Inventors:
Kevin Sullivan - Wilmington DE, US
Assignee:
Bank One, Delaware, National Association - Wilmington DE
International Classification:
G06F 17/60
US Classification:
235379, 235380, 235381, 235382, 705 10, 705 14, 705 35, 705 39
Abstract:
The present invention comprises an apparatus and method for a card payment instrument providing that a share of program profits above a pre-designated level is returned to participating consumers at pre-designated intervals such as annually. Customers respond to an offer to participate in the mutual benefit program. After admission to the program, the card issuer tracks the performance according to the desired financial metric for the participating cardholders. At certain intervals, such as yearly, the card issuer reports out the financial performance for the period. If the financial performance exceeded the pre-designated threshold performance, then returns are distributed to participating cardholders according to a share methodology. The share methodology can provide that returns are allocated among participating cardholders according to various criteria, such as based on spending volume, finance charges, and so forth.