JP4794105B2 - How to provide advertising information and discounts related to the advertising information using a chip card with built-in memory - Google Patents

Description

【０１０６】
データ値、ＬＯＡＤＳ＿ＵＮＴＩＬ＿ＦＩＲＳＴ＿ＰＵＲＣＨＡＳＥは、カード所有者により最初に購入が行われる前に必要だったその特定ＡＳＰのダウンロードの回数である。クレジット・カード番号と共に、カードにロードされた特定のＡＳＰに対するアフィニティ記録は、以降の電子データ捕捉中に、アフィニティ・オペレータ１０１または取得者１１１にアップロードするために、販売時点情報管理システムのメモリ内にセーブされる。
【０１０７】
ＰＯＳ端末１１６は、誰が現在購入中の製品に関連する割引を受け取るのかを決定するために、チップカード１１４上に格納しているすべてのＡＳＰのアフィニティ格納の販売促進記録１６３を読み取る。ＰＯＳ端末１１６により処理をスピードアップするために、割引を持つすべてのＡＳＰ向けのアフィニティ・データ・ブロック１６４内に、ポインタのリストも存在する。
【０１０８】
割引を持つすべてのＡＳＰに対して、割引金額が決定される。好適には、ＰＯＳ端末１１６により、割引金額を決定することが好ましいが、チップカード内または遠隔地のインターネット上で決定を行うこともできる。好適には、決定は下記の方法で行うことが好ましい。すなわち、１）販売促進記録１６３の利用できる割引・フィールド１５９を読むことにより、また利用できる割引があるかどうかを決定し；（２）利用できる割引がまだある場合には、販売促進記録１６３の基準割引・フィールド１５８を読むことによって、割引の金額を決定し；（３）常連客用割引・フラグ１６０が設定されているかどうかを判断し；（４）常連客用割引・フラグ１６０が設定されている場合には、常連客用割引販売促進（ＬＲＩ）１６０および購入品の数１６２を読むことによって、常連客用割引の金額を決定するという方法で行うことが好ましい。割引は、下記式により計算される。
【０１０９】

【０１１０】
上記式中、必要な最大割引金額に達した場合、関数を飽和させる手段を供給するために、最大割引および購入品の数の２つの値の中の大きい方が、計算のために選択される。常連客用割引の場合には、顧客が特定の選択を買えば買うほど、割引は増大する。顧客のアラウンドの異なるパラメータを改善するために、常連客用割引を最適化することができる。例えば、購入の日付を購入品の数１６２と共に格納している場合には、購入の頻度（一定の期間中の購入の回数）、製品を購入していた時間の長さ（常連性）、または顧客が購入を定期的に行ったかどうか（定期性）に対して報奨が与えられる。常連客用割引は、また、割引金額を決定するために、非線形関数を使用することができる。例えば、顧客は、割引を受け取る前に、２つ以上の品目を購入するように要求される場合がある。その場合、その機能を実行するために、割引が行われない購入を示すフラグが使用される。非線形関数は、また、多項式、対数式、または他の数学的式または論理的式の形をとることもできる。
【０１１１】
別な方法としては、割引に関する情報をチップカード上に格納しないで、販売時点情報管理システムのところに、または通信および処理ネットワーク上に格納することもできる。購入の時点において、チップカード上に格納しているＡＳＰが、販売時点情報管理システムのところ、または通信および処理ネットワーク上で入手することができる割引情報と比較され、適当な割引金額が決定され、チップカードの電子パース上にロードされる。
【０１１２】
他の実施形態は、チップカード上の販売奨励記録１６３の他の部分を維持しながら、ＰＯＳ端末１１６のところに、または通信および処理ネットワーク上に格納している販売奨励記録１６３の基準割引１５８フィールドを持つことができる。このようにして、商店主または他の当事者は、ＡＳＰ販売奨励記録１６３で入手することができる、残りのデータを使用して、常連客用割引を行う一方で、販売促進プログラムを動的に調整および制御することができる。
【０１１３】
実際の割引金額が決定すると、チップカード・メモリ内にすでに格納している数値に、割引が加算される。好適には、割引は、電子パース機能と呼ばれる機能を提供する、チップカードのメモリ位置に加算することが好ましい。各ＡＳＰに割引・フィールドを提供し、実際に、ＡＳＰを分散型電子パースとして処理することにより、割引金額も、チップカードの電子パース機能から、独立させておくことができる。好適には、使用した割引金額格納スキームが、ＶＩＳＡ（登録商標）のＶＣＥＰＳ規格およびＭｏｎｄｅｘ（登録商標）規格のようなパース・スキーム・アドミニストレータ規格とともに、ＣＥＰＳおよびＥＭＶ規格のような、工業規格に適合することが好ましい。別な方法としては、顧客１０５が、チップカードを、パーソナル・コンピュータ、携帯電話に接続しているチップカード・リーダ、または自宅のような他の場所に置くことができるポータブルチップカード・リーダのような二次的な装置に接続するまで、割引をチップカードのメモリに加算しないでおくこともできる。この時点で、チップカードが、例えば、パーソナル・コンピュータに接続しているチップカード・リーダ内に挿入され、電子マネーが、この時点でチップカード上にロードされる。１つの割引または複数の割引が、販売奨励記録１６３内の顧客に、支払われるべきものであるかどうかを示す他のフラグを使用し、次に、二次装置にこのフラグの状態を判断させることによって、この別のスキームを実行することができる。
【０１１４】
割引金額の格納の特定の実行は、パース・プロバイダが使用する電子パース・スキームのタイプにより異なる。クレジット・カード取引きおよびデビット・カード取引きにより類型化された、発行者からの承認を与える取引きにおいては、好適には、電子マネーは、購入のためのカード使用の承認の時点で、チップカードにダウンロードすることが好ましい。これは、好適には、資金供給銀行が、同時にアフィニティネットワーク・オペレータである、格納金額ロード取引きであることが好ましい。このタイプのシステムは、使用したチップカードが、クレジット・カード機能および電子パース機能を持つ場合に使用することができる。クレジット／デビット・タイプの取引きの場合には、格納している割引金額は、クレジットの承認が完了するまで、チップカード１１４に送られない。
【０１１５】
チップカードが電子パース機能のみを有する場合には、２つの異なるタイプのパース・スキームがある。Ｍｏｎｄｅｘ（登録商標）電子パースにより類型化された、リンクしていないパース・スキームの場合には、格納している金額は、どの資金供給口座にリンクされない。すなわち、その金銭に関連するカード所有者は必ずしも存在しない。リンクしていないパース内に格納している金額は、その取引きの過去を容易に追跡できない紙幣に非常によく似ている。ＶＩＳＡ ＣＡＳＨ（登録商標）により類型化された、リンクしている電子パース・システムは、資金供給口座または口座保持者に参照され、そのため容易に追跡することができる。リンクしているパース・システムおよびリンクしていないパース・システムの両方の場合、取引きを行うのにオンラインによる承認は必要ではない。ＰＯＳ端末１１６およびチップカード１１４は、任意の中央の金融機関の助けを借りないで、必要な場合には、相互の認証、暗号化および承認を行う。リンクしているパース・システムの場合には、格納している金額が、販売時点情報管理システム１１６から、チップカード１１４上の電子パースに送られたときに、割引が行われる。割引格納金額の記録移送の記録は、ある時間経過するまで、通常は、小売店が閉店し、すべての格納している金額の取引きがバッチ処理され、決済のために取得者１１１に返送されるまで商店主１１３のところに格納される。割引格納金額移送を示す記録内の１つのデータ項目は、資金供給銀行の識別子である。すなわち、その割引を支払う金融機関である。この割引格納金額は、実際には、格納された金額「現金」ではなく、クレジットの電子的手段である。何故なら、それは、パース・オペレータから割引資金供給銀行への格納金額の「ローン」を表しているからである。
【０１１６】
リンクしていないパース・システムの場合には、格納金額取引きは、どんな口座情報とも関連していないで、個々の取引きは累積され、集計と呼ばれるプロセスにより、一組の合計金額の形で送信される。この場合、割引内蔵金額取引きは、購入金額内蔵金額取引きとは別に集計され、参加金融機関により正しく決済される。
【０１１７】
チップカードに格納されている金額は、商店主１１３により現金として引き受けられるので、実際には、消費者は、ＰＯＳ端末１１６のところにいながらにして、格納金額の償還を求めることができる。
【０１１８】
さらに、そのＡＳＰに関連する製品をその時購入しなくても、チップカード上にＡＳＰをロードすることにより、格納金額を電子パース内に加算することができる。新しい各ＡＳＰに対する割引金額を、供給されたＡＳＰをもっとよく絞り込むために、消費者が喜んで共有する情報量の関数になるように、システムを構成することができる。目標を絞り込むために消費者が提供する情報量が多ければ多いほど、ダウンロードした１つのＡＳＰに対するより多くの割引を受け取ることになる。
【０１１９】
ＰＯＳ端末１１６またはキャッシュレジスタ１４８は、売上伝票またはレシートを印刷する。商店主は、消費者１０５に売上伝票にサインするように求め、そうすると、発行者１０３は販売金額を償還しなければならない。後で、恐らく、商店主１１３が閉店した夜に、商店主はＰＯＳ端末１１６が格納しているすべての承認と、サインのある売上伝票とを突き合わせる。すべてのクレジット・カードの承認が、実際の売上伝票と一致することを確認すると、商店主は、決済および清算プロセスを行い、このプロセス中に、商店主は、承認したクレジット・カード取引きに関するデータを「捕捉」するか、預け入れのために取得者１１１に送信する。これは、取得者１１１に対する実際のサインのある紙の手形の預け入れの代わりに行われる。取得者１１１は、正しい発行者１０３と、各売上伝票のいわゆる交換を行う。発行者１０３は、売上伝票の金額から、取引き料金および支払い料金１１０を差し引いたものを取得者１１１に移し替える。次に、取得者１１１は、（例えば、商店主がチップカード上にダウンロードした広告情報の量に比例する）割引き料金を差し引いた、商店主１１３が提出したすべての売上伝票の金額を商店主の銀行口座に預け入れる。
【０１２０】
格納金額決済は、貸し方／借り方決済とは少し違った働きをする。取得者１１１は、パース・プロバイダに、その特定のパース・システムにより、すべての格納金額取引きを通知する。電子金額は、取得者１１１からパース・プロバイダに移送され、パース・プロバイダは、代わりに、任意の交換と共に取得者に償還するか、または料金をロードする。支払いは、自動手形交換所協会による送金または従来の紙の小切手により、金融電子データ交換（ＥＤＩ）により行うことができる。取得者１１１は、購入取引きおよび割引込の金額を商店主に対して貸し方に記入する。
【０１２１】
通常の方法で、好適には、電子データ捕捉（決済および清算）時に、商店主１１３は、小売店内のＰＯＳ端末１１６に格納している、すべてのアフィニティ記録および関連するカード番号を、好適には、取得者１１１に送信することが好ましい。データをアフィニティ・オペレータ１０１に送る前に、取得者１１１は、好適には、アフィニティ・オペレータ１０１に対して、カード所有者のＩＤおよび口座情報を秘密にしておくために、取得者のデータベース・サーバ１２１上に常駐するアプリケーション・ソフトウェア１１９により、クレジット・カードの番号を暗号化することが好ましい。例えば、ＩＤＥＡ（国際データ暗号化アルゴリズム）のような対称キー・アルゴリズム、または取得者１１１および発行者１０３だけがキーを知っている、トリプルＤＥＳ（データ暗号化規格）のような適当な暗号化アルゴリズムを使用して、カード所有者情報を、アフィニティ・オペレータ１０１から秘匿することができる。好適な実施形態の場合には、取得者は、カードのタイプ（例えば、ＶＩＳＡ（登録商標）、マスターカード（登録商標）、ＡＭＥＲＩＣＡＮ ＥＸＰＲＥＳＳ（登録商標））を識別するクレジット・カード番号、および発行者ＩＤ番号の最初の数字を除去して、適当な暗号化アルゴリズムを使用して、カード番号残りの番号を暗号化する。次に、取得者は、カード・タイプと発行者ＩＤ番号とを再び暗号テキストに加え、これをアフィニティ記録と共にアフィニティ・オペレータ１０１に送信する。取得者１１１は、このプロセスを、すべてのアフィニティ記録／カード番号のペアに繰り返して行う。
【０１２２】
取得者１１１とアフィニティ・オペレータ１０１との間のデータ移送プロトコルの一部として、取得者は、その割り当てられたＩＤ番号により、データをアフィニティ・オペレータに移送する前に、自分自身を識別する。アフィニティ・オペレータ１０１は、そのアフィニティ・データベース１５５内で記録を作成するために、アフィニティ記録／カード番号のペアと共にこのＩＤを使用する。アフィニティ・データベース記録は、少なくとも下記の情報、すなわち、ＡＳＰのダウンロードの日付；カード・タイプ；発行者ＩＤ；取得者ＩＤ；暗号化したカード所有者ＩＤ（ユニット識別情報の１つの形）；製品販売業者ＩＤ；製品タイプ；製品コスト；最初の購入までのロード；ＡＳＰバージョン；およびユーザ・プロファイルに対するフィールドを含む。また、データ移送プロトコルは、受信した記録の数を示す、アフィニティ・オペレータ１０１から取得者１１１へのレシート・メッセージの受信通知を含む。受信した記録の受信通知の回数に基づいて、アフィニティ・オペレータ１０１は、好適には、両方の当事者が相互に同意した金額の記録毎に、取得者１１１に支払いを行う。支払いは、金融電子データ交換（ＥＤＩ）を通して、国立自動手形交換所協会による送金を通して、または後で従来の紙の小切手により、データの移送時に行うことができる。チップカード１２３上へのＡＳＰのダウンロードに複数の取得者が参加する場合もあり：すべての取得者に対する各ＡＳＰに対するダウンロードの全回数が照合され、アフィニティ・オペレータ１０１は、その全回数に基づいて、広告主１００に課金する。
【０１２３】
アプリケーション・ソフトウェアは、発行者のネットワーク上に常駐していて、この発行者のネットワークは、このネットワーク上に常駐しているカード所有者のデータを上記の１２８ビットのユーザ・プロファイル１４２データに変換する。通常の方法で、発行者１０３は、すべてのユーザ・プロファイル１４２の更新をアフィニティ・オペレータ１０１に送信する。アフィニティ・オペレータ１０１にデータを送信する前に、発行者１０３は、好適には、引き続きアフィニティ・オペレータ１０１に対して、カード所有者ＩＤおよび口座情報を秘密にしておくために、クレジット・カードの番号を暗号化することが好ましい。例えば、ＩＤＥＡ（国際データ暗号化アルゴリズム）のような対称キー・アルゴリズム、または取得者１１１および発行者１０３だけがキーを知っている、トリプルＤＥＳ（データ暗号化規格）のような適当な暗号化アルゴリズムを使用して、カード所有者情報をアフィニティ・オペレータ１０１から秘匿することができる。好適な実施形態の場合には、発行者は、カードのタイプ（例えば、ＶＩＳＡ（登録商標）、マスターカード（登録商標）、ＡＭＥＲＩＣＡＮ ＥＸＰＲＥＳＳ（登録商標））を識別するクレジット・カード番号、および発行者ＩＤ番号の最初の数字を除去して、適当な暗号化アルゴリズムを使用して、カード番号残りの番号を暗号化する。次に、発行者は、カード・タイプと発行者ＩＤ番号とを再び暗号テキストに加え、これをユーザ・プロファイル１４２と共にアフィニティ・オペレータ１０１に送信する。発行者１０３は、このプロセスを、すべてのユーザ・プロファイル／カード番号のペアに繰り返して行う。受信した記録の受信通知の回数に基づいて、アフィニティ・オペレータ１０１は、好適には、両方の当事者が相互に同意した金額の記録毎に、発行者１０３に支払いを行う。支払いは、金融電子データ交換（ＥＤＩ）を通して、国立自動手形交換所協会による送金を通して、または後で従来の紙の小切手により、データの移送時に行うことができる。
【０１２４】
発行者１０３とアフィニティ・オペレータ１０１との間のデータ移送プロトコルの一部として、発行者は、その割り当てられたＩＤ番号により、データをアフィニティ・オペレータに移送する前に、自分自身を識別する。アフィニティ・オペレータ１０１は、そのアフィニティ・データベース１５５内で記録を更新するためユーザ・プロファイル／カード番号のペアと共にこのＩＤを使用する。
【図面の簡単な説明】
【図１】 チップ上に広告情報（ＡＳＰ）を格納し、その取引きに関連する種々の当事者に収入を分配するためのプロセスのフローチャート。
【図２】 販売時点情報管理（ＰＯＳ）端末を含む、通常の小売店での使用を示す図。
【図３】 パーソナル・コンピュータおよびチップカード・リーダを含む、通常のオンライン使用を示す図。
【図４】 両方のタイプの広告情報、すなわち、広告と販売促進を示す表示装置を備えるチップカードを示す図。
【図５】 チップカード・アーキテクチャおよび電気的インターフェースを示す図。
【図６】 チップカード上に格納している広告アフィニティ・データ構造体を説明する図。
【図７】 図６のアフィニティ・データ・ブロックを構成する個々の広告データ構造体を説明する図。
【図８】 図７に示す販売促進記録の一部であるデータを説明する図。[0001]
(Background of the Invention)
The present invention relates to the provision of advertising information including advertisements and promotions on chip cards (also referred to as “smart cards”). The chip card further includes the distribution, collection and processing of electronic money discounts to consumers and associated electronic money discounts.
[0002]
Advertising, promotion and coupon background
Co-pending US patent application Ser. No. 09 / 061,879, entitled “Chip Card System”, dated April 17, 1998, discloses the provision of “advertising information” to chip cards. “Advertising information” includes two different elements: (1) advertising, and (2) sales promotion (also referred to herein as “advertising information” or “ASP” as a synonym).
[0003]
Advertising is generally considered to be a compelling message communication about a product, idea and / or service to a viewer by a sponsor who is usually known. Advertisers typically seek to strengthen their “brand” components. The above components include alerts, images, advertisements to specific buyers, priorities and traps. Advertisers try to promote the sale of the advertised product or service by persuading viewers to choose their brand (or to make the advertising idea or concept better accepted) Try to).
[0004]
  Many successful advertising campaigns use an easy-to-remember slogan or tagline that is used as an element to make the ad compelling. The slogans and taglines are often used over a long period of time to enhance the effectiveness of the various components of the advertiser's brand. In some cases, slogans and taglines are used for over 10 years. Nicke (RegistrationTrademark) “Just Do It” (RegistrationTrademark), Avis (Registration"We Try Harder" (trademark), and "Breakfast of Champions" (trademark) from Wheaties (TM) are compelling advertising slogans that formed the fundamental part of highly successful advertising campaigns. Another known example. Many successful advertising campaigns also use easy-to-remember images or icons to make their ads persuasive and appealing. Examples of compelling images or icons include the well-known Nike (RegistrationTrademark) “swoosh” (RegistrationTrademark), Eveready (Registration) Energyizer Bunny ™ and Kellogg's (RegistrationTrademark Tony the Tiger (RegistrationTrademark).
[0005]
  Persuasive appeals to viewers' emotions and emotions are frequently used in advertising. Examples of these emotions and feelings include, among other things, the person's sense of romance, fans, adventure, style, desire to achieve, humor, confidence, nostalgia, curiosity and determination. Miller Lite (RegistrationTrademark) advertising series “Taste ’s great, less filling” (trademark) appeals to consumers ’sense of humor, persuades consumers well, Miller Lite (RegistrationTrademark) Beer sales were promoted. Another famous example is U.S. Pat. S. Army (TM) is a long term "Be all that you can be" (TM) advertising campaign. This catchphrase appealed to the sense of decision and adventure and succeeded in persuading more people to join the army.
[0006]
Another component of the “advertisement information” is “sales promotion”. Promotions are usually short-term movements that directly appeal to some consumers to purchase a service or product. Examples of sales promotions include discounts, samples, contests and discount coupons. Promotions usually provide a person with something of some monetary value, such as a coupon or a free product sample. Promotions can also involve people who want to get something of economic value, just like winning a contest.
[0007]
Advertising and promotions are often used together as part of an overall marketing program for a product or service because each has different advantages. For example, WonderBread ™ manufacturers can use coupon promotions to quickly attract consumers who are always buying different bread. At the same time, the manufacturer of Wonder Blade ™ repeats a compelling slogan such as “Wonder help builds body bodies 12ways” (trademark) By using it, you can use an advertising campaign to establish your “brand”. The slogan helps to cultivate the brand's regular customers by appealing to consumers' desire to be strong and healthy by eating Wonder Breed ™.
[0008]
Coupons have traditionally been one of the most widely used methods for sales promotion. Coupons are typically discounted when a consumer purchases a product or service. There are three basic types of coupons. That is: (1) a manufacturer's coupon (usually refunded by the associated retailer); (2) a retail store coupon; (3) an in-ads coupon.
[0009]
Coupon industry terminology (1998, Grocery manufacturer in Washington, DC, USA, Joint Industry Coupon Committee,Coupon-Complete Guide: Joint Industry Coupon GuidelinesCitation from (Coupons-A Complete Guide: Joint Industry Couples Guidelines). )
[0010]
Manufacturer's coupon-A coupon issued by a manufacturer to a consumer to discount a specific amount from the purchase price of one or more products of that manufacturer. The coupon can be distributed through various media (in a manufacturer's newspaper or magazine advertisement); insert advertisements, or product packaging, mail or individual delivery.
[0011]
Retail Store Coupon—A coupon printed by a retail store that can be used by a shopper at a particular tier or shelf or display location where the coupon discount product within that retail store is located.
[0012]
In-advertising coupons-coupons in newspaper advertisements or flyers of certain retail stores that can only be discounted for certain products at certain retail stores or chain stores. This coupon is usually issued by a special agreement between the retail store and the product manufacturer.
[0013]
• Folded advertisements (FSI)-Colored advertisements of manufacturers / groups (each including coupons) printed as a separate part and folded into the normal Sunday edition of the local newspaper.
[0014]
• Refund-exchange of coupons for cash when purchasing goods to receive discounts or prizes.
Retail Bill Exchange-An independent company that a retail store uses to categorize, calculate, and submit coupons for a retail store to pay the manufacturer or its agent.
[0015]
Coupon Bill Exchange-where coupons from grocery stores and other retailers are processed and sent to the manufacturer or its agent for payment.
Cross Coupon-(also referred to as cross-rough coupon) A manufacturer's coupon that has been inserted into a product or printed on a package and can be refunded if a different product is purchased.
[0016]
  Universal Product Code (UPC)-can be "read" by an electronic scanner at checkout to identify the item, and the price of the item (or the amount of the coupon) at the computer Automatically reference and instantly price (or amount) on cash registerRecord in cash registerA combination of vertical bars printed on product packaging (or on coupons).
[0017]
Family code-a three-digit number located immediately after the manufacturer ID on the coupon universal product code. This number is used in the point-of-sale information management system to automatically confirm coupons for a particular product or group of products.
[0018]
Refund or discount certificate-A certificate issued by the manufacturer to refund the consumer cash for the purchase price of a product. Usually, the consumer mails the proof of purchase to the manufacturer.
[0019]
• Refund Mistakes-Coupons that were not correctly refunded for the correct product according to the rules printed on the particular coupon.
The most commonly used medium for distributing coupons is insert advertising. For example, in 1996, over 80% of food miscellaneous coupons were distributed through insert advertisements. Other main distribution media are advertising flyers, magazines, newspapers and direct mail. These types of promotions have traditionally been in the form of paper coupons or discounts that consumers have to cut out from, for example, newspapers or magazines. In many cases, consumers cut and collect multiple coupons, store them in a wallet or wallet, and take these coupons at a retail store for a refund. At the retail store, the consumer presents the coupon at the cash register, where the coupon is verified and entered into the retail store point-of-sale management system manually or by scanning the UPC code on the coupon. . The latest model incorporates point-of-sale scanning technology and the coding of coupon information into coupon universal product codes. Bill exchanges have been used in this process, mainly because paper coupons are cumbersome and cumbersome, and both manufacturers and retailers have invested in processing paper coupons. This is because there is not.
[0020]
Paper coupons have many drawbacks. (1) The manufacturer must bear the cost of printing and distributing coupons and wants to get a reimbursement rate of about 2% and must discount the application form to a large audience. (2) because the manufacturer has to pay the bill exchange and the retailer for the hassle of handling and processing the redeemed coupon (the retailer (Usually you get paid about 8% of the processing cost per coupon); (3) The work of cutting coupons is very time consuming because you have to categorize many offers that you are not interested in (4) The coupon redemption process at the point-of-sale information management system is a very time consuming process, This is because the flow of the queuing line is congested. (5) The retailer must discount the consumer at the point-of-sale information management system and wait for the repayment from the manufacturer through the bill exchange. (6) Because the incidence of redemption mistakes and fraud is high.
[0021]
  In recent years, many improvements have been made to coupon distribution and refund systems in order to solve some of these problems. Some companies specialize in more targeted distribution of direct mail coupons. Over the last few years, the Internet has become a very popular mechanism for distributing coupons and giving discounts to consumers. Coupons distributed over the Internet were usually printed by a consumer's personal computer (ChristensonUS patentsNo. 5,710,886Specification) Or electronically loaded onto a smart card (PowellUS patentsNo. 5,806,044Specification) It takes the form of a coupon. The distribution of coupons also resulted in a refund to the coupon by purchasing the relevant product from the website from which the consumer requested the coupon (Kepex).US patents6,009,411SpecificationIt can also be done through a processing center that communicates with both retail stores.
[0022]
  Some companies offer systems that provide retailers with faster processing of coupons at the point of sale information management system. In some systems, the coupon is inserted into a machine that electronically refunds the coupon and discounts the purchase price (and the coupon is cut into pieces so that the coupon cannot be reused), or,The universal product code is the consumer's current purchaseWhenIf they do not match, the coupon is ejected from the machine.
[0023]
  Several systems have been developed that incorporate the use of chip cards (smart cards) for coupon distribution and redemption (Haddad)US patentsNo. 5,804,806Specification; PowellUS patentsNo. 5,806,044Specification; ValenciaUS patentsNo.5,380,991SpecificationKepexUS patentsNo. 6,009,441Specification). Using a chip card for a coupon system will eliminate the need for customer convenience (no need to cut), more targeted distribution of coupons, refunds, fraud, high processing costs to manufacturers and / or retailers, and / or Or the problem of the refund speed at the point-of-sale information management system is solved.
[0024]
The disadvantage of all these current chip card coupon systems is that they use a conventional coupon refund system. In this case, the retailer initially pays a discounted cost by reducing the purchase amount received for the product or service. The manufacturer then pays the retailer the cost of the refunded coupon. Usually, the period from the point of purchase to the time when the retail store receives payment for the discount is 1 to 3 weeks.
[0025]
  In some cases, rewards to consumers may take the form of paying consumers just by looking at the advertising information. For example, Gold Herba (US patentNo. 5,855,008Specification) Discloses a method of paying a consumer simply by watching an advertisement, ie a specific Internet advertisement.
[0026]
Credit card and chip card background
Credit cards have evolved from billing accounts at oil companies, restaurants and department stores, decades before current electronic systems. In the 1960s and 1970s, credit cards became widely used. This is because consumer financial resources have become easier to use and have become an important source of income for banks. A credit card is similar to a debit card (in this specification, credit card refers to both of these cards); a credit card is used by the cardholder and card issuer It differs from a debit card in that you can access one line of credit. A credit card typically has four separate parties for each transaction: the cardholder, the merchant selling the goods or services, the merchant acquirer processing the credit card payment, and the card issuer Need. The merchant acquirer and the credit card issuer may be the same company.
[0027]
  Credit cards can be made into chip cards by incorporating a microprocessor, memory, or both in the card. By doing so, data can be stored and processed on the card itself. A money-carrying chip card (also called electronic or e-purse) is a credit card or money in that the data stored on the card contains data representing the money in an encrypted form It is different from a chip card that does not have a storage function. This stored digital cash amount can be strictly deducted from the card at the time of sale in the transaction between the point-of-sale information management (POS) terminal and the amount storage type chip card. DecisionAlreadyAnd at the time of liquidation (electronic data acquisition), usually the digital cash amount is transferred to the merchant's bank account through a conventional credit network, outside of business hours. The standard “EMV 1996 Chip Card Specification for Payment System Version 3.1.1, dated May 31, 1998” defines a credit card (ie, a non-money storage chip card) that includes an integrated circuit. . Several systems have been developed to store coupons and other promotions on chip cards (Powell US Pat. No. 5,806,044; Haded US Pat. No. 5,804,806, Nemirovski No. 5,412,416).
[0028]
  Chip cards can be used in two types of operating environments: closed systems or open systems. The closed system is managed in a closed environment with only one card issuer acting as a service provider. Dedicated cards are issued to customers of service providers for dedicated use within their facilities. Since the issuer, service provider, and sometimes the acquirer are also an entity, the system operator decides to deal with the other party.AlreadyThere is no need to do. Closed systems are typically used for applications such as temporary systems, colleges, universities, payphones, theme parks, bases, prisons and large organizations. Open systems, on the other hand, include multiple issuers, and consumers can use their cards at multiple locations and stores. Because there are multiple issuers and acquirers, an open system is more complex than a closed system. The open system is the liquidation and resolution of funds between the issuer and the acquirer.AlreadyRequires functionality, requires higher security, and requires a standard infrastructure between all participants.
[0029]
Credit card industry terminology
• A merchant-acquired financial institution – a bank or other financial institution that has a business relationship with the merchant and accepts all credit card transactions from the merchant.
Card issuing financial institution—a bank or other financial institution that issues credit cards to customers.
[0030]
  ・Approval  -Proof of credit card transaction to merchant by card issuing bank.
  ・Authorization number  − The transactionApprovalA code assigned by the card-issuing bank for credit card sales to indicate that
[0031]
  Electronic data capture-electronically,Sales slipInput and processing. Usually credit card salesApprovalIs obtained at the time of purchase and processed by the acquirer at night, from the point-of-sale (POS) terminal of the daySales slipBy batch sendingSales slipAre captured electronically. In the online payment system, with the acquiring bankSales slipUsed to display electronic deposits.
[0032]
  ・Sales slip  -A means of indicating the obligation to pay the card issuer's money (ie, the sales amount) to the card issuer. This is a piece of paper that you sign when you make a purchase with your credit card.
[0033]
  Exchange (or transaction) fee-the fee charged by the credit institution to process a credit card transaction involving the cardholder's account. This fee is the master-card(Registered trademark)And visa(Registered trademark)It is a certain percentage of the total transaction amount managed by such an institution. The exact definition of this exchange fee depends on the relevant agency. (See Table 1 below)
[0034]
• Discounted (or paid) fees-A percentage of the retail sales amount paid as a fee to a credit institution for processing credit card transactions. The exact definition of this discounted charge depends on the relevant institution. (See Table 1 below)
[0035]
Payment system background
Money storage is a relatively new and new feature for electronic payment systems. The stored amount is an “intangible electronic payment obligation” stored on a computer, smart card, or other electronic storage device such as a personal digital assistant. (1998, Washington, DC, Bertarian, Thomas, Fried, Frank, Harris, Shreiba, and Jacobson, “21st Century Money Banking and Commerce”).
[0036]
  Depending on the context, the term “money” has a different meaning. In the case of the Uniform Commercial Code, money is defined as “an exchange medium approved or adopted by a foreign government or the home government”. 1-201 (24). “Thus, conventional terms in commercial law, such as common terms, see many forms of payment, such as checks, as alternatives to money rather than money itself.” (1996, New York Westbury “Payment System and Credit Instruments” by Gillette Clayton, published by Foundation Press, Inc. This definition of money is often referred to as “legal payment”, “currency” or “cash”. However, in the case of economic literature, “money” is defined more broadly. Money includes everything received in exchange for goods and services. According to the definition of economists, the currency that is approved or issued by the government is only one subset of money called “statutory non-convertible banknotes” (Id.). In the description of the present invention, the term “electronic money” means the electronic equivalent of “currency” in economic literature. That is, everything received in exchange for goods and services including government issued currency and checks and credit cards. The definition of “electronic money”Mileage serviceIt doesn't include regular customer discounts such as miles, or point systems. In this case, the consumerMileage serviceMiles or other types of points accumulated can be used for other goods or services, and in some cases, to receive cash. In some cases, points for regular customers can be redeemed for cash, but within the current definition, points are not money in two respects. That is, (1) The unit of the face value possessed by a point is a unit other than a monetary unit such as “mile” or “point”, and these units are simply secondary to a monetary unit. And (2) that the monetary value assigned to “points” or “miles” is discounted from the value of the goods exchange, for example, the consumer You can receive a discount of 1000 points, but in the case of a cash discount, it is not money in that you can only receive a discount of $ 20.
[0037]
Electronic perspective terms
An electronic parse or electronic wallet is a management application program and is a memory location for storing electronic money on an electronic device. Usually, the device is a chip card, but it may be a personal computer or another electronic device. Electronic Purse schemes the same functionality as other chip card payment systems, except for the additional functionality for loading electronic money on the card, i.e. functionality not included in the traditional credit card scheme .
[0038]
・ Acquirer-Store owner who operates the point-of-sale information management terminal
Acquisition Technology Operator-Collects purchase and purchase cancellation traces stored in the point-of-sale information management terminal and sends them to the parse provider.
• Reserve Bank-fills the lender to the parse provider from the reserve account (directly or through a loading operator), depending on the amount loaded into the chip card electronic parse.
[0039]
  Loading operator-accepts cardholder requests for the purpose of loading electronic moneyRuTo operate the loading device. These load devices may be point-of-sale information management terminals or other devices. The loading operator may or may not be a merchant.
[0040]
  Parse provider—loads electronic money into a parse, thus controlling the generation of electronic money and guaranteeing that electronic money.
  Perth Scheme Administrator-eg VISACASH (registered trademark)・ VISA for system(Registered trademark)Define and manage rules for parsing systems such as
[0041]
・ DecisionAlready  -The process performed by the parse provider. Based on the data from the purchase and load transaction, the payment operator makes a payment to the acquiring bank, and when loading to other payment means, the loading operator makes a payment to the parse provider.
[0042]
(Summary of Invention)
The present inventor uses a chip card as a means for providing advertising information to the consumer, and electronically discounts the consumer with electronic money for providing the advertising information or purchasing a specific product. Found a way for. Preferably, the present invention is used to provide advertising information for a goal, receive that information, and purchase a specific product associated with the information to give a discount to the consumer. .
[0043]
  According to a first aspect, the present invention is a method for providing associated information and providing associated discounts when using a chip card of the type with built-in memory. The method includes downloading advertisement information on a chip card when a user uses the card. The advertising information includes information identifying one or more products with which the discount is associated. Advertising information is stored on the chip card. During a purchase transaction, if you use a chip card to purchase a product, the system determines whether a discount is available for the purchased product, and if the discount is for that product, the purchase During the transaction, discounts in the memory of the cardAmount of moneyIs electronic moneyAdditionIs done. The term “product” means a tangible item such as food or clothing, but also means a service provided even if the transaction does not give or receive the tangible item.
[0044]
  According to a second aspect, the present invention is a method of supplying electronic money as a reward to a user when advertising information and associated discounts are downloaded to the chip card. When the user uses a card, the above method downloads advertisement information on the chip card, stores the advertisement information on the chip card, and discounts the downloaded user with electronic money in the card memory as a rewardAmount of moneyTheAdditionIt is a method to do.
[0045]
  The present invention includes one or more of the following advantages. The present invention provides consumers with a means by which coupons can be discounted at the point of purchase, as well as retailers can receive full prices for all purchased items. Retail stores do not need to offer coupon discounts. In the past, if a retail store has forcibly deferred the large amount of money it can receive in connection with the money it receives from the coupon bill exchange and the manufacturer,InYou can receive the full amount not discounted. The handling and processing costs normally associated with paper coupons are much lower. The present invention can also make consumers feel like making future purchases. Because, like coupon discount, sales promotion is immediately made with electronic money at the time of purchase."This is because the electronic money is used for subsequent purchases or other transactions. It is superior to other types of chip cards based on frequent use where consumers receive electronic money for "points". The points can only be discounted at one or, at best, a limited number of commercial establishments. On the other hand, electronic money can be used everywhere like a chip card that can already be used in place of coins in various places. Electronic money also provides a means for automatically distributing advertising revenue to various parties through an electronic financial transaction network.
[0046]
  The system preferably loads a plurality of cards containing integrated circuits (“chip cards”), and loads advertising or promotional (ASP) data to and from the chip cards for electronicTargetPreferably includes a communication and processing network for conducting financial transactions. Preferably, the communication network is one or more point-of-sale (POS) terminals that communicate with the chip card at the point of sale; a standard telephone line or Ethernet(Registered trademark)Through a communication channel, such as a wide area network (WAN), commonly referred to as a "shop owner acquirer network" or "acquirer" A first computer network capable of communicating; any lender to the consumer that can communicate with the acquirer through the communication channel, usually referred to as a “card issuer” or “issuer” A second computer network to fill out; can communicate with both the acquirer network and the issuer network, collect and store ASP content called an “advertising affinity operator” or “affinity operator”; A third computer network that manages the distribution process Preferably includes a advertisers to generate the ASP contents; over click and. The acquirer network and issuer network can be a single network, a distributed network, or an affinity operator can be built into a single network, in which case the chip The system includes a card, a chip card reader, and a transaction network including an acquirer function, an issuer function, and an affinity operator function.
[0047]
The communication and processing network for transmitting data to and from the chip card may be the same as or different from the communication and processing network for purchase transactions. For example, an ASP is downloaded onto a chip card, away from an Internet website using a personal computer or from a mobile phone with a chip card communication port, after which the consumer can “traditional” retail If the consumer uses the chip card to make a purchase at the store using the discount stored on the chip card, the communication network is another network. On the other hand, when the ASP is downloaded at the point-of-sale information management system, the communication network is built in the credit card transaction network.
[0048]
  A particular ASP can be stored on the chip card, but in this case preferably the storage is based on consumer information that is available on the chip card or on a communications network. preferable. The ASP can also be loaded if the consumer uses a chip card to purchase an item. The ASP can be served directly from a POS terminal or in-store network, or directly from the affinity operator's advertising information server. If the advertising information server is resident in the POS terminal at the merchant or in the merchant's computer network, it is loaded during electronic data capture outside business hours. AS to load during electronic data capture, if necessaryPASP server decision rules for selecting are also loaded. Information is stored on the consumer's chip card, which allows the ASP server to determine which ASP is most appropriate for that particular consumer. In order to determine which ASPs to serve on the chip card, the type of item that the consumer is currently purchasing and the type of merchant are combined with the chip card information.
[0049]
  Can be used for purchase when a consumer uses a chip card with a specific ASP to purchase related items,So-called electronic parsingTheIf obtained, the discount associated with the ASP is converted from one with a potential amount (ie, a purchase cannot be made with that amount) to an actual amount or electronic money. Unlike current methods, the amount paid by the consumer to the retail store is not deducted. Therefore, if the retail store receives the full amount from the consumer and does not need to manage the paper coupons, the retail store does not have to wait for refunds from various coupon bill exchanges or manufacturers. Electronic money by purchasing the item and using the ASP can be added to a single numerical value representing the stored amount, or can be used when making purchases. It can be stored in the chip card memory in a number of possible ways, such as modifying the associated flag. Means can also be used to allow the discount associated with the ASP to be used multiple times so that the discount can be used at the time of one or more purchases. For example, a discount function that can be used multiple times can be in the form of a discount for regular customers, where the amount of the discount increases as the consumer buys the item.
[0050]
Alternatively, discounts can be stored at the point of sale or on a communications and processing network without being stored on the chip card. At the time of purchase, the ASP stored on the chip card is discounted at the point of sale or on the communications and processing network, and the appropriate determined and loaded on the chip card's electronic parse. Compared with purchase discounts.
[0051]
  In addition, electronic money is purchased at that time for products related to the ASP.WithoutHowever, it is also possible to load the ASP on the chip card and put the electronic money in the electronic parse. Configure the system so that the amount of electronic money loaded with each new ASP is a function of how much information the consumer is willing to share in order to better narrow down the goals of the offered ASP Can do. As the amount of information indicating the user's characteristics permitted by the user to narrow down the target increases, the discount for one download of the ASP increases.
[0052]
The chip card can incorporate an electronic display device to display advertisements directly on the card. If there is no display device on the card, the advertisement can be stored as a pointer, such as text, audio, graphics, a video file such as JPEG, MPEG, or a URL to an Internet site containing the advertisement. .
[0053]
Other embodiments may include one or more of the following functions.
The step of changing the discount may be associated with a product based on purchases made by the user.
The amount of the discount can be changed based on the number of purchases made by the user.
The amount of the discount can be increased as the number of purchases of the product associated with the discount increases.
[0054]
  The user purchased the discount amountPeriodIt can change based on the length between.
  The user purchased a product related to the above discount amount.PeriodIt can be increased as the length in between increases.
  The chip card may have a flexible electronic display device for displaying advertising information.
[0055]
The display device may display a list of products that the cardholder wants to purchase.
The display device may also display the amount of discount associated with the product in the list.
[0056]
The display device may also display the full amount of possible discounts when all discounts available for the products in the list are used.
More than one list may be displayed to display products by product type, manufacturer or merchant.
[0057]
  Advertisement information can be downloaded from a site on a network such as the Internet by a personal computer.
  The amount of discount can be downloaded on the chip card by downloading the advertising information, the amount of discount as electronic money in the card memoryAdditionThe step of doing may include the step of adding a discount amount into the electronic parse of the chip card.
[0058]
  The amount of the discount may be stored on the computer network or point-of-sale information management terminal until the purchase when the discount is given to the user.
  Advertising information is sent to the following devices: cash register or other point-of-sale information management device, personal computer, portable chip card reader,Mobile device, Home or business phone, pay phone, vending machine, mobile phone,Pager, Mass transit payment station, TVReceiver,TV setFor receiverOne or more of a set top box and an automated teller machine (ATM) may be used to download to the chip card.
[0059]
  Electronic money for the discount amount can be transferred to the following devices: cash register or other point-of-sale information management device, personal computer, portable chip card reader,Mobile device, Home or business phone, pay phone, vending machine, mobile phone,Pager, Mass transit payment station, TVReceiver,TV setFor receiver-The user may use one or more of a set-top box and an automated teller machine (ATM) in the memory of the chip card by the user.AdditionCan do.
[0060]
  Discounts in the form of electronic money are transferred to the following devices: cash registers or other point-of-sale information management devices, personal computers, portable chip card readers,Mobile device, Home or business phone, pay phone, vending machine, mobile phone,Pager, Mass transit payment station, TVReceiver,TV setFor receiverOne or more of a set-top box and an automated teller machine (ATM) can be used by the user to use, move or convert to coins or currency.
[0061]
  The following: (1) related to advertising informationfamily·The download of advertising information to the chip card can be prevented based on one or more of the code, (2) information identifying the manufacturer of the product, and (3) the amount of the discount.
[0062]
Product returns / refunds designed to fraudulently hold discounts already stored on a chip card will ensure that the product refund must be processed by the same chip card and the returned product It is possible to prevent the discount of the electronic money related to 1 by subtracting it from the electronic money stored on the chip card.
[0063]
On the other hand, old advertisement information for which the associated discount has not been redeemed can be erased from the memory of the chip card, resulting in a wider memory storage location and new advertisement information can be stored.
[0064]
If it is not used before the deadline, the discounted electronic money can be erased.
Advertising information and discounts can be part of a retailer's private regular customer program.
[0065]
A thumbnail of advertisement information can be downloaded so that the user can view the input advertisement information on a personal computer or chip card display.
[0066]
A user may use a website that allows a user to insert a chip card into a computer or other device that can use the Internet and redeem the discount, or electronic money that has been redeemed from the discount online. The advertising information can include hyperlinks or other internet links so that it can be linked to a possible website.
[0067]
Discount payments can be made by the cardholder based on the timing and / or frequency of purchases or visits at a particular retail store.
Discount payments can be made at various intervals.
Advertising information can be loaded onto the chip card along with a specified date or date range for which the discount is valid.
[0068]
  To enhance privacy protection, the user's target preference on the chip cardLesInstance level can be stored.
  The cardholder uses a personal computer to create a target preference stored on the chip card.LesYou can see the activity level.
[0069]
It is possible to increase the discount amount for frequent customers who visit the store more frequently than the discount amount for customers who shop only once in a short time.
The user can receive both a manufacturer discount and a retail store discount for the same purchase.
[0070]
The affinity operator may be an electronic perspective operator.
A record of the payment of discounts by electronic money to the user can be maintained in the database for a period of time so that the manufacturer or other party paying for the discount can audit the payment data.
[0071]
The manufacturer or issuer of the discount can pay an upfront fee to the affinity operator at the start of the discount program based on the estimated discount amount that the party expects to redeem, and the settlement process At a later time, the affinity operator will make a mediation proposal indicating the additional amount that should be paid to the affinity operator, or any refund that should be paid to the issuer, based on the actual number of discount redemptions made. Can be offered to discount issuers. In the case of an ATM “cash machine”, a customer wants to receive discounts and information on an ATM display device while waiting for a transaction for the ATM to be processed. Input about product types can be made.
[0072]
  When making a purchase through the Internet, the customer connects a chip card reader to his personal computer. The bandwidth of the communication channel is at least text, audio and graphics images (and data rates of 100kbThe ad server can be placed on the network of affinity operators because it is large enough to support real-time downloads of short video files (faster than ps). Information indicative of customer characteristics can be entered and stored on the customer's personal computer or affinity operator network. The present invention can be used as part of a method for providing discounts with advertising information and associated electronic money related to the use of a chip card with a built-in memory. The method includes the steps of downloading advertising information on a chip card when the user uses the card; storing the advertising information on the chip card; on a display device built in the card or on a device communicating with the card Displaying advertisement information on a display device; determining whether a purchase is associated with a specific product when the specific product is purchased; and if the result of the determination is yes The electronic money is stored in the chip card memory so as not to disappear.
[0073]
The advertising information stored on the chip card may be the advertising information itself, or an address to a location where the advertising information is stored on the network with which the card communicates (such as a URL). It may be a hyperlink. The address and the hyperlink can be related to a thumbnail of actual advertisement information. The thumbnail itself can have sufficient contents to become advertisement information, and can be composed of hyperlinks to advertisement information.
[0074]
The advertisement information downloaded to the chip card can be selected from a plurality of possible advertisement information, and the selection can be based at least in part on information indicative of the user's characteristics.
[0075]
  The selection can be based at least in part on at least some of the user identification information stored on the card.
  Downloading advertisement information onto the chip card can be done in connection with the transaction. The transaction may be a purchase using a chip card for shopping. Purchases can be made at the point-of-sale information management terminal. The purchase may be a purchase of a communication service using a card that can purchase the communication service. The communication service may include a telephone service, and the chip card may be a telephone card. The purchase may be on a toll road. This purchase can be performed by wireless communication using a chip card when a vehicle equipped with a card passes through a position on a toll road. Information identifying the downloaded advertising information can be downloaded onto the chip card, or at least some of the information characterizing the user can be connected to the chip card on a computer network Can be stored. Information indicating the number of times the advertisement information is displayed can be stored on the chip card. Information may be stored on the chip card indicating whether the chip card has been used to purchase a product or service associated with the advertisement information downloaded to the chip card. Information indicating whether or not the chip card has been used to purchase products or services related to the advertisement information downloaded on the chip card, and information indicating the number of times the advertisement information was displayed before the purchase. Can be stored on a chip card. Information on a computer network that can be connected to a chip cardInIt can be stored, or it can be stored in the memory of the chip card as part of the affinity record.
[0076]
  The method includes the step of downloading information identifying advertisement information downloaded to the chip card; information identifying the downloaded advertisement information in the database; information indicating the number of times advertisement information has been displayed; advertisement downloaded onto the chip card Associating information representing whether the chip card has been used to purchase a product or service associated with the information. This information can also be associated with information representing the number of times the advertising information has been displayed before purchase. Information can be stored on the chip card or uploaded from the chip card to a database resident on the computer network. Uploading information from a chip card is a decision made when the chip card was used during the transaction or after the transaction.AlreadyAnd may occur during liquidation.
[0077]
The method performs an advertisement distribution service that receives advertisement information from an advertiser, stores the advertisement information on a computer system connected to a computer network, and downloads the advertisement information to a chip card through the computer network. Steps may be included.
[0078]
  Before downloading the advertising information to the chip card, the advertising information can be downloaded to the merchant, the merchant can store the advertising information locally, and the advertising information can be exchanged with the merchant by the user. When entered, it can be downloaded from the local storage device to the chip card. Advertising information can be stored from a remote store owner, and the user canWhenIt can be downloaded to merchants and chip cards when entering a transaction. Transactions between users and merchants can be done through a computer network, such as the Internet. Transactions between the user and the merchant can be done in a facility where the user can physically go. Transactions can be made at a POS terminal. The advertisement distribution service can receive revenue for distribution of advertisement information, and can share a part of the revenue with the shop owner. The amount of advertising revenue shared with the merchant is usually determined by the number of times the advertising information is downloaded to the chip card.
[0079]
The revenue can be shared with one or more of the following other parties: merchant acquirer, network operator, and chip card issuer. The revenue can be shared with other parties by discounting the fees paid by that party in connection with the user who entered the transaction using the chip card. The revenue can be shared with other parties through payments made to the parties by the advertising service.
[0080]
The advertisement distribution service can receive user profile information including at least demographic information about the user. User profile information about a user can be used in determining which of a plurality of advertisement information should be downloaded to the user's chip card.
[0081]
The advertisement distribution service can receive information representing the number of times the advertisement information has been displayed through the computer network, associate the information with the advertisement information, and provide tracking information to the advertiser. it can.
[0082]
The tracking information associated with the advertising information may further include information indicating whether a product associated with the advertising information has been purchased with a chip card.
The tracking information associated with the advertising information can further include user profile information including at least demographic information about the user.
[0083]
The user profile information may further include psychographic information about the user.
Multiple advertising information for the same product or service can be distributed and run on an advertising test campaign to be loaded onto the chip card. Information about the user profile and the number of impressions and purchase date and time from the chip card for that advertising information Processing the information to determine which of the advertising information should be used or which of the advertising information should be used for a particular user profile it can.
[0084]
The chip card may include a flexible electronic display device for displaying advertisement information.
Information indicative of the user's characteristics may include a multi-dimensional description of the user based on demographic data, psychographic data, or data regarding other user preferences.
[0085]
The advertising information downloaded on the chip card is based on information uploaded from the chip card indicating customer characteristics, a set of decision rules, and data indicating the types of customers suitable for receiving specific advertising information Can do.
[0086]
A decision rule can be used in selecting the advertising information to download, and the decision rule is the distance in the n-dimensional user profile descriptor space between the user profile and the target profile for the advertising information. Can be based.
[0087]
The decision rule can include an allocation system whereby the total number of times advertisement information is downloaded to a chip card by a particular point-of-sale information management system or other server is limited to a predetermined maximum value.
[0088]
The affinity operator can develop a set of decision rules to determine which advertising information should be downloaded to the user's card.
The affinity operator collects user profile data, information identifying advertising information, and affinity records, stores the data in the database and develops the processed data contained in the database, progress On the basis, the purchase performance prediction model can be improved based on the information contained in the database.
[0089]
The information stored on the chip card includes information that identifies the manufacturer or distributor of a particular product, product identification, and how many times advertising information is displayed before the customer first purchases the item or advertised item An indicator can be included to indicate whether or not it has been done.
[0090]
Numeric values representing a general category or categories into which a particular product is placed can be stored on the card.
A numerical value indicating a certain price range into which the selling price of a specific product can be stored can be stored on the card.
[0091]
In order to distinguish between multiple versions of advertising information, each version targeting a different user type, a numerical value can be stored on the card that displays the version of the advertising information downloaded to the card.
[0092]
Information indicative of the user's characteristics includes a user profile generated from information about demographics, information about psychographics, or information about preferences of other specific products along with user identification.
[0093]
The user identification can be encoded to keep the user ID secret from a database used to track user purchase activity.
The encoding can be performed such that there is a substantially one-to-one mapping between the encoded user identity and the actual user identity.
[0094]
The user identification information may be a credit card number or a debit card number. The card type field and card issue field of the user identification information may remain uncoded.
[0095]
The transaction may be a transaction that does not involve purchase, such as an ATM transaction.
The advertisement information may be an advertisement.
The advertising information may be one or more sales promotions.
The advertisement information can be stored in a memory in the display device.
Advertising information can be stored in a memory on the chip card that is independent of the display device.
At least one decision rule used in selecting advertisement information for download may be based on the current date and time. As a result, advertisement information can be downloaded at a relevant date and time, such as, for example, the most persuasive time point (eg, stored birthday or during a promotional period).
[0096]
Advertising information can be targeted. Target targets can be determined based on demographic information, psychographic information, and other customer preferences that can be verified and audited. For example, when the user wants to purchase an audio device, the advertisement information changes depending on the situation at that time so as not to obtain a toothpaste advertisement. The results of advertising campaigns can be audited and provide more than one criterion for the rate at which users click on a particular Internet advertising banner, but instead the advertising information further promotes sales. Providing standards, other traditional standards of advertising effectiveness on investment. The present invention includes a method for tracking and measuring the impact of frequency, i.e., the number of times advertising information should be displayed to a particular customer before reaching a point of reduced revenue.
[0097]
  Other features and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description, including the drawings, and from the claims.
(Detailed description of the invention)
  Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, the system provides two possible ways: (1) a method in which a consumer 105 visits a merchant 113 online or at a retail store and purchases an item with a chip card. Or (2) for example, a personal computer connected to the Internet, a portable chip card reader, a point-of-sale (POS) terminal,Mobile device, Home or business phone, vending machine, mobile phone,Pager, Mass transit payment station, TVReceiver,TV setFor receiverAdvertising and / or with associated electronic money discounts (106) on chip card 123 in a manner that purchases an item via another communication channel, such as a set-top box and an automated teller machine (ATM). Or store a promotion (ASP).
[0098]
  The ASP 106 may also take the form of an electronic coupon that includes a product UPC (Universal Product Code) and a discounted price. ASP106TheText, graphics (e.g., JPEG and MPEG images), and audio for presentation on a card, computer monitor, or chip card reader display. The ASP can also include hypertext links or HTML (Hypertext Markup Language) or WML (Wireless Markup Language) documents. A link is used to bring a customer to an online retailer when a browser (eg, Microsoft Internet Explorer) presents the link to an HTML or WML document.RollSendingLetCan. This feature allows customers who are not familiar with the Internet to easily navigate to a website.
[0099]
  With reference to FIGS. 4 and 5, the chip card 140 includes a memory 139 for storing information for one or more ASPs 106. A chip card 140, such as the chip card disclosed in US Pat. No. 6,019,284, may also include a display device 132. Such chip cards can display advertising information to the user (eg, redeem electronic coupons)LikeContinuouslyReminderCan supply). Alternatively, the advertising information can be stored in the memory of the display device itself.
[0100]
  For example, in the case of a transaction such as purchase, the shop owner 113 calculates the purchase amount and asks the customer 105 to pay. The merchant 113 inserts the chip card 114 into the POS terminal 116,Cereal·Communication is established between the chip card 114 and the terminal 116 through the data channel 115. 4 to 6 will be described.CerealThe communication channel includes the electrical contact 133 and the communication signal 141 of the chip card 114. The sales amount is manually input or transmitted by the cash register 148.
[0101]
If the ASP is downloaded in a point-of-sale information management system (POS), the ASP preferably has US co-pending application 09/457, 988 named “Chip Card Advertising Method and System”. As disclosed in detail, it is preferable to target specific customers. Preferably, a certain customer is targeted for ASP by the following method. Referring to FIG. 6, the user profile data field 142 is sent from the chip card 114 to the POS terminal 116.
[0102]
  The user profile data field 142 (information indicating card user characteristics) preferably has a length of 128 bits, preferably each field contains a specific demographic standard, psychographic Preferably, it includes a 4-bit field that represents a numerical or numeric score for a user associated with a standard or other criteria for the service. In the case of a 128-bit word containing a 4-bit field, the user profile data field 142 provides a 30-dimensional descriptor matrix of factors that affect the customer's purchase habits. Customer interviews, surveys andfocusBased on conventional marketing techniques such as groups, a user profile or set of profiles is created that the chip card ASP is considered to be the best group to target. In addition, advertisers have had vague results with traditional marketing, but this is a model that advertisers have created from data in the affinity network database.LeYou may want to test the market to other user profiles that want to collect actual data using chip cards, evaluated on the basis of. Based on the above method, advertiser 100 selects a target user profile or profiles in connection with affinity operator 101. In addition, the goal profile can include factors that are unrelated to the customer, such as the nature of the item that the customer is currently purchasing. For example, if a customer has purchased a piece of bread, the downloaded ASP may be an ASP for a related item such as butter or an ASP of a competitor's bread.
[0103]
  In the case of a credit / debit card transaction, the merchant 113, if there is one, is usually a telephone line, but in some cases, the acquirer 111 or network operator 109 via the Internet. On saleApprovalSend credit card data and sales amount with request. If so, the network operator 109AlreadyAnd perform clearing functions, apply rules and regulations, handle security issues, and maintain float pools. The point of sales unit 116 is usually requested at the time of sale.ApprovalAnd then, in fact, laterSales slipTo capture. The acquirer 111 who processes the transaction also gives the issuer 103ApprovalForward the request. The credit card number identifies the card type, issuing financial institution, and cardholder account (user identification information). Sufficient for the cardholder to cover the sale in his accountCreditsIssuer 103 makes a transactionApprovalAndAuthorization numberIs generated. This code is returned to the acquirer 111. The issuer 103 seizes the account of the cardholder by the sales amount. The acquirer 111 processes the transaction, and then sends an approval code or a denial code to the point-of-sale information management unit 116 of the merchant.
[0104]
  ApprovalIn order to obtain, during these transactions, the POS terminal 116 downloads the selected ASP to the chip card. A new affinity record on the chip card that includes the merchant ID 143 field, product ID 144 field, product type ID 145 field, ASP version 151 field, product cost 146 field, and load to purchase 147 field associated with that particular ASP, Generated in the affinity data block. For various reasons for targeting messages to a specific customer group, there are more than one version of the ASP for a particular product, so a data field indicating which ASP has been downloaded, ASP Version 151 is provided. In addition, the chip card affinity record is uploaded to the POS terminal 116 and compared to the item currently being purchased. If the product ID 144 matches one of the UPCs of the purchased product, the following algorithm is executed.
[0105]

[0106]
The data value, LOADS_UNTIL_FIRST_PURCHASE, is the number of downloads of that particular ASP that were required before the cardholder first made a purchase. Along with the credit card number, an affinity record for a particular ASP loaded on the card is stored in the point-of-sale management system memory for uploading to the affinity operator 101 or acquirer 111 during subsequent electronic data capture. Saved.
[0107]
The POS terminal 116 reads all ASP affinity store promotion records 163 stored on the chip card 114 to determine who receives the discount associated with the product currently being purchased. There is also a list of pointers in the affinity data block 164 for all ASPs with discounts to speed up processing by the POS terminal 116.
[0108]
A discount amount is determined for all ASPs having a discount. Preferably, the discount amount is determined by the POS terminal 116, but the determination can also be made in the chip card or on the remote Internet. Preferably, the determination is made by the following method. 1) by reading the discount available field 159 of the promotion record 163 and determining if there is a discount available; (2) if there is still a discount available, the promotion record 163 Determine the amount of discount by reading the base discount field 158; (3) determine whether the regular customer discount flag 160 is set; (4) the regular customer discount flag 160 is set If so, it is preferable to determine the amount of discount for regular customers by reading the discount sales promotion (LRI) 160 for regular customers and the number 162 of purchased items. The discount is calculated by the following formula.
[0109]

[0110]
In the above formula, when the required maximum discount amount is reached, the larger of the two values of the maximum discount and the number of purchases is selected for calculation in order to provide a means for saturating the function. . In the case of regular customer discounts, the more the customer buys a particular choice, the higher the discount. Regular customer discounts can be optimized to improve different parameters of customer around. For example, when the date of purchase is stored together with the number 162 of purchased items, the frequency of purchase (number of purchases during a certain period), the length of time the product was purchased (regularity), or A reward is given for whether the customer made regular purchases (regularity). Regular customer discounts can also use non-linear functions to determine the discount amount. For example, a customer may be required to purchase more than one item before receiving a discount. In that case, a flag indicating purchase without discount is used to perform the function. Non-linear functions can also take the form of polynomials, logarithms, or other mathematical or logical expressions.
[0111]
Alternatively, discount information may be stored at the point-of-sale information management system or on a communications and processing network without being stored on the chip card. At the time of purchase, the ASP stored on the chip card is compared with the discount information available at the point-of-sale information management system or on the communication and processing network to determine the appropriate discount amount, It is loaded onto the electronic parse of the chip card.
[0112]
Other embodiments maintain the base portion 158 field of the sales incentive record 163 stored at the POS terminal 116 or on the communications and processing network while maintaining other portions of the sales incentive record 163 on the chip card. Can have. In this way, the merchant or other party can use the remaining data available in the ASP Sales Encouragement Record 163 to dynamically adjust the promotional program while providing discounts for regular customers. And can be controlled.
[0113]
  When the actual discount amount is determined, the discount is added to the numerical value already stored in the chip card memory. Preferably, the discount is added to the memory location of the chip card which provides a function called electronic parsing function. By providing a discount / field to each ASP and actually processing the ASP as a distributed electronic parse, the discount amount can also be made independent of the electronic parse function of the chip card. Preferably, the discount amount storage scheme used is VISA.(Registered trademark)VCEPS standards and Mondex(Registered trademark)It is preferred to conform to industry standards such as CEPS and EMV standards, as well as Perth Scheme Administrator standards such as standards. Alternatively, the customer 105 can place the chip card on a personal computer, a chip card reader connected to a mobile phone, or a portable chip card reader that can be placed elsewhere such as at home. You can leave the discount in the chip card's memory until you connect to a secondary device. At this point, the chip card is inserted into, for example, a chip card reader connected to a personal computer, and electronic money is loaded onto the chip card at this point. Use one or more other flags to indicate whether a discount or discounts are to be paid to the customer in the sales incentive record 163 and then let the secondary device determine the status of this flag This alternative scheme can be implemented.
[0114]
  The specific execution of discount amount storage depends on the type of electronic parse scheme used by the parse provider. From issuers typified by credit and debit card transactionsApprovalIn transactions that provide credit, preferably electronic money is used for card usage for purchases.ApprovalAt this point, it is preferable to download to the chip card. This is preferably a stored value load transaction where the funding bank is at the same time an affinity network operator. This type of system can be used when the used chip card has a credit card function and an electronic parsing function. For credit / debit type transactions, the stored discount amount is creditApprovalIs not sent to the chip card 114 until the process is completed.
[0115]
  If the chip card has only an electronic parsing function, there are two different types of parsing schemes. Mondex(Registered trademark)In the case of an unlinked parse scheme typified by electronic parse, the amount stored is linked to which funding account.KusaI can't. That is, there is not necessarily a cardholder associated with the money. The amount stored in an unlinked perspective is very similar to a banknote that cannot easily track the past of the transaction. VISACASHLinked electronic parse systems typified by (registered trademark) are referenced by funding accounts or account holders and can therefore be easily tracked. For both linked and unlinked parse systems, online to conduct transactionsApprovalIs not necessary. The POS terminal 116 and chip card 114 can be used for mutual authentication, encryption and encryption, if necessary, without the help of any central financial institution.ApprovalI do. In the case of a linked parse system, a discount is made when the stored amount is sent from the point-of-sale information management system 116 to the electronic parse on the chip card 114. The record transfer of the discounted stored amount is usually recorded until the retail store is closed until a certain amount of time has elapsed, and all stored amount transactions are processed in batches.AlreadyTherefore, it is stored at the shop owner 113 until it is returned to the acquirer 111. One data item in the record indicating the discount stored amount transfer is the identifier of the funding bank. That is, the financial institution that pays the discount. This discount stored amount is not actually the stored amount “cash” but an electronic means of credit. This is because it represents a “loan” of the stored amount from the perspective operator to the discount funding bank.
[0116]
In the case of an unlinked parse system, the stored value transactions are not associated with any account information, and individual transactions are accumulated and in the form of a set of total amounts in a process called aggregation. Sent. In this case, discount built-in amount transactions are counted separately from purchase amount built-in amount transactions, and are settled correctly by participating financial institutions.
[0117]
Since the amount stored in the chip card is accepted as cash by the merchant 113, the consumer can actually ask for reimbursement of the stored amount while staying at the POS terminal 116.
[0118]
  Furthermore, even if you do not purchase the product related to the ASP at that time, by loading the ASP on the chip card, the stored amount can be stored in the electronic parse.Additioncan do. The system can be configured so that the discount amount for each new ASP is a function of the amount of information that consumers are willing to share in order to better narrow down the supplied ASPs. The more information the consumer provides to narrow down the goal, the more discounts will be received for one downloaded ASP.
[0119]
  The POS terminal 116 or the cash register 148Sales slipOrreceiptTo print. The merchant wants the consumer 105Sales slipThe issuer 103 must redeem the sales amount. Later, perhaps on the night when the shopkeeper 113 is closed, the shopkeeperApprovalAnd there is a signSales slipAnd match. All credit cardsApprovalBut the actualSales slipConfirms that the merchant performs the settlement and clearing process, during which the merchantApprovalTo “capture” data about successful credit card transactionsDepositSend to acquirer 111 for credit. This is done instead of depositing a paper bill with an actual signature for the acquirer 111. The acquirer 111 has the correct issuer 103 and eachSales slipDo so-called exchanges. Issuer 103Sales slipThe amount obtained by subtracting the transaction fee and the payment fee 110 from the above amount is transferred to the acquirer 111. Next, the acquirer 111 deducts a discount fee (e.g., proportional to the amount of advertising information the merchant has downloaded onto the chip card).Sales slipDeposit the amount of money into the merchant's bank account.
[0120]
Stored amount settlement works a little differently from lender / debit settlement. Acquirer 111 notifies the parse provider of all stored value transactions through that particular parse system. The electronic amount is transferred from the acquirer 111 to the parse provider, which in turn reimburses the acquirer with any exchange or loads a fee. Payment can be made by financial electronic data exchange (EDI), by remittance by an automatic bill exchange association or by conventional paper check. The acquirer 111 enters the purchase transaction and the discounted amount into the lending method to the store owner.
[0121]
  In the usual manner, preferably at the time of electronic data capture (settlement and clearing), merchant 113 preferably stores all affinity records and associated card numbers stored in POS terminal 116 in the retail store. It is preferable to transmit to the acquirer 111. Prior to sending data to the affinity operator 101, the acquirer 111 preferably acquires the database server of the acquirer to keep the cardholder ID and account information secret from the affinity operator 101. Preferably, the credit card number is encrypted by application software 119 resident on 121. For example, a symmetric key algorithm such as IDEA (International Data Encryption Algorithm) or a suitable encryption algorithm such as Triple DES (Data Encryption Standard) where only the acquirer 111 and the issuer 103 know the key. Can be used to conceal the cardholder information from the affinity operator 101. In the preferred embodiment, the acquirer determines the card type (eg, VISA).(Registered trademark),Master-card(Registered trademark),AMERICA EXPRESS (registered trademark)) And the first digit of the issuer ID number is removed and the remaining number is encrypted using an appropriate encryption algorithm. The acquirer then adds the card type and issuer ID number back to the ciphertext and sends it to the affinity operator 101 along with the affinity record. The acquirer 111 repeats this process for all affinity record / card number pairs.
[0122]
As part of the data transfer protocol between acquirer 111 and affinity operator 101, the acquirer identifies himself by its assigned ID number before transferring data to the affinity operator. The affinity operator 101 uses this ID along with the affinity record / card number pair to create a record in its affinity database 155. Affinity database records include at least the following information: date of ASP download; card type; issuer ID; acquirer ID; encrypted cardholder ID (a form of unit identification information); Includes fields for merchant ID; product type; product cost; load to first purchase; ASP version; and user profile. The data transfer protocol also includes receipt receipt notification from the affinity operator 101 to the acquirer 111 indicating the number of records received. Based on the number of received notifications of the received records, the affinity operator 101 preferably pays the acquirer 111 for each record of the amount that both parties have agreed to. Payment can be made at the time of data transfer through financial electronic data exchange (EDI), through remittances by the National Automatic Bill Exchange Association, or later by conventional paper checks. In some cases, multiple acquirers may participate in downloading ASPs onto the chip card 123: the total number of downloads for each ASP for all acquirers is verified and the affinity operator 101 may Charge the advertiser 100.
[0123]
  The application software resides on the issuer's network, which converts the cardholder data residing on the network into the 128-bit user profile 142 data described above. . In a normal manner, issuer 103 sends all user profile 142 updates to affinity operator 101. Prior to sending data to the affinity operator 101, the issuer 103 preferably continues with the cardholder ID and account to the affinity operator 101.informationIt is preferable to encrypt the credit card number to keep it secret. For example, a symmetric key algorithm such as IDEA (International Data Encryption Algorithm) or a suitable encryption algorithm such as Triple DES (Data Encryption Standard) where only the acquirer 111 and the issuer 103 know the key. Can be used to keep the cardholder information secret from the affinity operator 101. In the preferred embodiment, the issuer specifies the card type (eg, VISA).(Registered trademark),Master-card(Registered trademark),AMERICA EXPRESS (registered trademark)) And the first digit of the issuer ID number is removed and the remaining number is encrypted using an appropriate encryption algorithm. The issuer then adds the card type and issuer ID number back to the cipher text and sends it to the affinity operator 101 along with the user profile 142. The issuer 103 repeats this process for all user profile / card number pairs. Based on the number of received notifications of the received records, the affinity operator 101 preferably pays the issuer 103 for each record of the amount that both parties have agreed to. Payment can be made at the time of data transfer through financial electronic data exchange (EDI), through remittances by the National Automatic Bill Exchange Association, or later by conventional paper checks.
[0124]
As part of the data transfer protocol between issuer 103 and affinity operator 101, the issuer identifies itself by its assigned ID number before transferring data to the affinity operator. The affinity operator 101 uses this ID along with the user profile / card number pair to update the record in its affinity database 155.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a flowchart of a process for storing advertising information (ASP) on a chip and distributing revenue to various parties associated with the transaction.
FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating use in a normal retail store, including a point-of-sale information management (POS) terminal.
FIG. 3 illustrates normal online use, including a personal computer and a chip card reader.
FIG. 4 shows a chip card with a display device showing both types of advertising information, ie advertisements and promotions.
FIG. 5 illustrates a chip card architecture and electrical interface.
FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining an advertisement affinity data structure stored on a chip card.
7 is a diagram for explaining individual advertisement data structures constituting the affinity data block of FIG. 6;
FIG. 8 is a diagram for explaining data that is a part of the sales promotion record shown in FIG. 7;

Claims (29)

A method for providing advertising information and discounts associated with the advertising information using a chip card with a built-in memory,
If the user communication terminal device capable with the chip card is detected based on the communication with the chip card for using the chip card, the terminal device is downloaded through data communication with the advertisement information on said chip card Steps,
Storing the advertising information in a memory contained in the chip card, the advertising information including information identifying one or more products to which a discount is associated;
When the terminal device detects that the chip card has been used to purchase a product during a purchase transaction, the terminal device determines whether a discount is associated with the product to be purchased. Steps,
When a discount is associated with the product to be purchased, the terminal device adds the discount amount in the form of electronic money in the memory of the chip card in order to apply the discount to the next purchase transaction. Comprising the steps of: The method of claim 1, wherein, when that download the advertisement information detected the terminal device, the terminal device, as a reward for the user, the amount of the discount in the memory of the chip card of electronic money The method further comprising the step of adding in form. In claim 2 Symbol placement methods, wherein the said memory of the chip card, which is stored target preference level that specifies the amount of information characterizing the user provided by the user, the terminal device, the with from the memory of the chip card reading the target preference level, said based on the target preference level, how to change the amount of the discount that will be added as a reward for the download of the advertising information. The method according to claim 1, wherein the terminal device stores a purchase record of a product purchased by a user in the memory of the chip card, and the terminal device converts a purchase record made by the user into a certain product. The method further comprising the step of changing the amount of the associated discount. The method of claim 4, wherein the terminal apparatus, a method to change the amount of the discount, the number of purchases made by the user. 6. The method according to claim 5, wherein the terminal device increases the amount of the discount as the number of purchases of the product related to the discount increases. The method of claim 4, wherein the terminal device, the amount of the discount, a method for a user to change the length of the period that was purchased. The method of claim 7, wherein the terminal device, a method of increasing the amount of the discount, as between purchasing life of the product that the user associated with the discount becomes longer.   2. The method of claim 1, wherein the chip card comprises a flexible electronic display device for displaying the advertising information. 10. The method of claim 9 , wherein the display device is capable of displaying more than one list to display products organized based on product type, manufacturer or merchant. The method of claim 1, wherein the advertising information is downloaded using a personal computer from a site on a network including the Internet. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of adding the amount of pre-Symbol discount, comprising the step of adding the amount of money of electronic money of the discount to the electronic purse of the chip card. The method of claim 1, wherein the terminal device, point of sale terminals, personal computers, and any one to become the method of the connected mobile phone chip card reader. The method of claim 1, wherein
(1) Family code related to the advertisement information when the number system code of the UPC-A standard is 5 .
The method further comprising the step of preventing download of advertising information to the chip card based on one or more of (2) information identifying the manufacturer of the product, and (3) a discount amount. 2. The method of claim 1, further comprising allowing a refund of the product to be processed by the same chip card and subtracting a discount in the form of electronic money from the electronic money stored on the chip card. Thereby preventing a product return or refund from being fraudulently held to hold discounts already stored on the chip card. The method of claim 1, further, by deleting the old ad information related discounts not paid from the memory of the chip card, a method of memory space for storing the new advertisement information is increased.   2. The method of claim 1, wherein the advertising information and discounts are part of a retail store private loyalty program. 2. The method of claim 1, further comprising: downloading a thumbnail of the advertisement information so that a user can view the advertisement information on a personal computer or other display device or on the chip card display device. Including methods.   The method of claim 1, wherein a user can insert the chip card into a computer or other internet-enabled device and redeem the discount or have already redeemed the discount. A method further comprising storing a hyperlink or other internet link as part of the advertising information so that money can be linked to a website that can be used online. The method of claim 1 wherein, the method further comprising at least payment of the discount one to basis is performed purchase or visit timing and frequency of the chip card holder according to a particular retail store.   The method of claim 1, further comprising paying the discount at a plurality of intervals. The method according to claim 1, wherein the advertisement information loaded on the chip card includes an expiration date or a validity period of the discount together with the advertisement information. 4. The method of claim 3 , further comprising storing a user's target preference level on the chip card to enhance privacy protection. 24. The method of claim 23 , further comprising the step of browsing the target preference level stored on the chip card using a personal computer or other display device.   2. The method of claim 1, wherein the discount amount for frequent customers who purchase frequently is greater than the discount amount for customers who purchase only once in a short period of time.   The method of claim 1, further comprising paying the user both a manufacturer discount and a retail store discount for the same purchase. The method of claim 1, wherein, affinity operator (Affinity Operator) is the operator of the electronic purse method. The method of claim 1, wherein the other party to pay manufacturer or the discount of the product, so that it can audit the payment data, for a period of time, the payment record discount in the form of electronic money to the user How to keep in the database. The method of claim 1 wherein, the issuer of the manufacturer or the discount of the product, based on the estimated amount of discounts parties is expecting redemption, at the start of the discount program, affinity to advance fee payment to the operator, by the later row Ukoto the settlement, the affinity operator, the issuer of the discount, based on the actual number of discount of payments made, additional amount of money or the issue with respect to the affinity operator A method of providing reconciliation indicating an optional refund to a person.

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