Systems and Methods for Multi-Channel Offer Redemption

Abstract

In one aspect, a system includes a transaction handler, a data warehouse to store transaction data recording transactions processed at the transaction handler and to store account data identifying an account of the user, and a portal to receive a user selection of a first portion of an advertisement and, in response, to present a user interface. The advertisement provides an offer and includes a second portion which when selected directs the user to a website of an advertiser. The data warehouse is to store data associating the offer with the account data of the user in response to a request made in the user interface. The system is to monitor transactions processed at the transaction handler to identify a purchase paid via the account and eligible for the redemption of the offer. The transaction handler is to provide statement credits to the user, if the payment transaction is identified.

1 . A computer-implemented method, comprising:
 receiving, in a computing apparatus, a user selection of a first portion of an advertisement, the advertisement providing an offer to a user;   presenting, by the computing apparatus, a user interface in response to the user selection of the first portion of the advertisement;   storing, by the computing apparatus, data to associate the offer with an account of the user, in response to a user request made in the user interface;   monitoring, by the computing apparatus, transactions processed at a transaction handler to identify a payment transaction in the account of the user for a purchase in accordance with the offer; and   providing, by the computing apparatus, a benefit of the offer to the user via the account of the user, if the payment transaction is identified.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the advertisement is an online advertisement; and the purchase is an offline purchase. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the providing the benefit of the offer comprises providing statement credits to the account of the user. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the computing apparatus is under control of the transaction handler; the advertisement is presented on behalf of an advertiser different from the transaction handler; and the advertisement further comprises a second portion which, when selected, directs the user to a website of the advertiser. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 4 , further comprising:
 charging the advertiser a fee for the advertisement, in response to the providing of the benefit of the offer.   
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 4 , further comprising:
 selecting the advertisement for presentation to the user based on at least one transaction in an account of the user processed by the transaction handler.   
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 6 , further comprising:
 presenting a user interface to the advertiser to manage creation and distribution of the offer, wherein the offer comprises the benefit selected from the group consisting of: discount, incentive, reward, gift, and cash back.   
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 7 , further comprising:
 storing data representing the offer prior to the user selection, in response to input received via the user interface presented to the advertiser.   
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 aggregating a plurality of payment transactions in the account of the user to determine eligibility for the benefit of the offer.   
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 providing, by the computing apparatus, a message to a mobile phone of the user in response to the user making the payment transaction, wherein the message indicates that the offer will be fulfilled via credits to the account.   
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein each of the transactions processed by the transaction handler is to make a payment from an issuer to an acquirer via the transaction handler in response to an account identifier of a customer, as issued by the issuer, being submitted by a merchant to the acquirer, the issuer to make the payment on behalf of the customer, the acquirer to receive the payment on behalf of the merchant. 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the user interface includes the advertisement without the first portion. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the advertisement is presented in a web browser of the user; and the method further comprises:
 identifying the account of the user based on a browser cookie received from the web browser.   
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 13 , further comprising:
 providing a list in the user interface to allow the user to select the account from a plurality of accounts of the user identified based on the browser cookie, wherein the accounts of the user are controlled by different issuer processors.   
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 14 , further comprising:
 authenticating the user via a password; and   providing the browser cookie to the web browser after the user is authenticated.   
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the advertisement is provided by a server different and separate from the computing apparatus. 
     
     
         17 . A computer storage medium storing instructions which, when executed on a computer system, cause the computer system to perform a method, the method comprising:
 receiving, in a computing apparatus, a user selection of a first portion of an advertisement, the advertisement providing an offer to a user;   presenting, by the computing apparatus, a user interface in response to the user selection of the first portion of the advertisement;   storing, by the computing apparatus, data to associate the offer with an account of the user, in response to a user request made in the user interface;   monitoring, by the computing apparatus, transactions processed at a transaction handler to identify a payment transaction in the account of the user for a purchase in accordance with the offer; and   providing, by the computing apparatus, a benefit of the offer to the user via the account of the user, if the payment transaction is identified.   
     
     
         18 . A system, comprising:
 a transaction handler to process transactions, each of the transactions being processed to make a payment from an issuer to an acquirer via the transaction handler in response to an account identifier of a customer, as issued by the issuer, being submitted by a merchant to the acquirer, the issuer to make the payment on behalf of the customer, the acquirer to receive the payment on behalf of the merchant;   a data warehouse to store transaction data recording the transactions processed at the transaction handler and to store account data of the user, the account data of the user identifying an account of the user controlled by an issuer processor; and   a portal coupled to the transaction handler and the data warehouse, the portal to receive a user selection of a first portion of an advertisement providing an offer to a user and to present a user interface in response to the user selection of the first portion of the advertisement, wherein the advertisement includes a second portion which when selected directs the user to a website of an advertiser;   wherein the data warehouse is to store data associating the offer with the account data of the user in response to a user request made using the user interface;   wherein the system is to monitor transactions processed at the transaction handler to identify a payment transaction in the account of the user for a purchase in accordance with the offer; and   wherein the transaction handler is to provide statement credits to the account of the user to fulfill the offer, if the payment transaction is identified.   
     
     
         19 . The system of  claim 18 , further comprising:
 a profile generator to generate a profile of the user based on the transaction data, the profile including a plurality of values representing aggregated spending of the user in various areas to summarize transactions of the user, wherein the advertisement is selected using the profile of the user.   
     
     
         20 . The system of  claim 19 , further comprising:
 an advertisement selector to identify the advertisement based on the profile of the user, wherein the portal is to provide the advertisement to the user.