Mobile Device Enablement of Universal Prepaid Cards

Abstract

An example embodiment may involve receiving a representation of a location of the mobile device as provided by way of location-determining hardware of the mobile device; transmitting, to the mobile device, representations of one or more merchants with physical presence within a radius of the location; receiving, from the mobile device, representations of a gift card request, a first amount, and a merchant, where the merchant was selected from the one or more merchants; transmitting, to the mobile device, a digital gift card branded by the merchant, where the digital gift card is associated with a code; receiving, from a point-of-sale device associated with the merchant, a request to validate the code, where the code was obtained by the point-of-sale device scanning the code as displayed by the mobile device; and transmitting, to the point-of-sale device, validation of the code.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A computer-implemented method comprising:
 receiving, by a computing system and from a mobile device, representations of a gift card request, a first amount, and a merchant;   debiting, by the computing system, an account associated with the mobile device by a second amount, wherein the second amount is less than the first amount;   transmitting, by the computing system and to the mobile device, a digital gift card branded by the merchant, wherein the digital gift card is for the first amount and is associated with a code;   receiving, by the computing system and from a scanning device associated with the merchant, a request to validate the code;   transmitting, by the computing system and to the scanning device, validation of the code; and   providing, by the computing system, a universal prepaid card for a third amount to an account associated with the merchant, wherein the third amount is less than the first amount.   
     
     
         2 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 1 , wherein the third amount is determined by subtracting a marketing fee, a transaction fee, or both, from the first amount. 
     
     
         3 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 1 , wherein the universal prepaid card is redeemable by the merchant for face value within a network of merchants, and wherein the universal prepaid card is redeemable by the merchant for less than the face value in cash. 
     
     
         4 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 before transmitting the digital gift card branded by the merchant, allocating a second universal prepaid card for the first amount to the mobile device; and   exchanging the second universal prepaid card with the digital gift card.   
     
     
         5 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 1 , wherein the first amount is a value of goods or services purchased from the merchant by way of the mobile device, and wherein the second amount is the first amount minus a discount applied to the value of goods or services purchased. 
     
     
         6 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 1 , wherein the code is from a barcode that identifies the digital gift card. 
     
     
         7 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 transmitting, by the computing system and to the mobile device, a second validation of the code, wherein the validation of the code and the second validation of the code both indicate that a purchase of goods or services for the first amount has been successful.   
     
     
         8 . An article of manufacture including a non-transitory computer-readable medium, having stored thereon program instructions that, upon execution by a computing device, cause the computing device to perform operations comprising:
 receiving, from a mobile device, representations of a gift card request, a first amount, and a merchant;   debiting, an account associated with the mobile device by a second amount, wherein the second amount is less than the first amount;   transmitting, to the mobile device, a digital gift card branded by the merchant, wherein the digital gift card is for the first amount and is associated with a code;   receiving, from a scanning device associated with the merchant, a request to validate the code;   transmitting, to the scanning device, validation of the code; and   providing a universal prepaid card for a third amount to an account associated with the merchant, wherein the third amount is less than the first amount.   
     
     
         9 . The article of manufacture of  claim 8 , wherein the third amount is determined by subtracting a marketing fee, a transaction fee, or both, from the first amount. 
     
     
         10 . The article of manufacture of  claim 8 , wherein the universal prepaid card is redeemable by the merchant for face value within a network of merchants, and wherein the universal prepaid card is redeemable by the merchant for less than the face value in cash. 
     
     
         11 . The article of manufacture of  claim 8 , the operations further comprising:
 before transmitting the digital gift card branded by the merchant, allocating a second universal prepaid card for the first amount to the mobile device; and   exchanging the second universal prepaid card with the digital gift card.   
     
     
         12 . The article of manufacture of  claim 8 , wherein the first amount is a value of goods or services purchased from the merchant by way of the mobile device, and wherein the second amount is the first amount minus a discount applied to the value of goods or services purchased. 
     
     
         13 . The article of manufacture of  claim 8 , wherein the code is from a barcode that identifies the digital gift card. 
     
     
         14 . The article of manufacture of  claim 8 , the operations further comprising:
 transmitting, to the mobile device, a second validation of the code, wherein the validation of the code and the second validation of the code both indicate that a purchase of goods or services for the first amount has been successful.   
     
     
         15 . A computer-implemented method comprising:
 receiving, by an application operating on a mobile device, selection of a merchant and a first amount;   transmitting, by the application and to a computing system, a representation of a gift card request, the merchant, and the first amount;   receiving, by the application and from the computing system, a digital gift card branded by the merchant, wherein the digital gift card is for the first amount and is associated with a code;   displaying, by the application, the code; and   receiving, by the application and from the computing system, an indication that the merchant has been paid, wherein transmission of the indication was caused by the computing system receiving a representation of the code as scanned by a scanning device, wherein a second amount is credited to an account associated with the merchant as a universal prepaid card, and wherein the second amount is less than the first amount.   
     
     
         16 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 15 , wherein a user of the mobile device is a representative of another merchant. 
     
     
         17 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 15 , wherein reception of the representation of the gift card request, the merchant, and the first amount causes an account associated with the mobile device to be debited by a third amount, and wherein the third amount is less than the first amount. 
     
     
         18 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 15 , wherein the universal prepaid card is redeemable by the merchant for face value within a network of merchants, and wherein the universal prepaid card is redeemable by the merchant for less than the face value in cash. 
     
     
         19 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 15 , wherein the code as displayed by the mobile device comprises a barcode that identifies the digital gift card. 
     
     
         20 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 15 , wherein the merchant is selected from a plurality of merchants displayed on a graphical user interface of the application, wherein the plurality of merchants are all within a given physical distance from the mobile device.