Patent Document

TECHNICAL FIELD 
     The present disclosure relates, in general, to financial transactions and, more particularly, to secure exchange of indicia of value and associated information. 
     BACKGROUND 
     Merchants and financial entities sometimes offer coupons or discounts (collectively, “offers”) on various products and services. For smaller companies, marketing such offers can be burdensome. As such, smaller companies may often use third party marketing companies or issuing entities that generally have the ability to reach more customers and administer the offers. Many such offers are based on selling a certain number of offers to consumers. Because these offers are administered by the third party, when presented with such offers by the customers, it is often difficult for the merchant to determine if the offers are valid, how many are out there, or other valuable information that the merchant may need to effectively manage the offers. 
     BRIEF SUMMARY 
     Various aspects of the present disclosure are directed to the secure exchange of value and associated information in financial transactions involving beneficial offers available for customers. Various offers, including discounts, prepaid amounts, and the like may be purchased by customers for use with various merchants. A third party issuer obtains information from the customer in selling the offers and issues some kind of indicium of value having a representation of the value of the offer associated therein. Record of the indicium are maintained and either transmitted to the merchants or kept by the issuer or associated financial institution. When the customer redeems the offer by presenting the indicium to the merchant, the merchant may either authenticate the indicium using the records received by the issuer, or establish communication with the issuer for the issuer to authenticate the indicium, either by itself or in cooperation with one or more related financial institutions. 
     In a first aspect, a method of facilitating a financial transaction includes receiving a request to purchase an offer from a customer, prompting the customer to provide payment information for a value of the offer, processing the payment information to obtain the value in response to receiving the payment information, associating the value of the offer with an indicium of value, issuing the indicium of value to the customer, and transmitting a record of the indicium of value, including identification (ID) information of the indicium of value, to a merchant associated with the offer. 
     In a second aspect, a computer program product to facilitate a financial transaction includes a computer-readable medium having program code recorded thereon. The program code includes code to receive a request to purchase an offer from a customer, code to prompt the customer to provide payment information for a value of the offer, code, executable in response to receiving the payment information, to process the payment information to obtain the value, code to associate the value of the offer with an indicium of value, code to issue the indicium of value to the customer, and code to transmit a record of the indicium of value, including ID information of the indicium of value, to a merchant associated with the offer. 
     In a third aspect, a computer system is configured to facilitate a financial transaction. The computer system includes at least one processor, a memory coupled to the processor, and an offer management application stored in the memory. When executed by the processor, the executing offer management application configures the computer system to receive a request to purchase an offer from a customer, to prompt the customer to provide payment information for a value of the offer, to process the payment information to obtain the value in response to receiving the payment information, to associate the value of the offer with an indicium of value, to issue the indicium of value to the customer, and to transmit a record of the indicium of value, including ID information of the indicium of value, to a merchant associated with the offer. 
     In a fourth aspect, a method of facilitating a financial transaction includes receiving an indicium of value from a customer during a financial transaction, comparing ID information associated with the indicium of value against a record of valid indicia of value, the record received from an issuer of the indicium of value, reading a value represented in the indicium of value in response to the ID information matching one of the valid indicia of value of the record, and applying the value to the financial transaction. 
     In a fifth aspect, a computer program product to facilitate a financial transaction includes a computer-readable medium having program code recorded thereon. The program code includes code to receive an indicium of value from a customer during a financial transaction and code to compare ID information associated with the indicium of value against a record of valid indicia of value, where the record received from an issuer of the indicium of value. The program code also includes code, executable in response to the ID information matching one of the valid indicia of value of the record, to read a value represented in the indicium of value and code to apply the value to the financial transaction. 
     In a sixth aspect, a computer system is configured to facilitate a financial transaction. The computer system includes at least one processor, a memory coupled to the processor, and an offer management application stored in the memory. When executed by the processor, the executing offer management application configures the computer system to receive an indicium of value from a customer during a financial transaction, to compare ID information associated with the indicium of value against a record of valid indicia of value, the record received from an issuer of the indicium of value, to read a value represented in the indicium of value in response to the ID information matching one of the valid indicia of value of the record, and to apply the value to the financial transaction. 
     In a seventh aspect, a method of facilitating a financial transaction includes receiving an indicium of value from a customer during a financial transaction, transmitting ID information associated with the indicium of value to a third party processor for authentication, receiving an authentication from the third party processor authorizing the indicium of value to an authorized amount, and applying the authorized amount to the financial transaction. 
     In an eighth aspect, a computer program product to facilitate a financial transaction includes a computer-readable medium having program code recorded thereon. The program code include code to receiving an indicium of value from a customer during a financial transaction, code to transmit ID information associated with the indicium of value to a third party processor for authentication, code to receive an authentication from the third party processor authorizing the indicium of value to an authorized amount, and code to apply the authorized amount to the financial transaction. 
     In a ninth aspect, a computer system is configured to facilitate a financial transaction. The computer system includes at least one processor, a memory coupled to the at least one processor, and an offer management application stored in the memory. When executed by the processor, the executing offer management application configures the computer system to receiving an indicium of value from a customer during a financial transaction, to transmit ID information associated with the indicium of value to a third party processor for authentication, to receive an authentication from the third party processor authorizing the indicium of value to an authorized amount, and to apply the authorized amount to the financial transaction. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       For a more complete understanding of the present teachings, reference is now made to the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. 
         FIG. 1  is a schematic representation of a system for financial transactions, according to an example embodiment of the present disclosure; 
         FIG. 2  is a schematic representation of a computing system that can be used to implement aspects of the present disclosure; 
         FIG. 3  is an operational flow diagram of a method and system for financial transactions, according to an example embodiment of the present disclosure; 
         FIG. 4  is an operational flow diagram of a method and system for financial transactions, according to an example embodiment of the present disclosure; 
         FIG. 5  is a schematic representation of a consumer buying an offer, according to an example embodiment of the present disclosure; 
         FIG. 6  is a schematic representation of a consumer redeeming an offer, according to an example embodiment of the present disclosure; 
         FIG. 7  is a schematic representation of a consumer redeeming an offer, according to an example embodiment of the present disclosure; 
         FIG. 8  is a schematic representation of a consumer redeeming an offer, according to an example embodiment of the present disclosure; 
         FIG. 9  is a functional block diagram illustrating example blocks executed to implement one embodiment of the present disclosure; 
         FIG. 10  is a functional block diagram illustrating example blocks executed to implement one embodiment of the present disclosure; and 
         FIG. 11  is a functional block diagram illustrating example blocks executed to implement one embodiment of the present disclosure. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     In the detailed description below, numerous specific details are set forth to provide a thorough understanding of claimed subject matter. However, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that claimed subject matter may be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, methods, apparatuses or systems that would be known by one of ordinary skill have not been described in detail so as not to obscure claimed subject matter. Some portions of the detailed description may be presented in terms of algorithms or symbolic representations of operations on data bits or binary digital signals stored within a computing system memory, such as a computer memory. These algorithmic descriptions or representations are examples of techniques used by those of ordinary skill in the art to convey the substance of their work to others skilled in the art. 
     An algorithm is here, and generally, considered to be a self-consistent sequence of operations or similar processing leading to a desired result. In this context, operations or processing involve physical manipulation of physical quantities. Typically, although not necessarily, such physical quantities may take the form of electrical or magnetic signals capable of being stored, transferred, combined, compared or otherwise manipulated. It has proven convenient at times, principally for reasons of common usage, to refer to such signals as bits, data, values, elements, symbols, characters, terms, numbers, numerals or the like. It should be understood, however, that all of these and similar terms are to be associated with appropriate physical quantities and are merely convenient labels. Unless specifically stated otherwise, as apparent from the following discussion, it is appreciated that throughout this specification discussions utilizing terms such as “processing,” “computing,” “calculating,” “determining” or the like, refer to actions or processes of a computing platform, such as a computer or a similar electronic computing device, that manipulates or transforms data represented as physical electronic or magnetic quantities within memories, registers, or other information storage devices, transmission devices, or display devices of the computing platform. 
     In general, the various aspects and embodiments of the present disclosure are related to delivering or exchanging indicia of value that represent consumer offers, such as coupons, discounts, or the like, between a third party and a consumer. In particular, a third party may sell such consumer offers to consumers and deliver the indicium of value to the consumer to represent such purchased offer. In the purchasing process, the third party also collects information from the consumer. The third party often partners with a financial entity and shares information related to the consumer and the particular consumer offer sold. In representative aspects of the present disclosure, in response to the third party delivering the information, the financial entity may issue an indicium of value to the consumer, such as a stored value card, a representative code, such as a numeric, optical, magnetic code, or the like, associated with the value of the consumer offer, or any other type of indicia that represents the value of the consumer offer stored on, embedded into, or encoded in the indicium of value. The indicium of value issued by the financial entity may also include some associated information stored on, embedded into, or encoded in the indicium as well. With the value of the consumer offer and at least some of the associated information found with the indicium of value, fraud may be reduced as the information stored on the indicium may be verified in near real-time by the financial entity prior to approval by the merchant. 
     Additionally, the financial entity and third party may partner to share information and offer multiple products to a consumer during a single transaction. For example, when a consumer decides to buy an offer, the consumer may also apply for a stored value card, credit card, or the like, with the same information gathered for purchasing the offer. The third party shares the information with the financial institution that would issue such card. As such, the issuance of the indicium of value would include the purchased consumer offer and an approval to have the stored value card or credit card issued by the financial institution, as well as ID information related to the indicium that would allow a merchant to identify the particular indicium to an authenticating entity. 
     Referring now to  FIG. 1 , a schematic representation of a financial transaction system  100  is provided. The financial transaction system  100  includes a consumer buying an offer  102 . In buying the offer  102 , the consumer provides information, such as name, address, date of birth, and the like, to an offer issuer. The offer issuer then shares that information with a financial entity which uses it to fill in a credit application with the financial entity. Thus, in purchasing the offer  102 , the consumer is also applying for additional value  104  from a financial institution. Such additional value may be a stored value card, a credit card account, or the like. When the financial institution issues the indicium of value  106 , which may be a card or some kind of code, it will include representations of both the purchased offer  102  and the additional value  104 . As the consumer uses the indicium of value  106  to redeem the offer  102 , the consumer would also be able to use the indicium of value for the additional value  104  for anything else as well. 
     Referring now to  FIG. 2 , an exemplary environment for implementing embodiments of the present invention includes a general purpose computing device in the form of a computing system  200 , including at least one processing system  202 . A variety of processing units are available from a variety of manufacturers, for example, Intel or Advanced Micro Devices. The computing system  200  also includes a system memory  204 , and a system bus  206  that couples various system components including the system memory  204  to the processing unit  202 . The system bus  206  may be any of a number of types of bus structures including a memory bus, or memory controller; a peripheral bus; and a local bus using any of a variety of bus architectures. 
     The system memory  204  includes read only memory (ROM)  208  and random access memory (RAM)  210 . A basic input/output system  212  (BIOS), containing the basic routines that help transfer information between elements within the computing system  200 , such as during start up, is typically stored in the ROM  208 . 
     The computing system  200  further includes a secondary storage device  213 , such as a hard disk drive, for reading from and writing to a hard disk (not shown), and/or a compact flash card  214 . 
     The hard disk drive  213  and compact flash card  214  are connected to the system bus  206  by a hard disk drive interface  220  and a compact flash card interface  222 , respectively. The drives and cards and their associated computer readable media provide nonvolatile storage of computer readable instructions, data structures, program modules and other data for the computing system  200 . 
     Although the exemplary environment described herein employs a hard disk drive  213  and a compact flash card  214 , it should be appreciated by those skilled in the art that other types of computer-readable media, capable of storing data, can be used in the exemplary system. Examples of these other types of computer-readable mediums include magnetic cassettes, flash memory cards, digital video disks, Bernoulli cartridges, CD ROMS, DVD ROMS, random access memories (RAMs), read only memories (ROMs), and the like. 
     A number of program modules may be stored on the hard disk  213 , compact flash card  214 , ROM  208 , or RAM  210 , including an operating system  226 , one or more application programs  228 , other program modules  230 , and program data  232 . A user may enter commands and information into the computing system  200  through an input device  234 . Examples of input devices might include a keyboard, mouse, microphone, joystick, game pad, satellite dish, scanner, digital camera, touch screen, and a telephone. These and other input devices are often connected to the processing unit  202  through an interface  240  that is coupled to the system bus  206 . These input devices also might be connected by any number of interfaces, such as a parallel port, serial port, game port, or a universal serial bus (USB). A display device  242 , such as a monitor or touch screen LCD panel, is also connected to the system bus  206  via an interface, such as a video adapter  244 . The display device  242  might be internal or external. In addition to the display device  242 , computing systems, in general, typically include other peripheral devices (not shown), such as speakers, printers, and palm devices. 
     When used in a LAN networking environment, the computing system  200  is connected to the local network through a network interface or adapter  252 . When used in a WAN networking environment, such as the Internet, the computing system  200  typically includes a modem  254  or other means, such as a direct connection, for establishing communications over the wide area network. The modem  254 , which can be internal or external, is connected to the system bus  206  via the interface  240 . In a networked environment, program modules depicted relative to the computing system  200 , or portions thereof, may be stored in a remote memory storage device. It will be appreciated that the network connections shown are exemplary and other means of establishing a communication link between the computing systems may be used. 
     The computing system  200  might also include a recorder  260  connected to the memory  204 . The recorder  260  includes a microphone for receiving sound input and is in communication with the memory  204  for buffering and storing the sound input. Preferably, the recorder  260  also includes a record button  261  for activating the microphone and communicating the sound input to the memory  204 . 
     A computing device, such as computing system  200 , typically includes at least some form of computer-readable media. Computer readable media can be any available media that is accessible by the computing system  200 . By way of example, and not limitation, computer-readable media might comprise computer storage media and communication media. 
     Computer storage media includes volatile and nonvolatile, removable and non-removable media implemented in any method or technology for storage of information such as computer readable instructions, data structures, program modules or other data. Computer storage media includes, but is not limited to, RAM, ROM, EEPROM, flash memory or other memory technology, CD-ROM, digital versatile disks (DVD) or other optical storage, magnetic cassettes, magnetic tape, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium that can be used to store the desired information and that can be accessed by the computing system  200 . 
     Communication media typically embodies computer-readable instructions, data structures, program modules or other data in a modulated data signal such as a carrier wave or other transport mechanism and includes any information delivery media. The term “modulated data signal” means a signal that has one or more of its characteristics set or changed in such a manner as to encode information in the signal. By way of example, and not limitation, communication media includes wired media such as a wired network or direct-wired connection, and wireless media such as acoustic, RF, infrared, and other wireless media. Combinations of any of the above should also be included within the scope of computer-readable media. Computer-readable media may also be referred to as computer program product. 
     The computing system  200  may be used to implement the processes defining the various embodiments of the present disclosure, including the flow and functional block processes as defined in  FIGS. 3, 4, and 9-11 , as well as any of the other processes and procedures described in implementing the various aspects of the present disclosure. 
     Referring now to  FIG. 3 , a flow diagram of a purchase transaction system  300  is illustrated. Preferably, the purchase transaction system  300  is instantiated by a start operation  305 . Operational flow proceeds to a buy operation  310 . For example, a third party website may offer to visitors of the website the ability to buy coupons for merchant. One such merchant may include Erik&#39;s steak house. Erik&#39;s steak house may wish to offer a $200 meal for $100. In other words, the user buys the $200 gift card to Erik&#39;s steak house for only $100. The buy operation  310  receives a request from a user to buy a coupon, or a gift card. In the above example, the user requests to buy the $200 gift card for the $100. 
     A checkout operation  315  checks out the user as is well known. A payment operation  320  receives a request from the user as to the method of payment, i.e. a credit or debit card. An approval operation  325  determines if the payment has been approved. If the approval operation  325  determines that the payment has not been approved, then operational flow branches “NO” to the payment operation  320  for the user to select a different method of payment. If the approval operation  325  determines that the payment has been approved, the operational flow branches “YES” to a tipping operation  330 . 
     The tipping operation  330  determines if a tipping point has been achieved. A merchant, i.e. Erik&#39;s steak house, may only be interested in issuing such coupons or gift cards if a certain number of them are sold (the tipping point). In the example user, Erik&#39;s steak house is only interested in selling if 100 gift cards are sold. Thus, the tipping operation  330  determines if the 100 gift card threshold has been achieved. If the tipping operation  330  determines that the tipping point has not been achieved, i.e. not 100 gift cards, then operational flow branches “NO” to the buy operation  310 . If the tipping operation  330  determines that the tipping point has been achieved, i.e. 100 gift cards, then operational flow branches “YES” to a send operation  335 . 
     The send operation  335  sends an email to each customer including the customer&#39;s coupon. A report operation  345  sends a report and file to the merchant. Such report and file can include how many coupons were issued, who they were issued to, and include financial information. 
       FIG. 4  is a flow diagram of a redemption transaction system  400 . Preferably, the redemption transaction system  400  is instantiated by a start operation  405 . Operational flow proceeds to a redemption operation  410 . At the redemption operation  410 , the customer redeems the coupon. A validate operation  415  validates the coupon to ensure its validity. For example, the validate operation  415  can looked at the printed report or a spreadsheet to make sure that corresponding numbers on the coupon and the report match. Once validated, a completion operation  430  completes the transaction using the coupon. A balance operation  435  determines if any balance is remaining. If the balance operation  435  determines that no balance is due, operational flow branches “NO” to an end operation  440 . If the balance operation  435  determines that a balance is due, operational flow branches “YES” to a payment operation  445 . The payment operation  445  collects any remaining balance due. 
     Using the above example, the customer is at Erik&#39;s steak house with their $200 coupon. The customer spends $275. The completion operation  430  uses the coupon to reduce to the balance to $75. The balance operation  435  determines that a balance is due and the payment operation  445  receives payment from the customer for the $75. A transaction operation  450  completes the transaction. Operational flow ends at the end operation  440 . 
       FIG. 5  is a block diagram of a purchase transaction system  500 . Preferably, the purchase transaction system  500  includes a consumer  505 , a third party coupon issuer  510 , a payment gateway  515 , a third party processor  520 , and an issuer  525 . The consumer  505  goes to the coupon issuer  510  to purchase a $20 coupon for $10. The coupon issuer  510  sends an authorization request  531  for the $10 to the payment gateway  515 . The payment gateway  515  sends the authorization request  531  to the third party processor  520 , who in turns sends it  531  to the issuer  525  for approval. 
     The issuer  525  sends an approval  532  to the third party processor  520 , who sends it to the payment gateway  515 , who sends the approval to the coupon issuer  510 . The coupon issuer then sends a settlement  533  to the payment gateway  515  on through to the issuer  525 . The issuer  525  then sends the funding, i.e. $10,  534  to the third party processor  520  minus fees. The third party processor  520  then sends the remaining funding, minus its fees to the payment gateway  515 . The payment gateway  515  then sends the remaining funding, minus its fees to the coupon issuer  510 . 
       FIG. 6  is a block diagram of a redemption transaction system  600 . Preferably, the transaction system  600  includes a consumer  605 , a merchant  610 , a third party processor  615 , a first financial entity  620 , a second financial entity  625 , and a coupon issuer  630 . The consumer  605  goes to the merchant  610  to redeem its coupon, i.e. the $20 coupon purchase in connection with  FIG. 5  for $10. The merchant  610  sends an authorization request  631  for the coupon of $20 to the third party processor  615 . The third party processor  615  sends the authorization request  631  to a first financial entity  620 . The first financial entity  620  sends the authorization request  631  to the second financial entity  625  for approval. The second financial entity  625  sends an approval  632  back to the first financial entity  620 , who passes the approval  632  to the third party processor  615 , who passes the approval  632  to the merchant  610 . 
     The merchant  610  sends the settlement  633  for $20 to the third party processor  615  who processes the settlement. The third party  615  processor sends the settlement  633  to the first financial entity  620 . The first financial entity  620  sends the settlement to the second financial entity  625 . Unlike,  FIG. 5 , funding  634  is not provided because no money is changing hands. The $10 was collected in connection with  FIG. 5 .  FIG. 6  is mainly an authorization/validation of the $20 coupon. Thus, the merchant knows that the coupon is valid and after use is empty or invalid. The third party processor  615  does charge a transaction fee to the merchant  610 . A merchant statement would show a sales transaction of $20 along with a coupon credit of $20 for a balance owed the merchant of $0. 
     The transaction could also be for more than the $20 coupon. For example, the consumer might spend $30 at the merchant. The consumer  605  would present its coupon to the merchant  610  for $20. The merchant  610  would send a request to the third party processor for $30 ($10 plus the $20 coupon), which would be passed through to the second financial entity  625 . The second financial entity could decline or approve the extra $10 and the money could be funded to the merchant  610  through a funding  634  that would be $10 instead of $0. For example, the coupon might be part of a stored value card or charge card. Thus, the extra $10 could be deducted from the stored value or charged to the customer&#39;s  605  account. 
     The transactions illustrated in  FIGS. 5 and 6  are advantageous because the merchant has the ability to validate the coupon before allowing the customer the credit. Likewise, each entity involves has up-to-date information about the coupon and the transaction. That information can be passed to the coupon issuer  630  for its own purposes. 
     Referring to  FIGS. 5 and 6 , when the consumer  505  buys the coupon from the third party coupon issuer  510 , the consumer provides certain information for purchase of the coupon. The third party coupon issuer  510 / 630  can share that information with the second financial entity  625  in order to apply the consumer for an account with the second financial entity  625 . If approved, the purchase of the offer by the consumer  505  will result in the consumer getting the coupon and opening an account with the second financial entity  625 . The coupon can then be stored on the new card issued by the second financial entity  625  and sent to the consumer for use. 
     When the consumer uses the card to use the coupon, the card can also be used to fund the balance of the transaction over the coupon value either through some sort of stored value, debit arrangement or credit arrangement. During further transactions, information can also be shared between the coupon issuer  630  and the second financial entity  625 . Such information could include when the consumer used the coupon, what was the total price, what type of merchandise or service was purchased, etc. Such information could be valuable the coupon issuer  630  in future decisions. The sharing is also valuable to the financial entity  625  in that new customers are enrolled for use of the financial entities cards from which fees are generated. 
       FIG. 7  is a block diagram of a purchase transaction system  700 , according to another example embodiment. Preferably, the transaction system  700  includes a consumer  705 , a merchant  710 , a third party processor  715 , a first financial entity  720 , a second financial entity  725 , and a coupon issuer  730 . The consumer  705  goes to the merchant  710  to redeem its coupon, i.e. the $20 coupon purchase in connection with  FIG. 5  for $10. The merchant  710  sends an authorization request  731  for the coupon of $20 to the third party processor  715 . The third party processor  715  sends the authorization request  731  to a first financial entity  720 . The first financial entity  720  sends the authorization request  731  to the second financial entity  725  for approval. The second financial entity  725  sends an approval  732  back to the first financial entity  720 , who passes the approval  732  to the third party processor  715 , who passes the approval  732  to the merchant  710 . 
     The merchant  710  sends the settlement  733  for $20 to the third party processor  715  who processes the settlement. The third party  715  processor sends the settlement  733  to the first financial entity  720 . The first financial entity  720  sends the settlement to the second financial entity  725 . In addition, a reconciliation file  736  is sent from the second financial entity  725  to the first financial entity  720 . The reconciliation file  736 ,  734  can also be sent to the merchant  710  showing the details of the transaction. Like  FIG. 6 , the merchant knows that the coupon is valid and after use is empty or invalid. The third party processor  715  does charge a transaction fee to the merchant  710 . A merchant statement would show a sales transaction of $20 along with a coupon credit of $20 for a balance owed the merchant of $0. 
       FIG. 8  is a block diagram of a purchase transaction system  800 , according to another example embodiment. Preferably, the transaction system  800  includes a consumer  805 , a merchant  810 , a third party processor  815 , a first financial entity  820 , a second financial entity  825 , a third financial entity  830 , a fourth financial entity  835 , and a coupon issuer  840 . The transaction occurs a in  FIG. 7 , but with further authentication communication occurring with the fourth financial entity  835 . 
       FIG. 9  is a functional block diagram illustrating example blocks executed to implement one embodiment of the present disclosure. In block  900 , a request to purchase an offer is received from a customer. The customer is prompted, in block  901 , to provide payment information for a value of the offer. The payment information is processed to obtain the value, in block  902 , in response to receiving the payment information. The value of the offer is associated with an indicium of value in block  903 . An indicium of value may take various forms, including a card, a chip (e.g., a casino chip), an email, a facsimile, a text message, an audio file, a video file, or the like. In block  904 , the indicium of value is issued to the customer, while a record of the indicium of value, including ID information for the indicium, is transmitted to a merchant associated with the offer in block  905 . 
     In associating the value of the offer with the indicium of value, some kind of representation is provided for the indicium. For example, the association may be a code or number that is encoded into or on the indicium, for instance, magnetically encoding a magnetic strip, optically encoding by displaying/printing an optical code, such as a barcode, Denso Wave Incorporated&#39;s QR CODE™, and the like, displaying the serial number or value in alphanumeric characters on the indicium, or the like. When redeeming the offer by presenting the indicium of value, to a merchant, the merchant uses the associated value and any ID information for the indicium during the authentication process. 
       FIG. 10  is a functional block diagram illustrating example blocks executed to implement one embodiment of the present disclosure. In block  1000 , an indicium of value is received from a customer during a financial transaction. ID information associated with the indicium of value is then compared against a record of value indicia of value, in block  1001 , the record received by an issuer of the indicium of value. A value represented in the indicium of value is read, in block  1002 , in response to the ID information matching one of the valid indicia in the record. The value is then applied to the financial transaction in block  1003 . 
     In additional and/or alternative embodiments of the present disclosure, instead of receiving a record of value indicia of value from the issuer, against which the presented indicium are checked, a communication process is established between the merchant and a third party processing entity, which authenticates and then provides an authentication signal to the merchant during the transaction. 
       FIG. 11  is a functional block diagram illustrating example blocks executed to implement one embodiment of the present disclosure. In block  1100 , an indicium of value is received from a customer during a financial transaction. ID information associated with the indicium of value is transferred, in block  1101 , to a third party processor for authentication. An authentication is received from the third party processor, in block  1102 , authorizing the indicium of value to an authorized amount. In block  1103 , the authorized amount is applied to the financial transaction. 
     It should be noted that in various aspects of the present disclosure, the third party processor may authenticate the indicium itself, or may communicate with one or more financial institution to obtain authentication and any related authentication information, such as the amount of the indicium of value and the like. 
     Moreover, in still further aspects of the present disclosure, where additional value has been granted to the customer by virtue of the application completed at the purchase of the offer, any transactions that cost more than the value of the offer associated on the indicium of value may be satisfied by this additional value. In authenticating the indicium, the third party processor may negotiate or communicate with the various associated financial institutions to access the approved additional value for the cost amount over the offer value. In the authentication signal communicated to the merchant, the third party processor would include not only the verification of the indicium for a certain amount, but would also communicate an appropriate signal representing the additional amount approved by the associated financial institution. In this manner, the merchant can complete the transaction. 
     Aspects of the invention described as being carried out by a computing system or are otherwise described as a method of control or manipulation of data may be implemented in one or a combination of hardware, firmware, and software. Embodiments of the invention may also be implemented as instructions stored on a machine-readable medium, which may be read and executed by at least one processor to perform the operations described herein. A machine-readable medium may include any mechanism for storing or transmitting information in a form readable by a machine (e.g., a computer). For example, a machine-readable medium may include read-only memory (ROM), random-access memory (RAM), magnetic disc storage media, optical storage media, flash-memory devices, electrical, optical, acoustical or other form of propagated signals (e.g., carrier waves, infrared signals, digital signals, etc.), and others. 
     In the foregoing detailed description, various features are occasionally grouped together in a single embodiment for the purpose of streamlining the disclosure. This method of disclosure is not to be interpreted as reflecting an intention that the claimed embodiments of the subject matter require more features than are expressly recited in each claim. Rather, as the following claims reflect, inventive subject matter lies in less than all features of a single disclosed embodiment. Thus, the following claims are hereby incorporated into the detailed description, with each claim standing on its own as a separate preferred embodiment. Therefore, the spirit and scope of the appended claims should not be limited to the description of the preferred versions contained herein. 
     Although the present teachings and their advantages have been described in detail, it should be understood that various changes, substitutions and alterations can be made herein without departing from the technology of the teachings as defined by the appended claims. Moreover, the scope of the present application is not intended to be limited to the particular aspects of the process, machine, manufacture, composition of matter, means, methods and steps described in the specification. As one of ordinary skill in the art will readily appreciate from the disclosure, processes, machines, manufacture, compositions of matter, means, methods, or steps, presently existing or later to be developed that perform substantially the same function or achieve substantially the same result as the corresponding aspects described herein may be utilized according to the present teachings. Accordingly, the appended claims are intended to include within their scope such processes, machines, manufacture, compositions of matter, means, methods, or steps.

Technology Category: g