FIELD OF INVENTION

The present disclosure relates to systems and methods for conducting a transaction.

BACKGROUND

Many consumers are using the internet to purchase their products because of the relative ease of making online transactions. This has led to a significant increase in the number of online merchants and online transactions.

Many consumers use payment cards for their online transactions. However, there may be a lack of trust between consumers and merchants. One factor for the lack of trust is the issue of cybersecurity for online transactions. Theft of payment card information by hackers as well as the integrity of the merchant's website are common cybersecurity issues.

Furthermore, many consumers do not wish to pay the merchants for online purchases until the consumers are satisfied with the delivered products. This is because the delivered products may not be identical to the products that they had bought online (e.g. wrong colour, wrong size etc.). The delivered products may also be defective (e.g. manufacturing defects or damage during delivery). By paying upfront for the purchased products, consumers face a tedious process to exchange their delivered products or to obtain a refund when such problems arise.

Although "cash-on-delivery" methods allow consumers to make payment on delivery rather than in advance (e.g. a courier service has a mobile point-of-sale terminal), consumers have to be physically present at the time of delivery to present their payment cards for payment.

A need therefore exists to provide a method and system for conducting a transaction that seeks to address at least some of the above problems.

SUMMARY

According to a first aspect, there is provided a method for conducting a transaction, comprising: receiving, at a transaction module, a payment request for a product; transmitting, from the transaction module to an issuer module, a pre-authorization request to initiate pre-authorization of the transaction corresponding to the payment request; generating, by the transaction module, a delivery order upon initiation of the pre-authorization of the transaction by the issuer module, the delivery order corresponding to a delivery of the product to a recipient; receiving, at the transaction module, a delivery status corresponding to an outcome of the delivery; and transmitting, from the transaction module to the issuer module, an instruction to either: (i) complete an authorization of the transaction based upon the pre- authorization of the transaction; or (ii) cancel the pre-authorization of the transaction; based on the delivery status.

In an embodiment, the payment request may comprise product data, an issuer identifier and user account data.

In an embodiment, the product data may further comprise a product description, a product price and a merchant associated with the product.

In an embodiment, the pre-authorization of the transaction may comprise: (i) determining, at the issuer module, a sufficiency of funds in an account corresponding to the user account data; and (ii) initiating, by the issuer module, the pre-authorization of the transaction upon determining that there are sufficient funds in the account.

In an embodiment, the method may further comprise transmitting the delivery order, by the transaction module, to a courier module for facilitating delivery of the product to the recipient by a courier service.

In an embodiment, the delivery status may comprise confirmation, by the recipient and the courier service, of a successful or unsuccessful delivery of the product to the recipient.

In an embodiment, the instruction to complete the pre-authorization of the transaction may be transmitted to the issuer module on a condition that the delivery status comprises the successful delivery of the product to the recipient.

In an embodiment, the instruction to cancel the pre-authorization of the transaction may be transmitted to the issuer module on a condition that the delivery status comprises the unsuccessful delivery of the product to the recipient.

According to a second aspect, there is provided a system for conducting a transaction, comprising a transaction module, the transaction module comprising: at least one processor; and at least one memory including computer program code; the at least one memory and the computer program code configured to, with at least one processor, cause the transaction module at least to: receive a payment request for a product; transmit to an issuer module in communication with the transaction module, a pre-authorization request to initiate pre-authorization of the transaction corresponding to the payment request; generate a delivery order upon initiation of the pre-authorization of the transaction by the issuer module, the delivery order corresponding to a delivery of the product to a recipient; receive a delivery status corresponding to an outcome of the delivery; and transmit an instruction to the issuer module to either: (i) complete an authorization of the transaction based upon the pre-authorization of the

transaction; or (ii) cancel the pre-authorization of the transaction; based upon the delivery status.

In embodiments, the transaction module may be further caused to transmit the delivery order to a courier module that is in communication therewith for facilitating delivery of the product to the recipient by a courier service.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Embodiments will be better understood and readily apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art from the following written description, by way of example only, and in conjunction with the drawings, in which:

Figure 1 shows a flow chart illustrating a method for conducting a transaction according to an example embodiment.

Figure 2 shows a schematic diagram illustrating the flow of information in a system for conducting a transaction, according to an example embodiment.

Figure 3 shows a schematic diagram of a computer device / system suitable for realizing a transaction module, according to an example embodiment.

Figure 4 shows a schematic diagram illustrating the flow of information between various entities during a method for conducting a transaction, according to an example embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Some portions of the description which follows are explicitly or implicitly presented in terms of algorithms and functional or symbolic representations of operations on data within a computer memory. These algorithmic descriptions and functional or symbolic representations are the means used by those skilled in the data processing arts to convey most effectively the substance of their work to others skilled in the art. An algorithm is here, and generally, conceived to be a self-consistent sequence of steps leading to a desired result. The steps are those requiring physical manipulations of physical quantities, such as electrical, magnetic or optical signals capable of being stored, transferred, combined, compared, and otherwise manipulated.

Unless specifically stated otherwise, and as apparent from the following, it will be appreciated that throughout the present specification, discussions utilizing terms such as "scanning", "calculating", "determining", "replacing",

"generating", "initializing", "outputting", "identifying", "authorizing", "verifying" or the like, refer to the action and processes of a computer system, or similar electronic device, that manipulates and transforms data represented as physical quantities within the computer system into other data similarly represented as physical quantities within the computer system or other information storage, transmission or display devices.

The present specification also discloses apparatus for performing the operations of the methods. Such apparatus may be specially constructed for the required purposes, or may comprise a computer or other device selectively activated or reconfigured by a computer program stored in the computer. The algorithms and displays presented herein are not inherently related to any particular computer or other apparatus. Various machines may be used with programs in accordance with the teachings herein. Alternatively, the construction of more specialized apparatus to perform the required method steps may be appropriate. The structure of a computer will appear from the description below.

In addition, the present specification also implicitly discloses a computer program, in that it would be apparent to the person skilled in the art that the individual steps of the method described herein may be put into effect by computer code. The computer program is not intended to be limited to any particular

programming language and implementation thereof. It will be appreciated that a variety of programming languages and coding thereof may be used to implement the teachings of the disclosure contained herein. Moreover, the computer program is not intended to be limited to any particular control flow. There are many other variants of the computer program, which can use different control flows without departing from the spirit or scope of the disclosure.

Furthermore, one or more of the steps of the computer program may be performed in parallel rather than sequentially. Such a computer program may be stored on any computer readable medium. The computer readable medium may include storage devices such as magnetic or optical disks, memory chips, or other storage devices suitable for interfacing with a computer. The computer readable medium may also include a hard- wired medium such as exemplified in the Internet system, or wireless medium such as exemplified in the GSM mobile telephone system. The computer program when loaded and executed on such a computer effectively results in an apparatus that implements the steps of the preferred method.

Figure 1 shows a flow chart 100 illustrating a method for conducting a transaction according to an example embodiment. At step 102, a payment request for a product is received at a transaction module. The payment request may originate from a consumer device of a consumer who wishes to purchase one or more products online from a merchant's website. At step 104, the transaction module transmits a pre-authorization request to an issuer module to initiate pre-authorization of the transaction corresponding to the payment request. As will be appreciated by a person skilled in the art, pre-authorization (also known as "authorization hold", "card authorization", or "preauth") is the practice of authorizing an electronic transaction that is done with a payment card (e.g. a debit card or credit card) and holding this balance as unavailable until either the merchant clears the transaction or the hold falls off. At step 106, the transaction module generates a delivery order upon initiation of the pre-authorization of the transaction by the issuer module. The delivery order corresponds to a delivery of the product to a recipient, for example by a courier service. At step 108, the transaction module receives a delivery status corresponding to an outcome of the delivery by the courier service. At step 110, the transaction module transmits an instruction to the issuer module to either: (i) complete an authorization of the transaction based upon the pre-authorization of the transaction; or (ii) cancel the pre-authorization of the transaction; based upon the delivery status. In particular, if the delivery is successful and the recipient is satisfied with the delivered products, the issuer module is instructed to complete the pre-authorization of the transaction.

Figure 2 shows a schematic diagram illustrating the flow of information in a system 200 for conducting a transaction, according to an example embodiment. The system 200 comprises a transaction module 204, a merchant module 208, an issuer module 202 and a courier module 206. The transaction module 204 is in communication with the merchant module 208, the issuer module 202 and the courier module 206. The transaction module 204 may comprise at least one processor and at least one memory including computer program code. The at least one memory and the computer program code is configured to, with at least one processor, cause the transaction module 204 at least to: receive a payment request for a product; transmit to the issuer module 202, a pre-authorization request to initiate pre-authorization of the transaction corresponding to the payment request

CLAIMS

1. A method for conducting a transaction, comprising:

receiving, at a transaction module, a payment request for a product;

transmitting, from the transaction module to an issuer module, a pre- authorization request to initiate pre-authorization of the transaction corresponding to the payment request;

generating, by the transaction module, a delivery order upon initiation of the pre-authorization of the transaction by the issuer module, the delivery order corresponding to a delivery of the product to a recipient;

receiving, at the transaction module, a delivery status corresponding to an outcome of the delivery; and

transmitting, from the transaction module to the issuer module, an instruction to either:

(i) complete an authorization of the transaction based upon the pre- authorization of the transaction; or

(ii) cancel the pre-authorization of the transaction; based upon the delivery status.

2. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the payment request comprises product data, an issuer identifier and user account data.

3. The method as claimed in claim 2, wherein the product data further comprises a product description, a product price and a merchant associated with the product.

4. The method as claimed in claim 2, wherein the pre-authorization of the transaction comprises:

(i) determining, at the issuer module, a sufficiency of funds in an account corresponding to the user account data; and

(ii) initiating, by the issuer module, the pre-authorization of the transaction upon determining that there are sufficient funds in the account.

5. The method as claimed in any of the preceding claims, the method further comprising transmitting the delivery order, by the transaction module, to a courier module for facilitating delivery of the product to the recipient by a courier service.

6. The method as claimed in claim 5, wherein the delivery status comprises confirmation, by the recipient and the courier service, of a successful or unsuccessful delivery of the product to the recipient.

7. The method as claimed in claim 6, wherein the instruction to complete the pre-authorization of the transaction is transmitted to the issuer module on a condition that the delivery status comprises the successful delivery of the product to the recipient.

8. The method as claimed in claim 6, wherein the instruction to cancel the pre-authorization of the transaction is transmitted to the issuer module on a condition that the delivery status comprises the unsuccessful delivery of the product to the recipient.

9. A system for conducting a transaction, comprising a transaction module, the transaction module comprising:

at least one processor; and

at least one memory including computer program code;

the at least one memory and the computer program code configured to, with at least one processor, cause the transaction module at least to:

receive a payment request for a product;

transmit to an issuer module in communication with the transaction module, a pre-authorization request to initiate pre-authorization of the transaction corresponding to the payment request;

generate a delivery order upon initiation of the pre-authorization of the transaction by the issuer module, the delivery order corresponding to a delivery of the product to a recipient;

receive a delivery status corresponding to an outcome of the delivery; and

transmit an instruction to the issuer module to either: (i) complete an authorization of the transaction based upon the pre-authorization of the transaction; or (ii) cancel the pre-authorization of the transaction; based upon the delivery status.

10. The system as claimed in claim 9, wherein the payment request comprises product data, an issuer identifier and user account data.

11. The system as claimed in claim 10, wherein the product data further comprises a product description, a product price and a merchant associated with the product.

12. The system as claimed in claims 9 to 11, wherein the transaction module is further caused to transmit the delivery order to a courier module that is in communication therewith for facilitating delivery of the product to the recipient by a courier service.

13. The system as claimed in claim 12, wherein the delivery status comprises confirmation, by the recipient and the courier service, of a successful or unsuccessful delivery of the product to the recipient.

14. The system as claimed in claims 9 to 13, wherein the instruction to complete the pre-authorization of the transaction is transmitted to the issuer module on a condition that the delivery status comprises the successful delivery of the product to the recipient.

15. The system as claimed in claims 9 to 14, wherein the instruction to cancel the pre-authorization of the transaction is transmitted to the issuer module on a condition that the delivery status comprises the unsuccessful delivery of the product to the recipient.