Patent ID: 7729988

Claim:
A method for providing an offer during a transaction between a merchant and a customer, comprising: receiving, via an electronic communications network, a request for authorization of a purchase amount for a transaction between a merchant and a customer, the purchase amount to be paid from a financial account of the customer; determining, by a server comprising at least one processor, an offer based on the received request; transmitting an authorization of the purchase amount; transmitting, by the server, the offer for output to the customer on a record of charge, wherein the record of charge includes a first signature line associated with and for indicating acceptance of the purchase amount only and a second signature line associated with and for indicating acceptance of the offer output on the record of charge; determining that the customer has signed the second signature line of the record of charge, thereby receiving an acceptance of the offer by the customer; and providing a benefit to the customer after receiving the acceptance, in which the offer defines an obligation for the customer to fulfill in exchange for the benefit, in which the offer is selected from the group consisting of: a supplemental product offer for the obligation of an additional payment in addition to the purchase amount to be provided by the customer in exchange for a supplemental product, and a cross-subsidy offer for providing a discount toward the purchase amount in exchange for the obligation of the customer accepting an offer of a third party other than the customer and the merchant.