{
  "patent_number": "US 10176475",
  "country": "US",
  "title": "How a Single Card Can Pay for Transit Using Loyalty Points",
  "original_title": "Geographic area multiple service card system",
  "summary": "A system that lets one payment card handle both retail shopping and transit fares, automatically converting loyalty points between different geographic regions to cover travel costs.",
  "what_it_does": "This patent describes a backend system that links a single physical payment card to multiple services, specifically retail and transportation. When a user scans their card at a transit provider, the system checks if they have enough local loyalty points to pay the fare. If the user is short on points, the system automatically converts points earned from retail purchases in a different geographic area into the local currency or points needed for the transit provider. It handles the financial settlement by adjusting the transit provider's account and deducting the converted value from the user's loyalty balance.",
  "what_it_does_not_cover": [
    "Does not cover simple contactless payments that do not involve loyalty point conversion between geographic regions.",
    "Does not cover systems where the user must manually initiate the transfer of points between accounts.",
    "Does not cover transit payments that rely solely on a direct monetary charge to a credit line without loyalty point logic."
  ],
  "filed": "2013-10-23",
  "granted": "2019-01-08",
  "expires": null,
  "status": "active",
  "holder": "American Express Travel Related Services Co Inc",
  "holder_url": "https://patentbrief.org/company/american-express-travel-related-services-co-inc",
  "inventors": [
    {
      "name": "Jason Nanton",
      "url": "https://patentbrief.org/inventor/jason-nanton"
    },
    {
      "name": "Perry A. Cohagan",
      "url": "https://patentbrief.org/inventor/perry-a-cohagan"
    },
    {
      "name": "Ray Sharp",
      "url": "https://patentbrief.org/inventor/ray-sharp"
    },
    {
      "name": "Julia Menichilli",
      "url": "https://patentbrief.org/inventor/julia-menichilli"
    },
    {
      "name": "Birgitta Mayer",
      "url": "https://patentbrief.org/inventor/birgitta-mayer"
    },
    {
      "name": "Aliza Freud",
      "url": "https://patentbrief.org/inventor/aliza-freud"
    },
    {
      "name": "Penelope Wood-Kulko",
      "url": "https://patentbrief.org/inventor/penelope-wood-kulko"
    },
    {
      "name": "Scott Vosburgh",
      "url": "https://patentbrief.org/inventor/scott-vosburgh"
    },
    {
      "name": "Mary Ann Fitzmaurice",
      "url": "https://patentbrief.org/inventor/mary-ann-fitzmaurice"
    }
  ],
  "times_cited": 0,
  "tags": [
    "consumer_electronics",
    "finance",
    "telecommunications"
  ],
  "abstract": "The invention provides consumers with the services of multiple cards or accounts while allowing consumers to carry a single card, transponder, code and/or other access device. Because the card may access combined services such as financial transaction services and transportation services, the system may facilitate charging the financial account for the transportation services. The system may allow the consumer to use loyalty points or geographic based loyalty points to pay for the transportation services. The system may also limit the use of certain loyalty points based upon the geographic area for certain transportation services in certain geographic areas.",
  "url": "https://patentbrief.org/patent/us/10176475/square-point-of-sale",
  "markdown_url": "https://patentbrief.org/patent/us/10176475/square-point-of-sale/md",
  "google_patents_url": "https://patents.google.com/patent/US10176475",
  "relatedPatents": []
}