Patent Publication Number: US-2013246141-A1

Title: Disruptively priced or free financial services or items in exchange for participation in opt in advertising

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application claims priority to and the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 61/641,677, entitled “Providing Monetary Incentives in Exchange for Participation in Opt-In Advertising”, filed on May 2, 2012. This application also claims priority to and is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/528,720, entitled “Disruptively Priced or Free Financial Services or Items in Exchange for Participation in Opt-In Advertising”, filed on Jun. 20, 2012, which itself claims priority to and the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 61/499,927, filed on Jun. 22, 2011, entitled “Disruptively Priced or Free Financial Services or Items in Exchange for Participation in Opt In Advertising”, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. This application further claims priority to and the benefit of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/484,199, entitled “Monetary Transaction System”, filed on May 30, 2012, which itself claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 61/522,099, filed on Aug. 10, 2011, entitled “Mobile Wallet Platform”, and U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 61/493,064, filed on Jun. 3, 2011, entitled “Mobile Wallet Platform”. Each of the aforementioned applications is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND 
     Mobile phones and other digital devices have become increasingly popular in recent years. Many mobile device users use their devices to perform countless different daily tasks. For instance, mobile devices allow users to check email, send and receive instant messages, check calendar items, take notes, set up reminders, browse the internet, play games or perform any number of different actions using specialized applications or “apps”. These applications allow mobile devices to communicate with other computer systems and perform a wide variety of network-connected tasks previously not possible with a mobile device. 
     BRIEF SUMMARY 
     Embodiments described herein are directed to providing disruptively priced or free financial services or items in exchange for participation in opt-in advertising. A user may opt-in to receive some form of advertising on his or her phone. The advertising may appear in a mobile wallet application used to pay for goods or services. The advertising may be related to products the user has previously purchased using the mobile wallet application. The user has an account with a mobile payment system that provides the mobile wallet application. The mobile payment system can provide the user with a variety of functionality including purchasing items along with one or more of depositing funds, withdrawing funds, transferring funds, etc. Accordingly, the user can use a digital device (e.g., a computer or mobile phone) to interact with the electronic payment system to pay for goods and/or services. 
     In exchange for a financial benefit, the user opts in to receive advertisements, coupons, vouchers, promotions, Buy One Get One (“BOGO”) offers or other benefits from the electronic payment system. Upon the user&#39;s agreement to participate in opt-in advertising, the electronic payment system may be permitted to store (e.g., by capturing purchase orders), track, and analyze items that the user purchases through their account with the electronic payment system. The electronic payment system stores and maintains a list of a user&#39;s purchased items in a data warehouse. The electronic payment system then analyzes the user&#39;s purchasing habits to identify advertisements and/or promotions that may be of interest to the user. The promotions (such as coupons) may then be sent to the user&#39;s mobile wallet application and applied automatically when the user purchases that item using the mobile wallet. 
     In other embodiments, an electronic payment system may be provided which provides monetary rewards in exchange for participation in opt-in advertising. For instance, the electronic payment system may be configured to receive an indication that a user is initiating participation in opt-in advertising. The advertising is sent to the user from the electronic payment system in exchange for a monetary reward. In most cases, the user will have a mobile wallet account at the electronic payment system. The electronic payment system then sends advertisements to a mobile wallet application running on a digital device of the user, determines an appropriate monetary reward based on the number and/or type of advertisements sent to the user&#39;s mobile wallet application, and provides the determined monetary reward to the user via the mobile wallet application on the user&#39;s digital device. 
     In yet another embodiment, an electronic payment system may be provided which allows users to redeem monetary rewards received for participation in opt-in advertising. The electronic payment system receives an indication from a user&#39;s mobile wallet application that a user is attempting to pay for a good or service using monetary rewards received in exchange for participation in opt-in advertising. In most cases, as above, the user will have a mobile wallet account at the electronic payment system. The electronic payment system then validates the user&#39;s mobile wallet account to ensure that the user&#39;s mobile wallet account has sufficient funds, including the monetary rewards, to pay for the specified good or service, and applies of the monetary rewards to the indicated good or service, allowing the user to purchase the indicated good or service using the received monetary rewards. In some cases, the electronic payment system may receive a subsequent indication from the user&#39;s mobile wallet application indicating that a coupon is to be applied for the purchase of the good or service. The electronic payment system may then determine whether the coupon applies to the indicated good or service and, if so, may apply the coupon to the indicated good or service, so that the user purchases the indicated good or service using the received monetary rewards at a price reduced by the amount of the coupon. 
     This Summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts in a simplified form that are further described below in the Detailed Description. This Summary is not intended to identify key features or essential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended to be used as an aid in determining the scope of the claimed subject matter. 
     Additional features and advantages will be set forth in the description which follows, and in part will be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art from the description, or may be learned by the practice of the teachings herein. Features and advantages of embodiments described herein may be realized and obtained by means of the instruments and combinations particularly pointed out in the appended claims. Features of the embodiments described herein will become more fully apparent from the following description and appended claims. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       To further clarify the above and other features of the embodiments described herein, a more particular description will be rendered by reference to the appended drawings. It is appreciated that these drawings depict only examples of the embodiments described herein and are therefore not to be considered limiting of its scope. The embodiments will be described and explained with additional specificity and detail through the use of the accompanying drawings in which: 
         FIG. 1  illustrates a monetary transaction system architecture in which embodiments described herein may operate. 
         FIG. 2  illustrates an alternate example embodiment of a monetary transaction system. 
         FIGS. 3A and 3B  illustrate example data flows for performing subscriber-to-subscriber and subscriber-to-non-subscriber eMoney transfers via a mobile wallet, respectively. 
         FIG. 4  illustrates an example data flow for making a retail purchase using a mobile wallet. 
         FIG. 5  illustrates a monetary transaction system architecture in which free or reduced price items may be provided in exchange for opt-in advertising. 
         FIG. 6  illustrates an example data flow for providing free or reduced price items in exchange for participation in opt-in advertising. 
         FIG. 7  illustrates an example screen shot of a mobile wallet application with opt-in advertisements. 
         FIG. 8  illustrates an example data flow for providing monetary rewards in exchange for participation in opt-in advertising. 
         FIG. 9  illustrates an example data flow for redeeming a monetary reward received for participation in opt-in advertising. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     Embodiments described herein are directed to providing disruptively priced or free financial services or items in exchange for participation in opt-in advertising. A user may opt-in to receive some form of advertising on his or her phone. The advertising may appear in a mobile wallet application used to pay for goods or services. The advertising may be related to products the user has previously purchased using the mobile wallet application. The user has an account with a mobile payment system that provides the mobile wallet application. The mobile payment system can provide the user with a variety of functionality including purchasing items along with one or more of depositing funds, withdrawing funds, transferring funds, etc. Accordingly, the user can use a digital device (e.g., a computer or mobile phone) to interact with the electronic payment system to pay for goods and/or services. 
     In exchange for a financial benefit, the user opts in to receive advertisements, coupons, vouchers, promotions, Buy One Get One (“BOGO”) offers or other benefits from the electronic payment system. Upon the user&#39;s agreement to participate in opt-in advertising, the electronic payment system may be permitted to store (e.g., by capturing purchase orders), track, and analyze items that the user purchases through their account with the electronic payment system. The electronic payment system stores and maintains a list of a user&#39;s purchased items in a data warehouse. The electronic payment system then analyzes the user&#39;s purchasing habits to identify advertisements and/or promotions that may be of interest to the user. The promotionsz (such as coupons) may then be sent to the user&#39;s mobile wallet application and applied automatically when the user purchases that item using the mobile wallet. 
     In other embodiments, an electronic payment system may be provided which provides monetary rewards in exchange for participation in opt-in advertising. For instance, the electronic payment system may be configured to receive an indication that a user is initiating participation in opt-in advertising. The advertising is sent to the user from the electronic payment system in exchange for a monetary reward. In most cases, the user will have a mobile wallet account at the electronic payment system. The electronic payment system then sends advertisements to a mobile wallet application running on a digital device of the user, determines an appropriate monetary reward based on the number and/or type of advertisements sent to the user&#39;s mobile wallet application, and provides the determined monetary reward to the user via the mobile wallet application on the user&#39;s digital device. 
     In yet another embodiment, an electronic payment system may be provided which allows users to redeem monetary rewards received for participation in opt-in advertising. The electronic payment system receives an indication from a user&#39;s mobile wallet application that a user is attempting to pay for a good or service using monetary rewards received in exchange for participation in opt-in advertising. In most cases, as above, the user will have a mobile wallet account at the electronic payment system. The electronic payment system then validates the user&#39;s mobile wallet account to ensure that the user&#39;s mobile wallet account has sufficient funds, including the monetary rewards, to pay for the specified good or service, and applies of the monetary rewards to the indicated good or service, allowing the user to purchase the indicated good or service using the received monetary rewards. In some cases, the electronic payment system may receive a subsequent indication from the user&#39;s mobile wallet application indicating that a coupon is to be applied for the purchase of the good or service. The electronic payment system may then determine whether the coupon applies to the indicated good or service and, if so, may apply the coupon to the indicated good or service, so that the user purchases the indicated good or service using the received monetary rewards at a price reduced by the amount of the coupon. 
     Embodiments described herein may comprise or utilize a special purpose or general-purpose computer including computer hardware, such as, for example, one or more processors and system memory, as discussed in greater detail below. Embodiments described herein also include physical and other computer-readable media for carrying or storing computer-executable instructions and/or data structures. Such computer-readable media can be any available media that can be accessed by a general purpose or special purpose computer system. Computer-readable media that store computer-executable instructions in the form of data are computer storage media. Computer-readable media that carry computer-executable instructions are transmission media. Thus, by way of example, and not limitation, embodiments described herein can comprise at least two distinctly different kinds of computer-readable media: computer storage media and transmission media. 
     Computer storage media includes RAM, ROM, EEPROM, CD-ROM, solid state drives (SSDs) that are based on RAM, Flash memory, phase-change memory (PCM), or other types of memory, or other optical disk storage, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium which can be used to store desired program code means in the form of computer-executable instructions, data or data structures and which can be accessed by a general purpose or special purpose computer. 
     A “network” is defined as one or more data links and/or data switches that enable the transport of electronic data between computer systems and/or modules and/or other electronic devices. When information is transferred or provided over a network (either hardwired, wireless, or a combination of hardwired or wireless) to a computer, the computer properly views the connection as a transmission medium. Transmission media can include a network which can be used to carry data or desired program code means in the form of computer-executable instructions or in the form of data structures and which can be accessed by a general purpose or special purpose computer. Combinations of the above should also be included within the scope of computer-readable media. 
     Further, upon reaching various computer system components, program code means in the form of computer-executable instructions or data structures can be transferred automatically from transmission media to computer storage media (or vice versa). For example, computer-executable instructions or data structures received over a network or data link can be buffered in RAM within a network interface module (e.g., a network interface card or “NIC”), and then eventually transferred to computer system RAM and/or to less volatile computer storage media at a computer system. Thus, it should be understood that computer storage media can be included in computer system components that also (or even primarily) utilize transmission media. 
     Computer-executable (or computer-interpretable) instructions comprise, for example, instructions which cause a general purpose computer, special purpose computer, or special purpose processing device to perform a certain function or group of functions. The computer executable instructions may be, for example, binaries, intermediate format instructions such as assembly language, or even source code. Although the subject matter has been described in language specific to structural features and/or methodological acts, it is to be understood that the subject matter defined in the appended claims is not necessarily limited to the described features or acts described above. Rather, the described features and acts are disclosed as example forms of implementing the claims. 
     Those skilled in the art will appreciate that various embodiments may be practiced in network computing environments with many types of computer system configurations, including personal computers, desktop computers, laptop computers, message processors, hand-held devices, multi-processor systems, microprocessor-based or programmable consumer electronics, network PCs, minicomputers, mainframe computers, mobile telephones, PDAs, tablets, pagers, routers, switches, and the like. Embodiments described herein may also be practiced in distributed system environments where local and remote computer systems that are linked (either by hardwired data links, wireless data links, or by a combination of hardwired and wireless data links) through a network, each perform tasks (e.g. cloud computing, cloud services and the like). In a distributed system environment, program modules may be located in both local and remote memory storage devices. 
     In this description and the following claims, “cloud computing” is defined as a model for enabling on-demand network access to a shared pool of configurable computing resources (e.g., networks, servers, storage, applications, and services). The definition of “cloud computing” is not limited to any of the other numerous advantages that can be obtained from such a model when properly deployed. 
     For instance, cloud computing is currently employed in the marketplace so as to offer ubiquitous and convenient on-demand access to the shared pool of configurable computing resources. Furthermore, the shared pool of configurable computing resources can be rapidly provisioned via virtualization and released with low management effort or service provider interaction, and then scaled accordingly. 
     A cloud computing model can be composed of various characteristics such as on-demand self-service, broad network access, resource pooling, rapid elasticity, measured service, and so forth. A cloud computing model may also come in the form of various service models such as, for example, Software as a Service (“SaaS”), Platform as a Service (“PaaS”), and Infrastructure as a Service (“IaaS”). The cloud computing model may also be deployed using different deployment models such as private cloud, community cloud, public cloud, hybrid cloud, and so forth. In this description and in the claims, a “cloud computing environment” is an environment in which cloud computing is employed. 
     Additionally or alternatively, the functionally described herein can be performed, at least in part, by one or more hardware logic components. For example, and without limitation, illustrative types of hardware logic components that can be used include Field-programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs), Program-specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs), Program-specific Standard Products (ASSPs), System-on-a-chip systems (SOCs), Complex Programmable Logic Devices (CPLDs), and other types of programmable hardware. 
     Still further, system architectures described herein can include a plurality of independent components that each contribute to the functionality of the system as a whole. This modularity allows for increased flexibility when approaching issues of platform scalability and, to this end, provides a variety of advantages. System complexity and growth can be managed more easily through the use of smaller-scale parts with limited functional scope. Platform fault tolerance is enhanced through the use of these loosely coupled modules. Individual components can be grown incrementally as business needs dictate. Modular development also translates to decreased time to market for new functionality. New functionality can be added or subtracted without impacting the core system. 
     Various terminology will be used herein to describe the monetary transaction system (also referred to as a “mobile wallet platform”, “mobile wallet program”, “mobile wallet transaction system”, “mobile financial services (mFS) platform” or “electronic payment system”). The term “agent” is used to refer to an individual with mFS transaction system tools and training to support specific mFS functions. These mFS functions include subscriber registration and activation, and the deposit and withdrawal of funds from the mFS transaction system. Agents are representatives of the mFS transaction system or “program”. Agents can be employees or contractors of the program provider, or other companies and organizations that partner with the program provider to provide these services themselves. Agents may be found in every facet of a typical economy, and may include large retailers, mobile network operators (MNO) airtime sales agents, gas stations, kiosks, or other places of business. 
     The mobile wallet platform includes a mobile wallet application, web interface or some other type of functionality that allows the user to interact with the mFS platform using their mobile device. The mobile wallet application may include a subscriber identity module (SIM) application, an Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (US SD) application, a smartphone application, a web application, a mobile web application, a Wireless Application Protocol (WAP) application, a Java 2 Platform, Micro Edition (J2ME) application, a tablet application or any other type of application or interface that provides tools for the agent to register, activate, and offer other services to the mFS subscriber. 
     As used herein, a mobile wallet application is a mobile wallet application installed on a SIM card. A USSD application is an application that implements USSD for various functionality including prepaid callback service, location-based content services, menu-based information services and other mobile wallet platform services. A web application is one that implements or uses the internet to provide mobile wallet platform functionality. A mobile web application is similar to a web application, but is tailored for mobile devices. A WAP application is one that uses the wireless application protocol to communicate with the mobile wallet platform to provide the platform&#39;s functionality. A J2ME application is an application developed in Java and is designed to provide mobile wallet functionality on a variety of different hardware. A tablet application is an application specifically designed for a touchscreen-based tablet that provides mobile wallet platform functionality for tablet devices, and as part of configuring the phone on the network. Any of these applications (or any combination thereof) may be provided on the user&#39;s mobile device. This functionality can also be made available on a retail point of sale (POS) system or web site. 
     The term “agent administrator” refers to an individual with mFS program tools and training to administrate the allocation of funds to agent branches (e.g. retail locations). As agents perform mFS transactions with subscribers, such as depositing and withdrawing money, the agents are adding and removing money from their own accounts. Any of the applications referred to above may be configured to provide tools used by the agent administrator to view the agent company balance, view the agent branch balances, and transfer funds into and out of agent branch mobile wallets. This functionality can also be made available on a website for easier access. 
     In some embodiments, the mFS platform application may utilize triple data encryption standard (3DES) encryption (or some other type of encryption), encrypted message signing, and password security on some or all of its communications with the mFS transaction system in order to ensure that the transactions are properly secured and authenticated. 
     The term “agent branch” refers to any location where an agent provides support for subscriber services of the mFS platform. Funds are allocated by the agent administrator from the agent company&#39;s main account to each agent branch to fund the subscriber mFS functions such as depositing or withdrawing cash, in-store purchases, bill payments, prepaid airtime top-ups and money transfers. In some cases, multiple agents may work in a single branch. However, at least in some cases, monetary funds are allocated to from the agent company&#39;s main account on a per branch basis. 
     The term “agent branch account balance” refers to the amount of money residing in a particular agent branch account at a given time. Funds can be deposited into the branch account by the agent administrator, or the funds can come from participating in subscriber mFS transactions such as depositing or withdrawing cash from the subscriber&#39;s mobile wallet accounts, or making retail purchases with the mobile wallet. 
     In some embodiments, in countries with more developed economies, it may be beneficial to use program-issued pre-paid debit cards, pre-paid access accounts, stored value accounts or gift cards to conduct business along with the added convenience of card processing networks such as Cirrus, STAR, or Visa for POS and automated teller machine (ATM) functionality. Agents, particularly those in retail outlets and kiosks, can still support subscribers with deposits, withdrawals, and other transfers, but in this case bank external card processors manage the mobile wallet and branch account balances and provide the real-time transfer of funds. 
     The term “agent branch ledger” refers to a written (or electronic) ledger maintained by the mFS platform. Agent branch transactions are performed on the agent&#39;s and subscriber&#39;s mobile phones where an electronic record of the transaction is generated and stored on the mFS platform. These electronic transactions are then reconciled with agent branch ledgers to ensure the security and integrity of the transaction. Agent branch ledgers are printed or electronic transaction logs that are distributed to the agent branch locations in hard copy form to serve as a backup record to the electronic transactions. 
     The term “agent company” refers to a business that registers to participate in the mFS program as a partner of the mFS program provider or owner. The agent company has one or more agent branches which conduct mFS business with mFS program subscribers. In some cases, the agent company may be referred to as a distributor or retailer. 
     The term “agent company account balance” refers to the sum of the funds deposited at a “partner bank” (defined below) by the agent company to fund the agent company&#39;s daily transactions. The funds in the agent company account are then distributed to agent branches by the agent company&#39;s agent administrator to conduct everyday business such as accepting cash deposits and cash withdrawals from mFS subscribers. This balance is sometimes referred to as the “agent company float”. 
     An “agent manager” is a supervisor of company agents for a given company. The agent manager has the training and tools to create, delete or modify agent accounts for a company, as well as monitor the transactions performed by agents. The agent manager may have a special application or an increased level of rights to access applications features not available to other users. The special application is a program installed on the agent manager&#39;s terminal. This application provides the agent manager the ability to securely perform agent manager functions such as registering and activating new agent accounts. The mFS agent manager application may be installed on any terminal or device. It communicates with the mFS platform using binary and/or text SMS messages. A wireless service provider or MNO provides the GSM SMS network infrastructure on which the mFS platform operates. 
     As subscribers, agents, and other mFS program participants conduct business in the mFS program, value is transferred from one account to the next as payment for services rendered or goods purchased. This value can be in the form of real currency or the electronic representation referred to herein as eMoney. Among other situations, eMoney is used in mFS implementations where the real-time processing of financial transactions including card processing is not practical. The mFS platform utilizes an internal transaction processor for managing the real-time balance of mobile wallet and agent accounts as value (eMoney) is transferred from one mobile wallet to another in payment for services. 
     The term “mFS program master account” refers to a bank account maintained by the mFS program partner bank to provide funds and float for the operation of the mFS platform. Depending on the type of mFS implementation, the master account can include sub-accounts for each of the agent branches and subscriber mobile wallets, giving the bank visibility into all transactions on a per-user basis. The mFS platform can also manage the balance of sub-accounts and interact with the bank&#39;s master account when funds need to be deposited or withdrawn from the account. 
     The term mobile network operator (MNO) refers to a provider of mobile phone service including basic voice, SMS, unstructured supplementary service data (USSD) and data service, and may also be referred to as a “wireless service provider”. 
     The term “mobile wallet” or “mobile wallet account” refers to a stored value account or prepaid access account (PPA) that allows the owner (or “subscriber”) to pay for goods and services on the mFS platform from his or her mobile wallet account. When the mFS eMoney transaction processor is used, the mobile wallet balance is maintained by the mFS platform and value is exchanged within the mFS program as eMoney. When the mFS platform is integrated to an external card processor, the mobile wallet utilizes funds from the subscriber&#39;s prepaid debit card and bank account to exchange value on the mFS platform. 
     The term “partner bank” refers to the primary bank participating in the mFS program. The partner bank is responsible for holding the mFS program master accounts that hold the funds for all mFS services and transactions. A “PIN” refers to a numeric password that may be required to perform a transaction via the mobile wallet application. 
     The term “subscriber” refers to a participant of the mFS mobile wallet platform. The subscriber maintains a mobile wallet balance and performs transactions using the mFS application. An “unbanked subscriber” is a subscriber that does not have (or does not have access to) a bank account or credit union account. The application or “mobile wallet application” provides mobile wallet functionality to the (unbanked) subscriber. The mobile wallet application is installed on a mobile device in the device&#39;s memory, on a SIM card (such as a GSM SIM card) or is otherwise accessible to the mobile device. The mobile wallet application provides the subscriber the ability to securely perform subscriber functions such as making retail purchases, paying bills, or transferring money to other mFS subscribers and non-subscribers. The mobile wallet application communicates with the mFS platform using binary and text SMS messages, among other forms of wireless communication. A wireless service provider or MNO provides the GSM network infrastructure on which the mFS platform operates. 
       FIG. 1  illustrates an example system architecture for a mobile wallet platform. Integration tier  101  is configured to manage mobile wallet sessions and maintain integrity of financial transactions. Integration tier  101  can also include a communication (e.g., Web services) API and/or other communication mechanisms to accept messages from channels  111 . Other mechanisms include, but are not limited to: International Standards Organization (“ISO”)  8583  for Point of Sale (“POS”) and Automated Teller Machines (“ATM”) devices and Advanced Message Queuing Protocol (“AMQP”) for queue based interfaces. Each of channels  111  can be integrated to one or more mechanisms for sending messages to integration tier  101 . Notification services  102  is configured to send various notifications through different notification channels  112 , such as, for example, Short Message Peer-to-Peer (“SSMP”) for Short Messaging Service (“SMS”) and Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (“SMTP”) for emails. Notification services  102  can be configured through a web services API. 
     Service connectors  103  are a set of connectors configure to connect to 3rd party systems  113 . Each connector can be a separate module intended to integrate an external service to the system architecture. Business process services  104  are configured to implement business workflows, including executing financial transactions, auditing financial transactions, invoking third-party services, handling errors, and logging platform objects. Payment handler  105  is configured to wrap APIs of different payment processors, such as, for example, banking accounts, credit/debit cards or processor  121 . Payment handler  105  exposes a common API to facilitate interactions with many different kinds of payment processors. 
     Security services  106  are configured to perform subscriber authentication. Authorization services  107  are configured to perform client authorization, such as, for example, using a database-based Access Control List (“ACL”) table. 
     Database  108  is configured to manage customer accounts (e.g., storing customer accounts and properties), manage company accounts (e.g., storing company accounts and properties), manage transaction histories (e.g., storing financial transaction details), store customer profiles, storing dictionaries used by the mobile wallet platform, such as, for example, countries, currencies, etc., and managing money containers. Rules engine  109  is configured to gather financial transaction statistics and uses the statistics to provide transaction properties, such as, for example, fees and bonuses. Rules engine  109  is also configured to enforce business constraints, such as, for example, transactions and platform license constraints. 
     Name matching engine  110  is configured to match different objects according to specified configuration rules. Matching engine  110  can be use to find similarities between names, addresses, etc. Transaction processor  121  is configured to manage financial accounts and transactions. The transaction processor  121  can be used to hold, load, withdraw and deposit funds to mobile wallet accounts. Transaction processor  121  can also be used as a common interface to a third party processor system. When used as a common interface, financial operations may be delegated to the external processor. A Clearing House subsystem of transaction processor  121  can be used to exchange the financial information with a bank. 
     Components of a mobile wallet platform can be connected to one another over (or be part of) a system bus and/or a network. Networks can include a Local Area Network (“LAN”), a Wide Area Network (“WAN”), and even the Internet. Accordingly, components of the mobile wallet platform can be “in the cloud”. As such, mobile wallet platform components as well as any other connected computer systems and their components, can create message related data and exchange message related data (e.g., Internet Protocol (“IP”) datagrams and other higher layer protocols that utilize IP datagrams, such as, Transmission Control Protocol (“TCP”), Hypertext Transfer Protocol (“HTTP”), Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (“SMTP”), etc.) over the system bus and/or network. 
     The components depicted in  FIG. 1  can interoperate to provide a number of financial and other services including but not limited to enrolling a customer for a mobile wallet, adding a stored value account (either hosted by a mobile wallet platform or a third party), adding a bank or credit union account to a mobile wallet, adding a debit or credit card account to a mobile wallet, depositing funds in a mobile wallet, withdrawing funds from a mobile wallet, paying bills from a mobile wallet, topping up a prepaid mobile account through a mobile wallet, transferring funds through a mobile wallet (nationally or internationally), making in-store purchases using a mobile wallet, and various other tasks as described herein below. These services will be described in greater detail below with regard to system  FIGS. 1 and 2 , as well as  FIGS. 3-19B . 
       FIG. 2  depicts a monetary transaction system  200  similar to that described in  FIG. 1 . The monetary transaction system  200  may provide a more simplified system structure in which each of the above services may be provided. The system includes a subscriber  205 . The subscriber may have access to a bank account, or may be an unbanked subscriber. The subscriber has a profile  211  with the monetary transaction system  210 . The profile includes the subscriber&#39;s know your customer (KYC) information, as well as any associated bank accounts, credit union accounts, bill pay accounts or other accounts. The subscriber has (or has access to) a mobile device  206  such as a phone or tablet. The mobile device runs the mobile wallet application (or mobile wallet application)  207 . 
     The subscriber can indicate, using the mobile application  207  which transaction or other action he or she would like to perform. The indicated transaction  208  is sent to the mobile wallet platform  210  to be carried out by the platform. The transaction processor  216  (which may be similar to or the same as transaction processor  121  of  FIG. 1 ) performs the transaction(s) specified by the (unbanked) subscriber  205 . The transaction processor may implement various other components to perform the transaction including memory  217 , (wireless) communication module  215 , rules engine  210  and/or transaction database  225 . 
     Performing the specified transactions may include communicating with the monetary transaction database  225  to determine whether the transaction is permissible based on data indicated in the unbanked subscriber&#39;s profile (for instance, whether the subscriber has enough eMoney in his or her stored value account, or has enough money in his or her bank account). Rules engine  220  may also be consulted to determine whether the subscriber has exceeded a specified number of allowed transactions. Then, if funds are available, and the transaction is otherwise permissible, the monetary transaction system can transfer money or eMoney  221  to or from an entity such as a user or agent (e.g. entity  222 ) to or from an establishment such as a retail store or agent company (e.g. entity  223 ). 
     In some cases, the monetary transaction system  210  application provides a web interface that allows subscribers to perform the same functions provided by the monetary transaction system application. For instance, mobile wallet application  207  may provide a web interface that allows a user to enroll for a mobile wallet. The web interface (or the mobile wallet application itself) receives a subscriber-initiated transaction over one of a plurality of channels ( 111  from  FIG. 1 ) connected to the monetary transaction system  210 . The web interface or mobile wallet application may prompt for and receive enrollment information (e.g. KYC information) for the (unbanked) subscriber  205  over at least one of the plurality of channels (e.g. web, point-of-sale (POS), interactive voice response (IVR, etc.). The web interface or mobile wallet application may then send activation instructions over the same or a different channel to activate the (unbanked) subscriber  205  and create a subscriber account for the (unbanked) subscriber. 
     Once the subscriber has an account, the monetary transaction system generates a corresponding mobile wallet for the unbanked subscriber (available via the web interface and/or the mobile wallet application. The system then presents the (unbanked) subscriber&#39;s account data associated with the mobile wallet and/or a notification indicating that enrollment was successful to the subscriber. Accordingly, the mobile wallet application or the web interface may be used to provide user enrollment functionality. It should also be understood that either the mobile wallet application or the web interface may be used to provide substantially all of the mobile wallet functionality described herein. 
     It should also be noted that the mobile device  206  may be any type of plan-based phone or tablet, or prepaid phone or tablet. Many subscribers, such as unbanked subscribers, may primarily use prepaid phones. The mobile wallet application  207  may be installed on both plan-based phones and prepaid phones. The mobile wallet application may be installed on the device&#39;s SIM card, or on the device&#39;s main memory. Accordingly, the monetary transaction system  200  may be accessed and used via substantially any type of plan-based or prepaid mobile device. 
     The components depicted in  FIG. 1  can interoperate to provide a number of financial and other services including but not limited to enrolling a customer for a mobile wallet, adding a stored value account (either hosted by an electronic payment system or a third party), adding a bank/credit union account to a mobile wallet, adding a debit/credit card account to a mobile wallet, depositing funds in a mobile wallet, withdrawing funds from a mobile wallet, paying bills from a mobile wallet, topping up a prepaid mobile account through a mobile wallet, transferring funds through a mobile wallet, making in store purchases from a mobile wallet, or transferring money or eMoney from one business account to another business account (i.e. from one business&#39;s mobile vault to another business&#39;s mobile vault, as will be shown in  FIG. 4 ). 
       FIG. 3A  depicts a subscriber-to-subscriber eMoney transfer. In a merchant and distributor scenario, either or both of the merchant and the distributor (including any delivery personnel) may be subscribers. To perform such a transfer, subscriber A ( 301 ) enters some type of identification information identifying subscriber B (e.g. subscriber B&#39;s phone number) and an amount of money he or she wishes to transfer. The transaction processor  216  of the monetary transaction system  210  determines if there are sufficient funds to complete the transfer. If sufficient funds are available, the monetary transaction system  210  decrements subscriber A&#39;s account and credits subscriber B&#39;s account ( 302 ). The system then sends some kind of notification (e.g. SMS) to subscriber B indicating that a certain amount of money was transferred to their account. Subscriber A may also receive a notification that the transfer was successful. Accordingly, eMoney may be transferred between two mFS platform subscribers, one or both of which may be unbanked. The monetary transaction system  210  processes the subscribers&#39; requests, updates the subscribers&#39; eMoney balances, logs the transactions, and sends transaction information to a specified bank when needed. 
       FIG. 3B  illustrates a subscriber-to-non-subscriber eMoney transfer. Accordingly, as mentioned above, either or both of the merchant and the distributor may be non-subscribers. In graphic  305 , subscriber A wishes to send eMoney to another individual that is not a subscriber to the mFS platform. The transaction is initiated in the same fashion as the subscriber-to-subscriber transfer scenario. However, since non-subscriber B does not have a mobile wallet account, the monetary transaction system  210  cannot credit them with eMoney. Instead, the monetary transaction system  210  sends a notification (e.g. via SMS) to non-subscriber B with instructions for how to pick-up the transferred money, along with an authorization code ( 306 ). The monetary transaction system  210  puts a hold on subscriber A&#39;s account for the amount transferred. Subscriber B then has a specified number of days to pick up the cash before the hold expires and the amount is credited back to subscriber A&#39;s eMoney account by the monetary transaction system  210 . 
     When non-subscriber B goes to pick up the money at an agent branch, the agent branch&#39;s manager or agent verifies the authorization code via an agent manager or agent mobile wallet application (that, in turn, accesses the mFS platform). Once the transfer has been validated, the agent gives the cash to non-subscriber B. The agent branch&#39;s mFS account is credited with the transfer amount ( 307 ) and the user leaves with the cash in hand ( 308 ). The mFS platform processes the transfer request, updates subscriber A&#39;s eMoney balance, logs the transaction, and sends transaction details to a platform-specified bank. 
       FIG. 4  illustrates a mobile wallet subscriber making a retail purchase. Mobile wallet subscribers can make retail purchases at agent branches directly from their mobile device. Agent branches, as explained above, are retail stores or other entities that have registered with the mFS system and are able to accept mobile wallet payments. Accordingly, a subscriber can select the items they wish to purchase, and indicate (via the mobile wallet application) to the agent branch that they wish to pay for the items. The mobile wallet application then communicates with the agent branch and the monetary transaction system to indicate the price of the transaction. The monetary transaction system  210  then debits the subscriber&#39;s eMoney account ( 401 ) and credits the agent branch&#39;s eMoney account ( 402 ). The agent branch (and/or the agent manager or agent) receives confirmation that subscriber paid for the purchase. The subscriber may also receive a summary of the retail purchase and may be asked to confirm the purchase by entering a PIN. The monetary transaction system processes the purchase request, updates the agent branch and subscriber&#39;s eMoney balances, logs the transaction, and sends transaction details to a mFS platform-specified bank. 
     In one embodiment, the monetary transaction system  210  is implemented to make a purchase from a mobile wallet. The communications module  215  of the monetary transaction system  210  receives a communication from a subscriber over a communication channel  111 . The subscriber communication indicates that an unbanked subscriber  205  desires to purchase an item for a specified amount of funds using a specified payment method from the unbanked subscriber&#39;s mobile wallet. 
     The monetary transaction system  210  then returns a secure, perishable purchase code to the unbanked subscriber over at least one of the channels connected to the monetary transaction system and receives a subsequent agent branch communication over a channel indicating that the purchase code has been presented to an agent (branch). The monetary transaction system  210  validates the status of the specified payment method, determines if the specified payment method can accommodate a purchase for the specified amount, performs a limit check and/or a velocity check on the selected payment method, debits the specified payment method by the specified amount of funds, returns a notification to the agent branch authorizing the purchase and sends a receipt to the unbanked subscriber over a communication channel. The monetary transaction system  210  may thus be used in this manner to make a retail purchase using a mobile wallet. 
       FIG. 5  depicts a physical environment and corresponding computer system architecture  500  for providing disruptively priced or free financial services or items in exchange for participation in opt-in advertising. The environment  500 , like the scenarios described in  FIGS. 3A ,  3 B and  4 , involves the use of a mobile wallet application  511 . The mobile wallet application  511  can be used to provide disruptively priced or free financial services or items in exchange for participation in opt-in advertising. The mobile wallet application may be run on any type of digital device including a mobile phone, tablet, laptop or other digital device. Embodiments include providing digital data (e.g., coupons or vouchers) for obtaining disruptively priced or free items (e.g., consumer goods or groceries) to such digital devices. 
     In some embodiments, a user has an account with a mobile payment system. The mobile payment system (e.g.  210  of  FIG. 2  or  521  of  FIG. 5 ) can provide the user  507  with a variety of functionality including purchasing items (see  FIG. 4 ), depositing funds, withdrawing funds, transferring funds (see  FIGS. 3A and 3B ), etc. Accordingly, the user can use a digital device to interact with the electronic payment system  521  to pay for goods and/or services. 
     In exchange for some type of financial benefit, the user opts in to receive advertisements. The financial benefits may include coupons, vouchers, promotions, Buy One Get One (“BOGO”) offers or any other type of benefit (such as a reduced cost or free financial service or good) from the electronic payment system. The benefit may be targeted to the user based on the user&#39;s age, location or other demographic information, or based on the user&#39;s past purchases. At least in some embodiments, when the user agrees to participate in opt-in advertising, the electronic payment system  521  is permitted to store (e.g., by capturing purchase orders), track, and analyze items that the user purchases through their account with the electronic payment system. The electronic payment system stores and maintains lists of the users&#39; purchased items in a data warehouse. The electronic payment system may also store information about the user (anonymous or otherwise) including age, income level, an indication of whether kids are in the family, or other information that may be useful in targeting ads or benefits to the user. 
     The electronic payment system analyzes  534  the users purchasing habits to identify advertisements and/or promotions that may be of interest to the user. The advertisements and/or promotions can be for items the user has purchased  503 . The advertisements and/or promotions can also be for items related to items the user has purchase. For example, if user has purchased a particular brand of razor, advertisements for the brand&#39;s shaving cream can be identified. Advertisements for related items can also be used for cross-promotion. 
     From time to time, at specified intervals, or based on location (e.g., having a coupon for a merchant this is with a specified proximity) the electronic payment system sends identified advertisements and/or promotions to the user&#39;s digital device. When specified advertising thresholds are satisfied (e.g., a specified number and/or type of advertisements and/or promotions are presented), the electronic payment system confers a financial benefit on the user&#39;s account. For example, the electronic payment system can provide the user&#39;s account with a low cost (e.g., reduced fee) or free financial service, such as, for example, one reduced cost bill pay or one free bill pay. Alternately, the electronic payment system can provide the user&#39;s account with a coupon or voucher for an item (e.g., an item a user has pre-selected or an item the user has purchased in the past). 
     In some embodiments, a client application for the electronic payment system runs on the user&#39;s digital device (e.g. mobile wallet application  511 ). The user interacts with the electronic payment system through the client application. From a screen of the client application, the user can agree to accept opt in advertising. Accordingly, embodiments of the invention essentially permit a user to self-monetize themselves through their digital device. 
     As further depicted in  FIG. 5 , computer architecture  500  includes digital device  508 , retail location  502 , and electronic payment system  521 . Digital device  508  further includes mobile wallet application  511 . Retail location  502  further includes its own mobile wallet application  512 . Electronic payment system  521  includes marketing module  533 , data warehouse  532 , advertisements  538 , payment processor  522 , user mobile wallet  524  (user  507 &#39;s mobile wallet), and merchant mobile wallet  526  (retail location  502 &#39;s mobile wallet). 
     Generally, each company in packaged goods companies  571  (or retailers that sell the packaged goods or other goods or services) can send advertisement data to electronic payment system  521 . Advertisements  538  represent the collection of advertisement data sent from packaged goods companies  571 . Each company in packaged goods companies  571  can also submit benefit rules to electronic payment system  521 . Benefit rules  578  represent the collection of benefit rules sent from packaged goods companies  571 . Benefit rules  578  define when a benefit, such as, for example, a free financial service, a coupon, a promotion, etc, is to be granted to a user of electronic payment system  521 . For example, in response to completing a questionnaire linked to a product advertisement, a user can be given a coupon for the product or for a related product. 
     In general, user  507  can use mobile wallet application  511  to pay for goods purchased at retail location  502  (as shown in  FIG. 4 ). For example, user  507  can use mobile wallet application  511  to purchase goods  503 . To pay for goods  503 , mobile wallet application  511  can send payment instruction  543  in amount  563  to electronic payment system  521 . Payment processor  522  can receive payment instruction  543 . In response, payment processor  522  can debit  541  user mobile wallet  524  by amount  563 . Payment processor  522  can also credit  542  merchant mobile wallet  526  by amount  563 . 
     User  507  can use mobile wallet application  511  to participate in opt-in advertising. For example, user  507  can use mobile wallet application  511  to send opt-in  544  to electronic payment system  521 . Advertising module  533  can receive opt-in  544  and record that mobile wallet application  511  has opted in for advertising. As such, when user  507  makes a purchase using mobile wallet application  511 , a list of purchased items is sent to electronic payment system  521 . For example, upon purchasing goods  503 , item list  531  is sent to electronic payment system  521  and stored in data warehouse  532 . 
     Propensity analysis module  534  can analyze user  507 &#39;s purchases, including item list  531 . From the analysis, propensity analysis module  534  can identify items or categories of items user  507  may be interested in. The items can be items user  507  has purchased in the past (e.g., an item in goods  503 ) or items related to items user  507  has purchases in the past. Propensity analysis module  534  can indicate identified items or categories of items to advertisement identification module  536 . These identified items or categories are items that the user is likely interested in and, as such, may have a propensity toward buying these items. The propensity analysis module may use past purchases, personal preferences, lifestyle or demographic information or other data in the propensity analysis. 
     Advertisement identification module  536  can then select advertisements from advertisements  538  that correspond to the identified items or categories of items. For example, advertisement identification module  536  can select advertisement  546  for presentation at mobile wallet application  511 . Advertisement  546  can be an advertisement for a product made by a company in packaged goods companies  571 . Additionally or alternatively, the advertisement  546  may be created by the merchant and may advertise products or services sold by that merchant. 
     Advertising module  533  can send selected advertisements to mobile wallet application  511 . For example, advertising module  533  can send advertisement  546  (e.g., related to an item in goods  503 ) to mobile wallet application  511 . In general, advertisements can include interactive content. For example, advertisement  546  includes content  573 . Content  573  can be a video, a link to a company website (e.g., for a company in packaged goods companies  571 ), a call to action (such as a questionnaire), or some other content user  507  can interact with through digital device  508 . User  507  can interact with content  573 , for example, responding to questions in content  573 . Advertisement response  574  can indicate how user  507  has interacted with content  573 . In one embodiment, a call to action may be to post an update on Facebook® or some other website such as a retail establishment ranking website. If the user makes such a post or performs some other call to action, the user may be rewarded with a benefit. That benefit may be related to the product about which the user posted on the various websites. 
     Based on advertisement response  574 , benefit determination module  576  can determine if a benefit is to be conferred upon user  507 . Benefit determination module  576  can refer to benefit rules  578  when making a determination whether or not to confer a benefit. Thus, when user  507  interacts with advertisement  546  in a specified way (e.g., completes a survey, watches a video, etc.), benefit rules  578  can indicate that a company benefit (e.g., benefit  577 ) is to be conferred upon user  507 . For example, benefit determination module  576  can confer benefit  577  on user  507 . When user  507  receives an advertisement for a razor, for instance, and answers a questionnaire on how often they shave, a razor manufacture can give user  507  a coupon for reduced cost or free razor blades. 
     When a benefit is to be conferred on a user, the benefit can be stored in the user&#39;s brand locker. For example, benefit determination module  576  can store benefit  577  in brand locker  572  (part of user mobile wallet  524 ). Benefit  577  can be a coupon, a reduced cost or free financial service, a voucher, a promotion, a free bill pay, etc. 
     Benefit determination module  576  can also track aggregate statistics, such as, for example, specified number and/or type of advertisements received, for advertisements presented at mobile wallet application  511 . Benefits can also be conferred upon users based on the aggregate statistics. For example, benefit determination module  576  can confer a benefit upon user  507  in response to twenty advertisements being presented at mobile wallet application  511 . Thus, conferred benefits can be company-specified benefits or can be electronic payment system-specified benefits. Electronic payment system  521  can notify a user when a benefit is conferred. For example, electronic payment system  521  can send benefit notification  547  to mobile wallet application  511  to indicate benefit  577  being stored in brand locker  572 . 
     When user  507  makes subsequent purchases through user mobile wallet  524 , electronic payment system  521  can automatically check brand locker  572  for benefits related to any purchases items. If benefits for an item are identified, user  507  can be notified through mobile wallet application  511 . In some cases, if benefits are identified, those benefits can be applied automatically when the user purchases that item or service. Thus, if the benefit is a coupon or a buy one get one free offer, that benefit may be applied automatically when the user uses his or her mobile wallet application  511  to purchase that item. Accordingly, embodiments of the invention permit user  507  to self monetize digital device  508  through agreeing to participate in opt-in advertising. 
     Although not depicted, various other modules from the architecture of  FIG. 1  or  2  can also be included electronic payment system  521 . The modules expressly depicted in  FIG. 5  can interoperate with these other modules as appropriate to facilitate desired functionality. 
     In one embodiment, as shown in  FIG. 6 , a method  600  for providing reduced cost or free services or goods in exchange for participation in opt-in advertising is described. This method is further described in conjunction with the electronic payment system  521  of  FIG. 5 , as well as the example screenshot of a mobile wallet application  711  illustrated in  FIG. 7 . 
     Method  600  includes receiving an indication that user  507  is opting in to receive opt-in advertising from electronic payment system  521  in exchange for a reduced cost or free financial service (step  610 ). The user has a mobile wallet account  524  with the electronic payment system  521 . Next, method  600  includes receiving a list of one or more items  531  that the user has purchased using the mobile wallet account  524  (step  620 ) and analyzing  534  the list of items to identify items or item categories in which the user may be interested (and which the user may have a propensity toward buying) (step  630 ). Method  600  further includes selecting one or more advertisements  546  based on the identified items or item categories (step  640 ) and sending the selected advertisements to mobile wallet application  511  (which is tied to the user&#39;s mobile wallet account  524 ) for use by the user (step  650 ). Method  600  then includes determining that the user&#39;s interactions  574  with the selected advertisements  543  warrant conferring a benefit  577  to the user  507  (step  660 ), where the benefit is selected from among a reduced cost or free financial service, a coupon, a voucher, and a buy one get one free offer, and then conferring the selected benefit  577  upon the user by sending the benefit to the user&#39;s mobile wallet application  511  (step  670 ). 
     After the benefit has been conferred upon the user, the user may use the benefit when purchasing a corresponding product or service. Accordingly, as shown in  FIG. 7 , for example, if Ad  1  or Ad  2  ( 701 ) shows a name brand diaper and the user interacts with the ad in some way, the company that produces the diaper may send a coupon or other benefit to the user&#39;s mobile wallet  511 . Then, when the user is at a retail location (e.g.  502 ), the user may purchase that name brand diaper using their mobile wallet (e.g. using the “Purchases” button  706 ). The coupon or other benefit sent by the diaper producer will be automatically applied at checkout, such that the user obtains the diapers for a discounted price. Many different coupons or other benefits may be stored in the user&#39;s brand locker  572 , and each of these may be applied automatically when the electronic payment system  521  determines that the user is purchasing that product or service. 
     Still further, as mentioned above, the user may use their mobile wallet application  711  to perform other tasks such as adding airtime to their phone ( 702 ), paying a bill ( 703 ), sending money to another party ( 704 ), transferring money ( 705 ) or withdrawing money ( 707 ) at an agent branch, for example. Many other functions may be provided by the mobile wallet application. As such, buttons  702 - 707  are merely examples of possible buttons. Moreover, the look and feel of mobile wallet application  711  may be as illustrated in  FIG. 7 , or may be substantially different, or may be modified by the user. Accordingly, the layout shown in  FIG. 7  is just one example of a possible button and advertisement layout. Many such layouts are possible, and may be different for each phone or digital device. 
     Thus, using the electronic payment system  521 , a user may opt in to receive opt-in advertising. Then, after receiving that advertising (and possibly after interacting with it), the user may be conferred a benefit. This benefit may be used to receive reduced cost or free financial services or goods. The benefit may be applied automatically as the user is purchasing that good or service. At least in some cases, as will be described below in conjunction with  FIGS. 8 and 9 , the benefit may be a monetary reward. 
     The electronic payment system  521  of  FIG. 5  may be used to provide the monetary rewards. The monetary rewards may be sent as part of, or may be referred to with the other rewards, coupons and other benefits  577  described above. In some cases, the monetary rewards may be sent in lieu of other benefits such as coupons or buy-one-get-one-free offers. The monetary rewards may be calculated by the benefit determining module  576 , as will be explained further below. In one embodiment, as described in  FIG. 8 , a method  800  is provided for providing monetary rewards in exchange for participation in opt-in advertising. 
     Method  800  includes an act of receiving at the electronic payment system an indication that a user  507  of is initiating participation in opt-in advertising  546  sent from the electronic payment system  521  in exchange for a monetary reward  577 , the user having a mobile wallet account  524  at the electronic payment system (act  810 ). In response, the electronic payment system  521  may send one or more advertisements  546  to a mobile wallet application  511  running on a digital device  508  of the user  505  (act  820 ). The electronic payment system  521  then determines an appropriate monetary reward  577  based on the number and/or type of advertisements  546  sent to the user&#39;s mobile wallet application  511  (act  830 ) and provides the determined monetary reward  577  to the user via the mobile wallet application  511  on the user&#39;s digital device  508  (act  840 ). 
     Once the monetary reward has been provided, the electronic payment system  521  may send a benefit notification  547  notifying the user  507  that the monetary reward is available. The monetary reward may be sent to one of the user&#39;s debit  541  or credit  542  accounts, or may be sent to another value store on (or accessible by) the mobile wallet application  511 . The monetary rewards may be cash, credit or other forms of monetary value. The monetary rewards are sent to the user  507  after the user has opted in  544  to receive advertisements on their digital device  508  (either within the mobile wallet application  511  or one the user&#39;s device in some manner). In some cases, the benefit determination module  576  may analyze the user&#39;s interaction with the advertisement (e.g. determine whether the user has clicked on a corresponding web link, or watched a video, or otherwise interacted with the ad  546 ) and increase or decrease the user&#39;s monetary rewards accordingly. Thus, if a user views and interacts with more ads, the user may receive more monetary rewards. 
     In some cases, the electronic payment system  521  may receive a list of items that a user has purchased using the mobile wallet account  524 . The electronic payment system  521  may then analyze the list of items  531  (along with other items purchased by the user in the past) to identify items or categories of items the user is likely interested in. The advertisement identification module  536  may then select one or more advertisements that correspond to the determined items or categories of items. Thus, if a user appears to be interested in energy drinks, basketball shorts, ebooks, or any number of other goods or services, the advertisements sent to the user may be tailored to their interests. As such, goods and services producers (e.g.  571 ) may be able to directly target their ads to users that are interested in their products, and may further provide those users monetary rewards for viewing their ads, or at least for allowing the advertiser&#39;s ads to be shown on their digital devices. 
     Demographic information may be requested of and provided by the user  507 . The demographic information may include age, marital status, education level, ethnicity, or other types of demographic information. The user may determine whether to provide demographic information and which types of demographic information they want to provide. This information may be used by the advertisers and/or by the advertisement identification module  536  in determining which ads are to be shown to the user. In some cases, the user may provide an increased amount of personal data to receive an increased amount of monetary rewards. Some advertisers may pay more money for ads that are shown to people of certain demographics (e.g. males  18 - 24 ). If a user identifies himself as such a person, he may be able to receive a larger monetary reward as part of his agreement to participate in opt-in ads. In some cases, users may be given monetary rewards based on a percentage of the amount paid by the advertiser. For instance, if an advertiser paid to advertise on the mobile wallets of certain users (e.g. user  507 ) or users of certain demographics, and the user received those ads, the user may be given a small percentage of the amount paid by the advertiser. In some cases, the advertisements may be sold at auction and the user may receive a specified percentage of the advertisement&#39;s selling price. A user may thus be able to receive a larger monetary reward by allowing more ads (or more targeted ads based on demographic information) to be shown on their digital device. 
     In some cases, a monetary reward may be customized based on the user&#39;s current location. For instance, if a user is in the United States, the reward may be given in dollars. If a user is in Mexico, the reward may be given in pesos, in an amount that is equivalent or at least related to the amount given in dollars. In some cases, producers may pay more for advertisements in certain countries, or in certain locations (e.g. states) within those countries. In such cases, the user may receive larger or smaller rewards depending on where they are currently located (according to GPS, device settings or other information). In some embodiments, the user  507  may not have a debit or credit account with a bank or credit card company. In such cases, the user may receive the monetary rewards in a value store associated with their mobile wallet account  524 . If the user uses their mobile wallet to purchase goods or services from a certain store or location, the user may receive retailer- or producer-specific monetary rewards that are stored in a brand locker  572  associated with the user&#39;s mobile wallet account  524 . Redeeming received monetary rewards is discussed further with regard to  FIG. 9  below. 
     In another embodiment, as shown in  FIG. 9 , a method  900  is provided for redeeming a monetary reward received for participation in opt-in advertising an electronic payment system  521  receives a first indication from a user&#39;s mobile wallet application  511  that a user  507  is attempting to pay for a good  503  or service using one or more monetary rewards  577  received in exchange for participation in opt-in advertising  546 , the user having a mobile wallet account  524  at the electronic payment system  521  (act  910 ). The electronic payment system then validates the user&#39;s mobile wallet account  524  to ensure that the user&#39;s mobile wallet account has sufficient funds, including the monetary rewards, to pay for the specified good  503  or service (act  920 ). Then, the electronic payment system  521  applies one or more of the monetary rewards  577  to the indicated good  503  or service, allowing the user  507  to purchase the indicated good or service using the received monetary rewards  577  (act  930 ). 
     In this manner, a user can redeem monetary rewards received for participation in opt-in advertising to purchase a product or service. In some embodiments, as mentioned above, the monetary rewards may be stored in a value store in the mobile wallet application. In such cases, the monetary rewards may be applied automatically as the user pays for the specified good or service using the mobile wallet application. The electronic payment system  521  may send a notification to the user and/or the provider of the good or service indicating that the monetary rewards were applied to the purchase of the indicated good or service. Thus, the user knows that the product or service was purchased (in whole or in part) using the monetary rewards, and the advertiser or goods producer  571  knows that monetary rewards were used to pay for their product or service. 
     As mentioned above, some advertisements may have web links or other interactive content. In such cases, the digital device  508  or the mobile wallet application  511  on the digital device may receive inputs from the user  507  interacting with the advertisements  546 . The digital device may track the user&#39;s interaction, and may send an indication of such to the electronic payment system  521 . The electronic payment system  521  may then determine that the user&#39;s interactions with the advertisements warrants conferring a specified monetary reward to the user. This monetary reward  577  may then be conferred to the user via the mobile wallet application  511 . This monetary reward may be stored for a period of time, and later used to purchase a product or service. 
     In some cases, coupons or other rewards or offers (i.e. benefits  577 ) may be applied in addition to using any monetary rewards. Thus, coupons or rewards stored in the user&#39;s brand locker  572  may be applied to the purchase of a specified good or service. The electronic payment system  521  may determine that the coupon applies to the indicated good or service and then apply the coupon to the indicated good or service. As such, the user purchases the indicated good or service using the received monetary rewards at a price reduced by the amount of the coupon or other stored offer. The coupons and/or monetary rewards may be applied automatically when purchasing the coupon&#39;s corresponding product or service. In this manner, coupons, monetary rewards and/or other benefits  577  may be applied (automatically or selectively) when purchasing a product or service using a mobile wallet  511 . 
     Embodiments of the invention can adhere to Know Your Customer (KYC) rules in the US by performing Customer Identification Program (CIP) checks as required by the Bank Secrecy Act and US PATRIOT Act. A minimum amount of information can be gathered about a customer, such as, for example, First Name, Last Name, Date of Birth, Government ID Type, Government ID Number, Address. The CIP processes are designed to validate customer identity against government blacklists and assists in the prevention of money laundering and terrorist financing. A combination of non-documentary and documentary verification can be used to ensure beyond a reasonable doubt the identity of the customer. 
     Non-Documentary Verification can occur through the presentment of the information that was collected from the user to an external third party, such as, for example, Lexis Nexis. Documentary Verification can occur if non-documentary verification fails, then the user is asked to present an unexpired government ID. Various differ forms of identification including Driver&#39;s license, Passport, Alien identification (e.g., green card or work visa), and Mexican Consular identification card, can be accepted. 
     Embodiments of the invention can perform Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and Combating the Financing of Terrorism (CFT) checks. AML and CFT checks can be performed using transaction monitoring methods to flag names and suspicious transactions for further investigation. The electronic payment system can perform AML and CFT checks on all electronic financial transactions to ensure that electronic funds are not being used for money laundering or terrorism. Transaction limits can be placed on user accounts. The transaction limits are fully configurable for each particular use case, channel and payment method that allows maximum flexibility to restrict higher risk use cases. Velocity checks can also be performed. Velocity Checks ensure that subscribers are not abusing the electronic payment system within the allowable limits. 
     The present invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from its spirit or essential characteristics. The described embodiments are to be considered in all respects only as illustrative and not restrictive. The scope of the invention is, therefore, indicated by the appended claims rather than by the foregoing description. All changes which come within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims are to be embraced within their scope.