WO2010003094A1 - System and method of providing enhanced transaction data - Google Patents
System and method of providing enhanced transaction data Download PDFInfo
- Publication number
- WO2010003094A1 WO2010003094A1 PCT/US2009/049582 US2009049582W WO2010003094A1 WO 2010003094 A1 WO2010003094 A1 WO 2010003094A1 US 2009049582 W US2009049582 W US 2009049582W WO 2010003094 A1 WO2010003094 A1 WO 2010003094A1
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- WO
- WIPO (PCT)
- Prior art keywords
- data
- enhanced data
- financial
- financial transaction
- computer
- Prior art date
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Classifications
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- G—PHYSICS
- G06—COMPUTING; CALCULATING OR COUNTING
- G06Q—INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY [ICT] SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES; SYSTEMS OR METHODS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
- G06Q40/00—Finance; Insurance; Tax strategies; Processing of corporate or income taxes
- G06Q40/02—Banking, e.g. interest calculation or account maintenance
Definitions
- the present invention relates to data processing systems and more particularly relates to a system and method of making available to employers financial transaction data and related enhanced data associated with financial transactions performed by employees using employer provided financial presentation devices.
- the basic financial transaction data typically includes the date of the transaction, the name of the merchant, the city and state in which the merchant is located, the amount of the transaction, tax and a merchant type or category code.
- the basic financial transaction data conventionally submitted during the authorization process represents only a small subset of the transaction information which they can provide.
- many merchants capture and store line item details of financial transactions including a description of goods and services sold. These line item details beyond what is provided in the basic financial transaction data are referred to as enhanced data.
- enhanced data As an example, consider an employee who is traveling on behalf of an employer and uses an employer-provided card for hotel transactions.
- the employee may purchase a number of goods and services (e.g., food, entertainment, health services) and charge the purchases to the employer-provided card.
- the hotel maintains a record of all the purchases including the amount, a description of the type of goods or services purchased, and the date (and in some instances time) of their purchase.
- the basic financial data transmitted for payment in an authorization process includes a total amount of the goods and services purchased.
- the enhanced data is not submitted in the authorization process. Rather, it is typically supplied separately and at a later time through one or more other channels (e.g., via independent enhanced data providers).
- the present invention provides a system for processing financial transactions performed by an employee using an employer provided financial presentation device.
- the system includes a memory, a processor coupled to the memory, and a processing module executable by the processor.
- the processing includes a memory, a processor coupled to the memory, and a processing module executable by the processor.
- module is adapted to process an authorization request from the merchant for approval of the financial transaction.
- the module receives, during the transaction authorization
- the present invention provides a method of processing financial transactions performed by an employee using an employer provided financial presentation device. The method includes receiving at a computer an authorization
- the authorization request from a merchant computer for approval of the financial transaction, the authorization request including financial transaction data together with the related
- FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an exemplary financial transaction system
- FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an exemplary computer system adapted to execute
- FIG. 3 is a flow chart of an exemplary reservation process according to an
- FIG. 4 is a flow chart of an exemplary reservation check-in/check-out process in which financial transaction data and related enhanced data are transmitted from a merchant according to an embodiment of the present invention.
- FIG. 5 is flow chart of an exemplary method of making financial transaction data and related enhanced data accessible to employers according to an embodiment of the present invention. Detailed Description of the Invention
- a financial presentation device is any financial instrument or device that can be presented to a seller of goods or services for payment, and can comprise (without limitation) a tangible medium in which an account number is encoded such as a credit card, debit card, prepaid card, electronic benefit card, charge card, smart card, key chain device, personal digital assistant, cell phone, stored value device, virtual card or the like.
- the financial presentation device can also be implemented intangibly as an account number or any other information that can be presented to a seller of goods or services for payment.
- Many employers provide financial presentation devices such as credit cards to their employees, so that the employees can conveniently pay for work-related purchases of goods and services.
- the financial presentation devices are typically issued in association with a financial transaction facilitator such as VisaNetTM.
- Employees provided with such employer-provided financial presentations devices may use the devices in financial transaction during work-related events or conferences. For example, transportation, lodging and meals can be paid for using such employer- provided financial presentation devices.
- Employers commonly require the ability to track the expenses incurred at such events, including a detailed account of the purchases made by the employees during the events.
- Financial transactions that are performed with financial presentation devices are authorized by the issuer of the financial presentation device (or a delegate thereof) during an authorization process in which certain financial transaction data is sent from the merchant to an acquirer associated with the merchant, and then from the acquirer to the issuer via a financial transaction facilitator.
- the issuer then typically compiles information related to a number of financial transactions and makes this information available to the owner of the financial presentation device. Thus, for employer-provided financial presentation devices, the issuer makes this information available to the employer.
- the financial transaction data that is initially sent in the authorization process conventionally consists of what is referred to as 'Level I' and 'Level II' data (referred to herein as 'financial transaction data') including basic information identifying the merchant and the amount of the financial transaction.
- 'financial transaction data' a financial transaction data that is initially sent in the authorization process
- enhanced data including line item (invoice level) details are not typically sent.
- Enhanced data referred to as "Level III" data, is any non-financial data beyond the primary transaction data and includes invoice level and line item details. This data allow issuers and their corporate clients to obtain line item detailed information about their employees' travel and business expenditures.
- enhanced data under the Level III designation can include such data as a daily room rate, telephone charges, gift shop purchases, movie charges, laundry charges, check-in date, check-out date, mini-bar charges, parking and valet charges and the like.
- Enhanced data and more specifically Level III data, is conventionally delivered separately from the Level I and Level Il data, outside of the authorization process.
- the separate delivery of the financial transaction data and the enhanced data related to the financial transaction makes it difficult for the issuer (or any of the intermediaries such as the acquirer or financial transaction facilitator) to make the financial transaction data and its related enhanced data available to employers.
- the present invention solves this problem by a method and system in which merchants transmit financial transaction data together with related enhanced data during the authorization process.
- the financial transaction data and related enhanced data are received by an acquirer, which then delivers both the financial transaction data and related enhanced data to a reporting computer, making the financial transaction data and the related enhanced data available for access by employers.
- FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a financial transaction system 100 in which embodiments of the present invention can be used.
- An employee customer 102 who is authorized to use an employee-provided financial presentation device is in contact (e.g., by telephone) with a reservation agent 104 for the purpose of placing a reservation for transportation and/or lodging services.
- Reservation agent 104 can be an employer- designated agent for handling employee reservations and can store employer-related information in an employer database 105.
- Employer database 105 can include records organized by firm or company that include such information as the names of the employees at each employer, and the departments and/or cost centers in which the employees are members.
- Reservation agent 104 is coupled to a reservation system 106 via a public network 108, such as the Internet.
- the reservation system 106 can be a dedicated computerized reservation system (CRS) such as GALILEOTM, AMAD EUSTM or SABRETM, or it can be a reservation web-site platform such as Expedia.com.
- Reservation system 106 is coupled to merchants 1 10 (e.g., airlines, hotels, etc.) which preferably accept financial presentation devices as a mode of payment through the public network 108 or another network, and may make reservations with the merchants 1 10 through such networks.
- Reservation system 106 can also be coupled to a merchant database 11 1 including stored information regarding the merchants 1 10 such as merchant location, facility size and other merchant criteria.
- Merchants 1 10 are associated with acquirers 1 12 that process the financial transactions performed using financial presentation devices in which the merchants 110 participate.
- Merchants 1 10 communicate with acquirers 1 12 over a private network 1 14 adapted for secure communication of financial information.
- the private network is based on a Merchant Oriented Secure Electronic Transaction (MOSET) protocol used by VisaNetTM.
- MOSET Merchant Oriented Secure Electronic Transaction
- merchants 1 10 send both the basic financial transaction data and the related enhanced data to acquirers 1 12 over private network 1 14 during an authorization process.
- Acquirers 1 12 are coupled to computer facilities of a financial transaction facilitator 1 16 such as VisaNetTM through private network 1 14, and also to issuers 1 18 of the financial presentation devices.
- Acquirers 1 12 are also communicatively coupled to a financial data reporting computer 120 via public network 108 or otherwise.
- Reporting computer 120 which is accessible to employers (employer computers) 122, is adapted to provide accessibility to the financial transaction data and related enhanced data accessible to employers 122 through a web-based user interface over the public network 108.
- Employers 122 and other authorized entities may log in to reporting computer 120 using a password, secure ID or other authentication mode.
- An information management system 124 is coupled to the reporting computer 120.
- the information management system can be a separate platform that is accessible to issuers 118 (with appropriate authorization and authentication) for the purpose of viewing transactions and processing updates (e.g., updating employee information, processing disputed transactions, etc.).
- an exemplary computer system 200 including program code for making financial transaction data and related enhanced data available for access by employers 122 is shown.
- the computer system 200 is implemented at an acquirer 1 12 (shown FIG. 1 ).
- the system 200 is implemented at the financial transaction facilitator 1 16.
- the computer system 200 includes a communication device 202 which sends/receives information via a communication link (not shown), a processor 204 such as a central processing unit (CPU), and support circuitry 206.
- Communication device 202, processor 204 and support circuitry 206 are commonly connected to a bus 208 which also connects to a memory 210.
- Memory 210 can include both volatile (RAM) and non-volatile (ROM) memory units and can also include hard disk and backup storage capacity. Memory 210 is adapted to store software programs in a program storage portion 212 and to store data in a data storage portion 214.
- Program storage portion 212 includes a processing module 216 which comprises software instructions for receiving financial transaction data together with the related enhanced data during an authorization process, storing the financial transaction data and the related enhanced data in data storage portion 214, and sending the financial transaction data and the related enhanced data to reporting computer 120 so as to make both the financial transaction data and the related enhanced data available for access by employers 122.
- Financial transaction data and related enhanced data are stored in transaction data storage 218 which is a portion of the data storage 214 allocated for storing such data.
- Computer 200 can be any computer such as a personal computer, minicomputer, workstation, mainframe, or a combination thereof. While computer 200 is shown, for illustration purposes, as a single computer unit, the system may comprise a group/farm of computers which can be scaled depending on the processing load and database size.
- a flow chart of an exemplary reservation process 300 in which an employee 102 procures a reservation for a service using an employer- provided financial presentation device is shown.
- the method begins.
- employee 102 contacts reservation agent 104 (e.g., by phone, email, text message or otherwise) in order to make travel and/or lodging arrangements for an employment-related event.
- reservation agent 104 obtains from the employee 102 the employee's name and, in some embodiments, the account number of the employer-provided financial presentation device (hereinafter termed an 'employer enhanced data account') that the employee will use to pay for the services being reserved.
- an 'employer enhanced data account' the account number of the employer-provided financial presentation device
- reservation agent 104 retrieves employer-related information such as the department of which employee 102 is a member, and/or a cost center code for allocating expense charges.
- step 308 can be implemented by querying company database 105 using the employee name as an index.
- reservation agent 104 retrieves the company-related information by requesting it from employee 102 or employer 122.
- reservation agent 104 can obtain the employer enhanced data account associated with the employee's department or cost center from company database 105 in step 308 without having to obtain this information from employee 102 in step 306.
- reservation agent 104 logs on to reservation system 106 in order to ascertain whether any merchants 1 10 are able to provide for the requested travel and/or lodging services (i.e., whether airline seats, hotel rooms, etc. are available at the desired dates).
- reservation system 106 may provide one or more HTML web page documents for interactive viewing via a browser at reservation agent 104. Initially, reservation system 106 can provide a web page document that lists various merchants 1 10 that can provide the requested services. Additionally, the document can display symbols or icons that indicate whether a particular merchant supports collection and transmission of enhanced data related to financial transactions.
- Reservation systems 106 that are not web-based, such as conventional CRS systems (GALILEO, AMADEUS, SABRE, etc.), can also indicate enhanced data support capabilities, e.g., in a text description of each listed merchant 110.
- reservation agent 104 selects the services in step 312, and enters the employee name and retrieved company related information into reservation system 106.
- reservation system 106 prompts reservation agent 104 to select a mode of payment.
- reservation agent 104 selects the payment mode.
- reservation system 106 determines whether an employer enhanced data account has been selected as the payment mode. If not, in step 319, reservation system 106 processes the reservation in accordance with the alternative payment mode that has been selected, after which the method 300 ends in step 324. If an employer enhanced data account has been selected, in step 320, reservation system 106 determines whether the employer enhanced data account associated with the employee is valid based on information stored at reservation agent 104 and/or reservation system 106.
- this determination does not concern whether the employee is authorized to use the employer enhanced account, but rather, is a determination as to whether the account number of the employer enhanced data account is an account that is associated with the transmission of financial transaction data with related enhanced according to the present invention (e.g., is included in a list of valid employer enhanced data accounts).
- step 319 If the account number provided to the reservation system is not a valid employer enhanced data account, method 300 cycles back to step 319. If the account is valid, in step 322, reservation system 106 sets a flag indicating that a employer enhanced data account has been selected ( ⁇ EDA flag'), and in step 323 completes the reservation by sending information to merchant 1 10 including the employee name, the employer enhanced data account number and an indication as to whether the EEDA flag has been set. The method then ends in step 324.
- ⁇ EDA flag' a flag indicating that a employer enhanced data account has been selected
- step 402 a flow chart of an exemplary merchant processing method 400 including both reservation check-in and check-out procedures is shown.
- the method begins.
- employee 102 checks in at merchant 1 10 and merchant 1 10 receives identity information from employee 102.
- merchant 1 10 uses the identity information to retrieve information pertaining to the reservation, including the payment mode that was previously selected when the reservation was made and whether an EEDA flag has been set.
- step 408 merchant 1 10 performs an initial authorization to determine whether the account of the employee's financial presentation device presented by employee 102 is adequately funded. If the account is not adequately funded, merchant 110 requests an alternative payment mode in step 410 after which check-out proceeds in a conventional manner in step 41 1 and the method ends in step 420.
- step 412 merchant 1 10 uses a management system to capture and store enhanced data regarding financial transactions, if any, performed by employee 102 with merchant 1 10 over the duration of the reservation, and links the captured data with the account of the employee's financial presentation device.
- the method proceeds to a check-out phase 414, in which the merchant 1 10 determines whether the employee made the reservation using an employer enhanced data account by checking whether the EEDA flag has been set. If the EEDA flag has not been set, check-out proceeds by conventional point-of-sale payment authorization in step 41 1 and the method ends in step 420. If the EEDA flag as been set, in step 416, merchant 1 10 transmits an authorization request to acquirer 1 12 through private network 1 14 in which both the financial transaction data and related enhanced data of all transactions performed by employee 102 with merchant 1 10 during the reservation are included.
- the authorization request can comprise a single message or transmission.
- the authorization request can include more than one message or transmission.
- the financial transaction data and the related enhanced data remain linked and associated when they are received by acquirer 1 12.
- the check-out process then ends in step 420.
- inclusion of the related enhanced data with the financial transaction data in the authorization process has only a minor effect on the speed and duration of the authorization process. For example, it has been found that the authorization process in which financial transaction data and related enhanced data are transmitted together takes about 11 seconds.
- FIG. 5 is a flow chart of an exemplary process 500 of reporting financial transaction data with related enhanced data according to the present invention.
- the process 500 can be implemented by an acquirer 1 12 using the computer system 200 having processing module 216 as shown in FIG. 2.
- the method begins.
- acquirer 1 12 passes the authorization request including the financial transaction data and related enhanced data to financial transaction facilitator 1 16 via private network 1 14.
- Financial transaction facilitator 1 16 may then construct another authorization request message that includes only the basic financial transaction data for sending on to issuer 1 18 where authorization is determined.
- step 506 acquirer 1 12 stores the financial transaction data and related enhanced data, and in step 508, sends the financial transaction data and related enhanced data to reporting computer 120 over public network 108 or another network where it can be accessed by employers 122.
- the financial transaction data and related enhanced data received sent to reporting computer 120 may also be made available through information management system 124 to issuers 118.
- the software running in various computers including the reservation computer 106, merchant computer 1 10, acquirer computer 1 12, transaction facilitator computer 1 16 and reporting computer 120 all cooperate with each other to provide combined transaction data and enhanced data to the employers.
- the transaction data is already matched to the related enhanced data.
- the transaction details of employee transactions are provided on a timely, accurate and convenient basis for use by the employer.
Abstract
Description
Claims
Priority Applications (3)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
---|---|---|---|
AU2009266849A AU2009266849A1 (en) | 2008-07-02 | 2009-07-02 | System and method of providing enhanced transaction data |
US12/999,705 US20120089491A1 (en) | 2008-07-02 | 2009-07-02 | System and method of providing enhanced transaction data |
CA2729783A CA2729783A1 (en) | 2008-07-02 | 2009-07-02 | System and method of providing enhanced transaction data |
Applications Claiming Priority (2)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
---|---|---|---|
US7769308P | 2008-07-02 | 2008-07-02 | |
US61/077,693 | 2008-07-02 |
Publications (2)
Publication Number | Publication Date |
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WO2010003094A1 true WO2010003094A1 (en) | 2010-01-07 |
WO2010003094A8 WO2010003094A8 (en) | 2010-03-04 |
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ID=41466338
Family Applications (1)
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PCT/US2009/049582 WO2010003094A1 (en) | 2008-07-02 | 2009-07-02 | System and method of providing enhanced transaction data |
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AU (1) | AU2009266849A1 (en) |
CA (1) | CA2729783A1 (en) |
WO (1) | WO2010003094A1 (en) |
Citations (4)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US20030004894A1 (en) * | 1996-04-26 | 2003-01-02 | Rowney Kevin T. B. | System, method and article of manufacture for secure network electronic payment and credit collection |
US20030140007A1 (en) * | 1998-07-22 | 2003-07-24 | Kramer Glenn A. | Third party value acquisition for electronic transaction settlement over a network |
US20050222944A1 (en) * | 2003-10-22 | 2005-10-06 | Dodson Richard S Jr | System and method for managing the reimbursement of expenses using expense reports |
US20070288942A1 (en) * | 2004-04-21 | 2007-12-13 | Deecal International Limited | System and method for exporting formatted transactional data from a database system |
-
2009
- 2009-07-02 AU AU2009266849A patent/AU2009266849A1/en not_active Abandoned
- 2009-07-02 CA CA2729783A patent/CA2729783A1/en not_active Abandoned
- 2009-07-02 WO PCT/US2009/049582 patent/WO2010003094A1/en active Application Filing
Patent Citations (4)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US20030004894A1 (en) * | 1996-04-26 | 2003-01-02 | Rowney Kevin T. B. | System, method and article of manufacture for secure network electronic payment and credit collection |
US20030140007A1 (en) * | 1998-07-22 | 2003-07-24 | Kramer Glenn A. | Third party value acquisition for electronic transaction settlement over a network |
US20050222944A1 (en) * | 2003-10-22 | 2005-10-06 | Dodson Richard S Jr | System and method for managing the reimbursement of expenses using expense reports |
US20070288942A1 (en) * | 2004-04-21 | 2007-12-13 | Deecal International Limited | System and method for exporting formatted transactional data from a database system |
Also Published As
Publication number | Publication date |
---|---|
AU2009266849A1 (en) | 2010-01-07 |
WO2010003094A8 (en) | 2010-03-04 |
CA2729783A1 (en) | 2010-01-07 |
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