Reducing Risks Related to Check Verification
AssigneeAmerican Express Marketing & Development Corp., a New York Corporation
InventorsKathleen Haggerty, Benedict Okoh, Chao Yuan
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Share of Wallet (“SOW”) is a modeling approach that utilizes various data sources to provide scores that describe a consumers spending capability, tradeline history including balance transfers, and balance information. Share of wallet scores can be used as a parameter for determining whether or not to accept and/or guarantee a check. The share of wallet can be used to calculate a risk value of a customer. For example, the scores can weight one or more factors related to the check writer and differentiate between a low-risk customer and a high-risk customer.
Claims18
A method of reducing risks faced by a merchant when accepting a check from a customer, comprising:
- (a) modeling consumer spending patterns using individual and aggregate consumer data, including tradeline data, internal customer data, and consumer panel data;
- (b) estimating a credit-related characteristic of the individual customer based on tradeline data of the individual customer, balance transfers of the individual customer, and the model of consumer spending patterns as applied to the individual customer;
- (c) determining a risk value of the individual customer based on the estimated credit-related characteristic;
- and
- (d) making a check acceptance decision based on the determined risk value.
An apparatus for reducing risks faced by a merchant when accepting a check from a customer, comprising:
- a processor;
- and
- a memory in communication with the processor, wherein the memory stores a plurality of processing instructions for directing the processor to:
- model consumer spending patterns using individual and aggregate consumer data, including tradeline data, internal customer data, and consumer panel data;
- estimate a credit-related characteristic of the individual customer based on tradeline data of the individual customer, balance transfers of the individual customer, and the model of consumer spending patterns as applied to the individual customer;
- determine a risk value of the individual customer based on the estimated credit-related characteristic;
- and
- make a check acceptance decision based on the determined risk value.
A computer program product comprising a computer usable medium having control logic stored therein for causing a computer to reduce risks faced by a merchant when accepting a check from a customer, the control logic comprising:
- first computer readable program code means for causing the computer to model consumer spending patterns using individual and aggregate consumer data, including tradeline data, internal customer data, and consumer panel data;
- second computer readable program code means for causing the computer to estimate a credit-related characteristic of the individual customer based on tradeline data of the individual customer, balance transfers of the individual customer, and the model of consumer spending patterns as applied to the individual customer;
- third computer readable program code means for causing the computer to determine a risk value of the individual customer based on the estimated credit-related characteristic;
- and
- fourth computer readable program code means for causing the computer to make a check acceptance decision based on the determined risk value.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.