US 10,382,882 B2Granted

Systems and methods for identifying merchant locations based on transaction records

AssigneeMastercard International Incorporated

InventorsBruce W. Mac Nair, Justin X. Howe, Henry Weinberger, Po Hu

Life of this patent

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Abstract

Disclosed are exemplary embodiments of systems and methods for identifying a merchant location based on transaction records for the merchant. In an exemplary embodiment, a method generally includes accessing multiple router records. Each router record is assigned to one of multiple cells of a grid structure indicative of geographic location. Each router record is associated with a target merchant. The method further includes, for each of the multiple router records, searching for a match between the router record and at least one of multiple transactions at the target merchant, based on time, and reporting one or more of the multiple cells as a location associated with the target merchant, when a number of matching router records assigned to said one or more of the multiple cells exceeds a predetermined threshold.

Claims18

Dependent claims

A computer-implemented method for identifying a merchant location for a target merchant based on one or more transactions, the method comprising:

accessing multiple router records, each router record generated by a portable communication device and assigned to one of multiple cells of a grid structure indicative of geographic location, each of the multiple cells associated with signal strengths of routers, and each router record including at least:
(a) a temporal indicator specific to one or more signal strengths recognized by the portable communication device at a time and date indicated by the temporal indicator, each signal strength defining a strength, at the portable communication device, of a signal of a corresponding router;
and (b) a grid structure cell designation specific to one of the multiple cells of the grid structure to which the router record is assigned, based on the signal strengths recognized by the portable communication device being within the associated signal strengths of the one of the multiple cells of the grid structure;
for each of the multiple router records, searching, by a computing device, for a match between the router record and at least one of multiple transaction records associated with the target merchant, each of the multiple transaction records including at least a temporal indicator indicative of a time and date at which a transaction represented by the transaction record was initiated, the match based on a consistency between the temporal indicator of the router record and the temporal indicator of the at least one of the multiple transaction records;
based on the searching, for each one of the multiple cells of the grid structure, counting a number of matches between one or more router records assigned to the one of the multiple cells of the grid structure and ones of the multiple transaction records associated with the target merchant;
and
reporting one or more of the multiple cells as a location associated with the target merchant, based on the counted number of matching router records assigned to said one or more of the multiple cells exceeding a predetermined threshold, thereby further permitting portable communication devices to be located at the target merchant apart from use of a global positioning system (GPS) and without revealing information identifiable to consumers associated with said portable communication devices.

4 more elements

A system for identifying a merchant location based on one or more transactions, the system comprising:

a memory including a data structure, the data structure including:
multiple transaction records associated with a target merchant, each transaction record including a time and date at which a transaction represented by the transaction record occurred;
and
a processor coupled to the memory and configured to:
access multiple router records, each router record generated by a portable communication device and associated with the target merchant, each router record including a time and date at which signal strengths of routers were recognized by the portable communication device;
for each of the multiple router records, search for a match between the router record and at least one of the multiple transaction records associated with the target merchant, the match based on a consistency between the time and date of the router record and the time and date of the at least one of the multiple transaction records;
for each matching router record:
designate the router record with a transaction indicator, whereby the transaction indicator indicates a match between the time and date of the router record and the time and date of the transaction record;
and
assign to the router record an authorization intensity indicative of a number of transactions at the target merchant for a particular interval;
and
report each matching router record to a location provider based on the authorization intensity exceeding a predefined intensity.

9 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application: 14/789,305Filed 1 Jul 2015 · us provisional application
Priority: 2 Sep 2014
Published: US 2016/0066136 A13 Mar 2016
Granted: 13 Aug 2019
Term ends: Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification10 codes

H04L 67/52
Network services: specially adapted for the location of the user terminal
G06Q 20/3224
Aspects of commerce using mobile devices [M-devices]: transactions dependent on location of M-devices
G06Q 20/389
Payment protocols; Details thereof: keeping log of transactions for guaranteeing non-repudiation of a transaction
G06Q 20/40
Payment protocols; Details thereof: authorisation, e.g. identification of payer or payee, verification of customer or shop credentials; Review and…