Stored-value cards such as prepaid phone cards and gift cards can be purchased at merchant terminals, such as credit card terminals. In a typical stored-value card purchase transaction, the customer specifies a stored-value card request. For instance, the customer may select a particular stored-value card for purchase. The specific stored-value card is defined according to a variety of categories, such as transaction type, value, and service provider. For instance, a customer may request a new prepaid phone card from a specific provider, U.S. South, in the amount of $50. The merchant terminal requests from a central processor a PIN representing value, such as a prepaid product or service value. In order to specify this transaction request, the merchant may be required to make a series of selections at the merchant terminal, such as a credit card processing terminal. For instance, the merchant may be required to first select a type of product (such as a PIN for a prepaid phone card), a telecommunications service provider (U.S. South), and an amount of value ($50). The central processor delivers the PIN back to the merchant terminal. The merchant terminal prints the PIN on a receipt, and the receipt is provided to the customer.
The merchant terminal may comprise a screen that displays a variety of menu options, in a manner similar to the options displayed at an ATM machine. The transaction request may involve several selections across several selection screens. At one menu screen, the merchant may select “prepaid phone card” from a variety of stored-value card options such as “prepaid phone card,” “prepaid gift card,” and other stored-value card types. Selecting “prepaid phone card” at this menu may cause the screen to display the next category, such as transaction type.
The merchant may select a “create new card” transaction type, which may cause the screen to display another category, such as telecommunications service provider. The screen may then display a variety of telecommunications service providers, such ABC Telecom, DEF Company, and U.S. South. Selecting a service provider may cause the screen to display a variety of values, such as $20, $30, and $50, or it may enable the merchant to input a user-specified amount at a keyboard at the terminal. The merchant may then select $50 from among the various displayed values (or the merchant may manually input a value). The menu may then pass to a screen asking whether to proceed with a transaction to request a PIN for a new stored-value card for long-distance service provided by U.S. South in the amount of $50. Other selections and inputs may be required. For instance, to “refill value” of an existing card, the terminal may require the stored-value card's existing PIN to be entered at the terminal.
The merchant would then request the terminal to proceed with the transaction request. The terminal transmits the request to a central processor. Once it receives the request, the central processor generates or selects a PIN that corresponds to the specific stored-value card request and transmit the PIN to the merchant terminal.
Prepaid phone card and other stored-value card transactions can be authorized and confirmed over communication networks. For instance, transactions involving the delivery of identification numbers (such as PINs or passwords) or other products can be authorized over communication networks between one or more remote merchant terminals and a central processor. The PINs and/or other products can be delivered over the same or another network. After a transaction, a party such as the merchant or customer can be billed for the transaction after the transaction is authorized and/or confirmed. By way of example, a convenience store merchant may sell a calling card or PIN to a customer. During the sale, the convenience store merchant requests a PIN or calling card authorization code from a central processor over a telephone network. The central station then processes the request and transmits the PIN to the store merchant over the telephone network. The store merchant receives the PIN and delivers it to the customer. Finally, the central station bills the customer or merchant for the price of the PIN.
Examples of communication networks include dedicated telephone lines, public switched telephone networks (such as those that provide automatic number identification (ANI)), the internet, any other computer network such as a WAN or LAN, and any other networked communication. The data of the stored-value cards is related to services and/or products paid or prepaid by the owner or end user of the card. Each of the stored-value cards may be associated with a PIN. Examples of prepaid services that may be accommodated by a stored-value card include long distance telephone communication, wireless communication, paging and internet-enabled communication services, including wireless web access, emergency road service, legal service, accounting service, tax service, property cleaning and/or maintenance service, clothe cleaning service, transportation service, travel service, delivery service, online (or off-line) dating service, electrical and/or gas service, water service, sewage service, internet access, and film processing (including digital film processing). Other examples of prepaid services and/or products that may be accommodated by a stored-value card include gift cards, prepaid gas cards, prepaid grocery cards, prepaid entertainment cards, prepaid movie cards, downloadable ring tone cards, downloadable game cards, downloadable movie cards, downloadable music cards that use MP3, MP4, WMV, WAV, or other music formats, any other downloadable software card, customer rewards cards, bridge and/or road toll cards, and any other type of stored-value cards for products, services, or both, that may be prepaid by the owner of the card.