Mobile location tracking integrated merchant offer program and customer shopping

CLAIM OF PRIORITY UNDER 35 U.S.C. §119

0001The present application for a patent claims priority to and is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/013,727 entitled “Mobile Location Integrated Merchant Offer Program and Customer Shopping” filed on Jan. 25, 2011 which claims priority to Provisional Application Ser. No. 61/299,658 entitled “Mobile Location Integrated Online Financial Payment and Customer Shopping” filed Jan. 29, 2010 and are assigned to the assignees hereof and hereby expressly incorporated by reference herein.

FIELD

0002This invention relates generally to providing customized offers (i.e. discounts), product content, or other information about goods or services in which consumers have an interest, as well as available payment options for purchasing the goods or services. More particularly, embodiments of the invention relate to apparatuses and methods for an application that determines a customer's location and uses that location to provide the customer with information about goods and services, such as the availability from various merchants, prices, specifications, etc. of the goods or services under consideration or the availability of offers (i.e. discounts, coupons, rebates, etc), that relate to the goods or services. The offers available to the customer can be based on a number of factors, including the customers purchasing history, the customer's wish list, the customer's relationship with the financial institution, the customer's relationship with the merchants, etc.

BACKGROUND

0003The advent of the Internet has provided merchants with new channels for reaching customers and providing information, advertising, and offers related to their goods or services. However, sales and marketing campaigns are often not as effective as they might be, because they provide the customer the information, advertisements, or offers about which the customer is not interested, or alternatively provide the customer information, advertisements, or offers about which the customer is interested at the wrong time. The Internet, likewise, provides customers with the ability to quickly locate information about goods or services in which they are interested, and to purchase those goods or services, at home using their personal computers or outside the home though the use of a mobile device. However, customers who shop in stores often cannot find the exact good or service that they want, fail to find what they want at a price that they find attractive, fail to utilize discounts that are available for the goods or services, or in some cases fail to realize that a good or service in which they might be interested is located in close proximity to them. These scenarios result in merchant discounts or promotions that are not being utilized or in customers not receiving the benefit of such merchant discounts or promotions. Furthermore, customers who are not shopping may be unaware of goods or services in which they might be interested located at merchants in close proximity to the customer's current location. There is a need to develop apparatuses and methods to facilitate merchants in providing targeted sales and marketing offers to customers based on the customers' locations.

BRIEF SUMMARY

0004Embodiments of the present invention address the above needs and/or achieve other advantages by providing apparatuses (e.g., a system, computer program product, and/or other device), methods, or a combination of the foregoing for a merchant offer program application that integrates merchant offers related to goods and/or services (hereinafter “products”) with customer location information, customer shopping activities, and sources of payment.

0005Financial institutions have large amounts of customer data because they maintain or administer various financial accounts (i.e. credit card account, checking account, savings account, etc.) of their customers and they store data related to purchases made by their customers. Financial institutions track and store data related to what products their customers purchased, when their customers made the purchases, how much the customers spent, what merchants the customers used to make the purchases, etc. for both online and offline purchases. Furthermore, financial institutions also have direct ties with many different merchants, which use the financial institutions for their own financial needs. Due to the relationships financial institutions have with both customers and merchants, as well as the data that they capture because of those relationships, financial institutions are uniquely positioned to facilitate merchants in providing targeted sales and marketing offers to customers at any time, as well as to provide customers with payment options and information (i.e. balances) for making purchasing decisions for products.

0006Generally, one embodiment of the invention includes a merchant offer program application, which is downloaded onto a customer computer by the customer, and works in connection with the customer's accounts at an institution. When the institution is a financial institution the merchant offer program is a financial-institution based merchant offer program that works in connection with the customer's financial accounts, such as the customer's online banking account. However, such a financial-institution based merchant offer program is described generally herein as the merchant offer program. The merchant offer program application runs on the customer's computer and monitors the websites that the customer views, as well as the content the customer is viewing on those websites, such as the product offered for sale through the website or other information on the website. Information about the websites, such as but not limited to products thereon is relayed back to a central processor that locates information about the websites (i.e. products) and sends that information back to the customer. The information can include special offers that are available for the product being viewed, the identity of other merchants that offer the product, or a competing product, advertisements or offers regarding other ancillary products typically sold along with the product being considered, etc. The information sent to the customer can be based not only on the website product being viewed, but on the customer's current physical location, the customer's past purchase behavior, account balances, interests, etc. In one embodiment the information sent to the customer can be based on locations that the customer frequents, frequently passes, is located at during specific times, passes by during a commute or trip, etc. Offers that are communicated to the customer may be offers made available generally by the merchants, offers based on the financial institution's relationship with a merchant, etc.

0007In some embodiments of the invention the customer's computer is a mobile device, such as a smart phone, personal digital assistant (“PDA”), cell phone, etc., and the merchant offer program application is downloaded onto or accessible though the mobile device. In this embodiment, the merchant offer program application identifies the position of the customer through location determining devices, such as global positioning satellites (“GPS”), radio frequency (“RF”) locator systems, etc. in the mobile device. The merchant offer program application uses the information related to the customer's current location, past location, tracked location over time, the customer transaction history, customer profile, relationships between the customer, merchant, and financial institution, etc. to provide offers or information that are relevant to the customer, such as offers applicable to the store in which the customer passes often, offers at other stores in close proximity to a route that the customer often takes, offers that can be based on an alternate route of the customer, etc. For example, the offers may be based on the customer's drive to and from work, or based on a place that the customer frequents on weekends, etc. The mobile device can also be used to allow the customer to receive real-time information, such as products available from other merchants, prices, specifications, the availability of discount, coupons, rebates, etc, that relate to products that can be purchased by the customer based on the mobile tracking of the customer.

0008Once a customer decides to make a purchase, the merchant offer program application can provide the customer with information about the customer's various accounts, including, but not limited to, account balances, credit limit remaining, etc. The customer can decide from the available options how to pay for the purchase. In some embodiments purchases are made through the mobile device. Moreover, inasmuch as the merchant offer program application is a financial-institution based merchant offer program that can run through a financial institution, funds can be transferred to the merchant on a real-time or near real-time basis.

0009The application can also provide the customer with information relating to warranties on the products purchased, affinity clubs that go along with the products, the opportunity to rate any products, services, or merchants, the ability to social network with others who have an interest in the purchased or considered products, etc.

0010Embodiments of the invention relate to systems, methods, and computer program products for a mobile location tracking integrated merchant offer program comprising; receiving location information related to a physical location of a customer through a location determining device that is a part of a mobile device associated with the customer that tracks the location of the customer over time; determining a pattern in the location information related to the location of the customer over time; determining an offer for the customer from a merchant based at least in part on the patterns in the location information related to location of the customer over time; and presenting the offer to the customer.

0011In further accord with an embodiment of the invention, the invention comprises accessing account information for the customer from an institution; and wherein determining an offer for the customer is based at least in part on the account information for the customer from the institution.

0012In another embodiment of the invention the account information is customer transaction information from the institution. In yet another embodiment of the invention the account information is customer profile information from the institution. In still another embodiment of the invention, the account information is customer relationship information related to the relationship the customer has with a merchant or the institution.

0013In further accord with an embodiment of the invention, the pattern is a route that the customer frequently takes. In another embodiment of the invention, the offer is for a merchant that the customer frequently visits and is located on the route. In yet another embodiment of the invention, the offer is for a merchant that the customer does not frequently visit and is located on the route. In still another embodiment of the invention, the offer is for a merchant that is located on a secondary route that is not on the route. In another embodiment of the invention, the pattern is a location at which the customer frequently visits. In yet another embodiment of the invention, the offer is for a merchant that the customer frequently visits near the location at which the customer frequently visits. In still another embodiment of the invention, the offer is for a merchant that the customer does not frequently visit near the location at which the customer frequently visits.

0014In further accord with an embodiment of the invention, the invention comprises determining a relationship between the merchant and the institution; and wherein determining an offer for the customer is based in part on the relationship between a merchant and the institution.

0015In another embodiment of the invention, presenting the offer to the customer comprises displaying the offer on an interface of a mobile device. In yet another embodiment of the invention, presenting the offer to the customer comprises notifying the customer of the offer by sending an alert to the customer when the offer is determined. In still another embodiment of the invention, the alert is in the form of an alarm, text message, e-mail, instant message, notification alert, or phone call.

0016In further accord with an embodiment of the invention, the location determining device is a GPS device, a RF location device, a NFC device, a DSRC device, or an IR device.

0017In another embodiment of the invention, the institution is a financial institution.

0018The features, functions, and advantages that have been discussed may be achieved independently in various embodiments of the present invention or may be combined in yet other embodiments, further details of which can be seen with reference to the following description and drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

0019Having thus described embodiments of the invention in general terms, reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings, which are not necessarily drawn to scale, and wherein:

0020<figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 1</figref> provides a block diagram illustrating a merchant offer program environment, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

0021<figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 2A</figref> provides an integrated banking and customer shopping process, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

0022<figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 2B</figref> provides a continuation of the integrated banking and customer shopping process, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

0023<figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 3</figref> provides a web browser and merchant offer program notification alert, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

0024<figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 4</figref> provides a local merchant offer program application interface, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

0025<figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 5</figref> provides a local merchant offer program application interface activated by a customer searching the Internet, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

0026<figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 6A</figref> provides a mobile integrated payment and customer shopping process, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

0027<figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 6B</figref> provides a mobile tracking integrated payment and customer shopping process, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

0028<figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 7</figref> provides a mobile local merchant offer program application interface that helps provide offers to a customer based on physical location, in accordance with one embodiment of the invention;

0029<figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 8A</figref> provides an online banking account and customer shopping process in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

0030<figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 8B</figref> provides a continuation of the online banking account and customer shopping process in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

0031<figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 9</figref> provides an online banking account detail transaction and offer interface in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

0032<figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 10</figref> provides an online banking account detail transaction and offer interface in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention; and

0033<figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 11</figref> provides an online banking account detail transaction and offer interface in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION

0034Embodiments of the present invention will now be described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which some, but not all, embodiments of the invention are shown. Indeed, the invention may be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein; rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will satisfy applicable legal requirements. Like numbers refer to like elements throughout. Although some embodiments of the invention described herein are generally described as involving a “financial institution,” one of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the invention may be utilized by other businesses that take the place of or work in conjunction with financial institutions to perform one or more of the processes or steps described herein as being performed by a financial institution. For instance, in some embodiments an entity that acts as a clearing house for offers could take the place of the financial institution in whole or in part throughout this application.

0035<figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 1</figref> illustrates a merchant offer program environment <b>1</b> in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. As illustrated in <figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 1</figref>, the financial institution's merchant offer program system <b>3</b> is operatively coupled, via a network <b>2</b>, to one or more customer computer systems <b>4</b> of one or more customers <b>6</b>, the financial institution's customer account systems <b>8</b>, and the merchant systems <b>9</b>, as well as other systems at a financial institution, such as systems that maintain and administer customer accounts, which are not shown. In this way, a customer <b>6</b> located at the customer computer system <b>4</b> can receive information from and send information to the merchant offer program application <b>10</b> located on the financial institution's merchant offer program system <b>3</b> through a local merchant offer program application <b>11</b> and/or a web browser application <b>20</b>, located on the customer computer system <b>4</b> through the network <b>2</b>.

0036The network <b>2</b> may be a global area network (GAN), such as the Internet, a wide area network (WAN), a local area network (LAN), or any other type of network or combination of networks. The network <b>2</b> may provide for wireline, wireless, or a combination of wireline and wireless communication between devices in the network. In some embodiments of the invention the network <b>2</b> described herein may be a cloud computing network. Therefore, systems outside of what are described herein may be utilized to run, store, pass data to, or receive data from at least a part of the merchant offer program application, local merchant offer program application, or some other application described herein.

0037As illustrated in <figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 1</figref>, the financial institution's merchant offer program system <b>3</b> generally includes a communication device <b>12</b>, a processing device <b>14</b>, and a memory device <b>16</b>. As used herein, the term “processing device” generally includes circuitry used for implementing the communication and/or logic functions of a particular system. For example, a processing device may include a digital signal processor device, a microprocessor device, and various analog-to-digital converters, digital-to-analog converters, and other support circuits and/or combinations of the foregoing. Control and signal processing functions of the system are allocated between these processing devices according to their respective capabilities. The processing device may include functionality to operate one or more software programs based on computer-readable instructions thereof, which may be stored in a memory device.

0038The processing device <b>14</b> is operatively coupled to the communication device <b>12</b>, and the memory device <b>16</b>. The processing device <b>14</b> uses the communication device <b>12</b> to communicate with the network <b>2</b>, and other devices on the network <b>2</b>, such as, but not limited to, the customer computer systems <b>4</b>, the customer account systems <b>8</b>, and/or the merchant systems <b>9</b>, as well as other systems within the financial institution that are not shown. As such, the communication device <b>12</b> generally comprises a modem, server, or other device for communicating with other devices on the network <b>2</b>.

0039As further illustrated in <figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 1</figref>, the financial institution's merchant offer program system <b>3</b> includes computer-readable instructions <b>18</b> stored in the memory device <b>16</b>, which in one embodiment includes the computer-readable instructions <b>18</b> of a merchant offer program application <b>10</b>. In some embodiments, the memory device <b>16</b> includes a datastore <b>19</b> for storing data related to the financial institution's merchant offer program system <b>3</b>, including but not limited to data created and/or used by the merchant offer program application <b>10</b>.

0040As discussed later in greater detail, in one embodiment, the merchant offer program application <b>10</b> stores or receives customer profile data and data related to offline and online transactions from the account management applications <b>30</b>. The merchant offer program application <b>10</b> receives data related to customer browsing behavior or the customer's physical location, and returns targeted offers to the customer <b>6</b>. Offers include but are not limited to products, services, discounts, coupons, promotions, add-on sales, upsells, rebates, advertisements, marketing information, etc.

0041As illustrated in <figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 1</figref>, the customer computer systems <b>4</b> can include a communication device <b>22</b>, a processing device <b>24</b>, and a memory device <b>26</b>. The processing device <b>24</b> is operatively coupled to the communication device <b>22</b> and the memory device <b>26</b>. The processing device <b>24</b> uses the communication device <b>22</b> to communicate with the network <b>2</b>, and other devices on the network <b>2</b>, such as, but not limited to, the financial institution's merchant offer program system <b>3</b>, customer account systems <b>8</b>, and/or merchant systems <b>9</b>, as well as other financial institution systems not shown. As such, the communication device <b>22</b> generally comprises a modem, server, or other device(s) for communicating with other devices on the network <b>2</b>, and a display, keypad, mouse, keyboard, microphone, and/or speakers for communicating with one or more users. The devices in the network can be personal computers, personal digital assistants, cell phones, etc.

0042As further illustrated in <figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 1</figref>, the customer computer systems <b>4</b> comprise computer-readable program instructions <b>28</b> stored in the memory device <b>26</b>, which in one embodiment includes the computer-readable instructions <b>28</b> of the local merchant offer program application <b>11</b> and a web browser application <b>20</b>. In some embodiments, the memory device <b>26</b> includes a datastore <b>29</b> for storing data related to the customer computer systems <b>4</b>, including but not limited to data created and/or used by the local merchant offer program application <b>11</b> and/or the web browser application <b>20</b>.

0043In one embodiment of the invention, the local merchant offer program application <b>11</b> is the part of the merchant offer program application <b>10</b> that resides on the customer computer systems <b>4</b>. In some embodiments, the customer computer systems <b>4</b> are mobile devices. The local merchant offer program application <b>11</b> assists in monitoring websites that the customer <b>6</b> is browsing through the web browser application <b>20</b> on the mobile device by monitoring and sending the information related to the customer's web browsing to the merchant offer program application <b>10</b>. In other embodiments of the invention the local merchant offer program application assists in monitoring the physical location of the mobile device, and thus the customer, though the used of location-determining devices and sends information related to the customer's physical location to the merchant offer program application <b>10</b>. In some embodiments of the invention a customer <b>6</b> can be tracked over time in order to identify patterns in the customer's location, which can ultimately be used to develop offers for the customer <b>6</b>. In other embodiments of the invention there is no local merchant offer program application <b>11</b>, as such the merchant offer program application <b>10</b>, which is located on the financial institution's databases, performs the functions of the local merchant offer program application <b>11</b> and, thus can interact directly with the web browser application <b>20</b> located on the customer computer systems <b>4</b>. In other embodiments of the invention there is no local merchant offer program application <b>11</b>, as such the merchant offer program application <b>10</b>, which is located on the customer computer system <b>4</b>, performs the functions of the local merchant offer program application <b>11</b>. In still other embodiments of the invention the local merchant offer program application <b>11</b> is a separate application, which is located on the customer computer system <b>4</b>, which works in conjunction with the merchant offer program application <b>10</b>.

0044Throughout this patent the local merchant offer program application <b>11</b> is described as the part of the merchant offer program application <b>10</b> that resides on the customer computer systems <b>4</b>; however, it is to be understood that the apparatuses and methods described herein would work equally well in the various embodiments of the merchant offer program application <b>10</b> and local merchant offer program application <b>11</b> described above. Regardless of the configuration, the local merchant offer program application <b>11</b> displays offers, determined by the merchant offer program application <b>10</b> related to what the customer is searching, to the customer <b>6</b> on an interactive graphical user interface (i.e. local interface <b>400</b>). The offers can be, among other things, based in part on the data stored by the merchant offer program application <b>10</b> and the customer account systems <b>8</b>, including but not limited to customer profile data and transaction history.

0045As illustrated in <figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 1</figref>, the customer account systems <b>8</b> generally include a communication device <b>32</b>, a processing device <b>34</b>, and a memory device <b>36</b>. The processing device <b>34</b> is operatively coupled to the communication device <b>32</b> and the memory device <b>36</b>. The processing device <b>34</b> uses the communication device <b>32</b> to communicate with the network <b>2</b>, and other devices on the network <b>2</b>, such as, but not limited to, the merchant offer program system <b>3</b>, the customer computer systems <b>4</b>, and/or the merchant systems <b>9</b>, as well as other systems at the financial institution not shown. As such, the communication device <b>32</b> generally comprises a modem, server, or other device(s) for communicating with other devices on the network <b>2</b>.

0046As further illustrated in <figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 1</figref>, the customer account systems <b>8</b> comprise computer-readable program instructions <b>38</b> stored in the memory device <b>36</b>, which in one embodiment includes the computer-readable instructions <b>38</b> of account management applications <b>30</b>. In some embodiments, the memory device <b>36</b> includes a datastore <b>39</b> for storing data related to the customer account systems <b>8</b>, including but not limited to data created and/or used by the account management applications <b>30</b>.

0047The account management applications <b>30</b>, in one embodiment, are used to store, process, and monitor the transactions, including but not limited to, deposits, withdrawals, transfers, and payments, made through various customer accounts, such as, but not limited to, checking, savings, credit card, hybrid, deposit, credit line, money market, equity line, investment, bill payment, transfer, etc. accounts. The account management applications <b>30</b> have the transaction history information for each of the financial institution's customers, in some cases, for as long as the customers have had accounts with the financial institution. The transaction history information located in the account management applications is searchable and sortable over different ranges of time. The transaction information in the account management applications <b>30</b> is used by the merchant offer program application <b>10</b>, along with other information or alone, to determine what targeted offers and marketing information should be sent to the customers <b>6</b>. In some embodiments of the invention, the account management applications <b>30</b> include online banking applications, such as an online banking website, which allow a customer <b>6</b> to access the customer's accounts through the Internet.

0048As further illustrated in <figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 1</figref>, the merchant systems <b>9</b> generally include a communication device <b>42</b>, a processing device <b>44</b>, and a memory device <b>46</b>. The processing device <b>44</b> is operatively coupled to the communication device <b>42</b> and the memory device <b>46</b>. The processing device <b>44</b> uses the communication device <b>42</b> to communicate with the network <b>2</b>, and other devices on the network <b>2</b>, such as, but not limited to, the merchant offer program system <b>3</b>, customer computer systems <b>4</b>, and/or customer account systems <b>8</b>, as well as other systems at the financial institution not shown. As such, the communication device <b>42</b> generally comprises a modem, server, or other device(s) for communicating with other devices on the network <b>2</b>, and a display, keypad, mouse, keyboard, microphone, and/or speakers for communicating with one or more users.

0049As further illustrated in <figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 1</figref>, the merchant systems <b>9</b> comprise computer-readable program instructions <b>48</b> stored in the memory device <b>46</b>, which in one embodiment includes the computer-readable instructions <b>48</b> of merchant applications <b>40</b>. In some embodiments, the memory device <b>46</b> includes a datastore <b>49</b> for storing data related to the merchant systems <b>9</b>, including but not limited to data created and/or used by the merchant applications <b>40</b>.

0050The merchant applications <b>40</b>, in one embodiment, are used to generate, store, process, and/or monitor the offers made directly to customer computer systems <b>4</b> over the network <b>2</b> or indirectly though the merchant offer program system <b>3</b>.

0051In other embodiments of the invention, the merchant offer program environment <b>1</b> will include other systems in the financial institution that are connected over the network <b>2</b>. In some embodiments of the invention, the other systems within the financial institution could include transaction processing systems such as check image processing, or online account processing systems. These other systems can work in conjunction with the merchant offer program system <b>3</b>, or supplement and/or enhance the merchant offer program system <b>3</b>.

0052<figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIGS. 2A and 2B</figref> illustrate one embodiment of an integrated payment and customer shopping process <b>200</b> that describes how a customer <b>6</b> utilizes the merchant offer program environment <b>1</b> to search for offers on the Internet or in retail stores, receive offers related to the offers the customer <b>6</b> is searching, receive offers related to web-based content that the customer is accessing, and accept one or more of the offers using various forms of payment. In order to utilize the merchant offer program environment <b>1</b> the customer <b>6</b>, in some embodiments, downloads the local merchant offer program application <b>11</b> to the customer computer system <b>4</b>, as illustrated in block <b>202</b> of <figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 2</figref>. In some embodiments the customer computer system <b>4</b> is a computer, such as a laptop, desktop, or tablet computer, Internet television, or other electronic or digital medium device, in other embodiments the customer computer system <b>4</b> may be a mobile device, such as a PDA, cell phone, smart phone, Internet-only computer, or any other device that has Internet browsing capability.

0053Once the local merchant offer program application <b>11</b> is downloaded to the customer computer system <b>4</b>, in some embodiments it will run by communicating constantly with the merchant offer program application <b>10</b> located on the merchant offer program system <b>3</b>. In other embodiments, the customer <b>6</b> has the ability to turn the merchant offer program application <b>10</b> on and off. In still other embodiments of the invention, the customer <b>6</b> will be required to authenticate herself as the customer before using the local merchant offer program application <b>11</b> and merchant offer program application <b>10</b>. Authentication is required in some embodiments, when the merchant offer program application <b>10</b> communicates with the customer's private customer account information located on the customer account systems <b>8</b> at the financial institution. As explained in greater detail below, the merchant offer program application <b>10</b> accesses the customer's account information in order to display to the customer <b>6</b>, through the local merchant offer program application <b>11</b>, the customer's balances for the accounts that the customer can use to pay for purchases made through the merchant offer program environment <b>1</b>. Moreover, when the customer <b>6</b> makes a purchase through the merchant offer program application <b>10</b>, the merchant offer program application <b>10</b> accesses the customer's account through the customer's online banking accounts and/or the customer account systems <b>8</b> in order to make real-time or near real-time transactions between the customer <b>6</b> and the merchant.

0054The customer <b>6</b> in some embodiments may perform the authentication when downloading the local merchant offer program application <b>11</b>, when the customer <b>6</b> wants to use the local merchant offer program application <b>11</b>, or only when the customer <b>6</b> decides to make a purchase. Generally, in exemplary embodiments, the local merchant offer program application <b>11</b> runs on the customer computer system <b>4</b> at all times, and the customer only authenticates herself when the customer wants to view the identified offers or purchase something through the offers supplied by the merchant offer program application <b>10</b>.

0055As illustrated in block <b>204</b> of <figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 2A</figref>, the customer <b>6</b> searches the Internet for content, such as products or other information located on websites. For example, as illustrated in <figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 3</figref>, the customer <b>6</b> may be searching for a forty-six inch LCD television made by Company A. Block <b>206</b> in <figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 2A</figref> illustrates that as the customer <b>6</b> is searching for a particular product (i.e. the Company A TV), the merchant offer program application <b>10</b> communicates with the web browser application <b>20</b> that the customer is using, in order to determine what offers or other content the customer <b>6</b> is viewing through the web browser application <b>20</b>. As illustrated in block <b>208</b> in <figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 2A</figref> the local merchant offer program application <b>11</b> transfers the information related to the content the customer is viewing back to the merchant offer program application <b>10</b>.

0056In some embodiments of the invention, the content the customer is viewing that is captured by the merchant offer program application <b>10</b>, is not limited to content the customer is viewing through a web browser application <b>20</b> on a customer computer system <b>4</b>. The content can be related to any digital channel to which the customer <b>6</b> has access, such as but not limited to interactive voice response (“IVR”) units, video being displayed on a television through a network, programs viewed by the customer on the television, content displayed by an automated teller machine (“ATM”), content displayed on electronic billboards, etc. The content used by the merchant offer program application <b>10</b>, can be any content that the merchant offer program application can capture <b>10</b> through a digital medium. For example, the customer <b>6</b> may not even be able to visually view the content captured by the merchant offer program application through a digital medium.

0057In other embodiments of the invention, the customer <b>6</b> does not have to search the Internet on home computers for offers in order for the merchant offer program application <b>10</b> to gather information related to offers in which the customer <b>6</b> may be interested and provide them to the customer <b>6</b>. For example, the local merchant offer program application <b>11</b> may be downloaded on the customer's mobile device, such as a smart phone, PDA, cell phone, etc. and the mobile device may be used to receive offers from the merchant offer program application <b>10</b>. In some embodiments of the invention the merchant offer program application <b>10</b> is a part of an application store, through which customers can download applications to their mobile devices. Multiple versions of the merchant offer program application <b>10</b> may be developed to work with multiple operating systems used on various mobile devices. For example, the merchant offer program application <b>10</b> can be downloaded on mobile devices, such as smart phones like the iPhone®, Droid®, Nexus One®, etc., through application stores that house thousands of applications from thousands of software providers. The merchant offer program application <b>10</b> will operate on the mobile device in much the same way as it operates on a customer's home computer. However, the merchant offer program application <b>10</b> may have more functionality when it is used through a mobile device because it can constantly monitor, provide offers, and receive acceptance of the offer, when the customer <b>6</b> is away from her computer.

0058Moreover, in one embodiment of the invention, the local merchant offer program application <b>11</b> can relay information to the merchant offer program application <b>10</b> about the physical location of the customer through location-determining devices. The location-determining devices used by the mobile device and the merchant offer program application <b>10</b> include, but are not limited to GPS, RF location, near field communication (“NFC”), Bluetooth® communication mechanism (i.e., communication operating in the 2.4-2.5 GHz frequency range), dedicated short-range communication (DSRC) mechanism, infrared (IR) communication, or the like. After receiving information about the customer's <b>6</b> physical location, the merchant offer program application <b>10</b> provides offers or information that are relevant to the customer's physical location, such as offers applicable to the store in which the customer is located, offers at other stores in close proximity, offers that can be purchased over the mobile device, etc.

0059<figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 6A</figref> illustrates one embodiment of a mobile integrated merchant offer program and customer shopping process <b>600</b>, wherein the local merchant offer program application <b>11</b> is operational while the customer <b>6</b> is shopping at a merchant's physical store. In this embodiment of the invention the customer downloads the local merchant offer program application <b>11</b> onto the customer's computer system <b>4</b> (i.e. mobile device), as illustrated by block <b>602</b>. After the local merchant offer program application <b>11</b> is downloaded, it can run constantly on the customer's mobile device in order to provide the merchant offer program application <b>10</b> with the customer's location. Some customers <b>6</b> may not want the local merchant offer program application <b>11</b> tracking the customer's location at all times. Therefore, in some embodiments the customer <b>6</b> will have control over when the location-determining device of the merchant offer program application <b>10</b> and/or local merchant offer program application <b>11</b> is activated, by selectively engaging and disengaging the feature that tracks the customer's physical location.

0060When the local merchant offer program application <b>11</b> is running it identifies the location of the customer <b>6</b> in order to match the customer <b>6</b> with offers, as illustrated by block <b>604</b> and sends the location information back to the merchant offer program application <b>10</b>. The position of the customer <b>6</b> is determined through a location-determining device, such as a GPS system, RF locator, or other device. The local merchant offer program application <b>11</b> can be set up to perform the positioning determination in many different ways. For example, the local merchant offer program application <b>11</b> can determine the customer's location on a real-time basis, be updated over a time interval, be updated when the customer <b>6</b> leaves a pre-defined radius or area, be set up to run during a particular time of day or week, month, or year, etc.

0061In one embodiment of the invention, the local merchant offer program application <b>11</b> will constantly update the customer's position in real-time, in order to be able to immediately notify the customer <b>6</b> of the best offers when they become available or when the customer <b>6</b> enters a particular location or area. For example, the local merchant offer program application <b>11</b> can inform the merchant offer program application <b>10</b> of the customer's <b>6</b> position whenever the location-determining device determines the customer <b>6</b> has entered an area with retail stores or a particular store.

0062As illustrated by block <b>606</b>, after the merchant offer program application <b>10</b> receives the customer's location, it generates information to provide the customer <b>6</b> based on the location information that it received combined with the customer transaction history, customer profile, customer's wish list, and relationships between the merchant, financial institution, and customers. The generated information may be offers available at that physical merchant location, available at another physical merchant located proximately to the customer <b>6</b>, on the customer's wish list that are available from the merchant at that physical location or other merchant, related to the customer's physical location that can be purchased online through the mobile device, etc. The general information may also be information about competitive merchants located at or near the customer's current location. The process of determining offers for the customer based on each of the aspects of the merchant offer program application <b>10</b> listed above are explained in more detail below, but will be discussed generally here as they relate to offers provided on the mobile device that are based in part on the customer's physical location.

0063In some embodiments of the invention, the local merchant offer program application <b>11</b> provides the customer <b>6</b> with offers whenever the customer <b>6</b> is located within a specific distance of a particular retail store. For example, if the customer <b>6</b> is driving and the local merchant offer program application <b>11</b> detects that the customer <b>6</b> is within a specified distance, for example, 5 miles from a retail store that has offers of interest, the local merchant offer program application <b>11</b> can notify the customer <b>6</b> of specific offer information related to products being offered at the particular retail store. The merchant offer program application <b>10</b> determines the products in which the customer is interested based on the customer's transaction history, customer profile, wish list, relationship with the merchant, relationship with the financial institution, etc. and merges that information with the customer's physical location. In some embodiments the local merchant offer program application <b>11</b> communicates to the customer <b>6</b> not only the offers at the store the customer <b>6</b> is located near, but also the same and/or similar offers, and related offers, at competing stores in the area as well.

0064In other embodiments of the invention, the offers for a particular store are only displayed to the customer <b>6</b> if the customer <b>6</b> is in or near the actual store. For example, when a customer is in a mall and the customer <b>6</b> walks into a department store, in some embodiments, the merchant offer program application <b>10</b> will send the customer <b>6</b> offers from the merchant offer program database for the department store in which the customer <b>6</b> is located. The customer <b>6</b> may be notified of an offer that is available to the customer <b>6</b> when entering a store based on an alarm, text message, phone call, etc. that is sent to the customer's mobile device. In other embodiments of the invention the merchant offer program application <b>10</b> can also offer the customer <b>6</b> similar offers through competitors of the department store, thus allowing the customer to comparison shop without having to visit all of the various stores.

0065In some embodiments of the invention, the offers provided to the customer <b>6</b> are not based on physical stores located in close proximity to the customer <b>6</b>, but instead are based on other types of destination locations. The offers provided can be related to products that could be used at the locations. For example, if the customer <b>6</b> is physically located near a national park the offers provided to the customer can relate to gear that would be useful in the national park. If the customer <b>6</b> is physically located near an amusement park, or a popular vacation destination, the offers could include tickets to the park, or vacation packages for the vacation destination or a related destination.

0066<figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 6B</figref> provides a mobile tracking integrated payment and customer shopping process <b>610</b>, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. As illustrated in block <b>612</b> of <figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 6B</figref>, the customer <b>6</b> downloads the local merchant offer program application <b>11</b> to the customer computer systems <b>4</b>. This can be done the same or similar way as described above and with respect to block <b>602</b> of the mobile integrated payment and customer shopping process <b>600</b>.

0067After the local merchant offer program application <b>11</b> is installed, as illustrated by block <b>614</b>, the local merchant offer program application <b>11</b> detects the location of the mobile device over time. Again this can be done in the same or similar way as described above and with respect to block <b>604</b> of the mobile integrated payment and customer shopping process <b>600</b>. However, in this embodiment the local merchant offer program and/or the merchant offer program <b>10</b> captures and stores the various locations that the customer <b>6</b> visits through a location-determining device in the mobile device. As explained throughout this application the local merchant offer program application <b>11</b> may capture the locations and push to or have the information pulled by the merchant offer program application <b>10</b>. In other embodiments, the merchant offer program application <b>10</b> may track the location of the location determining device in the mobile device by itself. The location of the mobile device can be tracked either continuously or as snapshots over indefinite or definite periods of time. Therefore, the location of the customer can be tracked throughout an hour, day, week, month, year, years etc. For example, the local merchant offer program application <b>11</b> can store the locations of the mobile device, such as but not limited to how the customer <b>6</b> gets to work, where the customer <b>6</b> typically goes during work, how the customer <b>6</b> gets home from work, where the customer <b>6</b> goes during the weekend, places the customer stops throughout the day, week, etc. and sends the location information to the merchant offer program application <b>10</b>. In some embodiments of the invention the customer <b>6</b> may be able to disable the mobile location tracking feature, or at least a part thereof, when the customer <b>6</b> does not want his location tracked by the merchant offer program application <b>10</b> or local merchant offer program application <b>11</b>.

0068As illustrated by block <b>616</b>, after sufficient location tracking information has been stored, the local merchant offer program application <b>10</b> determines patterns in the locations of the customer <b>6</b> based on the location of the mobile device over time. For example, the merchant offer program application <b>10</b> may determine the route that the customer <b>6</b> travels almost everyday to work. The local merchant offer program may also determine that during the trip to work the customer <b>6</b> stops at a restaurant along the route an average of three days a week. The merchant offer program application <b>10</b> may infer that the customer <b>6</b> is buying breakfast at the restaurant three times a week on the way to work. In some embodiments the merchant offer program application <b>10</b> may access the customer's accounts at a financial institution through the account management application <b>30</b>, as explained below, to confirm what, if anything, the customer <b>6</b> purchases at the location. Thus, the merchant offer program application <b>10</b> has developed a pattern that includes the route of a customer <b>6</b>, the days and locations that the customer <b>6</b> visits along the route, and in some embodiments the purchases that the customer <b>6</b> makes along the route.

0069In some embodiments explained herein offers that are provided to the customer <b>6</b> are based on the customer's current location or the customer's home. However, many customers <b>6</b> spend the majority of their time at work. When the customers <b>6</b> are not at work (i.e. at home or another location) they may not receive offers for businesses located near the customer's work, which may include offers in which customer <b>6</b> would otherwise be interested. The ability to provide offers based on the routes or locations that a customer <b>6</b> often frequents allow the customer <b>6</b> to receive the best offers that may be the most convenient for the customer to take advantage of at a time when the customer <b>6</b> may be near a location that the customer frequents in the future. For example, the customer <b>6</b> may be interested in receiving offers for TV's. However, it may be the weekend and the customer may not receive offers that are relevant to the route the customer <b>6</b> takes to work or that occur near the customer's work because the customer is at a location near his home. The patterns identify by the merchant offer program application <b>10</b> based on tracking the customer's past locations allow the merchant offer program application <b>10</b> to provide better offers for a TV at a location near the customer's route to work or at a store located near the customer's work. As explained in further detail below, the merchant offer program application <b>10</b> can use the patterns developed from the mobile location tracking to identify offers for the customer <b>6</b>.

0070As illustrated by block <b>618</b>, the merchant offer program application <b>10</b> determines one or more offers in which the customer may be interested based on the patterns of mobile tracking locations of the customer <b>6</b> in combination with the customer's profile information, the customer's transaction history, customer wish list, and/or the relationship information. The determination of an offer can be made in the same or similar ways as the offer determination was made with respect to block <b>606</b> of the mobile integrated payment and customer shopping process <b>600</b>. The process of determining offers for the customer based on each of the aspects of the merchant offer program application <b>10</b> are explained in more detail below, but will be discussed generally here as they relate to offers provided on the mobile device that are based in part on the patterns of mobile tracking of the customer <b>6</b>. The generated offers may be offers available at merchants that the customer <b>6</b> frequents along a frequently traveled route, at another merchant located along the route and/or near the route, and/or at merchants located along an alternate route the customer <b>6</b> could take. The generated offers may also be offers available at merchants near locations that the customer <b>6</b> typically frequents, but at which the customer <b>6</b> is not currently located. In one example, the merchant offer program application <b>10</b> may determine that an offer is available for a customer <b>6</b> that travels the same route every day to work and stops on average 3 times a week at a local restaurant to buy breakfast and coffee. The merchant offer program application may determine that a second restaurant is offering deals for a breakfast near the route that the customer <b>6</b> usually takes, but the second restaurant is along a different route. The merchant offer program can provide the offer for the second restaurant to the customer <b>6</b> on the customer computer system <b>4</b> (such as the customer's mobile device) as is described throughout this application. In other embodiments, the merchant offer program application <b>10</b> may also provide the customer with a route to work that is similar to the current route, but takes the customer past the second restaurant that has the offer identified by the merchant offer program application <b>10</b>.

0071In another example, the merchant offer program application <b>10</b> may know that the customer is looking for a TV (e.g. based on a wish list) and knows that the best deal is located near the route that the customer <b>6</b> takes to work Monday through Friday. In some embodiments, this offer may not be recognized because it is the weekend and the customer <b>6</b> is at home which may be located 20 miles away from where the customer <b>6</b> works. However, because of the pattern location tracking the merchant offer program application <b>10</b> recognizes that the customer <b>6</b> will be located near the store with the best deal on TV's Monday through Friday. Therefore, the merchant offer program application <b>10</b> notifies the customer <b>6</b> of the offer, even though the customer <b>6</b> is not currently located near the store.

0072In another example embodiment, the merchant offer program application <b>10</b> may recognize that during the summer months from June to August the customer <b>6</b> visits the same beach town every other weekend. Therefore, the merchant offer program application <b>10</b> may identify offers in which the customer <b>6</b> may be interested in the beach town and provide the customer <b>6</b> the offers before the weekends that the merchant offer program application <b>10</b> has identified as the weekends that the customer <b>6</b> will most likely visit the beach. In this way, the merchant offer program application <b>10</b> is able to anticipate offers in which the customer <b>6</b> is interested based on patterns in location tracking of the customer <b>6</b> before the customer <b>6</b> actually reaches the location. This is beneficial to both the customer <b>6</b> and merchants because the customer may be more likely to accept offers that the customer <b>6</b> knows about in advance as opposed to offers that are provided to the customer <b>6</b> only when the customer <b>6</b> is physically near a location identified by the merchant offer program application <b>10</b> as having an offer.

0073As previously discussed the customer <b>6</b> may be notified of an offer identified by the merchant offer program application <b>10</b> that is available to the customer <b>6</b> based on an alarm, text message, phone call, etc. that is sent to the customer's mobile device.

0074In some embodiments of the invention, when the customer <b>6</b> receives an offer from the merchant offer program application <b>10</b> the offer may include a comparison between the products that the customer <b>6</b> currently purchases from a merchant that the customer <b>6</b> frequently visits and the products from a merchant located on the same route, near the same route, on an alternative route, or near a place that the customer <b>6</b> is frequently near. For example, the offer could include a comparison between the prices, product information, warranties, terms and conditions, etc. of the same, similar, or related products from a merchant at which the customer <b>6</b> shops and another merchant.

0075As will be discussed in further detail below the offers determined by the merchant offer program application <b>10</b> can also be dependent on the products for which the customer is searching through the mobile device. For example, in some embodiments of the invention the customer will view content on the Internet through the mobile device, as explained in greater detail below with regard to block <b>204</b> in <figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 2A</figref>. In response, the merchant offer program application <b>10</b> will not only determine products related to the content that the customer <b>6</b> is viewing, but can also determine the current location of the customer or the past or possible future locations of the customer <b>6</b> based on patterns of mobile tracking of the customer <b>6</b> through the location-determining device. The merchant offer program application <b>10</b> will use the customer's current, past, or future locations as well as the content the customer <b>6</b> is viewing to provide the customer <b>6</b> with offers for related products located near the customer's locations.

0076As described in further detail below with respect generally to customer computer systems <b>4</b> in blocks <b>204</b> though <b>224</b> of <figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIGS. 2A and 2B</figref>, the local merchant offer program application <b>11</b> communicates with the merchant offer program application <b>10</b> to notify the customer <b>6</b> through a notification indicator or pop-up window on the customer's mobile device that there is one or more offers in which the customer <b>6</b> may be interested. The merchant offer program application <b>10</b> can also notify the customer <b>6</b> by sending an alarm, text message, e-mail, instant message, etc. to the customer <b>6</b>. The offers are displayed in a local interface <b>400</b> and a customer <b>6</b> may select an offer, replacement offer, related offer, etc. to purchase. Thereafter, the customer <b>6</b> can use the customer's mobile device to complete the transaction, using various customer accounts, through the merchant offer program application <b>10</b> and pick up the product at the physical store in which the customer <b>6</b> is located or located near.

0077The offers provided on the mobile device are the same type as described below with respect generally to the customer computer systems <b>4</b>. The offers are displayed to the customer <b>6</b> in an interface, that is the same as or similar to the local interface <b>400</b> illustrated in <figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 5</figref>. In one embodiment the offers are substitute offers of the same or similar product in which the customers <b>6</b> may be interested. For example, the mobile device displays the same or similar products that the customer <b>6</b> can get at the customer's current physical location, for a lower price or with better features over the Internet or at stores located near the customer's current location. Still in other embodiments the offers may be for similar products offered at the same store in which the customer is currently located. In other embodiments of the invention, the offer can be related to products offered in a store at the customer's current location, at another store located near the customer, or over the Internet.

0078In some embodiments of the invention the local interface <b>400</b> may have additional features for the mobile device, as illustrated in the mobile local interface <b>700</b> in <figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 7</figref>. As illustrated in the locations section <b>760</b> of the mobile local interface <b>700</b>, a customer may select a tab or button that prompts the merchant offer program application to display the locations of the closest stores for the products that are being displayed by the local merchant offer program application <b>11</b> in the mobile local interface <b>700</b>. In some embodiments, the location section <b>760</b> will display not only the closest store to the current location of the customer <b>6</b>, but also the stores located to places the customer <b>6</b> has been in the past or might be in the future. In one embodiment of the invention the mobile local interface <b>700</b> can display the retailers <b>762</b>, the product description <b>764</b> the customer is interested in at the retailer, the distance <b>766</b> from the customer's current location, and a directions <b>768</b> link. The customer <b>6</b> can choose to view more information about the stores by selecting on a store link of the retailer <b>762</b> or a link to the product <b>764</b>, or get directions to the stores from the customer's current location by selecting the directions <b>768</b> link.

0079In other embodiments of the invention, the customer <b>6</b> can use the mobile device to identify information related to an offer at a physical store. For example, information about a product can be captured by capturing an image of the product, scanning an identifier (i.e. barcode or UPC number) located on the product into the mobile device, and/or entering an identifier or keyword related to a product through a keyboard or voice command. The merchant offer program application gathers the information related to the offer through the local merchant offer program application <b>11</b>, which, as explained in greater detail below, provides the customer <b>6</b> with related offers or information on the customer's mobile device.

0080In some embodiments of the invention, a customer can use a mobile device to make a purchase through the actual point-of-sale applications at the store in which the customer is located. In some embodiments of the invention, a mobile device that is configured with a payment system, such as a near field communication (“NFC”) payment system or other payment system, can use the system to make a purchase through the local merchant offer program application <b>11</b> downloaded on the mobile device. The purchase, in some embodiments, takes into account real time discounts, e-Coupons, etc. available through the merchant offer program application <b>10</b>, as discussed in further detail later. The customer's account can be updated in real-time or near real-time to reflect the most recent transactions using a mobile device for payment.

0081After receiving information related to what offers or other content the customer <b>6</b> is currently viewing or searching, in some embodiments, the merchant offer program application <b>10</b> analyzes the customer's past transaction purchasing history, and the customer's profile information to determine one or more offers to present to the customer <b>6</b> through the local merchant offer program application <b>11</b>, as illustrated by block <b>210</b> in <figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 2A</figref>. The merchant offer program application <b>10</b> analyzes the customer's past purchasing history and the customer's profile information, in part, from the account management applications <b>30</b>, which store the histories of purchases made by the customer online and offline (i.e. brick and mortar stores).

0082In some embodiments of the invention, the financial institution may have a relationship with other financial institutions, credit card providers, Internet shopping services, etc., in order to gather more transactional data related to the customer's purchase history when the customer <b>6</b> makes transactions with other business accounts, credit cards, etc., in addition to the data that the financial institution maintains. In other embodiments the customer <b>6</b> can upload the transaction histories of transactions made with other financial institution accounts, credit cards, etc. by authorizing the financial institution to reach out and pull (or be pushed) data related to transactions from other accounts. For example, the customer <b>6</b> can provide the financial institution the account number and password to other online banking systems, online credit card statements, etc. and the financial institution can pull transaction information from those accounts. This additional information can be also be used to provide the customer <b>6</b> more payment options, from outside accounts, to use in completing the transaction.

0083In other embodiments of the invention the customer can log onto the customer's own merchant offer program account in the merchant offer program application <b>10</b>, or other account management application <b>30</b> to provide or enter customized profile information. For example, the customer <b>6</b> can request specific types of offers, such as specific products, discounts, or advertisements in which the customer <b>6</b> is interested on a wish list, which is explained in further detail below. In other embodiments of the invention the customer <b>6</b> can provide profile information, which allows the merchant offer program application <b>10</b> to provide more personalized offers to each individual customer <b>6</b>. For example, the profile information could include, but is not limited to, places the customer <b>6</b> likes to shop, hobbies in which the customer is interested, specific offers or merchants from whom the customer <b>6</b> does or does not want to receive offers from, etc.

0084The offers identified by the merchant offer program application <b>10</b> in block <b>210</b> and provided to the customer <b>6</b> through the local merchant offer program application <b>11</b>, are determined in a number of ways. In exemplary embodiments, the financial institution will have in place arrangements with merchants that allow the financial institution to provide certain products to customers through the merchant offer program application <b>10</b> at discounted prices. The financial institution will display the various products that are the subject of a discount coupon, rebate, reward, etc. The products will normally be displayed with the items carrying the greatest discount, coupon, rebate, reward, etc. first. The discount, coupon, rebate, reward, etc. can be the merchant's normal offer or can be the subject of a separate arrangement with the financial institution. In other embodiments, the merchant may pay a fee to the financial institution per month, week, etc., or a flat fee, etc., in exchange for the financial institution showing one or more of the merchant offers to customers <b>6</b>. The size of discounts provided, and in some embodiments the fees paid by merchants, can be based on the number of hits the offer/website of the merchant receives, the number times the offer is displayed, the number of customers who accept the offer by making a purchase, and/or the rank of the offer, etc. In some embodiments of the invention the merchant may not offer the product at a discount, but instead the financial institution may subsidize the offer by providing the discount itself. In this instance, the financial institution would pay the merchant the full price of the product at the time of sale, but debit the customer's account a discounted price or rebate the customers <b>6</b> at some future point in time. The financial institution could make up for the discounts by charging the merchants a fee to display the offer to the customer <b>6</b> or by taking payments from the merchant for all of the discounts on offers provided within a certain time period.

0085Therefore, in some embodiments of the invention, either the merchant or the financial institution will offer customized discounts for each customer <b>6</b>, which are based in part on the customer's profile data and the customer's transaction history information. As previously discussed the customer profile information could include what accounts the customer <b>6</b> has at the financial institution (checking, savings, equity line, etc.), as well as what services the customer <b>6</b> uses (such as financial planners, wealth management, etc.). The customer transaction history information could include the purchases the customer <b>6</b> has made at various stores, the costs of the purchases, time of year and day they were made, the accounts used to pay for the purchases, etc. In some embodiments, the more products that the merchant uses with the financial institution the greater the discount will be, the more accounts and services the customer <b>6</b> uses at the financial institution the greater the discount will be, and the more the customer <b>6</b> spends with a particular merchant the greater the discounts will be for that merchant.

0086The merchant offer program application <b>10</b> can determine the products the customer <b>6</b> has with the financial institution through the customer profile information, and can use that information as a basis for making offers available to that customer <b>6</b>. The amount of business includes but is not limited to, how many accounts the customer has, the amount of money in those accounts, any loans the customer <b>6</b> has with the financial institution, any financial services the customer <b>6</b> uses, the net present value of the customer with the financial institution, etc. In one embodiment, the more products the customer <b>6</b> uses from the financial institution the greater the discount will be. These factors can also be combined with the customer's relationship with various merchants to determine what offers to make available to the customer <b>6</b>. For example, the merchant offer program application <b>10</b> can identify from the customer's transaction history what types of products the customer <b>6</b> has purchased from various merchants in the last week, last month, last six months, last year, etc. The size of the discounts the customer <b>6</b> receives based on the customer's relationship with the merchants may be based on the purchases made by the customer <b>6</b> with the merchant, and may vary in real-time or near real time each time a purchase is made or not made. For example, a merchant in some embodiments may want to offer greater discounts to a customer <b>6</b> who has not purchased anything in a while in order to try to generate new business. In other embodiments, a merchant may want to reward a loyal customer <b>6</b> in order to promote additional purchases. Therefore, in some embodiments the more the customer <b>6</b> has purchased in the past, the greater the customer's discount will be.

0087For example, the financial institution may have relationships with both Company B and Company C, which are one-stop shop stores providing a range of products. A specific TV offered through the merchant offer program application <b>10</b> by Company C may sell for ten (10) dollars less than the same TV offered through Company A, based on the financial institution's arrangements it has made with both merchants. However, when the customer <b>6</b> is searching for a specific TV (or TVs in general), the financial institution may identify the transactions the customer <b>6</b> has made with both businesses, by examining the transaction history information that the financial institution has. If the financial institution, for example, identifies that the customer <b>6</b> purchased two-thousand (2,000) dollars in products from Company B in the previous year, the terms of the relationship between the financial institution and Company B may dictate that the financial institution will offer the TV for one-hundred (100) dollars off of the typical price of the TV. Therefore, the customer <b>6</b> receives a more attractive price than she would have received because of the customer's <b>6</b> relationship with the financial institution and/or the merchant.

0088In other embodiments of the invention the merchant offer program application <b>10</b>, provides member offers, such as a list of product discounts, which are offered to all customers <b>6</b> of the merchant offer program environment <b>1</b>. In still other embodiments of the invention, the merchant offer program application <b>10</b>, provides public offers, such as a list of product discounts that are offered by the merchant to anyone in the public, not just members of the merchant offer program environment <b>1</b>. Furthermore, customized offers, member offers, or public offers are provided by the merchant offer program application <b>10</b> and displayed through the local merchant offer program application <b>11</b>.

0089When the merchant offer program application <b>10</b> identifies an offer for the customer <b>6</b> the local merchant offer program application <b>11</b> notifies the customer <b>6</b> of the offer, as illustrated by block <b>212</b> in <figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 2A</figref>. In one embodiment for example, as illustrated in <figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 3</figref>, a notification indicator <b>304</b>, such as a dollar sign or other icon or indicator, could appear in the bottom of the web browser that the customer is using to view the merchant's website. In other embodiments, the notification indicator <b>304</b> could appear in the tool bar at the top or bottom of the web browser or computer screen display, or in other areas of the web browser or computer screen. The dollar sign, or other icon or notification indicator <b>304</b>, signals to the customer <b>6</b> that the merchant offer program application <b>10</b> identified an offer in which the customer <b>6</b> may be interested that could save the customer <b>6</b> money. The offer may be relevant to a product the customer is viewing, it may be responsive to a wish list item, it may be based on just the customer's transaction history and/or profile information, etc.

0090As illustrated in blocks <b>214</b> and <b>216</b> of <figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 2B</figref>, when the customer <b>6</b> selects the notification indicator <b>304</b>, a pop-up window, such as a local interface <b>400</b>, or other display is provided on the computer screen, or other device, illustrating the offers identified by the merchant offer program application <b>10</b> as shown in <figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 4</figref>. In some embodiments of the invention, the customer <b>6</b> does not need to select the indicator to view the local interface <b>400</b>. In some embodiments, the local interface <b>400</b> automatically pops-up on the screen when the merchant offer program application <b>10</b> identifies an offer. In other embodiments of the invention, when an offer is identified the offer appears within the web-browser or web-browser page that the customer <b>6</b> was viewing.

0091The pop-up window, such as the local interface <b>400</b>, provides the customer <b>6</b> with offers related to products, or content that the customer <b>6</b> is currently viewing at an Internet website of a merchant, products listed on the customer's wish list, or products of interest to the customer <b>6</b> based on the customer's transaction history and/or customer profile. The offers provided to the customer <b>6</b> in the window reflect offers, prices, and discounts from the current merchant or other merchants in which the customer <b>6</b> may be interested. The offers can be ranked based on various factors, such as but not limited to the discounts offered, agreements between the merchants and the financial institutions, etc. The offers, in some embodiments will include links, such as to the merchant's web pages, which provide more information about the relevant offers.

0092As illustrated in <figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 5</figref>, in an exemplary embodiment of the invention, the local merchant offer program application interface <b>400</b> has two sections, the accounts section <b>410</b>, and the offers section <b>430</b>. The accounts section <b>410</b> illustrates the available balances the customer <b>6</b> has in each of the customer's accounts. The merchant offer program application <b>10</b> communicates with the local merchant offer program application <b>11</b> and the account management applications <b>30</b> in the customer account systems <b>8</b> to determine and display the account balances in the local interface <b>400</b>. Other sections that contain other types of information, for instance the customer's monthly budget, etc. can also be displayed in the local interface <b>400</b>.

0093The offer section <b>430</b>, in some embodiments, displays the other retailers <b>432</b> that can offer the same or similar product, the offer description <b>434</b> illustrating what the offer is (the same product or a similar one), the percent savings <b>436</b>, and the actual dollar amount savings <b>438</b>. In other embodiments of the invention the offer section <b>430</b>, another section, or a separate tab displays related or add-on products in which the customer <b>6</b> may be interested. For example, if a customer is searching for a forty-six inch LCD TV the customer may also be interested in DVD players, or services such as satellite. In one embodiment of the invention, a “see related offers” section button <b>440</b> or tab is selected by the customer <b>6</b> in order to view any related offers identified by the merchant offer program application <b>10</b>, as illustrated in <figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 5</figref>. However, in some embodiments the related offers are displayed in the offer section <b>430</b> along with the product for which the customer <b>6</b> is searching. In still other embodiments of the invention, the local merchant offer program application interface <b>400</b> has an advertisement section <b>450</b> that displays one or more targeted advertisements to a customer <b>6</b> based on the customer's previous purchasing history, customer profile information, and/or website content that the customer <b>6</b> is currently viewing.

0094As illustrated by block <b>218</b> in <figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 2B</figref>, in some embodiments the local interface <b>400</b> provides links to websites that contain additional information about the products that are the subject of the offers or related offers in the offers section <b>430</b>. The customer <b>6</b> selects the offer and is then taken to a website, such as the merchant's website, other website, or a display in the local interface <b>400</b>, which provides more information about the savings provided by the offers. Block <b>220</b> in <figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 2B</figref> illustrates that the customer can select the original offer that the customer <b>6</b> located or one of the replacements offers that the merchant offer program application <b>10</b> identified and displayed to the customer <b>6</b>.

0095As illustrated the by block <b>222</b> in <figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 2B</figref> the customer <b>6</b> can also purchase related products in addition to, or in lieu of, the originally located products or replacement products displayed by the merchant offer program application <b>10</b>.

0096In some embodiments, the customer <b>6</b> will have to authenticate herself in order for the merchant offer program application <b>10</b> to communicate with the account management applications <b>30</b>, such as the customer's online banking accounts, in order to display the customer's real-time account balances. In other embodiments of the invention, the merchant offer program application <b>10</b> estimates the customer's account balances based on what the balances were the last time the customer <b>6</b> made a purchase or authenticated herself. In some embodiments of the invention, the local interface <b>400</b> displays the account balances for the customer's checking account <b>412</b>, savings account <b>414</b>, credit card account <b>416</b>, and any reward points <b>418</b> that the customer has accumulated. In still other embodiments, after the customer <b>6</b> makes purchases, the account balances displayed in the local interface <b>400</b> are updated in real-time or near real-time in order to show the customer <b>6</b> how much money the customer <b>6</b> has available in each of her accounts.

0097In other embodiments of the invention, if the customer <b>6</b> grants access, the local merchant offer program application <b>11</b> can also display the account information, such as balances, of other accounts or credit cards maintained by outside financial institutions. In these embodiments, the financial institution may have a relationship with the outside financial institutions and/or the customer <b>6</b> has supplied the merchant offer program application <b>10</b> with access to the outside accounts (i.e. by providing the sign in and password information for online banking services).

0098After the customer <b>6</b> selects the products she wants to purchase, either through the Internet or at a physical store, the merchant offer program application <b>10</b> assists the customer in determining how she wants to pay for the products. As illustrated by block <b>224</b> in <figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 2B</figref> the customer <b>6</b> selects from which account or multiple accounts the customer <b>6</b> wants to pay for the offer selected. In some embodiments of the invention the customer's preference for paying for an offer from a particular account or set of accounts is stored in the customer profile information in the merchant offer program application <b>10</b>, and in such circumstances, the predetermined preference acts as a default. In some embodiments of the invention, the necessary financial and shipping information is pre-populated at check-out when the customer <b>6</b> makes a purchase. In other embodiments of the invention, the customer <b>6</b> is prompted at checkout as to how the customer wants to pay for the products selected. In such embodiments, a list of the customer's accounts are provided in the local interface <b>400</b> or in another pop-up window. While the financial institution will pay the merchant the full amount of the offers or the discounted amounts, in some embodiments the customer can tell the financial institution how to apply the cost of the products to the customer's accounts. For example, the customer for one purchase may indicate that she wants to pay 20% from her checking account and 80% from her savings account. The amounts and the various accounts can be changed for every purchase made. The decision of what account or accounts are used to make payments can be made in some embodiments at the time of purchase. In other embodiments of the invention, the customer <b>6</b> has a period of time to determine what account or accounts are debited. In such embodiments of the invention, the customer <b>6</b> logs into her online banking, merchant offer program, or other account and, either at the time of purchase or at some later time, associates particular transactions and transaction amounts with particular accounts.

0099In some embodiments of the invention, the financial institution effectively becomes a clearing house for any of the transactions made between the customer <b>6</b> and the merchant. After the customer <b>6</b> authenticates herself as an actual customer of the financial institution, in some embodiments the financial institution guarantees payment to the merchant for the products. The financial institution is able to determine in each instance whether it wants to assume the risk for the transaction based on information the financial institution has for each of its customers. This is a benefit over independent credit card issuers because these companies do not know the financial well-being of one their customers outside of the customers' credit card balances, payment histories, and/or credit scores. In this respect, the merchant offer program application <b>10</b> can be utilized to help customers from over spending their means and can assist the financial institution in managing risks attendant to extending consumer credit.

0100The actual purchase of the selected products from the merchant through the merchant offer program environment <b>1</b> is achieved in a number of ways. For example, in one embodiment of the invention, the links for particular offers in the local interface <b>400</b> take the user to the merchant's secure website. However, in other embodiments of the invention, the links take the customer <b>6</b> to the public merchant website and the financial institution can pre-populate the account information, as well as the mailing information. In other embodiments of the invention, the account information can be a preapproved single use account number provided by the financial institution, which ties the customer <b>6</b> to the customer's accounts at the financial institution, without disclosing the customer's real account information to the merchant. In those instances where the financial institution has a pre-existing relationship with the applicable merchant, the transaction that takes place can be virtually instantaneous. The financial institution can credit the account of the merchant, if the merchant has an account at the financial institution, or in other embodiments of the invention, the financial institution can electronically transfer the money to the merchant. Alternatively, the financial institution can credit the merchant for the customer's purchase on a schedule that is prearranged and agreed to by the financial institution and merchant.

0101After the payment method is satisfied, either the customer <b>6</b> or the financial institution can transfer the shipping address of the customer <b>6</b> to the merchant for shipping the product or providing the service. In lieu of the merchant shipping a product to the customer <b>6</b>, the customer <b>6</b> can pick-up the product at the store. Alternatively, if the customer is making the purchase at a brick and mortar location the customer <b>6</b> can simply pick-up the product when purchased.

0102In other embodiments of the invention, the financial institution provides various financing options for the customer <b>6</b> to use in paying for the selected products. For example, the financial institution can allow the customer to make a purchase from a merchant, but not debit the customer's account or accounts for 30, 60, 90, etc. days. As is the case with the amount of discounts provided to various customers <b>6</b>, different financing options can be provided to customers depending, in some embodiments for example, on the customer's standing with the financial institution and the number of financial of products the customer uses with the financial institution.

0103Likewise, with respect to the financial institution making payments to a merchant, there are a number of options available to complete the transition as far as the merchant is concerned. In some embodiments of the invention, the payment system and process provides settlement options to the merchant, such as real-time, 3-day, 15-day, etc. The merchants can be charged different types of fees, or no fees, depending on what payment options the merchants require. Different options may apply in different circumstances. For instance, a different settlement option might apply to different products sold by the merchant depending upon the merchant's payment obligations to its suppliers. In other embodiments, the payment options may vary depending upon the merchant's financial situation, need for cash flows, lines of credit etc. The payment option variables are monitored electronically by the financial institution, and the appropriate payment option can be selected automatically based on a series of rules in the merchant offer program application.

0104In some embodiments of the invention the steps in blocks <b>204</b> to <b>224</b> are repeated every time the customer <b>6</b> visits a new web-site, selects a different product from the web-site the customer <b>6</b> is currently viewing, or when the merchant offer program application <b>10</b> identifies a product for the customer <b>6</b> based on the customer's wish list, transaction history, or customer profile.

0105After a customer <b>6</b> selects a product, replacement, or add-on to purchase, the merchant offer program application <b>10</b>, in some embodiments of the invention, provides online social networking opportunities. For example, the customer <b>6</b> can rate a specific offer, merchant, or discount program. In other embodiments of the invention, the customer <b>6</b> can display in the local interface <b>400</b> the most popular offers as rated by other customers who have accepted the offer. Furthermore, in other embodiments of the invention the customer <b>6</b> can suggest to other customers a purchase or discount, that the customer <b>6</b> made, by sending an e-mail, instant message notification, text message, or other notification through a messaging service in the merchant offer program application <b>10</b> or through other standard messaging formats using the merchant offer program application <b>10</b>. In other embodiments of the invention, the customer may join social networks or groups through the merchant offer program application <b>10</b>, which allow the customer <b>6</b> and other members of the groups to receive special offers that only members of the specific group can receive and use.

0106In addition to displaying add-on products, while the customer <b>6</b> is searching for specific products on the Internet, the merchant offer program application <b>10</b> will also make add-on product suggestions after the customer has purchased a product through the merchant offer program application <b>10</b>. In some embodiments of the invention some types of add-ons can only be made after a particular offer is accepted and purchased by the customer <b>6</b>. For example, an extended warranty for a particular product such as a forty-six inch Company A television offered through a merchant is only available for purchase through that merchant if the actual product is purchased through that merchant. These additional add-ons, in some embodiments, can be displayed to the customer <b>6</b> through the local merchant offer program application interface <b>400</b>, after the customer <b>6</b> has purchased a particular product. In other embodiments of the invention the add-ons are sent to the customer <b>6</b> though e-mail, text message, instant message, or other like form of communication. In other embodiments of the invention, some add-ons are provided by the merchant offer program application <b>10</b> and are based in part on product type. For example, when a blue-ray DVD player is purchased the add-ons will include Blue-ray DVDs as opposed to regular DVDs, because the customer would not likely want Blue-ray DVDs if she purchased a regular DVD player.

0107In some embodiments of the invention the merchant offer program application <b>10</b> has a search feature that allows a customer to search for available offers, through the local merchant offer program application <b>11</b>, by product (i.e. SKU, model, etc.), merchant, product type, brand, manufacturer, price, discount price, location, etc. The discounts provided to the customer <b>6</b> during the search can be customized for each individual user based on relationships between the financial institution and merchants, the customer's profile information, the customer's transaction history, and/or publicly available discounts. The offers from the search, in some embodiments, are prioritized based on the customer's location, transaction history, profile information, etc.

0108In some embodiments of the invention the customer might not be able to find the particular product for which the customer <b>6</b> is searching because the product is out of stock or the service is booked, the product is too expensive for the customer <b>6</b>, the product cannot be delivered in time, etc. In such cases, the merchant offer program application <b>10</b> provides the customer <b>6</b> the ability to add a particular desired product to a wish list. The customer's individual wish list, in some embodiments, has one or more products that have notification alerts attached to them. The notification alerts inform the merchant offer program application <b>10</b> to watch for offers for those specific products, and any discounts related to them. The customer can also add merchants to the wish list in order to be notified when a specific merchant is providing discounts to customers.

0109When the merchant offer program application <b>10</b> identifies the availability of a product that is on the customer's wish list, the merchant offer program application <b>10</b> notifies the customer. For example, the customer can identify a specific product, such as a forty-six inch TV, and/or a specific price for the product, such as one-thousand three-hundred (1,300) for the forty-six inch TV. The merchant offer program application <b>10</b> monitors the databases <b>19</b> in merchant offer program system <b>3</b>, or in some embodiments searches the Internet, for the product that meets the particular parameters that the customer <b>6</b> wants. The merchant offer program application <b>10</b> notifies the customer <b>6</b> when one or more merchants meet the customer's parameters. In other examples, the customer <b>6</b> can identify a specific merchant, such as Company B, or a specific type of product, such as a flat screen TV, and request that the merchant offer program application <b>10</b> notify the customer when the merchant is having a sale, or when sales are occurring for that type of product. In this way the customer <b>6</b> does not have to continuously search for a product. Instead, the customer <b>6</b> lets the merchant offer program application <b>10</b> identify the product for the customer <b>6</b>, and then receives a notification when the particular product is identified.

0110In some embodiments of the invention the customer <b>6</b> can be notified of products, coupons, advertisements, reward cards or points from a merchant, etc., by the merchant offer program application <b>10</b> when the customer is not even searching the web for a specific offer. The merchant offer program application <b>10</b>, in some embodiments, uses the customer's wish list, the current, past, or future location of the customer <b>6</b> (based on patterns of mobile location tracking), or the customer's profile data and transaction history, to notify the customer when one or more merchants are offering a particular product in which the customer <b>6</b> might be interested. In one embodiment of the invention, the offers found by the merchant offer program application <b>10</b> are sent to the user though various communication channels, such as, but not limited to e-mail, SMS, text messages, financial institution statements, on receipts for purchases online or at brick and mortar institutions, or ATM transactions, etc.

0111In some embodiments of the invention, the financial institution can monitor each customer's savings realized and not realized though using or not using the merchant offer program application <b>10</b>. A system and process is used for determining and displaying to customers <b>6</b> the amount of money saved, including, but not limited to percentages saved, total savings, what could have been saved, etc. The merchant offer program application <b>10</b>, either online, though the local merchant offer program application <b>11</b> or online banking, or through paper statements, illustrates the amount of money the user saved or could have saved by using the merchant offer program application <b>10</b> on both a total basis over a specified time period, as well as on a transaction-by-transaction basis. In other embodiments of the invention, the amount saved if the customer <b>6</b> would have enrolled in more financial institution products could also be illustrated online or in paper statements. Also, in some embodiments of the invention, discounts, e-coupons, merchants, etc. can be suggested for future purchases through the online or paper statements.

0112In other embodiments of the invention the merchant offer program application <b>10</b> is accessed though and runs inside one or more of the account management applications <b>30</b>, such as an online banking application. For example, in some embodiments the customer <b>6</b> logs onto the customer's online banking accounts, and searches for offers through the online banking account application. The merchant offer program application <b>10</b>, acting through the online banking account application, provides offers, such as discounts, coupons, rebates, rewards, etc. to the customer <b>6</b> as previously discussed. However, in this embodiment the offers are displayed though the online banking application not through a separate local merchant offer program application <b>11</b> that was downloaded to the customer computer systems <b>4</b>. Therefore, in this embodiment, the customer <b>6</b> could use the merchant offer program application <b>10</b> on any computer because the merchant offer program application <b>10</b> and local merchant offer program application <b>11</b> are run through an online banking application and are not tied to a customer's specific computer system <b>4</b>.

0113In one embodiment of the invention the merchant offer program is used in connection with the online banking application to present offers to customers <b>6</b>. Customers <b>6</b> can select to add the offers to the customer's merchant offer program directly within the customer's online banking account through the online banking application. <figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIGS. 8A and 8B</figref> illustrate an online banking and customer shopping process <b>800</b> in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. As illustrated by block <b>802</b>, the online banking application receives customer login information from a customer <b>6</b> when a customer is trying to log into the online banking application. Thereafter, as illustrated in block <b>804</b> the online banking application authenticates the customer <b>6</b> as the proper customer <b>6</b> for the account being accessed and if the customer is authenticated allows the customer <b>6</b> to access the customer's online banking account. As illustrated by block <b>806</b>, the online banking application receives direction from the customer <b>6</b> to display the account details of the customer's debit card account or credit card account. The online banking application communicates with the merchant offer program application <b>10</b> to identify the offers to display to the customer <b>6</b> based on the customer's account profile, the customer's transaction history, and/or the customers relationships with merchants and the financial institution as previously described herein, as illustrated by block <b>808</b>. As illustrated by block <b>810</b>, the online banking application then displays the online banking account detail transaction and offer interface <b>900</b> in the account details tab <b>902</b> and account activity tab <b>904</b>, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, as illustrated in <figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 9</figref>. The transaction and offer interface <b>900</b> displays the customer's past transactions, as well as any offers identified by the merchant offer program application <b>10</b> in the transaction and offer section <b>910</b>. The transaction and offer interface <b>900</b> displays the transaction date <b>912</b>, description <b>914</b>, type <b>916</b>, status <b>918</b>, amount <b>920</b>, and available balance <b>922</b> for the transactions the customer <b>6</b> has made using a debit card or a credit card of the financial institution. The online banking application displays available offers <b>928</b> to the customer under various transactions. In some embodiments the available offer <b>928</b> is listed under a particular transaction for a company and can be related to the same company, another company, substitute product, and/or related product. As illustrated in <figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 9</figref>, for example the customer made a transaction with Company M, and is offered by the merchant offer program through the online banking application an offer from Company O.

0114As illustrated in block <b>812</b> in <figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 8A</figref>, the online banking application receives direction that the customer <b>6</b> wants to view the details of the offer, for example when the customer selects the link for the available offer <b>928</b>. Thereafter, as illustrated in block <b>814</b>, the online banking application displays the offer detail section <b>930</b> to the customer <b>6</b>, as illustrated in <figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 10</figref>. The offer detail section <b>930</b>, in some embodiments describes the offer, lists the expiration date if applicable, and/or describes any purchasing limits on the offer, such as a minimum purchase limit, etc. The offer detail section <b>930</b> has an add offer button <b>932</b>, that the customer <b>6</b> can select to add the available offer <b>928</b> to the customer's merchant offer program, as illustrated by block <b>816</b> in <figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 8B</figref>. As illustrated by block <b>818</b> in <figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 8B</figref>, after receiving direction to add the available offer <b>928</b> to the customer's merchant offer program the online banking application displays an offer confirmation <b>934</b> to the customer <b>6</b> in the offer detail section <b>930</b>, as illustrated in <figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 11</figref>.

0115After the customer <b>6</b> adds the offer to the customer's merchant offer program, the customer <b>6</b> can use the offer at a later date. When the customer makes a purchase with the customer's debit card or credit card at the store or online for a product that meets the offer limits the merchant offer program receives transaction information from the merchant systems <b>9</b>, as illustrated by block <b>820</b> in <figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 8B</figref>. In some embodiments the discount is applied directly at the point of sale, either at the register at the store or online over the Internet. However, in other embodiments, the customer pays the retail price for the product and then the offer, such as a discount, rebate, or reward, is applied to the customer's account by the financial institution at the time of sale or sometime thereafter. In some embodiments of the invention, the customer <b>6</b> can direct to which account the customer <b>6</b> wants the discount, rebate, or reward applied. As illustrated by block <b>822</b>, the merchant offer system applies the customer's discount, rebate, or reward to the appropriate account. In some embodiments, if the limit on the offer is met, such as the offer is for only a one time purchase, the merchant offer program application <b>10</b> removes the offer from the customer's merchant offer program, as illustrated by block <b>824</b>. In some embodiments of the invention the merchant offer system notifies the customer of the discount, reward, or rebate at or near the time of purchase by sending a notification to the merchant through a communication channel, such as but not limited to text message, phone call, e-mail, etc., as illustrated in block <b>826</b>.

0116The merchant applications <b>40</b>, in some embodiments, allow the merchants to access the merchant offer program application <b>10</b> over the network <b>2</b> through the merchant offer program system <b>3</b>. The merchant offer program application <b>10</b>, in some embodiments, has a merchant interface that the financial institution uses to mange the merchant network by only allowing access to the merchant interface to specific merchants that the financial institution has certified for inclusion into the merchant offer program environment <b>1</b>. The merchant interface allows a merchant to enter offers into the merchant offer program application <b>10</b> that are available to all customers <b>6</b>, groups of customers <b>6</b>, or individual customers <b>6</b> based on customer demographic information. In some embodiments, the merchant interface also allows a merchant to monitor its offers, such as the status and success of its offers.

0117The financial institution will first determine what merchants to certify for access to the merchant offer program application <b>10</b>. In some embodiments, the merchant must meet quality standards set by the financial institution before the merchant is certified. In some embodiments, the quality standards include the financial stability of the merchant, customer ratings of the merchant, supplier and distributor ratings of the merchant, product delivery time, payment timeliness, etc. These factors can be determined by the financial institution through a number of different channels. For example the merchant financial stability could be determined from the accounts the merchant has with the financial institution, other financial institutions, or outside rating agencies. Customer, supplier, or distributor ratings of the merchant can be determined from consumer advocacy groups, or other rating organizations, that the financial institution uses or with which the financial institution has partnered.

0118After the financial institution certifies the merchants for access to the merchant interface, the financial institution provides the merchants with user names and passwords or other merchant authentication mechanisms that allow the merchant to access the merchant interface through the merchant offer program application <b>10</b>. Thereafter, the merchant can access the merchant interface and authenticate that the financial institution has certified that the merchant can access the merchant offer program application <b>10</b>. The authentication mechanisms also indicate to the financial institution that the current user has authority to create and/or monitor offers for the particular merchant. The merchant can then begin to enter offers for the financial institution's customers <b>6</b>.

0119In some embodiments the merchant can create, modify, and control the offers in the merchant applications <b>40</b> and upload the offers to the merchant offer program application <b>10</b>. In other embodiments of the invention the merchant can create the offers directly in the merchant offer program application <b>10</b>, through the merchant interface.

0120In some embodiments of the invention, when entering offers into the merchant offer program application <b>10</b> the merchant can set various preferences associated with a product, such as, but not limited to, a specific price or price range for which the merchant is willing to sell a product, a discount percentage to offer, identification of products or types of products to which to apply the offer, how long the offer will be available to customers, if the offer changes over time, if additional discounts apply to the product, etc. For example, to name a few, the merchant may set a particular price for a product, which will gradually decline in price automatically every month. The merchant may indicate that an offer is only good for a month. The merchant may also indicate that a product will have an additional discount if the customer purchases other products from the merchant at the same time. The merchant may offer credits or rebates to all the customers who purchase a product, if there are a specified number of sales of the product.

0121In some embodiments of the invention, the merchant can also set which customers <b>6</b> should receive the offers based on customer demographic information, such as, but not limited to age, geographic location, customer purchasing history, groups or clubs the customer is associated with, etc. For example, some offers may apply to all of the customers <b>6</b> in the merchant offer program application. However, some offers may only apply to customers who live in a particular state, region, or other location. The merchant may limit offers to individual customers <b>6</b> who have spent a specific amount of money with the merchant in the past, or who have purchased a specific product from the merchant over a specific time frame. The merchant may also limit certain offers to customers <b>6</b> who are members of an affinity program.

0122The offers entered into the merchant offer program application <b>10</b> can be provided to customers <b>6</b> in real-time, or in other embodiments can be set to take effect at a later date in the future or not until the financial institution has approved the offer submitted by the merchant. The merchant has the ability, in some embodiments, to update the offers that they entered into the merchant offer program application <b>10</b> anytime to try to influence sales of various products. However, in some embodiments, some offers may not be able to be changed for a period of time once they are inputted into the system.

0123Since the financial institution is providing a service to its customers <b>6</b> by providing offers to the customers <b>6</b> from various merchants, any merchants who are not providing adequate customer service reflect negatively on the financial institution. Therefore, not only does the financial institution have the ability to manage the merchants in the merchant offer program environment <b>1</b> by determining what merchants are allowed into the merchant offer program environment <b>1</b>, but they also have the ability to remove merchants from the merchant offer program environment <b>1</b>. In some embodiments, the financial institutions can make periodic reviews of merchants that have been certified, in order to make sure the merchants are still financially stable, or have received positive customer feedback.

0124In some embodiments, the merchant interface allows the merchant to monitor current offers. For example, the merchant interface may create charts, graphs, tables, and/or other statistics for the merchant and display these to the merchant when the merchant logs into the merchant interface. These statistics may relate to particular offers and the success thereof, such as how often they are displayed to potential customers, how often they are accepted, the amount of money being made or discounted, and/or the like. The statistics may also provide an overview of the success of the overall relationship with the financial institution and use of the merchant offer program application <b>10</b>.

0125As will be appreciated by one of skill in the art in view of this disclosure, the present invention may be embodied as an apparatus (e.g., a system, computer program product, and/or other device), a method, or a combination of the foregoing. Accordingly, embodiments of the present invention may take the form of an entirely hardware embodiment, an entirely software embodiment (including firmware, resident software, micro-code, etc.), or an embodiment combining software and hardware aspects that may generally be referred to herein as a “system.” Furthermore, embodiments of the present invention may take the form of a computer program product comprising a computer-usable storage medium having computer-usable program code/computer-readable instructions embodied in the medium.

0126Any suitable computer-usable or computer-readable medium may be utilized. The computer usable or computer readable medium may be, for example but not limited to, an electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor system, apparatus, or device. More specific examples (a non-exhaustive list) of the computer-readable medium would include the following: an electrical connection having one or more wires; a tangible medium such as a portable computer diskette, a hard disk, a random access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or Flash memory), a compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), or other tangible optical or magnetic storage device.

0127Computer program code/computer-readable instructions for carrying out operations of embodiments of the present invention may be written in an object oriented, scripted or unscripted programming language such as Java, Pearl, Smalltalk, C++ or the like. However, the computer program code/computer-readable instructions for carrying out operations of the invention may also be written in conventional procedural programming languages, such as the “C” programming language or similar programming languages.

0128Embodiments of the present invention described above, with reference to flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams of methods or apparatuses (the term “apparatus” including systems and computer program products), will be understood to include that each block of the flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams, and combinations of blocks in the flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams, can be implemented by computer program instructions. These computer program instructions may be provided to a processor of a general purpose computer, special purpose computer, or other programmable data processing apparatus to produce a particular machine, such that the instructions, which execute via the processor of the computer or other programmable data processing apparatus, create mechanisms for implementing the functions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram block or blocks.

0129These computer program instructions may also be stored in a computer-readable memory that can direct a computer or other programmable data processing apparatus to function in a particular manner, such that the instructions stored in the computer readable memory produce an article of manufacture including instructions, which implement the function/act specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram block or blocks.

0130The computer program instructions may also be loaded onto a computer or other programmable data processing apparatus to cause a series of operational steps to be performed on the computer or other programmable apparatus to produce a computer implemented process such that the instructions, which execute on the computer or other programmable apparatus, provide steps for implementing the functions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram block or blocks. Alternatively, computer program implemented steps or acts may be combined with operator or human implemented steps or acts in order to carry out an embodiment of the invention.

0131Specific embodiments of the invention are described herein. Many modifications and other embodiments of the invention set forth herein will come to mind to one skilled in the art to which the invention pertains, having the benefit of the teachings presented in the foregoing descriptions and the associated drawings. Therefore, it is to be understood that the invention is not to be limited to the specific embodiments disclosed and that modifications and other embodiments and combinations of embodiments are intended to be included within the scope of the appended claims. Although specific terms are employed herein, they are used in a generic and descriptive sense only and not for purposes of limitation.