I. Debit Cards
Banking institutions often issue debit cards to their customers to give them access to funds from their savings or checking accounts. Such a debit card might be an on-line debit card or an off-line debit card. On-line debit cards, often referred to as automatic teller machine (ATM) cards, require a personal identification number (PIN) to be entered into an ATM or point-of-sale (POS) device in order to authorize the transaction. Once completed, the transaction clears the bank account immediately. Off-line debit cards function like credit cards, and usually carry the VISA.RTM. or MasterCard.RTM. logo. A retailer processes the card like a credit card and the customer signs a receipt. The funds then clear the bank account in one to three days.
While such debit cards are extremely useful and provide convenience for bank depositors, they generally do not serve a plurality of functions. Therefore, there is a need in the art for a debit/credit card capable of performing a plurality of functions, such as an electronic gift certificate card, a prepaid phone card, and a loyalty card, all in a real-time secure environment. There is also a need in the art for a system which can provide a card substitute for travelers checks and money orders which can be accepted by any POS device or ATM for financial transactions. Further, there is a need for a processing center which can manage such a multifunction card system.
II. Prepaid Phone Cards
Prepaid card systems are used by the telephone industry to allow customers to prepurchase long distance calling time. Such cards are typically purchased in predefined value increments. The card provides the customer with an amount of long distance calling time equivalent to the predefined value increment.
Each of the cards has an identification number printed or magnetically stored on it. The identification number is also stored in a record in a database maintained by the card issuer. This record also stores the predefined value of the card. When the cards are sent to the retail location from which they will be sold, the corresponding records in the database are activated, thus allowing the card to be used immediately by a customer. To use the card, the customer dials a toll free number to access the card issuer's system, enters the identification number, and then makes the desired long-distance call. During the call, the value of the card in the database is decremented accordingly. When the value of the card is exhausted, the call terminates. If the customer ends the call before the value of the card is exhausted, the remaining value may be used for additional calls. Once the entire value of the card has been used, it is discarded.
These prior art prepaid phone card systems have several disadvantages. First, since the cards are active while on the shelf in the retail location, they may be stolen by a thief and easily used. Second, the prior art systems do not allow the customer to purchase a card having any given value, nor do they allow the customer to recharge the value of the cards once the are depleted.
One way to address some of the drawbacks of prior art prepaid phone card systems would be to install activation terminals unique to the prepaid card issuer. This is referred to as a "closed system." U.S. Pat. No. 5,577,109 to Stimson et al. discloses such a closed system. In the Stimson system, the cards are not preactivated. Each of the retail locations from which cards are to be sold is provided with a dedicated activation terminal which allows the retail operator to set the value of the card at the time of the sale. The activation terminal connects to the card issuer's system to pass along the value amount and to request activation of the card. Depleted cards can be recharged in the same manner as they are sold. A serious disadvantage of the Stimson system is that it requires single-function dedicated hardware to be installed in each retail location, resulting in a very inflexible and expensive system.
Thus, there is a need in the art for a prepaid phone card activating system which is easily and inexpensively deployed, and which allows cards to be purchased in varying amounts and to be recharged without requiring the use of a closed system to handle the transactions.
III. Loyalty Cards
Loyalty cards are used to reward consumers for purchasing goods or services. For instance, airlines commonly reward frequent fliers with points for each mile flown with that airline. When the consumer accumulates a certain number of points, he or she is rewarded with free or discounted air fare. In this and other similar systems, the loyalty card issuer directly participates in the sale transaction. Such systems, however, do not allow a manufacturer of a product which is sold by an unrelated retailer to immediately reward the ultimate purchaser of the product with loyalty points. Since the manufacturer does not know of the ultimate sale until much later, if ever, it is difficult for such a manufacturer to conduct a loyalty program. Thus, there is presently no method for creating a product-specific loyalty card as opposed to a retailer-specific card. Nor is there a system for communicating loyalty data to databases not located at the retail establishment.
Furthermore, prior art loyalty programs generally do not credit the consumer's loyalty account in real-time as a purchase transaction takes place. Therefore, the consumer is unable to enjoy the benefits of their added loyalty points immediately. Finally, prior art loyalty programs commonly require significant startup efforts and expenses before the system is operational. Therefore, there is a need in the art for a real-time loyalty card system which is easily deployed, and which is capable of providing a product-specific loyalty card as well as a retailer-specific card. There is also a need for a system which can reward customers automatically for their loyalty and communicate this loyalty reward to databases other than at a retail location.
IV. Information Retrieval
Often, it is important to access certain types of information in a very fast and convenient manner. For example, a person's medical history can be extremely important in assessing the propriety of certain medical procedures during a medical emergency. Presently, in order to obtain a patient's medical history, the patient or his or her doctor must request the appropriate files from the patient's previous doctor(s). It often takes a number of days to receive the requested information. In a medical emergency, this delay is often far too long. Thus, there is a need for patients to have control over their own medical history data. Further, there is a need for this data to be instantly available to the patient, or the patient's doctor if the patient is incapacitated.
V. Multifunction Card
Due to the proliferation of various types of cards (e.g., credit/debit, long-distance calling, loyalty, etc.) over the last couple of decades, it has become increasingly difficult to keep track of each individual card. There is a need for a card system which can serve a number of functions, thus allowing the consumer to have one card which may act as their card for financial transactions, long-distance telephone calls, loyalty information, and medical information.