Techniques for user-controlled real-time data processing

An automated method to enroll and instantly reward a consumer in a rewards program affiliated with a merchant in real-time and at a point of sale, the method comprising:

• providing a bill to the consumer using a payment processing device of a merchant at the point-of-sale;
• receiving a card payment from the consumer to pay the bill and initiating card processing as a result of a credit card being presented at the payment processing device;
• checking whether the consumer is an existing user of the rewards program affiliated with the merchant;
• determining that the consumer is not an existing user of the rewards program affiliated with the merchant;
• receiving an additional personal information uniquely identifying the consumer through the payment processing device;
• displaying a message on the payment processing device providing an incentive to enroll in the rewards program affiliated with the merchant, the incentive including an offer of a discount on a final payment amount of the bill;
• enrolling the consumer with the rewards program affiliated with the merchant based on receiving an input from the consumer on the merchant's payment processing device at the point-of-sale indicating that the consumer wishes to participate in the rewards program, wherein the input is received from selection of a selectable element displayed on the payment processing device that affirms enrollment by the consumer, and wherein the enrolling includes generating a new user rewards program account for the consumer;
• altering the final payment amount of the bill to be paid by applying an instant reward to the bill based on the consumer enrolling in the rewards program;
• and
• completing the card processing of the card payment by charging the final payment amount to the credit card to complete payment of the bill;
• subsequent to the enrolling the consumer with the rewards program and in a separate transaction between the consumer and the merchant using the payment processing device of the merchant at the point-of-sale, determining that a second card payment is not associated with a user account of the rewards program affiliated with the merchant;
• checking whether the consumer is already associated with an existing user account for the rewards program affiliated with the merchant using personal information about the consumer;
• determining whether the personal information is associated with the new user rewards program account for the consumer;
• and
• retrieving, due to the determining that the consumer is associated with the rewards program, user account information associated with the new user rewards program account.