CROSS-REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority from South African patent application number 2018/03572 filed on 30 May 2018, South African patent application number 2018/05171 filed on 1 August 2018 and South African provisional patent application number 2018/05269 filed on 10 August 2018, all of which are incorporated by reference herein.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to a system and method for credit limit-based provisioning of network usage advances to enable continued usage of a mobile telephone network by a prepaid mobile subscriber in advance of received payment.

BACKGROUND TO THE INVENTION

There are facilities available to prepaid mobile subscribers by way of which airtime and/or mobile bundles can be purchased in advance of received payment (e.g. on credit). Prepaid mobile subscribers may use such advances to conduct telephonic transactions on a mobile telephone network using an associated mobile handset. The telephonic transactions may for example include making telephone calls, sending and receiving short messaging service (SMS) messages, exchanging data messages via a data communication network (e.g. the Internet) and the like.

These advances (termed“network usage advances” herein) may be beneficial to subscribers in that such subscribers may continue to conduct telephonic transactions on the mobile telephone network even after their airtime and/or mobile bundles have been depleted.

It is of course important to mobile network operators (MNOs) that this network usage advance functionality is not abused by deviant subscribers. To this end, MNOs and associated service providers have implemented technological platforms which track a subscriber’s eligibility over time. However, with increasing functionality being offered by such technological platforms, it is becoming increasingly difficult to keep track of a subscriber’s outstanding network usage advances and providing value added services to which the subscriber has already subscribed. On the other hand, seamless, continued usage of the mobile telephone network by prepaid mobile subscribers may be desirable.

There is accordingly scope for improvement.

The preceding discussion of the background to the invention is intended only to facilitate an understanding of the present invention. It should be appreciated that the discussion is not an acknowledgment or admission that any of the material referred to was part of the common general knowledge in the art as at the priority date of the application.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In accordance with an aspect of the invention there is provided a computer-implemented method comprising, in a mobile telephone network on which a prepaid mobile subscriber communicates using an associated mobile handset: determining a subscriber score associated with a subscriber record stored in a database in association with the prepaid mobile subscriber, wherein the subscriber score is determined based on predefined subscriber behavioural characteristics; determining a value of a credit limit associated with the subscriber record, the value of the credit limit being determined based on the subscriber score; and, in response to provisioning a network usage advance to an account associated with the subscriber record, updating the credit limit value by deducting a value associated with the network usage advance from the credit limit value, wherein the network usage advance enables continued usage of the mobile telephone network in advance of received payment, wherein provisioning the network usage advance includes recording the network usage advance value as outstanding, and wherein a further network usage advance is available to the subscriber for a value less than or equal to the updated credit limit value for further continued usage of the mobile telephone network.

Further features provide for the method to include re-evaluating the credit limit value in response to one or both of: recovery of the outstanding network usage advance value and a change in the subscriber score; and for the credit limit value to define a total value of network usage advances that may be provisioned to the prepaid mobile subscriber before recovery (i.e. before requiring recovery of outstanding network usage advances).

Still further features provide for the method to include dynamically updating the subscriber score based on changes in the predefined subscriber behavioural characteristics; for the predefined subscriber behavioural characteristics to include criteria including one or more of: number of calls received by the subscriber; number of calls received by the subscriber from unique callers; historical subscriber spend; recent subscriber spend; length of subscriber’s services; age of subscriber; subscriber top-ups over a specified time period; number of network usage advances; number of outstanding network usage advances; average recovery time for network usage advances; and average subscriber spend.

Yet further features provide for the method to include receiving a request for a recurring network usage advance in terms of which a network usage advance associated with a first predefined value is provisioned to the account associated with the subscriber record automatically in response to determining that the balance of the account has reduced to a predetermined low level, for the request to be received from a mobile handset associated with the subscriber record.

A still further feature provides for the method to include receiving a failed transaction notification indicating that the balance of the account associated with the subscriber record is insufficient for a subscriber requested transaction.

Even further features provide for the method to include receiving a request for a network usage advance from a mobile handset associated with the subscriber record; for the request for the network usage advance to include a subscriber requested value, wherein the request is received via one of: a USSD session initiated using a USSD short code including the subscriber requested value; an SMS message including a keyword configured to activate provisioning of the network usage advance and an indication of the subscriber requested value; and, an interactive voice response (IVR) message.

A feature provides for the method to include receiving a low balance notification indicating that the balance of the account associated with the subscriber record has reduced to a predetermined low level.

Further features provide for the method to include transmitting a network usage advance offer to a mobile handset associated with the subscriber record, and for the offer to include: a first offer value in respect of a network usage advance offered to be provisioned, the first offer value being equal to the updated credit limit value; and, one or more further offer values, wherein each of the one or more further offer values is different and less than the updated credit limit value. A further feature provides for the transmitting of the network usage advance offer to include generating an offer message based on information stored in association with the subscriber record.

A still further feature provides for the method to include provisioning a network usage advance to the account associated with the subscriber record to enable continued usage of the mobile telephone network by the prepaid mobile subscriber.

Further features provide for the method to include, in response to determining that the balance of the account has reduced to the predetermined low level: determining whether the first predefined value exceeds the updated credit limit value; and, if the first predefined value exceeds the updated credit limit value, determining a second predefined value which is equal to or less than the updated credit limit value; and, provisioning a network usage advance associated with the second predefined value to the account associated with the subscriber record to enable continued usage of the mobile telephone network by the prepaid mobile subscriber.

Still further features provide for the subscriber requested transaction to be a bundle purchase request, wherein the bundle purchase request is associated with a first bundle value and includes a first usage limit in respect of a particular category of mobile telephone network utilisation with which the bundle purchase is associated, and for the method to include: determining that the first bundle value exceeds a balance of the account associated with the subscriber by a shortfall amount; evaluating the shortfall amount against the updated credit limit value; if the shortfall amount is less than the updated credit limit value, provisioning a network usage advance having a value which is equal to the shortfall amount, the network usage advance enabling purchasing of a mobile bundle associated with the first bundle value; or, if the shortfall amount is greater than the updated credit limit value, determining a second bundle value associated with a second usage limit which is equal to or less than the updated credit limit value; and, provisioning a network usage advance to a bundle account associated with the subscriber record, wherein the network usage advance is associated with the second bundle value.

Yet further features provide for provisioning of the network usage advance to be subject to evaluation of one or more of: a balance of the account associated with the subscriber record; a status associated with the account; an eligibility flag associated with the subscriber record; and the credit limit associated with the subscriber record. In accordance with a further aspect of the invention there is provided a system including a memory for storing computer-readable program code and a processor for executing the computer- readable program code, the system interfacing with a mobile telephone network on which a prepaid mobile subscriber communicates using an associated mobile handset and comprising: a subscriber score determining component for determining a subscriber score associated with a subscriber record stored in a database in association with the prepaid mobile subscriber, wherein the subscriber score is determined based on predefined subscriber behavioural characteristics; a credit limit value determining component for determining a value of a credit limit associated with the subscriber record, the value of the credit limit being determined based on the subscriber score; and, a credit limit updating component for, in response to provisioning a network usage advance to an account associated with the subscriber record, updating the credit limit value by deducting a value associated with the network usage advance from the credit limit value, wherein the network usage advance enables continued usage of the mobile telephone network in advance of received payment, wherein provisioning the network usage advance includes recording the network usage advance value as outstanding, and wherein a further network usage advance is available to the subscriber for a value less than or equal to the updated credit limit value for further continued usage of the mobile telephone network.

In accordance with a further aspect of the invention there is provided a computer program product comprising a computer-readable medium having stored computer-readable program code for performing the steps of, in a mobile telephone network on which a prepaid mobile subscriber communicates using an associated mobile handset: determining a subscriber score associated with a subscriber record stored in a database in association with the prepaid mobile subscriber, wherein the subscriber score is determined based on predefined subscriber behavioural characteristics; determining a value of a credit limit associated with the subscriber record, the value of the credit limit being determined based on the subscriber score; and, in response to provisioning a network usage advance to an account associated with the subscriber record, updating the credit limit value by deducting a value associated with the network usage advance from the credit limit value, wherein the network usage advance enables continued usage of the mobile telephone network in advance of received payment, wherein provisioning the network usage advance includes recording the network usage advance value as outstanding, and wherein a further network usage advance is available to the subscriber for a value less than or equal to the updated credit limit value for further continued usage of the mobile telephone network.

Further features provide for the computer-readable medium to be a non-transitory computer- readable medium and for the computer-readable program code to be executable by a processing circuit.

Embodiments will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a schematic diagram which illustrates an exemplary system for credit limit- based provisioning of network usage advances according to aspects of the present disclosure;

Figure 2 is a flow diagram which illustrates an exemplary subscriber score and credit limit maintenance operations which may be performed pursuant to a method for credit limit-based provisioning of network usage advances;

Figure 3 is a flow diagram which illustrates an exemplary method for recurring credit limit-based provisioning of network usage advances according to aspects of the present disclosure;

Figure 4 is a flow diagram which illustrates an exemplary method for provisioning a credit limit-based network usage advance in accordance with a shortfall value according to aspects of the present disclosure;

Figure 5 is a block diagram which illustrates exemplary components which may be provided by a system for credit limit-based provisioning of network usage advances according to aspects of the present disclosure;

Figure 6 is a schematic diagram which illustrates exemplary screenshots of USSD messages according to aspects of the present disclosure; and

Figure 7 illustrates an example of a computing device in which various aspects of the disclosure may be implemented. DETAILED DESCRIPTION WITH REFERENCE TO THE DRAWINGS

Aspects of the present application relate to an airtime and mobile bundle (collectively,“network usage”) advance service platform (ASP). The ASP may provide a value added service, which may be termed a“network usage advance service” (AS), to eligible prepaid subscribers of a mobile telephone network. The ASP may be configured to provision network usage advances, which may be in the form of an amount of airtime (termed“an amount of airtime advance”) and/or mobile bundles to a subscriber in advance of payment (i.e. on credit). Aspects of the present disclosure may enable recovery of such loans by converting mobile bundle purchases made by subscribers with outstanding loans into airtime, money or other subscriber account value which can be applied against the outstanding loan amount.

Figure 1 is a schematic diagram which illustrates an exemplary system (100) for credit limit-based provisioning of network usage advances. The system may include a server computer (102) which may interface with a mobile operator platform (104) providing a mobile telephone network (106).

The mobile operator platform (104) may be provided by a mobile network operator (MNO) (108) and may include a communication gateway (1 10) via which communication with mobile handsets (1 12) of subscribers on the network (106) may be enabled. The mobile operator platform (104) may also include a billing gateway (1 14) which may be configured to maintain subscriber accounts against which charges for the subscribers’ telephonic transactions may be recorded. The billing gateway may include a top-up system and an Integrated Network (IN).

In particular, each subscriber may be associated with a subscriber identifier (e.g. an MSISDN) and a subscriber account. The subscriber account may include one or more sub-accounts. For example, the subscriber account may include one or more of the group of: a main account, a dedicated account, a loan account (which may also be termed a tracking account), a fee account and one or more category or mobile bundle accounts. The main account, dedicated account, and one or more category accounts may each be capable of having a positive balance against which charges for telephonic transactions are recorded (e.g. by way of a debit). The loan account and fee accounts may have negative balances which indicate outstanding loans and outstanding fees respectively. Generally, a non-zero balance in respect of the loan account or fee account may indicate an outstanding loan. The main account, dedicated account, fee account and loan account may all make use of the same unit of value, which in some implementations may be expressed in terms of local currency. For example, a balance in any one of these accounts, which may be termed the value of the respective account may be denominated in terms of the unit of value of a local currency, such as ZAR, USD, etc.

The balance of the main account may be increased by the subscriber purchasing tokens in exchange for money. The tokens may be associated with a value which corresponds to the amount by which the main account will be increased upon the subscriber redeeming the token. Main account value may be referred to as airtime, and increasing the amount of main account value may be referred to as an airtime recharge or top-up. Value may be transferred between any one of the main account, dedicated account, fee account and loan account by way of debit or credit operations.

Each of the one or more category accounts may be associated with a particular category of mobile telephone network utilisation and a positive balance of each of these accounts may be reflected as a usage amount in respect of the associated category of utilisation. A conversion from the particular usage amount to the subscriber account value or vice versa may be required to transfer value between a category account and one of the main account, dedicated account, fee account or loan account.

The server computer (102) may be any appropriate computing device configured to perform a server role. The server computer (102) may interface with the mobile operator platform (104) to enable communication between the server computer and various components of the mobile operator platform. The server computer (102) may host a network usage advance service platform, which in turn may provide the network usage advance service to eligible subscribers.

The network usage advance service may enable the provisioning of airtime and/or mobile bundles to eligible subscribers in advance of payment (i.e. on credit). On accepting or making use of such an advance, the server computer (102) may update a loan status associated with the subscriber to indicate the existence of an outstanding loan. The status may prevail until the full value of the advance, as well as a fee, has been recovered from the subscriber. The subscriber may be required to repay the value associated with the advance and, in some cases, the fee as well. This may be done by way of an airtime top-up or recharge or through the purchase of mobile bundles. The network usage advance service may interact with subscribers via low balance notifications (e.g. SMS, OBD, Push USSD, etc.) in the form of real time notifications when the balance falls under a pre-defined threshold; push USSD, which may be interactive or bulk notifications using flash/push USSD technology; push USSD data depletion in the form of a notification to provision/borrow a data bundle when the subscriber while browsing in web or app does not have sufficient data; failed call interactive voice response (IVR) which may be triggered in-call when a subscriber falls to make a call due to insufficient balance; broadcast messaging which may be in the form of static bulk or segmented message notifications with pre-defined schedule to all or a cluster of eligible customer base.

The server computer (102) may maintain a subscriber record associated with each subscriber in a database (1 16). One or more of a subscriber score, credit limit value, behavioural data (e.g. behavioural characteristics), a subscriber identifier (e.g. MSISDN) and the like may be stored in each subscriber record.

The credit limit value may be based on the subscriber score and may represent a total value of network usage advances which may be provisioned to the subscriber before any repayment is required. The credit limit value may thus represent a total value against which network usage advance requests may be made, with each network usage advance provision causing the credit limit value to drop. Should the credit limit value be reduced to zero through the provisioning of network usage advances, further requests may be declined.

By configuring the subscriber record to track a credit limit, eligible subscribers may be able to take more than one network usage advance, subject to the subscriber’s available credit limit at once or multiple times. Although there are some benefits to the use of a credit limit, there may be knock- on effects which may need to be mitigated. The present application aims to address such effects.

The system (100) described above may implement a method for credit limit-based provisioning of network usage advances in which network usage advances are provisioned based on available credit limit. Figures 2 to 4 illustrate exemplary operations which may be performed pursuant to credit limit-based network usage advance provisioning according to aspects of the present disclosure.

Over time, depending on how the subscriber interacts with the mobile telephone network, the number of network usage advances that are requested, received and paid back, and the like, the subscriber score and credit limit may change. The server computer (102) may therefore perform subscriber score and credit limit maintenance operations. Figure 2 is a flow diagram which illustrates exemplary subscriber score and credit limit maintenance operations according to aspects of the present disclosure. The operations may be performed by the server computer (102).

The method may include determining (202) a subscriber score associated with a subscriber record stored in a database in association with a prepaid mobile subscriber. The subscriber score may for example be a score between two score limits (e.g. in the range between 300 and 800) which define score range. The subscriber score may form a part of a scorecard configured for risk optimisation via which subscribers are evaluated. Subscriber score may inform subscriber eligibility for the network usage advance service (although in some embodiments eligibility may be determined independently of subscriber score). These scorecards may be dynamic and may be continuously revised based on subscriber behaviour. In some implementations, eligible subscribers may be ranked based on their capability / score to ensure responsible provisioning based on a credit score to receive a credit limit which enables the subscriber to engage in the various services based on there on their capability.

The subscriber score may be determined based on predefined subscriber behavioural characteristics (or parameters). The predefined behavioural characteristics may, for example, include one or more of: number of calls received by the subscriber; number of calls received by the subscriber from unique callers; historical subscriber spend; recent subscriber spend; length of subscriber’s services; age of subscriber; subscriber top-ups over a specified time period; number of network usage advances; number of outstanding network usage advances; average recovery time for network usage advances; and average subscriber spend. Each of the behavioural characteristics may be assigned a specific value based on its importance and used to determine the subscriber score. The subscriber score may be updated should the characteristics change

The subscriber score may be determined using a credit model in the form of a mathematical function which takes as input an array of parameters (e.g. about 400), each of which may be weighted, and outputs the subscriber score of the individual. Depending on how these parameters change and the weight assigned to them, the output (the credit score) can increase or decrease (i.e. improve or worsen). The method may further include determining (204) a value of a credit limit which is associated with the subscriber record. The value of the credit limit may be based on the subscriber score, and defines a total value of network usage advances that may be provisioned to the prepaid mobile subscriber prior to recovery of outstanding network advances. The value of the credit limit for which the subscriber is eligible is determined based on the value which the subscriber score occupies within the range and the higher the subscriber score, the larger the value of the credit limit for which the subscriber is eligible.

At some stage, a network usage advance may be provisioned (205) to an account associated with the subscriber record. The provisioned network usage advance may enable mobile telephone network usage in advance of received payment. Provisioning (205) of the network usage advance may be subject to evaluation of one or more of: a balance of the account associated with the subscriber record; a status associated with the account; an eligibility flag associated with the subscriber record; and the credit limit associated with the subscriber record.

Provisioning (205) the network usage advance may include receiving (302) a network usage advance trigger. The trigger may be associated with the subscriber record and a value of the network usage advance to be provisioned.

One exemplary trigger may include a subscriber-initiated request (302A) for a network usage advance, which may be received from the mobile handset (1 12) associated with the subscriber record. The subscriber-initiated network usage advance request may for example have been generated and transmitted to the server computer (102) in response to the subscriber requesting a network usage advance. The subscriber-initiated request may for example be received from the mobile handset via an SMS message, USSD message, IVR message, application data message or the like. In some implementations, the subscriber initiated request may include a subscriber requested value.

For example, in some cases, the request may be received in a USSD message over a USSD session. The USSD session may have been initiated at the mobile handset (1 12) using a USSD short code including the subscriber requested value (e.g. ^* 123 ^* 10# for a USD10 advance). In some cases, the request may be received from the mobile handset (1 12) in an SMS message including a keyword configured to activate provisioning of the network usage advance and an indication of the subscriber requested value (e.g. ADVANCE10 for a USD10 advance). Receiving the subscriber requested value via an IVR message may include receiving, via a telephone call, a dual-tone multi-frequency (DTMF) signal or a voice signal in which the subscriber pronounces or states the subscriber requested value over the voice call.

In some cases, the subscriber initiated request may be received from a zero rated landing page (i.e. a website which is accessible to subscriber despite a depleted data and/or airtime balance). The landing page may be in the form of an adaptive web site that is zero rated and can be accessed at no cost by the subscriber. The web site may be prepared and hosted by the server computer (102).

Another exemplary trigger may be a low balance notification (302B) which may indicate that a balance of an account associated with the subscriber record has reduced to a predetermined low level. The low balance notification may for example be received from the mobile operator platform (104). The low balance notification may be auto-generated and may serve to trigger a prompt to the subscriber to consider a network usage advance when a balance of an account (e.g. main account or bundle account) associated with the subscriber drops to a predetermined low value (e.g. USD1 , 10 MB, etc.). In some implementations, in response to the low balance notification, the subscriber may be directed to the zero rated landing page for requesting an appropriate network usage advance.

Another exemplary trigger may be a failed transaction notification (302C) indicating that a balance of an account associated with the subscriber record is insufficient to fund a subscriber requested transaction. The failed transaction notification may be received from the mobile operator platform (104). One example of a failed transaction may be the subscriber attempting to initiate a telephone call but his or her airtime account (or voice minute bundle account) has an insufficient balance to fund the telephone call. Similar triggers may be received for other categories of network utilisation (e.g. SMS, data usage, etc.). Failed transaction notifications may for example be triggered in real time in response to one or more of the following events: failed bundle purchase notifications; failed network event notification; failed calls notifications; failed data session and the like.

Provisioning (205) the network usage advance may include determining whether the subscriber is eligible for a network usage advance. Eligibility may be based on the subscriber score and/or being included in an eligible subscriber base (e.g. a list of eligible subscribers). If the subscriber is eligible, the method may include evaluating the credit limit associated with the subscriber record to determine credit limit value for which the subscriber is eligible. Determining whether the subscriber is eligible for the network usage advance may include determining whether a subscriber requested value is equal to or less than the credit limit value.

In some implementations, provisioning (205) the network usage advance may include generating and transmitting (306) a network usage advance offer to the mobile handset (1 12) associated with the subscriber record. The offer may include a first offer value in respect of a network usage advance offered to be provisioned. The first offer value may be equal to the credit limit value as obtained from the subscriber record. In some cases, the network usage advance offer may include one or more further offer values, each of which may be different from each other and less than the relevant credit limit value.

Generating the offer message may include generating the message based on information stored in association with the subscriber record (e.g. credit limit value, linguistic preferences, etc.). In this way, the offer message may be personal to the subscriber and may offer only values for which the subscriber is eligible based on the credit limit value stored in the subscriber record. The network usage advance offer message may be transmitted to the subscriber via one or more of: an SMS message, USSD message, IVR message, application data message or the like.

The one or more offer values may be presented to the subscriber for selection and/or acceptance and provisioning (205) the network usage advance may include receiving (308) an acceptance and/or value selection message from the mobile handset (1 12). The subscriber selection may be received (308) via the same communication channel over which the offer message was sent or another communication channel. In USSD or IVR based implementations, the USSD or IVR session, as the case may be, may timeout after a predetermined period of time lapses without receiving a response from the subscriber. In such a case, the offer message may be transmitted to the subscriber via another channel. For example the network advance offer message may be transmitted to the mobile handset as an SMS message, data message, interactive voice response (IVR) communication or the like.

It should be appreciated that in some implementations, no network usage advance offer message is sent and the network usage advance may be provisioned automatically without any subscriber intervention.

The method may include provisioning (316) a network usage advance to the account associated with the subscriber record. Provisioning of the network usage advance may include instructing the billing gateway (1 14) to provision the advance. Provisioning the advance may have the effect of allowing the subscriber to transact on the mobile telephone network (106) further. In the case of the advance of a mobile bundle, further mobile transactions may be limited to the particular category of mobile telephone network (106) utilisation with which the mobile bundle is associated and may be limited by the usage amount which was advanced to the subscriber in respect of the particular category of utilisation.

Provisioning the network usage advance may include receiving confirmation of the provision of the advance from the billing gateway and transmitting an advance confirmation message to the mobile handset (1 12) which confirms provision of the advance. The message may be sent via any appropriate communication channel.

Provisioning the network usage advance may include recording the value of the advance against an account associated with the subscriber record. Provisioning the network usage advance may include recording the network usage advance value as outstanding. In some implementations, a fee may be levied for providing the advance and provisioning the advance may include recording a fee amount against a fee account associated with the subscriber record. The loan amount and fee amount are amounts which the subscriber owes to the service provider and/or mobile network operator and are required to be paid back by the subscriber. The outstanding amounts can be paid back by the subscriber conducting an airtime recharge or top-up, with the amount associated with the recharge or top up being allocated towards recovery of the loan.

The network usage advance provisioned may be associated with a value and the method may include updating (206) the credit limit value by deducting the value associated with the network usage advance from the credit limit value. For example, if the credit limit value is USD10 and a USD7 network usage advance is provisioned, the updated credit limit value may be USD3. Subsequent network usage advances may thus be limited to a maximum value of USD3 until the credit limit value is re-evaluated. One or more further network usage advances may thus be available to the subscriber for a value less than or equal to the updated credit limit value.

Over time, the way in which the subscriber interacts with the mobile telephone network may change. These changes may necessitate constant evaluation and updating of the subscriber score and/or eligibility to better reflect the credit-worthiness of the subscriber. The method may include dynamically updating (208) the subscriber score based on these changing behavioural characteristics (such as those described above). A subscriber may therefore be rewarded for positive behaviour, such as maintaining a short advance recovery time, through an increased subscriber score. Updating the subscriber score may include updating the subscriber record associated with the subscriber score.

Changes in the subscriber score may in turn necessitate re-evaluation of the credit limit. Further, the subscriber may at some stage perform an airtime top-up or recharge which may facilitate full or partial recovery of some or all of the outstanding network usage advances associated with the subscriber record. The method may thus include re-evaluating (210) the credit limit value in response to one or both of: recovery of the outstanding network usage advance value and a change in the subscriber score. Re-evaluation may be periodic and according to a predefined schedule. In some cases, re-evaluation may be in response to a trigger, for example updating of the subscriber score or upon partial or full recovery of an outstanding network usage advance.

Thus, should the subscriber score be updated as a result of positive behaviour by the subscriber, the credit limit value may be increased allowing the subscriber to request a larger network usage advance with a subsequent request. Similarly, if an outstanding network usage advance is recovered (partially or fully) the credit limit may be updated upwards.

In some implementations, subscriber eligibility may be re-evaluated periodically. This may for example include removing the subscriber identifier from an eligible subscriber base. Inclusion in or exclusion from the eligible subscriber base may be dynamic and may be contingent on the occurrence of certain predefined events (e.g. sudden increase in recharge time intervals, etc.). In some implementations, a subscriber’s eligibility and score may have some degree of independence from each other (e.g. certain subscriber-related events may preclude eligibility but have only small impact on subscriber score).

The dynamic nature of the credit limit may impose difficulties, particularly for scheduled or event- based network usage advances which are associated with certain values. For example, the credit limit value may at some stage drop below a predefined value associated with an automated network usage advance. Aspects of the present disclosure aim to address these difficulties in an effort to enable seamless, continued usage of a mobile telephone network by a prepaid mobile subscriber. Figure 3 is a flow diagram which illustrates an exemplary method for providing a network usage advance automatically in accordance with a predefined arrangement. The operations may be performed by the server computer (102).

The method may include receiving (402) a request for a recurring network usage advance in terms of which a network usage advance associated with a first predefined value is provisioned to the account associated with the subscriber record automatically, in response to determining that the balance of the account has reduced to a predetermined low level. The request may be received from the mobile handset (1 12) of the subscriber via, for example, an SMS message, USSD session, IVR session, application data message or the like. The method may include configuring the record associated with the subscriber for monitoring one or more accounts of the subscriber for detecting a balance associated with at least one of the one or more accounts dropping to the predetermined low level.

The request may for example be that a USD10 network usage advance is automatically provisioned to a dedicated account associated with the subscriber in response to the balance of the main account associated with the subscriber dropping to USD1 . Similarly, a 10GB data bundle may be requested to be provisioned automatically in response to the balance of a data bundle account dropping to 10MB, or the like.

At some stage, due to usage of the mobile telephone network (106) by the subscriber, the balance of an account associated with the subscriber record may drop down to the predetermined low level. The method may include determining (404) that the balance of the relevant account associated with the subscriber record has reduced to a predetermined low level. The account may be a bundle account (e.g. a data bundle or SMS bundle account) and the low level may therefore refer to a remaining amount of data, voice minutes or SMS messages, etc.

It may however be that since requesting the recurring network usage advance, the credit limit value of the subscriber is updated to a lower value due to provisioning of a subscriber requested amount or the like.

In response to determining that the balance of the account associated with the subscriber record has reduced to a predetermined low level, the method may include determining (406) whether the first predefined value exceeds the updated credit limit value. If (408) the first predefined value exceeds the updated credit limit value, the method may include determining (410) a second predefined value which is equal to or less than the updated credit limit value. For example, while the credit limit value may initially have been USD10, it may now have been updated to a value of USD3 due to the provisioning of an earlier advance which has not yet been recovered or because of a drop in the subscriber score. Where the first predefined value is USD5, for example, the second predefined value may be determined to be USD3 in the light of the updated credit limit value.

The method may include provisioning (412) a network usage advance associated with the second predefined value to the account associated with the subscriber record. In the case of a mobile bundle, provisioning the network usage advance may include provisioning a mobile bundle having a usage limit (e.g. 1 GB) which is associated with the second predefined value.

Otherwise (408), the provisioning may continue as normal and the method may include provisioning (414) a network usage advance associated with the first predefined value to the account associated with the subscriber record.

The functionality provided by the operations described above with reference to Figure 3 may provide an ‘Auto-refill’ feature in terms of which an eligible subscriber is able to borrow airtime/data automatically to receive an advance in the event they are unable to access the service due to lack of available airtime. This feature may be subject to the subscriber’s credit limit and may enable the subscriber to have a seamless service without interacting with the various delivery channels on a transactional basis. The subscriber may be notified of the advance and may Opt-Out/deactivate the service at any time through a dynamic menu.

The method may thus ensure that the recurring network usage advance (or“auto-refill”) operation is completed, even if the subscriber score and/or credit limit has changed. Updating of the credit limit value downwards in response to provision of a network usage advance or updated subscriber score may also have an implication on bundle purchase requests (particularly recurring bundle purchase requests.

Figure 4 is a flow diagram which illustrates operations which may be performed in response to receiving a bundle purchase request associated with a first bundle value. The operations may be performed by the server computer (102). The method may include receiving (500) a network usage advance trigger in the form of a failed transaction notification indicating that a balance of an account associated with the subscriber record is insufficient to fund a subscriber requested transaction. The failed transaction notification may be received from the mobile operator platform (104) and may be relate to a bundle purchase request. The bundle purchase request may be a request to purchase a bundle associated with a particular category of mobile telephone network utilisation. The bundle may be associated with a usage limit (e.g. 10GB) in respect of the particular category of utilisation and as well as a first bundle value (e.g. USD20). The bundle purchase request may be a request to purchase the bundle using balance of an account associated with the subscriber, such as a main account. In some cases, the bundle purchase request may be an auto-generated bundle purchase request pursuant to a recurring bundle purchase instruction (e.g. monthly or upon depletion to a predefined low level).

The method may include determining (502) that the first bundle value exceeds a balance of the account associated with the subscriber by a shortfall amount. For example, the balance of the account may be USD 15 whereas the bundle is associated with a first bundle value of USD 20.

The shortfall amount may be evaluated (504) against the updated credit limit value which is associated with the subscriber record.

If (506) the shortfall amount is less than the updated credit limit value, the method may include provisioning (507) a network usage advance in the form of an airtime advance having a value which is equal to the shortfall amount. The provisioned airtime advance may then enable purchasing of a mobile bundle associated with the first bundle value. It should be appreciated that this provisioning of an airtime advance may enable seamless, continued usage of the mobile telephone network, with minimal to no intervention required from the prepaid mobile subscriber. In some implementations, purchasing of the bundle having the first usage limit and being associated with the first bundle value may be initiated automatically (e.g. without subscriber intervention) in response to provisioning of the shortfall amount. In some implementations, the subscriber may be prompted to accept provisioning of the shortfall amount (e.g. by way of a SMS, USSD, IVR or application data message) before the network usage advance is provisioned.

If (506) the shortfall amount is greater than the updated credit limit value, the method may include determining (508) a second bundle value associated with a second usage limit which is equal to or less than the updated credit limit value. The method may include provisioning (510) a network usage advance to a bundle account associated with the subscriber record, which network usage advance has a second usage limit associated with the second bundle value. The network usage advance provisioned may be a mobile bundle advance and may have a usage limit which is less than that initially requested (500) but which is associated with a value which is within the updated credit limit associated with the subscriber record. In some implementations, the subscriber may be prompted to accept provisioning of the mobile bundle having the second usage limit (e.g. by way of a SMS, USSD, IVR or application data message) before the mobile bundle is provisioned. In some cases, a number of alternative usage limits, each associated with a value, may be determined and offered to the subscriber for selection (e.g. by way of a SMS, USSD, IVR or application data message). Determination of a suitable network usage advance value, based on an updated credit limit value, may thus be performed dynamically to minimise interruptions to the prepaid mobile subscriber’s usage of the mobile telephone network.

The functionality provided by the operations described above with reference to Figure 4 may be referred to as‘Bundle Completion’ in terms of which eligible subscribers requesting a mobile bundle which fails due to insufficient balance may receive a push USSD message with various options in order to complete the purchase requested.

Various components may be provided for implementing the methods described above. Figure 5 is a block diagram which illustrates exemplary components which may be provided by a system (600) for mobile subscriber provisioning. The system (600) may include a server computer (102).

The server computer (102) may include a processor (602) for executing the functions of components described below, which may be provided by hardware or by software units executing on the server computer (102). The software units may be stored in a memory component (604) and instructions may be provided to the processor (602) to carry out the functionality of the described components.

The server computer (102) may include a subscriber score determining component (606) which may be arranged to determine the subscriber score. The subscriber score may be associated with a subscriber record stored in a database (1 16) in association with a predefined subscriber. The subscriber score may be determined based on the behavioural characteristics of the subscriber. The server computer (102) may include a credit limit value determining component (608) which may be arranged to determine a value of a credit limit associated with the subscriber record. The value of the credit limit may be determined based on the subscriber score.

The server computer may include a credit limit updating component (610) which may be arranged to update the credit limit value. The credit limit updating component (610) may be arranged to update the credit limit value in response provision of a network usage advance to an account associated with the subscriber record. The credit limit value may be updated by deducting a value associated with the network usage advance from the credit limit value. A further network usage advance may be available to the subscriber for a value less than or equal to the credit limit value. The credit limit may define a total value of network usage advances that may be provisioned to the prepaid mobile subscriber before recovery (i.e. before requiring recovery of outstanding network usage advances).

Aspects of the present disclosure may enable multiple loans functionality by way of which qualified (or eligible) subscribers are assigned a credit limit value depending on their score/profiling. The loan eligibility criteria may be based on the actual credit limit value of the subscriber and his/her max balance. Subscribers may be able to request and/or receive multiple loans up to their assigned credit limit value. The denomination advertised to the subscriber may depend on the actual available credit limit value. This means that a subscriber with a credit limit value of USD20 may be offered any denomination up to USD20. Subscribers may take multiple tickets (advances) up to their credit limit value. In some cases, multiple possible transaction permutations for an MNO subscriber eligible for USD 20 may be presented (e.g. USD 5, USD 10 and USD 20 denominations). The subscriber may request one USD 20 advance, two USD 10 advances, four USD 5 advances or any combination of USD 10 and USD 5 advances which are cumulatively equal to or less than the USD 20 credit limit value.

Aspects of the present disclosure may provide a dynamic loan functionality in terms of which a customized network usage advance offer is proposed instantly to a qualifying subscriber in response to certain events (e.g. once the balance of an account associated with the subscriber has been depleted). The offer may be transmitted to the subscriber in real-time via a suitable communication channel (e.g. SMS/USSD/IVR, etc.) and may be based on the available credit limit value associated with the subscriber. For example, as illustrated in Figure 6, depending on the available credit limit value, the subscriber may be offered different values of network usage advance for acceptance or rejection. For example, in the case of an available credit limit of USD 20, the subscriber may be offered (650) a network usage advance of USD 20 or USD 15. If the credit limit is lowered (e.g. because an advance of USD 10 has already been provisioned), the subscriber may be offered (652) a network usage advance of USD 10 or USD 5. If the credit limit is lowered further to, e.g. USD 5, the subscriber may be offered (654) a network usage advance of USD 5.

In some cases, a USSD Menu may display various product catalogues / offers subject to the eligibility of the subscriber which is based on predefined and agreed business logic or pre-defined criteria/rules. In some cases, a SMS Menu displays the various product catalogues /offers subject to the eligibility of the subscriber which is based on predefined and agreed business logic or pre defined criteria/rules. In other cases an IVR (Inbound and Outbound) Menu provides the various product catalogues /offers subject to the eligibility of the subscriber which is based on predefined and agreed business logic or pre-defined criteria/rules.

Aspects of the present disclosure provide an airtime and mobile bundle advance service platform which may provide a value added service, termed“network usage advance service” to eligible prepaid subscribers of a mobile telephone network.

The term “airtime advance” may include any credit transaction made against an account associated with a subscriber by a mobile network operator (MNO) or other appropriate service provider on behalf of the subscriber so as to increase a balance of an account (typically an airtime account dedicated to receiving the airtime advance) associated with the subscriber. An“airtime advance” may be a loan of an amount of airtime made to the subscriber by a MNO or another entity and which the subscriber is obliged to pay back at a later stage.

Similarly, the term“mobile bundle advance” may include the on-credit (i.e. ahead of payment) provisioning of a usage limit in respect of one or more categories of mobile telephone network utilisation. In particular, “mobile bundle advance” may include the on-credit provisioning of a usage limit in respect of one or more categories of mobile telephone network utilisation for pre paid (as opposed to post-paid or contract) subscribers. Exemplary categories of utilisation may include sending SMS messages, transmitting and receiving data messages and making voice calls. The usage limit associated with each category of utilisation may for example be a number of SMS messages, an amount of data (e.g. in bytes) and a number of minutes for which voice calls may be made. Airtime advance and mobile bundle advances may be collectively referred to as network utilisation advances.

Figure 7 illustrates an example of a computing device (700) in which various aspects of the disclosure may be implemented. The computing device (700) may be embodied as any form of data processing device including a personal computing device (e.g. laptop or desktop computer), a server computer (which may be self-contained, physically distributed over a number of locations), a client computer, or a communication device, such as a mobile phone (e.g. cellular telephone), satellite phone, tablet computer, personal digital assistant or the like. Different embodiments of the computing device may dictate the inclusion or exclusion of various components or subsystems described below.

The computing device (700) may be suitable for storing and executing computer program code. The various participants and elements in the previously described system diagrams may use any suitable number of subsystems or components of the computing device (700) to facilitate the functions described herein. The computing device (700) may include subsystems or components interconnected via a communication infrastructure (705) (for example, a communications bus, a network, etc.). The computing device (700) may include one or more processors (710) and at least one memory component in the form of computer-readable media. The one or more processors (710) may include one or more of: CPUs, graphical processing units (GPUs), microprocessors, field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), application specific integrated circuits (ASICs) and the like. In some configurations, a number of processors may be provided and may be arranged to carry out calculations simultaneously. In some implementations various subsystems or components of the computing device (700) may be distributed over a number of physical locations (e.g. in a distributed, cluster or cloud-based computing configuration) and appropriate software units may be arranged to manage and/or process data on behalf of remote devices.

The memory components may include system memory (715), which may include read only memory (ROM) and random access memory (RAM). A basic input/output system (BIOS) may be stored in ROM. System software may be stored in the system memory (715) including operating system software. The memory components may also include secondary memory (720). The secondary memory (720) may include a fixed disk (721 ), such as a hard disk drive, and, optionally, one or more storage interfaces (722) for interfacing with storage components (723), such as removable storage components (e.g. magnetic tape, optical disk, flash memory drive, external hard drive, removable memory chip, etc.), network attached storage components (e.g. NAS drives), remote storage components (e.g. cloud-based storage) or the like.

The computing device (700) may include an external communications interface (730) for operation of the computing device (700) in a networked environment enabling transfer of data between multiple computing devices (700) and/or the Internet. Data transferred via the external communications interface (730) may be in the form of signals, which may be electronic, electromagnetic, optical, radio, or other types of signal. The external communications interface (730) may enable communication of data between the computing device (700) and other computing devices including servers and external storage facilities. Web services may be accessible by and/or from the computing device (700) via the communications interface (730).

The external communications interface (730) may be configured for connection to wireless communication channels (e.g., a cellular telephone network, wireless local area network (e.g. using Wi-Fi™), satellite-phone network, Satellite Internet Network, etc.) and may include an associated wireless transfer element, such as an antenna and associated circuitry. The external communications interface (730) may include a subscriber identity module (SIM) in the form of an integrated circuit that stores an international mobile subscriber identity and the related key used to identify and authenticate a subscriber using the computing device (700). One or more subscriber identity modules may be removable from or embedded in the computing device (700).

The external communications interface (730) may further include a contactless element (750), which is typically implemented in the form of a semiconductor chip (or other data storage element) with an associated wireless transfer element, such as an antenna. The contactless element (750) may be associated with (e.g., embedded within) the computing device (700) and data or control instructions transmitted via a cellular network may be applied to the contactless element (750) 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 computing device circuitry (and hence the cellular network) and the contactless element (750). The contactless element (750) may be capable of transferring and receiving data using a near field communications 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 may include a short-range communications capability, such as radio frequency identification (RFID), Bluetooth™, infra-red, or other data transfer capability that can be used to exchange data between the computing device (700) and an interrogation device. Thus, the computing device (700) may be capable of communicating and transferring data and/or control instructions via both a cellular network and near field communications capability.

The computer-readable media in the form of the various memory components may provide storage of computer-executable instructions, data structures, program modules, software units and other data. A computer program product may be provided by a computer-readable medium having stored computer-readable program code executable by the central processor (710). A computer program product may be provided by a non-transient computer-readable medium, or may be provided via a signal or other transient means via the communications interface (730).

Interconnection via the communication infrastructure (705) allows the one or more processors (710) to communicate with each subsystem or component and to control the execution of instructions from the memory components, as well as the exchange of information between subsystems or components. Peripherals (such as printers, scanners, cameras, or the like) and input/output (I/O) devices (such as a mouse, touchpad, keyboard, microphone, touch-sensitive display, input buttons, speakers and the like) may couple to or be integrally formed with the computing device (700) either directly or via an I/O controller (735). One or more displays (745) (which may be touch-sensitive displays) may be coupled to or integrally formed with the computing device (700) via a display (745) or video adapter (740).

The computing device (700) may include a geographical location element (755) which is arranged to determine the geographical location of the computing device (700). The geographical location element (755) may for example be implemented by way of a global positioning system (GPS), or similar, receiver module. In some implementations the geographical location element (755) may implement an indoor positioning system, using for example communication channels such as cellular telephone or Wi-Fi™ networks and/or beacons (e.g. Bluetooth™ Low Energy (BLE) beacons, iBeacons™, etc.) to determine or approximate the geographical location of the computing device (700). In some implementations, the geographical location element (755) may implement inertial navigation to track and determine the geographical location of the communication device using an initial set point and inertial measurement data.

The foregoing description has been presented for the purpose of illustration; it is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise forms disclosed. Persons skilled in the relevant art can appreciate that many modifications and variations are possible in light of the above disclosure.

Any of the steps, operations, components or processes described herein may be performed or implemented with one or more hardware or software units, alone or in combination with other devices. In one embodiment, a software unit is implemented with a computer program product comprising a non-transient computer-readable medium containing computer program code, which can be executed by a processor for performing any or all of the steps, operations, or processes described. Software units or functions described in this application may be implemented as computer program code using any suitable computer language such as, for example, Java™, C++, or Perl™ using, for example, conventional or object-oriented techniques. The computer program code may be stored as a series of instructions, or commands on a non-transitory computer-readable medium, such as a random access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), a magnetic medium such as a hard-drive, 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.

Flowchart illustrations and block diagrams of methods, systems, and computer program products according to embodiments are used herein. Each block of the flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams, and combinations of blocks in the flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams, may provide functions which may be implemented by computer readable program instructions. In some alternative implementations, the functions identified by the blocks may take place in a different order to that shown in the flowchart illustrations.

The language used in the specification has been principally selected for readability and instructional purposes, and it may not have been selected to delineate or circumscribe the inventive subject matter. It is therefore intended that the scope of the invention be limited not by this detailed description, but rather by any claims that issue on an application based hereon. Accordingly, the disclosure of the embodiments of the invention is intended to be illustrative, but not limiting, of the scope of the invention, which is set forth in the following claims.

Finally, throughout the specification and claims unless the contents requires otherwise the word ‘comprise’ or variations such as ‘comprises’ or ‘comprising’ will be understood to imply the inclusion of a stated integer or group of integers but not the exclusion of any other integer or group of integers.