GB2435342A

GB2435342A - Electronic voucher redemption

Info

Publication number: GB2435342A
Application number: GB0603354A
Authority: GB
Inventors: David Tymm
Original assignee: MOVO Ltd I
Current assignee: MOVO Ltd I
Priority date: 2006-02-20
Filing date: 2006-02-20
Publication date: 2007-08-22
Anticipated expiration: 2026-02-20
Also published as: GB2435342B; GB0603354D0

Abstract

A method of redeeming an electronic voucher using a standards compliant top up or EFTPOS terminal. A cash value voucher comprising an alphanumeric string and a cash value is sent to a mobile phone and to redeem the voucher the alphanumeric string is entered at the top up terminal. The voucher is then validated by the terminal, depending on the parameters specified by the host system. Normally these will be: <SL> <LI>1. Is the Voucher Number valid? Y/N <LI>2. Has the Voucher Number been used before/does it have any "balance of uses" left against it? Y/N </SL> If validated both parameters will have a Y parameter and the voucher then represents a cash value.

Description

Electronic Voucher Redemption The invention relates to a method of

redeeming an electronic voucher via a standards compliant ETh terminal in particular, but not exclusively, vouchers distributed via portable electronic devices, such as mobile telephones.

Paper based gift voucher schemes are long established and popular with consumers and issuing retailers alike as unredeemed vouchers represent guaranteed turnover for the retailer and predictable levels of under-redemption are accounted for as profit by many retailers. However, such schemes suffer from a high up front cost in producing the vouchers and as they are paper based transaction also suffer from high handling costs. There is also an increasing demand from some consumers for an electronic voucher as consumers increasingly adapt to a paperless world.

GB2397684 proposes an electronic voucher scheme that broadly replicates the existing paper voucher schemes based on centrally held accounts represented by a number often distributed as a plastic card with magnetic stripe. The value of the voucher is stored on a centralised server and the validation and redemption of the voucher is carried out on a central server with the decreasing balance of such a card held on the server. This approach suffers from a number of problems in that it requires the installation of software on terminals capable of both reading such a card but also writing to the card to record an updated balance following a transaction that decrements the previous balance, . This has an associated high implementation cost, and also suffers from the high costs of maintaining the accounts.

The present invention therefore seeks to provide a method of redeeming an electronic voucher that more closely replicates existing gift voucher schemes using existing point of sale infrastructure.

According to the invention there is provided a method of redeeming an electronic voucher via a standards compliant top up or EFTPOS terminal comprising the steps of providing a cash value voucher comprising an alphanumeric string and a cash value to a mobile phone, which cash value is not related to the number, entering the alphanumeric string at the top up terminal, wherein the top up terminal validates the voucher by the following steps: I. Is the Voucher Number valid? YIN 2. Has the Voucher Number been used before/does it have any "baJance of uses" left against it? Y/N such that any N value generates an invalid redemption message depending on the parameters specified in the host system for that particular voucher or campaign under which the voucher was issued, whereas if all Y values are provided then a valid redemption message is generated, wherein the redemption message comprises a concatenated alphanumeric string comprising a further alphanumeric string and the cash value stored in the host system database, this being the balance of the original voucher value less the value of the redeemed voucher.

This sequence of redemption avoids unnecessary processing time by determining the simplest conditions first with each subsequent step having a greater range of responses. This makes the voucher processing very fast and so reduces time for the retailer to process a voucher. The combination of variable also make fraudulent redemption statistically unlikely.

Preferably, the string is entered by swiping a card through the terminal. Preferably, the redemption logic comprises the further step of: Is the Voucher Number valid at this time? Y/N Preferably, the redemption logic comprises the further step of: Which redemption device is requesting redemption where the redemption device serial number or other means of identification is associated in the host system with a specific physical location. Preferably, the redemption logic comprises the further step of: Is the Voucher Number valid at the Device ID YIN. Preferably, the method comprises the further step of returning the cash value voucher to the mobile phone.

The method according to the invention closely replicates how tokens are handled today and effectively dematerialises the token and redemption process.

An exemplary embodiment will now be described in greater detail with reference to

the example.

The most widely adopted point of sale (POS) equipment is a device to process EFT (Electronic Funds Transfer) payments initiated by the use of credit, debit or charge cards and these have been accepted by many retailers for some time. Recently, mobile telephone pre-pay top up terminal have been installed in many smaller retailers such as convenience stores and CTN's (Confectioners, Tobacconists and Newsagents) and these are terminals are also capable of processing EFT transactions Top up terminals use an industry standard message and redemption protocol.

All the parameters for a specific campaign are set at the campaign level in the host system. In an exemplary embodiment, these would include: 1. How many times can a voucher from this campaign be used? 2. When can this voucher be used? Vouchers may be valid FROM a date! time TO a date/time. They may also be valid on a number of days between specified times.

3. Where can the voucher be used? Again, this can be an individual or a range of locations.

Optional parameters are: 4. Check that redeemed voucher was issued to the corresponding mobile number 5. Check that submitted voucher value corresponds with stored voucher value In use, a consumer will be provided with an electronic voucher comprising an alphanumeric string and a cash value for the voucher. The voucher can be distributed via SMS to a mobile phone, e-mail or more traditional methods such as paper. The voucher number may be prefixed by an (uN) Issuers Identification Number issued by national standards bodies such as APACS in the UK. The voucher number presented to the consumer now resembles a credit or charge card number in that it is represented as sixteen numeric digits which may be split into four groups of four for easier reading. By way of example, a voucher number 12345678 from Issuer 633729 might be represented by the number 6337 2910 1234 5678 where additional digitals (I & 0) in this case used to denote the transaction type of other information To redeem the voucher, the retailer may process the number as if it where a credit card by typing the full 16-digit numeric string is typed in at the electronic top up terminal followed by the value of the voucher as stated on the SMS on the consumers phone or other media, in this manner, a voucher redemptions mirrors exactly an EFT transaction and so can be accepted by any retailer who processes EFT transactions and whose terminal can be configured to route transactions based on uN's. Alternatively, depending on the terminal design a swipe card could be used or a small software program could be installed and preconfigured to add the uN to the Voucher No. to streamline the process. The top up terminal then transmits a redemption message to a service provider's server. The redemption message contains the following elements: Voucher number; redemption device type (in this example a top up terminal) and the terminal ID and a mobile telephone number.

The voucher is then validated using the following sequential logic: 1. Is the Voucher Number valid? Y/N In the case that the device used to validate the voucher may be programmed to collect the mobile phone number of the consumer redeeming the voucher, then the redemption message may include the mobile phone number and the following steps: 2. Does the message contain a Mobile Phone Number? Y/N 3. Was the Voucher Number issued to the Mobile Phone Number? Y/N Then for both EFTPOS and top up terminals 4. Has the Voucher Number been used before/does it have any "balance of uses" left against it? Y/N An N value at any stage of the sequential validation logic will generate an Invalid Redemption message, which is transmitted to the device requesting redemption detailing why the redemption has failed. Step I relates to the validity of the request message and Step 4 provides the feature of checking whether an attempt has been made to previously redeem the voucher and if so, whether the whole voucher was redeemed or merely part of the voucher. It would also permit multiple use of a voucher. For example, if the voucher related to a cinema ticket, it would be possible for a single voucher to enable say 4 trips to the cinema rather than having to issue four separate vouchers for the same value to the same mobile telephone.

Depending on the scheme design, it is possible to include further steps, which can be switched on or off depending on the requirements of the individual scheme. These additional steps include: 5. Is the voucher number valid at this time? YIN 6. Is the Voucher number valid at the Device ID? Step 5 permits a time limited scheme for example. Step 6 permits schemes that are limited to a particular retailer or retail group, for example.

in the event that all Y values are generated, then a valid redemption message is generated. The redemption message may comprise a concatenated alphanumeric string comprising a further alphanumeric string and if not all the voucher value has been exhausted, a cash value, which may be zero. If not all of the voucher value has been exhausted, a non zero value is returned to the redemption device, which value will be lower than the original cash value.

The cash value returned as part of the valid redemption message is then stored against the device ID. The system then only needs to hold the balance against a retailer account rather than a personal account with the known systems. The retailer account comprises simply the balance of net difference of issued and redeemed vouchers, reflecting any payments or credits at any given point in time. The balance of this account could then be settled on a monthly basis using the standard industry mechanisms.

Once the redemption message is returned to the device, if there is a balance on the voucher value, then this is returned to the consumer. This can be in the same manner that the original voucher was distributed such as a slip of paper from the top up terminal, an SMS to the mobile phone number, by re-swiping the swipe card or via an e-mail. This approach permits a much quicker and cheaper roll out of individual schemes.

The method according to the invention permits the sale and redemption of variable value vouchers which replicates all aspects of traditional gift voucher schemes without the need to maintain personal accounts.

Claims

Claims 1. A method of redeeming an electronic voucher via a standards

compliant top up or EFTPOS terminal comprising the steps of providing a cash value voucher comprising an alphanumeric string and a cash value to a mobile phone, which cash value is not related to the number, entering the alphanumeric string at the top up terminal, wherein the top up terminal validates the voucher by the following steps: I. Is the Voucher Number valid? YIN
2. Has the Voucher Number been used before/does it have any "balance of uses" left against it? YIN such that any N value generates an invalid redemption message depending on the parameters specified in the host system for that particular voucher or campaign under which the voucher was issued, whereas if all Y values are provided then a valid redemption message is generated, wherein the redemption message comprises a concatenated alphanumeric string comprising a further alphanumeric string and the cash value stored in the host system database.

2. A method according to Claim 1, wherein the string is entered by swiping a card through the terminal or by a program installed on the redemption device simulating part of the number string.

3. A method according to Claim I or Claim 2, wherein the redemption logic comprises the further step of: Is the Voucher Number valid at this time? YIN 4. A method according to Claim 3, wherein the redemption logic comprises the further step of: Is the Voucher Number valid at the Device ID Y/N 5. A method according to Claim I, wherein the concatenated alphanumeric string comprises a further cash value voucher, which cash value voucher is stored on the terminal and has a lower cash value than the first cash value.

6. A method according to Claim 5, comprising the further step of returning the cash value voucher to the mobile phone.