Systems and methods for closing the loop between online activities and offline purchases

US8626579B2 · kind B2 · utility

Assignee

• Visa U.S.A. Inc. · US

Inventors

• Edward W. Fordyce, III · Sedalia, US
• Michelle Eng Winters · Belmont, US
• Kevin Siegel · Milpitas, US
• Leigh Amaro · Woodside, US
• Charles Raymond Byce · Mill Valley, US
• Nurtekin Savas · San Jose, US
• Peter Ciurea · Orinda, US
• James Alan VonDerheide · Pasadena, US
• Diane C. Salmon · Lafayette, US

Key dates

• Filing date: Aug 30, 2011
• Grant date: Jan 7, 2014
• Expiry date: Aug 30, 2031

Classification

• Technology area (CPC G): Physics
• CPC primary: G07F9/009
• WIPO field: IT methods for management
• WIPO sector: Electrical engineering

Abstract

In one aspect, a computing apparatus is configured to facilitate the identification of a transaction resulting from an activity occurring in a substantially separate context or environment, such as an offline transaction in a “brick and mortar” retail store resulting from an online advertisement or an online search. The computing apparatus may match information about the activity and information about the transaction to correlate the online activity and the offline transaction. The matching process may involve the use of an offer for a discount, an incentive, a rebate, a reward, reward points, cash back, a gift, etc. The offer is to be provided in the advertisement associated with an online activity and redeemed in a payment transaction, processed via the transaction handler, to correlate the advertisement and the transaction.