Patent Publication Number: US-2005127165-A1

Title: Systems and methods for credit card charge validation over a network

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION  
      This application claims benefit under 35 U.S.C. §119(e) to provisional patent application Ser. No. 60/520,832 filed on Nov. 17, 2003 entitled “Systems and Methods for Credit Card Charge Validation Over a Network”. 
    
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
      The present invention relates to online systems and methods and, more particularly, to systems and methods that facilitate credit card charge validation over a computer network, such as the Internet.  
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
      When a consumer disputes a credit card purchase at a store or point of sale system, an issuer of the credit card typically requires the store to produce proof of the consumer&#39;s signature for the transaction. If the store is unable to produce such proof, the charge is often reversed by the credit card issuer and the store absorbs the loss.  
      Most conventional methods implemented by stores for obtaining proof of the consumer&#39;s signature are slow and vary between stores, resulting in the stores losing a substantial amount of money due to the inability of the stores to produce proof of signature or to produce it in a timely manner. In addition, conventional methods for retrieving a credit card receipt with a signature of a person (such as disclosed in Houvener et al, U.S. Pat. No. 6,397,194) often require special equipment for scanning the transaction document at each point of sale location and for storing digital photographs of authorized users of the credit cards to be used for validation of a credit card purchase at the time of the purchase. This special equipment can be expensive to purchase and maintain across an enterprise of stores.  
      Therefore, a need has long existed for systems and methods that overcome the problems noted above and others previously experienced by stores for validating a credit card purchase.  
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
      Methods and systems consistent with the present invention provide a validation tool that allows a point of sale system, such as a store or a retailer, to locate a credit card receipt associated with a disputed charge from a group of scanned and stored credit card receipts so that the located credit card receipt can be transmitted to a corresponding credit card issuer for further validation processing.  
      In accordance with methods and systems consistent with the present invention, a method is provided in a data processing system. The data processing system has a remote data processor and a point of sale system that are each operably connected to a network. The method comprises receiving a plurality of credit card receipts by the remote data processor from the point of sale system, scanning each of the plurality of credit card receipts, and electronically associating a plurality of information items with each scanned credit card receipt. The plurality of information items include at least one of a receipt date, a first identifier for the point of sale system, and a second identifier for an account corresponding to the scanned credit card receipt. The method further comprises storing each of the plurality of scanned credit card receipts with the respective plurality of information items in a storage device operably connected to the remote data processor, receiving a notice of a disputed charge, in response to receiving the notice of the disputed charge, determining whether one of the scanned credit card receipt stored on the storage device corresponds to the disputed charge based on said at least one of the plurality of information items associated with the each scanned credit card receipt, and when it is determined that one of the scanned credit card receipts is stored on the storage device, transmitting the one scanned credit card receipt to either a corresponding point of sale system or a corresponding credit card issuer.  
      Other systems, methods, features, and advantages of the present invention will be or will become apparent to one with skill in the art upon examination of the following figures and detailed description. It is intended that all such additional systems, methods, features, and advantages be included within this description, be within the scope of the invention, and be protected by the accompanying claims. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
      The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate an implementation of the present invention and, together with the description, serve to explain the advantages and principles of the invention. In the drawings:  
       FIG. 1  depicts a block diagram of a data processing system having a remote data processor suitable for practicing methods and implementing systems consistent with the present invention.  
       FIGS. 2A-2B  depict a flow diagram illustrating an exemplary process performed by a validation tool of the data processing system in  FIG. 1  to allow a point of sales system to locate an electronic copy of a credit card receipt corresponding to a disputed charge.  
       FIG. 3  depicts a credit card receipt scanned and stored in association with information items by the validation tool;  
       FIG. 4  depicts an exemplary user interface transferred by the validation tool to an operator for identification of a credit card account on the scanned credit card receipt; and  
       FIG. 5  depicts an exemplary user interface generated by the validation tool interface of  FIG. 1  to allow a user to submit a request for locating a scanned credit card receipt associated with a disputed charge. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
      Reference will now be made in detail to an implementation in accordance with methods, systems, and products consistent with the present invention as illustrated in the accompanying drawings. The same reference numbers may be used throughout the drawings and the following description to refer to the same or like parts.  
       FIG. 1  depicts a block diagram of a data processing system  100  suitable for practicing methods and implementing systems consistent with the present invention. The data processing system  100  includes a remote data processor  102  and one or more point of sale systems  104   a - 104   n . The one or more point of sale systems  104   a - 104   n  may correspond to a store, restaurant, or any business location where a person may use a credit card to complete a purchase at the point of sale system and a manual credit card receipt  50   a - 50   n  is generated in response to the credit card purchase. In another implementation, the point of sale system  104   a  may correspond to a retailer that manages or owns stores (e.g.,  104   b - 104   n ) in which a person may use a credit card to complete a purchase and a manual credit card receipt  50   a - 50   n  is produced in response to the credit card purchase.  
      As shown in  FIG. 1 , each point of sale system  104   a - 104   n  has a point of sale computer  105 . The remote data processor  102  and each point of sale system  104   a - 104   n  are operably connected via a network  106 . The remote data processor  102  and the one or more point of sale systems  104   a - 104   n  are preferably in communication with a plurality of credit card issuers  108   a - 108   n  via the network  106 . The network  106  may be any known private or public communication network, such as a local area network (“LAN”), WAN, Peer-to-Peer, or the Internet, using standard communications protocols. The network  106  may include hardwired as well as wireless branches. As discussed below, a person may dispute a charge on a credit card receipt (e.g.,  50   a - 50   n ) with a corresponding credit card issuer (e.g.,  108   a - 108   n ). Either the remote data processor  102 , the point of sale system (e.g.,  104   b - 104   n ) where the transaction associated with the disputed charge took place, or the retailer (e.g.,  104   a ) that owns or manages the point of sale system (e.g.,  104   b - 104   n ) where the transaction associated with the disputed charge took place may receive the disputed charge from the credit card issuer and then process the disputed charge as discussed below to validate the disputed charge.  
      The remote data processor  102  and the point of sale computer  105  each include a central processing unit or CPU ( 110  and  112 , respectively), a memory ( 114  and  116 , respectively), a secondary storage device ( 118  and  120 , respectively), a display ( 122  and  124 , respectively), and an I/O device ( 126  and  128 , respectively). The I/O devices  126  and  128  are operably configured to connect the respective computer  102  and  105  to the network  108  and to a scanner  132 .  
      Memory  114  in remote data processor  102  includes a validation tool  130  used in accordance with systems and methods consistent with the present invention to allow the one or more point of sale systems (including a retailer  104   a  in one implementation) to locate an electronic copy of one of the credit card receipts  50   a - 50   n  to validate a disputed charge associated with the one credit card receipt. As discussed in further detail below, the validation tool  130  may operably control the scanner  132  to scan the credit card receipts  50   a - 50   n  from each point of sale system  104   a - 104   n , associate respective information items with each scanned credit card receipt  50   a - 50   n , and store the scanned credit card receipts  50   a - 50   n  with the associated information items in secondary storage device  118  or in an external database  134  operably connected to the remote data processor.  
      Memory  116  in the point of sale computer  105  includes a validation tool interface  136  used in accordance with systems and methods consistent with the present invention to allow the retailer or one or more point of sale systems to request that an electronic copy of the credit card receipt associated with the disputed charge (e.g., one of  50   a - 50   n ) be located to validate the disputed charge for the corresponding credit card issuer  108   a - 108   n . In one implementation, the validation tool interface  136  may be a known e-mail tool or instant messaging tool that is capable of sending a request across the network  106 . In another implementation, the validation tool interface includes a web browser, such Microsoft™ Internet Explorer or Netscape Navigator, that is capable of accessing a web page associated with the validation tool  130  for submitting a request across the network  108 .  
       FIGS. 2A-2B  depict a flow diagram of a process performed by the validation tool  130  of the remote data processor  102  to allow a point of sale system to locate an electronic copy of a credit card receipt corresponding to a disputed charge. Initially, the validation tool  130  of the remote data processor  102  receives credit card receipts (e.g., credit card receipt  50 ) from the one or more of the point of sale systems  104   a - 104   n . (Step  202 ). In one implementation, each point of sale system  104   a - 104   n  periodically provides paper copies of credit card receipts  50  corresponding to recent purchases at the respective point of sale system  104  via mail, facsimile or other known transfer means. In another embodiment in which the point of sale system (e.g.,  104   a ) is a retailer that manages or owns other point of sale systems (e.g.,  104   b - 104   n ), the retailer  104   a  periodically provides paper copies of credit card receipts  50   a - 50   n  corresponding to purchases on a pre-determined date at one or more of the point of sale systems  104   b - 104   n  via mail, facsimile or other known transfer means. In this implementation, the retailer  104   a  or point of sale system  104   b - 104   n  may provide the credit card receipts  50   a - 50   n  in a batch, such as in a bag or bound bundle, with a batch header  60 . Alternatively, the remote data processor  102  or an operator associated with the remote data processor  102  may apply the batch header  60  to the batch of credit card receipts  50   a - 50   n  when the batch is received from the retailer  104   a  or the point of sale system  104   a - 104   n . The batch header  60  has a store identifier  62  to indicate the store or point of sale system  104   b - 104   n  where the credit card receipts  50   a - 50   n  in the batch originated. The batch header  60  may also include a receipt date  64  that indicates the date that the credit card receipts were generated at the respective store or point of sale system  104   b - 104   n . The batch header  60  may be bar coded and removeably affixed to the batch of credit card receipts  50   a - 50   n .  
      The validation tool  130  scans each of the credit card receipts  50   a - 50   n . (Step  204 ). In one implementation in which the credit card receipts  50   a - 50   n  are received in a batch with a batch header  60 , the validation tool  130  first scans the batch header  60  to identify the store id  62  and the date  64  associated with each of the credit card receipts in the batch. The validation tool  130  then electronically associates a plurality of information items with each scanned credit card receipt  50   a - 50   n . (Step.  206 ). The information items associated with each scanned credit card receipt  50   a - 50   n  allows either the remote data processor  102 , the retailer  104   a , or a respective point of sale system  104   b - 104   n  to locate and retrieve one of the credit card receipts  50   a - 50   n  to support validation of a disputed charge.  FIG. 3  depicts an exemplary user interface  302  produced by the validation tool  130  to illustrate a credit card receipt  303  having an account number  304  and a signature  305  that is scanned and stored in association with information items  306  by the validation tool  130 . In the implementation shown in  FIG. 3 , the information items  306  associated with the scanned credit card receipt  303  by the validation tool  130  include the following: a first identifier  308  for the store or point of sale system that sent the credit card receipt (e.g.,  303 ) to the remote data processor  104 , a receipt date  310  that reflects the date when the credit card receipt (e.g.,  303 ) was signed by an associated credit card holder, and a second identifier  312  for an account corresponding to the scanned credit card receipt  303 . The second identifier may include all or a portion of the digits corresponding to a number of the account of the account holder&#39;s name. For example, the last four digits of the scanned account number  304  may be used as the second identifier. In one implementation, the validation tool  130  is operatively configured to recognize digits in the scanned account number  304  and generate a text representation of the last four digits of the scanned account number  304  for electronic identification of the scanned credit card receipt  303  as further discussed below. In other embodiment, different items may be included in the information items  306  to associate with each scanned credit card receipt (e.g.,  50   a - 50   n ), such as the amount of each charge that may be disputed or the product (or service) associated with each charge that may be disputed. In the implementation in which the credit card receipts are sent in a batch with a batch header  60 , the validation tool  130  assigns the store identifier  62  as the first identifier  308  and assigns the date  64  on the batch header  60  as the receipt date  310  for each credit card receipt  50   a - 50   n  in the batch.  
      Returning to  FIG. 2A , the validation tool  130  then stores each of the scanned credit card receipts (e.g.,  303 ) with the respective plurality of information items (e.g.,  306 ). (Step  208 ). The validation tool  130  may store the scanned credit card receipts with the respective information items locally on secondary storage device  118  or on the database  134  operably connected to the remote data processor  102 .  
      The validation tool  130  may then determine whether any scanned account number  304  is unreadable (step  210 ). In one implementation, the validation tool  130  is operatively configured to recognize that a scanned account number  304  is unreadable when digits in the scanned account number  304  can not be recognized and generated into a text representation. Alternatively, the validation tool  130  may generate a first text representation of the scanned account number  304 , generate a second text representation of the scanned account number  304 , and compare the first text representation to the second text representation. When the first text representation and the second text representation are not the same, the validation tool may identify the respective scanned account number  304  for the current credit card receipt  303  as unreadable.  
      If there is no unreadable scanned account number, the validation tool  130  proceeds to step  222  to continue processing. If there is a scanned account number  304  that is unreadable, the validation tool  130  transfers the scanned credit card receipt with the unreadable account number (e.g., the current receipt) to an operator (step  212 ). In one implementation, the validation tool  130  transfers the scanned credit card receipt with the unreadable account number  304  to the display  122  for inspection by an operator using the remote data processor  102 . Alternatively, the validation tool  130  may transfer the scanned credit card receipt for inspection to an operator using another computer on the network  106 .  
      In the implementation shown in  FIG. 4 , the validation tool  130  submits the user interface  400  to the operator. The user interface  400  has multiple panels  402 ,  404 ,  406 , and  408  for displaying a respective scanned credit card receipt  410 ,  412 ,  414 , and  416 . The validation tool  130  identifies to the operator a current scanned credit card receipt for inspection from among the receipts  410 ,  412 ,  414 , and  416  by displaying an icon or symbol  418  in association with the current receipt (e.g., receipt  412  in  FIG. 4 ). The validation tool  130  allows the operator to identify the unreadable scanned account number  304  associated with the current receipt  412  by entering, via a keyboard or mouse (not shown) connected to I/O device  126 , all or a portion of the digits (e.g., the last four digits) of the scanned account number  304  on the current receipt  412 . The operator may enter the digits of the scanned account number  304  on the current receipt  412  as the second identifier  312  in the panel  404  associated with the current receipt  412 . Alternatively, the operator may indicate to the validation tool  130  that the scanned account number  304  of the current receipt  412  cannot be visually identified by sending the validation tool  130  a reject signal via a mouse click on a reject icon  420 , a dedicated keyboard input (not shown in figures), or other known data input techniques. After the operator has either entered the digits of the scanned account number  304  for the current receipt  412  or identified that the scanned account number  304  of the current receipt  412  cannot be visually identified, the validation tool  130  moves the symbol  418  to the next receipt in a clock wise or counter clock wise direction (e.g., to panel  414  or  410 , respectively) and replaces the current receipt  412  with another scanned credit card receipt with an unreadable account number  304 . Thus, the validation tool  130  is able to support rapid inspection of multiple scanned credit card receipts in accordance with methods and systems consistent with the present invention.  
      Returning to  FIG. 2A , the validation tool  130  then determines whether the unreadable account number was identified by the operator (step  214 ). In the implementation shown in  FIG. 4 , the validation tool  130  is able to determine whether the unreadable account number  304  of the current receipt  412  was identified in response to the operator entering the digits of the scanned account number  304  for the current receipt  412  or was not identified in response to the operator sending the validation tool  130  a reject signal. If the account number was not identified by the operator, the validation tool  130  catalogs the current receipt  412  as having an unidentifiable account number (step  216 ) such that the validation tool  130  is able to subsequently retrieve the current receipt  412  for inspection by the retailer  104   a  or a point of sale system  104   b - 104   n  when the validation tool  130  is not able to validate a disputed charge using the second identifier  312  or credit card account number assigned to scanned credit card receipts  50   a - 50   n  in accordance with methods and systems consistent with the present invention.  
      If the account number was identified by the operator, the validation tool  130  stores the account number identified by the operator as the second identifier for the current receipt  412  (step  218 ). In one implementation, the validation tool  130  may store the account number identified by the operator when the operator enters the account number as the second identifier  312  in the panel  404  in which the current receipt  412  is displayed.  
      Next, the validation tool  130  determines whether there are more unreadable scanned account numbers (step  220 ). If there are more unreadable scanned account numbers, the validation proceeds to step  212  to continue processing.  
      Turning to  FIG. 2B , if there are no more unreadable scanned account numbers, the validation tool  130  determines whether a notice of a disputed charge has been received. (Step  222 ). The disputed charge may be any charge under inquiry by a corresponding credit card holder, such as a charge allegedly not made by the credit card holder, a charge that is alleged to be excessive by the credit card holder, or a charge that the credit card holder is unable to remember based on a corresponding product description.  FIG. 5  depicts an exemplary user interface  502  displayed by the validation tool interface  136  to allow an authorized user of a retailer  104   a  or a respective point of sale system  104   b - 104   n  to submit a request for locating one of the scanned credit card receipts (e.g., one of  50   a - 50   n  scanned by the validation tool  130 ) associated with the disputed charge. As shown in  FIG. 5 , the authorized user inputs, via a keyboard or mouse (not shown) connected to I/O device  128 , at least one of the information items  504  that are associated with a disputed charge, which the validation tool  130  may use to locate the one scanned credit card receipt associated with the disputed charge. The information items  504  include a first identifier  506 , a receipt date  508 , and a second identifier  508  that correspond to the information items  306  in  FIG. 3 . In the implementation shown in  FIG. 5 , the validation tool interface  136  allows the authorized user to submit the request or the notice of the disputed charge associated with the information items  504  when the authorized user actuates a pushbutton  512  on user interface  502 . Thus, the validation tool  130  may have a pending request or notice of a disputed charge from a retailer  104   a  or one of the point of sale systems  104   b - 104   n  when step  222  is performed.  
      In another embodiment, the validation tool  130  may receive a notice of a disputed charge from one of the point of sale systems  104   a - 104   n  by downloading any disputed charge from the credit card issuer systems  108   a - 108   n . In this embodiment, the disputed charges may be contained in a storage device  138  in  FIG. 1 , preferably a database, for each credit card issuer system. Each disputed charge stored in a respective storage device  138  has associated information items corresponding to information items  306 . In this implementation, steps  212  and  214  may be performed for each disputed charge downloaded from the storage device  138  of each credit card system  108   a - 108   n.    
      If it is determined that no notice of a disputed charge is received, the validation tool  130  ends processing. If it is determined that a notice of a disputed charge has been received, the validation tool  130  determines whether one of the stored scanned credit card receipts is associated with the disputed charge based on at least one of information items associated with the one scanned credit card receipt (step  226 ). For example, the validation tool  130  may use the receipt date  508  and the second identifier  510  associated with the received disputed charge notice to identify whether one of the stored scanned credit card receipts has a corresponding receipt data  310  and a corresponding second identifier  312 . The validation tool  130  may also use the first identifier  506  to further limit its search of stored scanned credit card receipts to only those receipts that have a first identifier  308  corresponding to a respective retailer or point of sale system  104   a - 104   n.    
      If it is determined that the one scanned credit card receipt has been stored, the validation tool  130  transmits the one scanned credit card receipt to either the point of sale system (e.g.,  104   a - 104   n ) corresponding to the first identifier  506  or to a credit card issuer (e.g.,  108   a - 108   n ) corresponding to the second identifier  510  so that the disputed charge may be validated.  
      In another embodiment, in lieu of perform steps  222  and  224  directly, the validation tool  130  may allow the one or more point of sale systems corresponding to the first identifier  506  to access the stored scanned credit card receipts over the network  106  to determine whether one of the stored credit card receipts corresponds to the information items  504  associated with the disputed charge and to transmit the one scanned credit card receipt to the credit card issuer corresponding to the second identifier  510 .  
      If it is determined that no stored credit card receipt is associated with the disputed charge, the validation tool  130  may end processing. Alternatively, before ending processing, the validation tool  130  may use the receipt date  508  and the first identifier  510  associated with the received disputed charge notice to provide the retailer  104   a  or point of sale system  104   b - 104   n  that submitted the notice  500  with a list of the credit card receipts  50   a - 50   n  that have been cataloged in step  216  as having an unidentifiable account number. The retailer  104   a  or point of sale system  104   b - 104   n  may then identify a stored credit card receipt from the list. Upon request from the retailer  104   a  or the point of sale system  104   b - 104   n , the validation tool  130  may use the first identifier  510  and a pre-determined date before or after the receipt date  508  to provide the retailer  104   a  or point of sale system  104   b - 104   n  with another list of the credit card receipts  50   a - 50   n  that have been cataloged in step  216  as having an unidentifiable account number. The retailer  104   a  or point of sale system  104   b - 104   n  may then identify a stored credit card receipt from the other list.  
      The foregoing description of an implementation of the invention has been presented for purposes of illustration and description. It is not exhaustive and does not limit the invention to the precise form disclosed. Modifications and variations are possible in light of the above teachings or may be acquired from practicing of the invention. Additionally, the described implementation includes software, such as validation tool  130 , but the present invention may be implemented as a combination of hardware and software or in hardware alone. Note also that the implementation may vary between systems. The invention may be implemented with both object-oriented and non-object-oriented programming systems. The claims and their equivalents define the scope of the invention.