CN117377971A

CN117377971A - Communication server apparatus, method and communication system for managing service subscription

Info

Publication number: CN117377971A
Application number: CN202280037912.9A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 瓦伦·辛格; 范·邦·恩古延; 苏迪普·萨蒂·拉马钱德兰; 许晓将; 萨米尔·阿赫塔尔
Original assignee: GP Network Asia Pte Ltd
Current assignee: GP Network Asia Pte Ltd
Priority date: 2021-06-30
Filing date: 2022-06-14
Publication date: 2024-01-09
Also published as: WO2023277800A2; WO2023277800A3

Abstract

A communications server device for managing service subscriptions, responsive to receiving subscription request data, based on point data indicative of a point variable associated with a user and denomination data indicative of a defined minimum denomination value, and if a total monetary value of a point variable available to the user and corresponding to the total point value is equal to or greater than the defined minimum denomination value, generating a plurality of point redemption data for a corresponding plurality of point redemption options, wherein for each point redemption data the data includes monetary value data indicative of a monetary value in the total monetary value for counteracting a cost of service, the monetary value being determined from the denomination value and being associated with the point value to be redeemed, and transmitting the plurality of point redemption options to a user communications device.

Description

Communication server apparatus, method and communication system for managing service subscription

Technical Field

The present invention relates generally to the field of communications. One aspect of the present invention relates to a communication server apparatus for managing service subscriptions. Other aspects of the invention relate to a method for managing service subscriptions and a communication system for managing service subscriptions.

One aspect of the invention has particular, but not exclusive, application to the booking of services, where a user attempting to make a service booking may be presented with point redemption options during the booking process for consideration by the user to offset at least a portion of the cost of the service.

Background

For example, the service provider may provide points as part of a rewards or loyalty program, which may implement a profit path (PTP). It provides opportunities for generating revenue (e.g., by helping the internal vertical market earn more revenue, sell points to external partners, etc.) and reducing costs (e.g., by reducing acquisition, retention, and pacifying costs). It has the ability to guide consumer behavior and establish long-term loyalty. However, revenue is only identified when credits are consumed.

The known methods used involve creating fixed denomination rewards (e.g., in singapore, $5, $10, $15, $20, and $ 25) specific to the partner (e.g., food, transportation, etc.), and allowing the user to select one of them. Furthermore, point payment is a feature that supports such functionality, but is only applicable to point-to-merchant (P2M) transactions.

From the customer's point of view, there are the following problems:

Users cannot use their points until there are enough points to get rewards for the lowest available denomination;

the user is forced to choose from a fixed denomination even if there are enough points to pay the price of the reward. In some cases, the user may also lose value or waste points. For example, the cost of a ride is $ 9, and the user wishes to pay the entire ride with the points. The user will redeem a prize of $ 10, resulting in the user losing $ 1 worth of points.

Disclosure of Invention

Aspects of the invention are as set out in the independent claims. Some optional features are defined in the dependent claims.

Implementations of the techniques disclosed herein may provide significant technical advantages.

The techniques disclosed herein may provide a user with a plurality of point redemption options having varying degrees of monetary value for counteracting at least a portion of the cost of a service to which the user wishes to subscribe. With the plurality of point redemption options provided, the user may subscribe to a service desired by the user and be able to select one of the point redemption options that best meets the user's budget. Thus, this may alleviate or minimize the need for users to continually submit new subscription requests or search for different services that fit the user's budget, and thus, the techniques disclosed herein may help to increase the efficiency of use of resources, bandwidth, and processing load.

In at least some implementations, the techniques disclosed herein may also provide resource management efficiency and/or processing load efficiency as described below. In the known method, there is a corresponding reward for each denomination, and a record is created in a Database (DB) for each denomination. As a non-limiting example, the database may have the format shown in table 1 below per vertical industry (e.g., transportation, distribution, etc.) per country.

TABLE 1

This means that several of the records need to be loaded (i.e. calls made to the database multiple times on request) and stored in a cache (which is in memory and/or a distributed cache such as Redis). For example, request 1 occurs where the user is attempting to use a dollar 1 offer, so the bonus details of bonus ID 100000 will be queried from the database and stored in the cache. Request 2 may then occur where the user wants a $ 5 offer, so the reward ID 100002 will be queried from the database (if it is not already in the cache) and then also stored in the cache, and so on.

Rather, the techniques disclosed herein may create a template reward in which detailed information such as discount amount, name, description, etc. may be presented as a template and added (only) when the user makes a purchase or redeems the points. Thus, taking the example above as an example, whether the user is attempting to use a $ 1 or $ 5 offer, the rewards need to be queried (only) once and (only) 1 rewards stored in the cache, e.g., based on the format shown in table 2. Thus, the techniques disclosed herein may reduce the number of rewards that need to be queried from a database and stored in memory/cache.

TABLE 2

In an exemplary implementation, the functionality of the techniques disclosed herein may be implemented in software running on a handheld communication device, such as a mobile phone. Software implementing the functionality of the techniques disclosed herein may be contained in an "application" (computer program or computer program product) that a user downloads from an online store. For example, when running on a user's mobile phone, the hardware features of the mobile phone may be used to implement the functions described below, such as using the transceiver component of the mobile phone to establish a secure communication channel for managing service subscriptions.

Drawings

The invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

fig. 1 is a schematic block diagram illustrating an exemplary communication system involving a communication server device.

Fig. 2A shows a schematic block diagram illustrating a communication server device for managing service subscriptions.

Fig. 2B shows a schematic block diagram illustrating a data record.

Fig. 2C shows a schematic block diagram illustrating the architectural components of the communication server apparatus of fig. 2A.

Fig. 2D shows a flow chart illustrating a method for managing service subscriptions.

Fig. 3A shows a diagram illustrating a flow chart for the present technology.

FIG. 3B shows a screen shot of an application that a user may use.

Fig. 4A-4C show screen shots of options presented to a user.

Fig. 5 shows a diagram illustrating a system architecture for the present technology.

Fig. 6A-6D show flowcharts illustrating processes related to the system architecture of fig. 5.

Detailed Description

Various embodiments may provide context-aware flexible redemption.

The present techniques may help increase the total number of points (and thus revenue) consumed by the service provider. For example, this may be due to discounts offered through point use to entice customers to use more services (e.g., to subscribe to more rides). The points and loyalty help increase transactions within the ecosystem, bringing more users or retaining existing users.

In the context of various embodiments, rewards for points may be referred to as "point earning" and redemption (or use) of points may be referred to as "point consumption.

The present technology may address one or more of the problems of the known methods described above. The present technology may provide a user with the possibility or option of selecting the amount of points to redeem according to the user's preferences. This allows the user the flexibility to decide whether to redeem some or all of the points available to the user or available in the user account. This further helps to minimize or prevent wastage of points, as the user may be provided with the option of not causing excessive cost of payment in terms of points, and may choose one of such options knowing that no user points are wasted. After redemption of the points, any remaining costs or payments required may be made in currency or components such as cash.

The flexible redemption provided by the techniques disclosed herein may address one or more of the problems of known methods by suggesting rewards for dynamic denominations associated with users in a subscription process. These denominations may be calculated or determined based on one or more of cost or fare (as an upper limit), the integral value available to the user (i.e., the available credit balance), the discount interval, and the selected lowest monetary denomination, among others.

By gently pushing the user or customer "save using points" and displaying them the options provided by the present technology, an increase in point consumption of up to 500% can be observed or achieved.

Referring first to fig. 1, a communication system 100 is shown that may be applied to various embodiments. The communication system 100 may be used to manage service subscriptions.

The communication system 100 includes a communication server apparatus 102, a first user (or client) communication device 104, and a second user (or client) communication device 106. These devices 102, 104, 106 are connected in or to a communication network 108 (e.g., the internet) by respective communication links 110, 112, 114 implementing, for example, an internet communication protocol. The communication devices 104, 106 may communicate over other communication networks, such as a public switched telephone network (PSTN network), including a mobile cellular communication network, but these are omitted from fig. 1 for clarity. It should be appreciated that one or more other communication devices similar to devices 104, 106 may exist.

The communication server device 102 may be a single server as schematically shown in fig. 1, or have functions performed by the communication server device 102 distributed over a plurality of server components. In the example of fig. 1, the communication server device 102 may include a plurality of individual components including, but not limited to, one or more microprocessors (μp) 116, a memory 118 (e.g., volatile memory such as RAM) for loading executable instructions 120, the executable instructions 120 defining functions to be performed by the server device 102 under control of the processor 116. The communication server device 102 may also include an input/output (I/O) module (which may be or include a transmitter module and/or a receiver module) 122 that allows the server device 102 to communicate over the communication network 108. A User Interface (UI) 124 is provided for user control and may include, for example, one or more computing peripheral devices, such as a display monitor, a computer keyboard, and the like. The communication server device 102 may also include a Database (DB) 126, the purpose of which will become apparent from the discussion below.

The communication server device 102 may be used to manage service subscriptions.

The user communication device 104 may include a number of separate components including, but not limited to, one or more microprocessors (μp) 128, a memory 130 (e.g., a volatile memory such as RAM) for loading executable instructions 132, the executable instructions 132 defining the functions performed by the user communication device 1104 under the control of the processor 128. The user communication device 104 also includes an input/output (I/O) module (which may be or include a transmitter module and/or a receiver module) 134 that allows the user communication device 104 to communicate over the communication network 108. A User Interface (UI) 136 is provided for user control. If the user communication device 104 is, for example, a smart phone or tablet device, the user interface 136 may have a touch panel display, as is common in many smart phones and other handheld devices. Alternatively, if the user communication device 104 is, for example, a desktop or laptop computer, the user interface may have, for example, one or more computing peripheral devices, such as a display monitor, computer keyboard, or the like. The user communication device 104 may also include satellite navigation components 137 that allow the user communication device 104 to receive timing signals from Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) satellites using a communication channel, such as through a GNSS network, to make measurements or at least approximately determine the geographic location of the user communication device 104, as is known.

For example, the user communication device 106 may be a smart phone or tablet device that is the same as or similar to the hardware architecture of the user communication device 104. The user communication device 106 has a user interface 136a in the form of a touch screen display, a satellite navigation component 138, and the like. The user communication device 106 may communicate with a cellular network base station through a cellular telecommunications network using a communication channel. As is known, the user communication device 106 may approximate its geographic location by receiving timing signals from cellular network base stations through the cellular telecommunications network. Of course, the user communication device 104 may also determine its geographic location approximately by receiving timing signals from cellular network base stations, and the user communication device 106 may determine its geographic location approximately by receiving timing signals from GNSS satellites, although these arrangements are omitted from fig. 1 for simplicity.

The user communication device 104 and/or the user communication device 106 may be used to manage service subscriptions. The user communication means 104 and/or the user communication means 106 may be arranged to communicate with the communication server apparatus 102 for managing service subscriptions.

Fig. 2A shows a schematic block diagram illustrating a communication server device 202 for managing service subscriptions, while fig. 2B shows a schematic block diagram illustrating data records 240 that may be generated, for example, by the communication server device 202.

The communication server device 202 comprises a processor 216 and a memory 218, wherein the communication server device 202 is configured to execute instructions in the memory 218 under control of the processor 216 to: in response to receiving subscription request data having at least one data field indicating that a user attempts to subscribe to a service, based on the point data indicating a point variable associated with the user and the denomination data indicating a defined minimum denomination value, and if a total monetary value of the point variable available to the user and corresponding to a total monetary value of the point variable is equal to or greater than the defined minimum denomination value, generating a plurality of point redemption data (three point redemption data 242, 244, 246 are schematically shown in fig. 2B) for a corresponding plurality of point redemption options in one or more data records 240, wherein for each point redemption data 242, 244, 246 the point redemption data 242, 244, 246 includes monetary value data 242a, 244a, 246a indicating a monetary value of the point variable in the total monetary value available to the user for counteracting at least a portion of the cost of the service, the monetary value being determined from the defined minimum denomination value and further associated with the monetary value of the point variable to be redeemed; and transmitting the plurality of point redemption options to a communication device of the user to present the plurality of point redemption options for the subscription to the user. The processor 216 and the memory 218 may be coupled to each other (as represented by line 217), e.g., physically and/or electrically.

In other words, a communication server device 202 for managing service subscriptions may be provided. The user may attempt to subscribe to a service (e.g., including, but not limited to, transportation related services, logistics related services, food related services, cargo related services, etc.). For example, the user may search for point redemption or discount options during the process of making a subscription service, or may activate some "offer" option or button on the corresponding application that the user may use to make a subscription. In response to receiving subscription request data having at least one data field indicating that a user is attempting to subscribe, the communication server device 202 may generate a plurality of point redemption data 242, 244, 246 for a corresponding plurality of point redemption options in one or more data records 240 based on the point data indicating the point variable associated with the user and the denomination data indicating the defined minimum denomination value and if the total monetary value of the point variable available to the user and corresponding to the total monetary value of the point variable is equal to or greater than the defined minimum denomination value (i.e., the total monetary value is equal to or greater than the defined minimum denomination value).

The credit data and/or denomination data may be accessed by the communication server device 202. The credit data and/or denomination data may be stored in memory 218.

The total integral value and the total monetary value of the integral variable associated with the user refer to the corresponding or equivalent in terms of the total amount of integral available to the user and the monetary value of the total amount of integral available to the user, respectively. The integral data may include total integral value data indicating a total integral value and total monetary value data indicating a total monetary value. The total amount of points may refer to points the user currently has, points the user has accumulated, or points available in the user account. As a non-limiting example, a user may collect or accumulate points (e.g., rewards or loyalty points) from past purchases, where the points may be used or redeemed for current and future purchases to offset some of the purchase costs.

For each point redemption data 242, 244, 246 (of each point redemption option), the point redemption data 242, 244, 246 includes currency value data indicating the currency value of the point variable for counteracting at least a portion of the cost in the total currency value available to the user, the currency value being determined from the defined lowest denomination value and further being associated with the point value of the point variable to be redeemed.

In the context of various embodiments, for each point redemption data 242, 244, 246, the redemption data 242, 244, 246 may include the monetary value data and the point value data indicating the point value to be redeemed.

As described above, the integral variable associated with the user may be defined by an integral value and a monetary value. The integral value and monetary value may correspond to or be equivalent to each other as determined by the integral conversion rate. The monetary value may be based on the local currency used by the relevant country. The user may have a certain number of credits currently available, i.e. a total credit value, which may be converted into an equivalent or corresponding total monetary value via use of a credit conversion rate. Using Singapore (SGD) 1=500 points as a non-limiting example, a user with 1000 available points (i.e., total point value=1000) will have a corresponding or equivalent total monetary value of SGD 2. When redeeming points to offset at least a portion of the cost of the service, the user may choose to redeem a certain point value (e.g., a portion of the total point value) of the point variable for a corresponding monetary value (e.g., a portion of the total monetary value).

The lowest denomination value defined may mean the smallest discount or cost offset available. The monetary value of each redemption data or each redemption option may be a multiple of the defined lowest denomination value (e.g., x l, ×2, ×3, ×4, or any higher number). This may also mean that the respective monetary values of the plurality of redemption data may be separated from one another by the defined lowest denomination value or multiples thereof.

The communication server device 202 may then communicate (e.g., send) the plurality of point redemption options to the user's communication means to present the plurality of point redemption options for subscription to the user. This may include transmitting or sending a plurality of point redemption data 242, 244, 246 to present the plurality of point redemption options to the user's communication device. Upon transmitting the plurality of point redemption data 242, 244, 246 to the (user) communication device, the monetary value data (and the point value data) may be transmitted or sent to the communication device.

When multiple point redemption options are presented on or via the (user) communication device, the user may select one point redemption option for the subscription.

To generate the plurality of point redemption data, the communication server device 202 may generate first point redemption data (e.g., 242) of the plurality of point redemption data, the first point redemption data 242 including currency value data indicating a first currency value of a closest and less than a cost variable of a total currency value available to the user, the first currency value being a multiple of a defined lowest denomination value.

To generate the first point redemption data, the communication server device 202 may determine a minimum of the cost or total monetary value and may round the minimum down to a first integer that is a multiple of a defined lowest denomination value closest to the minimum, wherein the first integer defines the first monetary value. This may mean that any one of the cost of service and the total monetary value determined to be lower is the minimum value, which is then rounded down to the first integer.

To generate the first point redemption data, the communication server device 202 may further generate first redemption point data indicating a first point value for the point variable to be redeemed, the first point value corresponding to the first monetary value.

To generate the plurality of point redemption data, the communication server device 202 may further generate second point redemption data (e.g., 244) of the plurality of point redemption data, the second point redemption data 244 including monetary value data indicating a second monetary value of a point variable of the total monetary values available to the user, the second monetary value being a multiple of the defined lowest denomination value.

To generate the second point redemption data, the communication server device 202 may calculate a first percentage (or first interval) of the first monetary value to define a first proportional value and may round the first proportional value up to a second integer to define a second monetary value, the second integer being a multiple of a lowest denomination value defined closest to the first proportional value. The first scale value may, for example, be determined to be 70% of the first monetary value. The determined second monetary value may be lower than the first monetary value.

To generate the second point redemption data, the communication server device 202 may further generate second redemption point data indicating a second point value for the point variable to be redeemed, the second point value corresponding to the second monetary value.

In various embodiments, if the second integer (determined to be the same as the first monetary value), the communication server device 202 may discard the second integer.

To generate the plurality of point redemption data, the communication server device 202 may further generate third point redemption data (e.g., 246) of the plurality of point redemption data, the third point redemption data 246 including monetary value data indicating a third monetary value of the point variables in the total monetary value available to the user, the third monetary value being lower than the second monetary value and further being a multiple of the defined lowest denomination value.

To generate the third point redemption data, the communication server device 202 may calculate a second percentage (or second interval) of the first monetary value to define a second proportional value and may round the second proportional value up to a third integer to define a third monetary value, the third integer being a multiple of the defined lowest denomination value closest to the second proportional value. The second scale value may for example be determined to be 40% of the first monetary value.

To generate third redemption data, the communication server device 202 may further generate third redemption points data indicating third points of the point variables to be redeemed, the third points corresponding to the third monetary value.

In various embodiments, for a point redemption option (e.g., a second redemption option, a third redemption option) of the plurality of point redemption options that follows (or follows) the first redemption option, wherein the point redemption option can have a point value that is less than a defined minimum denomination value, to generate the plurality of point redemption data, the communication server device 202 can generate desired point redemption data for the desired point redemption option of the plurality of point redemption data, the desired point redemption data including currency value data indicating a desired monetary value that is greater than the first monetary value, the desired monetary value being a multiple of the defined minimum denomination value that is closest to the first monetary value; and to communicate the plurality of point redemption options, the communication server device 202 may communicate the desired point redemption options to the communication means to present the desired point redemption options to the user.

Depending on the total points associated with the user, the desired point redemption options may or may not be disabled or selectable.

The expected point redemption data may further include expected point data indicating expected points corresponding to expected monetary values.

In various embodiments, in response to receiving selection data including at least one data field indicating a user selection of a point redemption option of the plurality of point redemption options, the communication server device 202 may query the data template and determine an amount to offset the cost based on the data template and the points to be redeemed for the user selected point redemption option. The data templates may be accessed by the communication server device 202. The data templates may be stored in a database accessible to the communication server device 202. The data templates may be stored in the memory 218.

The communication server device 202 may further generate target redemption data for a target redemption notification in one or more data records 240, the target redemption data indicating the defined minimum denomination value, based on the credit data and denomination data, and if the total monetary value available to the user (determined) is less than the defined minimum denomination value, and transmit the target redemption notification to the communication device to present the defined minimum denomination value to the user for counteracting at least a portion of the cost. The targeted redemption data may be communicated or sent to the communication device for presentation of the targeted redemption notification. The target redemption data may include denomination data.

The target redemption data may further include target credit data indicating a remaining credit required by the user to reach a defined credit corresponding to the same defined currency value as the defined lowest denomination value.

In the context of various embodiments, the one or more data records 240 may include one or more point redemption data fields. The communication server device 202 may generate the point redemption data 242, 244, 246, the desired point redemption data, and the target redemption data for or in one or more point redemption data fields.

In the context of various embodiments, one or more data records 240 may be associated with the communication server device 202 or accessible by the communication server device 202. One or more data records 240 may be generated by the communication server device 202. One or more data records 240 may be modified or updated by the communication server device 202. One or more data records 240 may be stored at the communication server device 202, for example, in the memory 218.

Fig. 2C shows a schematic block diagram illustrating the architectural components of the communication server apparatus 202. That is, the communication server device 202 may further include a data generation module 260 to generate a plurality of point redemption data 242, 244, 246 (including first point redemption data, second point redemption data, third point redemption data, desired point redemption data) and target redemption data. The communication server apparatus 202 may further comprise a communication module 262 to communicate the plurality of point redemption options to the (user) communication device.

In the context of various embodiments, the communication server device 202 may be a single server or have functions performed by the communication server device 202 distributed across multiple server components.

Fig. 2D shows a flow chart 250 illustrating a method for managing service subscriptions.

In response to receiving subscription request data having at least one data field indicative of a user attempting to subscribe, at 252, based on the point data indicative of the point variables associated with the user and the denomination data indicative of the defined lowest denomination value, and if the total monetary value of the point variables available to the user and corresponding to the total points of the point variables is equal to or greater than the defined lowest denomination value, generating a plurality of point redemption data for a corresponding plurality of point redemption options in one or more data records, wherein for each point redemption data the point redemption data includes monetary value data indicative of the monetary value of the point variable in the total monetary value available to the user for counteracting at least a portion of the cost of the service, the monetary value being determined in accordance with the defined lowest denomination value and further associated with the point value of the point variable to be redeemed, and at 254, the plurality of point redemption options are transmitted to the user's communication device to present the plurality of point redemption options for subscription to the user.

At 252, first point redemption data of the plurality of point redemption data may be generated, the first point redemption data including currency value data indicating a first currency value for a point variable of a total currency value available to the user, the first currency value being closest and less than a cost, the first currency value being a multiple of a defined lowest denomination value.

To generate the first point redemption data, a minimum of the cost or total monetary value may be determined and the minimum may be rounded down to a first integer that is a multiple of a defined lowest denomination value closest to the minimum, wherein the first integer defines the first monetary value.

At 252, second point redemption data of the plurality of point redemption data may be generated, the second point redemption data including currency value data indicating a second currency value for a point variable in the total currency values available to the user, the second currency value being a multiple of the defined lowest denomination value.

To generate the second point redemption data, a first percentage of the first monetary value may be calculated to define a first proportional value, and the first proportional value may be rounded up to a second integer to define a second monetary value, the second integer being a multiple of a defined lowest denomination value closest to the first proportional value.

The second integer may be discarded if it is the same as the first monetary value.

At 252, third point redemption data of the plurality of point redemption data may be generated, the third point redemption data including currency value data indicating a third currency value for the point variable in the total currency values available to the user, the third currency value being lower than the second currency value and further being a multiple of the defined lowest denomination value.

To generate the third point redemption data, a second percentage of the first monetary value may be calculated to define a second scale value, and the second scale value may be rounded up to a third integer to define a third monetary value, the third integer being a multiple of a defined lowest denomination value closest to the second scale value.

In various embodiments, for a point redemption option of the plurality of point redemption options subsequent to the first redemption option, wherein the point redemption option can have a point value less than a defined minimum denomination value, desired point redemption data for the desired point redemption option of the plurality of point redemption data can be generated at 252, the desired point redemption data including monetary value data indicating a desired monetary value greater than the first monetary value, the desired monetary value being a multiple of the defined minimum denomination value closest to the first monetary value; and at 254, the desired point redemption options may be communicated to the communication device to present the desired point redemption options to the user.

In response to receiving selection data including at least one data field indicating a user selection of a point redemption option of the plurality of point redemption options, the data template may be queried and an amount to offset the cost may be determined from the data template and the points to be redeemed for the point redemption option selected by the user.

In response to receiving the reservation request data, the target redemption data for the target redemption notification may be generated in the one or more data records, the target redemption data indicating the defined minimum denomination value and the target redemption notification may be communicated to the communication device to present the defined minimum denomination value to the user for counteracting at least a portion of the cost, based on the point data and the denomination data, and if the total monetary value available to the user is less than the defined minimum denomination value.

The target redemption data may further include target credit data indicating remaining credits required by the user to reach a defined credit corresponding to the same defined monetary value as the defined lowest denomination value.

It should be understood that the description in the context of the communication server device 202 may correspondingly apply to the method described in the context of the flowchart 250, and vice versa.

The method described in the context of flowchart 250 may be performed in a communication server device (e.g., 202; fig. 2A) for managing service subscriptions under control of a processor of the communication server device. The method may further comprise executing instructions stored in a memory of the communication server device under control of the processor, operating the data generation module (e.g., 260, fig. 2C) to generate a plurality of point redemption data and target redemption data, and operating the communication module (e.g., 262, fig. 2C) to communicate the plurality of point redemption options to the (user) communication device.

In the context of various embodiments, a (user) communication device may include, but is not limited to, a smart phone, a tablet, a handheld/portable communication device, a desktop or laptop computer, a terminal computer, and the like.

In the context of various embodiments, an "application" or "application" may reside or be installed on a (user) communication device and may include processor-executable instructions for execution on the device. As a non-limiting example, subscription to a service may be performed by a user via an application.

A computer program product may also be provided having instructions for implementing a method for managing service subscriptions as described herein.

A computer program may also be provided having instructions for implementing a method for managing service subscriptions as described herein.

There may be further provided a non-transitory storage medium storing instructions that, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to perform a method for managing service subscriptions as described herein.

Various embodiments may further provide a communication system for managing service subscriptions, the communication system having a communication server apparatus, at least one user communication device, and a communication network apparatus operable to establish communication with each other by the communication server apparatus and the at least one user communication device, wherein the at least one user communication device comprises a first processor and a first memory, the at least one user communication device being configured to execute first instructions in the first memory under control of the first processor to: transmitting subscription request data comprising at least one data field indicating that a user is attempting to subscribe to a service for receipt by a communication server device for processing; and wherein the communication server device comprises a second processor and a second memory, the communication server device being configured to execute the second instructions in the second memory under control of the second processor to: in response to receiving data indicative of the subscription request data, based on the point data indicative of the point variables associated with the user and the denomination data indicative of the defined lowest denomination value, and if the total monetary value of the point variables available to the user and corresponding to the total points of the point variables is equal to or greater than the defined lowest denomination value, generating a plurality of point redemption data for a corresponding plurality of point redemption options in one or more data records, wherein for each point redemption data the point redemption data comprises monetary value data indicative of monetary values of the point variables for counteracting at least a portion of the cost of the service in the total monetary value available to the user, the monetary values being determined in accordance with the defined lowest denomination value and further being associated with the points of the point variables to be redeemed; and transmitting the plurality of point redemption options to at least one user communication device to present the plurality of point redemption options for the subscription to the user.

Various embodiments or techniques will now be described in further detail using non-limiting examples of users subscribing to transportation related services (e.g., a taxi calling service, a shared ride service, etc.). However, it should be understood that the techniques disclosed herein may be used for other applications or services, including, but not limited to, logistics (e.g., distribution documents, packaging, packages, goods, etc.), finance (e.g., payment, banking, insurance, etc.), food (e.g., ordering, delivering, etc.), merchandise services (e.g., purchasing and/or distributing groceries, packaging goods/food, household products, etc.), trade or grocery related services, and the like.

Fig. 3A shows a diagram illustrating a flow chart for the present technology, showing non-limiting examples of services (grab fare 371b, offer 371c, rewards 371d, abacus 371 e) that may be involved, and how different services 371b, 371c, 371d, 371e may interact with each other and with the user 371 a.

The services involved may include:

grasp fare 371b: responsible for calculating and signing the fare of the reservation;

preferential 371c: orchestration service that proxies calls to rewards 371 d;

prize 371d: responsible for calculating options and redeeming rewards selected by the user;

Abacus 371e: responsible for credit management, e.g., consume credits, maintain history, etc.

Each of the services 371b, 371c, 371d, 371e described above may have their own respective servers and may expose some Application Programming Interface (API) endpoints. The endpoints are invoked to communicate with and between the endpoints. However, it should be understood that two or more of the services described above may be part of a common or shared server.

At 372, the user may make a fare request for a service (e.g., a taxi calling service). The request and corresponding data may be transmitted to a server, such as a communication server device as described herein. A reward service 371d may be invoked 373, which then obtains the point balance of the user 371a from the abacus service 371e at 374, so that the reward service 371d may determine (redemption) offers or options that may be applicable to the user based on the available user points. The reward service 371d then returns 375 the determined options and their corresponding points. At 376, the determined options and their corresponding points of integration are returned to the user side. Most of the logic occurs in what is referred to as a "list flexible offers" endpoint 373, which returns context-aware options to the user 371a.

At 377, the user may decide whether to check the options for redeeming the user points. If the user decides to check what the options may be, the user may click on the "offer" button at 377, which will guide the user 378 to view the available options as will be described further below. If the user 371a decides not to check what the option may be, the user 371a is directed through paths 380a, 381a, 382 to continue subscription for the service without using the credit.

At 378, after the options have been viewed, the user 371a may decide not to accept any options, and the user 371a is directed through paths 380b, 381a, 382 to continue subscription for the service without using the credit. If the user decides to proceed to one of the redemption options presented to the user at 378, the user selects a particular option to redeem some of the points associated with the cost offset or discount corresponding to the selected option at 379. This results in the invocation of the reward service 371d for redemption at 383. Correspondingly, the abacus service 371e is invoked 384 to consume the points corresponding to the user selected options. The redemption and associated data are stored or saved at 385, wherein a discount token is generated for the redemption and communicated to the user side 371a.

In the context of various embodiments, a "discount token" refers to a string that is used to identify a discount. In general, there may be several types of offers, e.g., promotions, redemption, unique code promotions, etc., which may be in the format of "discount types: parameter 1: parameter 2", etc. For flexible redemption (only) applicable to redemption types, the discount token for this feature may have, for example, the following format: "1: { redemption ID }. A non-limiting example may be "1:3182190423", where" 3182190423 "may refer to redemption IDs.

The discount token is sent to the grab fare service 371b to obtain updated fares, taking into account the cost offset corresponding to the user selected option. By verifying with the reward service 371d at 388, the offer service 371c may be invoked at 387 to verify the updated fare. When validated, the offer service 371c returns a corresponding discount or cost offset to the grab fare service 371b, which can then validate or sign the fare and return it to the user side 371a for further action at 389.

At 390, the user 371a may decide whether to subscribe to the service using the discount. If user 371a decides not to proceed with the selected option with the corresponding discount, user 371a is directed through paths 381b, 382 to proceed with the subscription for the service without using the points. If user 371a decides to proceed with the selected option with the corresponding discount at 390, then the discount is used at 391 and user 371a is directed through path 381c to proceed with the reservation of the service with the discount and redemption of the points.

FIG. 3B shows a screen shot 395 of an application that a user can use to manage service subscriptions. The application may be used to subscribe to a transportation related service, wherein a map 396 associated with the user's desired transportation related service may be displayed to the user. Different types of services 397 may be displayed to the user and their corresponding costs. A "offer" button 398 may be provided.

Clicking on the "offer" button 398 provides the user with an entry point to view the available redemption options 377 (see fig. 3A) which will be discussed further below.

To understand how the options provided to the user may be calculated or determined, the following three terms or parameters shown in table 3 may be used or defined.

TABLE 3 Table 3

The "lowest denomination" is the smallest discount available and may vary from country to country or market to market. For example, as shown in Table 3, the lowest denomination of Singapore (SG) may be defined as 1 New element (1 Singapore element; S$1 or SGD 1), while the lowest denomination of Vietnam (VN) may be defined as VND 50 (50 Vietnam shield).

The "lowest denomination" of the (discounted) is used to reduce the cognitive overhead of the customer and to show good rounded discounts related to the denominations considered or possibly familiar to most customers.

The "rate of conversion of points" (or the integrated value of a unit of currency) is used to identify the local monetary value of the user's points. The entity or manager of the credit plan or the service provider may set the conversion rate for each country. As a non-limiting example, in singapore, the ratio of transitions may be 500 integrals = 1 new element. Thus, if the user (or passenger) has 8000 points, the value of 8000 points, i.e., 16 new elements (i.e., 8000/500), can be calculated using the example conversion rate described above. As another example, at a ratio of 1 new element = 500 points, a user that has accumulated 800 points will have a value or equivalent of 1.6 new elements (i.e., 800/500). As a further example, a user with a 1357 score would have a value or equivalent of 2.714 new element (i.e., 1357/500). This determination may be applicable to other currencies in other countries based on the respective conversion rates of each country.

In general, the equivalent monetary value of the user's available points may be determined using the relationship [ (total points of the user/monetary value of units) =monetary value of total points ]. Alternatively, the relationship may be (user total points x monetary value of unit points = monetary value of total points). However, the "monetary value per unit of integration" is a score, and manipulation in the code may be a challenge, so the former relationship may be more preferable. Using an example conversion rate of 1 new element=500 integration, the phrase "integrated value per unit currency" represents 500 (where unit currency=1 new element), and the phrase "currency value per unit integration" represents 0.002 new element (i.e., 1/500 new element). As a non-limiting example, if the user has 3000 points, the monetary value of the total points of the user may be calculated using the relationship (total points of the user/integral value of unit currency), with the result being 6 new points (i.e., 3000/500); or may be calculated using a relationship (the total points of the user x the monetary value of the unit points), with the result being 6 new members (i.e., 3000 x 0.002).

One or more options for the use or redemption of the points may be determined 373 (fig. 3A) and then returned or presented to the user 375 (fig. 3A) for consideration and selection. As a non-limiting example, three (configurable) options may be displayed to the user.

The various point redemption options may be determined as follows. After the options have been determined, the options are presented to the user, as shown in fig. 4A-4C, which show screen shots 490a, 490b, 490C of (point redemption) options presented to the user. As can be observed, available (or existing) points or point balances (i.e., total points) 491a, 491b, 491c for or associated with the user can be displayed. The screen shots 490a, 490b, 490c may be screen shots of applications that the user may use to perform a subscription (or transaction) or service (including transportation related services) request.

(i) As a non-limiting example, "Min (monetary value of the point balance). Floor ()" may be used to determine or calculate the uppermost option (or first point redemption option), i.e., option 1, and then round it down (i.e., round down) to the closest multiple of the lowest denomination. The round down is to ensure that the passenger or user does not waste his/her points while being able to take full advantage of the discount.

The parameter "monetary value of the point balance" refers to what the value of the point is in the local monetary unit. As a non-limiting example, in singapore, if 500 points = 1 new element, for a user with a 2350 point, the monetary value of the point balance (in terms of local singapore elements) is 4.7 new elements (i.e., 2350/500). As a further non-limiting example, for malaysia, if RM 1 = 160 points, for a user with a 2350 point, the monetary value of the point balance (in terms of local malaysian gide) would be RM 14.68 (i.e., 2350/160). Thus, the measure "monetary value of the credit balance" represents the value of the available bonus credits of the user in the local currency.

"Floor ()" is a function in mathematics and computation, basically representing rounding down. As a non-limiting example, if the fare of the ride is 18.6 singapore and the user (or passenger) wishing to reserve the ride has an integral of value 23.5 singapore, the first denomination or option 1 may be 18 singapore. In this case, even if the user has enough points to reach 18.6 new points, rounding down is performed to cater to the mind and perception of people, as people generally consider or are more familiar with rounded denominations or values than fractional or decimal values. As a different non-limiting example, if the fare is 18.6 singapore and the passenger has an integral of value 13.4 singapore, the suggested first denomination may be 13 singapore. Here, rounding up should not be performed to suggest 14 singapore elements, as the user does not have enough points. Thus, for the first denomination or option 1, rounding down is performed, i.e. using the Floor function.

(ii) The subsequent or remaining number of discount or point redemption options (e.g., a total of 3 options) may be calculated as a percentage of the first point redemption options described above. As a non-limiting example, for singapore, the configuration interval of options may be set to 100%, 70% and 40%. Based on this example, then the remaining or subsequent two options may be "round up (0.7 x option 1)" (e.g., define a second point redemption, option 2) and "round up (0.4 x option 1)" (e.g., define a third point redemption, option 3). These options after option 1 are rounded up, considering that the user or customer can afford to round up the points, however, this is not the case for option 1. After option 1, the interval of the lower discount redemption options may vary as desired and may be set to 75%, 50% or 30%, for example.

The remaining point redemption options, whether one, two, three, or any higher number of options after option 1, are rounded up to the nearest multiple of the lowest denomination.

If two or more discount options have the same value for some combinations, only one option is reserved and the remaining options will be deleted or skipped. This ensures that all options (e.g., three options) displayed to the user are different. Thus, the user will have the option of a different discount value to consider and select.

If one or more of the determined or calculated point redemption options begin to be below the lowest possible denomination, one or more desired options (as will be discussed below) that the user may not be burdened with may be returned or presented to the user. The amount may be calculated by adding one or more multiples of the lowest denomination to option 1.

The options displayed to the user are extremely configurable, allowing flexibility in determining the rate of point conversion, minimum denomination, etc. for each country and industry vertical. Code may be written to take into account all possible configurations, including the possibility that similar discount options may exist. The following non-limiting examples in table 4 are provided to illustrate this possibility.

TABLE 4 Table 4

In the example of sequence number 1 in table 4, the interval is configured to be 100%, 70%, 40%, and the lowest denomination is set to 4 new elements. Option 1 is determined to be 12 new, which is lower than the fare of 13.5 new. Thus, option 2 will be determined to be 8.4 new elements (i.e., 0.7 x 12), rounded up to the nearest multiple of the lowest denomination, i.e., 12 new elements. But since option 1 is also a 12 new element, option 2, which was determined above and rounded up to 12 new elements, is skipped. Then, at 40%, the calculation result is 4.8 new elements (i.e., 0.4 x 12), rounded up to 8 new elements, which becomes suitable option 2. In the case of three options provided, since there is still one slot/option left, it can return to the desired option, namely option 3, which is determined to be 16 new, which is the next multiple of the lowest denomination of the 12 new elements above and closest to option 1. Although the determined 16 new dollar amount is higher than the 13.5 new dollar fare, the user can afford the desired option, option 3, based on the user's available credits. Such option 3 may be selected by the user when the user subscribes to the corresponding service.

In the example of number 2 in table 4, since the currency is SGD (for singapore market), similar to the example of number 1, the intervals are similarly configured to be 100%, 70% and 40%, while the lowest denomination is set to 6 new elements. Option 1 is determined to be 18 new elements, which is lower than the fare of 21.4 new elements. Thus, option 2 will be determined to be 12.6 new elements (i.e., 0.7 x 18), rounded up to the nearest multiple of the lowest denomination, i.e., 18 new elements. But since option 1 is also an 18 new element, option 2, which was determined above and rounded up to an 18 new element, is skipped. Then, at 40%, the calculation result is 7.2 new elements (i.e., 0.4 x 18), rounded up to 12 new elements, which becomes suitable option 2. In the case of three options provided, since there is still one slot/option left, it can return to the desired option, namely option 3, which is determined to be 24 new, which is the next multiple of the lowest denomination of the 18 new elements above and closest to option 1. However, based on the available points of the user, the user is not burdened with the 24 new-element amount corresponding to the desired option (option 3). Such option 3, while may be presented to the user, may not be selectable by the user when subscribing to the service.

In the example of sequence number 4 in table 4, the intervals are configured to be 100%, 70% and 50%, while the lowest denomination is VND 25. Option 1 is determined to be VND 50, which is lower than the fare of VND 98. Thus, option 2 is determined to be VND 35 (i.e., 0.7×50), rounded up to VND 50. However, this will be skipped because it is a copy of option 1. Then, at 50%, the calculation results are VND 25 (i.e. 0.5 x 50), which is equal to the lowest denomination, then becomes suitable option 2. In the case of three options provided, since there is still one slot/option left, it may return to the desired option, option 3, which is determined to be VND 75, which is the next multiple of the lowest denomination of VND 50 that is above and closest to option 1. However, based on the available points of the user, the user is not burdened with the amount of VND 75 corresponding to the desired option (option 3). Such option 3, while may be presented to the user, may not be selectable by the user when subscribing to the corresponding service.

Fig. 4A shows a screen shot 490a of a user with enough points for three (or all) point redemption options. The user has 8600 available points 491a (i.e., total points). In this example, the conversion rate is 500 integration to 1 new element, and the lowest denomination is set to 1 new element, and the defined number of options displayed to the user is three. According to the conversion rate described above, 8600 points correspond to a new element of 17.2 (i.e., the total monetary value).

The point redemption options displayed to the user include the uppermost option (i.e., the first point redemption option), option 1 492a, where 8500 points (which are less than available points 491 a) may be used to obtain discounts or offset for the 17 new elements (17 singapore elements). The point redemption option in the next row (i.e., the second point redemption option or option 2) 493a provides a 13 new point offer for use or redemption 6500 points, while the next option (i.e., the third point redemption option or option 3) 494a provides a 6 new point offer for use or redemption 3000 points. The various redemption options 492a, 493a, 494a may be displayed in the form of a list of decreasing discount values or number of points needed. In the non-limiting example shown in fig. 4A, the user selects option 2 493a as indicated by check mark 495 a. The user may then press the "immediate redemption" button 496a to redeem the corresponding points and utilize his/her own 13 new element discount value.

Fig. 4B shows a screen shot 490B of a user with enough points for some of the point redemption options but insufficient points for three (or all) of the point redemption options. The user has 1100 available points 491b. In this example, the conversion rate is 500 integration to 1 new element, and the lowest denomination is set to 1 new element. The point redemption options displayed to the user include the uppermost point redemption option, option 1 492b, where 1000 points (less than available points 491 b) may be used to obtain a discount of 2 new points, and the second point redemption option, option 2 493b, which provides an offer of 1 new point for using 500 points. Various options 492b, 493b may be displayed in the form of a list of decreasing discount values or number of required points. In the example shown in fig. 4B, the user selects option 1 492B as indicated by check mark 495B. The user may then press the "immediate redemption" button 496b to redeem the corresponding points and utilize his/her own 2-new discount value.

In the non-limiting example of fig. 4B, the defined number of options to be displayed to the user may be set to three. Since only two point redemption options are available to the user based on the user's available point balance 491b, namely, option 1 492b and option 2 493b, a third option (e.g., the desired point redemption option that directs the user's behavior) 497b may be presented to the user to display the next (or immediate) higher discount than option 1 492b, which option 497b is available to the user if the user has points shown as desired point redemption option 497b available. Because the number of points required for option 497b is higher than available point balance 491b, option 497b cannot be selected by the user (i.e., option 497b is disabled) and may be grayed out or displayed in any suitable format as an indication that the user is not allowed or cannot select option 497 b. Option 497b may be displayed at the bottom of the list, after option 1 492b and option 2 493 b.

Options 497b may be displayed to the user to guide the user's behavior. For example, after viewing option 497b, the user may decide not to redeem points at the current time (e.g., for the current transportation related service) and attempt to accumulate additional points in order to be able to select option 497b next (e.g., for the next transportation related service), or the user may decide to redeem points at the current time anyway.

It should be appreciated that in various embodiments, the desired options provided to the user may be affordable options to the user, i.e., the user has enough credits available to select the desired option, but this may exceed the cost of the service (e.g., see option 3 of sequence number 1 in table 4). In this case, the desired option may be selected by the user and will not become grayed out. However, such desired options will still be displayed at the bottom of the list of options, as the desired option is not the (most) recommended option.

Fig. 4C shows a screen shot 490C of the user, who does not even have enough available points for the lowest denomination option, based on the user's available points balance 491C. In this non-limiting example, the user may be presented with a targeted redemption option or notification corresponding to the lowest denomination (e.g., directing user behavior or providing a target to the user) 498c. The targeted redemption notification 498c may include an indication of remaining points 499c that are needed to enable the user to select the option 498c or utilize his/her own discounts associated with the option 498c after considering existing points 491c available to the user. Because option 498c cannot be selected by the user, option 498c may be grayed out or displayed in any suitable format as an indication that the user is not allowed or cannot select option 498c. Further, the "immediate redemption" button 496c may be grayed out or displayed in any suitable format as an indication that the user is not allowed or unable to press the button 496 c.

Once the various options are determined and presented to the user for consideration, the user may select one of the point redemption options. Once the user selects one of the selectable point redemption options, the points corresponding to the selected point redemption option are consumed and the corresponding discount amount may be injected into the template rewards redeemed for the user, as described below. This allows the user to take advantage of his or her own discounts.

In various embodiments, the rewards entity may have some attributes such as country, name, discount, etc. When a prize is created, it has all of these values defined for it. The following simplified examples are presented to aid understanding.

When the user redeems the reward, a new entity called redemption (see table 6 below) is created, which basically indicates that the user ABCD redeems the reward 1001. All details of the rewards (such as how many discounts to give etc.) already exist and can be looked up in the rewards table shown in table 5.

Table 5: pattern-rewards (known methods)

Bonus ID	Name of the name	Discount rebate	National ID
				1001	Preferential for 10 dollars	10SGD	4 (Singapore)

Table 6: mode-redemption (known methods)

Redemption ID	User ID	Bonus ID
			5001	ABCD	1001

In contrast, for the flexible redemption-related technique disclosed herein, when creating the rewards, it has a data template instead of a specific value, as shown in Table 7. When the user redeems this incentive, the front-end (mobile application) declares or informs the user how many points the user is willing to redeem in the request, and based on this, the endpoint (server) calculates the discount amount and other detailed information. When the redemption entity is created, as shown in table 8, some additional fields are added.

Table 7: mode-rewards (various embodiments)

Table 8: mode-redemption (various embodiments)

Redemption ID	User ID	Bonus ID	Metadata
				5001	ABCD	1001	Discount amount: 5
5002	EFGH	1001	Discount amount: 8

As can be observed in table 8 above, while the rewards remain unchanged, the discount for each redemption is different because each redemption is written separately at the time of redemption. When the redemption entity is ready, the discount fields are not filled from the rewards mode (see table 7) but from the redemption mode (see table 8).

Fig. 5 shows a diagram illustrating a system architecture 570 of the present technology, while fig. 6A-6D show flowcharts illustrating related processes. The system architecture 570 may include a number of services, such as an api gateway 574, a subscription 576, a grab fare 578, a benefit 580, a reward 582, a grab fraud 584, an abacus 586, and a paycore 588. A cache (which may be optional) 590 and two databases 592, 594 may also be included. Data from database 594 may be loaded and stored at least temporarily at cache 590. Each of the services 574, 576, 578, 580, 582, 584, 586, 588 may have their own respective servers. However, it should be understood that two or more of the services 574, 576, 578, 580, 582, 584, 586, 588 may be part of a common or shared server. The cache 590 and databases 592, 594 may be implemented based on Amazon Web Services (AWS).

A user may make a subscription request for a service using a client or user communication device 572. Communication may be established with api gateway 574. Referring to fig. 6A, at 672, a subscription service 576 receives a subscription request via an api gateway 574 to provide a bid for the service. Using a taxi calling service as a non-limiting example, offers may be provided for a given taxi location and destination location. At 674, the reservation service 576 invokes the capture fare service 578 to obtain corresponding fare information, which may be valid for a defined duration (e.g., 5 minutes).

At 676, the user checks the fare (e.g., displayed on device 572) and may decide to check "offer" (e.g., see button 398 of FIG. 3B). In response, at 678, the reward service 582 receives a request to display several (redemption) options for flexible redemption. At 680, the user selects one of the options and redeems the reward (or discount) corresponding to the selected option. At 682, the grab fare service 578 receives a request to recalculate the fare with the given or redeemed rewards. At 684, offer service 580 receives the request from the grab fare service 578 and forwards the request to rewards service 582. At 686, the reward service 582 verifies the redemption and returns discount information. At 688, the user continues to create subscriptions with discounted fares. Thereafter, the process ends.

Referring to fig. 6A and 6B, when the reward service 582 receives a request at 678 to display several (redemption) options for flexible redemption, the reward service 582 loads the template reward (e.g., from the database 594, or from the cache 590 if the template reward has been previously activated or loaded) and a "configuration" (or parameter, e.g., interval rate, etc., for determining (redemption) options) at 678 a. At 678b, the bonus service 582 invokes the abacus service 586 to load the user's point balance. At 678c, the rewards service 582 calculates or determines options based on the configuration.

Referring to FIG. 6C, to invoke the abacus service 586 at 678b, the abacus service 586 receives 690a request to obtain the user's point balance. At 690b, the abacus service 586 selects the appropriate ledger 588 based on the currency. At 690c, ledger 588 is invoked to obtain the latest balance.

Referring to fig. 6A and 6D, when the user selects one of the options and redeems the reward at 680, the reward service 582 receives a request to consume a certain amount of points ("X" points) and redeems the reward via the api-gateway 574 at 680 a. At 680b, the rewards service 582 loads rewards and user details from the data store. At 680c, the reward service 582 verifies reward details such as expiration, inventory, rules, ratings, and the like. At 680d, the reward service 582 invokes the crawling fraud service 584 to check for possible point fraud. A fraud decision or arbitration is issued at 680 e. If it is determined that there is (potential) fraud, the process ends. If no fraud is detected, at 680f, the bonus service 582 invokes the abacus service 586 to consume a corresponding amount of credit. At 680g, the reward service 582 adds redemption and discount details to a data store, such as database 592.

It should be understood that the present invention has been described by way of example only. Various modifications may be made to the techniques described herein without departing from the spirit and scope of the following claims. The disclosed techniques include techniques that may be provided in isolation or in combination with one another. Thus, features described with respect to one technique may also be presented in combination with another technique.

Claims

1. A communication server device for managing service subscriptions comprising a processor and a memory, the communication server device configured to execute instructions in the memory under control of the processor to:

in response to receiving subscription request data, the subscription request data comprising at least one data field indicating that a user attempts to subscribe to a service,

generating a plurality of point redemption data for a corresponding plurality of point redemption options in one or more data records based on point data indicative of point variables associated with the user and denomination data indicative of a defined minimum denomination value, and if a total monetary value of the point variables available to the user and corresponding to a total monetary value of the point variables is equal to or greater than the defined minimum denomination value, wherein for each point redemption data the point redemption data includes monetary value data indicative of a monetary value of the total monetary value available to the user for counteracting at least a portion of the cost of the service, the monetary value being determined in accordance with the defined minimum denomination value and being further associated with a monetary value to be redeemed in the point variables; and

The plurality of point redemption options are communicated to a communication device of the user to present the plurality of point redemption options for the subscription to the user.

2. The communication server device of claim 1, wherein to generate the plurality of point redemption data, the communication server device is configured to:

first point redemption data of the plurality of point redemption data is generated, the first point redemption data including currency value data indicating a first currency value of the total currency values available to the user that is closest to and less than the point variable of the cost, the first currency value being a multiple of the defined lowest denomination value.

3. The communication server device of claim 2, wherein to generate the first point redemption data, the communication server device is configured to:

determining a minimum of the cost or the total monetary value; and

rounding the minimum value down to a first integer that is a multiple of the defined lowest denomination value closest to the minimum value, wherein the first integer defines the first monetary value.

4. A communications server device according to claim 2 or 3, wherein to generate the plurality of point redemption data, the communications server device is further configured to:

Generating second point redemption data of the plurality of point redemption data, the second point redemption data including currency value data indicating second currency values of the point variables in the total currency values available to the user, the second currency values being multiples of the defined lowest denomination value.

5. The communication server device of claim 4, wherein to generate the second point redemption data, the communication server device is configured to:

calculating a first percentage of the first monetary value to define a first proportional value; and

the first scale value is rounded up to a second integer to define the second monetary value, the second integer being a multiple of the defined lowest denomination value closest to the first scale value.

6. The communication server device of claim 5, wherein if the second integer is the same as the first monetary value, the communication server device is configured to discard the second integer.

7. The communication server device of any of claims 4 to 6, wherein to generate the plurality of point redemption data, the communication server device is further configured to:

Generating third point redemption data of the plurality of point redemption data, the third point redemption data including currency value data indicating a third currency value for the point variable in the total currency values available to the user, the third currency value being lower than the second currency value and further being a multiple of the defined lowest denomination value.

8. The communication server device of claim 7, wherein to generate the third point redemption data, the communication server device is configured to:

calculating a second percentage of the first monetary value to define a second scale value; and

the second scale value is rounded up to a third integer to define the third monetary value, the third integer being a multiple of the defined lowest denomination value closest to the second scale value.

9. The communications server apparatus of any one of claims 2 to 8 wherein for a point redemption option of the plurality of point redemption options subsequent to a first redemption option, wherein the point redemption option has a point value less than the defined minimum denomination value,

to generate the plurality of point redemption data, the communication server device is configured to generate desired point redemption data for a desired point redemption option of the plurality of point redemption data, the desired point redemption data including currency value data indicating a desired currency value that is greater than the first currency value, the desired currency value being a multiple of the defined lowest denomination value that is closest to the first currency value; and

To communicate the plurality of point redemption options, the communication server device is configured to communicate the desired point redemption options to the communication apparatus to present the desired point redemption options to the user.

10. The communication server device of any of claims 1 to 9, further configured to:

in response to receiving selection data, the selection data including at least one data field indicating a selection of a point redemption option of the plurality of point redemption options by the user,

querying a data template; and

and determining an amount to offset the cost according to the data template and the point value to be redeemed for the point redemption option selected by the user.

11. The communication server device of any of claims 1 to 10, further configured to:

in response to receiving the subscription request data,

generating target redemption data for a target redemption notification in the one or more data records, the target redemption data indicating the defined minimum denomination value, based on the point data and the denomination data, and if the total monetary value available to the user is less than the defined minimum denomination value; and

The targeted redemption notification is transmitted to the communication device to present the defined minimum denomination value to the user for counteracting at least a portion of the cost.

12. The communication server device of claim 11, wherein the target redemption data further includes target point value data indicating a remaining point value required by the user to reach a defined point value, the defined point value corresponding to the same defined monetary value as the defined lowest denomination value.

13. A method for managing service subscriptions, the method comprising:

in response to receiving subscription request data, the subscription request data comprising at least one data field indicating that a user is attempting to subscribe,

generating a plurality of point redemption data for a corresponding plurality of point redemption options in one or more data records based on point data indicative of point variables associated with the user and denomination data indicative of a defined minimum denomination value, and if a total monetary value of the point variables available to the user and corresponding to a total monetary value of the point variables is equal to or greater than the defined minimum denomination value, wherein for each point redemption data the point redemption data includes monetary value data indicative of a monetary value of one of the total monetary values available to the user for counteracting at least a portion of a cost of a service, the monetary value being determined in accordance with the defined minimum denomination value and being further associated with a monetary value of the point variables for redemption; and

14. The method of claim 13, wherein generating the plurality of point redemption data comprises:

15. The method of claim 14, wherein generating the first point redemption data comprises:

determining a minimum of the cost or the total monetary value; and

16. The method of claim 14 or 15, wherein generating the plurality of point redemption data further comprises:

17. The method of claim 16, wherein generating the second point redemption data comprises:

18. The method of claim 17, wherein if the second integer is the same as the first monetary value, the method includes discarding the second integer.

19. The method of any of claims 16-18, wherein generating the plurality of point redemption data further comprises:

20. The method of claim 19, wherein generating the third point redemption data comprises:

21. The method of any of claims 14 to 20, wherein for a point redemption option of the plurality of point redemption options subsequent to a first redemption option, wherein the point redemption option has a point value less than the defined minimum denomination value,

generating the plurality of point redemption data includes generating desired point redemption data for desired point redemption options of the plurality of point redemption data, the desired point redemption data including currency value data indicating a desired currency value greater than the first currency value, the desired currency value being a multiple of the defined lowest denomination value closest to the first currency value; and

transmitting the plurality of point redemption options includes transmitting the desired point redemption option to the communication device to present the desired point redemption option to the user.

22. The method of any of claims 13 to 21, further comprising:

querying a data template; and

23. The method of any of claims 13 to 22, further comprising:

in response to receiving the subscription request data,

24. The method of claim 23, wherein the target redemption data further includes target point value data indicating a remaining point value required by the user to reach a defined point value, the defined point value corresponding to the same defined monetary value as the defined lowest denomination value.

25. A computer program or computer program product comprising instructions for implementing the method of any of claims 13 to 24.

26. A non-transitory storage medium storing instructions which, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to perform the method of any one of claims 13 to 24.

27. A communication system for managing service subscriptions comprising a communication server apparatus, at least one user communication device and a communication network apparatus operable to establish communication with each other through the communication network apparatus,

wherein the at least one user communication device comprises a first processor and a first memory, the at least one user communication device being configured to execute first instructions stored in the first memory under control of the first processor to send subscription request data comprising at least one data field indicating that a user is attempting to subscribe to a service for receipt by the communication server device for processing; and

wherein the communication server device comprises a second processor and a second memory, the communication server device being configured to execute second instructions stored in the second memory under control of the second processor to:

In response to receiving data indicative of the subscription request data,

the plurality of point redemption options are communicated to the at least one user communication device to present the plurality of point redemption options for the subscription to the user.