CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0001] This application claims the benefit of priority of U.S. Provisional

Application No. 61/607,841 filed on March 7, 2012, which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety for all purposes.

BACKGROUND

[0002] Many people living in developing countries do not have access to financial services provided by traditional financial institutions. Such services include deposits accounts, checking accounts, credit cards, etc. These people are often referred to as "the unbanked" and they primarily rely on in-person cash and barter transactions when buying, selling, or trading goods. To fill this void, mobile network operators (MNOs) are increasingly providing financial services over mobile communications networks. For example, MNOs are modifying and supplementing infrastructure to add capabilities associated with processing financial transactions. Such capabilities include authorizing, clearing, and settling transactions. As a result, MNOs are functioning as payment processors, financial account administrators and deposit holders, and MNOs are using their retail stores and agents as brick-and-mortar banking locations where users can deposit and withdraw funds. Consumers can use their mobile accounts as deposits accounts, and they can use their mobile devices to make payments and funds transfers. For example, to purchase an item from a retailer, a consumer can use their mobile device to transfer an amount equal to the cost of the item from their mobile money account to the merchant's mobile money account.

[0003] Consumers commonly redeem coupons when purchasing items from retailers. For example, a coupon is ticket or document that a consumer can redeem by presenting to a retailer in exchange for a discount on an item that is the subject of the coupon. In many cases, manufactures of items issue coupons that consumers can redeem at merchants that resell the relevant items. In these cases, upon honoring the coupons by providing the consumer the value of the coupon, the merchants seek reimbursement from the relevant manufacturers that issued the coupons. Seeking reimbursement can be an onerous process involving long delays.

[0004] Embodiments of the invention address the above problems, and other problems, individually and collectively.

BRIEF SUMMARY

[0005] Embodiments of the invention provide systems and methods of distributing coupons and processing coupon reimbursement requests. According to embodiments, coupon-issuing entities, such as product manufacturers, distribute coupons to

consumers. Consumers redeem these coupons when purchasing the relevant products from retailers. Retailers provide the consumers the value of the redeemed coupons and then use mobile devices to submit reimbursement requests to a mobile money platform, which settles the reimbursement requests by transferring the value of the redeemed coupons from the coupon-providing entities' mobile money accounts to the retailers' mobile money accounts.

[0006] Embodiments of the invention provide a mobile money platform that comprises a processor and a computer readable medium coupled to the processor. The computer readable medium comprises code for implementing a method that comprises: receiving a coupon from a coupon-issuing entity; assigning a coupon code to the coupon; distributing the coupon, including the coupon code assigned thereto, via a mobile communications network to a mobile device of a consumer, wherein the consumer presents the coupon to a retailer and wherein the retailer provides the consumer a value of the coupon; receiving a reimbursement request from the retailer that provided the value of the coupon to the consumer, wherein the reimbursement request includes the coupon code of the coupon; and transferring funds equal to the value of the coupon from a mobile money account of the coupon-issuing entity to a mobile money account of the retailer.

[0007] Other embodiments of the invention provide a mobile money platform that comprises a processor and a computer readable medium coupled to the processor. The computer readable medium comprises code for implementing a method that comprises: receiving a purchase transaction request from a retailer, the purchase transaction request includes a coupon code of a coupon and a retail price of a product or service that a consumer is purchasing from the retailer; using the coupon code of the coupon to obtain terms of the coupon; calculating a value of the coupon by applying the terms of the coupon to the retail price of the product or service that the consumer is purchasing; calculating an adjusted retail price of the product or service based at least part on the retail price of the product or service and the value of the coupon; settling a purchase transaction between the retailer and consumer by transferring an amount equal to the adjusted retail price from a mobile money account of the consumer to a mobile money account of the retailer; and reimbursing the retailer for the value of the coupon by transferring an amount equal to the value of the coupon from a mobile money account of a coupon-issuing entity to the mobile money account of the retailer

[0008] These and other embodiments of the invention are described in further detail below.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0009] FIG. 1 shows a system diagram illustrating aspects of a mobile money system according to embodiments of the invention.

[0010] FIG. 2 shows an example mobile device according to embodiments of the invention.

[0011] FIG. 3 shows a block diagram of components of a mobile money platform according to embodiments of the invention.

[0012] FIG. 4 shows a flowchart illustrating an example process of distributing coupons to consumers according to embodiments of the invention.

[0013] FIG. 5 shows a flowchart illustrating an example process of reimbursing retailers according to embodiments of the invention.

[0014] FIG. 6 shows a flowchart illustrating an example process of reimbursing consumers according to embodiments of the invention.

[0015] FIG. 7 shows a flowchart illustrating an example process of processing purchase transactions, according to embodiments of the present invention. [0016] FIG. 8 shows an example mobile device according to embodiments of the invention.

[0017] FIG. 9 shows a block diagram of an example computer apparatus according to embodiments of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0018] Embodiments of the invention provide systems and methods of distributing coupons and processing coupon reimbursement requests. According to embodiments, coupon-issuing entities, such as product manufacturers, distribute coupons to

consumers. Consumers redeem these coupons when purchasing the relevant products from retailers. Retailers provide the consumers the value of the redeemed coupons and then use mobile devices to submit reimbursement requests to a mobile money platform, which settles the reimbursement requests by transferring the value of the redeemed coupons from the coupon-providing entities' mobile money accounts to the retailers' mobile money accounts.

[0019] An example will now be provided to illustrate operation of an embodiment of the invention. In this example, a product manufacturer distributes coupons to consumers' mobile devices. The coupons may be distributed via mobile communication networks to consumers' mobile devices in the form of multimedia messaging service (MMS) messages that include photographs, images, and/or brief text descriptions of the relevant products and the terms of the coupons, and a code that corresponds to the coupon. The coupons could also be distributed via unstructured supplementary service data (USSD) sessions, short message service (SMS) messages, or other suitable message formats and protocols. In some embodiments, as described below with reference to FIG. 4, a mobile money platform may be used to distribute coupons to consumers' mobile devices.

[0020] Continuing with the above example, when purchasing one of the manufacturer's products from a retailer, a consumer redeems one of the coupons by presenting the coupon to the retailer, who then provides the consumer the value of the coupon. For example, the consumer may provide the retailer with the code that was included in the coupon. This may be done by showing the coupon to the retailer, reading aloud the code to the retailer, by forwarding the coupon to a mobile device of the retailer, etc. After providing the consumer the value of the coupon, the retailer sends a reimbursement request to a mobile money platform (e.g., FUNDAMO

ENTERPRISE EDITION). For example, the retailer sends the mobile money platform a message (e.g., via MMS, SMS, USSD) that includes the coupon code and/or

transaction details that can be used to calculate the value of the redeemed coupon. For example, if the coupon were for a 10% discount on the retail price, then the

reimbursement request includes the coupon code and the retail price, so that the mobile money platform can calculate the value of the redeemed coupon.

[0021] Continuing with this example, the mobile money platform uses the coupon code included in the reimbursement request to authenticate the coupon and to obtain the terms of the coupon. Based on the terms of the coupon and/or the transaction details, the mobile money platform calculates the value of the redeemed coupon and transfers the calculated value form the manufacturer's mobile money account to the retailer's mobile money account. It should be appreciated that, instead of automatically calculating and transferring the value of the redeemed coupon, the mobile money platform forwards the reimbursement message (e.g., via MMS, SMS, USSD) to the manufacturer, which verifies the coupon and/or calculates the value of the coupon, and sends a message (e.g., via MMS, SMS, USSD) instructing the mobile money platform to transfer the value of the coupon from the manufacturer's mobile money account to the retailer's mobile money account. The mobile money platform may then send a confirmation message (e.g., via MMS, SMS, USSD) to the retailer, the manufacturer, and/or the consumer.

[0022] Prior to discussing embodiments of the invention, descriptions of some terms may be helpful.

[0023] The term "mobile device" may refer to a device suitable for communication over a network. A mobile device may, for example, communicate with a mobile money platform and other mobile devices via a mobile communications network. A mobile device may be provided in any suitable form. For example, suitable devices can be hand-held, compact, mobile, and enabled to communicate over a network interface, and may have an associated device identifier (e.g., mobile phone number). Examples of devices include wireless and cellular telephones, PDAs, personal computers (PCs), tablets, and the like. Mobile devices may also be referenced herein as portable devices or cellular telephones.

[0024] The term "mobile money platform" may include a network of suitable software programs and processing entities (e.g., computers) that can have the ability to generate messages, route messages, access data processing systems to allow users to use mobile devices, such as cellular phones, to deposit, withdraw, and transfer money between mobile money accounts.

[0025] The mobile money platform may have or operate at least a server computer and may include a database. The database may include any hardware, software, firmware, or combination of the preceding for storing and facilitating retrieval of information. In addition, the database may use any of a variety of data structures, arrangements, and compilations to store and facilitate retrieval of information. The server computer may be coupled to the database and may include any hardware, software, other logic, or combination of the preceding for servicing the requests from one or more client computers. The server computer may comprise one or more computational apparatuses and may use any of a variety of computing structures, arrangements, and compilations for servicing the requests from one or more client computers.

[0026] The term "mobile money account" may refer to an account associated with an individual, such as a consumer, a retailer, and/or a coupon-issuing entity. In some embodiments, a mobile money account is managed by a mobile money platform.

Mobile money accounts may be linked to a mobile device of an individual, which enables the individual to perform actions on their mobile money account via their mobile device.

[0027] The term "consumer" may refer to an individual or entity that purchases item from retailers. In some embodiments, consumers subscribe to receive coupons, and can designate which types of coupons they wish to receive by preselecting criteria such as price ranges, item and/or product descriptions types, retailer locations/types, etc. [0028] The term "retailer" may refer to an individual or entity that is to receive monetary funds for a transaction. In typical transactions, the retailer is a merchant who provides goods or services in exchange for monetary funds. The retailer may accept coupons from consumers and seek reimbursement from coupon-issuing entities.

[0029] The term "coupon-issuing entity" may refer to an individual or business that that issues coupons for products and services. For example, a coupon-issuing entity may be a manufacture of a product or a provider of a service that desires to incent consumers to purchase their products or services. In some examples, a retailer accepts a coupon by providing the redeeming consumer the value of the coupon, and then the retailer seeks reimbursement from the coupon-issuing entity.

[0030] The term "coupon" may refer to an offer relating to the purchase of goods and/or services. A coupon may be provided in the form of a message sent by a coupon-issuing entity directly to consumers or to consumers via an intermediary, such as a mobile money platform, which routes the coupon to consumers. In some

examples, the coupons are included in messages ("coupon messages") sent over mobile communication networks to consumers' mobile devices. The coupon messages may include descriptions of the relevant goods and/or services, the terms of the offers related to the purchase of the goods and/or services (e.g., 10% discount, 'buy one, get one free'), retailers that will accept the coupon, expiration dates, rules for retailers seeking reimbursement, etc. The coupon messages may also comprise an image or other visual data file depicting the goods and/or services. The coupon messages may be sent over the mobile communications network in any appropriate messaging format by any appropriate messaging means. In some embodiments, the coupon messages may be sent by SMS, MMS, or USSD messaging.

[0031] The term "coupon code" may refer to a sequence of numbers and/or letters uniquely identifying a coupon. In some embodiments, the coupons sent to and from the mobile money platform may include a coupon code. In embodiments, retailers include the coupon codes in reimbursement requests and, when the mobile money platform receives the reimbursement requests, the mobile money platform uses the coupon codes to obtain the coupon terms, which are used when processing the reimbursement request. [0032] The term "value of the coupon" may refer to the value provided to the redeeming consumer. For example, if the coupon is for a 10% discount on the retail price of a product, then the value of the coupon is 10% of the retail price of the product.

[0033] The term "reimbursement request" may be a request sent from a retailer to a mobile money platform and/or a coupon-issuing entity, requesting reimbursement for the value of a coupon that the requesting retailer provided to a coupon-redeeming consumer. According to embodiments, the reimbursement request includes a coupon code for the redeem coupon and/or transaction details of the relevant transaction. In some embodiments, the reimbursement requests may be sent via SMS, MMS, or USSD messages. Further, according to embodiments, consumer (rather than retailers) send reimbursement requests to the mobile money platform, requesting reimbursement for the value of a coupon.

[0034] The term "subscription data" may refer to data submitted by consumers indicating coupon preferences. In embodiments, consumers may provide subscription data to the mobile money platform indicating the goods or services for which the consumers wish to receive coupons. For example, one subscribing consumer may be interested in receiving coupons for toiletries (e.g., shampoo, toothpaste, deodorant, etc.), another subscribing consumer may be interested in receiving coupons for food items (e.g., produce, meats and fish, cheese, milk, etc.), while another subscribing consumer may be interested in receiving all coupons. Other types of data included in the subscriptions data may include, but is not limited to: location data, price ranges, telephone numbers, mobile money account information, etc. Subscription data may be provided from the consumer via a mobile device in communication with the mobile money platform via a mobile communications network. The subscription data may be stored and accessed by the mobile money platform.

[0035] The term "transferring the value of the redeemed coupon" may refer to transferring money from one account to another. In some embodiments, transferring a value of redeemed coupon is part of a process where the mobile money platform transfers money from one mobile money account to another, such as from the mobile money account of a coupon-issuing entity to the mobile money account of a retailer. In embodiments of the invention, the transfer of funds is conducted by electronically debiting money from a mobile money account of the coupon-issuing entity and electronically crediting the funds to the mobile money account of the retailer.

[0036] The term "purchase transaction request" may refer to a request sent from a retailer to a mobile money platform, requesting that the mobile money platform calculate the value of a coupon and the adjusted retail price of a product or service (e.g., adjusted to account for the value of the coupon). In some examples, the purchase transaction request includes a coupon code obtained from a coupon presented by a consumer and transaction details and/or information about the product or service being purchased (e.g., retail price, quantity, description, etc.).

[0037] The term "adjusted retail price" may refer to the price of a product or service after accounting for the value of a relevant coupon. For example, the adjusted retail price of a product or service can be the retail price minus the value of the coupon.

[0038] FIG. 1 illustrates aspects of an environment 100 in which a mobile money platform 104 hosted by a mobile network operator (MNO) 108 provides mobile money and mobile coupon services to consumers 112, coupon-issuing entities 114, and retailers 116. In accordance with various embodiments, the environment 100 distributes coupons from coupon-issuing entities 114 to consumers 122 and processes

reimbursement requests from retailers 116 by transferring reimbursement funds from coupon-issuing entities 114 to retailers 116.

[0039] According to embodiments, coupon-issuing entities may be individuals or businesses that desire to distribute coupons, such as coupons for products and services, and consumer 112 are individuals or businesses that receive such coupons. For example, a coupon-issuing entity 114 may be a manufacture of a product, and an consumer 112 may be an individual consumer who redeems the coupon at a retailer 116 when purchasing the manufacture's product. After the retailer provides the consumer the value of the coupon (e.g., 10% off of purchase price of a product), the retailer 116 may submit a reimbursement request to the mobile money platform 104, which processes the request by transferring the value of the redeemed coupon from a mobile money account of coupon-issuing entity 114 to a mobile money account of the retailer 116. [0040] The environment 100 includes a mobile communications network 124 for transmitting messages between mobile devices 130 of consumers 112, coupon-issuing entities 114 and retailers 116, and the mobile money platform 104. It should be appreciated that the network 124 may include any appropriate network, including a cellular network, an intranet, the Internet, a local area network, a wide area network, a wireless data network, or any other such network or combination thereof.

[0041] According to embodiments, consumers 112, coupon-issuing entities 114, and/or retailers 116 use mobile devices 130 programmed with a mobile money application 134. FIG. 2 illustrates an example mobile device 130 for sending and receiving communications according to an embodiment. The mobile device 130 includes a user-removable communication component 238. In the exemplary embodiment, the communication component 238 is a SIM card programmed with the mobile money application 134, and the mobile device 130 is a cellular telephone. It should be understood that in other embodiments, the mobile device 130 can be other types of portable communication devices, and the communication component 238 can be other types of user-removable communication components. For example, the communication component can also be one of various types of memory cards, such as a secure digital (SD) memory card that can be used in conjunction with the

communication device to send and receive communications.

[0042] The communication component 238 of mobile device 130 can come in various form factors. For example, in embodiments in which the communication component is a SIM card, the communication component 238 can have a form factor according to a full-sized SIM card or a mini-SIM card as specified in the ISO/I EC 7810 standard, or a micro-SIM card or a nano-SIM card as specified in the ETSI TS 102 221 standard. In other embodiments, for example, in which the communication component 238 is a SD memory card, the communication component 238 can have a form factor according to a full-size SD card, a micro-SD card, or a mini-SD card as specified in the SD standard of the Secure Digital Association.

[0043] Referring again to FIG. 1 , according to some embodiments, the environment 100 further includes agents 120. Users (e.g., consumers, retailers, coupon-issuing entities) can deposit and withdraw cash to and from their mobile money accounts at an outlet 140 operated by an agent 120. The agent can be for example a representative of an MNO, and the outlet 140 can be a brick-and-mortar retail store location of the MNO, where users can buy and activate mobile devices, among other things.

[0044] To deposit/add cash to a mobile money account, a user physically gives the agent 120 cash and the agent converts the cash to electronic money in the user's mobile money account. To do so, the agent 120 uses a mobile device 130 loaded with a version of mobile money application 134 to load money into the user's mobile money account. For example, agent 120 accepts the cash and then uses a mobile device 130 to transfer money from the agent's own account to the user's account. Certain fees and commissions may be associated with such a transaction.

[0045] It will be helpful to have reference to an example mobile money platform 104 in accordance with at least one embodiment. FIG. 3 provides a block diagram of one such example mobile money platform 104. The mobile money platform 104 comprises a user-interface apparatus 304, a network-interface apparatus 308, and a memory apparatus 312 operatively coupled to a processing apparatus 316.

[0046] As described in greater detail below, embodiments of the mobile money platform 104 are generally configured to provide mobile money services in combination with facilitating mobile coupons services, such as those services described with reference to FIGS. 4-6. In this regard, according to at least some embodiments, the mobile money platform 104 may be owned, maintained, operated by, and/or operated on behalf of institutions such as MNOs, financial institutions, mobile money service providers, coupon-issuing entities, and/or other suitable entities. The mobile money platform 104 may, in some embodiments, be integrated with other systems and environments of such institutions and may share at least some hardware, software, and/or other resources with such other systems and environments. Further, the mobile money platform 104 may, in some embodiments, be integrated with other systems and environments, such as environment 100, and may share at least some hardware, software, and/or other resources with such other systems and environments.

[0047] As used herein, the term "apparatus" refers to a device or a combination of devices having the hardware and/or software configured to perform one or more specified functions. Therefore, an apparatus is not necessarily a single device and may, instead, include a plurality of devices that make up the apparatus. The plurality of devices may be directly coupled to one another or may be remote from one another, such as distributed over a network.

[0048] It will be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art in light of the present disclosure that, although FIG. 3 illustrates the user interface 304, the network interface 308, the memory apparatus 312, and the processing apparatus 316 as separate blocks in the block diagram, these separations may be merely conceptual. In other words, in some instances, the user interface 308, for example, is a separate and distinct device from the processing apparatus 316 and the memory apparatus 312 and therefore may have its own processor, memory, and software. In other instances, however, the user interface 304 is directly coupled to or integral with at least one part of the processing apparatus 316 and at least one part of the memory apparatus 312. Further, the user interface 104 may include input and output hardware used by the processing apparatus 316 when the processing apparatus 316 executes user input and output software stored in the memory apparatus 312.

[0049] As will be described in greater detail below, in one embodiment, the mobile money platform 104 is entirely contained within a user terminal, such as a personal computer or mobile terminal, while, in other embodiments, the mobile money platform 104 includes a central computing system, one or more network servers, and one or more user terminals in communication with the central computing system via a network and the one or more network servers. FIG. 3 is intended to cover both types of configurations as well as other configurations that will be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art in view of this disclosure.

[0050] The user interface 304 includes hardware and/or software for receiving input into the mobile money platform 104 from a user and hardware and/or software for communicating output from the mobile money platform 104 to a user, such as a system administrator, or an account holder such as a consumer or retailer accessing his account via the Internet or mobile device. In some embodiments, the user interface 304 includes one or more user input devices, such as a keyboard, keypad, mouse, microphone, touch screen, touch pad, controller, and/or the like. In some embodiments, the user interface 304 includes one or more user output devices, such as a display (e.g., a monitor, liquid crystal display, one or more light emitting diodes, etc.), a speaker, a tactile output device, a printer, and/or other sensory devices that can be used to communicate information to a person.

[0051] In some embodiments, the network interface 308 is configured to receive electronic input from other devices, such as devices in the environment 100, including the mobile devices of consumer, coupon-issuing entities, and retailers. In some embodiments, the network interface 308 is further configured to send electronic output to other devices in a network.

[0052] The processing apparatus 316 includes circuitry used for implementing communication and logic functions of the mobile money platform 104. For example, the processing apparatus 316 may include a digital signal processor device, a

microprocessor device, and various analog-to-digital converters, digital-to-analog converters, and other support circuits. Control and signal processing functions of the mobile money platform 104 are allocated between these devices according to their respective capabilities. The processing apparatus 316 may include functionality to operate one or more software programs based on computer-readable instructions thereof, which may be stored in the memory apparatus 312. As described in greater detail below, in one embodiment of the invention, the memory apparatus 312 includes a mobile money application 320 having modules 320(A)-(F) stored therein for instructing the processing apparatus 316 to perform one or more operations of the procedures described herein and in reference to FIGS 4-6, for example. Some embodiments of the invention may include other computer programs stored in the memory apparatus 312.

[0053] In general, the memory apparatus 312 is communicatively coupled to the processing apparatus 316 and includes at least one non-transitory computer-readable storage medium for storing computer-readable program code and instructions, as well as data stores containing data and/or databases. More particularly, the memory apparatus 312 may include volatile memory, such as volatile Random Access Memory (RAM) including a cache area for the temporary storage of data. The memory

apparatus 312 may also include non-volatile memory that can be embedded and/or may be removable. The non-volatile memory can, for example, comprise an EEPROM, flash memory, or the like. The memory apparatus 312 can store any of a number of pieces of information and data used by the mobile money platform 104 to implement the functions of the mobile money platform 104 described herein.

[0054] In the illustrated embodiment, the memory apparatus 312 includes data stores containing accounts data 330, subscriptions data 334, and coupon data 338.

[0055] According to some embodiments, the accounts data 330 includes data relevant to mobile money accounts of users (e.g., consumers, coupon-issuing entities, retailers). For example, the accounts data may include account holder's name and contact information. The accounts data 330 may also include account numbers, reference numbers, mobile telephone numbers, and other identifiers that are linked to mobile money accounts. Further, the accounts data 330 may include information such as account balances and mobile money transaction histories, including the transaction amounts, payer identifiers, payee identifiers, and dates of each of the historical transactions. Further, for historical reimbursement transactions facilitated by the mobile money platform 104 in connection with reimbursing a retailer for the redeemed value of a coupon, the accounts data 330 may include information such as, descriptions of the items and/or services purchased or sold, the purchase prices and other transaction details, the coupon codes and terms, and the like. Still further, for historical payment transactions involving coupons where the mobile money platform 104 transferred purchase and/or reimbursement funds between consumers, retailers, and/or coupon- issuing entities, the accounts data 330 may include information such as, coupon code, value of coupon, retail price, purchase amount transferred from the consumer's mobile money account to the retailer's, reimbursement amount transferred from the coupon- issuing entity's mobile money account to the retailer's and/or the consumer's.

[0056] According to some embodiments, the subscriptions data 334 includes data relevant to consumer preferences regarding products, services, coupon types, retailers, location, etc. For example, the subscription data 334 includes data submitted by subscribing consumers indicating preferences. In embodiments, subscribing

consumers provide subscription data to the mobile money platform 104 indicating the goods or services for which the subscribing consumers wish to receive coupons (a.k.a., offer messages). For example, one subscribing consumer may be interested in receiving coupons for toiletries (e.g., shampoo, toothpaste, deodorant, etc.), another subscribing consumer may be interested in receiving coupons for food items (e.g., produce, meats and fish, cheese, milk, etc.), while another subscribing consumer may be interested in receiving all coupons. Other types of data included in the subscriptions data 334 may include, but is not limited to: location data, price ranges, telephone numbers, mobile money account information, etc.

[0057] According to some embodiments, the coupon data 338 includes electronic coupons provided or established by coupon-providing entities. The coupon data 338 may include coupon codes that are unique to individual coupons and descriptions and/or codes for the products and/or services that are the subjects of the coupons. The coupon data 338 may also include the coupon terms, such as the coupon value (e.g., buy-one-get-one-free, 10% discount, etc), the retailers and locations where the coupons can be redeemed, expiration dates, redemption procedures, and the like. The coupon data 338 may also indicate the relevant coupon-issuing entities (e.g., manufacturer, producer, wholesaler, reseller, etc) that issued the coupon and that will reimburse retailers and other coupon-accepting entities for the value of the coupons once redeemed by consumers. According to some embodiments, the mobile money platform 104 sends coupons stored in the coupon data 338 to consumers based on the subscription data 334 of the consumers. For example, the mobile money platform 104 sends toiletry coupons to those consumers whose subscription data indicates an interest in receiving coupons for toiletries.

[0058] In some embodiments, accounts data 330, subscriptions data 334, and coupon data 338 may be received in a number of ways, including but not limited to receiving from a user via the user's mobile device, through other electronic

communication with devices and external data sources via the network interface 308, from users and administrators via the user interface 304, etc. For example, subscription data may be provided by a consumer via a mobile device in communication with the mobile money platform 104 via a mobile communications network 124.

[0059] For the sake of clarity and ease of description, the figures provided herein generally illustrate the accounts data 330, subscriptions data 334, and coupon data 338 as each being separate from one another. However, it will be understood that, in some embodiments, these data stores may be combined or the data described as being stored within such data stores may be further separated into additional data stores.

[0060] As further illustrated by FIG. 3 and as briefly mentioned above, the memory apparatus 312 also includes the mobile money application 320. As used herein, the term "application" generally refers to computer-readable program code comprising computer-readable instructions and stored on a computer-readable storage medium, where the instructions instruct a processor to perform certain functions, such as logic functions, read and write functions, and/or the like. In this regard, the mobile money application 320 includes computer-readable instructions for instructing the processing apparatus 316 and/or other devices to perform one or more of the processes described herein, such as one or more of the processes described in FIGS. 4-6.

[0061] FIG. 4 provides a flow diagram illustrating an exemplary process 400 for distributing coupons from coupon-issuing entities 114 to consumers 112, according to embodiments of the present invention. The process 400 generally begins with receiving coupons from coupon-issuing entities, as indicated at block 402. According to some embodiments, the coupon-issuing entities 114, such as manufacturers, wholesalers, resellers, distributers, etc. of products and/or services, send one or more coupons to the mobile money platform 104. In some examples, coupon-issuing entities 114 send the coupons to the mobile money platform 104 via messages sent over the network 124. According to embodiments, these messages are transmitted from the mobile devices 130 of coupon-issuing entities 114 over the mobile communications network 124 to the MNO 108, which routes the messages via the network interface 308 to a coupon intake module 320(A) of the mobile money platform 320. The messages may be sent in the form of SMS, MMS, and/or USSD messages and can include photos, images or description of the relevant product or service, the terms of the coupon/offer, etc. The coupons may be, for example, promotional offers for products and/or services, such as discounted purchase prices, "by one, get one free" offers, etc. It should also be appreciated that the coupon-issuing entities 114 may send the coupons to the mobile money platform 104 via the Internet or other known networks and client devices.

[0062] As indicated at block 406, coupon codes are assigned to coupons. For example, the coupon intake module 320(A), upon receiving a message from a coupon- issuing entity 114 containing a coupon/offer, assigns a coupon code to the coupon and stores the coupon in the coupon database 338. The coupon codes can be used to track the coupons as they are passed between consumers 112, retailers 116, coupon-issuing entities 114, and/or the mobile money platform. As indicated at block 408, coupons are sent to consumers 112. According to embodiments, the mobile money platform 104 identifies which consumers 112 to whom to send the coupons. For example, the subscription module 320B of the mobile money platform 104 accesses the subscriptions data 334 to review consumer preferences and to identify the consumers 112 whose preferences indicate they would be interested in receiving particular coupons. In some embodiment, the subscriptions data 334 indicates the goods or services for which the consumers wish to receive coupons, and thus the subscription module 320B cross- references the text description of the product or service of the coupon with the subscriptions data. Other types of subscriptions data considered by the subscription module 320B include location data, price settings, mobile money account information, etc. According to embodiments, a coupon distribution module 320C of the mobile money platform 104 sends coupons to the mobile devices 102 of the consumers 112 based on the determinations made by the subscription module 320B. For example, the coupon distribution module 320C formats the coupons into SMS and/or MMS messages and transmits the coupons to the mobile devices 102 via the mobile communications network 124.

[0063] As indicated at block 410, the consumer 112 present the coupons, including the associated coupon codes, to retailers 116 and, as indicated at block 414, the retailers 116 provide the respective value of the coupons to the consumers. For example, a consumer 112 who is purchasing an item from a retailer 116, may show the coupon to the retailer as it is displayed on the consumer's mobile device 102. For example, the consumer 112 may show the display of his or her mobile device to the retailer 116, who then reads the coupon from the display. The retailer 116 records the coupon code and then provides the value of the coupon to the consumer 112. For example, if the consumer is buying shampoo and the coupon is for a $1 discount on the shampoo, then the retailer 116 records the coupon code and gives the consumer a $1 discount on the shampoo. As indicated at block 420, payment is settled. For example, purchase money for the product or service is transferred from a mobile money account of the consumer 112 to a mobile money account of the retailer 116. In some cases, the consumer 112 uses a mobile payment application 134 on a mobile device 130 to send a message to the mobile money platform 104, specifying the amount of money to transfer from the consumer's mobile money account to the merchant's mobile money account. In response, a funds transfer module 320E transfers the specified funds between the accounts. With reference to the shampoo example above, in the event the retail price of the shampoo is $5, the retailer at block 414 gives the consumer the value of the $1 coupon by charging the consumer $4 for the shampoo. At block 420, the consumer instructs the mobile money platform to transfer $4 from the consumer's mobile money account to the retailer's mobile money account. The retailer then seeks reimbursement for the $1 from the coupon-issuing entity, according to process 500 of FIG. 5.

[0064] FIG. 5 provides a flow diagram illustrating an exemplary process 500 for providing reimbursement to a retailer, according to embodiments of the present invention. The process 500 generally begins, according to block 502, with the retailer 116 sending a reimbursement request to the mobile money platform 104. For example, after providing a consumer 112 the value of a redeemed coupon (e.g., 10% discount off of retail price), the retailer 116 sends to the mobile money platform 104 a

reimbursement message that includes the coupon code and/or transaction details (e.g., retail price of the purchased product, the amount the consumer actually paid for the product, the value of the coupon, etc). As indicated at block 506, the reimbursement amount is calculated. In some embodiments, a reimbursement / coupon value module 320D of the mobile money application 320 calculates the reimbursement amount. In some examples, the reimbursement amount equals the value of the redeemed coupon. For example, if the coupon was for a $1 discount on an item, then the reimbursement amount is $1. Also, for example, if the coupon was for a 10% discount on an item, the reimbursement / coupon value module 320D uses the transaction details to determine the retail price of the item and/or amount the consumer actually paid the retailer for the item, and then calculates the reimbursement amount based thereon. It should be appreciated that these are merely examples and that other types of coupons and methods of calculating reimbursement amounts may be provided.

[0065] As indicated at block 510, the reimbursement amount is transferred from the coupon-issuing entity to the retailer. According to embodiments, the mobile money platform 104 transfers the reimbursement amount from a mobile money account of the coupon-issuing entity 114 (e.g., the manufacturer, producer, provider, reseller, wholesaler, etc. of the product that was the subject of the coupon) to a mobile money account of the retailer 116. For example, a funds transfer module 320E of the mobile money application 320 transfers the reimbursement amount from the coupon-issuing entity's mobile money account to the retailer's mobile money account. It should be appreciated that rather than a mobile money account, the coupon-issuing entity may have another type of account (e.g., regular deposits account) from which

reimbursement funds are transferred to mobile money accounts of retailers. As indicated at block 514, confirmation notice is sent. For example, a confirmation module 320F of the mobile money application 320 sends a confirmation message to the mobile devices 130 of the consumer, the retailer, and/or the coupon-issuing entity, indicating that the reimbursement funds have been transferred.

[0066] Turing to FIG. 6, it should be appreciated that in some embodiments, rather than retailers 116 providing consumers the value of coupons at the point of sale, consumers pay the retailers full price and then seek reimbursement for the value of the coupons from the coupon-issuing entity. For example, with reference to the shampoo example above, the consumer pays the retailer the full $5 retail price for the shampoo and then the consumer seeks reimbursement for the $1 value of the coupon from the coupon-issuing entity.

[0067] FIG. 6 provides a flow diagram illustrating an exemplary process 600 for providing reimbursement to a consumer, according to embodiments of the present invention. The process 600 generally begins, according to block 602, with the consumer 116 sending a reimbursement request to the mobile money platform 104. It should be appreciated that the retailer can send the reimbursement request on behalf of the consumer. For example, after purchasing a product from a retailer for full retail price, the consumer sends to the mobile money platform 104 a reimbursement message that includes the coupon code and/or transaction details (e.g., retail price of the purchased product, the value of the coupon, etc). In another example, rather then the consumer sending the reimbursement message, the retailer sends the reimbursement message on behalf of the consumer. This reimbursement message may include information about the consumer, the coupon code, identification/description of the product or service in question, and the reimbursement amount. According to embodiments, receiving the request to reimburse the consumer from the retailer, rather than the consumer, may help authenticate that the reimbursement request is for a purchase transaction that actually occurred. For example, the retailer may include a purchase code or some other type of identifier that can be used to verify that the transaction actually occurred.

[0068] As indicated at block 606, the reimbursement amount is calculated. In some embodiments, a reimbursement / coupon value module 320D of the mobile money application 320 calculates the reimbursement amount. In some examples, the reimbursement amount equals the value of the coupon. For example, if the coupon is for a $1 discount on an item, then the reimbursement amount is $1. Also, for example, if the coupon is for a 10% discount on an item, the reimbursement / coupon value module 320D uses the transaction details to determine the retail price of the item and/or amount the consumer actually paid the retailer for the item, and then calculates the reimbursement amount based thereon. It should be appreciated that these are merely examples and that other types of coupons and methods of calculating reimbursement amounts may be provided.

[0069] As indicated at block 610, the reimbursement amount is transferred from the coupon-issuing entity to the consumer. According to embodiments, the mobile money platform 104 transfers the reimbursement amount from a mobile money account of the coupon-issuing entity 114 (e.g., the manufacturer, producer, provider, reseller, wholesaler, etc. of the product that was the subject of the coupon) to a mobile money account of the consumer 112. For example, a funds transfer module 320E of the mobile money application 320 transfers the reimbursement amount from the coupon-issuing entity's mobile money account to the consumer's mobile money account. It should be appreciated that rather than a mobile money account, the coupon-issuing entity may have another type of account (e.g., regular deposits account) from which

reimbursement funds are transferred to mobile money accounts of consumers. As indicated at block 614, confirmation notice is sent. For example, the confirmation module 320F of the mobile money application 320 sends a confirmation message to the mobile devices 130 of the consumer, the retailer, and/or the coupon-issuing entity. [0070] According to embodiments, the mobile money platform is capable of processing purchase transactions involving coupons. For example, for a purchase transaction involving a retailer 116 and a customer 112, the retailer sends the mobile money platform 104 information about the product being purchased (e.g., product retail price, product description, etc.) and coupon information about the coupon presented by the consumer (e.g., coupon code). The mobile money platform 104 uses this information to calculate the value of the coupon and the adjusted retail price of the product, and the mobile money platform transfers the adjusted retail price from the consumer's mobile money account to the retailer's. Additionally, the mobile money platform 104 reimburses the retailer for the value of the coupon by transferring an amount equal to the value of the coupon from the coupon-issuing entity's mobile money account to the retailer's mobile money account. These embodiments are described in more detail with reference to FIG. 7.

[0071] FIG. 7 provides a flow diagram illustrating an example process 700 for processing purchase transactions, according to embodiments of the present invention. The process 700 generally begins with a consumer presenting to a retailer a product or service for purchase and a corresponding coupon, as indicated at block 702. For example, a consumer 112 who is purchasing a product from a retailer 116 may show the coupon to the retailer, as it is displayed on the consumer's mobile device 102. For example, the consumer 112 may show the display of his or her mobile device to the retailer 116, who then reads the coupon from the display. At block 706, the retailer sends a purchase transaction request to the mobile money platform. To do so, the retailer 116 sends to the mobile money platform 104 a coupon code obtained from the coupon, along with transaction details and/or information about the product or service being purchased (e.g., retail price, quantity, description, etc.). As indicated at block 710, the value of the coupon is determined. For example, the reimbursement / coupon value module 320D of the mobile money application 320 accesses the coupon data 338 and uses the coupon code to obtain the offer details (e.g., rules) for the coupon, and then applies the offer details to the transaction/product details (e.g., retail price of the product) to determine the value of the coupon. For example, if the coupon is for a 10% discount on a $1 soda, the reimbursement / coupon value module 320D calculates the value of the coupon to be $0.10. [0072] In some embodiments, the mobile money platform 104 sends the retailer 116 a message indicating the value of the coupon, and the retailer gives the value to the consumer and then seeks reimbursement from the coupon-issuing entity, according to process 500. However, according to the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 7, the mobile money platform 104 automatically processes the purchase transaction request so as to give the consumer the value of the coupon, as indicated at block 714. For example, the funds transfer module 320E of mobile money platform 104 calculates an adjusted retail price for the product, such as by subtracting the value of the coupon from the retail price, and then transfers the adjusted retail price from the consumer's mobile money account to the retailer's mobile money account. Thus, according to this example, the mobile money platform 104 uses the information included in the purchase transaction request to calculate the adjusted retail price of the product or service, and then settles the transaction by causing an amount equal to the adjusted retail price to be transferred from the consumer's mobile money account to the retailer's mobile money account.

[0073] As indicated at block 718, the mobile money platform 104 processes a reimbursement transaction. Here, according to embodiments, the mobile money platform 104 transfers the value of the coupon, as determined at block 710, from a mobile money account of the relevant coupon-issuing entity 114 to a mobile money account of the retailer 116. For example, the funds transfer module 320E of the mobile money application 320 transfers an amount equal to the value of the coupon from the coupon-issuing entity's mobile money account to the retailer's mobile money account. The mobile money platform may automatically process reimbursement transactions and/or it may process reimbursement transaction upon receiving a request from the retailer.

[0074] In alternative embodiments, at block 714, instead paying the adjusted retail price, the consumer 112 pays the full retail amount (i.e., the pre-coupon amount) to the retailer 116. Thus, the mobile money platform 104 processes the purchase transaction by transferring an amount equal to the full retail price from the consumer's mobile money account to the retailer's mobile money account. Further, according to these alternative embodiments, at block 718, the mobile money platform reimburses the consumer for the value of the coupon (rather than reimbursing the retailer). For example, the funds transfer module 320E of the mobile money application 320 transfers an amount equal to the value of the coupon, as determined at block 710, from the coupon-issuing entity's mobile money account to the consumer's mobile money account. It should be appreciated that rather than a mobile money account, the coupon-issuing entity may have another type of account (e.g., regular deposits account) from which reimbursement funds are transferred.

[0075] FIG. 8 shows a block diagram of an exemplary mobile device 130, according to embodiment. The example mobile device 130 may comprise a computer- readable medium and a body. The computer-readable medium 130(b) may be present within the body 130(h), or may be detachable from it. The body 130(h) may be in the form a plastic substrate, housing, or other structure. The computer-readable medium 130(b) may be a memory, such as a tangible (i.e. physical or durable) memory that stores data and may be in any suitable form including a hard drive, magnetic stripe, a memory chip, uniquely derived keys (such as those described above), encryption algorithms, etc. The memory also preferably stores information and applications, such as the mobile money application 134.

[0076] The mobile device 130 may further include a contactless element 130(g), which is typically implemented in the form of a semiconductor chip (or other data storage element) with an associated wireless transfer (e.g., data transmission) element, such as an antenna. Data or control instructions transmitted via a cellular network may be applied to contactless element 130(g) by means of a contactless element interface (not shown). The contactless element interface may function to permit the exchange of data and/or control instructions between the mobile device circuitry (and hence the cellular network) and an optional contactless element 130(g).

[0077] Contactless element 130(g) is capable of transferring and receiving data using a near field communications ("NFC") capability (or near field communications medium) typically in accordance with a standardized protocol or data transfer mechanism (e.g., ISO 14443/NFC). Near field communications capability is a short- range communications capability, such as RFID, BluetoothTM, infra-red, or other data transfer capability that can be used to exchange data between the mobile device 130 and an interrogation device. Thus, the mobile device 130 is capable of communicating and transferring data and/or control instructions via both cellular network and near field communications capability.

[0078] The mobile device 130 may also include a processor 130(c) (e.g., a microprocessor or a group of processors working together) for processing the functions of the mobile device 130 and a display 130(d) to allow a user to see phone numbers and other information and messages. The mobile device 130 may further include input elements 130(e) to allow a user to input information into the device, a speaker 130(f) to allow the user to hear voice communication, music, etc., and a microphone 130(i) to allow the user to transmit her voice through the user mobile device 130. The mobile device 130 may also include an antenna 130(a) for wireless data transfer (e.g., data transmission).

[0079] The various participants and elements may operate one or more computer apparatuses (e.g., a server computer) to facilitate the functions described herein. Any of the elements in the figures may use any suitable number of subsystems to facilitate the functions described herein. Examples of such subsystems or components are shown in FIG. 9. The subsystems shown in FIG. 9 are interconnected via a system bus 800. Additional subsystems such as a printer 908, keyboard 916, fixed disk 918 (or other memory comprising computer readable media), monitor 912, which is coupled to display adapter 910, and others are shown. Peripherals and input/output (I/O) devices, which couple to I/O controller 902, can be connected to the computer system by any number of means known in the art, such as serial port 914. For example, serial port 914 or external interface 920 can be used to connect the computer apparatus to a wide area network such as the Internet, a mouse input device, or a scanner. The

interconnection via system bus 900 allows the central processor 906 to communicate with each subsystem and to control the execution of instructions from system memory 904 or the fixed disk 918, as well as the exchange of information between subsystems. The system memory 904 and/or the fixed disk 918 may embody a computer readable medium.

[0080] Further, while the present invention has been described using a particular combination of hardware and software in the form of control logic and programming code and instructions, it should be recognized that other combinations of hardware and software are also within the scope of the present invention. The present invention may be implemented only in hardware, or only in software, or using combinations thereof.

[0081] The software components or functions described in this application may be implemented as software code to be executed by one or more processors using any suitable computer language such as, for example, Java, C++ or Perl using, for example, conventional or object-oriented techniques. The software code may be stored as a series of instructions, or commands on a computer-readable medium, such as a random access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), a magnetic medium such as a hard-drive or a floppy disk, or an optical medium such as a CD-ROM. Any such computer-readable medium may also reside on or within a single computational apparatus, and may be present on or within different computational apparatuses within a system or network.

[0082] The present invention can be implemented in the form of control logic in software or hardware or a combination of both. The control logic may be stored in an information storage medium as a plurality of instructions adapted to direct an

information processing device to perform a set of steps disclosed in embodiments of the present invention. Based on the disclosure and teachings provided herein, a person of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate other ways and/or methods to implement the present invention.

[0083] It is understood that the examples and embodiments described herein are for illustrative purposes only and that various modifications or changes in light thereof will be suggested to persons skilled in the art and are to be included within the spirit and purview of this application and scope of the appended claims. All publications, patents, and patent applications cited in this patent are hereby incorporated by reference for all purposes.

[0084] One or more features from any embodiment may be combined with one or more features of any other embodiment without departing from the scope of the disclosure.

[0085] In embodiments, any of the entities described herein may be embodied by a computer that performs any or all of the functions and steps disclosed. [0086] Any recitation of "a", "an" or "the" is intended to mean "one or more" unless specifically indicated to the contrary.

[0087] The above description is illustrative and is not restrictive. Many variations of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon review of the disclosure. The scope of the invention should, therefore, be determined not with reference to the above description, but instead should be determined with reference to the pending claims along with their full scope or equivalents.