WO2012140653A1

WO2012140653A1 - System and method for managing certificates

Info

Publication number: WO2012140653A1
Application number: PCT/IL2012/000162
Authority: WO
Inventors: Benjamin GOLDKORN; Tomer PORAN
Original assignee: Gct Capital Ltd.
Priority date: 2011-04-15
Filing date: 2012-04-15
Publication date: 2012-10-18

Abstract

A system for managing certificates, comprises: (a) a server or a plurality of servers collectively suitable to manage a database comprising information regarding a plurality of certificates; (b) communication lines suitable to connect between the users of the system and sellers of certificates via said server or plurality of servers, for the purpose of allowing said users to purchase certificates; and (c) software provided in said server or plurality of servers, suitable to manage user accounts containing one or more certificate.

Description

SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR MANAGING CERTIFICATES Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to the management of certificates. More particularly, the invention relates to a system and method for managing digital certificates having a value.

Background of the Invention

Certificates are pre-paid, for-value documents, digital or printed, that enable the bearer (a consumer) to acquire services or products for a certain value at a predetermined price, which typically is lower than the average market value thereof. A pre-payment by the certificate holder is often required to obtain the certificate, which provides the holders access to a discounted price of the service or product. This is typically lower than the price that customers not holding a certificate are required to pay.

In the context of this description the term "certificate" should be interpreted in its broadest form, and includes, for instance, gift certificates such as those that can be purchased (e.g., through Groupon.com and also a gift cards such as those purchase from a site such as Amazon.com, amongst others), certificates of the type issued by many different business outlets, vouchers, and generally any digital or printed documentation that can be acquired by, or, given to the user for the purpose of obtaining a discounted price on products and/or services.

The existing benefits and the far reaching potential of collective consumer purchasing is not new. Mass consumer buying power has become significantly more commercially accessible to the wider public through simple-to-use online buying groups which coordinate and manage the entire process for the consumer. Once a discount has been obtained, a consumer can redeem (i.e., realize the purchase of) the gift certificate, certificate, deal drop, discount, pre-paid coupon, coupon, or voucher through a number of methods: i. via a mobile device; ii. a linked closed- loop store-card; iii. by printing a paper certificate. However, these systems (particularly printing) present severe problems. "Use-it or Lose- it": in jurisdictions where consumer protection regulation does not protect against the sale of gift certificates, certificates, discounts, deal-drops, prepaid coupons, coupons, and/or vouchers, are not protected, consumers must redeem these certificates before the printed expiry date (as opposed to a statutory expiration period).

In order to redeem these certificates, the user usually relies on a non- personalised self-printed piece of paper or digital image of the certificate. This gives rise to a number of problems. If the self-printed certificate is misplaced it can be used by whoever happens to find it, or should the user forget to redeem it within the allocated time (statutory or otherwise), the deal is lost. In order to redeem the gift certificate, certificate, discount, deal drop, pre-paid coupon, coupon, and/or voucher, the user must i. present the, certificate or ii. display to the merchant the image of the certificate on a mobile device, or iii. utilize a linked store-card. Paper- based certificates are more easily cloned, lost, or damaged. Non-paper coupons are generally not removed from a user's profile when redeemed, so they can simply be printed and fraudulently on-sold as a valid gift certificate, certificate, discount, deal-drop, pre-paid coupon, coupon, and/or voucher (severally and jointly referred to hereinafter as "certificate", for the sake of brevity). Without using payment facilitation gateways (e.g. 'Paypal') or a similar acquirer that holds the user's money until the certificate for the goods or services has been redeemed, trading becomes a high-risk exercise. As a result, paper certificates cannot be simply and securely traded or resold as once sold, the seller can simply print off another copy and use it before the unfortunate second-hand purchaser has a chance to do so. In jurisdictions that do not possess consumer regulation governing certificates, once a user purchases their certificate, they either, "use or lose it".

Summary of the Invention The present invention relates to a system for managing certificates, such as gift certificates, certificates, discounts, deal-drops, pre-paid coupons, coupons, and/or vouchers and the like, comprising:

(a) a server or a plurality of servers collectively suitable to manage a database comprising information regarding a plurality of certificates;

(b) communication lines suitable to connect between the users of the system and sellers of certificates via said server or plurality of servers, for the purpose of allowing said users to purchase certificates;

(c) software provided in said server or plurality of servers, suitable to manage user accounts containing one or more certificate.

According to an embodiment of the invention, the information regarding a certificate comprises the identity of the user of the system, the identity of the service or product, the time and place at which the certificate can be redeemed, the price of the certificate and its value when redeemed.

According to one embodiment of the invention the communication line is an Internet connection. According to another embodiment of the invention the communication line is a wireless or cellular network.

The system according to an embodiment of the suggestions may further comprise software suitable to communicate with a user's smartphone device, and to allow a user to manage his account using a smartphone device.

The invention is also directed to a method for managing certificates, comprising:

(a) providing a server or a plurality of servers collectively suitable to manage a database comprising information regarding a plurality of certificates;

(b) providing communication lines suitable to connect between the users of the system and sellers of certificates via said server or plurality of servers, for the purpose of allowing said users to purchase certificates, wherein said server or plurality of servers participate in the purchasing process as a proxy;

(c) providing software in said server or plurality of servers, suitable to manage user accounts containing one or more certificate.

According to one embodiment of the invention a certificate available in a user's private account can be auctioned in a registered-member area of the system and when another user successfully bids for it, the certificate is transferred to said bid-winning user's private account. The bidding mechanism allows dealing specifically with the notion of items with an imminent or near expiration date. Typically the discount increases as the time gets nearer to the expiration date in order to stimulate the interest of prospective bidders. This is different to a conventional online auction site (e.g. eBay), where the prices increase.

The unique certificate identification details needed to redeem the certificate are kept secret by the system (for instance the unique certificate code, barcode, QR Code, or similar unique identifiers), and are revealed at the user's request. Once the unique -identification details of the certificate have been revealed by the system, the certificate becomes un- tradable.

Brief Description of the Drawings

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a schematic representation of a system according to one embodiment of the invention;

Fig. 2 illustrates an interface for the user of the system, according to an illustrative embodiment of the invention; and

Fig. 3 is an illustrative example of a mobile platform that can be used in conjunction with the invention.

Detailed Description of the Invention

Referring now to Fig. 1, the system comprises at least one server, indicated in the figure as "Srv", any number of product and/or service providers, indicated in the figure as "SPl — SPn", and any number of users, indicated in the figure as "Ul-Un". The server providers sell certificates to the general public against payment. According to the invention when a user wishes to purchase a certificate he carries on the purchasing activity via server Srv, which acts as a proxy. The server is transparent to the service providers SPl-SPn, which, after the certificate is sold, play no role in the system. The user, who must be a subscriber to the system, effectively leaves the certificate in escrow with server Srv. Although the certificate belongs to the user and can be redeemed by him at any time, the server imposes a limitation on it, inasmuch as it hides the details of the certificate as long as it is not redeemed or about to be redeemed, so that the certificate cannot be copied and double-used or fraudulently on-sold. As will be apparent from the description to follow, this system and the limitation it imposes, opens up a whole new use and opportunity for the certificates.

One of the disadvantages of the existing certificate system in jurisdictions where consumer protection legislation doesn't interfere with the conditions of return and expiration of pre-paid certificates, is that, once purchased, the certificate cannot returned, easily traded, or refunded, if for any reason, the buyer cannot use it within the terms of purchase. In jurisdictions where the rights of the consumer are protected over and above the conditions of return and expiration the consumer is entitled to a refund. However getting a refund is often time consuming and requires substantial effort. For instance, a certificate purchased for an event, that takes place at a specific time, may be lost if the buyer is unable to attend at the specified place and time. An attempt to resell the certificate meets with the obstacle that the potential buyer of the "secondhand certificate" cannot be certain that it has not been copied and that it will not be redeemed by somebody else (e.g. the seller) before it can be used. The invention overcomes this disadvantage and, thereby, substantially improves the usefulness of the certificate.

According to the invention, the owner of a certificate may resell it (e.g. by auctioning it) as long as it is held in escrow by the server, because the secondhand buyer knows that it has not been copied or otherwise used, and that once it is acquired it will be a unique certificate.

According to this invention, certificates bought from a variety of different suppliers can be managed and dispensed under a single system. Notices for expiration of certificates from different suppliers can be automatically sent out by the System, thus significantly improving the user's experience.

The invention permits the compilation of Customer Data, which can provide the merchants with invaluable information about their consumers that hitherto was not available to them in a collated, systematic fashion. The current non-personalized system does not enable the merchant to connect a consumer to the purchase of the goods or services. The Customer Data provides a significant marketing tool that will benefit both the merchants and the consumer. This Customer Data allows merchants to apply free-to-use deal-drop directly to individual user's certificate management System. These deal-drops are created and managed by the merchants, subject to term-and-conditions of the System, and operate in the same manner as certificate once applied to the individual user's certificate management account.

In the context of this application the term "server" and "system" should be given a broad interpretation and are meant to indicate all the various components of a system that permits to carry out the invention, which system may comprise a number of servers, as well as different physical equipment, communication lines, servers and the like. A basic systems for carrying out the invention requires at least the following:

- a server or a plurality of servers collectively suitable to manage a database comprising information regarding a plurality of certificates;

- communication lines suitable to connect between the users of the system and sellers of certificates via said server or plurality of servers, for the purpose of allowing said users to purchase certificates;

- software provided in said server or plurality of servers, suitable to manage user accounts containing one or more certificate. As explained above, the certificates can be used by i. the user unlocking the unique identifying information of the certificate on a mobile device and presenting this to the merchant, or ii. by printing the certificate and presenting the paper certificate to the merchant at the time of redemption in paper form. When operating according to this printout procedure, the user instructs the server to strip the certificate of its anonymity for printout purposes, at which time the certificate becomes untradeable, as will be further explained below. If the user wishes to redeem the certificates at the point-of-sale using electronic means, such as a smart phone, then additional software must be provided, either in the electronic means, or at the server, or in both, to allow the user to instruct the server to strip the certificates of its anonymity at the point-of-sale so that it can be redeemed.

If for any reason the owner of the certificate cannot, or does not wish to use it, the certificate can be traded over the system, which operates as a trusted party. Additional software useful for performing the trading operation must be provided, which may include different features known per se in the art and therefore not discussed herein in detail for the sake of brevity, such as pricing software that changes the price of the certificate that is offered for sale according to parameters provided by the seller, payment systems to allow the seller to receive payment from the buyer, etc. Once the certificate has been sold its ownership is transferred to the secondhand buyer and from that moment it is treated like any other certificate owned by him.

Fig. 2 is an illustrative example of an interface through which a user of the system can manage certificates, trade with them and perform any other useful activity. In the figure, numeral 20 is the webpage that can of course be customized in many different ways, and its set up is self- explanatory. Of course, many other intuitive interfaces can be provided and the invention is not limited to any specific design or content of a user's account page.

Fig. 3 is an illustrative example of a mobile interface that can be used both to manage a user's account and to redeem a certificate at a point-of-sale by selecting the appropriate certificate. In this illustrative example 30 is a smart phone that shows a user interface on the screen, which may either be generated by an application running on the smart phone, or in direct connection with a website. The following illustrative options are shown in the figure, as identified by the following numerals:

31 — a voucher map for the user to navigate his account;

32 - an automated, GPS-based option to identify a voucher or certificate relevant to the current location of the user;

33 - a button for instructing the system to unmask the details of the certificate so as to allow the user to redeem it; 34— a button for trading a selected certificate via the system;

35 - a button for purchasing a gift certificate; and

36 — a button for requesting information on deals near the current location of the user, for which certificates may be purchased.

Of course, the above is just an illustrative example and is not intended to limit the invention, or the way the invention is practiced, in any way.

The following specific examples will further illustrate the invention.

Basic Setup

A gift certificate, certificate, discount, deal-drop, pre-paid coupon, coupons, and/or vouchers, user becomes a member of the system. The user provides specified personal information and bank details during membership registration. After registration, authorization for the information to be used will be given by the entry of a PIN number.

The user can manage his purchased gift certificates, certificates, discounts, deal-drops, pre-paid coupons, coupons, and/or vouchers from his home page site. Once purchased, they automatically become personalised and linked to the user. The user can track the time remaining on gift certificates, certificates, discounts, deal-drops, pre-paid coupons, coupons, and/or vouchers. The user can purchase for, or gift certificates, certificates, discounts, deal-drops, pre-paid coupons, coupons, and/or vouchers to, another member. The user can create folders and micromanage his gift certificates, certificates, discounts, deal-drops, prepaid coupons, coupons, and/or vouchers.

The user can redeem his gift certificates, certificates, discounts, deal- drops, pre-paid coupons, coupons, and/or vouchers using provided software residing either on a mobile device or Server. When activated, the system relays the user's certificate, voucher unique identification data to the retailer, it then receives a status of "redeemed" and is automatically removed from the user's management home page (or marked as "used").

The system automatically notifies a user that has any current gift certificates, certificates, discounts, deal-drops, pre-paid coupons, coupons, and/or vouchers at various intervals towards the latter end of the validity period. For example at days; 14;10;7;5 and 3 before the gift certificates, pre-paid coupons, coupons , discounts, deal drops, and or vouchers are due to expire. During this period the user has the option of trading the gift certificates, certificates, discounts, deal-drops, pre-paid coupons, coupons, and/or vouchers. In one embodiment of the invention by clicking on the relevant coupon icon, the data containing the gift certificates, certificates, discounts, deal-drops, pre-paid coupons, coupons, and/or vouchers are automatically placed in a separate URL, named "C2" hereinafter for the sake of simplicity. C2 is a second hand coupon purchasing preprogrammed, interactive, systemic bidding website that is only accessible to system users.

Before the gift certificates, certificates, discounts, deal-drops, pre-paid coupons, coupons, and/or vouchers are uploaded to C2, the user is asked to enter his PIN (or other means of identification) to confirm the action. In another embodiment of the invention uploaded gift certificates, certificates, discounts, deal-drops, pre-paid coupons, coupons, and/or vouchers that are uploaded to C2, are sorted according to the remaining time on the gift certificates, certificates, discounts, deal-drops, pre-paid coupons, coupons, and/or vouchers. According to one example of practice of the invention, the certificate's (gift certificate's, certificate's, discount's, deal-drop's, pre-paid coupon's, coupon's, and/or voucher's) discount is automatically reduced by the system in order to stimulate bidding. The amount of the reduction depends on the remaining time. The longer the time remaining, the less the reduction. Conversely, the shorter the time remaining, the greater the reduction.

C2 users can specify search criteria when they search for gift certificates, pre-paid coupons, coupons and or vouchers. According to one embodiment of the invention Making a bid for a gift certificates, certificates, discounts, deal-drops, pre-paid coupons, coupons, and/or vouchers at C2 triggers a fixed time for other bids. In order to start bidding, the bidder provides his membership PIN (or other means of authentication) which will automatically link to his bank details should the user win the bid.

As the time gets closer to expiration, if the certificate has not been bid on, the discount increases to stimulate interest. By way of example; 14 days to expiration will automatically stimulate interest in C2 by offering a starting bid at 20% below the certificate's (gift certificate's, certificate's, discount's, deal-drop's, pre-paid coupon's, coupon's, and/or voucher's) purchase discount. 7 days to expiration will automatically stimulate additional interest in C2 by offering a starting bid at 40% below the certificate's (gift certificate's, certificate's, discount's, deal-drop's, pre-paid coupon's, coupon's, and/or voucher's) original value. Once it is bid on, a set time allocation starts to run, for example 24hrs. The highest bidder after this time wins the bid.

The system automatically puts the money into the original owner's account. Amounts may also be taken off the final amount or the bidder may pay a fee. These amounts may be paid out to the vendor of the System.

The certificate remains on the user's home page in an inactive mode, and is flagged up as such, until a bidder has won it. At this point it is removed from the original user's home page and the money is simultaneously transferred to the user's account. The user can recall the certificate at any point before bidding has started.

If the certificate has not been bid on at a predetermined time, e.g., 1 min before expiration — the system may automatically purchases the gift certificate, pre-paid coupon and or coupon for a nominal amount.

The System can be used with a debit or credit card, or other valid payment method. It then automatically ascertains the coupon's value, and will then pay the balance if any.

Underlying advantages of the invention to the original purchaser :

• A simple method of redeeming, managing and dispensing;

• The purchaser is part of a closed loop forum enabling the secure and effective - gifting, trading and redemption of the certificatesX

• Safeguards against losing, misplacing, theft of or cloning of existing paper coupons;

• The user can be the recipient of targeted deal drops from the merchant directly into his management page based on Customer Data gathered by the System.

• The user can redeem their discount and pay the balance via the Internet or mobile device - circumventing the need for dual payment with cash or card. • A more discreet and sophisticated method of certificate redemption than available in the prior art;

• A one-stop personalized home-page allowing the audit of all coupons purchased with a convenient system of tracking, booking, expiration warnings and more;

• Personalization of the coupons purchased on less fragile and unsecure format than a printout paper coupon;

• The consumer is not burdened with unusable coupons and may overcome the problem of 'use or lose';

• Consumer has a probable chance of getting his money back and even making more money via the trading capability of the invention;

• The user is able to get to deals outside of the standard once-off daily-deal offering because there is a way to sell previously hard to re- sell certificates.

Underlying advantages of the invention to original C2 purchaser:

• The system is suited to users who don't like to, or can't plan ahead a long time ahead;

• The user does not need to think weeks or even months ahead to get coupons and can look for deals a few days before the event; • It is easy to do a search in C2 by location, or type of product, and a perspective C2 buyer will likely have a larger selection to choose from at any given time than the first time user.

Underlying advantages of the invention to the coupon retailer:

• Although the certificate retailer is not an intended recipient of the benefits of this invention — there are nevertheless - multiple benefits

• Avoids 'use or lose' notion and the problems associated with consumer credit acts;

• Increased customer base for coupon retailer/ retailers;

• A higher loyalty rate to the retailers;

• An additional coupon marketing channel (the URL);

• Ultimately, the system both increases market size by facilitating the purchase, assisting in the marketing effort, and reaching a far ranging audience put off by the idea of paper coupons, as well as increasing market share for the retailer in that it increases loyalty rate and helps differentiate from the competition.

Underlying advantages of the invention to the discount offering retailer:

• Enables the merchant to receive invaluable data on their users.

This does currently not exist due to the non-personalised nature of the certificates. • The offering retailer, today pays significant sums for mass consumer marketing. To work with certificate providers like Groupon, they pay up to 75c out of every Dollar. This is often not economical and guarantees no traction,

• This system has a far more simple redemption method than the existing paper method

• Double-marketing exposure due to the second hand trade platform

• Potentially to receive a percentage of the resale in C2 to make up for the current windfall of no shows.

All the above in the description and examples have been provided for the purpose of illustration and are not intended to limit the invention in any way, except as provided for in the appended claims.

Claims

1. A system for managing certificates, comprising:

2. A system according to claim 1, wherein the information regarding a certificate comprises the identity of the user of the system, the identity of the service or product, the time and place at which the certificate can be redeemed, the price of the certificate and its value when redeemed.

3. A system according to claim 1, wherein the communication line is an Internet connection,

4. A system according to claim 1, wherein the communication line is a wireless or cellular network.

5. A system according to claim 1, further comprising software to communicate with a user's smartphone device, and to allow a user to manage his account using a smartphone device.

6. A system according to claim 1, wherein the certificate is selected from gift certificates, certificates, discounts, deal-drops, pre-paid coupons, coupons, and/or vouchers.

7. A method for managing certificates, comprising:

8. A method according to claim 7, wherein the information regarding a certificate comprises the identity of the user of the system, the identity of the service or product, the time at which the certificate can be redeemed, the price of the certificate and its value when redeemed.

9. A method according to claim 7, wherein the communication line is an Internet connection.

10. A method according to claim 7, wherein the communication line is a wireless or cellular network.

11. A method according to claim 7, further comprising providing software to communicate with a user's smartphone device, and to allow a user to manage his account using a smartphone device.

12. A method according to claim 7, wherein a certificate available in a user's private account is auctioned in a registered-member area of the system and when another user successfully bids for it, the certificate is transferred to said bid-winning user's private account.

13. A method according to claim 7, wherein the unique identification details needed to redeem the certificate are kept secret and held in escrow by the system, to be revealed at the user's request.

14. The method according to claim 13, wherein a certificate the details of which have been revealed by the system becomes untradeable.