# US 2014/0156370 A1 · Systems and methods for processing coupons over a payment processing network

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- Number: US 2014/0156370 A1
- Document ID: US20140156370A1
- Status: Published application
- Kind: A1
- Application number: 13/705,129
- Filed: 2012-12-04
- Published: 2014-06-05
- Earliest claimed: 2012-12-04
- Assignees: Cce Credit Card Enterprises, Inc.
- Applicants: Cce Credit Card Enterprises, Inc.
- Inventors: Michael Gerard Vaughan; James Francis Vaughan; Richard Henry Schmid; William Richard Restis; William Richard Restis, II; Patrick Scott Lay
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US20140156370A1

## CPC

- G06Q 30/0222: {During e-commerce, i.e. online transactions}
- G06Q 20/20: Point-of-sale [POS] network systems
- G06Q 20/387: {Payment using discounts or coupons (relating to marketing G06Q30/02)}
- G06Q: INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY [ICT] SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES; SYSTEMS OR METHODS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR

## Abstract

A system of electronically requesting, generating and processing a coupon over a payment processing network is provided. During a sales transaction, a purchaser at a point of sale (POS) terminal provides a customer identifier using a card with a magnetic stripe which is read by a magnetic card reader and then transmitted across the payment processing network along with product identifiers on the products being purchased. The customer identifier includes a banking identification number (BIN) which is read by a first server in the payment processing network and then forwarded to a coupon server. The coupon server uses the customer identifier and product identifier to select any coupons that are available for use by the purchaser and transmits the coupons back to the POS terminal, where the coupons are applied to the sales transaction.

## Claims

### Claim 1

A method of electronic processing of a coupon over a payment processing network, comprising the steps of:
obtaining a product identifier of at least one product;
obtaining a customer identifier;
transmitting the product identifier and the customer identifier over a payment processing network from a point of sale (POS) terminal to a coupon server, wherein at least a portion of the customer identifier is used as at least a portion of a payment processing destination address of the coupon server;
identifying at least one coupon code applicable to the at least one product;
transmitting the at least one coupon code to the POS terminal; and
matching the at least one coupon code to the product identifier of the at least one product to apply the coupon to the at least one product.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The method of claim 1, wherein the customer identifier includes a banking identification number (BIN).

### Claim 3 (depends on 2)

The method of claim 2, wherein the BIN is the portion of the customer identifier used as the payment processing destination address.

### Claim 4 (depends on 3)

The method of claim 3, wherein the customer identifier includes a purchaser identification number.

### Claim 5 (depends on 1)

The method of claim 1, wherein the coupon server identifies at least one coupon code applicable to the at least one product by matching the at least one product identifier with any applicable coupon code.

### Claim 6 (depends on 1)

The method of claim 1, wherein the product identifier is a universal product code (UPC).

### Claim 7 (depends on 1)

The method of claim 1, further comprising obtaining the customer identifier by reading a magnetic strip with a magnetic card reader.

### Claim 8 (depends on 1)

The method of claim 1, further comprising obtaining the customer identifier by reading a barcode with a barcode reader.

### Claim 9 (depends on 1)

The method of claim 1, further comprising completing a transaction to purchase the at least one product.

### Claim 10

A system for electronic processing of a coupon over a payment processing network, comprising:
a point of sale (POS) terminal communicatively coupled with the payment processing network; the POS terminal comprising:
a product identification unit which obtains an identifier of at least one product;
a customer identification unit which obtains a customer identifier;
a transmission unit which receives the product identifier and the customer identifier from the product identification unit and customer identification unit and transmits the product identifier and customer identifier to the payment processing network; and
a coupon code application unit which applies at least one coupon code to a transaction to purchase at least one product; and
a coupon server communicatively coupled with the payment processing network, comprising:
a coupon selection unit which selects at least one coupon code associated with the at least one product identifier; and
a coupon code transmission unit which transmits the at least one coupon code to the POS terminal for application by the coupon code application unit.

### Claim 11 (depends on 10)

The system of claim 10, wherein the customer identifier includes a banking identification number (BIN).

### Claim 12 (depends on 11)

The system of claim 11, wherein the BIN includes a portion of a destination address of the coupon server on the payment processing network.

### Claim 13 (depends on 12)

The system of claim 12, wherein the customer identifier includes a purchaser identification number.

### Claim 14 (depends on 10)

The system of claim 10, wherein the coupon selection unit selects the at least one coupon code associated with the at least one product identifier based on the product identification number.

### Claim 15 (depends on 14)

The system of claim 14, wherein the product identifier is a universal product code (UPC).

### Claim 16 (depends on 14)

The system of claim 14, wherein the coupon code is in the format of a universal product code (UPC).

### Claim 17 (depends on 10)

The system of claim 10, wherein the customer identification unit obtains the customer identifier by reading a magnetic strip with a magnetic card reader.

### Claim 18 (depends on 10)

The system of claim 10, wherein the customer identification unit obtains the customer identifier by reading a barcode with a barcode reader.

### Claim 19

A method of electronic processing of a coupon at a point of sale (POS) terminal, comprising:
initiating a purchase transaction;
obtaining at least one product identifier;
obtaining a customer identifier;
parsing the customer identifier to obtain a purchaser identification number and a bank identification number (BIN);
generating a payment processing network transaction comprising a banking identification number (BIN) as at least a portion of a destination address, the purchaser identification number and the at least one product identifier;
sending the at least one product identifier and customer identifier over a payment processing network to a coupon server;
pausing the purchase transaction;
receiving a coupon code associated with the at least one product identifier from the coupon server;
transmitting coupon codes over the payment processing network with at least one of the coupon codes associated with the at least one product identifier;
resuming the purchase transaction; and
applying the at least one coupon code to the purchase transaction.

### Claim 20 (depends on 19)

The method of claim 19, further comprising:
obtaining a credit, debit or gift card number;
constructing the purchase transaction;
sending the purchase transaction over the payment processing network;
receiving authorization for the purchase transaction from the payment processing network; and
completing the purchase transaction.

### Claim 21 (depends on 20)

The method of claim 20, further comprising:
constructing the purchase transaction;
applying a cash payment to the purchase transaction; and
completing the purchase transaction.