SYSTEMS AND METHODS TO RESERVE AND RELEASE REWARDS FOR REDEMPTION DURING PAYMENT TRANSACTIONS

摘要

A system including a transaction handler configured to split a transaction, initiated between an acquirer processor representing a merchant and an issuer processor representing a user of a payment account, into separate transactions with the issuer processor and one or more sponsor processors in control of reward accounts of the user for the redemption of loyalty rewards. The transaction handler may communicate with the sponsor processors in parallel or in sequence to reserve and release rewards, and may provide a partial authorization for the transaction in response to each authorization for reward redemption from a respective reward account without a subsequent, updated authorization request for the transaction in the payment account of the user.

主权项

1. A method, comprising:
storing, in a computing apparatus, a reward profile in associating with a payment account of a user, the reward profile identifying a plurality of reward accounts of the user; in response to a request identifying the payment account of the user, communicating by the computing apparatus with a plurality of sponsor processors corresponding to the plurality of reward accounts respectively to reserve rewards redeemable in connection with a payment transaction in the payment account of the user; determining, by the computing apparatus, amounts of rewards to be redeemed, in connection with the payment transaction, from the plurality of reward accounts; identifying, by the computing apparatus, an unused portion of rewards that are reserved for the payment transaction, wherein the unused portion is identified based on the amounts determined to be redeemed from the plurality of rewards accounts for the payment transaction; and prior to settlement of the payment transaction, communicating by the computing apparatus with at least one of the plurality of sponsor processors to release from reservation the unused portion of the rewards that is reserved by the at least one of the plurality of sponsor processors.