Abstract:
A unified, flexible, extensible, distributed multi-level purchasing, sales and marketing methodology for companies conducting business on the Internet. A Participant in the present invention registers with a Host/Hub and an account is established for the Participant. As Participants perform certain activities such as purchases, surfing or viewing ads with respect to the Host/Hubs and its commercial Partners, the Participants are awarded “credits” that are credited to the Participant&#39;s bank accounts. The “credits” in a Participant&#39;s account can be used for a variety of purposes such as credits for new purchases, bill payment, micro-payments and cash redemption. Participants are additionally rewarded credits on the basis of the point generating activities performed by each new Participant signed up by the original Participant, and each subsequent Participant signed up by the new participant. This multi-level marketing approach to Internet commerce is accomplished by linking the accounts of the related Participants. As lower level Participants receive credits, a portion of the those credits are credited to the account of the higher level Participants.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION  
       [0001]    This application is based on and claims priority to U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/569,180 filed May 11, 2000, entitled “MULTI-LEVEL SALES AND MARKETING METHODOLOGY FOR THE INTERNET,” the entire contents of which are expressly incorporated herein by reference. 
     
    
     
       FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
         [0002]    The present invention generally relates to marketing and sales methodology and more particularly to a sales and marketing methodology for the Internet that employs multi-level techniques.  
         BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0003]    There are several marketing methods currently being practiced which reward consumers (individuals and businesses) for certain activities which they perform on the Internet. In the majority of these methods, consumers register with a service and are rewarded points, cash or other rewards for performing certain defined actions while visiting various sites on the Internet.  
           [0004]    One such system is known as beenz (www.beenz.com) In the beenz system, consumers register at the Internet site of the system provider and have an account established for the consumer. As the consumer visits partners of the system provider, he or she collects “beenz” (points) at the site which are added to the consumer&#39;s account. Sometimes the “beenz” are collected merely for visiting the site and sometimes the “beenz” must be earned by performing some action, such as making a purchase at the site.  
           [0005]    A similar system is offered by Netcentives (www.netcentives.com) which awards consumers mileage points to consumers for engaging in certain promotions (e.g., purchases). Mypoints offers a service (www.mypoints.com) in which consumers can earn points by shopping, reading email, filling out surveys, web surfing and filling out surveys. Mypoints participants receive a one time bonus of points for friends that the participant refers to the system if the friend registers for the service. The Alladvantage service (www.alladvantage.com) rewards consumers with cash for the amount of time they spend visiting sites on the Internet. Similar to Mypoints, Alladvantage rewards cash to consumers who refer other to the service. In the Alladvantage system, a participant receives a reduced amount of cash for the time the referred participant spends visiting online sites. The original participant receives a further reduced amount for the surfing time spent by extended referral participants (referrals of the participant that was introduced by the original participant). The Alladvantage system only rewards participants for surfing time and is not a comprehensive rewards system which generates cumulative marketing or purchasing power either to the service provider or the consumers.  
           [0006]    Mercata (www.mercata.com) provides a service in which consumers agree to purchase an item for sale offered on the system operated by Mercata. As more consumers agree to buy the same product, the price for the product to each consumer is reduced. The offer for sale is time limited and once the time has expired, the consumers must pay the finally established sales price. Prio (www.prio.net) offers a service in which a consumers registers with the service and identifies a credit card. As the consumer uses his or her credit card at participating merchants, the credit card is credited with a cash back reward.  
           [0007]    Although each of the above described systems have certain appealing features, none of them offer a comprehensive multilevel marketing method and system that enables aggregation of customer identification, demographic, attitudinal and behavioral information, and enables aggregation of purchasing, selling and marketing power to capture cooperative economies of scale and size, all as may lead to or produce savings revenue or other marketing benefits. Furthermore, most of the prior art systems require the user to spend the points or credits in a certain fashion (e.g., credit towards a purchase) rather than letting the customer use its credits anywhere anytime.  
         SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0008]    The present invention provides a unified, flexible, extensible, distributed multilevel purchasing, sales and marketing methodology for companies conducting business on the Internet. The entity administering the system and methods of the present invention is known herein as a Host/Hub, and the Internet merchants and service providers participating in the program are known as Partners. Consumers (individuals and businesses) desiring to participate in the method of the present invention register with at least one Host/Hub. The consumers are then designated as Participants, and “bank” accounts are established for each of the Participants. As Participants perform Qualified Activities with respect to the Host/Hubs and Partners, the Participants are awarded credits that are stored in the Participant&#39;s account. Qualified Activities can include, for example, making purchases at Partners, visiting Partners, sending invitations to other consumers inviting them to become Participants, signing up new Participants, viewing advertising and participating in marketing surveys and polls. The credits in a Participant&#39;s account can be used for a variety of purposes such as credits for new purchases, bill payment, micro-payments and cash redemption.  
           [0009]    A significant aspect of the present invention is that Participants are rewarded credits on the basis of the Qualified Activities performed by each new Participant signed up by the original Participant, and each subsequent Participant signed up by the new participant. This multi-level marketing approach to Internet commerce is accomplished by linking the accounts of the related Participants. For example, the account of the original Participant (first level Participant) is linked to the accounts of each of the referred Participants (second level Participants) signed up by the first level Participant. The accounts of subsequent Participants (third level Participants) are linked to the respective second level Participants that signed them up. In this manner, as credits are awarded to accounts of the third level Participants, some percentage of those credits flow up to the accounts of the second level Participants, and in turn, some percentage of those credits may flow up to the first level Participants.  
           [0010]    The present invention provides tangible benefits to the Partner companies by attracting and retaining customers and motivating customers to engage in certain activities including, but not limited to purchases of goods and services, the viewing and interaction with marketing, advertising or promotions or the introduction of new consumers to the method. The present invention further promotes customer loyalty through fully fungible reward programs, enables aggregation of customer identification, demographic, attitudinal and behavioral information, and enables aggregation of purchasing, selling and marketing power to capture cooperative economies of scale and size, all as may lead to or produce savings revenue or other marketing benefits. 
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0011]    For the purposes of illustrating the present invention, there is shown in the drawings a form which is presently preferred, it being understood however, that the invention is not limited to the precise form shown by the drawing in which:  
         [0012]    [0012]FIG. 1 illustrates the system of the present invention;  
         [0013]    [0013]FIG. 2 illustrates the crediting of credits to the accounts of Participants;  
         [0014]    [0014]FIG. 3 depicts the multilevel structure of the Participants in the present invention;  
         [0015]    [0015]FIG. 4 illustrates an example of point sharing according to the present invention; and  
         [0016]    [0016]FIG. 5 illustrates a Micro-payment and point redemption embodiment of the present invention. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
       [0017]    [0017]FIG. 1 illustrates the various parties to and components of the system of the present invention. In the preferred embodiment, communication between the various parties occurs through the Internet  130 , although other means for communications can be employed such as a private value added network. FIG. 1 illustrates two different Host/Hub processing systems  100 ,  102 . As will be further described below, the Host/Hub processors  100 ,  102  are responsible for administering the marketing and sales methods of the present invention. Although only a single Host/Hub ( 100  or  102 ) is necessary to practice the present invention, two processing systems  100 ,  102  have been shown to illustrate that several Host/Hubs  100 ,  102  can operate simultaneously. For example, one Host/Hub  100  can service consumer operations, while the second Host/Hub  102  can service business to business operations. Alternatively, all of the operations can be consolidated onto a single Host/Hub ( 100  or  102 ).  
         [0018]    Elements  200 ,  201  represent the processors maintained by or on behalf of the Partners. The Partners are preferably merchants conducting commerce or advertisers conducting marketing on the Internet  130 , but can be any other party that would benefit from the methods of the present invention. For example, a company that performs marketing surveys or polls would equally benefit from the present invention as it would attract traffic to the web site maintained by the survey company. The processors  200 , 201  preferably host web sites of the Partners on the Internet  130  using standard web site techniques. Although most of the communications between the parties is conducted on the Internet  130 , certain communications between the Partners and the Host/Hub  100 ,  102  (e.g., sensitive financial information) can be transmitted via other secure communication media  115  (e.g., private network, dial-up lines . . . ). Elements  120 - 124  represent the devices by which the users (consumers, businesses, etc.) communicate with the Host/Hub  100 ,  102  and Partner processors  200 ,  201 . The user terminals  120 - 124  can be Personal Computers (PCs), Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs), Internet Appliances, cellular telephones or any other devices that enable the user to connect to the communication network  130  (e.g., the Internet).  
         [0019]    [0019]FIG. 2 illustrates one of the basic methods of the present invention, the crediting of credits to the account  340  of a Participant  300  as the Participant  300  performs a Qualified Activity. The entities illustrated in FIG. 2, Participant  300 , Partner  210  and Host/Hub  120 , correspond respectively to the components  120 - 124 ,  200 - 201  and  100 - 102  illustrated in FIG. 1. Prior to the process depicted in FIG. 2, the Participant  300  has registered with the Host/Hub  120  in order to participate in the method of the present invention. During this enrollment (registration) process, a Participant Account  340  is established for the Participant  300 , and the Participant  300  is issued an identification (ID)  305  by which it can identify itself as a participant to a Partner  210 . The Participant Account  340  contains the credits earned by the Participant  300  in accordance with the present invention. Furthermore, prior to the illustration of FIG. 2, the Partner  210  has contractually arranged with the Host/Hub  120  to take part in the methods and system of the present invention.  
         [0020]    [0020]FIG. 2 illustrates an embodiment of the present invention in which the Participant  300  earns credits by making purchases from the Partner  210 . In one embodiment, the Participant  300  navigates to the web site of the Partner  210  from a web site maintained by the Host/Hub  120 . The Host/Hub  120  web site contains links to all of the Partners  210  participating in the system. Although only a single partner  210  has been illustrated in FIG. 2, it is appreciated that a plurality of Partners  210  can participate in the system and methods of the present invention. Similarly, there are a plurality of Participants  300  having a corresponding plurality of Accounts  340  at the Host/Hub  120 . Alternatively, the Participant  300  can navigate to the web site of the Partner  210  on its own. In step  250 , the Participant  300  and the Partner  210  complete a purchase. For example, the Participant  300  might purchase a camera for $100 from the Partner  210 . As part of completing this purchase, the Participant  300  uses its ID  305  to identify itself as a participant in order to receive the credits for making the purchase. Once the purchase has been completed, the Partner  210  notifies the Host/Hub  120  of the purchase and forwards a portion of the purchase price to Host/Hub  120  in accordance with the agreement previously established between the Partner  210  and the Host/Hub  120 . As part of the transaction between the Partner  210  and the Participant  300 , the Partner  210  verifies the Participant&#39;s ID  305  with the Host/Hub  120 .  
         [0021]    The agreement between the Partner  210  and the Host/Hub  120  establishes the portion of the purchase price that will be provided to the Host/Hub  120 . In a preferred embodiment, the portion given to the Host/Hub  120  by the Partner  210  is a percentage of the purchase price. For example, in the $100 camera purchase described above, the Partner  210  might be obligated to give the Host/Hub  120  ten percent of the purchase price, in other words $10. Any legal agreement by which the Host/Hub  120  shares in the revenues of the Partner  210  for activities by Participants  300  is possible. For example, the percentages given the Partner  210  to the Host/Hub  120  can be fixed or variable depending on the dollar value of particular purchases or the volume of sales made by the Partner  210  to Participants  300 . In another embodiment, the Partner  210  can be obligated to pay the Host/Hub  120  a fixed amount for each Qualified Activity. For example, in the marketing survey example given above, the survey company may pay the Host/Hub  120  a fixed rate of $10 for each survey completed by a Participant  300 . In an alternative business to business relationship, a purchasing business may have a sliding scale arrangement in which the number of credits awarded to the business (and the percentage provided to Host/Hub  120  from Partner  210 ) is determined on a scale. For example, the first $100,000 of purchases results in a fixed number of credits and any purchases above the $100,000 figure results in a reduced number of credits.  
         [0022]    Once the Host/Hub  120  receives into its Account  130  the portion of the revenue from the Partner  210  (step  260 ), it provides a portion of that revenue to the Participant in the form of credits. Specifically, credits are credited to the Participant&#39;s Account  340  (step  270 ). As will be further described below with respect to FIG. 3, in the preferred embodiment of the present invention, the provision of credits to the Participant&#39;s Account  130  is subject to multilevel distribution. As with the revenue sharing between the Partners  210  and the Host/Hub  120 , the conversion of revenue received by the Host/Hub  120  into credits for the Participants  300  is governed by the agreement between the Host/Hub  120  and the Participants  300 . In the preferred embodiment of the present invention, the Participants  300  receive a percentage of the revenue realized by the Host/Hub  120  in the form of credits. For example, in one embodiment the Participants  300  can receive 50% (the “sharing rate”) of the revenue received by the Host/Hub  120  from the Partner  210 . Additionally, there is preferably a fixed conversion rate from dollars to credits, for example, one dollar can equal one point or one dollar can equal five credits. Given a 50% sharing agreement and one dollar/one point conversion rate, in the above camera sale example where the Host/Hub  120  receives $10 from the Partner  210 , the Host/Hub  120  will credit the Participant Account  340  with five credits for the purchase (subject to the multilevel distribution and redemption described below).  
         [0023]    The sharing rate at which the Host/Hub  120  shares the revenues with the Participant  300  may be altered based upon changes in the volume of Qualified Activities undertaken by the Participant. This volume may contractually increase or decrease the sharing rate between the Host/Hub  120  and the Participants  300  and its referred Participants as discussed below. The volume of Qualified Activities may be readily measured based upon credits to the Participant Account  340 . Host/Hub  120  revenues may increase directly with the volume of Qualified Activities. Host/Hub  120  profit margins increase with the additional buying, selling and marketing power generated by the Participant  300  cumulative Qualified Activities. The Host/Hubs  120 , Partner  210  and Participants  300  all benefit from the economies of scale and size deriving from the methods and systems of the present invention.  
         [0024]    In addition to the Partners  210  offering goods or services, the Host/Hubs  120  themselves may directly offer various goods, services and sales, marketing and promotional vehicles. Participants  300  conducting Qualified Activities (e.g. purchases) at a Host/Hub  120  or Partner  210  site directly share in both the Host/Hub  120  revenue, benefits and any revenues or benefits accruing to other Participants  300  referred by said Participant  300  to said Host/Hub  120  as described below. Once the revenue and benefits have accrued to the Participant Accounts&#39;  340 , they may be redeemed for any legal form of currency, or substitute thereof (e.g., credits for purchases at Partner  210  sites) at any time for any legal use, including, without limitation, subsequent transactions, bill paying, charitable contributions, lottery entries and micro-payments. In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, when redeeming credits, the Participant&#39;s credits in Account  340  are converted back into dollars or any other form of legal currency or substitute thereof at the same rate at which the revenue (dollars) was converted into credits for deposit in the Account  340 . After redemption, the redeemed credits are deducted from the Participant&#39;s Account  340 . The Host/Hub  120  is responsible for the maintenance of the Participant Accounts  340  and provides the Participant  300  with online summary and transaction history with respect to the Accounts  340 .  
         [0025]    The methodology of the present invention applies to all legal forms of commerce, including, without limitation: (1) business-to-business, business-to-consumer, business-to-government, and consumer-to-consumer transactions; (2) online, offline and hybrid commerce platforms; (3) all sizes of transactions, including Micro-Payments and large scale commercial transactions (on a sliding scale); or (4) other such applications as may be practiced. As used herein, the term consumer is intended to encompass consuming businesses and government entities as well as individuals. Partners  210  benefit directly by increased sales volume from the activities of Participants  300 . Partners  210  further benefit from improved marketing exposure. Participants  300  benefit directly by building credit in Accounts  340  that can be applied at any time, in any venue, in any legal manner. Credits in Accounts  340  may be universally applied (after conversion to dollars if necessary) to credit card accounts, redeemed by draft check, transferred as bill payments, exchanged for promotional credits, transposed into lottery entries and be put to virtually any other legal use. Participants&#39;  300  benefits increase with the additional buying, selling and marketing power generated by the cumulative Qualified Activities of their fellow Participants  300 .  
         [0026]    [0026]FIG. 3 depicts the multilevel structure of the revenue (point) sharing by Participants. In addition to receiving credits for making purchases or performing other Qualified Activities themselves directly, Participants receive credits for the Qualified Activities of each subsequent Participant that the original Participant signs up to the system of the present invention. As described above, an unsolicited visitor to the Host/Hub  120 , may enroll in the program, establish an Account  340  and receive an ID  305  (FIG. 2) and thus becoming a “Level  1 ” Participant  360 ,  370 . In order to expand the Participant pool, Level  1  Participants  360 ,  370  introduce other unknown parties to the Host/Hub  120  (the parties are previously unknown to the Host/Hub  120 ). The introduction is preferably made via an accountable method such as through an E-mail through the Host/Hub  120  or some other mechanism such that the Host/Hub  120  can verify that the Level  1  Participant  360 - 370  initiated the introduction. Furthermore, Host/Hub  120  can keep track of the referrals to prohibit someone from registering as a new Participant in order to subvert the multilevel credit sharing of the present invention.  
         [0027]    If the introduced visitor registers with the Host/Hub  120 , he/she is assigned an Account  340  and an ID  305  and thus becomes a “Level  2 ” Participant  400 ,  410 . As seen in FIG. 3, Level  1  Participant  360  made at least four introductions (referrals). Two of the introduced visitors registered to become Level  2  Participants  400 ,  410 , while two did not choose to register, visitors  420  and  430 . Although not explicitly depicted in FIG. 3, each of the Level  1  Participants  360 ,  370  can have several referrals that did not register, and several Level  2  Participants that did register and are structurally placed in the level below the Level  1  Participants  360 ,  370 .  
         [0028]    When the Level  2  Participant, e.g. Participant  410 , engages in Qualified Activities, a portion of the Level  2  Participant&#39;s credits is credited to the Level  1  Participant&#39;s Bank Account (e.g., the Account  340  of Participant  360 ). In this manner a linkage is created between the various Participants in the multiple levels of the structure of the present invention. This linkage applies to any prior and subsequent introductions a specific Participant makes. It is appreciated that linkages between N levels of Participants is made possible by this structure, where “N” is any positive number (“N”). A portion of the credits from the N levels of Participants accrete to the Accounts  340  of the levels above a specific Participant. The appeal of this structure is that Level  1  Participants (e.g. Participant  360 ) earn Credits when their Level  2  Participants (e.g. Participants  400 ,  410 ) engage in Qualified Activities. The desire to engage or not to engage in Qualified Activities, whether through the Host/Hub  120  or otherwise (e.g. directly through Partners  210 ), is entirely in the Participant&#39;s discretion and control. The Host/Hub  120  and its Partners  210  set prices in their own discretion and control, effectively creating the most free and efficient of marketplaces. In alternative embodiment of the present invention, credits can accrete downwards, i.e., a portion of the credits achieved by a higher level Participant are shared with lower level Participants.  
         [0029]    [0029]FIG. 3 illustrates a specific example of the multilevel structure of the present invention. An introduction results when a Level  1  Participant  360 , generates an e-mail or other introduction to an unknown visitor  400 - 430 . In a specific embodiment, introduction occurs when the Level  1  Participant  360  provides the Host/Hub  120  with the E-mail address of the unknown visitors  400 - 430 . The Host/Hub  120  then sends an e-mail inviting the unknown visitors  400 - 430  to visit the Host/Hub  120 . The invitation may include information regarding the reason for the invitation, a description of the program and its terms, the e-mail address of the Level  1  Participant  360  who made the Introduction, and the means to return to the Host/Hub  120  to register to become a Participant (e.g. a link in the E-mail to the Host/Hub  120  web site). If the unknown visitor  400 - 430  responds to the Level  1  Participant&#39;s  360  introduction or the invitation, registers and establishes an Account  340  with the Host/Hub  120  for the first time, the Level  1  Participant  360  has linkage to the thus-created Level  2  Participants  400 ,  410 . If the visitor does not register with the Host/Hub  120 , no linkage is created, and the unknown visitor  420 ,  430  remains an unregistered visitor.  
         [0030]    Introductions may be made repeatedly by the Level  1  Participant  360 . Should this process ultimately result in a linkage, Host/Hub  120  benefits earned by the Level  2  Participants  400 ,  410  (e.g., credits) partially accrete to the Account  340  of the Level  1  Participant  360 , effectively resulting in a pool of Participants that benefits, along with the Host/Hub  120  and its Partners  210 , from economies of scale and size.  
         [0031]    At the next level, the linkage process begins again as the Level  2  Participants  400 ,  410  make introductions to other unknown visitors, which may result in the unknown visitors registering with the Host/Hub  120 . As seen in FIG. 3, Level  2  Participant  410  caused introductions to be sent to unknown visitors  500 - 530 . Three of the visitors  500 ,  510  or  520  registered with the Host/Hub  120  thus creating a linkage and becoming Level  3  Participants (with respect to the Level  1  Participant  360 ). The Level  2  Participant  410  making such introductions essentially becomes a Level  1  participant with respect to the Participants  500 ,  510  or  520 . As the Level  3  Participants  500 ,  510  or  520  earn credits, a portion of the those credits accrete to the Account  340  of the Level  2  Participant  410  and a portion of those credits accrete to the Level  1  Participant  360 . In one embodiment of the present invention, there is a limit as to how many levels credits will accrete, e.g., two levels.  
         [0032]    An example of point sharing according to the present invention is illustrated in FIG. 4. It is assumed for illustration in this example that the accretion is set at a ten percent level (i.e., ten percent of the credits earned by a Participant accrete to the next higher level Participant). As shown in this Figure, the Level  3  Participant  510  has earned 100 credits by performing a Qualified Activity (e.g., making a purchase from a Partner  210 ). Ten percent of those credits, or 10 credits are deducted from the Account  511  of Participant  510  and credited to the Account  411  of the Level  2  Participant  410 . Continuing up the multilevel structure, ten percent of the credits credited to Participant  410 , (i.e., one point) is credited to the Account  361  of the Level  1  Participant  360 . Thus for the 100 credits earned, the Level  3  Participant  510  receives 90 credits, the Level  2  Participant  410  receives 9 credits and the Level  1  Participant  360  receives 1 point.  
         [0033]    The credits available for distribution are subject to the Participants&#39; sharing arrangement agreed to when the Participants join the system. The sharing arrangement allocates the sharing of available Credits among the Participants based upon which specific Participant is generating the credits and the number of levels linked to the credits generated. In the scenario where a Level  1  Participant (e.g.,  360 ,  370  in FIG. 3) generates the credits and has no higher Participant levels tied to self-generated credits, the Level  1  Participant  360 ,  370  may receive all of the 100 Credits from his or her own Qualified Activities. In the second scenario, where a Level  2  Participant  400 ,  410  or a Level  3  Participant  500 ,  510  or  520  is the Participant conducting the Qualified Activity generating the credits, and the sharing arrangement details how the credits are shared with the levels above the generating Participant.  
         [0034]    In addition to the above described benefits to the Participants, the benefit to the Host/Hub  120  and its Partners  210  is the rapid, viral scaling of the number and activity of Participants, and of the introductions to unknown visitors who may become Participants. When the Participants undertake Qualified Activities to build credits in their Accounts  340 , the Host/Hub  120  and its Partners  210  generate increased revenue from the Qualified Activities such as increased sales and marketing volume. The Participants benefit by the additional buying, selling and marketing power generated by their cumulative Qualified Activities.  
         [0035]    To redeem credits, a Participant may conduct transactions with the Host/Hub  120  or its Partners  210 . Alternatively, the Participant can request a direct redemption of credits for cash in the form of a check or credit (electronic) to another account of the Participant (e.g. bank, credit card or store account). The Host/Hub  120  can offer incentives, including the potential to earn additional credits, as a means to encourage Participants to spend credits within the system (e.g., at the Host/Hub  120  or one of its Partners  210 ).  
         [0036]    Upon a request to redeem credits in connection with a Host/Hub  120  or Partner  210  transaction (e.g. a purchase), the Host/Hub  120  confirms the balance of credits in the Participant&#39;s Account  340 . If the point balance is sufficient, the Host/Hub  120  makes a transfer payment based on the point conversion rate as a credit to the transaction. The credits so utilized are debited from the Account  340 , thus completing the Host/Hub&#39;s  120  contribution to the transaction.  
         [0037]    In connection with transactions through non-Hub/Host  120  venues, the Host/Hub  120  may charge a service fee in connection with certain transaction (e.g., crediting third party credit and debit card accounts, issuing draft checks, making micro-payments or other such redemption activities). The Host/Hub  120  may also generate revenue from financial processes and practices, including service fees and interest earned on Account balances.  
         [0038]    The Host/Hub  120  can accommodate payments for low cost “Micro-payments” by processing the payments through Accounts  340 . Micro-payments can be made to Partners  210  through established settlement methods with the Partner or with other third parties via draft check, electronic transfer or any other legal form of currency. An example of such a Micro-payment might be for electronically viewing pages of a document for which the charge is two cents per page viewed.  
         [0039]    [0039]FIG. 5 illustrates an embodiment of the present invention that enables Micro-payment processing as well as redemption of credits against purchases made at Partner sites. For Micro-payments as well as regular payments using credits, the Participant is provided with an electronic Wallet  600 . In a preferred embodiment, the Wallet  600  provides a link to the Participant&#39;s Account  340  at the Host/Hub  120  by which the Partner  210  can verify the balance in the Account  340 . Alternatively, the Wallet  600  can be digitally impressed with a point value from which Partners  210  can deduct value. The point value impressed on the Wallet  600  can only be increased by the Host/Hub  120 .  
         [0040]    In step  610  in FIG. 5, Participant  200  performs a Qualified Activity by engaging in an activity that requires a Micro-payment to Partner  210 . As part of completing the transaction, in step  620 , Partner  210  reads the balance of the Participant&#39;s Account  340  in order to verify that the Account  340  contains sufficient credits to complete the transaction. If there are sufficient credits, the Partner  210  directs the Host/Hub  120  in step  630  to transfer the amount of the payment (e.g., a Micro-payment or a redemption of credits for a purchase) from the Participant&#39;s Account  340  to the Partner&#39;s Account  650  held at the Host/Hub  120 . In step  640 , the Host/Hub  120  performs the transfer. At the end of the day, week, month or other period agreed upon with the Partner  210 , the Host/Hub  120  performs a settlement of the Partner&#39;s Account  650  with respect to other revenues and transactions occurring between the Host/Hub  120  and Partner  210 .  
         [0041]    In the alternative wallet embodiment, the Partner  210  reads the balance of credits digitally impressed into the Participant&#39;s Wallet  600 . If there are sufficient credits on the Wallet  600 , the Partner  210  deducts the credits associated with the payment from the Wallet  600 . This step results in the Wallet  600  issuing a certificate representing the deduction. In step  630 , the Partner transfers the certificate representing the deduction to the Host/Hub  120  in response to which the Host/Hub  120  credits the Partner&#39;s Account  650  with the amount of the payment (credits). Again, settlement between the Partner  210  and the Host/Hub  120  occurs on an agreed upon schedule.  
         [0042]    If the Participant&#39;s Wallet  600  is near depletion, or has an insufficient balance of credits, the Participant  360  is prompted by a message with an electronic tag and link to return to the Host/Hub  120  to replenish the Wallet  600 . The message informs Participant  360  of its remaining available balance of credits in its Wallet  600  and advises Participant  360  to replenish its Wallet  600 . If Participant  360  does not replenish and fully depletes the Wallet  600 , the Participant  360  is returned automatically to the Host/Hub  120  with an electronic tag which includes a link back to the point of exit from Partner  210 . Upon Participant&#39;s  360  arrival at the Host/Hub  120 , the electronic tag prompts the Host/Hub  120  to generate a message (“Return/Exit Message”) with a choice to return to his prior activity at Partner  210  (a routing to replenish and return to Partner  210  at the site of departure), or exit and remove the electronic tag.  
         [0043]    The Return/Exit Message asks Participant  360  to take an action, such as replenishing his Wallet  600 . If the Participant  360  chooses this option, the Participant  360  can transfer credits from its Account  340  to its Wallet  600 . After the replenishment, the Host/Hub  120  uses the electronic tag to route Participant  360  back to Partner  210  at the spot at which the Participant  360  left. Alternatively, Participant  360  can choose an exit option on the Return/Exit Message which abandons the electronic tag.  
         [0044]    Although the present invention has been described in relation to particular embodiments thereof, many other variations and other uses will be apparent to those skilled in the art. It is preferred, therefore, that the present invention be limited not by the specific disclosure herein, but only by the gist and scope of the disclosure.