DETAILED ACTION
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 12/6/2024 was filed before the mailing date of a first Office action on the merits. The submission is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
Claim Status
The claims filed 10/29/2024 are examined herein.
Claims 1-20 are pending and original.
Claims 1, 8, and 15 are independent.
Double Patenting
The nonstatutory double patenting rejection is based on a judicially created doctrine grounded in public policy (a policy reflected in the statute) so as to prevent the unjustified or improper timewise extension of the “right to exclude” granted by a patent and to prevent possible harassment by multiple assignees. A nonstatutory double patenting rejection is appropriate where the conflicting claims are not identical, but at least one examined application claim is not patentably distinct from the reference claim(s) because the examined application claim is either anticipated by, or would have been obvious over, the reference claim(s). See, e.g., In re Berg, 140 F.3d 1428, 46 USPQ2d 1226 (Fed. Cir. 1998); In re Goodman, 11 F.3d 1046, 29 USPQ2d 2010 (Fed. Cir. 1993); In re Longi, 759 F.2d 887, 225 USPQ 645 (Fed. Cir. 1985); In re Van Ornum, 686 F.2d 937, 214 USPQ 761 (CCPA 1982); In re Vogel, 422 F.2d 438, 164 USPQ 619 (CCPA 1970); In re Thorington, 418 F.2d 528, 163 USPQ 644 (CCPA 1969).
A timely filed terminal disclaimer in compliance with 37 CFR 1.321(c) or 1.321(d) may be used to overcome an actual or provisional rejection based on nonstatutory double patenting provided the reference application or patent either is shown to be commonly owned with the examined application, or claims an invention made as a result of activities undertaken within the scope of a joint research agreement. See MPEP § 717.02 for applications subject to examination under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA as explained in MPEP § 2159. See MPEP § 2146 et seq. for applications not subject to examination under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA . A terminal disclaimer must be signed in compliance with 37 CFR 1.321(b).
The filing of a terminal disclaimer by itself is not a complete reply to a nonstatutory double patenting (NSDP) rejection. A complete reply requires that the terminal disclaimer be accompanied by a reply requesting reconsideration of the prior Office action. Even where the NSDP rejection is provisional the reply must be complete. See MPEP § 804, subsection I.B.1. For a reply to a non-final Office action, see 37 CFR 1.111(a). For a reply to final Office action, see 37 CFR 1.113(c). A request for reconsideration while not provided for in 37 CFR 1.113(c) may be filed after final for consideration. See MPEP §§ 706.07(e) and 714.13.
The USPTO Internet website contains terminal disclaimer forms which may be used. Please visit www.uspto.gov/patent/patents-forms. The actual filing date of the application in which the form is filed determines what form (e.g., PTO/SB/25, PTO/SB/26, PTO/AIA /25, or PTO/AIA /26) should be used. A web-based eTerminal Disclaimer may be filled out completely online using web-screens. An eTerminal Disclaimer that meets all requirements is auto-processed and approved immediately upon submission. For more information about eTerminal Disclaimers, refer to www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/applying-online/eterminal-disclaimer.
US Patent 11,727,394
Claims 1-20 are rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claims 1, 2, 4 and 8 of U.S. Patent No. 11,727,394 B2 in view of Cho (US 2014/0040120 A1).
The instant claims share substantially similar limitations as the reference claims as demonstrated below.
Instant Claims
Reference Claims (U.S. Patent No. 11,727,394 B2)
1. A user device, comprising:
a non-transitory memory storing instructions; and
one or more hardware processors coupled with the non-transitory memory and configured to execute the instructions from the non-transitory memory to cause the user device to:
receive, via a digital wallet application of the user device associated with a user, transaction information associated with an electronic transaction between the user and a merchant;
determine, from a plurality of financial instruments associated with the digital wallet application, a first financial instrument for processing the electronic transaction, wherein the first financial instrument is determined for processing the transaction independent of the transaction information;
generate, for the electronic transaction and based on the first financial instrument, a digital token;
process the electronic transaction using the first financial instrument;
subsequent to transmitting the digital token detect that the user device is no longer associated with the computer processing limiting condition;
in response to detecting that the user device is no longer associated with the computer processing limiting condition, determine, from the plurality of financial instruments, a second financial instrument for processing the electronic transaction; and
cause a server to re-process the electronic transaction based on the second financial instrument.
1. A system, comprising:
a non-transitory memory; and
one or more hardware processors coupled with the non-transitory memory and configured to read instructions from the non-transitory memory to cause the system to perform operations comprising:
receiving, from an electronic payment tool associated with a first user and via a first network, transaction information associated with an electronic transaction between the first user and a merchant, wherein the transaction information comprises transaction data specific to the electronic transaction including a monetary amount associated with the electronic transaction;
receiving, via a payment network different from the first network, a first digital token corresponding to the electronic payment tool associated with the first user;
in response to receiving the first digital token, accessing a digital wallet associated with the electronic payment tool, wherein the digital wallet is linked to a plurality of financial instruments associated with the first user;
determining, from the plurality of financial instruments, a first financial instrument for processing the electronic transaction;
processing the electronic transaction using the digital wallet without transferring first funds from a funding account of the first financial instrument, wherein the processing the electronic transaction comprises:
creating a receivable record in an account database for storing the transaction information associated with the electronic transaction based on the first digital token received via the payment network, wherein the receivable record comprises allocation data indicating an initial allocation of the monetary amount associated with the electronic transaction to the first financial instrument associated with the digital wallet, and purchase data indicating at least one of an MCC code associated with the electronic transaction, a purchase category associated with the electronic transaction, or a merchant identifier of the merchant;
transmitting second funds from an account associated with the system in the monetary amount to the merchant; and
transmitting, to a merchant server associated with the merchant, a message indicating a successful processing of the electronic transaction;
subsequent to the processing the electronic transaction, determining a second financial instrument, from the plurality of financial instruments, for use in the electronic transaction;
in response to determining the second financial instrument for use in the electronic transaction, re-processing the electronic transaction using the second financial instrument via a series of commands transmitted within the payment network, wherein the re-processing the electronic transaction using the second financial instrument comprises charging at least a portion of the monetary amount to the second financial instrument for repaying the at least the portion of the monetary amount to the account associated with the system, wherein the charging comprises transmitting the series of commands to the payment network for transferring the at least the portion of the monetary amount from the second financial instrument to the account associated with the system and communicating the purchase data stored in the receivable record to an issuer host associated with the second financial instrument via the payment network;
updating the receivable record based on the re-processing of the electronic transaction using the second financial instrument; and
transmitting, to a user device associated with the first user, a notification indicating a completion of the re-processing of the electronic transaction using the second financial instrument.
2. The user device of claim 1, wherein the computer resource limiting condition is associated with a computer resource usage of the user device being above a threshold.
See below.
3. The user device of claim 1, wherein the computer resource limiting condition is associated with a network connectivity bandwidth of the user device.
See below.
4. The user device of claim 1, wherein the digital token is generated using an identifier associated with the server, and wherein the digital token is routed from the POS device to the server via a payment network based on the identifier associated with the server.
See below.
5. The user device of claim 1, wherein determining the second financial instrument for processing the electronic transaction is based on the transaction information.
2. The system of claim 1, wherein the determining the second financial instrument for use in the electronic transaction is based on at least one of the monetary amount associated with the electronic transaction or a rewards program associated with the second financial instrument
6. The user device of claim 5, wherein executing the instructions further causes the user device to: retrieve transaction history information associated with the user from the server, wherein determining the second financial instrument for processing the electronic transaction is further based on the transaction history information.
4. The system of claim 1, wherein the operations further comprise:
subsequent to the processing the electronic transaction, receiving, from the first user via the electronic payment tool, an input indicating a selection of a third financial instrument of the plurality of financial instruments for the re-processing the electronic transaction; and
in response to the receiving the input from the first user, providing a notification to the first user indicating that the second financial instrument is an optimal financial instrument for the electronic transaction based on a set of criteria.
7. The user device of claim 1, wherein executing the instructions further causes the user device to: prompt, via a user interface associated with the digital wallet application, the user for a financial instrument selection for the electronic transaction; and receive, via the user interface, the financial instrument selection, wherein determining the second financial instrument is based on the financial instrument selection received via the user interface.
4. The system of claim 1, wherein the operations further comprise:
subsequent to the processing the electronic transaction, receiving, from the first user via the electronic payment tool, an input indicating a selection of a third financial instrument of the plurality of financial instruments for the re-processing the electronic transaction; and
in response to the receiving the input from the first user, providing a notification to the first user indicating that the second financial instrument is an optimal financial instrument for the electronic transaction based on a set of criteria.
9. The method of claim 8, wherein the causing the re-processing of the electronic transaction comprises: causing a server to transmit a series of commands to a payment network for charging the second financial instrument a monetary amount associated with the electronic transaction and to communicate the transaction information to an issuer host associated with the second financial instrument via the payment network.
1… in response to determining the second financial instrument for use in the electronic transaction, re-processing the electronic transaction using the second financial instrument via a series of commands transmitted within the payment network, wherein the re-processing the electronic transaction using the second financial instrument comprises charging at least a portion of the monetary amount to the second financial instrument for repaying the at least the portion of the monetary amount to the account associated with the system, wherein the charging comprises transmitting the series of commands to the payment network for transferring the at least the portion of the monetary amount from the second financial instrument to the account associated with the system and communicating the purchase data stored in the receivable record to an issuer host associated with the second financial instrument via the payment network;
10. The method of claim 8, wherein the electronic transaction is associated with a purchase of an item from the merchant, and wherein the transaction information comprises an MCC code associated with the merchant and a category of the item.
1…
creating a receivable record in an account database for storing the transaction information associated with the electronic transaction based on the first digital token received via the payment network, wherein the receivable record comprises allocation data indicating an initial allocation of the monetary amount associated with the electronic transaction to the first financial instrument associated with the digital wallet, and purchase data indicating at least one of an MCC code associated with the electronic transaction, a purchase category associated with the electronic transaction, or a merchant identifier of the merchant;
11. The method of claim 8, wherein the determining the second financial instrument for use in the electronic transaction is further based on at least one of a monetary amount associated with the electronic transaction or a rewards program associated with the second financial instrument.
2. The system of claim 1, wherein the determining the second financial instrument for use in the electronic transaction is based on at least one of the monetary amount associated with the electronic transaction or a rewards program associated with the second financial instrument.
12. The method of claim 8, further comprising: receiving an indication that the electronic transaction has been re-processed based on the second financial instrument; and providing a notification on a user interface of the digital wallet application based on the indication.
1…
updating the receivable record based on the re-processing of the electronic transaction using the second financial instrument; and
transmitting, to a user device associated with the first user, a notification indicating a completion of the re-processing of the electronic transaction using the second financial instrument.
13. The method of claim 8, wherein the user is a first user, and wherein the method further comprises:
detecting, via the digital wallet application, an indication to split the electronic transaction with a second user;
determining a first rewards amount corresponding to the first user and a second rewards amount corresponding to the second user; and
in response to detecting a payment from the second user to the first user corresponding to the electronic transaction, allocating the second rewards amount to a rewards account associated with the second user.
8. The system of claim 1, the operations further comprising:
detecting an indication to split the electronic transaction with a second user;
determining a first rewards amount corresponding to the first user and a second rewards amount corresponding to the second user; and
in response to detecting a payment from the second user to the first user corresponding to the electronic transaction, allocating the second rewards amount to a rewards account associated with the second user.
14. The method of claim 8, further comprising: prompting, via a user interface associated with the digital wallet application, the user for a financial instrument selection for the electronic transaction; and receiving, via the user interface, the financial instrument selection, wherein the determining the second financial instrument is further based on the financial instrument selection received via the user interface.
4. The system of claim 1, wherein the operations further comprise:
subsequent to the processing the electronic transaction, receiving, from the first user via the electronic payment tool, an input indicating a selection of a third financial instrument of the plurality of financial instruments for the re-processing the electronic transaction; and
in response to the receiving the input from the first user, providing a notification to the first user indicating that the second financial instrument is an optimal financial instrument for the electronic transaction based on a set of criteria.
16. The non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 15, wherein the computer resource capacity is associated with a computer processing availability of the user device.
See below.
17. The non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 15, wherein the computer resource capacity is associated with a network connectivity of the user device.
See below.
18. The non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 15, wherein the digital token is generated using an identifier of a payment provider server associated with the digital wallet application, and wherein the digital token is routed, from the POS device via a payment network, to the payment provider server based on the identifier.
See below.
19. The non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 18, wherein the operations further comprise: retrieving transaction history information associated with the user from the payment provider server wherein the determining the second financial instrument is further based on the transaction history information.
4. The system of claim 1, wherein the operations further comprise:
subsequent to the processing the electronic transaction, receiving, from the first user via the electronic payment tool, an input indicating a selection of a third financial instrument of the plurality of financial instruments for the re-processing the electronic transaction; and
in response to the receiving the input from the first user, providing a notification to the first user indicating that the second financial instrument is an optimal financial instrument for the electronic transaction based on a set of criteria.
20. The non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 15, wherein the operations further comprise: prompting, via a user interface associated with the digital wallet application, the user for a financial instrument selection for the electronic transaction; and receiving, via the user interface, the financial instrument selection, wherein the determining the second financial instrument is further based on the financial instrument selection received via the user interface.
4. The system of claim 1, wherein the operations further comprise:
subsequent to the processing the electronic transaction, receiving, from the first user via the electronic payment tool, an input indicating a selection of a third financial instrument of the plurality of financial instruments for the re-processing the electronic transaction; and
in response to the receiving the input from the first user, providing a notification to the first user indicating that the second financial instrument is an optimal financial instrument for the electronic transaction based on a set of criteria.
As shown above, instant claim 1 shares substantially similar limitations as reference claim 1. Reference claim 1 does not explicitly disclose, but Cho teaches transmitting the digital token to a point-of-sale (POS) device of the merchant via a short-range wireless communication established between the user device and the POS device (see paras. 0112, 0115, 0122); and detecting a computer resource limiting condition associated with the user device; and performing a payment in response to detecting the computer resource limiting condition associated with the user device (see paras. 0113-0116, 0120).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify system of the reference claim to include the features taught by Cho.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make the modification to enable flexible wireless payments in a power off or low battery state (see Cho, paras. 0031-0037).
Instant independent claims 8 and 15 are method and non-transitory machine-readable medium claims sharing substantially similar limitations as instant claim 1. As such, the claims are similarly rejected over reference claim 1 in view of Cho.
Instant claims 2-3 and 16-17 are similarly rejected over reference claim 1 in view of Cho. Subject to broadest reasonable interpretation, the claim limitations encompass the battery state of charge thresholds disclosed by Cho, i.e. battery state of charge is “associated with” computer resource usage, computer processing availability, network connectivity, and network connectivity bandwidth.
Regarding instant claims 4 and 18, reference claim 1 does not explicitly disclose, but Cho teaches wherein the digital token is generated using an identifier associated with the server, and wherein the digital token is routed from the POS device to the server via a payment network based on the identifier associated with the server (see para. 0122, wherein the payment credit card information includes a Bank Identification Number (BIN) which is used for routing, as known in the art).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the system and product of the reference claim to include the feature taught by Cho.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make the modification to flexible payments in a power off or low battery state (see Cho, paras. 0031-0037).
Instant claims 5-7, 9-14, and 19-20 share substantially similar limitations as reference claims 1, 2, 4, and 8. The claims are rejected over the corresponding reference claims as mapped above.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
Claims 1-9, 11-12, and 14-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Cho (US 2014/0040120 A1) in view of Lafeer (US 2018/0218352 A1).
Regarding claims 1, 8, and 15, Cho discloses a user device, associated method, and associated machine-readable medium, comprising:
a non-transitory memory storing instructions (see paras. 0088-0090); and
one or more hardware processors coupled with the non-transitory memory and configured to execute the instructions from the non-transitory memory (see paras. 0088-0090) to cause the user device to:
receive, via a digital wallet application of the user device associated with a user, transaction information associated with an electronic transaction between the user and a merchant (see paras. 0113-0116);
detect a computer resource limiting condition associated with the user device (see paras. 0113-0116);
in response to detecting the computer resource limiting condition associated with the user device, determine, from a plurality of financial instruments associated with the digital wallet application, a first financial instrument for processing the electronic transaction, wherein the first financial instrument is determined for processing the transaction independent of the transaction information (see paras. 0113-0116, 0120, wherein a default payment card is used when the device is in a low-battery state);
generate, for the electronic transaction and based on the first financial instrument, a digital token (see para. 0122, wherein “digital token” reasonably encompasses the digital data representing the financial instrument read and transmitted to the point-of-sale to effectuate the payment, wherein the limitation does not necessarily further limit the token, e.g. to a surrogate PAN);
transmit the digital token to a point-of-sale (POS) device of the merchant via a short-range wireless communication established between the user device and the POS device, wherein transmitting the digital token to the POS device causes the POS device to process the electronic transaction using the first financial instrument (see para. 0112, 0115, 0122);
subsequent to transmitting the digital token to the POS device, detect that the user device is no longer associated with the computer processing limiting condition (see paras. 0099-0105, 0130, wherein the power state of the mobile terminal may be subsequently be greater).
Cho does not explicitly disclose, but Lafeer teaches:
in response to detecting that the user device is no longer associated with the computer processing limiting condition, determine, from the plurality of financial instruments, a second financial instrument for processing the electronic transaction (see Fig. 9; paras. 0082-0090, wherein “in response to detecting that the user device is no longer associated with the computer processing limiting condition” reasonably encompasses when the device battery is at an adequate level to run the application);
cause a server to re-process the electronic transaction based on the second financial instrument (see Fig. 9; paras. 0082-0090).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the device, method, and product of Cho to include the feature taught by Lafeer.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make the modification to allow the user to select an appropriate financial service account to be used in completing a transaction sometime after the transaction between the user and the merchant occurs (see Lafeer, para. 0092).
Regarding claim 2, Cho discloses wherein the computer resource limiting condition is associated with a computer resource usage of the user device being above a threshold (see para. 0113-0116, wherein the battery level being below a threshold is equivalent to usage being above a threshold).
Regarding claim 3, Cho discloses wherein the computer resource limiting condition is associated with a network connectivity bandwidth of the user device (see paras. 0113-0116, 120, wherein battery state of charge is reasonably “associated with” network connectivity bandwidth).
Regarding claims 4 and 18, Cho discloses wherein the digital token is generated using an identifier associated with the server, and wherein the digital token is routed from the POS device to the server via a payment network based on the identifier associated with the server (see para. 0122, wherein the payment credit card information includes a Bank Identification Number (BIN) used for routing, as known in the art).
Regarding claim 5, Lafeer teaches wherein determining the second financial instrument for processing the electronic transaction is based on the transaction information (see para. 0092).
Regarding claims 6 and 19, Lafeer teaches wherein executing the instructions further causes the user device to: retrieve transaction history information associated with the user from the server, wherein determining the second financial instrument for processing the electronic transaction is further based on the transaction history information (see Fig. 9; paras. 0082-0090).
Regarding claims 7 and 20, Lafeer teaches wherein executing the instructions further causes the user device to: prompt, via a user interface associated with the digital wallet application, the user for a financial instrument selection for the electronic transaction; and receive, via the user interface, the financial instrument selection, wherein determining the second financial instrument is based on the financial instrument selection received via the user interface (see Fig. 9; paras. 0082-0090).
Regarding claim 9, Lafeer teaches causing a server to transmit a series of commands to a payment network for charging the second financial instrument a monetary amount associated with the electronic transaction and to communicate the transaction information to an issuer host associated with the second financial instrument via the payment network (see Figs. 7-9; para. 0079-0080, wherein the transaction is completed through typical payment processing procedures, which includes communication to an issuer).
Regarding claim 11, Lafeer teaches wherein the determining the second financial instrument for use in the electronic transaction is further based on at least one of a monetary amount associated with the electronic transaction or a rewards program associated with the second financial instrument (see para. 0003, 0092).
Regarding claim 12, Lafeer teaches receiving an indication that the electronic transaction has been re-processed based on the second financial instrument; and providing a notification on a user interface of the digital wallet application based on the indication (see para. 0080-0081).
Regarding claim 14, Lafeer teaches prompting, via a user interface associated with the digital wallet application, the user for a financial instrument selection for the electronic transaction; and receiving, via the user interface, the financial instrument selection, wherein the determining the second financial instrument is further based on the financial instrument selection received via the user interface (see Fig. 9; paras. 0082-0090).
Regarding claim 16, Cho discloses wherein the computer resource capacity is associated with a computer processing availability of the user device (see paras. 0113-0116, 0120, wherein battery state of charge is reasonably “associated with” computer processing availability).
Regarding claim 17, Cho discloses wherein the computer resource capacity is associated with a network connectivity of the user device (see paras. 0113-0116, wherein battery state of charge is reasonably “associated with” network connectivity).
Claim 10 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Cho (US 2014/0040120 A1) in view of Lafeer (US 2018/0218352 A1), further in view of Shrivastava (US 2014/0019352 A1).
Regarding claim 10, Cho discloses wherein the electronic transaction is associated with a purchase of an item from the merchant (see para. 0110, wherein performing a transaction at a point-of-sale terminal encompasses purchasing an item from a merchant).
Cho does not explicitly disclose, but Shrivastava teaches wherein the transaction information comprises an MCC code associated with the merchant and a category of the item (see para. 0215).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the method of Cho to include the feature of Shrivastava.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make the modification allow the wallet to implement rules for using funds (see Shrivastava, para. 0215).
Additional Prior Art
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Scott (US 2017/0017958 A1) discloses systems (100, 900), methods, and machine-executable data structures for the processing of data for the secure creation, administration, manipulation, processing, and storage of electronic data useful in the processing of electronic payment transactions and other secure data processes. Aspects of such systems (100) include trusted platforms (120) by which networked communication devices (110) and merchant systems (130) may registered as trusted entities 110′, 130. Information associated with particular payment means, such as accounts or payment tokens, can be stored on device(s) secure data sets known as virtual or electronic wallets (112), or in the form of secure payment tokens. Among other improvements, the invention enables the use of multiple payment accounts to fund purchases and other electronic transactions.
Sagan (US 2016/0292663 A1) discloses a system and method for allocating a transaction among a plurality of accounts. The system comprises one or more memory devices storing instructions and one or more data records associating a transaction rule with a first account, and one or more processors configured to execute the instructions to receive transaction information corresponding to a transaction associated with the first account. The transaction information includes a transaction amount. A processor is also configured to authorize the transaction based on account information of the first account and determine that the transaction information corresponds to a transaction rule associated with the first account, wherein the transaction rule includes allocation information and information identifying a second account. Additionally, the processor is configured to allocate at least a part of the transaction amount to the second account based on the allocation information according to the transaction rule.
Poole (US 2014/0279487 A1) discloses a system for funding changes regarding financial transactions. The system may include one or more memory devices storing software instructions and one or more processors configured to execute the software instructions to, for example, identify a first financial transaction for a first amount involving a first financial account associated with a user, and determine a second financial account associated with the user that can be used to fund the first financial transaction. The one or more processors may also be configured to provide a funding type change option that identifies the second financial account as an alternate financial account for funding the first financial transaction, receive a funding type change indication to change the funding type of the first financial transaction from the first financial account to the second financial account, and process the funding type change indication.
Mukherjee (US 2020/0250668 A1) discloses a method for automatically re-processing a transaction in an electronic payment processing network independent of a merchant system or a user includes: receiving a first transaction message associated with a payment transaction; generating a first authorization request; communicating the first authorization request to an issuer system; in response to determining that the first authorization request failed, automatically determining a second payment device associated with the user based on profile data; automatically generating a second authorization request associated with the transaction; communicating the second authorization request to a second issuer system; and in response to determining that the second authorization request was approved by the second issuer, processing the transaction based on the transaction data and the second account data.
Bialick (US 2018/0336544 A1) discloses a method and a system for reselecting of a payment method of a plurality of payment methods associated with a consolidated payment device. The method may include obtaining, at a remote server, a transaction request, responsive to initiation by a holder of a consolidated payment device, wherein the transaction request indicates a first payment method of said plurality of payment methods; authorizing the transaction request, following a process that may include, inter alia, verifying sufficient funds on the first payment method; receiving, at said remote server, a reselection request indicating a second payment method which is different than the first payment method; in a case that the transaction has not yet finalized, authorizing the transaction request with the second payment method and aborting the transaction with the first payment method; and in a case that the transaction has been finalized, authorizing the transaction request with the second payment method and initiating a cancel and refund process for the transaction with the first payment method.
Grigg (US 2014/0006149 A1) discloses systems, methods, and computer program products for notifying customers, post-transaction, of additional payment types accepted by the merchant and, in some embodiments, an option to change the payment type to one of the additional payment types. As such, the present invention serves to make the customer aware of new and emerging payment types, such as specific mobile payment types, that the customer may otherwise be unaware of their acceptance by the merchant. In addition, the merchant may provide and notify the customer of benefits (e.g., discounts, rebates/cash-back or the like) for using one of the additional payment types for a future transaction, thereby, enticing the customer to use the new and emerging payment type.
Antonucci (US 2012/0016730 A1) discloses facilitating the substantially real-time transfer of loyalty points between accounts. The method and system include receiving a transfer request (e.g., consumer request, triggering event, etc) for a transfer of a certain number of loyalty points, accessing and analyzing the total number of loyalty points in the transferor account to determine if a sufficient number of points exist, analyzing the type/level of consumer and type/level of points to be involved in the transfer, deducting the requested loyalty points from the transferor account, determining if any rules exist for restricting or limiting the transfer of points, using a conversion engine to convert the point value to an appropriate point value in the transferee account and increasing the point balance in the transferee account.
Note that claim 13 is not rejected over the prior art. While the prior art does disclose general re-allocation of rewards amounts, splitting payments across multiple accounts, or aggregating/redeeming points in digital wallets, it does not disclose detecting a user’s request to a split a transaction, determining separate reward amounts for multiple users, and then allocating a second user’s reward portion specifically in response to their reimbursement of the first user. This combination of elements, including the limitations of base claim 8, is neither anticipated nor rendered obvious by the prior art.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ERIC T WONG whose telephone number is (571)270-3405. The examiner can normally be reached 9am-5pm M-F.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Michael W Anderson can be reached at 571-270-0508. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/ERIC T WONG/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3693
ERIC WONG
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 3693