Non-cash transaction incentive and commission distribution system

A method of promoting a non-cash payment device that is tangible, said method comprising the steps of

• establishing hierarchical relationships among a plurality of members bearing non-cash payment devices, said hierarchical relationships selected from the group consisting of the hierarchical relationships of the Binary plan, the Uni-level plan, the Breakaway plan the Matrix plan, a two-level plan, a single-level plan, and hybrids of the plans;
• recording the hierarchical relationships established among the members as positional data within an electronic database maintained by a commission management processor;
• conducting electronic purchase transactions by members using the non-cash payment devices via an Internet connection to a merchant server, and electronically transmitting purchase data to the commission management processor;
• determining by the commission management processor, a commission value for each member on the basis of (i) the purchase data pertaining to the electronic purchase transactions made by other members, and (ii) the positional data relating each member to the other members in the electronic database and transmitting that value to a payment processor subsystem;
• and
• effecting through the payment processing system an electronic fund transfer of a monetary payment in the amount of the commission value.

A method of distributing commissions to promote use of a non-cash payment device that is tangible, said method comprising the steps of:

• organizing an electronic database to contain member records, each member record identifying a bearer of the non-cash payment device;
• establishing a hierarchy of relationships among the member records, and storing positional data in the electronic database in association with the member records;
• and
• establishing an Internet connection or data transmission method between a member terminal and a merchant server which comprises a centralized front-end processor for a plurality of merchants and/or relays purchase data to a centralized acceptance or authorization processor serving a plurality of merchants;
• operating the merchant server to record a purchase by one of the members bearing the non-cash payment device;
• electronically transmitting transaction data from the merchant server, or point-of-sale system, to a commission management processor connected with the electronic database;
• operating the commission management processor to determine, on the basis of the transaction data, a business volume value, and to record the business volume value in a member record identifying said one member;
• determining a commission value for said one member on the basis of business volume values recorded in other member records and on the basis of the positional data relating said one member with the other members in the hierarchy;
• providing member access to the business volume value and commission value;
• and
• effecting a monetary payment in the amount of the commission value to said one member.