CUSTOMER LOYALTY INVESTMENT PROGRAM SYSTEM AND METHOD

The present invention is directed to a customer loyalty investment program system and method where purchase rebates are used to provide the customer with an important fund including merchant securities. The system illustratively includes a web server containing a web site and a database server containing a member information, merchant information, fund information, purchase/rebate information, on-line financial products/services information, and an input/output means. The method may include negotiating rebate percentages with merchants, registering members, receiving rebates from the merchants based on member purchases, investing the rebates in the fund, including securities of at least one merchant, and issuing shares in the fund to members based on rebates received as a result of their respective purchases. Advantageously, the composition of the fund preferably reflects the rebates received from the merchants. In the credit card embodiment, rebates may be received from both a credit card issuer and merchants agreeing to provide rebates based on member purchases using the credit card.