Method and apparatus for providing card-less reward program

Abstract

Disclosed is a card-less reward system providing buyers with promotional offers and engendering buyers to be rewarded by submitting receipts obtained from sellers. A method for rewarding the buyers comprises providing to a buyer a list of promotional offers for a product or service of at least one seller, allowing the buyer to accept electronically at least one promotional offer, and allowing the buyer to submit a digital image of at least one receipt obtained from the seller, which offered the accepted promotional offer. The method further comprises processing received image to retrieve purchase data, and rewarding the buyer in response to the retrieved purchase data.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A computer implemented method for providing promotional rewards, the method being implemented by a mobile device having a physical processor programmed with one or more computer program instructions that, when executed, program the mobile device to perform the method, the method comprising:
 receiving, by the mobile device, a plurality of promotional offers, wherein at least a first promotional offer is associated with a condition that must be satisfied in order to receive a reward associated with the first promotional offer;   displaying, by the mobile device, the plurality of promotional offers for selection via a user interface;   receiving, by the mobile device, a first selection of the first promotional offer via the user interface;   providing, by the mobile device, an indication of the first selection to a remote device;   obtaining, by the processor, a digital image of a receipt for a purchase transaction, wherein the receipt includes purchase information used to verify whether the condition has been satisfied;   providing, by the processor, the digital image to the remote device; and   receiving, by the processor, from the remote device, an indication that a reward has been earned based on the digital image.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein obtaining the digital image comprises:
 generating a photograph of the receipt to generate the digital receipt.   
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein obtaining the digital image comprises:
 receiving the digital image via electronic mail.   
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , the method further comprising:
 sorting the plurality of promotional offers, wherein the plurality of promotional offers are displayed based on the sorting.   
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 4 , wherein the plurality of promotional offers comprises a second promotional offer, the method further comprising:
 determining a location of the mobile device;   determining a first location of a first merchant associated with the first promotional offer;   determining a second location of a second merchant associated with the second promotional offer;   determining a first distance between the mobile device and the first merchant based on the location of the mobile device and the first location of the first merchant; and   determining a second distance between the mobile device and the second merchant based on the location of the mobile device and the second location of the second merchant, wherein the sorting is based at least in part on the first distance and the second distance.   
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1 , the method further comprising:
 receiving a request via the user interface to display a list of previously accepted promotional offers, the list of previously accepted promotional offers comprising at least the first promotional offer;   displaying the list of previously accepted promotional offers via the user interface; and   receiving a second selection of the first promotional offer from among the list of previously accepted promotional offers, wherein the second selection indicates a request to obtain the digital image, and wherein the digital image is obtained by generating a photograph of the receipt responsive to the receipt of the second selection.   
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 6 , wherein providing the digital image comprises automatically transmitting the photograph of the receipt to the remote device responsive to the receipt of the second selection. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 1 , the method further comprising:
 displaying, via the user interface, a shareable link that, when selected, causes one or more of the plurality of promotional offers to be shared with at least one other user.   
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the plurality of promotional offers comprises a subset of a set of promotional offers stored at the mobile device, wherein displaying the plurality of promotional offers for selection comprises:
 receiving a search request for one or more promotional offers that are nearby the mobile device;   determining a location of the mobile device;   determining a location of a corresponding merchant associated with a particular promotional offer;   determining a distance between the mobile device and the location of the corresponding merchant; and   filtering out the particular promotional offer based on the distance.   
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the plurality of promotional offers comprises a subset of a set of promotional offers stored at the mobile device, wherein displaying the plurality of promotional offers for selection comprises:
 receiving an indication of a desired category of promotional offers;   determining a particular category of a particular promotional offer; and   filtering out the particular promotional offer based on the desired category and the particular category.   
     
     
         11 . A system for providing promotional rewards, the system comprising:
 a mobile device comprising one or more physical processors programmed with computer program instructions that, when executed, cause the mobile device to:   receive a plurality of promotional offers, wherein at least a first promotional offer is associated with a condition that must be satisfied in order to receive a reward associated with the first promotional offer;   display the plurality of promotional offers for selection via a user interface;   receive a first selection of the first promotional offer via the user interface;   provide an indication of the first selection to a remote device;   obtain a digital image of a receipt for a purchase transaction, wherein the receipt includes purchase information used to verify whether the condition has been satisfied;   provide the digital image to the remote device; and   receive from the remote device, an indication that a reward has been earned based on the digital image.   
     
     
         12 . The system of  claim 11 , wherein to obtain the digital image, the mobile device is further programmed to:
 generate a photograph of the receipt to generate the digital receipt.   
     
     
         13 . The system of  claim 11 , wherein to obtain the digital image, the mobile device is further programmed to:
 receive the digital image via electronic mail.   
     
     
         14 . The system of  claim 11 , wherein the mobile device is further programmed to:
 sort the plurality of promotional offers, wherein the plurality of promotional offers are displayed based on the sorting.   
     
     
         15 . The system of  claim 14 , wherein the plurality of promotional offers comprises a second promotional offer, and wherein the mobile device is further programmed to:
 determine a location of the mobile device;   determine a first location of a first merchant associated with the first promotional offer;   determine a second location of a second merchant associated with the second promotional offer;   determine a first distance between the mobile device and the first merchant based on the location of the mobile device and the first location of the first merchant; and   determine a second distance between the mobile device and the second merchant based on the location of the mobile device and the second location of the second merchant, wherein the sorting is based at least in part on the first distance and the second distance.   
     
     
         16 . The system of  claim 11 , wherein the mobile device is further programmed to:
 receive a request via the user interface to display a list of previously accepted promotional offers, the list of previously accepted promotional offers comprising at least the first promotional offer;   display the list of previously accepted promotional offers via the user interface; and   receive a second selection of the first promotional offer from among the list of previously accepted promotional offers, wherein the second selection indicates a request to obtain the digital image, and wherein the digital image is obtained by generating a photograph of the receipt responsive to the receipt of the second selection.   
     
     
         17 . The system of  claim 16 , wherein to provide the digital image, the mobile device is further programmed to:
 automatically transmit the photograph of the receipt to the remote device responsive to the receipt of the second selection.   
     
     
         18 . The system of  claim 11 , wherein the mobile device is further programmed to:
 display a shareable link that, when selected, causes one or more of the plurality of promotional offers to be shared with at least one other user.   
     
     
         19 . The system of  claim 11 , wherein the plurality of promotional offers comprises a subset of a set of promotional offers stored at the mobile device, wherein to display the plurality of promotional offers for selection, and wherein the mobile device is further programmed to:
 receive a search request for one or more promotional offers that are nearby the mobile device;   determine a location of the mobile device;   determine a location of a corresponding merchant associated with a particular promotional offer;   determine a distance between the mobile device and the location of the corresponding merchant; and   filter out the particular promotional offer based on the distance.   
     
     
         20 . The system of  claim 11 , wherein the plurality of promotional offers comprises a subset of a set of promotional offers stored at the mobile device, wherein to display the plurality of promotional offers for selection, and wherein the mobile device is further programmed to:
 receive an indication of a desired category of promotional offers;   determine a particular category of a particular promotional offer; and   filter out the particular promotional offer based on the desired category and the particular category.