Systems and Methods to Provide Loyalty Programs

A computer storage medium storing instructions which, when executed on a computer system, cause the computer system to perform a method, the method comprising:

• receiving, in a computing apparatus coupled to a transaction handler, an authorization request from an acquirer processor, the authorization request identifying an account identifier of a customer issued by an issuer, the authorization request to be processed by the transaction handler for a payment from an issuer processor to the acquirer processor, the issuer processor to make the payment on behalf of the customer, and the acquirer processor to receive the payment on behalf of a merchant;
• determining, by the computing apparatus, whether the account identifier is associated with a loyalty program;
• and
• if the account identifier is associated with the loyalty program,
• requesting, by the computing apparatus, purchase details for the payment via a response to the authorization request, and
• determining, by the computing apparatus, benefits to be awarded to the customer according to the loyalty program.

A system, comprising:

• a transaction handler to process transactions, each of the transactions being processed to make a payment from an issuer processor to an acquirer processor via the transaction handler in response to an account identifier of a customer, as issued by an issuer, being submitted by a merchant to an acquirer, the issuer to use the issuer processor to make the payment on behalf of the customer, the acquirer to use the acquirer processor to receive the payment on behalf of the merchant;
• a portal to receive enrollment input from users, the enrollment input identifying account identifiers of the users and respective loyalty programs in which the account identifiers are enrolled;
• and
• a data warehouse to store data associating the account identifiers with the respective loyalty programs;
• wherein in response to an authorization request received in the transaction handler for a payment transaction identifying a first account identifier, the system is to use the data warehouse to determine whether the first account identifier is enrolled with a loyalty program;
• and
• wherein if the first account identifier is enrolled with a first loyalty program, the system is to use the transaction handler to request purchase details from the merchant via a response to the authorization request, receive and store the purchase details in the data warehouse, and determine benefits to be awarded to the first account identifier according to the first loyalty program and the purchase details.