Patent Publication Number: US-11037157-B1

Title: Methods, systems, and computer program products to enable virtual card present status for a shopper based on purchase history

Description:
BACKGROUND 
     The present disclosure relates to retailing methods, systems, and computer program products involving the sale of goods and/or services to a shopper and, more particularly, to methods, systems, and computer program products for processing payment when goods and/or services are purchased by a shopper. 
     Retailers with brick and mortar stores typically have checkout lanes or checkout locations where shoppers present their items or identify one or more services that they wish to purchase. Shoppers typically pay for their purchases using cash, gift card, debit card, credit card, or charge card, which may be issued through the retailer, bank, or other type of financial institution. With the proliferation of intelligent mobile devices, shoppers may use a digital wallet to pay for purchases both on-line and in a retail store environment. A digital wallet refers to an electronic device that can communicate payment information to the merchant. The payment information may include identification information for checking accounts, debit card accounts, credit card accounts, pre-paid gift cards, and the like. In addition to including payment information, a digital wallet may also include information that can be used to authenticate a user&#39;s identity. For example, a digital wallet may include such information as a shopper&#39;s driver&#39;s license, insurance information, store loyalty card(s), store/bank reward(s) accounts, and the like. A shopper&#39;s identification credentials along with a desired payment account can be transferred to a merchant using a bar code scanner, Near Field Communication (NFC), Short Message Service (SMS), Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, or other suitable technology. A digital wallet may include security software to encrypt the financial information and personal identity information used during a transaction. Application developers have developed digital wallet applications that run on various types of smartphone platforms; such as the iOS and Android platforms. 
     SUMMARY 
     In some embodiments of the inventive subject matter, a method comprises receiving credentials from a shopper, the credentials being associated with a purchase from a merchant, evaluating a history of purchases by the shopper from the merchant, determining that the shopper is entitled to virtual card present status from a financial institution based on evaluating the history of purchases, and sending a payment authorization request message for the purchase to the financial institution that comprises an indication that the shopper is entitled to virtual card present status. 
     In other embodiments, the credentials comprise a loyalty program account identification. 
     In still other embodiments, evaluating the history of purchases comprises determining how long the shopper has participated in a loyalty program with the merchant. 
     In still other embodiments, evaluating the history of purchases comprises determining monetary transaction amounts for prior purchases. 
     In still other embodiments, evaluating the history of purchases comprises determining whether the shopper has returned items previously purchased. 
     In still other embodiments, evaluating the history of purchases comprises determining the times of day prior purchases were made. 
     In still other embodiments, evaluating the history of purchases comprises determining whether a home address is available for the shopper. 
     In still other embodiments, evaluating the history of purchases comprises evaluating a history of purchases by the shopper from a plurality of merchants. 
     In further embodiments of the inventive subject matter, a method comprises receiving credentials from a shopper, the credentials being associated with a purchase from a first merchant, evaluating a history of purchases by the shopper from a plurality of merchants, the plurality of merchants comprising the first merchant, and generating a financial risk score for the shopper based on evaluating the history of purchases by the shopper and the purchase from the first merchant. 
     Other methods, systems, articles of manufacture, and/or computer program products according to embodiments of the inventive subject matter will be or become apparent to one with skill in the art upon review of the following drawings and detailed description. It is intended that all such additional systems, methods, articles of manufacture, and/or computer program products be included within this description, be within the scope of the present inventive subject matter, and be protected by the accompanying claims Moreover, it is intended that all embodiments disclosed herein can be implemented separately or combined in any way and/or combination. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       Other features of exemplary embodiments will be more readily understood from the following detailed description of specific embodiments thereof when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which: 
         FIG. 1  is a block diagram that illustrates a cloud computing paradigm; 
         FIG. 2  is a block diagram that illustrates a virtualized computing environment; 
         FIG. 3  is a block diagram that illustrates a cloud computing environment; 
         FIG. 4  is a block diagram that illustrates a system for managing payments in financial transactions according to some embodiments of the inventive subject matter; 
         FIG. 5  is a block diagram that illustrates a data processing system that may be used in embodiments of the digital promotions network of  FIG. 4  in accordance with some embodiments of the inventive subject matter; 
         FIG. 6  is a block diagram that illustrates a software/hardware architecture for a digital promotions network server in accordance with some embodiments of the inventive subject matter; 
         FIG. 7  is a block diagram that illustrates a data processing system that may be used in embodiments of the payments system of  FIG. 4  in accordance with some embodiments of the inventive subject matter; 
         FIG. 8  is a block diagram that illustrates a software/hardware architecture for a payments systems server in accordance with some embodiments of the inventive subject matter; and 
         FIG. 9  is a flowchart that illustrates operations to enable virtual card present status for a shopper based on purchase history according to some embodiments of the inventive subject matter; and 
         FIGS. 10-11  are flowcharts that illustrate operations for generating a risk score for a shopper based on purchase history according to some embodiments of the inventive subject matter. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     As will be appreciated by one skilled in the art, aspects of the present disclosure may be illustrated and described herein in any of a number of patentable classes or contexts including any new and useful process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter, or any new and useful improvement thereof. Accordingly, aspects of the present disclosure may be implemented entirely hardware, entirely software (including firmware, resident software, micro-code, etc.) or combining software and hardware implementation that may all generally be referred to herein as a “circuit,” “module,” “component,” or “system.” Furthermore, aspects of the present disclosure may take the form of a computer program product comprising one or more computer readable media having computer readable program code embodied thereon. 
     Any combination of one or more computer readable media may be used. The computer readable media may be a computer readable signal medium or a computer readable storage medium. A computer readable storage medium may be, for example, but not limited to, an electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, or semiconductor system, apparatus, or device, or any suitable combination of the foregoing. More specific examples (a non-exhaustive list) of the computer readable storage medium would include the following: a portable computer diskette, a hard disk, a random access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or Flash memory), an appropriate optical fiber with a repeater, a portable compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), an optical storage device, a magnetic storage device, or any suitable combination of the foregoing. In the context of this document, a computer readable storage medium may be any tangible medium that can contain, or store a program for use by or in connection with an instruction execution system, apparatus, or device. 
     A computer readable signal medium may include a propagated data signal with computer readable program code embodied therein, for example, in baseband or as part of a carrier wave. Such a propagated signal may take any of a variety of forms, including, but not limited to, electro-magnetic, optical, or any suitable combination thereof. A computer readable signal medium may be any computer readable medium that is not a computer readable storage medium and that can communicate, propagate, or transport a program for use by or in connection with an instruction execution system, apparatus, or device. Program code embodied on a computer readable signal medium may be transmitted using any appropriate medium, including but not limited to wireless, wireline, optical fiber cable, RF, etc., or any suitable combination of the foregoing. 
     Computer program code for carrying out operations for aspects of the present disclosure may be written in any combination of one or more programming languages, including an object oriented programming language such as Java, Scala, Smalltalk, Eiffel, JADE, Emerald, C++, C#, VB.NET, Python or the like, conventional procedural programming languages, such as the “C” programming language, Visual Basic, Fortran 2003, Perl, COBOL 2002, PHP, ABAP, dynamic programming languages such as Python, Ruby and Groovy, or other programming languages. The program code may execute entirely on the user&#39;s computer, partly on the user&#39;s computer, as a stand-alone software package, partly on the user&#39;s computer and partly on a remote computer or entirely on the remote computer or server. In the latter scenario, the remote computer may be connected to the user&#39;s computer through any type of network, including a local area network (LAN) or a wide area network (WAN), or the connection may be made to an external computer (for example, through the Internet using an Internet Service Provider) or in a cloud computing environment or offered as a service such as a Software as a Service (SaaS). 
     Aspects of the present disclosure are described herein with reference to flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams of methods, apparatus (systems), and computer program products according to embodiments of the disclosure. It will be understood that each block of the flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams, and combinations of blocks in the flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams, can be implemented by computer program instructions. These computer program instructions may be provided to a processor of a general purpose computer, special purpose computer, or other programmable data processing apparatus to produce a machine, such that the instructions, which execute via the processor of the computer or other programmable instruction execution apparatus, create a mechanism for implementing the functions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram block or blocks. 
     These computer program instructions may also be stored in a computer readable medium that when executed can direct a computer, other programmable data processing apparatus, or other devices to function in a particular manner, such that the instructions when stored in the computer readable medium produce an article of manufacture including instructions which when executed, cause a computer to implement the function/act specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram block or blocks. The computer program instructions may also be loaded onto a computer, other programmable instruction execution apparatus, or other devices to cause a series of operational steps to be performed on the computer, other programmable apparatuses or other devices to produce a computer implemented process such that the instructions which execute on the computer or other programmable apparatus provide processes for implementing the functions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram block or blocks. 
     Embodiments of the inventive subject matter are described herein with respect to computing resources being provided by a computing resource provider. As used herein, a computing resource may include, but is not limited to, a virtual machine, a computer processor, a data storage element, such as a memory, a database, a communication medium, a switch, a router, a data center, a host processor/system, a cluster, an application, a hypervisor, a host operating system, a guest operating system, and the like. It will be further understood that a computing resource may include portions of the aforementioned elements, for example. In this regard, a computing resource may comprise a time slice of a virtual machine or processor, a particular bandwidth of a communication medium, a portion of a memory, and/or a portion of a database. 
     As used herein, the term “mobile device” may include a satellite or cellular radiotelephone with or without a multi-line display; a Personal Communications System (PCS) terminal that may combine a cellular radiotelephone with data processing, facsimile and data communications capabilities; a PDA that can include a radiotelephone, pager, Internet/intranet access, Web browser, organizer, calendar and/or a global positioning system (GPS) receiver; and a conventional laptop and/or palmtop receiver or other appliance that includes a radiotelephone transceiver. A mobile device may also include a frequency modulated (FM), amplitude modulated (AM), and/or satellite radio receiver for receiving radio transmissions. Mobile devices may also be referred to as “pervasive computing” devices. 
     Some embodiments are described herein in the context of providing computing or data processing services via the cloud. Cloud computing is a computing paradigm where shared resources, such as processor(s), software, and information, are provided to computers and other devices on demand typically over a network, such as the Internet. In a cloud computing environment, details of the computing infrastructure, e.g., processing power, data storage, bandwidth, and/or other resources are abstracted from the user. The user does not need to have any expertise in or control over such computing infrastructure resources. Cloud computing typically involves the provision of dynamically scalable and/or virtualized resources over the Internet. A user may access and use such resources through the use of a Web browser. A typical cloud computing provider may provide an online application that can be accessed over the Internet using a browser. The cloud computing provider, however, maintains the software for the application and some or all of the data associated with the application on servers in the cloud, i.e., servers that are maintained by the cloud computing provider rather than the users of the application. 
     As used herein, the terms “promotion” and “offer” mean any type of instrument used to add value or an incentive to consumers, wholesalers, retailers, or other type of customer or shopper to stimulate the sale of a product or service. A promotion or offer may include, but is not limited to, one or more of a coupon, a rebate, a discount, a reward, a price reduction, points (e.g., credits, miles, etc.) in a rewards or loyalty program, a buy x get y free program, and a sample. 
     As used herein, “data” means raw, unorganized facts that need to be processed. Data can be something simple and seemingly random and useless until it is organized. When data is processed, organized, structured, or presented in a given context so as to make it useful it is called “information.” 
       FIG. 1  illustrates a conventional cloud service model that includes Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS), Platform as a Service (PaaS), and Software as a Service (SaaS). Infrastructure as a Service, delivers computer infrastructure—typically a platform virtualization environment—as a service. Rather than purchasing servers, software, data-center space or network equipment, clients instead buy those resources as a fully outsourced service. Suppliers typically bill such services on a utility computing basis and the amount of resources consumed. Platform as a Service delivers a computing platform as a service. It provides an environment for the deployment of applications without the need for a client to buy and manage the underlying hardware and software layers. Software as a Service delivers software services over the Internet, which reduces or eliminates the need for the client to install and run an application on its own computers, which may simplify maintenance and support. 
     Virtualized computing environments may be used to provide computing resources to end users. In a cloud computing environment, the physical hardware configuration is hidden from the end user. Cloud computing systems may include servers, network storage devices, routers, gateways, communication links, and other devices. Because the physical hardware and software platforms on which cloud computing system is implemented are hidden within a “cloud,” they can be managed, upgraded, replaced or otherwise changed by a system administrator without the customer being aware of or affected by the change. 
     In a typical cloud computing environment, applications may be executed on virtual machines, which are isolated guest operating systems installed within a host system. Virtual machines are typically implemented with either software emulation or hardware virtualization, or both. A single hardware and/or software platform may host a number of virtual machines, each of which may have access to some portion of the platform&#39;s resources, such as processing resources, storage resources, etc. 
       FIG. 2  illustrates a server system  100  for a virtualized computing environment in which the inventive subject matter of the present disclosure can function. The server system  100  generally hosts one or more virtual machines  104  (hereafter virtual machine  104 ), each of which runs a guest operating system  106  and application  108 . The computing needs of users  102  drive the functionality of the virtual machines  104 . A hypervisor  110  provides an interface between the virtual machines  104  and a host operating system  112  and allows multiple guest operating systems  106  and associated applications  108  to run concurrently. The host operating system  112  handles the operations of a hardware platform  114  capable of implementing virtual machines  104 . A data storage space  116  may be accessed by the host operating system  112  and is connected to the hardware platform  114 . 
     The hardware platform  114  generally refers to any computing system capable of implementing virtual machines  104 , which may include, without limitation, a mainframe, personal computer (PC), micro-computer, handheld computer, mobile computing platform, server, or any other appropriate computer hardware. The hardware platform  114  may include computing resources, such as a central processing unit (CPU); networking controllers; communication controllers; a display unit; a program and data storage device; memory controllers; input devices (e.g., a keyboard, a mouse, etc.) and output devices, such as printers. The CPU may be any processor capable of supporting virtualization. 
     The hardware platform  114  may be further connected to the data storage space  116  through serial or parallel connections. The data storage space  116  may be any suitable device capable of storing computer-readable data and instructions, and it may include logic in the form of software applications, random access memory (RAM), or read only memory (ROM), removable media, or any other suitable memory component. According to the illustrated embodiment, the host operating system  112  stands between the hardware platform  114  and the users  102  and is responsible for the management and coordination of activities and the sharing of the computing resources. Although some embodiments of the computer system  100  can be configured to operate as a computer server, the computer system  100  is not limited thereto and can be configured to provide other functionality, such as data processing, communications routing, etc. 
     Besides acting as a host for computing applications that run on the hardware platform  114 , the host operating system  112  may operate at the highest priority level in the server  100 , executing instructions associated with the hardware platform  114 , and it may have exclusive privileged access to the hardware platform  114 . The priority and privileged access of hardware resources affords the host operating system  112  exclusive control over resources and instructions, and may preclude interference with the execution of different application programs. The hypervisor  110  creates an environment for implementing a virtual machine, hosting the “guest” virtual machine. One host operating system  112  is capable of implementing multiple isolated virtual machines simultaneously. 
     A hypervisor  110  (which may also be known as a machine monitor or VMM) runs on the host operating system  112  and provides an interface between the virtual machines  104  and the hardware platform  114  through the host operating system  112 . The hypervisor  110  virtualizes the computing system resources and facilitates the operation of the virtual machines  104 . The hypervisor  110  may provide the illusion of operating at the highest priority level to the guest operating systems  106 . The hypervisor  110  maps the guest operating system&#39;s priority level to a priority level lower than the top most priority level. As a result, the hypervisor  110  can intercept the guest operating system  106  to execute instructions that require virtualization assistance. Alternatively, the hypervisor  110  may emulate or actually execute the instructions on behalf of the guest operating system  106 . Software operations permitting indirect interaction between the guest operating system  106  and the physical hardware platform  114  are also performed by the hypervisor  110 . 
     Virtual machines  104  present a virtualized environment to guest operating systems  106 , which in turn provide an operating environment for applications  108  and other software constructs. 
     The foregoing description with respect to  FIG. 2  of a virtualized computing environment uses a Type  2  or hosted hypervisor  110 , which runs within a conventional operating system environment. In this configuration, the hypervisor layer is disposed between the host operating system and one or more guest operating systems. It will be understood that the hypervisor can also be implemented as a Type  1  hypervisor, which may be called a native or bare metal hypervisor. A Type  1  hypervisor runs directly on the host&#39;s hardware to control the hardware and manage guest operating systems. Thus, a Type  1  hypervisor layer is disposed between the hardware and one or more guest operating systems. In accordance with various embodiments of the present inventive concept, a Type  1  or a Type  2  hypervisor can be used to implement a virtualized computing environment. 
     Referring to  FIG. 3 , a virtualized computing environment  200  (referred to generally as cloud  200 ) may include one or more server systems  100  that may include one or more electronic computing devices operable to receive, transmit, process, and store data. For example, the servers in the cloud  200  may include one or more general-purpose PCs, Macintoshes, micro-computers, workstations, Unix-based computers, server computers, one or more server pools, or any other suitable devices. In certain embodiments, the cloud  200  may include a web server. In short, the cloud  200  may include any suitable combination of software, firmware, and hardware. 
     The cloud  200  may include a plurality of server systems  100  that are communicatively coupled via a network  112 . The network  112  facilitates wireless or wireline communication, and may communicate using, for example, IP packets, Frame Relay frames, Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) cells, voice, video, data, and other suitable information between network addresses. The network  112  may include one or more local area networks (LANs), radio access networks (RANs), metropolitan area networks (MANS), wide area networks (WANs), all or a portion of the global computer network known as the Internet, and/or any other communication system or systems at one or more locations. Although referred to herein as “server systems,” it will be appreciated that any suitable computing device may be used. 
     Virtual machines and/or other objects in a virtualization environment can be grouped into logical clusters for management and/or operational purposes. For example, virtual machines can be grouped into clusters based on load balancing needs, security needs, redundancy needs, or any other needs as determined by a system administrator. The virtual machines grouped within a cluster may or may not all be implemented on a single physical server. Any desired number of clusters can be defined subject to system limitations, and each of the clusters can include any desired number of virtual machines subject to server limitations. 
     Virtual machines can be deployed in particular virtualization environments and organized to increase the efficiency of operating and/or managing a virtual computing environment. For example, virtual machines may be grouped into clusters to provide load balancing across multiple servers. 
     Virtual machines within a same cluster can be managed by a single virtualization environment manager to have the same or similar resource access privileges (e.g., processor utilization, priority, memory allocation, communication interface access privileges, etc.), while virtual machines within different clusters can have different resource access privileges. 
     Virtual machines that are deployed within a single cluster may share physical resources within a server. For example, virtual machines that are deployed within a single cluster may share physical memory, storage, communication facilities and other resources or services of a server. Whenever computing resources are shared, there is the possibility that one virtual machine could intentionally or unintentionally gain access to data of another virtual machine. 
     Some embodiments are described herein with respect to receiving credentials from a shopper who is making a purchase with a merchant so as to be able to identify the shopper and review the shopper&#39;s purchase history with respect to the present merchant and, in some embodiments, other merchants. Based on the shopper&#39;s purchase history, the shopper may be entitled to virtual card present status even though the shopper may not have the credit instrument present at the transaction. Virtual card present status is advantageous in that it allows for more favorable credit terms for the transaction than would otherwise be available. A payment authorization request message may be sent to a financial institution indicating that the shopper is entitled to virtual card present status when seeking payment approval from the financial institution. In other embodiments, a financial risk score may be generated based on the shopper&#39;s purchase history, which has been aggregated across multiple merchants. As the shopper buys in positive or low risk patterns the shopper&#39;s score may be modified to reflect a reduced financial risk whereas when the shopper buys in negative or high risk patterns the shopper&#39;s score may be modified to reflect a greater financial risk. The financial risk score may be provided to the current merchant participating in the purchase transaction with the shopper along with other merchants and financial institutions. These entities may use the financial risk score in determining whether to authorize payment for future purchases by the shopper. 
       FIG. 4  is a block diagram that illustrates a system for managing payments in financial transactions according to some embodiments of the inventive subject matter. The system comprises a Point Of Sale (POS) system  410  that may be operated, for example, in the store of a retailer or merchant. The POS system  410  may include a cash register that is managed by an attendant or may be a self-checkout register. The POS system  410  may be configured to scan products and read product codes. For example, the POS system  410  can be configured to read a UPC product bar code and/or a QR code. In some embodiments, the POS system  410  can be configured to scan and read other identifiers (i.e., codes) representative of a product. Once the products are scanned and read, the POS system  410  can be configured to generate transaction data and to receive payment associated with the products and/or services listed in the transaction data. The POS system  410  may receive payment from a shopper in a variety of ways including, but not limited to, cash, credit card, debit card, gift card, loyalty card, and reward card. 
     A shopper may provide payment information to the POS system  410  using a mobile device  415  that may include links to financial accounts thereon and/or data identifying various financial accounts, such as credit card accounts, store credit accounts, debit card accounts, checking accounts, loyalty program accounts, rewards accounts, and the like. The mobile device  415  may also include identification credentials, such as a photo identification, driver&#39;s license, passport, insurance card, home and/or work address information, home and/or work telephone numbers, and the like. In some embodiments, the financial information and/or personal identification information may be managed using a digital wallet application residing on the phone or in a cloud server on the Internet or other network. 
     The POS system  410  may coupled to a Digital Promotions Network (DPN)  420  and a payment system  425  via a network  430 . The network  430  may be a global network, such as the Internet or other publicly accessible network. Various elements of the network  430  may be interconnected by a wide area network, a local area network, an Intranet, and/or other private network, which may not be accessible by the general public. Thus, the communication network  430  may represent a combination of public and private networks or a virtual private network (VPN). The network  430  may be a wireless network, a wireline network, or may be a combination of both wireless and wireline networks. 
     The digital promotions network  420  may be configured to manage loyalty programs for retailers, manufacturers, and/or service providers. In some embodiments, the DPN  420  may allow for shoppers to establish accounts on the DPN  420  via which shoppers can acquire promotions or offers. Retailers, manufacturers, merchants, wholesalers and other merchandisers can make promotions or offers available to shoppers in a variety of ways. For example, a shopper may acquire a coupon via a circular in the paper or a mailer and may scan the coupon using the mobile device  415  to add the coupon to the shopper&#39;s account on the DPN  420  via communication over a wireless network  435  and the network  430 . In other embodiments, promotions may be emailed to the user where they may be accepted and added to the shopper&#39;s account on the DPN  420 . Promotions may also be delivered to the shopper through SMS message where they can be accepted and added to the user&#39;s account on the DPN  420 . In still other embodiments, a shopper may use a browser on the mobile device  415  or computer  440  to review available offers and select certain offers to be added to the shopper&#39;s account on the DPN  420 . It will be understood that these examples are for purposes of illustration. A shopper may acquire promotions or offers in multiple ways in accordance with various embodiments of the inventive subject matter, which are not limited to the foregoing examples. The DPN  420  may also manage the expiration of promotions or offers to prevent a shopper from redeeming a promotion or offer that is no longer valid. A shopper may synchronize promotions or offers stored on the DPN  420  with digital wallet applications, for example, running on the shopper&#39;s digital devices, such as the mobile device  415  and the computer  440 . 
     In some embodiments, the DPN  420  may also be used to manage loyalty programs for retailers or merchandisers or service providers. As a result, when a shopper checks out at the POS system  410 , the POS system  410  may communicate with the DPN  420  to determine if the shopper has any promotions or offers that may be redeemed based on the content of the item(s) and/or service(s) being purchased. The POS system  410  may also update the shopper&#39;s loyalty account on the DPN  420  with any rewards points, credits, incentives, or other types of offers or promotions that the retailer or manufacturer wishes to grant to the shopper. In some embodiments, the offers or promotions presented to a shopper, whether at the time of check out or any other time, may be based on the shopper&#39;s past purchase history and analytics that indicate that the shopper may be receptive to offers or promotions of a certain type and/or for a certain product or service. The DPN  420  may have such purchasing history available based on the shopper&#39;s purchases outlets both online and at brick and mortar stores. The DPN  420  may also track and maintain a history of shopper behavior with respect to returns, use of credit, redemption of offers and promotions, use of social media to praise and/or criticize products and services, and other consumer attributes. 
     The POS system  410  may also communicate with the payment system  425  via the network  430 , which facilitates the processing of payment information for the goods and/or services purchased by the shopper. The payment system  425  may communicate with both a credit issuer  445 , which may approve a shopper&#39;s purchase, and the DPN  420  to allow for reduced transaction risks for a credit issuer  445  and/or retailer and to provide shoppers with an improved purchasing experience with reduced risks of fraud and/or identity theft. The payment system  425  and the DPN  420  may communicate via the network  430  and/or may communicate directly as part of a common cloud data processing system that provides both DPN and payment services. The credit issuer  445  may represent any institution providing a source of funds for a shopper&#39;s financial transaction including, but not limited to, banks, credit unions, retailers (e.g., store credit accounts/charge cards), mobile payment processors, such as Payfone™, and other financial institutions. It will be understood that the credit issuer  445  may provide funds both through credit accounts and non-credit accounts, including a shopper&#39;s savings and/or checking account. 
     Although  FIG. 4  illustrates an exemplary communication network and an exemplary hardware/software architecture that may be used to facilitate the payment for goods and/or services purchased by a shopper, it will be understood that embodiments of the present invention are not limited to such a configuration but are intended to encompass any configuration capable of carrying out operations as described herein. 
     Computer program code for carrying out operations of data processing systems and servers described above with respect to  FIG. 4 , such as the DPN  420  and the payment system  425 , may be written in a high-level programming language, such as Java, C, and/or C++, for development convenience. In addition, computer program code for carrying out operations of the present invention may also be written in other programming languages, such as, but not limited to, interpreted languages. Some modules or routines may be written in assembly language or even micro-code to enhance performance and/or memory usage. Embodiments described herein, however, are not limited to any particular programming language. It will be further appreciated that the functionality of any or all of the program modules may also be implemented using discrete hardware components, one or more application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), or a programmed digital signal processor or microcontroller. 
       FIG. 5  illustrates a data processing system  500  that may be used in embodiments of the DPN  420  in accordance with some embodiments of the inventive subject matter. The data processing system  500  comprises input device(s)  505 , such as a keyboard or keypad, a display  510 , and a memory  515  that communicate with a processor  520 . The data processing system  500  may further comprise a storage system  525 , and an I/O data port(s)  535  that also communicate with the processor  520 . The storage system  525  may include removable and/or fixed media, such as floppy disks, ZIP drives, hard disks, or the like as well as virtual storage such as a RAMDISK. The I/O data port(s)  535  may be used to transfer information between the data processing system  500  and another computer system or a network (e.g., the Internet). These components may be conventional components, such as those used in many conventional computing devices, and their functionality, with respect to conventional operations, is generally known to those skilled in the art. The memory  515  may be configured with a digital promotions suite module  540  that may be used to provide DPN services, such as managing loyalty programs for retailers, manufacturers, and/or service providers, generating offers/promotions, handling the redemption of offers/promotions, and/or tracking/analyzing the behavior of shoppers. 
       FIG. 6  illustrates a processor  600  and memory  605  that may be used in embodiments of data processing systems, such as the data processing system  500  of  FIG. 5 , for providing DPN services in accordance with some embodiments of the inventive subject matter. The processor  600  communicates with the memory  605  via an address/data bus  610 . The processor  600  may be, for example, a commercially available or custom microprocessor. The memory  605  is representative of the one or more memory devices containing the software and data used to provision software in accordance with some embodiments of the present invention. The memory  605  may include, but is not limited to, the following types of devices: cache, ROM, PROM, EPROM, EEPROM, flash, SRAM, and DRAM. 
     As shown in  FIG. 6 , the memory  605  may contain up to five or more categories of software and/or data: an operating system  615 , a coupons module  620 , a digital promotions module  625 , a rebates module  630 , and an analytics module  635 . The operating system  615  generally controls the operation of the data processing system. In particular, the operating system  615  may manage the data processing system&#39;s software and/or hardware resources and may coordinate execution of programs by the processor  600 . 
     The coupons module  620  may be configured to process coupon redemptions and facilitate the settlement with the issuing party, such as a retailer, service provider, or manufacturer. The coupons module  620  may include safeguards to facilitate the detection of fraud and suspicious submissions. In cooperation with the analytics module  635 , the coupons module  620  may be used to evaluate the efficacy of coupons in promoting purchases and design new coupon based marketing campaigns based on such performance evaluations. 
     The digital promotions module  625  may be configured to manage marketing campaigns involving promotions and/or offers for parties, such as retailers, service providers, and manufacturers including the settlement with the issuers of such promotions and/or offers when the promotions or offers are redeemed. The digital promotions module  625  supports multiple types of offers or promotions and can allow shoppers to maintain accounts through which promotions or offers can be acquired and redeemed. The digital promotions module  625  can communicate with POS systems to allow any applicable promotions or offers to be identified to provide the shopper with the opportunity to redeem the promotions or offers at checkout. The digital promotions module  625  may cooperate with the analytics module  635  to evaluate the efficacy of the promotions or offers in promoting purchases and designing new marketing campaigns based on promotions or offers in view of the performance of previous campaigns. 
     The rebates module  630  may be configured to manage the issuance and redemption of rebates for both retailers and manufacturers including traditional mail-in rebates and digital or electronic rebates. The rebates module  630  may be configured with safeguards to detect fraud or improper submission of rebates, particularly in regulated industries, such as alcohol, tobacco, and pharmaceuticals. The rebates module  630  may cooperate with the analytics module  635  to evaluate the efficacy of the rebates in promoting purchases and designing new marketing campaigns based on rebates in view of the performance of previous campaigns. 
     The analytics module  635  may be configured to acquire data based on shopper behavior, including, but not limited to, purchases, returns, offer/promotion acquisition and redemption, social media, and public records, along with data provided by manufacturers, service providers, retailers, and/or financial institutions on product/service marketing, sales, loyalty programs, customer feedback, customer surveys, financing information, and the like, which can then be processed by an analytics engine to better target offers and/or promotions to shoppers and potential shoppers/customers, develop product/service marketing campaigns, and/or influence the design of particular products and/or services to better appeal to customers. 
     Although  FIG. 6  illustrates exemplary hardware/software architectures that may be used in data processing systems, such as the data processing system  500  of  FIG. 5 , for providing DPN services, it will be understood that the present invention is not limited to such a configuration but is intended to encompass any configuration capable of carrying out operations described herein. Moreover, the functionality of the data processing system  500  of  FIG. 5  and the hardware/software architecture of  FIG. 6  may be implemented as a single processor system, a multi-processor system, a multi-core processor system, a network of stand-alone computer systems, or one or more virtual machines in accordance with various embodiments. 
     Computer program code for carrying out operations of data processing systems discussed above with respect to  FIG. 6  may be written in a high-level programming language, such as Python, Java, C, and/or C++, for development convenience. In addition, computer program code for carrying out operations of the present invention may also be written in other programming languages, such as, but not limited to, interpreted languages. Some modules or routines may be written in assembly language or even micro-code to enhance performance and/or memory usage. Embodiments described herein, however, are not limited to any particular programming language. It will be further appreciated that the functionality of any or all of the program modules may also be implemented using discrete hardware components, one or more application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), or a programmed digital signal processor or microcontroller. 
       FIG. 7  illustrates a data processing system  700  that may be used in embodiments of the payment system  425  in accordance with some embodiments of the inventive subject matter. The data processing system  700  comprises input device(s)  705 , such as a keyboard or keypad, a display  710 , and a memory  715  that communicate with a processor  720 . The data processing system  700  may further comprise a storage system  725 , and an I/O data port(s)  735  that also communicate with the processor  720 . The storage system  725  may include removable and/or fixed media, such as floppy disks, ZIP drives, hard disks, or the like as well as virtual storage such as a RAMDISK. The I/O data port(s)  735  may be used to transfer information between the data processing system  700  and another computer system or a network (e.g., the Internet). These components may be conventional components, such as those used in many conventional computing devices, and their functionality, with respect to conventional operations, is generally known to those skilled in the art. The memory  715  may be configured with a payments suite module  740  that may be used to provide payment services, such as shopper authentication, risk management based on, for example, shopper history and detection of evaluation of shopper location, and facilitation of various payment methods. 
       FIG. 8  illustrates a processor  800  and memory  805  that may be used in embodiments of data processing systems, such as the data processing system  700  of  FIG. 5 , for providing payment services in accordance with some embodiments of the inventive subject matter. The processor  800  communicates with the memory  805  via an address/data bus  810 . The processor  800  may be, for example, a commercially available or custom microprocessor. The memory  805  is representative of the one or more memory devices containing the software and data used to provision software in accordance with some embodiments of the present invention. The memory  805  may include, but is not limited to, the following types of devices: cache, ROM, PROM, EPROM, EEPROM, flash, SRAM, and DRAM. 
     As shown in  FIG. 8 , the memory  805  may contain up to five or more categories of software and/or data: an operating system  815 , an authentication module  820 , a shopper history module  825 , a shopper payment method module  830 , and a transaction risk module  835 . In particular, the operating system  815  may manage the data processing system&#39;s software and/or hardware resources and may coordinate execution of programs by the processor  800 . 
     The authentication module  820  may be configured to process credentials provided by a shopper, for example, to authenticate the shopper&#39;s identity when making a purchase. In some embodiments, the credentials may include, but are not limited to, a user identification (e.g., driver&#39;s license number, passport number, social security number), a phone number, an employee number, email address, home address, and a loyalty program account number. The credentials may, in further embodiments, include location information, such as GPS coordinate data and/or location data based on triangulation techniques through a wireless or cellular network, for example. 
     The shopper history module  825  may be configured to access a shopper&#39;s history with a particular retailer/merchandiser or across multiple retailers/merchandisers to determine attributes that may be indicative of risk, such as, but not limited to, amount typically purchased, whether shopper provided a home address, whether the shopper has participated in particular loyalty programs, whether the shopper returns items at a frequency higher than a typical shopper, whether the shopper frequently expresses displeasure through surveys, message boards, forums, and the like, whether the shopper make purchases at atypical times, e.g., late at night, and whether the shopper make purchases in a variety of geographic areas. The shopper history module  825  may generate an indication that the shopper is a known shopper based on the shopper&#39;s purchase activity and behavior, which can be used to extend to the shopper a virtual card present status by a financial institution when payment is being made through a credit card or other type of bank card. The shopper history module  825  may also be configured to generate and maintain a net score that is representative of the financial risk that a particular shopper poses for a retailer, manufacturer, and/or financial institution that may be advancing funds for a purchase. As the shopper purchases in positive patterns, the net score may be updated to reflect a lower financial risk whereas when the shopper purchases in negative patterns, the net score may be updated to reflect a higher financial risk. 
     The shopper payment method module  830  may be configured to associate credentials provided by a shopper with payment methods. In particular, a shopper&#39;s credentials may be associated with a shopper&#39;s mobile device. The credentials may include, but are not limited to, a user identification (e.g., driver&#39;s license number, passport number, social security number), a phone number, an employee number, email address, home address, and a loyalty program account number. For example, a shopper when registering with a loyalty program, for example, may associate a mobile device phone number with a loyalty program account number. At the time purchase, the shopper may be authenticated by using a mobile carrier&#39;s user authentication technology. Mobile payment processors may tie a shopper&#39;s identity to a mobile device based on the mobile device&#39;s SIM card, device identification, and location. A shopper may initiate payment through a mobile payment application resident on the mobile device, which uses a wireless network, such as a cellular network and Signaling System 7 (SS7) network, to request payment through a mobile payment processor. The user may have multiple payment options available through the mobile payment processor including adding the charge to the shopper&#39;s wireless bill issued by the shopper&#39;s mobile carrier, a credit card account, debit card account, checking account, or the like. To make a fraudulent purchase, a thief would need more than a shopper&#39;s phone number, but would need the shopper&#39;s actual mobile device to initiate a payment. 
     The transaction risk module  835  may be configured to cooperate with the shopper history module  825  to generate and maintain a net score that is representative of the financial risk that a particular shopper poses for a retailer, manufacturer, and/or financial institution that may be advancing funds for a purchase as described above. In some embodiments, the transaction risk module may analyze the contents of a shopper&#39;s basket to determine if the products or services being purchased tend to increase the financial risk for a retailer, manufacturer, and/or financial institution. For example, in some embodiments, the contents of a shopper&#39;s basket may be compared to historical purchases to determine if a current purchase is atypical, which may be indicative that the shopper is using a stolen credit card for example. Items such as multiple pre-paid gift cards, alcohol, tobacco, and multiple instances of the same electronic device are some examples of items that may heighten the risk for retailers, manufacturers, and/or financial institutions. Based on an evaluation of the items/services being purchased by a shopper, the transaction risk module  835  may report an alert to the retailer, manufacturer, and/or financial institution that approval of the present transaction may have a higher than normal financial risk associated therewith. 
     Although  FIG. 8  illustrates exemplary hardware/software architectures that may be used in data processing systems, such as the data processing system  700  of  FIG. 7 , for providing payment services, it will be understood that the present invention is not limited to such a configuration but is intended to encompass any configuration capable of carrying out operations described herein. Moreover, the functionality of the data processing system  700  of  FIG. 7  and the hardware/software architecture of  FIG. 8  may be implemented as a single processor system, a multi-processor system, a multi-core processor system, a network of stand-alone computer systems, or one or more virtual machines in accordance with various embodiments. 
     Computer program code for carrying out operations of data processing systems discussed above with respect to  FIG. 8  may be written in a high-level programming language, such as Python, Java, C, and/or C++, for development convenience. In addition, computer program code for carrying out operations of the present invention may also be written in other programming languages, such as, but not limited to, interpreted languages. Some modules or routines may be written in assembly language or even micro-code to enhance performance and/or memory usage. Embodiments described herein, however, are not limited to any particular programming language. It will be further appreciated that the functionality of any or all of the program modules may also be implemented using discrete hardware components, one or more application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), or a programmed digital signal processor or microcontroller. 
       FIG. 9  is a flowchart that illustrates operations to enable virtual card present status for a shopper based on purchase history according to some embodiments of the inventive subject matter. Operations begin at block  900  where the DPN  420  receives credentials from a shopper through the POS system  410 , for example. As described above, the credentials may include, but are not limited to, one or more of a user identification, home and/or mobile phone number, employee number, email address, home address, and loyalty program account number. The credentials may be communicated, for example, through an application on a shopper&#39;s mobile device  415  through scanning, Near Field Communication (NFC) technology, short range wireless technology, such as Bluetooth technology, or other suitable manner. The credentials may also be communicated by a card including a bar code that can be scanned at the POS system  410  or manually entered in to the POS system  410  by the shopper or checkout attendant. In some embodiments, the credentials may further include an identification of the POS system  410  terminal through which the purchase is initiated at a merchant and/or geolocation data or information for the shopper&#39;s mobile device  415 , for example. 
     The DPN  420  and/or the payment system  425  may evaluate the history of purchases by the shopper from this merchant at block  910 . In evaluating the history of purchases, factors such as how long the shopper has participated in a loyalty program with the merchant, the monetary amounts for past and the current purchase, whether the shopper has returned items previously purchased and, if applicable, at what frequency does the shopper return purchased items, does the shopper make purchases at atypical times and is the present purchase being made at a time that deviates from a typical purchase by the shopper, has the shopper provided the merchant, DPN  420 , and/or payment system  425 , with a home address, does the shopper express displeasure or praise for the merchant and/or products/services sold by the merchant through social media outlets, such as, but not limited to, message boards, surveys, forums, and the like. In some embodiments, the DPN  420  and/or the payment system  425  may include shopper history information from other merchants in addition to the merchant associated with the present purchase transaction. The DPN  420  and/or the payment system  425  may, in some embodiments, assign greater weight to the shopper&#39;s history with the present merchant than with other merchants and/or may assign weights to merchant history information based on similarity of other merchants to the present merchant. 
     Based on the evaluation of the shopper&#39;s history, the DPN  420  and/or the payment system  425  may determine that the shopper is entitled to a virtual card present status at block  920 , which allows for more favorable credit terms than when the shopper does not have the credit instrument present when making the purchase transaction. The payment system  425  may send a payment authorization request to the financial institution represented as the credit issuer  445  in  FIG. 4  indicating that the shopper is entitled to virtual card present status based on the shopper&#39;s previous purchasing history at block  930 . 
       FIGS. 10-11  are flowcharts that illustrate operations for generating a risk score for a shopper based on purchase history according to some embodiments of the inventive subject matter. Operations begin at block  1000  where the DPN  420  receives credentials from a shopper through the POS system  410 , for example. As described above, the credentials may include, but are not limited to, one or more of a user identification, home and/or mobile phone number, employee number, email address, home address, and loyalty program account number. The credentials may be communicated, for example, through an application on a shopper&#39;s mobile device  415  through scanning, Near Field Communication (NFC) technology, short range wireless technology, such as Bluetooth technology, or other suitable manner. The credentials may also be communicated by a card including a bar code that can be scanned at the POS system  410  or manually entered in to the POS system  410  by the shopper or checkout attendant. In some embodiments, the credentials may further include an identification of the POS system  410  terminal through which the purchase is initiated at a merchant and/or geolocation data or information for the shopper&#39;s mobile device  415 , for example. 
     Based on the credentials provided by the shopper, the DPN  420  and/or the payment system  425  may determine that the shopper is registered with multiple loyalty programs spanning multiple merchants based on the registration information for the multiple loyalty programs sharing one or more common pieces of information. For example, the common piece of information may be an email address, home or mobile phone number, home address, and/or home address. 
     The DPN  420  and/or the payment system  425  may evaluate the history of purchases by the shopper from the multiple merchants for which the DPN  420  and/or the payment system  425  has purchase history data at block  1010 . In evaluating the history of purchases, factors such as how long the shopper has participated in a loyalty program with the merchant, the monetary amounts for past and the current purchase, whether the shopper has returned items previously purchased and, if applicable, at what frequency does the shopper return purchased items, does the shopper make purchases at atypical times and is the present purchase being made at a time that deviates from a typical purchase by the shopper, has the shopper provided the merchant, DPN  420 , and/or payment system  425 , with a home address, does the shopper express displeasure or praise for the merchant and/or products/services sold by the merchant through social media outlets, such as, but not limited to, message boards, surveys, forums, and the like. In some embodiments, the DPN  420  and/or the payment system  425  may include shopper history information from other merchants in addition to the merchant associated with the present purchase transaction. The DPN  420  and/or the payment system  425  may, in some embodiments, assign greater weight to the shopper&#39;s history with the present merchant than with other merchants and/or may assign weights to merchant history information based on similarity of other merchants to the present merchant. 
     Based on the evaluation of the shopper&#39;s history, the DPN  420  and/or the payment system  425  may generate a financial risk score for the shopper based on the evaluation of the shopper&#39;s history with the various merchants and the current purchase by the shopper with the present merchant at block  1020 . The financial risk score may be represented in a variety of ways in accordance with various embodiments of the inventive subject matter. A risk number may be assigned, a risk grade may be assigned, a description of what risks the merchant/financial institution may be undertaking may be provided, and/or other suitable expression of risk that may be useful to a merchant and/or financial institution 
     Referring now to  FIG. 11 , the DPN  420  and/or the payment system  425  may generate the financial risk score to indicate an increased financial risk when the purchase deviates from the history or purchases by the shopper by having attributes that are indicative of an increased financial risk at block  1100 . The DPN  420  and/or the payment system  425  may generate the financial risk score to indicate a reduced financial risk when the purchase deviates from the history or purchases by the shopper by having attributes that are indicative of a reduced financial risk at block  1110 . Attributes that are indicative of an increased financial risk may include, but are not limited to, the purchases of multiple pre-paid debit/gift cards, purchase of alcohol products, purchase of tobacco products, purchases of multiple instances of the same electronic item, purchase initiated after a particular time of day, e.g., after 10:00 PM, and/or a purchase made from a new or unexpected geographic location, which may be based on a previous purchase, e.g., purchase initiated from different parts of the country that are a long distance from each other only a short time apart. 
     The financial risk score may be reported to the current merchant from whom the shopper is making a purchase, other merchants, and/or financial institution(s). These entities may consider the financial risk score when determining whether to authorize the present or future purchases. 
     The flowchart and block diagrams in the figures illustrate the architecture, functionality, and operation of possible implementations of systems, methods, and computer program products according to various aspects of the present disclosure. In this regard, each block in the flowchart or block diagrams may represent a module, segment, or portion of code, which comprises one or more executable instructions for implementing the specified logical function(s). It should also be noted that, in some alternative implementations, the functions noted in the block may occur out of the order noted in the figures. For example, two blocks shown in succession may, in fact, be executed substantially concurrently, or the blocks may sometimes be executed in the reverse order, depending upon the functionality involved. It will also be noted that each block of the block diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, and combinations of blocks in the block diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, can be implemented by special purpose hardware-based systems that perform the specified functions or acts, or combinations of special purpose hardware and computer instructions. 
     The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular aspects only and is not intended to be limiting of the disclosure. As used herein, the singular forms “a”, “an,” and “the” are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will be further understood that the terms “comprises” and/or “comprising,” when used in this specification, specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and/or groups thereof. As used herein, the term “and/or” includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed items. Like reference numbers signify like elements throughout the description of the figures. 
     The corresponding structures, materials, acts, and equivalents of any means or step plus function elements in the claims below are intended to include any disclosed structure, material, or act for performing the function in combination with other claimed elements as specifically claimed. The description of the present disclosure has been presented for purposes of illustration and description, but is not intended to be exhaustive or limited to the disclosure in the form disclosed. Many modifications and variations will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the disclosure. The aspects of the disclosure herein were chosen and described in order to best explain the principles of the disclosure and the practical application, and to enable others of ordinary skill in the art to understand the disclosure with various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated.