초록 ▼

A debit card system for implementing an incentive award program for a customer having participants. A plurality of debit cards, each assigned to one participant and having a unique account number corresponding to an award account of the participant is part of the system. A bank filter processor acce

A debit card system for implementing an incentive award program for a customer having participants. A plurality of debit cards, each assigned to one participant and having a unique account number corresponding to an award account of the participant is part of the system. A bank filter processor accesses program data including data identifying the authorized unique account numbers of the participants, data identifying the authorized merchants and data indicating the balance in each participant's award account. The filter processor compares this program data to the following transaction data: the initiating account number of the card as initiating the transaction, the merchant identification data of the initiating merchant, and the data regarding the amount of the initiated transaction. The filter processor generates validating data for the transaction when the evaluated transaction data indicates that the transaction has been initiated by an authorized merchant using the unique account number of one of the participants having a sufficient balance in the participant's corresponding award account to cover the transaction. Otherwise, invalidating data is generated.

대표청구항 ▼

[ What is claimed is:] [1.] In a system for implementing a program having participants, said program permitting the participants to obtain products and/or services from authorized merchants who are part of the program and who are part of a credit/debit card network, which credit/debit card network a

[ What is claimed is:] [1.] In a system for implementing a program having participants, said program permitting the participants to obtain products and/or services from authorized merchants who are part of the program and who are part of a credit/debit card network, which credit/debit card network also includes unauthorized merchants who are not part of the program and who are part of the credit/debit card network, each merchant having access via an input/output (I/O) port to a credit/debit card network processor of the credit/debit card network, said system including a plurality of debit and/or credit cards, each having a unique account number corresponding to an account of the participant; the improvement comprising:a. a filter processor interfacing with the credit/debit card network processor and accessing the following program is data:1. data identifying the authorized unique account numbers of the participants,2. data identifying the authorized merchants, and3. data indicating the balance in each participant's account;b. said filter processor including means, responsive to an initiating transaction based on an initiating account number, for transmitting from the credit/debit card network processor to the filter processor the following transaction data:1. the initiating account number of the card initiating the transaction,2. merchant identification data of the merchant involved in the initiating transaction, and3. data regarding the amount of the initiated transaction;c. said filter processor including means for evaluating the transaction data transmitted to the filter processor by the credit/debit card network processor by comparing the transaction data to the program data;d. said filter processor evaluating means including means for generating validating data for the transaction when the evaluated transaction data indicates that the transaction involves an authorized merchant using the unique account number of one of the participants having a sufficient balance in the participant's corresponding account to cover the transaction;e. said filter processor evaluating means including means for generating invalidating data for the transaction when the evaluated transaction data indicates that the initiating account number is not one of the authorized account numbers;f. said filter processor evaluating means including means for generating invalidating data for the transaction when the evaluated transaction data indicates that the merchant involved in the transaction is not one of the authorized merchants;g. said filter processor evaluating means including means for generating invalidating data for the transaction when the evaluated transaction data indicates that the balance in the account corresponding to the initiating account number is insufficient to cover the amount of the initiated transaction;h. said filter processor including means for transmitting the validating or invalidating data to the credit/debit card network processor so that the credit/debit card network processor provides the validating or invalidating data for the evaluated transaction to the merchant involved in the transaction.