MX2014005303A

MX2014005303A - Methods and systems for communicating information from a smart point-of-sale terminal.

Info

Publication number: MX2014005303A
Application number: MX2014005303A
Authority: MX
Inventors: Eran Hollander; Andrew John Kese; Carrie Jubinski; Nicole Carroll; Allison Lindemann
Original assignee: Citibank Na
Priority date: 2011-10-31
Filing date: 2012-10-31
Publication date: 2014-10-24
Also published as: JP2014532936A; WO2013066982A1; SG11201401728YA; EP2774096A1; IL232241A0; CN103959311A; BR112014010410A2; EP2774096A4; AU2012332608A1

Abstract

Methods and systems for communicating information from a specially programmed smart point-of-sale terminal involve receiving transaction information at the terminal, recognizing that the transaction relates to a redemption function, adjusting the transaction amount accordingly, and routing an approval request for the adjusted amount to a card issuer processor via a card association transaction processing network. In another aspect, information is received at the terminal which recognizes that the information relates to a third party function and routes a message to the third party processor via a merchant acquirer processor while bypassing the card association transaction processing network. Thereafter, the third party processor performs the third party function and returns a message related at least in part to the performance of the third party function to the smart point-of-sale terminal processor via the merchant acquirer processor.

Description

METHODS AND SYSTEMS FOR THE COMMUNICATION OF INFORMATION OF AN INTELLIGENT TERMINAL OF POINT OF SALE PRIORITY APPLICATION The present invention is a continuation in part of the patent application of E.U.A. co-pending Series No. 13 / 206,598 filed on August 10, 2011, entitled "Electronic Messaging Methods and Systems", which is incorporated herein by reference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates in general to the field for electronically processing operation information, and more particularly to methods and systems for communication and processing of operating information from a specially programmed smart point of sale terminal.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Companies offering "daily deals", such as GROUPON, have coupons for discounts that can be used at local or national stores. However, the companies offering daily deals in the Currently they have no way of knowing what really happens after the coupons are sold. They have no way of communicating with the merchants regarding, for example, if it was worthwhile, while for a merchant to sign with a particular daily deals company and / or if the merchant must consider another program with the same Daily deals company.

In addition, there is considerable additional information, for example, about loyalty discounts, which is not currently known when a consumer passes his loyalty card at a merchant's point of sale terminal. Assume, for example, that a consumer acquires and uses a loyalty card to one or more merchants. Generally, at some point, the consumer may end up being proposed for a reward, such as a discount on the purchase price of a product or a free product. Currently, the only way for the consumer to reimburse many of these rewards may be to provide the consumer with a paper or electronic voucher to present to a merchant. To address these and other deficiencies of the prior art, there is a current need for a capability for communication and processing of many different types of information using a specially programmed smart point of sale terminal.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The embodiments of the invention employ hardware and software, including, without limitation, one or more processors coupled to the memory and non-transient computer readable storage medium with one or more executable programs stored therein that instruct the processors to perform the methods and systems for processing and communicating information using a specially programmed smart point of sale terminal described herein. It is to be understood that the term "processor", as used herein, either alone or in combination, refers to a computer processor.

In one aspect, the embodiments of the invention propose methods and systems for communicating information from a specially programmed smart point-of-sale terminal which may involve, for example, using a smart point-of-sale terminal processor to receive operating information. which consists at least in part of an amount of the transaction and for the recognition that the operation information also consists at least in part of the information related to a refund function. Using the smart POS terminal processor, the reimbursement function can be performed to produce an adjusted transaction amount. A message consisting at least in part of a request for Approval for the adjusted transaction amount may be sent to a processor of a card issuer through a card association operation processing network. The homologation request is routed to the issuing processor of the card through a processor of a commercial acquirer and the card association operation processing network. Such an aspect can also imply, for example, the receipt of an approval message for the transaction amount adjusted by the smart point-of-sale processor of the card issuing processor through the card association processing operation network and the processor merchant acquirer.

In another aspect, the embodiments of the invention propose methods and systems for communicating information of a specially programmed smart point-of-sale terminal that may involve, for example, the reception of information by the smart terminal point-of-sale processor and the recognition that the information refers, at least in part, to a third-party function that is not a function of the card association operation processing network. A third party function may include, without limitation, any action or purpose, at least in part, in relation to the information received. As an example, the third party function can be as simple as storing the information. As another example, the third-party function may involve changing a price amount of the transaction included in the information received. As another example, the third party function may involve the reimbursement of a coupon or discount identified in the information received. The intelligent point-of-sale terminal processor can thereafter route a message consisting of at least part of the information related to the third-party function in a third-party processor by diverting the operation processing network from the third party. association of the card. Thereafter, the third-party processor may perform the third-party function to which the information relates and return a message related, at least in part, to the performance of the third-party function in the intelligent terminal processor. sale.

In this regard, the information received in the smart point of sale terminal may include, for example, operating information that consists, at least in part, of a transaction price amount, but may consist entirely of information that does not. be the amount of the transaction price. The operation information may be related, at least in part, to the third party function other than the network association processing operation network function. In addition, the operation information received in the smart point of sale terminal may consist at least in part of the information of the payment device, such as an account number that identifies an association of the card and the issuer of the payment. card. The account number may consist, at least in part, of a bank identification number that identifies the issuer of the card. On the other hand, the information of the payment device may comprise in whole or in part other information that is not an account number. In addition, the information received in the smart point of sale terminal may comprise operating information that consists at least in part of the information of the payment instrument in the total or partial payment of the price of the ación. In addition, the information received in the intelligent terminal sales may include operating information that is in any other type of information related to the total or partial payment of the price of the operation. The information received in the terminal may consist at least in part of the discount coupon information in the total or partial payment of the transaction price. Therefore, the information received in the intelligent point of sale terminal may comprise any type of information related at least in part, for example, to the third party function.

In this regard, recognizing that the information refers at least in part to a third-party function may involve, for example, the recognition of the information of the payment device that the operation information refers at least in part to the function except The association of function network cards for operation processing. In addition, the recognition of the information of the payment device that the operation information at least in part refers to the function except the card association operation processing network function may involve, for example, the recognition of the payment device information that the operation information refers to at least in part from a refund transaction. The message consisting of at least part of the information related to the third party function can be routed to the third party processor through a merchant acquiring processor. In addition, the performance of the third party function may involve, for example, interrogating the operation information to determine whether or not an action request in the operation information is suitable for approval and / or the calculation of an amount. of transaction discounted by the amount of the transaction price for a discount amount to produce a discounted transaction amount.

According to this aspect, returning the message related, at least in part, to the performance of the third party function may involve, for example, returning the message which may consist at least in part of the amount of discount transaction to the processor from the smart point of sale terminal through a merchant acquiring processor. The fact of returning the message may involve routing a message consisting of at least part of an approval request for the discounted transaction amount to a processor issuing the card by the merchant acquiring processor through the network of card association operation processing. In addition, routing the message to the card issuing processor may, for example, return a message approving the discounted transaction amount to the acquisition processor by the card issuing processor through the operation processing network of the card issuer. association of the card. In addition, returning the message approving the discounted transaction amount to the procurement processor may involve, for example, sending the message that the discounted transaction amount is approved to the point-of-sale intelligent terminal processor by the merchant acquiring processor. .

These and other aspects of the invention will be set forth in part in the description that follows, and in part will become more apparent to those skilled in the art from examination of the following or may be learned from the practice of the invention. It is intended that all aspects are to be included within this description, will be within the scope of the present invention, and should be protected by the accompanying claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Figure 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of an overview of the key components and the flow of information between the key components for embodiments of the invention; Figure 2 is a flow diagram illustrating an example of the adjustment process, adaptation, or otherwise deal with operation information using the smart point of sale terminal for embodiments of the invention; Figure 3 is a diagram of schematic use cases illustrating an example of the process of processing an operation of type "other" using the intelligent point of sale terminal for the embodiments of the invention; Figure 4 is a flow diagram illustrating an example of the process of performing a function in an alternative destination processor using the intelligent point of sale terminal for embodiments of the invention; Y Figure 5 is a schematic use case diagram illustrating an example of the process of processing a refund-type transaction using the intelligent point-of-sale terminal for embodiments of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION Reference will now be made in detail to embodiments of the invention, one or more examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. Each example is provided by way of explanation of the invention, not as a limitation of the invention. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made in the present invention without departing from the scope or object of the invention. By example, the features illustrated or described as part of one embodiment may be used in another embodiment to produce an additional embodiment. Therefore, it is intended that the present invention cover such modifications and variations that come within the scope of the invention.

The aspects of embodiments of the invention propose, for example, an intelligent point-of-sale terminal deployed, for example, in the premises of a merchant. The intelligent terminal may be provided with a capability to communicate information entered in the terminal to a processor in an alternative destination, either in parallel or before or after the communication of regular information of point of sale operation, for example, through of the association card operation processing streams, as one of the card association operations processing networks.

Figure 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of an overview of the key components and the flow of information between the key components for embodiments of the invention. Referring to Figure 1, the embodiments of the invention can be used, for example, a smart terminal specially programmed at the point of sale 10 coupled to a merchant acquiring processor 12. The merchant acquiring processor 12 can in turn communicate with a third party processor 14 that may have an associated database 16. The acquisition processor 12 may also communicate with a third party processor. transmitter processor 18 through an operation processing network in the card association 20.

For example, suppose that a consumer passes his loyalty card in the smart point of sale terminal 10 for the embodiments of the invention, and the merchant recognizes that the card is a loyalty card. A standard point-of-sale terminal should simply send a request for approval of the transaction to a processor issuing the card through a merchant processor and one of the card association operation processing networks. However, in order to recognize the loyalty card, the merchant can enter information in the smart terminal 10 related to the point of sale, for example, for the loyalty card. In response to the input of said information, the smart terminal 10 can derive the regular card association operation processing flow 20 completely and communicate the information to the third party processor 14 at the alternative destination.

The intelligent terminal 10 for the embodiments of the invention can operate in cooperation, for example, with any of the merchants, the merchant acquiring processor 12, the association operation processing network of the card 20, the card issuing processor 18 , and the alternative destination processor 14. When the information entered in the smart point of sale terminal 10 is received by one or more of said entities, a decision can be made and / or some type of action it can be taken in said entity, and the information can be returned to the intelligent terminal 10. The intelligent terminal 10 for the embodiments of the invention can, in turn, take some action based on the information that is returned.

Figure 2 is a flow diagram illustrating an example of the process of adjusting a transaction amount using the intelligent point of sale terminal for embodiments of the invention. Referring to Figure 2, in S1, the operation information consisting of at least part of a transaction amount can be received in the intelligent point of sale terminal processor 10. In S2, the intelligent point terminal processor 10 can interrogate the operation information and recognizes that the operation information also consists at least in part of the information related to a refund function. In S3, the smart point of sale terminal processor 10 can perform the reimbursement function to produce a set transaction amount. Thereafter, at S4, the smart POS terminal processor 10 can route a message consisting of at least part of an approval request for the transaction amount set to the card issuing processor 18 through the merchant acquirer processor 12 and the operation network in card association operation 20.

For example, suppose that the consumer wants to buy an item in the merchant that has a purchase price of $ 50.

Assume also that the consumer has accumulated loyalty rewards that entitle the consumer to a 50% reduction in the purchase price. When the information has been entered into the intelligent point of sale terminal for the embodiments of the invention, a processor 10 of the intelligent terminal can be programmed to change the amount of the operation approval request from $ 50 to $ 25. Then, the processor of the smart terminal 10 can send a request for the approval of the operation amount of $ 25 to the processor issuer of the card 18 by means of a merchant acquiring processor 12 and one of the association operations processing networks of cards 20. In this way, the consumer can redeem their reward loyalty by receiving their price reduction of $ 25 on the spot without, for example, presenting a voucher to the merchant or even requesting reimbursement.

In the previous example, the processor 10 of the intelligent point of sale terminal for embodiments of the invention can be programmed to perform the functions described in the example automatically without manual intervention. In addition, the processor 10 of the intelligent terminal can be programmed to communicate any other type of information to any desired destination. Assume, for example, a loyalty program that offers a consumer a loyalty reward such as a discount or a free item for every ten uses of the loyalty card. The fact of tracking the number of uses, for example, having Perforated merchant cards carried by the consumer can be problematic for obvious reasons as the consumer may simply forget to bring the punched cards.

In the above example, the processor 10 of the intelligent terminal for the embodiments of the invention can be programmed to recognize the consumer loyalty card each time the card is passed in the intelligent terminal. The intelligent terminal processor 10 can be further programmed to store or transmit information to a particular destination processor, such as the third-party processor 14 through the merchant acquiring processor 12, which consumer loyalty card was used in the smart terminal. When the card is passed for the eleventh time in the smart terminal, the consumer can be automatically granted the discount or can receive the item for free and without having to present a punched card or similar record of their previous purchases.

In an operation using the intelligent point of sale terminal for embodiments of the invention, the payment device may be, for example, a physical or virtual payment device. The physical payment device can be a paper card or a plastic card, such as a magnetic stripe card or a smart card. The payment device in the same way can be, for example, a contact device or a non-contact proximity device, such as a mobile device with near field communication (NFC) capability. In said In this case, the merchant can, for example, slide the magnetic stripe card of the consumers in the smart terminal or key in a consumer identifier and enter the operation information, including the amount of the operation, into an input device of the consumer. the smart terminal, such as a numeric keypad or a physical or virtual keyboard. On the other hand, the consumer or the merchant can use the NFC mobile device with the consumer's ability to enter information in the smart terminal.

The processor 10 of the intelligent terminal can be programmed, for example, the recognition of a particular bank identification number (BIN), for its acronym in English) in the operation information entered in the terminal as an indicator of a type of operation that requires the communication of the operation information to a destination other than the issuer of the card 18 by means of one of card association operations processing networks 20. The BIN may be the first four to six digits of a credit card number that identify the institution that issued the card. The BIN integrated in the credit card number is enough information to determine, among other things, the cardholder, where the association of network cards associates the number and identity of the issuer of the card, which allows merchants process payments through a card association operation processing network.

The processor 10 of the intelligent terminal for modes of The invention can be programmed to interrogate the operation information and determine if the operation is a "regular payment" type operation or an "other" type operation. For example, when the information is not entered into the intelligent terminal that is recognized by the processor of the intelligent terminal 10 as indicative of an operation of type "other" or, for example, when the BIN entered the intelligent terminal is not recognized by the intelligent terminal processor 10 as indicative of an operation of type "other", the operation can be treated by the processor of the intelligent terminal 10 as a "regular payment" type operation.

The operation information that is processed by the intelligent terminal processor 10 as a "regular payment" type operation may be communicated together with a request for approval of the operation by the Intelligent Terminal processor 10, for example, through the merchant acquiring processor 12 and one of the card association operations processing networks 20 in the processor issuing the card 18 for the approval of the operation. A message approving or rejecting the operation can be returned by the card issuing processor 18 through the same process flow for the smart terminal 10 and displayed on a display screen.

On the other hand, when the BIN registered in the intelligent terminal 10 for the embodiments of the invention is recognized by the processor of the intelligent terminal 10 as indicative of a operation of type "other", or when the merchant introduces the information in the intelligent terminal that is recognized by the processor of the intelligent terminal 10 as operation indicative of type "other", the operation can be processed by the processor of the terminal smart 10 as a "other" type operations. When entering information indicative of an operation of type "other" by the merchant in the intelligent terminal can understand, for example, the selection of a physical button or the key in the smart terminal or the selection of an icon that appears in a display screen in the smart terminal.

Figure 3 is a diagram of schematic use cases illustrating an example of the process of processing an operation of type "other" using the intelligent point of sale terminal for the embodiments of the invention. In embodiments of the invention, an operation of the "other" type may, for example, comprise an operation in which the consumer may present a payment instrument, such as a discount coupon or vouchers, in full or in part payment of the price of the product. purchase for the merchant. In other embodiments, an "other" type operation may comprise, for example, a loyalty program operation, which offers the consumer a loyalty reward for the use of a particular payment card of a predetermined number of successive times.

In any case, referring to Figure 3, when the intelligent terminal processor 10 for the embodiments of the invention recognizes the operation as an "other" type operation. at 30, as shown in Figure 3, the processor of the smart terminal 10 can communicate the operation information at 32 to the processor 12 of the acquirer who owns the smart point-of-sale terminal. The merchant acquiring processor 12 can, in turn, route the operation information at 34 to the third party processor 18 instead of one of the card association operation processing networks. The third-party processor 14 may interrogate the operation information n 36 to determine whether or not a request for an action that is included or implicit in the operation information is suitable for approval.

With additional reference to Figure 3, when the third-party processor 1 4 determines that the request is admissible, the action may be taken at 38 by the third-party processor 14. For example, when the operation of type "other" comprises an operation loyalty program that offers the consumer a loyalty reward for the use of a particular payment card, the action may include, for example, determining the location of the point of sale. The third-party processor 14 can determine the location of the point of sale, for example, from a merchant identifier included in the operation information. Alternatively, and the third party processor 14 can determine the location of the point of sale, for example, from the geographical position information associated with a mobile device used by the consumer to carry out the operation included in the operation information.

When the operation is recognized, for example, as a loyalty program operation that offers the consumer a reward of loyalty for the use of a payment card a predetermined number of successive times, the action may simply be to increase a number registration. of the uses of the payment card. On the other hand, the action at 38 may involve a calculation. For example, in an operation involving the reimbursement of a coupon or a discount coupon, the action at 38 may include storing a record of the discount voucher or discount coupon in the database 16 and calculating a corresponding amount to be accredited for the consumer in the operation. Other actions may include, for example, switching an on or off device or sending a communication to a mobile device.

Referring again to Figure 3, after the action performed at 38, the third-party processor 14 may return the operation information at 40 to the merchant-acquire processor 12. When the action at 38 involves, for example, simply increasing a record of the number of uses of the payment card in a loyalty program, the merchant acquiring processor 12 can, if there is a remaining charge, remit the operation information in 42, including a request for the approval of the amount of the operation, with the processor issuer of the card 18 through one of the card association network processing operations 20. In such a case, it is not necessary for a change to be made in the amount of the transaction by the merchant acquiring processor 12 before forwarding the operation information.

However, when the operation involves, for example, the reimbursement of a voucher or a discount voucher in which the action at 38 includes calculating an amount that will be paid to the consumer in the transaction, the commercial acquirer processor 12 can change the operation it equals 44. Thus, the purchaser 12 can reduce the amount of the operation by an amount equal to the amount calculated by the third-party processor 14 that will be paid to the consumers in the operation.

Figure 4 is a flow chart illustrating an example of the process of performing a function on an alternative target processor using the intelligent point of sale terminal for modalities of the invention. Referring to Figure 4, in S 11, the information that is received in the intelligent terminal of point of sale, and in S12, the intelligent processor of 10 terminals of point of sale interrogates the information and recognizes that the information refers, at least in part, to a third-party function that is not a card-association operation processing network function. In S13, the intelligent point of sale terminal processor 10 routes a message consisting of at least part of the information related to the third party function in the third party processor through the merchant acquiring processor 12, bypassing the network of processing of card association operation 20. E n S14, and I third party processor 14 performs the third party function to which the information relates, and subsequently, at S15, the third party processor 14 returns a related message, at least in part, to the modality of the third party function in the processor of the intelligent point of sale terminal 10 through the merchant acquiring processor 12.

For example, referring to Figure 3, when the function performed by the third-party processor 14 consists in calculating a 50% discount on the purchase price of $ 50, as an action in 38, the amount calculated to be credited for the consumer it can be $ 25. The merchant acquiring processor 12 may, therefore, change the operation amount to 44 from $ 50 to $ 25 before forwarding the operation information on the 42 to the issuer processor of the card 18 through the association operation processing network of the card 20. Thereafter, a message to approve or reject the operation at 46 can be returned by the processor issuing the card 18 through the same process flow 20 to the smart terminal 10 and displayed on a screen of display in 48.

Figure 5 is a schematic use case diagram illustrating an example of the process of processing a refund type operation using the intelligent point of sale terminal for the embodiments of the invention. A refund operation for the embodiments of the invention, such as coupons of rebate operation discount, may involve the merchant selecting a button or a physical or virtual icon screen on the smart terminal. Referring to Figure 5, the operation information, including a request to redeem a discount coupon, can be sent at 50, together with the processor of the smart point of sale terminal 10 to the merchant acquiring processor 12 and is routed at 52 by the merchant acquiring processor 12 to the third-party processor 14. When the third-party processor 14 determines at 54 that the reimbursement operation request is adequate, the third-party processor 14 can calculate a reimbursement amount in 56 that will be paid to the consumer for the discount.

With further reference to Figure 5, the operation information may be returned at 58 for the acquiring processor 12, which may change the amount of the operation by deduction of the amount credited to the consumer for the discount at 60. If there is a surplus balance of the remaining purchase price, the processor acquiring merchant 12 can therefore send the operation information, with a request for approval of the excess amount in 62, to the processor issuing the card 18 through the processing network of association operation of the card 20. Accordingly, a message approving or rejecting the excess amount can be generated at 64 by the processor issuing the card 18 and returned at 66 from the issuing processor of the card 18 through the same stream of process for the smart terminal processor 10 and that is displayed on a 68 display screen.

As a matter of convenience, the intelligent terminal for embodiments of the invention may be owned by the acquirer or by virtue of an agreement between the acquirer and third parties. In the aspect of coupon reimbursement, the third party may be the reimbursement provider or the loyalty provider, one or both of which may be a financial institution. In other aspects, third parties can be, for example, a government and the action can simply record each operation of a consumer with a particular type of merchant, such as a gun shop.

The intelligent terminal for the embodiments of the invention may include, for example, a card reader through which a regular payment card may be passed and read. However, the embodiments of the invention are not limited to regular payment cards. The card reader of the smart terminal can also read the information, for example, of a card that is not a payment card. For example, a card that is not a payment card, discount voucher storage or voucher information can also be read by the smart terminal card reader. In such a case, the action by the third-party processor 14 may include not only the determination that the refund request is valid and the calculation of an amount attributed to it, but may also include, for example, the determination of that the consumer has registered an account, example, a credit card account for the amounts of excess use in the operations of redemption of charges.

In the aspect of reimbursement, the processor 10 of the intelligent terminal point of sale for embodiments of the invention can be programmed to cause the merchant acquiring processor 12 to present the operation information to the third party processor 14, which can also comprise the base of data 16, as shown in Figure 1, to check whether, for example, the reimbursement of a discount voucher or voucher is relevant, instead of sending the operation data from the smart terminal processor 10 directly through of the card association operation processing network 20.

The processor 10 of the smart card at the point of sale-terminal for the embodiments of the invention can be further programmed to cause the merchant acquiring processor 12, for example, thereafter to reduce the amount of transaction by the amount of the exchange of coupons and to present the surplus balance in the processing flow of regular card association operations 20. Thus, with a single swipe of a card in the smart terminal, the discount coupon or vouchers can be redeemed and any surplus amount charged to an account, such as a consumer's credit card account. If a discount is not relevant, the transaction can only be processed through the association operation processing network of the card 20 like any other operation with a credit card.

More particularly, the processor 10 of the smart point of sale terminal card, which can be used in an existing terminal at the point of sale, can be specially programmed to recognize a bank identification number (BIN) of a bank. as a bank card and routing the operation data that has been entered into the smart terminal with the third-party processor 14, where the third-party processor 14 may be located, and request an eligibility determination or any other action in the processor third 14 particular. Such eligibility determination may include a query, such as "Is there a file in the database of a valid discount coupon that was redeemed at the smart terminal?" For this, the smart terminal can have a button or "Reimbursement" icon that can be selected.

One aspect of embodiments of the invention may involve registering a card in the system, regardless of the identity of the issuer. It is not necessary for a particular financial institution, such as a particular bank to be the issuer. In such an aspect, when the registered card slides in the intelligent terminal for embodiments of the invention, the communication of the intelligent terminal processor 10 can initially bypass the association operation processing network of the card 20. The terminal processor smart 10 can recognize that the card is a registered card and make the operation data are communicated to the third party processor 14 that determine, for example, from the associated database 16 or not, for example, there is a refund involved.

For example, a consumer can go to a discount coupons website and register their card, such as a credit or debit card, and buy a discount coupon. When the consumer goes to a merchant and passes the card in the smart terminal for embodiments of the invention, a button or a "refund" icon can be selected in the smart terminal. If there are several coupon promotions, for example, a button or a "Number Two Refund-Promotion" icon "Number One Refund-Promotion" or can be selected in the smart terminal. The slid card can be recognized by the smart terminal processor 10 because the card has been registered in the system. When the card slides in the smart terminal, the operation information is sent by the processor of the smart terminal 10 to the acquiring processor 12.

When the operation data reaches the merchant acquiring processor 12, the merchant acquiring processor 12 can consult the operation information and determine, for example, that the operation information refers to an operation with a card of the card association. However, the merchant acquiring processor 12 may also determine, for example, that the button or icon on the smart terminal "Number One Redemption-Promotion" has been selected. Therefore, instead of forwarding the operation data directly to the operation processing network of association of the card 20, the business acquirer processor 12 can send the operation information to the third party processor 14 where it can be determined from the database 16 that the operation is a refund of a coupon of the promotion number one. The third-party processor 14 may also determine that there is a valid coupon in the database file 16 for the consumer. If so, and the third party processor 14 can calculate an amount in which the transaction amount should be reduced and return a message with the result to the merchant processor 12. If not, the third party processor 14 can return a message that says "Reject" to the merchant acquiring processor 12.

As noted above, the intelligent terminal for embodiments of the invention can also be used for a surplus in a refund operation. It assumes, for example, that the value of the amount to be reimbursed is $ 25, but that the consumer has a charge of $ 50 and therefore has to pay the excess amount of $ 25. The processor of the smart terminal 10 can read the credit card number of the consumer and send the credit card number, together with other operation information, to the third party processor 14 through the merchant processor 12. The third party processor 14 can verify the database 16 that a valid coupon is in the file for the consumer and send an "Approve" message for the refund to the acquisition processor 12 with a calculation of the Amount to reimburse of $ 25. The merchant processor 12 may receive approval of the $ 25 rebate, but since there is an excess amount of $ 25, the acquiring processor merchant 12 may send a charge request for credit card authorization for the amount exceeding $ 25 through the card association operation processing network 20 to the card issuing processor 18. The card issuing processor 18 may then return an approval of the surcharge amount of $ 25 against the credit card account of the card. consumer.

It is to be understood that the embodiments of the invention can be implemented as processes of a computer program product, each process of which is operable in one or more processors either only in a single physical platform, such as a personal computer, or through a plurality of platforms, such as a system or network, including networks such as the Internet, an intranet, a WAN, a LAN, a cellular network, or any other suitable network. The embodiments of the invention may employ client devices which may each comprise a computer readable medium, including, but not limited to, random access memory (RAM) coupled to a processor. The processor can execute executable program instructions by computer stored in memory. Such processors may include, but are not limited to, a microprocessor, a specific application integrated circuit (ASIC), and or state machines.

Such processors may comprise, or may be in communication with, means, such as computer readable media, which store instructions which, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to perform one or more of the steps described herein. document.

It is also to be understood that such computer-readable media may include, but is not limited to, electronic, optical, magnetic, RFID, or other storage or transmission device capable of providing a processor with computer-readable instructions. Other examples of suitable means include, but are not limited to, CD-ROM, DVD, magnetic disk, memory chip, ROM, RAM, ASIC, a configured processor, optical media, magnetic media, or any other suitable means from the which a processor computer can read the instructions. The embodiments of the invention may employ other forms of such computer readable media to transmit or transport instructions to a computer, including a router, private or public network, or any other device or transmission channel, either wired or wireless. Such instructions may comprise code of any suitable programming language, including, without limitation, C, C ++, C #, Visual Basic, Java, Python, Perl, and JavaScript.

It is further to be understood that the client devices which may be employed by the embodiments of the invention may also comprise a number of external or internal devices, such as a mouse, CD-ROM, DVD, keyboard, screen, or other input or output devices. In general, this type of client devices can be any suitable type of processor-based platform that is connected to a network and that interacts with one or more application programs and can operate in any suitable operating system. The server devices may also be coupled to the network and, similar to client devices, such server devices may comprise a processor coupled to a computer readable medium, such as a random access memory (RAM). Such server devices, which can be a single computer system, can also be implemented as a network of computer processors. Examples of such server devices are servers, central computers, networked computers, a processor-based device, and similar types of systems and devices.

Claims

1. A method for communicating information from an intelligent point-of-sale terminal, comprising: receiving, using a smart point-of-sale terminal processor, operating information that consists at least in part of a transaction amount; recognizing, using the intelligent point-of-sale terminal processor, that the operation information also consists at least in part of the information related to a refund function; realize, using the smart POS terminal processor, the reimbursement function to produce an adjusted transaction amount; Y routing, using the intelligent point-of-sale terminal processor, a message consisting at least in part of an approval request for the transaction amount set to a card-issuing processor through an operation processing network of the association of cards.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the routing the message consisting at least part of the approval request for the card issuing processor further comprises routing the message to the issuing processor of the card through an acquiring processor merchant and card association operation processing network.

3. The method according to claim 1, further comprising receiving an approval message for the transaction amount adjusted by the intelligent point-of-sale terminal processor from the card issuing processor through the operation processing network. of association of the card and the merchant acquiring processor.

4. A method for communicating information from an intelligent point-of-sale terminal, comprising: receive, using a smart point-of-sale terminal processor, the information in the smart point-of-sale terminal; recognizing, using the intelligent point-of-sale terminal processor, that the information refers, at least in part, to a third-party function that is not a function of the card association operation processing network; routing, using the intelligent point-of-sale terminal processor, a message consisting at least in part of the information related to the third-party function for the third-party processor by diverting the association operation processing network from the card; perform, using the third-party processor, the third-party function to which the information refers; Y return, using the third-party processor, a message related, at least in part, to the performance of the third-party function in the smart terminal processor sale.

5. The method according to claim 4, wherein the reception of the information in the smart point of sale terminal further comprises the reception of operation information consisting at least in part of a transaction price amount and being related, at least in part to the third party function that is not the operation network function of association operation of the card.

6. The method according to claim 4, wherein the reception of the information in the intelligent point of sale terminal further comprises the reception of operation information consisting at least in part of the information of the payment device.

7. The method according to claim 6, wherein the reception of the information of the payment device further comprises receiving the information of the payment device comprising at least part of a bank identification number.

8. The method according to claim 4, wherein the reception of the information in the intelligent point of sale terminal further comprises the reception of operation information consisting at least part of the information of the payment instrument in the total payment or partial price of the transaction.

9. The method according to claim 8, wherein the receipt of the information of the payment instrument comprises, in addition, receive information from the payment instrument that consists at least in part of the discount coupon information in the total or partial payment of the transaction price.

10. The method according to claim 6, wherein it is recognized that the information refers, at least in part, to a third party function other than the card association operation processing network function further comprises the recognition of the information of the payment device that the operation information related, at least in part, to the function except the network operation function of association operation of the card.

11. The method according to claim 10, wherein the recognition of the information of the payment device that the operation information refers at least in part to the function except the function of network processing operation of association of the card comprises, in addition, the recognition of the information of the payment device that the operation information refers at least in part to a refund transaction.

12. The method according to claim 4, wherein routing the message consisting at least part of the information related to the third party function further comprises routing the message to the third party processor through a merchant acquiring processor.

13. The method according to claim 4, wherein the execution of the third party function further comprises Interrogating the operation information to determine whether or not an action request in the operation information is suitable for approval.

14. The method according to claim 5, wherein executing the third party function further comprises calculating a discounted transaction amount based on the amount of the transaction price reduced by a discount amount to produce a quantity of transaction with discount.

15. The method according to claim 1, wherein the return of the message related at least in part to the execution of the third party function further comprises returning the message to the processor of the intelligent point of sale terminal through an acquiring processor. trade.

16. The method according to claim 15, wherein the return of the message to the point-of-sale smart terminal processor through the merchant acquire processor further comprises returning the message consisting at least part of a discounted transaction amount to the merchant acquiring processor.

17. The method according to claim 16, wherein the return of the message consists at least in part of the discount transaction amount to the merchant acquiring processor further comprises routing a message consisting at least in part of a request for approval to the transaction amount discounted to a card issuing processor by the Acquirer merchant processor through the card association operation processing network.

18. The method according to claim 17, wherein the routing of the message consisting at least in part of an approval request for the discounted transaction amount for the processor issuing the card also comprises the return of a message that approves the discount transaction amount to the merchant acquiring processor for the processor issuing the card through the card association operation processing network.

19. The method according to claim 18, wherein the return of a message approving the discount transaction amount to the merchant acquiring processor also comprises sending the message that the discounted transaction amount is approved to the smart point processor. of sale by the merchant acquiring processor.

20. A system for communicating information from an intelligent point of sale terminal, comprising: a processor of the smart terminal of the point of sale coupled to the memory and programmed to: receive the information in the smart point-of-sale terminal, recognizing that the information refers, at least in part, to a third party function that is not a card association operation processing network function, and route a message consisting of at least part of the information related to the third party function in the third party processor by diverting the card association operation processing network; Y the third-party processor coupled to the memory and programmed to: perform the third party function to which the information relates, and return a message related, at least in part, to the execution of the third-party processor in the smart terminal point-of-sale processor.