentation by dividing the location disambiguation functionality into a separate, dedicated location lookup service that operates independently from the main authorization system. This service handles all the complex disambiguation logic using multiple criteria (merchant name matching, address validation, geographic location verification) in an isolated module. The segmentation allows the fraud monitoring system to benefit from high data accuracy through sophisticated disambiguation algorithms while containing the system complexity within a well-defined boundary, preventing it from propagating to other system components.
4Productivity
If instantaneous merchant information retrieval is achieved, then transaction authorization speed increases, but data processing complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs copying by creating a simplified, normalized representation of merchant location data that can be rapidly searched and processed. Instead of working with complex, unstructured database records, the system maintains a copied and optimized version of the data in a format suitable for fast lookup operations. This copied data structure preserves the essential information needed for authorization decisions while eliminating the processing complexity of the original data storage and retrieval mechanisms, enabling instantaneous retrieval without proportional increases in processing complexity.
Data Source
AI summary
A solution to resolve ambiguous merchant data in connection with processing a cashless transaction request in a real-time manner. Provided according to the present disclosure are a system and method including a binary-searchable non-transitory computer-readable medium is configure to store a first set of unambiguous merchant identification data having plural data entries therein, each entry corresponding to a merchant. A binary search of the first set of unambiguous merchant identification data is carried out using search keys based upon the ambiguous merchant identification data to determine whether one or more entries of the first set satisfies at least one of a second set of partial match criteria for comparing the ambiguous merchant identification data with the first set of unambiguous merchant identification data. An entry of the first set of unambiguous merchant identification data is assigned to correspond with the ambiguous merchant identification data where at least a predetermined number of the second set of partial match criteria are met.