Patent ID: 8620738

Claim:
A method, comprising: storing loyalty data for a loyalty program in a database, wherein the loyalty data includes a globally unique identifier (GUID) for a merchant within a transaction processing system and an account identifier for an account of a consumer in the transaction processing system, wherein the GUID is to be used in a plurality of transactions, and wherein the GUID and the account identifier are each associated with the loyalty program; subsequent to the storing of the GUID, receiving data characterizing a transaction between the consumer and the merchant, the transaction using the account; determining whether the received data contains the GUID; in response to a determination that the received data does not contain the GUID, deriving the GUID using the received data; identifying, via a computing device, an incentive in the loyalty program for the transaction by matching the loyalty data with the received data using the derived GUID and the account identifier, wherein the incentive is to be applied to the transaction; forming a transmission including the incentive and addressed to the consumer; and forming a transmission addressed to the merchant, the transmission including information regarding the incentive.