System and Method For Conversion Of Initial Transaction To Final Transaction

Abstract

The invention comprises a system and method for converting initial financial transactions into final financial transactions entailing lower transaction fees or which are otherwise more advantageous. According to one embodiment of the invention, a card not present (CNP) transaction is conducted for a remote consumer buying goods/services. When the consumer later arrives at a point of authentication (POA), the consumer is presented with an opportunity to have the CNP transaction effectively converted to a card present (CP) transaction using the same card instrument or a different card instrument. The merchant benefits because the transaction fees are much reduced for the CP transaction compared to the CNP transaction. The consumer may benefit from rewards/rebates or other inducements to authorizing the subsequent transaction. One preferred embodiment implements the invention in the airlines environment, wherein tickets ordered over the phone or on-line using a first CNP transaction are converted to a CP transaction when the consumer swipes his/her card at an airport kiosk card reader device.

1 . A computer-implemented method for converting an initial financial transaction to a final financial transaction, the method comprising:
 receiving, from a mobile computing device, information of a first card instrument associated with a cardholder;   generating a card-not-present (CNP) payment transaction based on said received information of said first card instrument;   receiving card data read by a point of authentication (POA) device from the first card instrument or a second card instrument associated with said cardholder; and   converting, by at least one computer processor, said CNP payment transaction to a card-present (CP) payment transaction, the CP payment transaction being based at least in part on the card data read by said POA device.   
     
     
         2 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 submitting the CP payment transaction, in lieu of the CNP payment transaction, for authorization by a processing network or a card issuer.   
     
     
         3 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 cancelling the CNP payment transaction and replacing it with the CP payment transaction.   
     
     
         4 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 presenting, via a user interface, an offer to said cardholder to convert the CNP payment transaction to another payment transaction.   
     
     
         5 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 1 , wherein the first card instrument and the second card instrument are selected from a group consisting of: general-use credit cards, private label credit cards, ATM cards, debit cards, check cards, bank cards, and stored value cards. 
     
     
         6 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 1 , wherein the first card instrument or the second card instrument read by said POA device are selected from a group consisting of: magnetic stripe cards, contact-type smart cards, contactless smart cards, fobs, and portable devices. 
     
     
         7 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 1 , wherein the CNP payment transaction is initiated by said cardholder remotely located from a merchant. 
     
     
         8 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 7 , wherein the POA device is not collocated with said merchant. 
     
     
         9 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 1 , wherein the step of converting comprises:
 modifying or transforming said CNP payment transaction to create said CP payment transaction.   
     
     
         10 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 1 , wherein said CNP payment transaction is a provisional transaction and the step of converting comprises:
 converting said provisional CNP payment transaction to said CP payment transaction before submitting said CP payment transaction for authorization.   
     
     
         11 . A computer-implemented system for converting an initial financial transaction to a final financial transaction, the system comprising at least one storage medium coupled to at least one computer processor configured to:
 receive, from a mobile computing device, information of a first card instrument associated with a cardholder;   generate a card-not-present (CNP) payment transaction based on said received information of said first card instrument;   receive card data read by a point of authentication (POA) device from the first card instrument or a second card instrument associated with said cardholder; and   convert said CNP payment transaction to a card-present (CP) payment transaction, the CP payment transaction being based at least in part on the card data read by said POA device.   
     
     
         12 . The computer-implemented system of  claim 11 , wherein the at least one computer processor is further configured to:
 submit the CP payment transaction, in lieu of the CNP payment transaction, for authorization by a processing network or a card issuer.   
     
     
         13 . The computer-implemented system of  claim 11 , wherein the at least one computer processor is further configured to:
 cancel the CNP payment transaction and replace it with the CP payment transaction.   
     
     
         14 . The computer-implemented system of  claim 11 , wherein the at least one computer processor is further configured to:
 present, via a user interface, an offer to said cardholder to convert the CNP payment transaction to another payment transaction.   
     
     
         15 . The computer-implemented system of  claim 11 , wherein the first card instrument and the second card instrument are selected from a group consisting of: general-use credit cards, private label credit cards, ATM cards, debit cards, check cards, bank cards, and stored value cards. 
     
     
         16 . The computer-implemented system of  claim 11 , wherein the first card instrument or the second card instrument read by said POA device are selected from a group consisting of: magnetic stripe cards, contact-type smart cards, contactless smart cards, fobs, and portable devices. 
     
     
         17 . The computer-implemented system of  claim 11 , wherein the CNP payment transaction is initiated by said cardholder remotely located from a merchant. 
     
     
         18 . The computer-implemented system of  claim 17 , wherein the POA device is not collocated with said merchant. 
     
     
         19 . The computer-implemented system of  claim 11 , wherein the at least one computer processor is further configured to:
 modify or transform said CNP payment transaction to create said CP payment transaction.   
     
     
         20 . The computer-implemented system of  claim 11 , wherein said CNP payment transaction is a provisional transaction, and wherein the at least one computer processor is further configured to:
 convert said provisional CNP payment transaction to said CP payment transaction before submitting said CP payment transaction for authorization.   
     
     
         21 . A computer implemented method for converting an initial financial transaction to a final financial transaction, the computer comprising a processor and a memory, the method comprising:
 reading, by a point of authentication (POA) device, information of a portable device representative of a first card instrument;   receiving an indication that a first financial transactional account includes a card-not-present (CNP) payment transaction which was previously initiated with the first card instrument or a second card instrument but without physically presenting any device representative of the first card instrument or the second card instrument at a point of sale associated with the CNP payment transaction, said CNP payment transaction comprising first transaction data including card information of the first card instrument or the second card instrument;   retrieving said first transaction data associated with said CNP payment transaction; and   converting the CNP payment transaction to a card-present (CP) payment transaction, the CP payment transaction being based at least in part on the information read from the portable device which is representative of the first card instrument, said CP payment transaction comprising second transaction data including card information of the first card instrument.