Abstract:
A payment system includes transaction handler that processes transactions, each characterized by a consumer and a merchant engaging in a sales transaction involving a prepaid program having prepaid cards, such as a gift card, that an issuer provides to consumers. A method for establishing a prepaid program includes the issuer remotely accessing a computer system at the transaction handler. The computer system presenting the issuer with a program information form on which the issuer enters requested data. As each data item is entered, the computer system checks for errors, which are identified to and corrected by the issuer in real time. The issuer submits the data as a request to create a prepaid program, which the transaction handler reviews and responds by approving or rejecting creation of the prepaid program. The transaction handler electronically communicates approval or rejection of the prepaid program to the issuer.

Description:
[0001]    This application claims benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/976,215, titled Automated Submission of Prepaid Programs, filed on Sep. 28, 2007. 
     
    
     FIELD 
       [0002]    The present invention relates to prepaid payment programs, such as debit accounts and gift payment cards, that are sponsored for a program issuer by a transaction handler; and in particular to automated submission of information by the program issuer to the transaction handler for creating a new prepaid payment program. 
       BACKGROUND 
       [0003]    Payment transaction processing systems have been created to enable consumers to pay for products and services at merchants without exchanging money at the time of the purchase. An exemplary transaction processing system  100 , depicted in  FIG. 1 , includes an issuer  104  of a payment account for use by a consumer  102 ; a transaction handler  106 , such as a credit card company; an acquirer  108 ; and a merchant  110 . Payment cards are issued to individual people and to business entities, thus the consumer  102  may be a person to whom the payment card was issued or may be a person having access to the card funds, such as an employee of a business entity to which the payment card was issued. When a payment card is issued, the issuer  104  often provides a portable payment device  112  for use by the consumer  102 . Examples of portable payment devices include a credit or debit card, a gift card, a smartcard, a smart media, a payroll card, a health care card, a wrist band, a machine readable medium containing account information, a keychain device such as the SPEEDPASS® commercially available from ExxonMobil Corporation or a supermarket discount card, a cellular phone, personal digital assistant, a pager, a security card, a computer, an access card, a wireless terminal, a contactless sticker or a transponder. The portable payment device  112  may have a volatile or non-volatile memory to store information such as the card number or an cardholder&#39;s name. 
         [0004]    A typical transaction begins with the consumer  102  presenting an card that has a number, such as through the use of a computer terminal or a portable payment device  112 , to the merchant  110  to pay for the purchase of a product or service. The merchant  110  may utilize a Point of Service (POS) terminal  114  to obtain a payment card number from the portable payment device  112 . The portable payment device  112  may interface with the POS terminal using a mechanism including any suitable electrical, magnetic, or optical interfacing system. The POS terminal  114  is in operative communication with the transaction processing system  100  and can communicate with the acquirer  108 , the transaction handler  106 , or the issuer  104 . For a usual purchase transaction, the POS terminal sends a transaction authorization request to the issuer  104  of the portable payment device  112 . Alternatively, or in combination, the portable payment device  112  may communicate with the issuer  104 , the transaction handler  106 , or the acquirer  108 . 
         [0005]    The issuer  104  responds by authorizing or denying the transaction authorization request using the transaction handler  106 . Authorization includes the issuer  104 , or the transaction handler  106  on behalf of the issuer  104 , authorizing the purchase transaction in compliance with the issuer&#39;s  104  instructions, such as through the use of business rules. A message indicating authorization or denial of the transaction authorization request is sent back through the transaction handler  106  to the merchant  110 . The transaction handler  106  may maintain a log or history of authorized transactions. Once approved, the merchant  110  records the authorization and delivers the product or service to the consumer  102 . 
         [0006]    The merchant  110  may, at discrete periods, such as the end of the day, submit a list of authorized transactions to the acquirer  108  or other components of the transaction processing system  100 . The transaction handler  106  may compare the submitted authorized transaction list with its own log of authorized transactions. If a match is found, the transaction handler  106  may route authorization transaction amount requests from the corresponding acquirer  108  to the corresponding issuer  104  involved in each transaction. Once the acquirer  108  receives the payment of the authorized transaction amount from the issuer  104 , it can forward the payment to the merchant  110  less any transaction costs, such as fees. If the transaction involves a debit or prepaid card, the acquirer  108  may choose not to wait for the initial payment prior to paying the merchant  110 . 
         [0007]    There may be intermittent steps in the foregoing process, some of which occur simultaneously. For example, the acquirer  108  can initiate the clearing and settling process, which can result in payment to the acquirer  108  for the amount of the transaction. The acquirer  108  may request from the transaction handler  106  that the transaction be cleared and settled. Clearing includes the exchange of financial information between the issuer  104  and the acquirer  108 , and settlement includes the exchange of funds. The transaction handler  106  can provide services in connection with settlement of the transaction. The settlement of a transaction involves an issuer  104  withdrawing an amount of a transaction settlement from a clearinghouse, such as a clearing bank, for deposit into a settlement house, such as a settlement bank. The corresponding acquirer  108  withdraws the amount of the transaction settlement from the settlement bank. Typically, the settlement bank is chosen by the transaction handler  106 , and the clearing bank is chosen by the acquirer  108 . Thus, a typical transaction involves various entities to request, authorize, and fulfill the processing of the transaction for clearing and settlement. 
         [0008]    Some transactions involve a prepaid card in which a given amount of money has been deposited in a card account for use by a consumer. One type of a prepaid program is an employee benefits card, examples of which are a health savings account that is limited to paying for health care related expenses or in which an employer deposits money for use by an employee to pay for specified products and services, such as mass transit fares. There are many types of prepaid cards (gift, travel, youth, general purpose, etc.) that are purchased by a consumer some are might have a pre-defined monetary value like in the case of gift cards ($25, 50, 100) and other will allow the consumer to load a variable amount that can be used to buy products and services, often from any visa merchant. 
         [0009]    Unlike cards for a generic credit or debit card, any card accounts related to a prepaid program must first be approved by the transaction handler, which as noted above may be a conventional credit card company, such as Visa, Inc. Heretofore, the establishment of a prepaid program involves an issuer or an agent acting on behalf of an issuer preparing a written application for a new prepaid program. The application required that various specified items of information be provided by the preparer in order to define the type of program and its parameters. In certain programs, a custom portable payment device was issued that included a logo and other information for the particular program or the sponsor of that program. The completed written form and any artwork for the customized portable payment device then submitted electronically to the transaction handler for programs managed by that company. Upon receipt, the submitted materials are routed via electronic means to the proper departments that process the prepaid program applications. 
         [0010]    Previously, an agent of an issuer could prepare and submit an application for a prepaid program in the name of the issuer. In many instances, however, the agent was not fully aware of operational guidelines and other restrictions promulgated by the transaction handler for particular types of prepaid programs. In addition, the agent was not always aware of other requirements of the associated issuer. As a consequence, an agent could create a prepaid program on behalf of an issuer even though the nature of the prepaid program conflicted with that issuer&#39;s guidelines and restrictions. This presents a need for greater control of the application process for prepaid programs to ensure conformity with the requirements, restrictions, and guidelines. 
         [0011]    Upon receiving an application for a prepaid program, the transaction handler reviewed the contents of the application form. If errors or incomplete information were found on the form, the application was returned to the originator for correction. Therefore, at best, the process for creating a new prepaid program could take weeks depending upon the delivery time for each exchange of the written information and the amount of time necessary to ultimately get a properly completed application. 
         [0012]    Therefore, it is desirable to improve the process for approving prepaid programs to reduce the amount of time, eliminate many of the common errors in the application, and enable the transaction handler to track the progress of each application through the review process. 
       SUMMARY 
       [0013]    A transaction processing system enables a transaction handler to process business transactions, each characterized by a consumer and a merchant engaging in a sales transaction upon an account that was provided to the consumer by an issuer. Some of the sales transactions involve prepaid cards, such as those like a gift card, for example. The prepaid cards are part of a prepaid program, various types of which have different requirements that have been imposed by law, the issuer, or the transaction handler. Therefore, it is important when a prepaid program is to be created/approved that all the necessary information be provided by the requesting issuer and that the proposed prepaid program complies with the associated requirements. 
         [0014]    A method for establishing a prepaid program, having at least one card provided by the issuer, involves the issuer remotely accessing a computer system at the transaction handler. For example, the transaction handler may have an Internet website for this purpose. The computer system presents a program information form to the issuer, which responds by providing data requested on the program information form. In a preferred embodiment, the computer system checks the correctness of the data entered on the form and informs the issuer of any errors. The issuer then can access the previously submitted program information form on-line to correct the erroneous data. 
         [0015]    When the issuer has completed the program information form, it is submitted as a request to create a prepaid program. In addition, collateral materials related to a portable payment device to be used and instructional materials for prepaid program may be submitted at the same time for review by the transaction handler. The transaction handler reviews the data and other materials that were submitted and approves or rejects creation of the prepaid program. The transaction handler then electronically communicates approval or rejection of the prepaid program to the issuer. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0016]    Implementations of the invention will become more apparent from the detailed description set forth below when taken in conjunction with the drawings, in which like elements bear like reference numerals. 
           [0017]      FIG. 1  is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary transaction processing system; 
           [0018]      FIG. 2  is a flowchart depicting the on-line process for submitting and reviewing information to create a new prepaid program; 
           [0019]      FIG. 3  illustrates an exemplary main menu from which a user accesses different components of the information submission procedure; 
           [0020]      FIG. 4  portrays a computer screen that displays a portion of a program information form by which a user submits information for creating a prepaid program; and 
           [0021]      FIG. 5  portrays a computer screen that displays another portion of the program information form. 
       
    
    
     DESCRIPTION 
       [0022]    The present implementations facilitate an automated submission of information for creating a prepaid program from the issuer  104  to the transaction handler  106  through a secure on-line platform. A prepaid program, as used herein, is a program within the transaction processing system  100  which is centered around an card account having a monetary deposit with the issuer  104  that provided the card. Examples of the prepaid cards include: a stored value card, a gift card, a campus/student disbursement program, a health savings account card, an employee health/wellness card, a flexible spending account card, and a transit/parking employee benefit card. 
         [0023]    In order to create a new prepaid program, an issuer  104  accesses the secure on-line platform operated by the transaction handler  106 , and submits information defining the prepaid program, as well as optional collateral materials related to a portable payment device and instructional materials for that program. The transaction handler  106  reviews that submission and authorizes or denies the new prepaid program. That decision is communicated to the originating issuer. 
         [0024]    With reference to  FIGS. 1 and 2 , the process  200  by which a person at the issuer  104  submits information to the transaction handler  106  for creating a new prepaid program commences at step  201  by the issuer accessing a portal  115  of a computer system  116  at the transaction handler  106 . In one implementation, the portal includes a website of the transaction handler on the Internet. From the home page of that website, the issuer  104  is able to select the prepaid program function and be connected to that function running on the computer system  116 . That access provides a web-enabled graphical user interface (GUI) which is displayed on a personal computer  120  at the issuer  104  using commercially available web browser software. Thus the issuer is not required to have any special software to interface on-line with the prepaid program function at the transaction handler  106 . Alternatively, access to the computer system  116  can be provided by a dial-up telephone connection or other point-to-point communication link. 
         [0025]    Regardless of the communication link that is used, once the issuer  104  accesses the computer system  116  at the transaction handler  106 , the issuer is asked to enter a user identification and a password, which thereby restricts access to the computer system to only authorized entities. Other types of security measures for restricting access also may be utilized. The transaction handler  106  then compares the user identification and password to sets of such identifiers and passwords stored in a database of authorized entities. If the newly submitted user identifier and password match a set for an authorized entity, the issuer  104  is granted access to the computer system  116  and specifically to the prepaid program function at step  201 . 
         [0026]    Upon successfully accessing the prepaid program function, the process advances to step  202  at which a main menu is sent to the issuer, where it is displayed on a monitor of the personal computer  120 .  FIG. 3  depicts a basic example of the main menu which presents three options to the issuer. Those options are to create a new submission, access a previously stored information form or to check the status of a previous submission. The user places a check mark in the box next to the desired item and then clicks the NEXT button to advance to the section of the on-line process for the selected item. 
         [0027]    Assume that the issuer  104  desires to create a new submission, the process advances to step  204  where the transaction handler  106  assigns a unique tracking number to this submission. The tracking number enables the submission to be identified and subsequently accessed by entities within the transaction handler  106 . 
         [0028]    Then at step  207 , a program information form is displayed on the issuer&#39;s computer monitor. The program information form has a number of blanks that are to be filled in by the issuer at step  208  with information required to create a new prepaid program. An exemplary first page of that program information form (PIF) is illustrated in  FIG. 4 . On that page, the issuer  104  is asked for its name or the name of the transaction processing system member that is co-sponsoring the proposed prepaid program. Areas are also provided for entering the address of that entity. After entering an item of information on the program information form, the issuer utilizes the mouse to click on another data entry field to enter the next item of data. If the issuer and another member of the payment system are sponsoring the program, then the name and address of that sponsored member is entered on this page of the form. The identity of the person at the issuer submitting this form and that individual&#39;s email address also are entered in order that communications related to the submission can be sent to that submitter. Once the first page of the program information form has been completed, the issuer clicks on the NEXT button to advance to the second page of that form which is shown in  FIG. 5 . 
         [0029]    On this next page, the issuer enters information defining the type of prepaid program being created and certain parameters associated with that program. A payment account number within the transaction processing system comprises a business identification number (e.g. 6 digits) that identifies the particular issuer and additional digits (e.g. 10 digits) that identify a consumer account at that issuer. The first item on page 2 requests a business identification number (BIN) for the issuer  104 . The next section on the program information form asks for the beginning consumer account number and an ending consumer account number, thereby defining the range of payment account numbers that can be issued for this prepaid program. 
         [0030]    In the central part of page 2, the issuer is requested to identify the type of portable payment device that will be issued to users of this account. The exemplary form provides a selection of four different types of cards: a conventional Visa® branded card; a card with a private label for the particular issuer or program sponsor, such as a specific employer for a benefits card for its employees; a virtual card, meaning that an actual card is not issued but the number may be used for e-commerce transactions; or a card for the PLUS® automatic teller machine network. It should be understood that not only can other types of cards be provided on the selection list, but also other types of portable payment devices mentioned previously. 
         [0031]    At the bottom of the second page, the issuer  104  is asked to identify the type of prepaid program from among those that are supported by the transaction handler  106 . The types of programs on the exemplary program information form in  FIG. 5  include a BUXX program for teenagers to make purchases using a debit account, a consumer gift card, and a program for campus/student related disbursements by which college students can purchase items at food establishments, a bookstore, and other merchants on a college campus. Other programs listed are a conventional health savings account which under the laws of the United States allow an individual to make certain purchases of health related products and services with pre-income tax money, an incentive health/wellness account by which an employer encourages its employees to participate in certain healthy activities, and finally a transit/parking employee benefit account in which an employer deposits money to be used for transportation related expenses of its employees. Other types of prepaid programs that could be listed include a debit account, a stored value card, and a flexible spending account. Once all the appropriate information and selections on page 2 of the program information form have been made, the issuer then clicks on the NEXT button to advance to another page of the program information form. Additional pages than those illustrated can be provided for the entry of other data required by either the issuer  104  or the transaction handler  106  in order to establish a prepaid program. The information on the subsequent pages may vary depending upon selections made previously by the issuer, for example, additional information specifically related to the requirements for a campus/student disbursement cards may be different than that required for a health savings account. 
         [0032]    If while filling out the program information form, the issuer  104  comes to a point at which the form must be completed at a later time, the issuer can stop the process by clicking on the EXIT button at the bottom of the form page displayed on the personal computer monitor. This action causes the process to branch from step  208  to step  212  at which the issuer is afforded the opportunity to save the partially completed form in a temporary storage section of the memory  118  of the computer system  116  at step  214 . This allows the issuer  104  to terminate the present access session and at a later point in time re-access the prepaid program function to complete filling out the program information form. Alternatively, the issuer can exit the process without saving the partially completed form. 
         [0033]    To complete a stored program information form, the issuer accesses the prepaid program function at step  201  via the Internet website, as described previously. At step  202 , however, the issuer now selects “Access a Stored Information Form” on the main menu in  FIG. 3 . This causes the process to branch the step  203  where the issuer enters the tracking number of that previously stored form submission. Alternatively, the transaction handler presents a list of previously uncompleted forms that the issuer stored on the computer system and the issuer then selects the desired one. The process then advances to step  207  where the stored form is displayed to the issuer and the data entry resumes. 
         [0034]    After completing the program information form, the issuer  104  clicks on a SUBMIT button on the last page of that form to file the document as a request for the transaction handler to create a new prepaid program. At that time, the process depicted in the flow chart of  FIG. 2  advances to step  209  at which the entries of the form are checked to determine whether they are correct. In doing so, the transaction handler applies specific rules related to the form completion that have been defined by either the transaction handler  106  or the issuer  104 . Certain of these rules are very obvious, for example, an entry in the field for the business identification number contains less than six digits or an alphabetic character, that entry is erroneous as it must contain six numerical digits. The data check also verifies that entry has been made in all of the required fields and that all the necessary item selections have been made. As each item is checked, if it is found to be incorrect, the program execution branches to step  210  where the process returns to the incorrect data item on the program information form in order that the issuer can enter a correct value. An incorrect value can be further indicated by a change in the type of cursor or highlighting the erroneous data field in a different color on the computer monitor. The program execution then waits at step  208  for the issuer to enter the correct data. Thus, obvious errors in the data entered on the program information form are corrected during the issuer&#39;s initial submission of the form. 
         [0035]    Alternatively the data in one field can be checked immediately when the issuer advances to another field. In that case, the data checking takes place while the issuer  104  is accessing the prepaid program function on the computer system. Thus the program information form is initially checked and many errors rectified before the form is actually filed for review by the transaction handler  106 . 
         [0036]    As a further alternative, the computer system  116  may check the data on the program information form off-line after the entire application has been submitted. An email then is sent to the submitter at the issuer  104  that identifies any errors requiring correction before the prepaid program application can be processed further. The issuer then responds by again accessing the computer system  116  and the prepaid program function via steps  201 - 203  to obtain the previously submitted program information form for correction. 
         [0037]    When a properly completed form has been found at step  209 , the process advances to step  216  at which the issuer is afforded the opportunity to attach collateral information to the submission. Such collateral materials can include artwork for a custom portable payment device (e.g. a debit card), screen shots and other information for a website of the issuer  104  regarding the prepaid program, and printed materials describing the prepaid program that are to be distributed to consumers  102 . For example, the collateral materials may include instructions about limitations on the use of a prepaid program account, such as a health savings account, the use of which is limited by law to certain types of medical products and services. Collateral materials can also include other items that the transaction handler  106  must approve prior to establishing the prepaid program, such as use of a trademark of the transaction handler. A conventional procedure is employed by which the issuer gathers the related documents from its computer network and uploads copies of those documents into the computer system  116  at the transaction handler  106  where the documents are associated with the previously completed program information form. 
         [0038]    At step  217 , the entries on the program information form and a list of attached collateral materials are displayed for final review by the issuer  104 . 
         [0039]    Next the completed program information form and the collateral information, if any, are formally submitted as an application for a new prepaid program at step  218 . The transaction handler  106  responds by saving the application in a data file on the computer system  116  designated to receive those submissions. Then at step  222 , the transaction handler  106  sends the issuer a screen display confirming that the new prepaid program application has been successfully received and listing the specific items that were submitted. In addition, the transaction handler  106  sends a separate confirmation email message to the submitter at the email address that was entered on page 1 of the program information form, shown in  FIG. 4 . 
         [0040]    The items submitted as the prepaid program application are sent to a special mailbox within the transaction handler  106  at step  224 . Depositing a submission in that mailbox automatically notifies personnel at the transaction handler that another application has been received for further processing. 
         [0041]    The new prepaid program application has two components, the program information form and the collateral materials, which may be reviewed by different departments within the transaction handler  106 . Thus at step  226 , the program information form is reviewed on-line via the computer system by the prepaid program administration to determine whether it is complete and complies with general program rules established by the transaction handler and any rules promulgated by the issuer that submitted the form. If the program information form complies with the respective rules for the requested type of prepaid program, the prepaid program administration establishes the prepaid program for the issuer. The prepaid program administration then files an approval indication at step  230  in the computer stored record for this application. In addition, the collateral information that was submitted with the application has to be approved by the program compliance management at step  228 . This operation determines whether the artwork for the portable program device is acceptable and whether the other materials to be used in conjunction with that program also are acceptable. For example, each time a health savings account is issued, the associated consumer must be presented with materials informing them of the procedures and restrictions for that account. Therefore, those instructional materials must be reviewed and approved by the transaction handler at step  228 . The on-line review of such collateral materials can occur simultaneously with the review of the program information form at step  228  or the collateral materials can be reviewed after the program information form has been found to be acceptable. After both the program information form and the collateral material have been approved or rejected at steps  226  and  228 , the issuer is informed of those determinations by an email sent to the submitter at step  230 . If everything is approved, the process for establishing a prepaid program is completed. 
         [0042]    The submission of the program information data via an online form as described above enables each item of data to be automatically transferred into the appropriate prepaid program files in the transaction handler&#39;s computer system  116 . In contrast, the previous method in which a written form was mailed or faxed to the transaction handler  106  required that the individual items of information be manually entered into the computer system at the transaction handler which could introduce errors into that data. Thus the current system eliminates several potential places where errors may occur. 
         [0043]    After filing an application for a prepaid program, the issuer  104  can access the computer system  116  of the transaction handler  106  to learn the status of that application. To do so at step  202  where the main menu in  FIG. 3  is being displayed, the issuer selects the final menu item, causing the process to branch to step  205  at which the issuer is requested to enter the tracking number of the respective application. Then the process advances to step  206  where the computer system  116  accesses the file for that application and specifically reads the contents of a field therein that indicates the status. That status field is updated at various points during the application review process. For example, initially the status field merely indicates that the program information form and other submitted materials have been received by the transaction handler  106 . At different steps during the approval process as specific submitted items are approved or rejected, indications of those determinations are provided by changing the contents of the status field accordingly. Thus at step  206 , the present contents of the status field are used to formulate an application status message which is transmitted back through the internet to the issuer  104 . 
         [0044]    The preferred embodiment of the present technique for establishing a prepaid program offers several advantages over the previous procedure. Included are limiting submission of a proposal for a prepaid program to only an issuer which has been assigned a user identifier and password to access the computer system at the transaction handler. The technique also detects many types of errors while the issuer is filling out the program information form online and allows the issuer to correct the errors before submitting the form for review. Because the application data are submitted electronically, it can be transferred directly into the data files for the prepaid program that is created thereby eliminating data conversion errors. The online technique also enables enhanced tracking of the submission for a new prepaid program. 
         [0045]    The steps of the process described in connection with the implementations disclosed herein may be embodied directly in hardware, in a software module executed by a processor, or in a combination of the two. The various steps or acts in the process may be performed in the order shown, or may be performed in another order. Additionally, one or more process steps may be omitted or one or more steps may be added to the process. 
         [0046]    The present invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from its spirit or essential characteristics. The described embodiments are to be considered in all respects only as illustrative and not restrictive. The scope of the invention is, therefore, indicated by the appended claims rather than by the foregoing description. All changes which come within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims are to be embraced within their scope.