Patent Publication Number: US-2016247237-A1

Title: Position-based budget communication apparatus for use in position-based budgeting systems

Description:
FIELD OF INVENTION 
     In general, embodiments of the invention relate to position-based budgeting systems and, more particularly, an apparatus for communicating position-based budgeting information to a consumer in real-time based on geographical positioning determinations and consumer preferences. 
     BACKGROUND 
     Many financial institutions provide customers an opportunity to view their account information using their mobile devices or via an online setting in response to requests from the customers (e.g., using a mobile-device-based or web-based application on the mobile device). Customers often repeatedly view their account information in order to keep track of spending and monitor budgets. Consequently, some financial institutions and third parties also provide online budget assistance tools. However, these tools typically provide budget information to customers only in response to requests from customers to view the information. If the customer forgets (or is unable) to check his or her budget information and/or his or her account balance(s) before making a purchase, the customer may inadvertently spend more than the customer has budgeted. Therefore, a system for providing improved, proactive, and real-time budget information is needed. 
     BRIEF SUMMARY 
     The following presents a simplified summary of one or more embodiments of the invention in order to provide a basic understanding of such embodiments. This summary is not an extensive overview of all contemplated embodiments and is not intended to identify key or critical elements of all embodiments or delineate the scope of any or all embodiments. Its sole purpose is to present some concepts of one or more embodiments in a simplified form as a prelude to the more detailed description that is presented later. 
     Embodiments of the present invention address the above needs and/or achieve other advantages by providing apparatuses (e.g., systems, computer program products, and/or other devices), methods, or a combination of the foregoing for providing proactive and real-time position-based budget information. For example, some embodiments of the invention provide a system that uses a consumer&#39;s mobile phone to track the consumer&#39;s location relative to one or more merchants. When the consumer is proximate a particular merchant, the system automatically presents, via the mobile phone, budget information related to the consumer and the merchant. For example, in some embodiments, the system informs the consumer of the amount of money that the consumer has spent at the nearby merchant over some defined period of time. In other embodiments, the system informs the consumer of the amount of money left in a consumer-defined budget for a product type associated with the nearby merchant. In still other embodiments, when the consumer visits or passes by a merchant, the system automatically notifies the consumer, via the consumer&#39;s mobile phone, about how much money the consumer has available in gift cards that can be used to pay the merchant. 
     In particular, according to various embodiments, a computer-implemented method includes: (1) receiving location information for a consumer&#39;s mobile device; (2) identifying a merchant that is located within a particular distance range of the consumer&#39;s mobile device; (3) retrieving, from a memory, budget information associated with the consumer and the merchant; and (4) communicating at least a portion of the budget information to the consumer&#39;s mobile device, the at least a portion of the budget information being displayable thereon. In some embodiments, the budget information includes information about an amount of money available on a gift card that is held by the consumer and can be used at the merchant, and in other embodiments, the budget information includes information about an amount of money that the consumer has spent at the merchant within a particular period of time. 
     In certain embodiments, retrieving budget information associated with the consumer and the merchant includes: (1) identifying a category associated with the merchant; and (2) retrieving, from the memory, budget information associated with a budget, the budget being associated with the category. In some embodiments, the budget includes a consumer-defined amount of money available to be spent within the category over a particular period of time, and the budget information includes a balance associated with the budget. 
     In addition, according to various embodiments, the category may include a product type or a merchant type. According to certain embodiments, identifying the merchant type further includes: (1) identifying a name of the merchant; and (2) retrieving a merchant type associated with the name of the merchant from a merchant type list. In one embodiment in which the merchant type corresponds to a merchant category code, the name of the merchant may be identified from a list of one or more merchant names associated with the merchant category code. 
     According to other various embodiments, retrieving budget information associated with the consumer and the merchant includes: (1) identifying a category associated with the merchant; and (2) retrieving, from the memory, budget information associated with a budget account, the budget account being associated with the category. In certain embodiments, the budget information includes a balance associated with the budget account, and in one embodiment, balance information associated with a spending account, wherein the spending account is associated with the merchant. For example, in one embodiment, the spending account corresponds to a gift card issued by the merchant, and the balance information includes a spending balance for the gift card. 
     In addition, according to various embodiments, receiving location information for the consumer&#39;s mobile device includes receiving location information from a global positioning system or receiving information about interaction between the consumer&#39;s mobile device and an electronic device located proximate the merchant. In addition, according to various embodiments, the particular distance range is between 0 feet and about 200 feet, less than about 50 feet, or defined by the consumer. In one particular embodiment, the particular distance range is zero, and identifying the merchant that is located within the particular distance range of the consumer&#39;s mobile device includes identifying when the consumer&#39;s mobile device enters the merchant&#39;s facility. 
     Furthermore, according to various embodiments, the method also includes: (1) identifying at least a first merchant and a second merchant that are located within a particular distance range of the consumer&#39;s mobile device; (2) retrieving, from a memory, first budget information associated with the first merchant and second budget information associated with the second merchant; (3) communicating information regarding existence of the first budget information and the second budget information to the consumer&#39;s mobile device; (4) in response to receiving a selection from the consumer&#39;s mobile device to view the first budget information, communicating at least a portion of the first budget information to the consumer&#39;s mobile device, the at least a portion of the first budget information being displayable thereon; and (5) in response to receiving a selection from the consumer&#39;s mobile device to view the second budget information, communicating at least a portion of the second budget information to the consumer&#39;s mobile device, the at least a portion of the second budget information being displayable thereon. 
     According to various embodiments, the an apparatus includes: (1) a positioning system configured to determine location information for a consumer&#39;s mobile device; (2) a computer system configured to: (a) use the location information to determine that the consumer&#39;s location is within a predetermined distance range from a merchant; and (b) retrieve, from a memory, budget information associated with the consumer and the merchant; and (3) a communication system configured to communicate at least a portion of the budget information to the consumer&#39;s mobile device, the at least a portion of the budget information being displayable thereon. According to certain embodiments, the budget information includes information about an amount of money available on a gift card that is held by the consumer and can be used at the merchant and/or information about an amount of money that the consumer has spent at the merchant within a particular period of time. In some embodiments, the computer system is configured to retrieve budget information associated with the consumer and the merchant by: (1) identifying a category associated with the merchant; and (2) retrieving, from the memory, budget information associated with a budget, the budget being associated with the category. 
     Other embodiments of the invention include a computer program product for a mobile commerce system. The computer program product includes at least one non-transitory computer-readable medium having computer-executable code portions embedded therein, and the computer-executable program code portions include: (1) a first executable portion configured for receiving location information for a consumer&#39;s mobile device; (2) a second executable portion configured for identifying a merchant that is located within a particular distance range of the consumer&#39;s mobile device; (3) a third executable portion configured for retrieving, from a memory, account information associated with a budget that relates to the merchant and the consumer; and (4) a fourth executable portion configured for communicating at least a portion of the account information to the consumer&#39;s mobile device, the at least a portion of the account information being displayable thereon. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES 
       Having thus described embodiments of the invention in general terms, reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings, wherein: 
         FIG. 1  provides a block diagram illustrating a position-based budgeting system and environment in accordance with an embodiment of the invention; 
         FIG. 2  provides a block diagram illustrating the consumer mobile device of  FIG. 1  in more detail in accordance with an embodiment of the invention; 
         FIG. 3  provides a block diagram illustrating the financial management system of  FIG. 1  in more detail in accordance with an embodiment of the invention; 
         FIG. 4  provides a block diagram illustrating the merchant system of  FIG. 1  in more detail in accordance with an embodiment of the invention; 
         FIG. 5  provides a block diagram illustrating the budgeting system of  FIG. 1  in more detail in accordance with an embodiment of the invention; 
         FIG. 6  provides a flow chart illustrating a position-based budgeting process in accordance with an embodiment of the invention; 
         FIG. 7  provides a flow chart illustrating a position-based budgeting process in accordance with another embodiment of the invention; 
         FIG. 8  provides a flow chart illustrating a process in accordance with another embodiment of the invention; 
         FIG. 9  illustrates an exemplary table listing merchant category codes and corresponding merchant types according to one embodiment of the invention; 
         FIG. 10  illustrates an exemplary table listing merchant names and corresponding budget categories according to one embodiment of the invention; and 
         FIG. 11  illustrates an exemplary table listing merchant types and corresponding budget accounts according to one embodiment of the invention. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF VARIOUS EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION 
     Embodiments of the present invention will now be described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which some, but not all, embodiments of the invention are shown. Indeed, the invention may be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein; rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will satisfy applicable legal requirements. Where possible, any terms expressed in the singular form herein are meant to also include the plural form and vice versa, unless explicitly stated otherwise. Also, as used herein, the term “a” and/or “an” shall mean “one or more,” even though the phrase “one or more” is also used herein. Furthermore, when it is said herein that something is “based on” something else, it may be based on one or more other things as well. In other words, unless expressly indicated otherwise, as used herein “based on” means “based at least in part on” or “based at least partially on.” Like numbers refer to like elements throughout. 
     According to various embodiments of the invention, a position-based budgeting system uses the location of a consumer&#39;s mobile device relative to one or more merchants to determine relevant budget information to communicate to the consumer&#39;s mobile device. For example, when the consumer and his or her mobile device approach or enter a coffee shop, the budget account name and budget information (e.g., how much has been spent for the month and how much is left in the budget) associated with coffee shop purchases is displayed on the consumer&#39;s mobile device. Similarly, when the consumer and his or her mobile device approach or enter a grocery store, the budget account name and budget information associated with grocery store purchases is displayed on the consumer&#39;s mobile device. In addition, the system may also display gift card balances associated with a particular merchant when the consumer and his or her mobile device approach or enter the merchant&#39;s store. As such, embodiments of the present invention provide apparatuses (e.g., systems, computer program products, and/or other devices), methods, or a combination of the foregoing for providing real-time or substantially real-time budget information to a consumer&#39;s mobile device based at least in part on the location of the consumer relative to one or more merchants, which may assist the consumer in keeping his or her spending within budget. 
     Mobile Commerce System and Environment 
     Referring now to the figures,  FIG. 1  provides a block diagram illustrating a mobile commerce system and environment  100  in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. As illustrated, the system  100  generally includes a consumer  110 , a network  120 , a positioning system  150 , a consumer mobile device  200 , a financial management system  300 , a merchant system  400 , and a budget communication system  500 . The consumer  110  may be any individual or entity with the potential to purchase products from a merchant. As used herein, the term “products” refers to goods, services, and/or the like. As used herein, the term “merchant” refers to any entity involved in advertising, promoting, offering, creating, manufacturing, selling, or otherwise providing one or more products to one or more consumers. For example, the merchant may be a manufacturer, retailer, wholesaler, advertiser, marketer, distributor, and/or the like. 
     The consumer  110  has a mobile device  200 , such as a mobile phone, personal digital assistant (PDA), personal navigation device, personal web-surfing device, or other personal/mobile computing device. Embodiments of the consumer mobile device  200  are described in greater detail in  FIG. 2  and the accompanying description. 
     The network  120  may be any of one or more devices or connections communicably coupling two or more devices. For example, the network  120  may include a global area network, such as the Internet, a wide area network, a local area network, a wireless network, a wire-line network, one or more modems, one or more servers, one or more relay devices, one or more direct electrical connections, one or more satellites, and/or the like, or a combination thereof. As illustrated, in some embodiments, the network  120  includes a wireless telephone network  122 , such as a cellular network or other mobile telephone/data network known in the art. As also illustrated, in some embodiments, the network  120  includes a payment network  124  for processing electronic or other payments and transferring money between banks and other entities. For example, the payment network  124  may include the networks of one or more banks or other well-known payment network providers such as Visa®, MasterCard®, American Express®, and/or the like. 
     According to various embodiments, the positioning system  150  may be the well-known Global Positioning System (GPS) or other systems for identifying precise geographical locations of individuals or devices or positions of individuals or devices relative to known objects or locations. For example, some embodiments of the invention include a positioning system that can identify the current latitude and longitude, and in some cases altitude, of the consumer&#39;s mobile device  200  using a sensor/transceiver in the consumer&#39;s mobile device  200  in conjunction with a satellite system and/or the wireless telephone network  122 . In other embodiments, more local sensors/transceivers interact with sensors/transceivers of the consumer&#39;s mobile device  200  to determine if the consumer  110  is within a certain distance from a merchant and/or moving toward or away from the merchant. For example, in one embodiment of the invention, a merchant has sensors at its entrances that can communicate with consumer mobile devices  200  that have near field communication (NFC) capabilities and, thereby, determine when the consumer  110  possessing the consumer mobile device  200  enters or leaves the merchant&#39;s facility. 
     The financial management system  300  stores financial information for the consumer  110  and/or the merchant, including information about transactions between the consumer  110  and one or more merchants over a particular period of time and budget information for one or more budget accounts set up by the consumer  110 . The budget accounts correspond with various spending categories (e.g., merchant types, product types) specified by the consumer. According to various embodiments, the budget information for each budget account includes, for example, a budget account name, an amount of money available to be spent within the spending category (e.g., spending balance), and credit and/or withdrawal rules associated therewith, etc. Embodiments of the financial management system  300  and budget information are described in greater detail in  FIG. 3  and the accompanying description. 
     According to various embodiments, the merchant system  400  processes transactions between the consumer  110  and the merchant and allows the merchant to interact with the budget communication system  500 . The merchant system  400  also stores balance information (e.g., amount of money available or spending balance) for gift cards or spending accounts issued to consumers for purchases made at the merchant&#39;s location(s). Embodiments of the merchant system  400  are described in greater detail in  FIG. 4  and the accompanying description. 
     According to various embodiments, the budget communication system  500  provides relevant budget account, merchant purchasing trends, and/or merchant balance information to the mobile device  200  when the consumer  110  is near or entering the merchant&#39;s facility. Embodiments of the various processes, features, and functions managed by the budget communication system  500  are described below in  FIGS. 6 through 8  and the accompanying descriptions. Embodiments of the budget communication system  500  are also described in greater detail in  FIG. 5  and the accompanying description. 
     For example, as described in greater detail below, in one embodiment of the system  100 , a consumer&#39;s location relative to one or more merchants is tracked using the positioning system  150  and the consumer&#39;s mobile device  200 . The budget communication system  500  receives the position of the consumer&#39;s mobile device from the positioning system  150 , identifies the type(s) of merchant(s) located near the consumer&#39;s mobile device  200 , retrieves budget information related to each type of merchant identified, and communicates the retrieved budget information to the consumer&#39;s mobile device  200  for display thereon. In addition, according to one embodiment, the budget communication system  500  and/or the financial management system  300  determines trends in the consumer&#39;s shopping behavior based on information stored by the financial management system  300 , and these trends are used to determine which of two or more merchants the consumer is more likely to be visiting at a particular time of the day, when, for example, there are two or more merchants located near the consumer&#39;s mobile device  200 . 
     Consumer Mobile Device 
       FIG. 2  provides a block diagram illustrating the consumer mobile device  200  of  FIG. 1  in more detail in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. In one embodiment of the invention, the mobile device  200  is a mobile telephone. However, it should be understood that a mobile telephone is merely illustrative of one type of mobile device  200  that may benefit from, employ, or otherwise be involved with embodiments of the present invention and, therefore, should not be taken to limit the scope of embodiments of the present invention. Other types of mobile devices  200  may include portable digital assistants (PDAs), pagers, mobile televisions, gaming devices, laptop computers, cameras, video recorders, audio/video player, radio, GPS devices, or any combination of the aforementioned. 
     The mobile device  200  generally includes a processor  210  communicably coupled to such devices as a memory  220 , user output devices  236 , user input devices  240 , a network interface  260 , a power source  215 , a clock or other timer  250 , a camera  280 , and a positioning system device  275 . The processor  210 , and other processors described herein, generally include circuitry for implementing communication and/or logic functions of the mobile device  200 . For example, the processor  210  may include a digital signal processor device, a microprocessor device, and various analog to digital converters, digital to analog converters, and/or other support circuits. Control and signal processing functions of the mobile device  200  are allocated between these devices according to their respective capabilities. The processor  210  thus may also include the functionality to encode and interleave messages and data prior to modulation and transmission. The processor  210  can additionally include an internal data modem. Further, the processor  210  may include functionality to operate one or more software programs, which may be stored in the memory  220 . For example, the processor  210  may be capable of operating a connectivity program, such as a web browser application  222 . The web browser application  222  may then allow the mobile device  200  to transmit and receive web content, such as, for example, location-based content and/or other web page content, according to a Wireless Application Protocol (WAP), Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP), and/or the like. 
     The processor  210  is configured to use the network interface  260  to communicate with one or more other devices on the network  120 . In this regard, the network interface  260  includes an antenna  276  operatively coupled to a transmitter  274  and a receiver  272  (together a “transceiver”). The processor  210  is configured to provide signals to and receive signals from the transmitter  274  and receiver  272 , respectively. The signals may include signaling information in accordance with the air interface standard of the applicable cellular system of the wireless telephone network  122 . In this regard, the mobile device  200  may be configured to operate with one or more air interface standards, communication protocols, modulation types, and access types. By way of illustration, the mobile device  200  may be configured to operate in accordance with any of a number of first, second, third, and/or fourth-generation communication protocols and/or the like. For example, the mobile device  200  may be configured to operate in accordance with second-generation (2G) wireless communication protocols IS-136 (time division multiple access (TDMA)), GSM (global system for mobile communication), and/or IS-95 (code division multiple access (CDMA)), or with third-generation (3G) wireless communication protocols, such as Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS), CDMA2000, wideband CDMA (WCDMA) and/or time division-synchronous CDMA (TD-SCDMA), with fourth-generation (4G) wireless communication protocols, and/or the like. The mobile device  200  may also be configured to operate in accordance with non-cellular communication mechanisms, such as via a wireless local area network (WLAN) or other communication/data networks. 
     The network interface  260  may also include a payment network interface  270 . The payment network interface  270  may include software, such as encryption software, and hardware, such as a modem, for communicating information to and/or from one or more devices on the payment network  124 . For example, the mobile device  200  may be configured so that it can be used as a credit or debit card by, for example, wirelessly communicating account numbers or other authentication information to a POS terminal of the payment network  124  and/or merchant system  400 . 
     As described above, the mobile device  200  has a user interface that is, like other user interfaces described herein, made up of user output devices  236  and/or user input devices  240 . The user output devices  236  include a display  330  (e.g., a liquid crystal display or the like) and a speaker  232  or other audio device, which are operatively coupled to the processor  210 . The user input devices  240 , which allow the mobile device  200  to receive data from a user such as the consumer  110 , may include any of a number of devices allowing the mobile device  200  to receive data from the user, such as a keypad, keyboard, touch-screen, touchpad, microphone, mouse, joystick, other pointer device, button, soft key, and/or other input device(s). The user interface may also include a camera  280 , such as a digital camera. 
     The mobile device  200  also includes a positioning system device  275  that is configured to be used by the positioning system  150  to determine a location of the mobile device  200 . For example, the positioning system device  275  may include a GPS transceiver. In some embodiments, the positioning system device  275  is at least partially made up of the antenna  276 , transmitter  274 , and receiver  272  described above. For example, in one embodiment, triangulation of cellular signals may be used to identify the approximate location of the mobile device  200 . In other embodiments, the positioning system device  275  includes a proximity sensor or transmitter, such as an RFID tag, that can sense or be sensed by devices known to be located proximate a merchant or other location to determine that the consumer mobile device  200  is located proximate these known devices. 
     The mobile device  200  further includes a power source  215 , such as a battery, for powering various circuits and other devices that are used to operate the mobile device  200 . Embodiments of the mobile device  200  may also include a clock or other timer  500  configured to determine and, in some cases, communicate actual or relative time to the processor  210  or one or more other devices. 
     The mobile device  200  also includes a memory  220  operatively coupled to the processor  210 . As used herein, memory includes any computer readable medium (as defined herein below) configured to store data, code, or other information. The memory  220  may include volatile memory, such as volatile Random Access Memory (RAM) including a cache area for the temporary storage of data. The memory  220  may also include non-volatile memory, which can be embedded and/or may be removable. The non-volatile memory can additionally or alternatively include an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), flash memory or the like. 
     The memory  220  can store any of a number of applications which comprise computer-executable instructions/code executed by the processor  210  to implement the functions of the mobile device  200  described herein. For example, the memory  220  may include such applications as a conventional web browser application  222  and/or a budget communication system client application  221 . These applications also typically provide a graphical user interface (GUI) on the display  330  that allows the consumer  110  to communicate with the consumer mobile device  200 , the budget communication system  500 , and/or other devices. In one embodiment of the invention, when the consumer  110  decides to enroll in the budget communication program, the consumer  110  downloads the budget communication system client application  221  from the budget communication system  500 . In other embodiments of the invention, the consumer  110  interacts with the budget communication system  500  via the web browser application  220  in addition to, or instead of, the budget communication system client application  221 . 
     The memory  220  can also store any of a number of pieces of information, and data, used by the mobile device  200  and the applications and devices that make up the mobile device  200  or are in communication with the mobile device  200  to implement the functions of the mobile device  200  and/or the other systems described herein. For example, the memory  220  may include such data as user preferences information  224  or budget information  226  related to one or more budget accounts or merchant gift cards. 
     The user preferences information  224  may include, for example, information used by the budget communication system  500  to determine the identity of the user, what type of budget information, purchasing trend(s), or merchant spending account (e.g., gift card) information the user wants to see, when the user would like to receive each type of information, how the user would like to receive each type information, when the user would like for the user&#39;s location to be available to the budget communication system  500 , and/or the like. The user preference information  224  may be requested, for example, by the budget communication system client application  221  via the user output devices  236 , and may be entered by the consumer  110  via the user input devices  240  and then stored by the processor  210  in the memory  220  and, in some cases, communicated to the budget communication system  500  via the network interface  260 . In some embodiments, the user preferences include a digital certificate or other file used by the budget communication system  500  to identify and/or authenticate the consumer  110  associated with the mobile device  200  in a secure and/or encrypted way. Some examples of user preferences  224  are described in greater detail below with reference to the flow charts. 
     Financial Management System 
       FIG. 3  provides a block diagram illustrating the financial management system  300  of  FIG. 1  in more detail in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. The financial management system  300  generally includes a processor  310  communicably coupled to a communication interface  330  and a memory system  320 . Like the processor  210  described with respect to  FIG. 2 , the processor  310  comprises the circuitry and logic to perform the various functions of the financial management system  300  described herein. The communication interface  330  includes a network interface  332  and a user interface  334 , which may be similar to those described above with respect to  FIG. 2 . In one embodiment, the financial management system  300  is a computer system of a bank or other financial institution configured to process financial transactions (e.g., credit or debit card transactions and/or the like) for consumers and/or merchants having accounts with the bank or other financial institution. 
     According to various embodiments, the memory system  320  stores budget account data  321  related to one or more more budget accounts set up by the consumer  110  and consumer transaction data  322  related to one or more financial transactions made by the consumer  110  through the financial institution. The budget account data  321  includes a budget account name, an amount of money available to be spent within the budget account (e.g., spending balance), and credit and/or withdrawal rules associated with each budget account, according to various embodiments. In addition, in certain embodiments, the financial management system  300  provides systems and/or processes for assisting the consumer  110  with creating one or more budget accounts, such as the systems and processes described in U.S. application Ser. No. 12/821,631, entitled “Active Budget Control” and filed Jun. 23, 2010, which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety. 
     Furthermore, financial institutions have access to large amounts of consumer data because they maintain or administer their customers&#39; various financial accounts (e.g., credit card accounts, checking accounts, savings accounts, etc.) and because they have data related to their customers&#39; purchases. Financial institutions track and store data related to the goods or services (e.g., “products”) that customers purchase, when their customers make their purchases, where the customers make their purchases, how much the customers spend, and/or the like, both for online and offline purchases. In addition, financial institutions have direct ties with many different merchants that use the financial institutions for their own financial needs. Accordingly, financial institutions are in a unique position to track consumer transaction data for purchases made by the consumer. In various embodiments, the consumer transaction data  322  includes information about one or more consumer transactions, such as transaction amount, date/time, location, merchant, products, transaction type, payment method, and/or the like. In addition, according to some embodiments, the financial system  300  may also track spending trends of the consumer  110  at one or more merchants over a particular time period (e.g., a week, month, quarter, year, etc.). 
     Merchant System 
       FIG. 4  provides a block diagram illustrating the merchant system  400  of  FIG. 1  in more detail in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. The merchant system  400  generally includes a processor  410  communicably coupled to a communication interface  430  and a memory system  420 . Like the processor  210  described with respect to  FIG. 2 , the processor  410  comprises the circuitry and logic to perform the various functions of the merchant system  400  described herein. The communication interface  430  includes a network interface  432  and a user interface  434 , which may be similar to those described above with respect to  FIG. 2 . 
     The memory system  420  may include a web browser application  422  and/or a budget communication system client application  421  which comprise computer-executable instructions/code executed by the processor  410  to implement at least some of the functions of the merchant system  400  described herein. These applications also typically provide a graphical user interface (GUI) on the user interface  434  that allows a merchant representative to communicate with the budget communication system  500  and/or other devices. In one embodiment of the invention, a merchant representative downloads the budget communication system client application  421  from the budget communication system  500 . In other embodiments of the invention, the merchant interacts with the budget communication system  500  by using the web browser application  220  to access and log into a website of the budget communication system  500 . The merchant may use these applications to enroll in the budget communication system  500  and to communicate (or update) gift card balances and/or merchant preferences for the budget communication system  500 . The memory system  420  may also include consumer transaction data  424  and/or spending account (e.g., gift card) balances  423  stored therein. 
     In some embodiments, the merchant system  400  tracks consumer transaction data  424  for consumers doing business with the merchant. In certain embodiments of the invention, the consumer transaction data  424  is communicated to the budget communication system  500  for providing spending trend information to the consumer  110  and/or for determining how budget information should be presented to the consumer&#39;s mobile device. In some instances, this information is provided in real time or substantially real time relative to when the transaction between the consumer  110  and the merchant actually occurs. 
     The merchant system  400  may also include, in some embodiments, one or more positioning system devices  470 , such as one or more proximity sensors for sensing a consumer mobile device  200  entering or leaving the merchant&#39;s location. For example, in one embodiment of the invention, the merchant has one or more sensors/transceivers located at the entrances and exits to the merchant&#39;s location that are configured to detect when a consumer  110  going through the entrance or exit holding a mobile device  200  that is configured to communicate a consumer identifier to the sensors/transceivers. The consumer location information gathered by the positioning system devices  470  is then communicated to the budget communication system  500  so that the budget communication system  500  knows whether the consumer  110  is at, entering, or exiting the merchant facility. In other embodiments of the invention, the merchant may be mobile and, as such, some embodiments of the positioning devices  470  are GPS devices indicating the location of the merchant so that the budget communication system  500  can determine the merchant&#39;s location relative to the location of one or more consumers. It will be appreciated that, in some embodiments of the invention, the merchant system  400  does not have any positioning system devices  470  since, for example, a GPS system or a similar system not associated with the merchant system  400  may be used to determine the location of the consumer  110 , while the merchant locations may already be known and stored in the memory of the budget communication system  500 . 
     Budget Communication System 
       FIG. 5  provides a block diagram illustrating the budget communication system  500  of  FIG. 1  in more detail in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. The budget communication system  500  generally includes a processor  510  communicably coupled to a communication interface  530  and a memory system  520 . Like the processor  210  described above with respect to  FIG. 2 , the processor  510  comprises the circuitry and logic to perform the various functions of the budget communication system  500  described herein. The communication interface  530  includes a network interface  532  and a user interface  534 , which may be similar to those described above with respect to  FIG. 2 . The memory system  520  includes a budget communication system application  521  including computer-executable processor code that instructs the processor  510  to perform the various functions described herein as being performed by the budget communication system  500 . The memory system  520  also includes merchant and consumer location data  525 , consumer transaction data  524 , consumer preference data  522 , and budget account data  523  stored therein. 
     The merchant and consumer location data  525  includes location data for each of a plurality of merchants and each of a plurality of participating consumers  110 . According to various embodiments, the merchant location data may be determined by public directories containing addresses of various merchants, from the merchant system  400  for some merchants, from the positioning system  150 , the financial management system  300 , and/or other systems or entities that provide addresses or other location information for one or more merchants. The consumer location data is received from the positioning system  150 , which as described above, determines the consumer&#39;s current location and/or travel history by tracking the position of the consumer&#39;s mobile device  200  over time. 
     The consumer transaction data  524  includes information about one or more consumer transactions, such as transaction amount, time, location, merchant, products, transaction type, coupons used, payment method, and/or the like. The budget communication system  500  may receive the consumer transaction data  524  from the financial management system  300 , the merchant system  400 , the consumer mobile device  200 , and/or other systems. In some embodiments of the invention, the budget communication system application  521  (when executed by the processor  510 ) maps the consumer transaction data  524  against the merchant and consumer location data  525  by, amongst other things, correlating the time of each consumer transaction with the consumer&#39;s location at that time and by comparing the consumer&#39;s location with the locations of a plurality of merchants. In this way, spending trends are identified for each consumer  110 . 
     The consumer preference data  522  may include, for example, information used by the budget communication system  500  to determine the type(s) of budget account(s) or spending account(s) (e.g., gift cards) for which the consumer  110  may be interested in viewing budget information, when the consumer  110  would like to receive budget information, how the consumer  110  would like to receive budget information, the merchant or type(s) of merchant(s) for which the consumer  110  would like to receive spending trend information, when the consumer  110  would like for the consumer&#39;s location to be tracked by the budget communication system  500 , the particular distance range between the consumer mobile device and the merchant location when budget or spending trend information should be communicated to the mobile device  200 , and/or the like. The consumer preference data  522  may be, for example, consumer-generated and received from the consumer mobile device  200 . The consumer preference data  522  may also be determined by the budget communication system  500  automatically and/or based on trends identified in the consumer transaction data  524 . Some examples of consumer preference data  522  are described in greater detail below with reference to the flow charts shown in  FIGS. 6 through 8 . 
     The budget account data  523  may include, for example, for each budget and/or spending account: a budget balance amount, a merchant or type(s) of merchant(s) associated with the budget account, merchant category code(s) associated with the budget account, and a budget account name. In some embodiments, at least a portion of the budget account data  523  is provided to the budget communication system  500  from the financial management system  300 , and in other embodiments, the budget account data  523  is provided directly to the budget communication system  500 . Some examples of budget account data  523  are described in greater detail below with reference to  FIG. 6 through 11 . 
     Exemplary Position-Based Budget Communication Processes 
       FIG. 6  provides a flow chart illustrating a position-based budget communication process  600  in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. As represented by block  602 , the consumer  110  downloads the budget communication system client application  221  to the consumer&#39;s mobile device  200 . In one embodiment, the consumer uses the web browser application  222  and the network interface  260  of the mobile device  200  to connect to the budget communication system  500  over the network  120  to download to the budget communication system client application  221  from the budget communication system  500 . For example, where the budget communication system  500  is maintained by or otherwise associated with a financial institution, the consumer  110  may use the mobile device  200  to connect to the financial institution&#39;s mobile banking website on the Internet and then download the budget communication system client application  221 . In other embodiments, the budget communication client application  221  comes pre-installed on the mobile device  200  or is stored on the mobile device  200  in other ways. In still other embodiments of the invention, a budget communication system client application  221  is not required and, instead, the budget communication system  500  utilizes standard hardware and software applications of the mobile device  200 , such as a standard web browser application  222 , to communicate with the consumer  110  and/or perform the other functions of the mobile device  200 . 
     As represented by block  604 , the consumer  110  then initiates a shopping event, thereby activating the location tracking feature of the budget communication system client application  221  and/or budget communication system application  521 . For example, in one embodiment, the consumer  110  initiates a shopping event by, for example, using the user interface of the mobile device  200  to activate the budget communication system client application  221  and its tracking features. In other embodiments, the budget communication system client application  221  is always running, running on a schedule, or activated in other ways. In some embodiments, the consumer  110  must be authenticated, via, for example a username and password, by the budget communication system  500  and/or the budget communication system client application  221  before personalized budget information is displayed on the consumer mobile device  200 . In other embodiments of the invention, authentication is not required. 
     As represented by block  606 , the budget communication system application  521  receives the consumer&#39;s mobile device&#39;s  200  location information. For example, in one embodiment of the invention, the positioning system  150  determines the location of the consumer&#39;s mobile device  200  relative to the world or other geography (e.g., via a GPS system or similar system). In another example embodiment, proximity sensors are located proximate to one or more merchants, and these sensors can determine when the consumer mobile device  200  is visiting, approaching, and/or leaving the one or more merchants. For example, participating merchants may install sensors at each entrance and exit of the merchant location and determine that a consumer  110  is visiting the merchant location by sensing the positioning system device  275  of the consumer mobile device  200  when the consumer  110  walks through an entrance with the consumer mobile device  200 . In such an embodiment, the budget communication system  200  may determine that the consumer  110  is leaving the merchant location by either having dedicated exits, by determining the proximity of the consumer mobile device  200  to an exit, or by determining that the consumer  110  must be exiting if the consumer mobile device  200  is sensed in an entrance/exit after being sensed when the consumer  110  entered the merchant location. In another embodiment of the invention, the consumer mobile device  200  has a sensor configured to sense transmitters or other devices located proximate one or more merchants (e.g., at the entrances and exits of the merchant&#39;s location) and then communicates the sensed information to the budget communication system  500 . 
     Then, as represented by block  608 , the budget communication system  500  identifies a merchant that is located within a particular distance range of the consumer&#39;s mobile device  200 . According to various embodiments, for example, the budget communication system  500  compares the consumer&#39;s mobile device&#39;s  200  location to the known location (e.g., address) of one or more merchants. For example, in one embodiment, the budget communication system  500  utilizes a database storing merchant locations to determine which merchant locations are within the particular distance range of the consumer&#39;s mobile device  200 . According to some embodiments, the particular distance range is between 0 and about 200 feet, and in one embodiment, the particular distance range is between 0 and about 50 feet. In yet another embodiment, the particular distance range is less than about 50 feet. In other embodiments, the distance range may include other distances (e.g., one mile, a half mile, a quarter kilometer, etc.). The particular distance range, according to various embodiments, is set by the consumer  110  via the budget communication system client application  221  and is stored as consumer preference data  522 . Some embodiments of the system may have a distance range of zero and require that the consumer enter the merchant location. 
     Next, as represented by block  610 , the budget communication system  500  identifies a category associated with the merchant identified in block  608  as being within the particular distance range of the consumer&#39;s mobile device  200 . In various embodiments, the category may be related to a product type or a merchant type. For example, according to certain embodiments, the merchant type is based at least in part on the merchant category code (MCC) associated with the merchant. A listing of MCCs for various merchants can be found at http://www.mrsc.org/govdocs/p58mcc_codes.pdf, which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety. According to certain embodiments, the budget communication system  500  stores a table listing various MCCs and a merchant type associated with each MCC as budget account data  523 . An exemplary table  900  according to one particular embodiment is shown in  FIG. 9 , which indicates, for example, that MCCs within the ranges of 3000-3299, 3351-3780, 4011-4789, and 7011-7033 correspond to travel merchant types, and MCCs within the range of 5200-5251 correspond to home improvement/repair merchant types. 
     However, some MCCs may not be sufficiently specific to allow the system  500  to identify merchant types that correspond with some of the budget accounts set up by the consumer  110 , such as, for example, a “coffee” or a “work clothing” budget account. In addition, some merchants may sell different types of items (e.g., groceries and prepared meals), and the consumer  110  may wish to specify which budget account (e.g., grocery or restaurant) should be associated with the particular merchant. To accommodate such situations, according to one embodiment, the budget communication system  500  stores one or more MCC-specific tables that list names of one or more merchants assigned a specific MCC and a merchant type associated with each merchant. An exemplary MCC-specific table  1000  according to one particular embodiment is shown in  FIG. 10 , which lists the merchant names of various merchants having an MCC of 5499 (Misc. Food Stores—Convenience Stores and Specialty Markets). In addition, according to other embodiments, the system  500  stores one or more tables (not shown) that are not MCC-specific but that list the names of one or more merchants and the merchant type (or types) associated with each merchant. 
     In certain embodiments, the merchant name tables discussed above may be set up by the consumer  110  via the budget communication client application  221  and/or  521  or through the financial management system  300 . In other embodiments, the merchant tables may be set up by the financial institution initially, and the consumer  110  may modify the tables. In addition, according to one embodiment, the tables include merchants that are located within a certain distance range (e.g., about 25 to about 50 miles) of the consumer&#39;s home and/or work address. 
     As shown in block  612 , the budget communication system  500  then retrieves from the budget account data  523  stored in the memory  520  budget information associated with the consumer and the merchant. According to various embodiments, the budget information is associated with a budget, and the budget is associated with the category identified in block  610 . In certain embodiments, the budget is a consumer-defined amount of money available to be spent within the category over a particular time period, and in a particular embodiment, the budget information is associated with a budget account that is associated with the category. 
     According to various embodiments, the category corresponds to a merchant type. For example, in certain embodiments, the budget communication system  500  stores one or more tables listing merchant types and the corresponding budget account, such as the table  1100  shown in  FIG. 11 . In addition, according to various embodiments, the budget information retrieved includes, for example, how much has been spent during a certain time period (e.g., month, week) on purchases associated with the budget account, the budget account balance, and the budget account name. 
     Next, as shown in block  614 , the budget communication system  500  communicates at least a portion of the budget information to the consumer&#39;s mobile device  200  via the network  120 , and in block  616 , the budget communication system client application  221  on the consumer&#39;s mobile device  200  causes the communicated budget information to be displayed on the mobile device  200 . According to various embodiments, at least the budget account name, the account balance, and the amount spent during a certain time period is communicated to the consumer&#39;s mobile device  200  and is caused to be displayed thereon. However, in other embodiments, only the budget account name and the account balance are communicated to the consumer&#39;s mobile device  200 . In various embodiments, the type of budget information to be communicated to the consumer  110  is set by a manager of the budget communication system  500  or the consumer  110 . And, in a particular embodiment, the type of budget information to be communicated to the consumer  110  is initially set by the manager of the budget communication system  500 , and the consumer  110  may then make adjustments via the budget communication system client application  221  and/or  521 . 
       FIG. 7  illustrates a process  700  of communicating balance information associated with a spending (e.g., a gift card) and/or budget account to the consumer&#39;s mobile device  200 . The process  700  illustrated in  FIG. 7  is similar to process  600  described above in relation to  FIG. 6 , but in process  700 , the budget communication system  500  does not necessarily identify a category associated with the merchant as shown in block  610 . In particular, beginning with block  702 , the budget communication system  500  receives location information for the consumer&#39;s mobile device  200 . Then, in block  704 , the system  500  identifies a merchant located within a particular distance range of the consumer&#39;s mobile device  200 . Next, at block  706 , the system  500  retrieves budget information associated with the consumer and the merchant. Finally, at block  708 , the system  500  communicates the budget information to the consumer&#39;s mobile device  200 . 
     Referring back to block  706 , according to various embodiments, the budget information may include, for example, information about an amount of money available in a spending account (e.g., a gift card) that is held by the consumer  110  and can be used for purchases from the merchant (or an entity affiliated with the merchant), information about an amount of money that the consumer  110  has spent at the merchant within a particular period of time, or information about a balance of a budget account set up by the consumer  110  that is associated with a category associated with the merchant. According to various embodiments, if the spending account corresponds to a gift card, the budget information associated with the gift card is stored in the memory  520  of the budget communication system  500  or in the memory  420  of the merchant system  400 . Similarly, according to various embodiments, if the budget information includes information about the balance of the budget account set up by the consumer  110  through the financial management system  300 , the balance information is stored in the memory  520  of the budget communication system  500  or the memory  320  of the financial management system  300 . 
     According to certain embodiments, the budget communication system  500  also monitors the budget information, and in particular, a spending balance (not shown). For example, in one embodiment of the invention, the budget communication system  500  is in constant or frequent communication with the financial management system  300  and/or the merchant system  400 . When, for example, the consumer  110  makes a purchase using a merchant-issued gift card, the merchant system  400  receives information about the transaction, and when the consumer makes a purchase using a payment device issued or authorized by the financial institution (e.g., a credit card or debit card, check, etc.), the financial management system  300  receives information about the transaction via, for example, a request to authorize the financial component of the transaction. The transaction information is then communicated to the budget communication system  500  in real time or substantially real time, according to some embodiments. In this way, the budget communication system  500  can update quickly (e.g., in real time or substantially real time) spending or budget account balances associated with the merchant from which a purchase was made. In other embodiments, the budget communication system receives information about the purchase from the consumer mobile device  200  instead of or in addition to from the financial management system  300  or the merchant system  400 . 
       FIG. 8  illustrates a process  800  of communicating budget information associated with at least one spending or budget account to the consumer mobile device  200 . The process  700  illustrated in  FIG. 8  is similar to the processes  600 ,  700  described above in relation to  FIGS. 6 and 7 , respectively, but in process  800 , the budget communication system  500  identifies two or more merchants and communicates information regarding the existence of budget information associated with the two or more merchants to the consumer&#39;s mobile device  200 . In particular, beginning with block  806 , the budget communication system  500  receives location information for the consumer&#39;s mobile device  200 . Then, in block  808 , the system  500  identifies two or more merchants located within a particular distance range of the consumer&#39;s mobile device  200 . Next, at block  810 , the system  500  communicates to the consumer&#39;s mobile device  200  information regarding the existence of budget information associated with the two or more merchants. According to a particular embodiment, the system  500  communicates a list of budget and/or spending accounts associated with the two or more merchants to the consumer&#39;s mobile device  200 . For example, if one merchant is associated with a grocery budget account and two merchants are associated with a travel budget account, the system  500  communicates a list indicating that merchants nearby are associated with the consumer&#39;s grocery and travel budgets. In addition, according to one embodiment, the system  500  may also communicate the number of nearby merchants that are associated with each spending account. 
     Next, the budget communication system client application  221  receives the information communicated in block  810  (block  811 ), causes the information to be displayed to on the consumer&#39;s mobile device  220  (block  812 ), receives a selection from the consumer  110  to view the budget information associated with one or more of the spending and/or budget accounts (block  813 ), and communicates the selection to the budget communication system  500  (block  814 ). For example, according to various embodiments, the client application  221  causes a check box or radio button to be displayed next to each spending and/or budget account listed, and the consumer  110  selects, using this interface, the account(s) the consumer wishes to view. In other embodiments, the client application  221  only allows the consumer  110  to select one spending or budget account to view at a time. 
     Then, at block  816 , the budget communication system  500  receives the selection and retrieves from memory  520  (e.g., budget account data  523 ) budget information associated with the selected spending and/or budget account(s), and in block  818 , the retrieved budget information is communicated to the consumer&#39;s mobile device  200 . 
     According to other embodiments (not shown), the budget communication system  500  selects the spending and/or budget account(s) for which budget information is communicated to the consumer&#39;s mobile device  200  based at least in part on the consumer&#39;s transaction data  524 . In yet another embodiment, the system  500  selects the spending and/or budget account(s) based at least in part on consumer preference data  522  indicating which spending and/or budget account(s) should be given a certain priority. 
     And, in yet another embodiment (not shown), the system  500  updates the budget information communicated to the consumer&#39;s mobile device  200  based on whether the consumer  110  and the mobile device  200  are within the store of a particular merchant or are exiting the store. For example, the system  500  communicates budget information associated with one particular merchant when the system  500  determines that the consumer  110  is entering or is located within the particular merchant&#39;s store using the positioning system  150  in conjunction with the consumer&#39;s mobile device  200 . As described above, this determination may be made using a GPS or similar system that identifies the location of the consumer mobile device  200  generally, and/or using a proximity sensor system proximate the merchant&#39;s store that identifies whether the consumer mobile device  200  is in close proximity to the merchant&#39;s store or has entered the merchant&#39;s store. For example, in one embodiment of the invention, the positioning system  150  determines that the consumer  110  walks into an electronics store by identifying the consumer&#39;s mobile device  200  within the store. After some time, the budget communication system  500  senses the consumer&#39;s mobile device  200  going through an exit of the electronic store and, determines based on this information, that the consumer  110  is leaving the electronics store. In response, the system  500  updates the budget information communicated to the consumer&#39;s mobile device  200  to include the budget information associated with other nearby merchants but not the budget information associated with the electronics store. 
     As will be appreciated by one of skill in the art, the present invention may be embodied as a method (including, for example, a computer-implemented process, a business process, and/or any other process), apparatus (including, for example, a system, machine, device, computer program product, and/or the like), or a combination of the foregoing. Accordingly, embodiments of the present invention may take the form of an entirely hardware embodiment, an entirely software embodiment (including firmware, resident software, micro-code, etc.), or an embodiment combining software and hardware aspects that may generally be referred to herein as a “system.” Furthermore, embodiments of the present invention may take the form of a computer program product on a computer-readable medium having computer-executable program code embodied in the medium. 
     It will be understood that any suitable computer-readable medium may be utilized. The computer-readable medium may include, but is not limited to, a non-transitory computer-readable medium, such as a tangible electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, and/or semiconductor system, device, and/or other apparatus. For example, in some embodiments, the non-transitory computer-readable medium includes a tangible medium such as 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), a compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), and/or some other tangible optical and/or magnetic storage device. In other embodiments of the present invention, however, the computer-readable medium may be transitory, such as, for example, a propagation signal including computer-executable program code portions embodied therein. 
     In the context of this document, a computer readable medium may be any medium that can contain, store, communicate, or transport the program for use by or in connection with the instruction execution system, apparatus, or device. The computer usable program code may be transmitted using any appropriate medium, including but not limited to the Internet, wireline, optical fiber cable, radio frequency (RF) signals, or other mediums. 
     One or more computer-executable program code portions for carrying out operations of the present invention may include object-oriented, scripted, and/or unscripted programming languages, such as, for example, Java, Perl, Smalltalk, C++, SAS, SQL, Python, Objective C, and/or the like. In some embodiments, the one or more computer-executable program code portions for carrying out operations of embodiments of the present invention are written in conventional procedural programming languages, such as the “C” programming languages and/or similar programming languages. The computer program code may alternatively or additionally be written in one or more multi-paradigm programming languages, such as, for example, F#. 
     Some embodiments of the present invention are described herein with reference to flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams of apparatuses and/or methods. It will be understood that each block included in the flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams, and/or combinations of blocks included in the flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams, may be implemented by one or more computer-executable program code portions. These one or more computer-executable program code portions may be provided to a processor of a general purpose computer, special purpose computer, and/or some other programmable data processing apparatus in order to produce a particular machine, such that the one or more computer-executable program code portions, which execute via the processor of the computer and/or other programmable data processing apparatus, create mechanisms for implementing the steps and/or functions represented by the flowchart(s) and/or block diagram block(s). 
     The one or more computer-executable program code portions may be stored in a transitory and/or non-transitory computer-readable medium (e.g., a memory, etc.) that can direct, instruct, and/or cause a computer and/or other programmable data processing apparatus to function in a particular manner, such that the computer-executable program code portions stored in the computer-readable medium produce an article of manufacture including instruction mechanisms which implement the steps and/or functions specified in the flowchart(s) and/or block diagram block(s). The one or more computer-executable program code portions may also be loaded onto a computer and/or other programmable data processing apparatus to cause a series of operational steps to be performed on the computer and/or other programmable apparatus. In some embodiments, this produces a computer-implemented process such that the one or more computer-executable program code portions which execute on the computer and/or other programmable apparatus provide operational steps to implement the steps specified in the flowchart(s) and/or the functions specified in the block diagram block(s). Alternatively, computer-implemented steps may be combined with, and/or replaced with, operator- and/or human-implemented steps in order to carry out an embodiment of the present invention. 
     As used herein, a processor/computer, which may include one or more processors/computers, may be “configured to” perform a stated function in a variety of ways, including, for example, by having one or more general-purpose circuits perform the stated function by executing one or more computer-executable program code portions embodied in a computer-readable medium, and/or by having one or more application-specific circuits perform the stated function. 
     While certain exemplary embodiments have been described and shown in the accompanying drawings, it is to be understood that such embodiments are merely illustrative of, and not restrictive on, the broad invention, and that this invention not be limited to the specific constructions and arrangements shown and described, since various other changes, combinations, omissions, modifications and substitutions, in addition to those set forth in the above paragraphs, are possible. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that various adaptations and modifications of the just described embodiments can be configured without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention. Therefore, it is to be understood that, within the scope of the appended claims, the invention may be practiced other than as specifically described herein.