Financial Charge Rebate

Abstract

Aspects of the disclosure relate to assisting credit account holders during economic hardship. More specifically, aspects of the disclosure relate to systems and methods for providing a rebate of at least a portion of a finance charge applied to a credit account. Unlike certain prior art systems and methods, embodiments disclosed herein may benefit both the credit account holder as well as the financial institution that extends the credit account. In one embodiment, it may be determined that several credit accounts meet a threshold of probability of having a charge-off. In certain embodiments, the number of accounts that receive a rebate may be limited to a certain percentage of credit accounts with a non-zero balance.

We claim: 
     
         1 . An apparatus, comprising:
 at least one processor; and   a memory storing computer-readable instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to:
 determine that a credit account of a plurality of credit accounts meets a threshold probability of resulting in a charge-off; 
 receive notification that the credit account of a plurality of credit accounts meets the threshold of probability of having a charge-off; 
 receive notification that a minimum payment amount was received for a first billing period of a billing cycle of the credit account; and 
 determine that the credit account is eligible for a rebate up to a finance charge amount incurred during the first billing period. 
   
     
     
         2 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the determination that the credit account meets the threshold probability of resulting in a charge-off is based on at least one of: account holder utilization of the credit account, account transactions, inquiries into the credit account, and information from other accounts. 
     
     
         3 . The apparatus  claim 1 , further including instructions that, when executed, cause the apparatus to:
 apply the rebate to the finance charge amount of the first billing period, wherein a minimum payment amount due for a second billing period is not reduced for the second billing period.   
     
     
         4 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , further including instructions that, when executed, cause the apparatus to:
 transmit a notification to an account holder of the credit account indicating that the credit account is eligible for the rebate.   
     
     
         5 . The apparatus of  claim 4 , the notification to the account holder including additional restrictions or eligibility requirements associated with the rebate. 
     
     
         6 . The apparatus of  claim 5 , wherein the additional restrictions or eligibility requirements include a requirement that a credit balance of the credit account cannot increase between the first billing period and a second billing period. 
     
     
         7 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein determining that the credit account of the plurality of credit accounts meets a threshold probability of resulting in a charge-off further includes determining that a second plurality of credit accounts defining a subset of the plurality of credit accounts meets a threshold probability of resulting in a charge-off; and further including instructions that, when executed, cause the apparatus to:
 determine a quantity of credit accounts in the second plurality of accounts;   determine that the quantity of credit accounts meets or exceeds a threshold quantity of credit accounts; and   responsive to determining that the quantity of credit accounts meets or exceeds the threshold quantity of accounts, adjust the threshold probability of resulting in a charge-off.   
     
     
         8 . A method, comprising:
 determining, by an account monitor module of system including at least one computing device, that a credit account of a plurality of credit accounts meets a threshold probability of resulting in a charge-off;   receiving, by the system, notification that the credit account of a plurality of credit accounts meets the threshold of probability of having a charge-off;   receiving, by the system, notification that a minimum payment amount was received for a first billing period of a billing cycle of the credit account; and   determining, by the system, that the credit account is eligible for a rebate up to a finance charge amount incurred during the first billing period.   
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 8 , wherein the determination that the credit account meets the threshold probability of resulting in a charge-off is based on at least one of: account holder utilization of the credit account, account transactions, inquiries into the credit account, and information from other accounts. 
     
     
         10 . The method  claim 8 , further including:
 applying, by the system, the rebate to the finance charge amount of the first billing period, wherein a minimum payment amount due for a second billing period is not reduced for the second billing period.   
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 8 , further including:
 transmitting, by the system, a notification to an account holder of the credit account indicating that the credit account is eligible for the rebate.   
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 11 , the notification to the account holder including additional restrictions or eligibility requirements associated with the rebate. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein the additional restrictions or eligibility requirements include a requirement that a credit balance of the credit account cannot increase between the first billing period and a second billing period. 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 8 , wherein determining that the credit account of the plurality of credit accounts meets a threshold probability of resulting in a charge-off further includes determining that a second plurality of credit accounts defining a subset of the plurality of credit accounts meets a threshold probability of resulting in a charge-off; and further including:
 determining, by the system, a quantity of credit accounts in the second plurality of accounts;   determining, by the system, that the quantity of credit accounts meets or exceeds a threshold quantity of credit accounts; and   responsive to determining that the quantity of credit accounts meets or exceeds the threshold quantity of accounts, adjusting, by the system, the threshold probability of resulting in a charge-off.   
     
     
         15 . One or more non-transitory computer-readable media having computer-executable instructions stored thereon that, when executed, cause at least one computing device to:
 determine that a credit account of a plurality of credit accounts meets a threshold probability of resulting in a charge-off;   receive notification that the credit account of a plurality of credit accounts meets the threshold of probability of having a charge-off;   receive notification that a minimum payment amount was received for a first billing period of a billing cycle of the credit account; and   determine that the credit account is eligible for a rebate up to a finance charge amount incurred during the first billing period.   
     
     
         16 . The one or more non-transitory computer-readable media of  claim 15 , further including instructions that, when executed, cause the at least one computing device to:
 apply the rebate to the finance charge amount of the first billing period, wherein a minimum payment amount due for a second billing period is not reduced for the second billing period.   
     
     
         17 . The one or more non-transitory computer-readable media of  claim 15 , further including instructions that, when executed, cause the at least one computing device to:
 transmit a notification to an account holder of the credit account indicating that the credit account is eligible for the rebate.   
     
     
         18 . The one or more non-transitory computer-readable media of  claim 17 , the notification to the account holder including additional restrictions or eligibility requirements associated with the rebate. 
     
     
         19 . The one or more non-transitory computer-readable media of  claim 18 , wherein the additional restrictions or eligibility requirements include a requirement that a credit balance of the credit account cannot increase between the first billing period and a second billing period. 
     
     
         20 . The one or more non-transitory computer-readable media of  claim 15 , wherein determining that the credit account of the plurality of credit accounts meets a threshold probability of resulting in a charge-off further includes determining that a second plurality of credit accounts defining a subset of the plurality of credit accounts meets a threshold probability of resulting in a charge-off; and further including instructions that, when executed, cause the at least one computing device to:
 determine a quantity of credit accounts in the second plurality of accounts;   determine that the quantity of credit accounts meets or exceeds a threshold quantity of credit accounts; and   responsive to determining that the quantity of credit accounts meets or exceeds the threshold quantity of accounts, adjust the threshold probability of resulting in a charge-off.