Patent ID: 8370180

Claim:
A token process, including: storing transaction data for purchase of a product during a redemption period, including identification data unique to a purchaser of the product, in a network database; at a time subsequent to storing transaction data for purchase of the product, receiving a request for a virtual token for redemption for the product and verifying the validity of the request using the stored identification data and data provided with the request; generating a virtual token having a first token number and a lifetime of a predetermined limited duration shorter than the redemption period for the product; sending the virtual token from a network device over a communications network to a handheld device to generate a machine-readable representation of the token in the handheld device following verification of the validity of the request for the token, the machine-readable representation of the token becoming invalid if not redeemed for the product within the lifetime of the virtual token; determining that the virtual token has become invalid from not being redeemed for the product within the lifetime of the virtual token; automatically creating an updated virtual token having a second token number different from the first token number when the virtual token has become invalid; updating the handheld device with a machine-readable representation according to the updated virtual token; receiving the updated virtual token from a reading device located at a point of provision of the product following reading the representation according to the updated virtual token from the handheld device with the reading device; and authorizing redemption of the product upon validation of the received updated virtual token against the transaction data in the network database.