Method and system for inferring an individual cardholder's demographic data from shopping behavior and external survey data using a bayesian network

A method for identifying a member of a group with particular demographic characteristics, comprising:

• identifying purchasing behaviors of members of a group with particular demographic characteristics via survey data from each of a multiple of merchants;
• gathering transaction data from a financial account of a user at a financial institution for processing transactions of the user with the multiple of merchants;
• analyzing the transaction data of the user via a Bayesian belief network and the survey data from each of the multiple of merchants to determine whether the transaction data of the user indicates that the user is an individual member of the group with the particular demographic characteristics;
• and
• presenting to the user a savings opportunity from a merchant seeking to contact members of the group with the particular demographic characteristics.

A method for identifying a member of a group with particular demographic characteristics, comprising:

• identifying purchasing behaviors of members of a group with particular demographic characteristics via survey data from each of a multiple of merchants;
• gathering transaction data without personally identifiable information from a financial account of a user at a financial institution for processing transactions of the user with the multiple of merchants;
• analyzing the transaction data of the user via a Bayesian belief network and the survey data from each of the multiple of merchants to determine whether the transaction data of the user indicates that the user is an individual member of the group with the particular demographic characteristics;
• and
• presenting to the user, via an online statement of the financial account of the user, a savings opportunity from a merchant seeking to contact members of the group with the particular demographic characteristics.