GB2481863A - Processing vouchers with standard payment card numbers at a standard POS - Google Patents

Abstract

A method of redeeming cash value vouchers, in particular, vouchers distributed via portable electronic devices by using the electronic funds transfer network. The point of sale terminal is adapted to authorise and validate payments made with a voucher comprising an alphanumeric string compatible with a standards compliant payment card number, such as a credit card. In the method of the present invention, the point of sale terminal recognises a predetermined number of digits of the alphanumeric string and compares the predetermined number of digits to a list stored.on the terminal and, if the digits correspond to an entry on the list, then the terminal stores a predetermined number of digits from the string and can authorise the transaction. If the read digits do not correspond to an entry in the list, then the digits do not represent a voucher, and the terminal proceeds with a standard card payment transaction. The terminal is further adapted to store a queue comprising a plurality of predetermined number of digits from different vouchers and to transfer the queue as a message at a predetermined time or under predetermined circumstances.

Description

Electronic Vouchers The invention relates to a method of redeeming cash value vouchers in particular, but not exclusively, vouchers distributed via portable electronic devices, such as mobile telephones and encoded onto magnetic stripe or contactless cards of the same format as credit or debit cards. As will be seen, the cash value vouchers contemplated by this invention are numeric codes and so may be carried on any media and represented in any form.

There is a long history of consumer oriented businesses using cash value vouchers as a promotional tool to attract new customers and retain existing customers. The most widely established form of voucher is a printed voucher which can be redeemed at the point of sale in a shop. Typically, these will have a bar code printed on them, which can then be scanned in the same manner as conventional bar code and the use of bar codes helps to eliminate fraud and reduce the processing time and handling costs for the retailer.

Whilst such paper based vouchers have been a successful promotional tool for many years, they suffer from long lead times and high up-front costs in producing the vouchers and as they are a paper based transaction also suffer from high handling costs. Due to these constraints, voucher schemes tend to have to be quite large to recoup the fixed costs. Consumers increasingly dislike carrying paper vouchers with them and as a consequence, redemption rates of paper coupons can be very low unless they are of high value. Paper vouchers of high face-value carry a significant financial risk as advances in copying technology has made it easier to reproduce vouchers fraudulently.

There have been a number of proposals to address these problems by using mobile telephones or the internet as the distribution means for an electronic voucher. In principle, the distribution costs can be kept much lower than with a paper based system, in particular for small scale voucher distributions and since the voucher is redeemed electronically, it reduces the risk of fraud or over-redemption.

However, to be able to function effectively such an e voucher scheme has to be able to work with existing point of sale equipment, otherwise few retailers would be prepared to accept the vouchers. Although some payment terminals now use broadband or 3G/OPRS to communicate, there are large numbers of terminals that use the PSTN network to communicate. Payment terminals also have very limited memory and data processing capacity and so tend to carry out a limited range of activities GB2430297 discloses a system in which the authentication takes place online but the terminal is provided with a separate mode or button to permit the retailer to decide whether to accept a voucher or not. The validation is performed by a separate host system.

0B2432702B describes a method whereby a standards-compliant card payment device can communicate relevant details of the voucher to a host computer system to establish the validity of the voucher. This method also describes how the host system supplies a return message to the card payment device to authorise payment or part payment.

Although the solution described in this document has proved to be successful in practice, if the retailer is using a payment terminal that communicates using PSTN networks, the transaction time will typically be between 12 and 15 seconds. A further problem with a payment terminal using a PSTN network is that each call results in a cost for the call that is incurred wither by the retailer or by the terminal operator by using reverse-charges telephone numbers.. Such requirements mean that for low value or frequent transactions such as the purchase of a newspaper or magazine, the time taken is too long for readers and retailers and/or the cost per transaction too high for such vouchers to be acceptable for publishers.

The present invention therefore seeks to provide a method for authorising the redemption of a voucher suitable for use with a PSTN network or other environment s where network connectivity may be unreliable (e.g. Rail station concourses when building design interferes with mobile data network coverage and/or large numbers of mobile phone subscribers consume all available mobile data bandwidth) or where there is no available network coverage of any description such as underground rail stations.

According to the invention there is provided a method of processing a cash value voucher using a standards compliant payment terminal comprising the steps of providing a cash value voucher, which voucher comprises an alphanumeric string compatible with a standards compliant payment card number, wherein the payments terminal reads a predetermined number of digits of the string and compares the predetermined number of digits to a list stored on the terminal and if the read digits correspond to an entry on the list, then the teiminal stores a predetermined number of digits from the string.

Exemplary embodiments of the invention will now be described in greater detail with reference to the examples.

The EFT (electronic funds transfer) network is one of the most widely adopted point of sale equipment and is now found in even most small retail stores and businesses.

The EFT network operates in compliance with international standards, specifically iSO/IEC 78 12-1:2000 and ANSI X4.13 and these standards apply to both standalone payment terminals and also integrated electronic point of sale equipment, in which the payment terminal is integrated with a cash register. According to these standards any payment card will be given a sixteen digit number, the first six digits of which identifier the issuer (called an uN) and product type with the next 9 digits forming the customer or card identifier and the final digit being a check digit. There is also a 19 digit scheme, in which the first six digits are the lIN.

When a customer or retailer wishes to validate a transaction request, the card is read either via the magnetic strip or via the chip. The POS terminal generates a concatenated string including an identifier corresponding to the card number and also a string corresponding to the sum for which validation has been requested. The string also includes further parameters including time and date of request, the transaction type and an identifier for the particular terminal. The POS then calls an acquirer, which checks that the data is in the correct format and the acquirer then passes the request to the card issuer. The card issuer then either authorises or refuses the requested charge back to the acquirer, which then transmits the resultant authorisation or refusal to the PUS terminal.

The voucher can be distributed in several different ways. A particularly convenient way of distributing the voucher for a newspaper purchase is to provide a card that has the voucher number encoded on it. This would typically be at least one of encoding the voucher number to the magnetic stripe on the card, encoding the voucher number in a contactiess RFID tag embedded in the card, printed as a barcode in either linear or 2D form or printed as a numeric code.

In a first example, the payment terminal is supplied with a small file that can be supplied to the terminal as a software update.

A user is supplied with a card having a 16 digit number embedded that is the same size as a standards compliant payment card such as a credit card. The card is then touched, swiped or scanned by the payments terminal or a device connected to it and the terminal reads the 16 digit number. The terminal reads the first 6 digits of the voucher number and compares this to a list of voucher issuer uN's stored on the terminal. If the six digits are the six digit uN of the voucher issuer then the payment terminal enters a voucher validation step. If the six digit uN does not correspond to a recognised voucher issuer, then the terminal will proceed with a standard payment transaction.

In the voucher validation step, the terminal then reads the next two digits in the 16 digit number, which two digits correspond to a specific voucher scheme such as a particular newspaper title or magazine title. The remaining 8 digits of the 16 digit number are a voucher number that can also serve as a customer identifier is multiple redemptions are permitted.

If the terminal recognises that the two digits correspond to a valid voucher scheme, the terminal is instructed to print a receipt for the retailer confirming that the transaction was successful and the amount of money the retailer will receive together with any handling or processing instructions that may be required. As no communication via the PSTN network is necessary, it is possible to speed up the transaction time to around 2-3 seconds, which is comparable to a broadband transaction.

The terminal then builds a payment message including the voucher the number and stores this in a queue. Then once a predetermined number of transactions has been reached, the entire queue is then sent to the terminal network operator for validation.

Depending on the location of the terminal and the number of expected transactions, the entire queue may be sent after a predetermined time has elapsed from the last transfer. This may be useful where a newsagent sells many newspapers at a particular time but fewer at other periods such as at a commuter train station. A further alternative that may be suitable for quieter locations is to send the entire queue at a predetermined time on each day. Once the queue has been sent, the terminal then terminates the call and does not wait for a return message.

In an alternative embodiment, if the terminal recognises that the two digits correspond to a valid voucher scheme, the terminal is simply retains the transaction information within the terminal before sending them to the host as described above and the value of the transaction credited to the retailer at a future point. As no communication via the PSTN network is necessary and no receipt is printed, it is possible to speed up the transaction time to under I second. It should be noted that it would be preferable for the retailer would be required to record the value of the transaction through some other means to allow accurate reconciliation of the cash and stock balances at the end of the shift or day.

In an alternative, embodiment if the terminal recognises that the two digits correspond to a valid voucher scheme, the terminal is simply retains the transaction information within the terminal before sending them to the host as described above. As no communication via the PSTN network is necessary and no receipt is printed, it is possible to speed up the transaction time to under 1 second. In this embodiment, the transaction has no direct financial value to the retailer and is used to record that the card has been used in a retail location and a given time and date and is suitable for proof-of-purchase or proof-of-visit loyalty schemes.

In an alternative embodiment, where a 19 digit number is used, the three digits after the 6 digit uN could be used to denote the particular scheme. The remaining 10 digits In the preceding embodiment, as long as the card is valid, the sale of the newspaper is taken on trust and in general the commercial risk would be taken by the publisher where the voucher has a direct financial value to the retailer. In many cases, this will be an acceptable solution for the publisher but in some markets there is a risk of multiple use of the card and so some security measures should be included.

Due to the processing and memory capacity problems on a payment terminal, in particular the older type connected to PSTN networks, only a very limited amount of data can be stored in addition to the core operating program.

In a further embodiment, after a successful transaction, the terminal stores the 16 (or 19) digit number. When a card is used, the terminal checks whether that 16 (or 19) digit number has been used within a predetermined time period (eg the same day). If the card has already been used within that time period, the transaction will be rejected.

if it has not been, the transaction will be accepted and the terminal proceeds to read the two digits.

In a further or alternative embodiment, the issuer can supply the terminal with a list of invalid voucher numbers and the terminal will then check the voucher number against the list before authorising the transaction. A voucher may be invalid for commercial reasons such as the card having been lost or stolen, expired or having no credits left against it. Where terminal storage and/or operating procedures do not permit the list of invalid card numbers to be downloaded to the terminal as described, other measures would need to be taken by the publisher to retrieve the card such as offering retailers a cash bounty for retaining such cards when they are presented by customers.

in another further or alternative embodiment, some card-payment terminals can hold a calendar that is referenced at the time of a transaction to establish which day of the week the transaction taking place. Alternatively, one of many public-domain algorithms may be performed by the terminal to calculate the day of the week based on the date held by the terminal. Based on the outcome of either step, the terminal will print a receipt stating the value of the transaction on that day and other details of the product purchased that day. (e.g. a transaction for a daily newspaper purchased on a weekday using this method is likely to have a different value and a different title to the same or related title purchased on a Saturday or a Sunday).

The validation of each voucher can be performed in a known way subject to the host system being adapted to separate the batched messages from one another and the authorisation message can then be returned to the terminal network operator in a manner such that the terminal network operator does not send these authorisation messages back to the terminal from which they were sent. The terminal network operator can then prepare a statement for the retailer specifically for these transactions or include them on any existing statement they send to the retailer along with other transactions. The issuer can also analyse any non authorised messages so that if appropriate the voucher numbers can be blacklisted as described above.

In an alternative embodiment, the validation of each voucher can be performed in a known way subject to the host system being adapted to separate the batched messages from one another and no authorisation message generated and returned to the terminal network operator. In such a case, the host system generates a statement for the retailer and the issuer makes payment directly to the retailer in respect of these transactions.

The issuer can also analyse any non authorised messages so that if appropriate the voucher numbers can be blacklisted as described above.

The voucher can be a single use voucher or can be provided with a balance of uses so that it can be used more than once. In a further embodiment, in the event that there is no "use" left against the voucher, the host-system should allow the balance held against the voucher to be a negative figure to allow retailer settlement to take place as contemplated above. Commercial agreements between all parties would need to reflect that the retail value of all transactions accepted "off-line" were underwritten by the card issuer to preserve confidence in the scheme amongst consumers and retailers.