FllDETAILED 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 . This office action is in response to applicant's communication of March 25, 2026. The rejections are stated below. Claims 1-10 are pending and have been examined.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 101
35 U.S.C. 101 reads as follows:
Whoever invents or discovers any new and useful process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter, or any new and useful improvement thereof, may obtain a patent therefor, subject to the conditions and requirements of this title.
Claims 1-10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 101 because the claimed invention is directed to an abstract idea of selecting between two payment processing options based on a merchant-specific factor without significantly more.
The Examiner has identified independent system Claim 1 as the claim that represents the claimed invention for analysis.
Claim 1 is directed to a system which is one of the four statutory categories of invention (Step 1: YES).
Claim 1 recites “a … for accepting a dual function payment credential comprising: … for handling dual function payment credentials;
… associated with a merchant;
…:
receive a transaction authorization request message comprising a payment token and a merchant identifier from the …, wherein the transaction authorization request message is associated with a payment transaction between the merchant and a customer and the payment token reflects enrollment of the customer in an …;
detokenize the payment token to detect an account attribute for the payment token;
determine from the account attribute that a debit transaction option and an ACH transaction option exist for the payment token;
determine, based on the merchant identifier, an ability of the debit transaction option and the ACH transaction option to be associated with value-added services, and at least one additional factor, one of that the merchant or a party associated with the merchant elected to have the payment transaction completed via ACH transaction; and transmit the transaction authorization request message to the … for processing as an ACH transaction”.
These limitations describe an abstract idea of selecting between two payment processing options based on a merchant-specific factor and corresponds to Certain Methods of Organizing Human Activity (fundamental economic principles). Accordingly, claim 1 recites an abstract idea (Step 2A: Prong 1: YES).
This judicial exception is not integrated into a practical application. The additional elements, e.g., “system, a payment card network computer comprising a payment card network processor operably connected to a memory, wherein the memory stores program instructions including processor-executable …, a gateway/bridge computer operably connected to the payment card network computer, a merchant acquirer computer operably connected to the payment card network computer, wherein the payment card network processor is operative with the program instructions stored in the memory, automated clearing house (ACH) system” which do no more than implement the abstract idea and/or provide a particular technological environment. Therefore, claim 1 recites an abstract idea without a practical application (Step 2A - Prong 2: NO).
Further, as the additional elements of claim 1 do no more than serve as a tool to implement the abstract idea and/or provide a particular technological environment, they do not improve computer functionality or improve another technology or technical field. Thus, claim 1 is not patent eligible (Step 2B: NO).
Claim 6 also recites the abstract idea of selecting between two payment processing options based on a merchant-specific factor and corresponds to Certain Methods of Organizing Human Activity (fundamental economic principles). Claim 6 includes the additional elements of “a payment card network computer, comprising: a payment card network processor, and a memory operably connected to the payment card network processor and storing program instructions which when executed cause the payment card network processor, merchant acquirer computer, automated clearing house (ACH), gateway/bridge computer”. The additional elements do no more than serve as a tool to implement the abstract idea and/or provide a particular technological environment. Further, as the additional elements do no more than serve as a tool to implement the abstract idea and/or provide a particular technological environment they do not improve the functioning of a computer or improve other technology or technical field (MPEP 2106.05(a)).
Claims 2 and 7 each recite “further comprising a … operative to receive payment card account data from …, …to transmit the payment token provided by the … to the …” which further describe the abstract idea. The claim includes the additional elements of “merchant device, customer device, merchant device is operably connected to the merchant acquirer computer and is operable …, “. The additional element do no more than serve as a tool to implement the abstract idea and/or provide a particular technological environment. Further, as the additional elements do no more than serve as a tool to implement the abstract idea and/or provide a particular technological environment it does not improve the functioning of a computer or improve other technology or technical field (MPEP 2106.05(a)).
Claims 3 and 8 each recite “wherein the … to determine that the merchant identified by the merchant identifier is enrolled for ACH transactions” which further describe the abstract idea. The claim includes the additional element of “payment card network processor is further operative with the program instructions“. The additional element does no more than serve as a tool to implement the abstract idea and/or provide a particular technological environment. Further, as the additional element does no more than serve as a tool to implement the abstract idea and/or provide a particular technological environment it does not improve the functioning of a computer or improve other technology or technical field (MPEP 2106.05(a)).
Claims 4 and 9 each recite “wherein the at least one factor comprises respective costs of the debit transaction and the ACH transaction options” which further describe the abstract idea.
Claims 5 and 10 each recite “wherein the at least one factor comprises respective processing speeds of the debit transaction and the ACH transaction options” which further describe the abstract idea.
Claims 6 and 24 each recite “further comprising: in response to determining that the transaction does not satisfy at least one of the one or more rules, excluding the transaction data from processing by the …” which further describe the abstract idea. The claim includes the additional elements of “second machine learning model” as additional elements. The additional elements do no more than serve as a tool to implement the abstract idea and/or provide a particular technological environment. Further, as the additional elements do no more than serve as a tool to implement the abstract idea and/or provide a particular technological environment they do not improve the functioning of a computer or improve other technology or technical field (MPEP 2106.05(a)).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. US 2017/0364880 A1 (Malhotra et al.) provides a technical foundation for tokenizing deposit account numbers for ACH processing. US 10,395,247 B2 (Gilliam et al.) discloses a system for securely transferring funds using tokenized instruments over an ACH network. The specific inventive concept of “receive a transaction authorization request message comprising a payment token and a merchant identifier from the merchant acquirer computer, wherein the transaction authorization request message is associated with a payment transaction between the merchant and a customer and the payment token reflects enrollment of the customer in an automated clearing house (ACH) system; detokenize the payment token to detect an account attribute for the payment token; determine from the account attribute that a debit transaction option and an ACH transaction option exist for the payment token; determine, based on the merchant identifier, an ability of the debit transaction option and the ACH transaction option to be associated with value-added services, and at least one additional factor, one of that the merchant or a party associated with the merchant elected to have the payment transaction completed via ACH transaction” is not found in the prior art record.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to KEVIN T POE whose telephone number is (571)272-9789. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday-Friday 9:30 am through 6pm EST.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Ryan Donlon can be reached on 571-270-3602. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of an application may be obtained from the Patent Application Information Retrieval (PAIR) system. Status information for published applications may be obtained from either Private PAIR or Public PAIR. Status information for unpublished applications is available through Private PAIR only. For more information about the PAIR system, see https://ppair-my.uspto.gov/pair/PrivatePair. Should you have questions on access to the Private PAIR system, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative or access to the automated information system, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/K.T.P/Examiner, Art Unit 3692 /KEVIN T POE
/RYAN D DONLON/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3692 August 14, 2026
Prosecution Insights