Patent ID: 8510162
Filing Date: 2013-08-13
Classification: G06Q

Abstract:
1. A method comprising: (a) receiving by a loyalty engine a loyalty request comprising request data from a loyalty client over a first connection, wherein the loyalty request comprises (i) an AUTH message which can be used to validate a potential loyalty sales transaction, (ii) an AUTH_CANCEL message which can be used to cancel the potential loyalty sales transaction after the potential loyalty sales transaction has been validated but before the potential loyalty sales transaction is fully tendered, and (iii) a STATUS message which can be used to query a loyalty host of a plurality of loyalty hosts that are connected to the loyalty engine to determine if the loyalty host is offline or if an error condition has occurred by the loyalty host; (b) determining by the loyalty engine, based on the loyalty request, a first loyalty host of the plurality of loyalty hosts that are connected to the loyalty engine; (c) creating by the loyalty engine, based on the loyalty request, a translated loyalty request using a first communication protocol that is compatible with the first loyalty host by changing the request data to be compatible with the first loyalty host; (d) sending the translated loyalty request to the first loyalty host, using the first communication protocol, over a second connection; (e) receiving at the loyalty engine a loyalty response to the translated loyalty request, the loyalty response comprising response data from the first loyalty host over the second connection and using the first protocol; (f) creating by the loyalty engine, based on the loyalty response, a translated loyalty response using a second communication protocol that is compatible with the loyalty client; and (g) sending the translated loyalty response to the loyalty client, using the second communication protocol, over the first connection.