U.S. patent application number 11/254624 was filed with the patent office on 2006-12-28 for system and method for influencing customer behavior.
Invention is credited to G. Randy Nicholson.
Application Number | 20060293953 11/254624 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 46322962 |
Filed Date | 2006-12-28 |
United States Patent
Application |
20060293953 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Nicholson; G. Randy |
December 28, 2006 |
System and method for influencing customer behavior
Abstract
A computer-implemented system and method of influencing customer
behavior. The customer is offered a price-per-unit (PPU) discount
for fuel as a reward for performing a predefined action. A
point-of-sale (POS) system at a merchant determines that the
customer performed the predefined action, and stores the PPU
discount and a customer identifier in a Discounts-Earned database.
When the customer initiates a subsequent purchase of fuel, at the
merchant or a different retail fueling merchant, a fuel dispenser
controller retrieves the PPU discount from the database, discounts
the posted price of the fuel by the PPU discount, and causes the
dispenser to dispense fuel to the customer at the reduced price. A
redeemed discounts calculator multiplies the PPU discount by the
number of units purchased in the fueling transaction, and a
clearing mechanism allocates the redeemed discount between the
merchant and the retail fueling merchant.
Inventors: |
Nicholson; G. Randy;
(Abilene, TX) |
Correspondence
Address: |
STEVEN W. SMITH
7237 BIRCHWOOD DRIVE
DALLAS
TX
75240
US
|
Family ID: |
46322962 |
Appl. No.: |
11/254624 |
Filed: |
October 20, 2005 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
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11225693 |
Sep 13, 2005 |
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11254624 |
Oct 20, 2005 |
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11158674 |
Jun 22, 2005 |
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11225693 |
Sep 13, 2005 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
705/14.19 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G06Q 30/0222 20130101;
G06Q 20/18 20130101; G06Q 20/20 20130101; G06Q 30/02 20130101; G06Q
20/24 20130101; G06Q 30/0238 20130101; G06Q 30/06 20130101; G06Q
30/0217 20130101; G06Q 30/0234 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
705/014 |
International
Class: |
G06Q 30/00 20060101
G06Q030/00 |
Claims
1. A computer-implemented method of influencing customer behavior,
comprising: offering the customer a price-per-unit (PPU) discount
for fuel as a reward for performing a predefined action;
determining that the customer performed the predefined action; and
awarding the PPU discount for fuel to the customer.
2. The method of claim 1, wherein the predefined action is selected
from a group consisting of: performing a debit-type financial
transaction rather than a credit-type transaction at a merchant;
purchasing at least one product or service at a merchant utilizing
a prepaid cash card; purchasing at least one product or service at
a merchant utilizing a credit card that is subject to an
affinity-type agreement between the merchant and an issuer of the
credit card; purchasing more than a threshold amount of products or
services at a merchant; purchasing more than a threshold amount of
fuel; purchasing at least one in-store product or service at a
merchant who also sells fuel; participating in a customer survey;
and participating in a program to enhance security of financial
transactions.
3. The method of claim 2, wherein the step of participating in a
program to enhance security of financial transactions includes
providing biometric information to a merchant database.
4. The method of claim 1, wherein the predefined action includes
purchasing both fuel and at least one in-store product or service
at a merchant, wherein the step of awarding the PPU discount
includes awarding a greater PPU discount for a given in-store
purchase than for an equal fuel purchase.
5. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of offering the customer
a PPU discount includes increasing the PPU discount as a reward for
performing the predefined action a plurality of times over a period
of time.
6. The method of claim 1, further comprising dispensing fuel to the
customer in a subsequent fueling transaction at a PPU reduced from
a posted price by an amount equal to the PPU discount.
7. The method of claim 6, wherein the dispensing step is performed
by a retail fueling merchant different from a merchant where the
customer performs the predefined action.
8. The method of claim 7, further comprising: calculating a
redeemed discount by multiplying the PPU discount by the number of
units of fuel purchased in the fueling transaction; providing the
redeemed discount to a clearing mechanism; and allocating the
redeemed discount between the merchant and the retail fueling
merchant.
9. The method of claim 1, further comprising, after the step of
determining that the customer performed the predefined action, the
steps of: storing the amount of the earned PPU discount in a
database; determining by a fuel dispenser controller that the
customer has initiated a subsequent purchase of fuel; retrieving by
the fuel dispenser controller, the amount of the PPU discount from
the database; and discounting the price of the fuel posted on the
fuel dispenser by the amount of the PPU discount.
10. The method of claim 9, wherein the PPU discount is a percentage
of the posted price of the fuel, and- the method further comprises,
prior to the discounting step, the step of calculating a current
PPU discount based on the posted price of the fuel and the
percentage PPU discount.
11. A system for influencing a customer to perform a desired action
by awarding the customer a price-per-unit (PPU) discount for fuel
as a reward for performing the desired action, said system
comprising: means for determining that the customer performed the
desired action; and computer-implemented means for awarding the PPU
discount for fuel to the customer.
12. The system of claim 11, wherein the means for determining that
the customer performed the desired action includes a point-of-sale
(POS) system at a merchant, which determines that the customer
performed the desired action at the merchant.
13. The system of claim 12, wherein the computer-implemented means
for awarding the PPU discount includes a fuel dispenser controller
for dispensing fuel to the customer in a subsequent fueling
transaction, wherein the dispenser controller has access to the
customer's PPU discount and reduces a posted price for the fuel by
an amount equal to the PPU discount.
14. The system of claim 13, further comprising a database connected
to the POS system and the dispenser controller, said database
receiving the customer's PPU discount from the POS system and
storing the PPU discount until the discount is retrieved by the
dispenser controller, said database adding a newly earned PPU
discount to a previously stored PPU discount to achieve a total PPU
discount.
15. The system of claim 14, wherein the fuel dispenser controller
includes: means for determining that the customer has initiated a
subsequent purchase of fuel; means for retrieving the total PPU
discount from the database; and means for discounting the price of
the fuel posted on a fuel dispenser by the total PPU discount.
16. The system of claim 15, wherein the PPU discount is a
percentage of the posted price of the fuel, and the means for
discounting the price of the fuel includes means for calculating a
current PPU discount based on the posted price of the fuel and the
percentage PPU discount.
17. The system of claim 15, wherein the PPU discount is a fixed
discount value that does not vary with the posted price of the
fuel.
18. The system of claim 15, wherein the fuel dispenser is located
at a retail fueling merchant different from the merchant where the
customer performs the desired action.
19. The system of claim 18, further comprising: a redeemed
discounts calculator for calculating a redeemed discount by
multiplying the total PPU discount by the number of units of fuel
purchased in the fueling transaction; and a clearing mechanism for
receiving the redeemed discount, and allocating the redeemed
discount between the merchant and the retail fueling merchant.
20. The system of claim 19, wherein the clearing mechanism includes
means for transferring funds from an account associated with the
merchant to an account associated with the retail fueling merchant,
wherein the transferred funds are equal to the redeemed discount.
Description
RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application is a continuation-in-part of co-pending
U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/225,693 filed Sep. 13, 2005,
which is a continuation-in-part of co-pending U.S. patent
application Ser. No. 11/158,674 filed Jun. 22, 2005, the
disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] This invention relates to automated retail systems and
methods. More particularly, and not by way of limitation, the
invention is directed to a system and method for influencing
customer behavior by providing an incentive to the customer in the
form of a price-per-unit (PPU) discount on fuel as a reward for
demonstrating the desired behavior.
[0003] As used herein, the term "vendor" refers to the manufacturer
of a specific product or the supplier of specific services. The
term "merchant" refers to the store where the products are
purchased, such as grocery stores, convenience stores, gasoline
service stations, unattended fueling stations, and the like. A
point-of-sale (POS) terminal may be a terminal inside the store, or
may be an island-card-reader (ICR) implemented within a fuel
dispenser.
[0004] Financial card authorization networks charge merchants a fee
for processing credit and debit card transactions. The network fee
for processing credit card transactions is higher than the fee for
processing debit card transactions. Therefore, from the merchant's
perspective, it is desirable to encourage customers to use debit
cards rather than credit cards. Additionally, many cards are
dual-mode" cards, which can be used as either a debit or a credit
card. Merchants also find it desirable to encourage customers to
use their dual-mode cards as debit cards rather than credit
cards.
[0005] To achieve this objective, the POS system must be able to
identify a card as being a credit-only card, a debit-only card, or
a dual-mode card when it is swiped at the payment terminal.
Currently, many POS systems make this identification by requesting
the customer to select either Credit or Debit when beginning the
transaction. This approach, however, may result in the customer
selecting a mode of payment that is not valid for the particular
card. If the customer makes an invalid selection, an additional
transaction fee may be incurred. In any event, there is no
incentive for the customer to select Debit instead of Credit.
[0006] Some financial card authorization networks maintain a Bank
Identification Number (BIN) File that contains card information
that provides additional insight into whether the cards in a
particular range of cards are credit-only, debit-only, or dual-mode
cards. However, there are several problems with using the BIN File.
First, the BIN File is extremely large and cannot be sent directly
to the POS terminal. Instead, the network host computer generally
sends the BIN File to the merchant's host computer periodically
(for example, once a week). When a transaction is initiated and the
customer selects Debit or Credit, the merchant's POS system dials
out to the merchant's host and retrieves the information from the
BIN File for the card swiped by the customer. A second problem is
that the BIN File is not always accurate. One reason for this is
that the BIN File is generally a best guess approximation by the
network host based on actual transactions processed over time.
Another reason is that card issuers do not cooperate (for
competitive reasons) to provide BIN range information to each
other, so the information is often incomplete. Card issuers may
also be reluctant to share this information because they do not
necessarily want the customer to choose debit because this reduces
their transaction fee revenue. In any event, once again, there is
no incentive for the customer to select Debit instead of
Credit.
[0007] The issuers of credit and debit cards also have programs to
encourage consumers to utilize the issuers' cards when making
purchases. Conventionally, these programs have consisted of
giveaways of promotional merchandise, low interest rates on unpaid
balances and balance transfers from other cards, and cash back at
the end of the year (usually 1-2 percent) on purchases made
throughout the year. Some manufacturers such as automobile
manufacturers have established affinity-type relationships with
card issuers to issue credit cards with a manufacturer's logo on
the face of the card. Use of such cards results in cash back awards
good only on purchases of the associated manufacturers' products.
Similarly, some merchants have established affinity-type
relationships with card issuers to issue credit cards with a
merchant's logo on the face of the card. Use of such cards results
in cash back awards good only on purchases within the associated
merchant's stores. The manufacturers' programs and the merchants'
programs are generally less effective than conventional cash back
programs because of the limitations placed on use of the cash back
award.
[0008] With existing affinity-type relationships, the reward does
not occur at the time or point of purchase. Instead, the reward is
posted to the customer's credit card account and appears on the
customer's monthly account statement. The reward may appear as a
monetary credit, or may appear as points, which the customer can
redeem when the cumulative total surpasses defined threshold
levels. Thus, the reward is not immediate, and the customer must
take additional steps to redeem the reward.
[0009] Many merchants are also implementing systems to increase the
security of financial transactions occurring in their stores. For
example, increased security is provided by registering biometric
information for customers and checking this information against a
current customer's information to verify the identity of the
customer. Many customers, however, are reluctant to provide such
information or do not want to take the time to provide the
information.
[0010] Merchants such as grocery stores, convenience stores, and
gasoline service stations generally sell goods inside the store in
addition to selling fuel. These merchants generally realize a
higher profit percentage on inside sales than they do on fuel.
Therefore, it is desirable from the merchant's perspective to
provide an incentive for customers who purchase fuel to also come
into the store and purchase goods inside.
[0011] What is needed in the art is a system and method that
overcomes the disadvantages of existing systems and methods by
providing a customer with an incentive to demonstrate certain
desirable behaviors. The present invention provides such a system
and method.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0012] In one aspect, the present invention is a
computer-implemented method of influencing customer behavior. The
method includes offering the customer a price-per-unit (PPU)
discount for fuel as a reward for performing a predefined action;
determining that the customer performed the predefined action; and
awarding the PPU discount for fuel to the customer. The predefined
action may be any action that is rewarded with a PPU discount for
fuel. For example, the predefined action may include performing a
debit-type financial transaction rather than a credit-type
transaction at a merchant; purchasing at least one product or
service at a merchant utilizing a prepaid cash card; purchasing at
least one product or service at a merchant utilizing a credit card
that is subject to an affinity-type agreement between the merchant
and an issuer of the credit card; purchasing more than a threshold
amount of products or services at a merchant; purchasing more than
a threshold amount of fuel, purchasing at least one in-store
product or service at a merchant who also sells fuel; participating
in a customer survey; or participating in a program to enhance
security of financial transactions.
[0013] In another aspect, the present invention is a system for
influencing a customer to perform a desired action by awarding the
customer a PPU discount for fuel as a reward for performing the
desired action. The system includes means for determining that the
customer performed the desired action; and computer-implemented
means for awarding the PPU discount for fuel to the customer. The
means for determining that the customer performed the desired
action may be a point-of-sale (POS) system at a merchant, and the
computer-implemented means for awarding the PPU discount may be a
fuel dispenser controller for dispensing fuel to the customer in a
subsequent fueling transaction. The dispenser controller has access
to the customer's PPU discount and reduces a posted price for the
fuel by an amount equal to the PPU discount.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0014] The invention will be better understood and its numerous
objects and advantages will become more apparent to those skilled
in the art by reference to the following drawings, in conjunction
with the accompanying specification, in which:
[0015] FIG. 1 is a flow chart illustrating the steps of an
embodiment of a method of awarding a PPU discount for fuel in
exchange for a customer's selection of a debit-type financial
transaction;
[0016] FIG. 2 is a flow chart illustrating the steps of an
embodiment of a method of redeeming and clearing the PPU discount
for fuel in accordance with the teachings of the present
invention;
[0017] FIG. 3 is a simplified block diagram of an embodiment of the
system of the present invention; and
[0018] FIG. 4 is a flow chart illustrating the steps of another
embodiment of a method of awarding a PPU discount for fuel in
exchange for a customer's selection of a debit-type financial
transaction.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS
[0019] The present invention provides an incentive to a consumer to
select Debit as the mode of payment for a financial transaction by
awarding the customer a price-per-unit (FPU) discount on fuel if
the customer performs a debit-type transaction rather than a
credit-type transaction. The invention also makes it easier for the
customer to select Debit by eliminating one of the steps that the
customer is currently required to perform. When the customer swipes
a card, the POS system accesses the BIN File in the merchant's host
computer and determines whether the card is a credit only, debit
only, or dual-mode card. If the card is identified as being credit
only, the transaction is automatically initiated as a credit-type
transaction. If the card is identified as being debit only, the
terminal displays the message "Enter PIN". Thereafter, the
transaction is completed as a debit-type transaction. If the card
is identified as a dual-mode card, or if the mode of the card
cannot be determined from the BIN File, the terminal displays the
message "Enter PIN or Press Credit". This message eliminates the
need for the preliminary message "Press Debit or Credit", followed
by the additional message "Enter your PIN" if Debit was
selected.
[0020] FIG. 1 is a flow chart illustrating the steps of an
embodiment of a method of awarding a PPU discount for fuel in
exchange for a customer's selection of a debit-type financial
transaction. At step 11, a customer swipes a financial card at a
POS terminal. At step 12, the POS terminal access the BIN File
either in a local database or at the merchant's host computer. At
step 13, t is determined from the information in the BIN File
whether the card is a credit-only card. If so, the method moves to
step 14 and conducts a credit transaction. However, if the card is
not a credit-only card, the method moves to step 15 where it is
determined from the information in the BIN File whether the card is
a debit-only card. If so, the method moves to step 16 where the POS
terminal displays "Enter PIN". At step 17, the customer enters
his/her PIN, and at step 18 a debit-type transaction is
conducted.
[0021] As a reward for using a debit card, the customer is awarded
a PPU discount on fuel at step 19. In one embodiment, the PPU
discount is awarded each time the customer performs a debit-type
transaction. In another embodiment, the PPU discount is awarded
after one or more award criteria are met. For example, the customer
may have to perform a predefined number of debit-type transactions,
or may have to purchase a predefined threshold amount of goods or
purchase a cross-marketed product in addition to performing the
debit-type transaction(s). At step 20, the PPU discount is saved in
a Discounts-Earned database.
[0022] If it is determined at step 15 that the card is not a
debit-only card, and thus is not a credit-only card or a debit-only
card, the method moves to step 21 where it is concluded that the
card is either a dual-mode card or the payment mode of the card
cannot be determined from the BIN File. The method then moves to
step 22 where the POS terminal displays "Enter PIN or Press
Credit". At step 23, it is determined whether the customer entered
a PIN. If so, the method moves to step 18 and conducts a debit-type
transaction. At steps 19 and 20, the customer is awarded the PPU
discount and the discount is stored in the Discounts-Earned
database. If the customer did not enter a PIN at step 23, the
method moves to step 24 where the customer presses Credit. The
method then moves to step 25 and conducts a credit transaction.
[0023] The present invention thus provides an incentive to the
customer by offering a PPU discount on the purchase of fuel in
exchange for the customer's selection of a debit-type transaction.
The fuel may be sold by the merchant or by a retail fueling
merchant who has a cross-marketing agreement in place with the
merchant. The amount of the PPU discount may be a fixed amount such
as ten cents per gallon, or may vary depending on other factors
such as the number of times the customer selects Debit in a
predefined time period, the amount of the financial transaction,
whether a cross-marketed product was purchased, or the amount of
fuel the customer purchases with the card at the retail fueling
merchant. For example, the first five times the customer selects
Debit each month at the merchant, the PPU discount may be ten cents
per gallon. For the sixth through the tenth time the customer
selects Debit at the merchant in the month, the PPU discount may be
twenty cents per gallon, and so on. The value of redeemed discounts
(i.e., the PPU discount provided to the customer multiplied by the
number of gallons purchased) is then allocated between the merchant
and the retail fueling merchant in accordance with the agreement
between them.
[0024] In one embodiment of the present invention, the issuer of
the financial card also enters an agreement with the merchant and
the retail fueling merchant to provide an incentive for customers
to use the issuer's card. This may be an affinity-type relationship
in which a bank issues the card with an oil company logo on the
face of the card. For example, Wells Fargo may issue a relationship
card with an Exxon logo on its face. The incentive for customers to
use the Wells Fargo relationship card is that the customer may earn
an immediate discount on fuel at Exxon stations by using the
relationship card at the merchant. The incentive to select a
debit-type transaction at the merchant is that the customer only
earns the discount if a debit-type transaction is selected. Note
that the inventive affinity-type relationship provides an immediate
discount at the point of purchase, while existing affinity-type
relationships provide delayed credits on the customer's credit card
statement at a later date, or points that the customer must redeem
when an award level is reached.
[0025] FIG. 2 is a flow chart illustrating the steps of an
embodiment of a method of redeeming and clearing the PPU discount
for fuel in accordance with the teachings of the present invention.
In this embodiment, the card issuer, merchant, and retail fueling
merchant have entered an affinity-type agreement at step 31, and
the card issuer has issued a relationship card having the
merchant's logo on the card at step 32. For purposes of the present
invention, the card may be a debit-only card or a dual-mode
card.
[0026] At step 33, when the customer uses the relationship card to
conduct a debit-type transaction at the merchant, a PPU discount
for fuel is earned and stored in the Discounts-Earned database. The
customer subsequently uses the relationship card to purchase fuel
at the participating retail fueling merchant, and the island card
reader (ICR) in the fuel dispenser reads the relationship card at
step 34. At step 35, the dispenser controller retrieves the PPU
discount information from the Discounts-Earned database. At step
36, the dispenser controller immediately lowers the posted street
price displayed on the dispenser by the amount of the PPU discount
retrieved from the Discounts-Earned database. The PPU discount may
be a fixed amount such as 10 cents per gallon, or may be a
percentage discount, which fluctuates with the posted price of the
fuel. For example, if the affinity-type agreement between the bank,
the merchant, and the retail fueling merchant recites a five
percent discount, and the posted street price of the fuel is $2.00
per gallon, the customer sees the price on the dispenser drop by 10
cents per gallon when the dispenser reads the card. If the posted
price is $3.00 per gallon, the customer sees the price drop by 15
cents per gallon when the dispenser reads the card. At step 37, the
fuel dispenser dispenses fuel to the customer at the reduced PPU.
From the customer's perspective, the transaction is complete when
the fuel purchase transaction is completed. No future events or
actions on the part of the customer are required to utilize an
earned reward.
[0027] At step 38, a redeemed discount is calculated. In the
preferred embodiment, a dollar amount of the redeemed discount is
calculated by multiplying the PPU discount by the number of units
of fuel purchased in the transaction. At step 39, a clearing
mechanism tracks the redeemed discounts, and performs settlement
procedures by exchanging funds between the parties to the
affinity-type agreement. For example, the clearing mechanism may
receive or retrieve funds from the card issuer, and credit those
funds to the retail fueling merchant. In this scenario, the retail
fueling merchant always receives the posted street price for the
fueling transaction. The card issuer funds the discounts from its
credit card transaction fees. In another scenario, the merchant may
also provide part of the funds to the retail fueling merchant. In
this scenario, the merchant may fund its part of the discount from
transaction fees that were saved as a result of the customer
selecting a debit-type transaction instead of a credit transaction.
In yet another scenario, a vendor of a cross-marketed product,
which was one of the necessary criteria for awarding the discount,
provides funds to cover all or part of the discount.
[0028] FIG. 3 is a simplified block diagram of an embodiment of the
system of the present invention. When a customer performs a
debit-type transaction at the merchant's POS system 41, a PPU
discount is earned, and the earned PPU discount is stored in the
Earned-Discounts database 42. As previously noted, the PPU discount
may be earned solely for performing a debit-type transaction, or
may also or alternatively require that other criteria be met, such
as using a relationship card subject to an affinity-type agreement,
purchasing more than a threshold amount of goods, or purchasing a
cross-marketed product. As further described below, other actions
by the customer, as defined by the merchant, may also earn a PPU
discount. When the customer performs a desired action multiple
times, or performs several different desired actions, the customer
earns multiple PPU discounts. Each discount is sent to the
Earned-Discounts database where the discounts are added together to
achieve a total PPU discount.
[0029] Subsequently, when the customer uses the card to purchase
fuel at the retail fueling merchant, the Island Card Reader (ICR)
43 in the fuel dispenser (or other input device) reads the magnetic
strip on the relationship card. The card information may also be
input by other technologies such as a radio frequency
identification (RFID) controller with read/write capability, a
contactless smart card reader, an audio recognition device, a
biometric recognition device, an optical reader, and the like. The
BIN range is utilized to identify the card issuer, and a card
issuer ID and the customer ID are passed to a dispenser controller
44. Alternatively, the ICR may send the card number to the
dispenser controller, and the controller may determine the
identification of the card issuer and the customer. The dispenser
controller uses the card issuer ID and/or customer ID to access the
Earned-Discounts database 42 and retrieve an associated redeemed
PPU discount. The controller then reduces the posted street price
on the dispenser display by the amount of the associated PPU
discount, and causes the fuel dispenser 45 to dispense the fuel at
a discounted price.
[0030] When the customer indicates the transaction is complete (for
example by replacing the fuel nozzle in its holder), the number of
units of fuel purchased is determined by the dispenser controller
44, which then sends the number of units of fuel purchased and the
PPU discount to a redeemed discounts calculator 46. The calculator
may be incorporated into the dispenser controller, or may be
implemented separately. The calculator preferably calculates the
amount of the redeemed discount by multiplying the PPU discount by
the number of units of fuel purchased in the transaction. The
redeemed discount may then be stored in a redeemed discount
database 47 where it is associated with the card issuer, the
merchant, the retail fueling merchant, and optionally, a third
party vendor if a cross-marketed product was involved.
[0031] A clearing mechanism 48 interfaces with the redeemed
discount database, and retrieves the amount of the redeemed
discount. The clearing mechanism then transfers funds for the
amount of the redeemed discount between the parties of the
agreement in accordance with the terms of the agreement. For
example, funds may be drawn from the merchant's account 49 and
provided to the retail fueling merchant's account 50 if the
discount was awarded purely because the customer performed a
debit-type transaction and/or purchased a threshold amount of goods
from the merchant. If an affinity-type agreement was involved with
the card issuer, the clearing mechanism may also or alternatively
obtain funds from the card issuer's account 51 and provide the
funds to the retail fueling merchant to cover the cost of the
discount. Likewise, if a cross-marketing agreement was involved
with a third party vendor, the clearing mechanism may also or
alternatively obtain funds from the third-party vendor's account 52
and provide the funds to the retail fueling merchant to cover the
cost of the discount.
[0032] Thus, the customer receives an immediate reward, the retail
fueling merchant receives the posted street price for the fueling
transaction, and the merchant, the card issuer, and the third party
vendor fund the discount.
[0033] FIG. 4 is a flow chart illustrating the steps of another
embodiment of a method of awarding a PPU discount for fuel in
exchange for a customer's selection of a debit-type financial
transaction. In this embodiment, an instant PPU discount is
provided when the customer chooses to perform a debit-type
transaction when purchasing fuel at the retail fueling merchant.
Since the discount is instant, an Earned-Discounts database is not
required.
[0034] At step 61, a customer swipes a financial card at the ICR of
a fuel dispenser at the retail fueling merchant. At step 62, the
dispenser controller access the BIN File either in a local database
or at the retail fueling merchant's host computer. At step 63, it
is determined from the information in the BIN File whether the card
is a credit-only card. If so, the method moves to step 64 and
conducts a credit transaction, dispensing fuel to the customer at
the posted price. However, if the card is not a credit-only card,
the method moves to step 65 where it is determined from the
information in the BIN File whether the card is a debit-only card.
If so, the method moves to step 66 where the dispenser displays
"Enter PIN". At step 67, the customer enters his/her PIN, and at
step 68 a debit-type transaction is conducted.
[0035] As a reward for using a debit card, the customer is awarded
an instant FPU discount at step 69. At step 70, the dispenser
dispenses fuel to the customer at a price that is discounted from
the posted price by the amount of the instant PRU discount.
[0036] If it is determined at step 65 that the card is not a
debit-only card, and thus is not a credit-only card or a debit-only
card, the method moves to step 71 where it is concluded that the
card is either a dual-mode card or the payment mode of the card
cannot be determined from the BIN File. The method then moves to
step 72 where the dispenser displays "Enter PIN or Press Credit".
At step 73, it is determined whether the customer entered a PIN. If
so, the method moves to step 68 and conducts a debit-type
transaction. At steps 69 and 70, the customer is awarded the
instant PPU discount, and the dispenser dispenses fuel to the
customer at the discounted price. If the customer did not enter a
PIN at step 73, the method moves to step 74 where the customer
presses Credit. The method then moves to step 75 and conducts a
credit transaction, dispensing fuel to the customer at the posted
price.
[0037] It will be easily appreciated by those skilled in the art
that the above description providing an incentive to perform a
debit-type transaction may also be applied to other types of
desired customer behavior. For example, a PPU discount on fuel may
be awarded if a customer uses a prepaid cash card, a gift card, or
a credit card that is subject to an affinity-type agreement. The
merchant may also encourage repeat business from fuel customers by
providing a PPU discount on fuel as an award for purchasing a
predefined threshold amount of fuel. The customer's fuel purchases
are recorded in a database, and when the total amount purchased
meets or exceeds the predefined threshold amount of fuel, a PPU
discount is awarded.
[0038] Likewise, in order to encourage customers to come into the
store and purchase additional products, certain in-store items may
be cross-marketed so that a PPU discount on fuel is awarded in
exchange for purchasing one or more cross-marketed products.
Purchasing multiple cross-marketed products, or making a larger
total purchase, may earn a larger PPU discount. As further
incentive to purchase in-store products, the PPU discount for
in-store purchases may be awarded at a higher percentage rate than
for fuel purchases. For example, a customer may earn a
10-cents-per-gallon discount on his next fill up whenever he has
purchased $50 worth of fuel. For in-store purchases, the customer
may have to purchase only $20 worth of products to qualify for the
same 10-cents-per-gallon discount.
[0039] The present invention may also be utilized to provide
incentive for customers to perform other actions desired by the
merchant. For example, a PPU discount may be awarded if the
customer participates in a marketing survey or participates in a
security program designed to reduce the number of fraudulent
financial transactions. For example, a customer may be awarded a
PPU discount in exchange for providing biometric information such
as fingerprints or retinal scans so that the customer's identity
can be verified during future financial transactions. Thus, the
scope of the invention is intended to cover any desired action, as
long as the action is encouraged by awarding a PPU discount on
fuel.
[0040] It is thus believed that the operation and construction of
the present invention will be apparent from the foregoing
description. While the method, apparatus and system shown and
described has been characterized as being preferred, it will be
readily apparent that various changes and modifications could be
made therein without departing from the scope of the invention as
defined in the following claims.
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