Apparatus and method for transaction association

Abstract

Apparatus 102, e.g. a point-of-sale system, obtains traveller and transaction identifiers, e.g. from a number on passport 108 and scanning a pre-printed barcode or QR code sticker 110 respectively, an

Description

The present technique relates to associating transactions made by a purchaser to a purchaser and / or merchant. Tax free shopping is a service offered by numerous countries to foreign visitors. It allows the foreign visitor to reclaim at least some of the tax (e.g. sales tax or VAT) on goods by virtue of their status as a foreign visitor to the country. However, the legal processes for performing this can be complicated. It is possible to automate some of the process but this relies on merchants using specialised hardware and software and can be time consuming for the merchants to engage in it. In addition, while it might be desirable to try and simplify the process, it is desirable for the purchaser to know, on leaving the store, whether their tax refund is likely to be successful or not since this may impact their spending on the rest of their visit. Balancing these requirements can be challenging. Viewed from a first example configuration, there is provided an apparatus comprising: communication circuitry configured to receive, from a sender, at least one tax refund issue request comprising one of a plurality of unique transaction identifiers that uniquely identifies a transaction and a unique traveller identifier that uniquely identifies a traveller and responds to the sender with an eligibility of the traveller to receive a tax refund for the transaction; and processing circuitry configured to determine the eligibility and to update storage circuitry using the unique traveller identifier and the eligibility to indicate the eligibility of the traveller identified by the unique traveller identifier carrying out the transaction identified by the unique transaction identifier for a tax refund. Viewed from a second example configuration, there is provided a method comprising: storing, in data storage, a list of unique transaction identifiers assigned to merchants; electronically receiving, from a sender, at least one tax refund issue request comprising one of the unique transaction identifiers that uniquely identifies a transaction and a unique traveller identifier that uniquely identifies a traveller and responds to the sender with an eligibility of the traveller to receive a tax refund for the transaction; determining the eligibility; and updating the storage circuitry to indicate the eligibility of the traveller identified by the unique traveller identifier carrying out the transaction identified by the unique transaction identifier for a tax refund. Viewed from a third example configuration, there is provided an apparatus comprising: obtain circuitry configured to obtain a unique traveller identifier usable to identify a traveller; scan circuitry configured to scan at least part of a pre-printed document that represents a transaction between the traveller and a merchant, to obtain a unique transaction identifier usable to identify the transaction; communication circuitry configured to transmit at least one tax refund issue request to a tax refund operator, the tax refund issue request comprising the unique transaction identifier and the unique traveller identifier, and after transmitting the tax refund issue request to wait a period of time for a response to be received from the tax refund operator; and display circuitry configured to display a result to at least one of the merchant and the user, wherein when the response indicates that the issue request was successful, the result is a success indication; and when the response indicates that the issue request was unsuccessful, the result is an error indication. Viewed from a fourth example configuration, there is provided a method comprising: obtaining a unique traveller identifier usable to identify a traveller; scanning at least part of a pre-printed document that represents a transaction between the traveller and a merchant, to obtain a unique transaction identifier usable to identify the transaction; transmitting at least one tax refund issue request to a tax refund operator, the tax refund issue request comprising the unique transaction identifier and the unique traveller identifier, and after transmitting the tax refund issue request to wait a period of time for a response to be received from the tax refund operator; and displaying a result to at least one of the merchant and the user, wherein when the response indicates that the issue request was successful, the result is a success indication; and when the response indicates that the issue request was unsuccessful, the result is an error indication. The present technique will be described further, by way of example only, with reference to embodiments thereof as illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 illustrates a system in which a traveller carries out a transaction with a merchant; Figure 2A illustrates an example of a pre-printed document in the form of a sticker; Figure 2B shows an alternative pre-printed document in the form of a sticker; Figure 3 illustrates how a further code can be used in order to allow the traveller to update their refund preferences; Figure 4 shows another version of the storage circuitry, which is an elaboration of the storage circuitry shown in Figure 1; Figure 5 illustrates a variant of the merchant apparatus and the additional information that may be collected; Figure 6 shows a flowchart that shows a method for determining whether a tax refund issue request should be issued or not; Figure 7 shows a flowchart that gives an example of the export process when the traveller leaves the country with the purchased goods for which a refund is to be made; Figure 8 contains a flowchart that shows a process for handling timeouts at the merchant apparatus; and Figure 9 shows a swim lane that shows different operations performed by each of the merchant and traveller according to one embodiment. Before discussing the embodiments with reference to the accompanying figures, the following description of embodiments and associated advantages is provided. In accordance with one example configuration there is provided an apparatus comprising: communication circuitry configured to receive, from a sender, at least one tax refund issue request comprising one of a plurality of unique transaction identifiers that uniquely identifies a transaction and a unique traveller identifier that uniquely identifies a traveller and responds to the sender with an eligibility of the traveller to receive a tax refund for the transaction; and processing circuitry configured to determine the eligibility and to update storage circuitry using the unique traveller identifier and the eligibility to indicate the eligibility of the traveller identified by the unique traveller identifier carrying out the transaction identified by the unique transaction identifier for a tax refund. The apparatus could take the form of a server, a group of servers, or a (part of a) data centre for instance. The unique transaction identifiers are used to uniquely identify transactions - although the specific transaction that they identify is not initially set. That is, the unique transaction identifiers begin as assigned to particular merchants but not assigned to any particular transaction, which happens at a later time. When the tax refund issue request is received (e.g. from a merchant), the request includes one of the unique transaction identifiers and a unique traveller identifier and the specified unique transaction identifier is updated in the storage circuitry so that it is associated with the unique traveller identifier. In this way, a traveller is associated with a particular transaction (identified by the unique transaction identifier). In practice, when this request is made, it is because the transaction identifier has been associated with a particular transaction by the merchant. The processing circuitry determines eligibility straight away - that is, during the connection between the sender and the communication circuitry of the apparatus, a response is given. Consequently, the sender knows whether the issuing has been successful or not while the transaction with the traveller is taking place. The traveller does not therefore leave a shop without knowing whether the issuing has taken place or not. Having determined the eligibility, the storage circuitry (which may or may not form part of the apparatus) is updated again to reflect the outcome. Consequently, the storage circuitry stores whether a given transaction has been successful or not in respect of a particular traveller. In some examples, the unique traveller identifier is a passport number. In other examples, the unique traveller identifier could act as a proxy for the passport number. It could be assigned to a traveller for the duration of a trip (e.g. via a visa number) or could be assigned by a tax refund supplier - either via an account number or via a trip identifier. In some examples, the at least one tax refund issue request comprises further information relating to the traveller; the processing circuitry is configured to update the storage circuitry using the further information relating to the traveller; and the further information relating to the traveller comprises one or more of: a country of residence of the traveller, an arrival date of the traveller, a departure date of the traveller. The request may include other information that may be useful or legally required in order for the tax refund to be accepted. This might include the country of residence of the traveller (e.g. to show that they are not resident in the country for which the tax refund request is being made), and arrival date of the traveller and / or the departure date of the traveller (a request made after the date of departure or before the date of arrival should be invalid) since the traveller is not resident in the country for which the refund request is being made. Other information may also be provided (potentially instead of or as well as that already described). Information that is provided in the tax refund issue request can be stored in the storage circuitry in association with the unique transaction identifier -either directly or indirectly by being associated with the traveller, who is associated with the transaction. In some examples, the at least one tax refund issue request comprises further information relating to the transaction; the processing circuitry is configured to update the storage circuitry using the further information relating to the transaction; and the further information relating to the transaction comprises one or more of a total amount of the transaction, a tax amount of the transaction, a list of items forming the transaction, a category or type of the items forming the transaction, a payment method used for the transaction, a refund method, and a non-cash refund target. The tax refund issue request may include additional information relating to the transaction. Such information may be legally required in order for the tax refund request to be issued. For instance, the information may include a total amount of the transaction - either due to refunds being permitted based on a minimum or maximum amount. A tax amount could also be provided in order to understand how much tax is to be refunded for instance. A list of items forming the transaction could be provided and this may be useful information if tax refunds are only applicable for certain items. Similarly, a category or type of the items forming the transaction may be useful to know whether a tax refund is applicable. The tax that has been paid (or would be due) could also be provided for each category or type of item so that tax could, for example, only be refunded for applicable categories of items. A payment method used for the transaction could also be provided in order to perform auditing or to provide a paper trail associated with the transaction for instance. Similarly a payment method for receiving the refund and / or a non-cash refund target (such as a credit card number or bank account number) can be provided. In some examples, the communication circuitry is configured to receive a tax refund destination request comprising a refund destination; and the processing circuitry is configured to update the storage circuitry using the refund destination. The traveller is able to log in and change a place to which they would like the tax refund to be issued (e.g. to a specific credit card or to a bank account). In some examples, the tax refund destination request comprises the one of the unique transaction identifiers; and the processing circuitry is configured to update an entry in the storage circuitry, comprising the one of the unique transaction identifiers, with the refund destination. The tax refund destination request can also include one of the unique transaction identifiers. This can be used to indicate the specific transaction for which the refund destination is to be changed. When this is specified, the refund destination for the transaction can be set. In some examples, the storage circuitry is configured to store, in association with each of the unique transaction identifiers, one of a plurality of amendment identifiers; the tax refund destination request comprises one of the amendment identifiers; and the processing circuitry is configured to update an entry in the storage circuitry, comprising a matching one of the unique transaction identifiers associated with the one of the plurality of amendment identifiers, with the refund destination. Rather than providing the unique transaction identifier in order to alter the refund destination, one could provide an amendment identifier with the amendment identifier being associated with the unique transaction identifier. Each transaction would thereby be associated with a unique transaction identifier and an amendment identifier. This can improve security by using the different identifiers for different tasks. For instance, amendment identifiers could be reused with some frequency (expected to be much larger than a typical trip would last) whereas the transaction identifiers could be unique forever. Since the amendment identifier will still point to a current (active) transaction, it can still be used to identify a most likely transaction for which a refund destination is to be set. In some examples, the communication circuitry is configured to receive an export confirmation and, in response, to pay a tax refund for the transaction to the refund destination and to mark the transaction as completed in the storage circuitry. The export confirmation can be received to indicate that the purchased goods (for which a tax refund is requested) have been exported from the country as required for the tax refund to be issued. In response to such an export request being received, the apparatus causes the refund to be made (e.g. to a specified refund destination). Furthermore, the transaction in question is indicated as having been completed in the storage circuitry. This can be achieved by cross referencing a provided unique transaction identifier in the export confirmation with the relevant entry of the storage circuitry. In some examples, the communication circuitry is configured to receive an export confirmation and, in response, to mark the transaction as completed in the storage circuitry. As above, the requested transaction can be marked as completed in the storage circuitry. But unlike the above examples, no tax refund is signalled as a direct consequence of the export confirmation. This could be, for instance, because a tax authority must formally agree to the refund, after the export is confirmed, before the tax refund can be issued. In accordance with one example configuration, there is provided an apparatus comprising: obtain circuitry configured to obtain a unique traveller identifier usable to identify a traveller; scan circuitry configured to scan at least part of a pre-printed document that represents a transaction between the traveller and a merchant, to obtain a unique transaction identifier usable to identify the transaction; communication circuitry configured to transmit at least one tax refund issue request to a tax refund operator, the tax refund issue request comprising the unique transaction identifier and the unique traveller identifier, and after transmitting the tax refund issue request to wait a period of time for a response to be received from the tax refund operator; and display circuitry configured to display a result to at least one of the merchant and the user, wherein when the response indicates that the issue request was successful, the result is a success indication; and when the response indicates that the issue request was unsuccessful, the result is an error indication. The apparatus in this example may take the form of a Point of Sale (PoS) system, a specialised device for performing tax free shopping at a merchant, or even a general purposes device such as a smartphone, tablet, pc, or other computer. The scan circuitry can be used to scan at least part of the pre-printed document that allows the unique transaction identifier to be obtained. The scan circuitry may contain a laser or camera or other device used for obtaining information from text or an image. In addition, the obtain circuitry is used to obtain a unique traveller identifier that is used to identify the traveller for which the transaction was performed. Having obtained these items of information, the communication circuitry can then make a tax refund issue request to a tax refund operator (which may include an agent acting on behalf of the tax authority or could be the tax authority itself). The request includes both the unique transaction identifier and the unique traveller identifier. In this way, the traveller is associated with a unique transaction identifier. Regardless of this, the tax refund operator responds to the tax refund issue request with a response (e.g. during the same communication session). If the issue request is accepted, then the response indicated the acceptance. If the issue request is not accepted then the issue request fails. In the former case, the success indication can be shown to the merchant or user and in the latter case, an error can be shown to the merchant or user. In the error case, further information may be provided that makes it possible to know what went wrong and (if applicable) how to fix the error so that a further issue request can be made. In this way, it is possible to prevent a user from leaving the merchant’s store until such time as the issue request is accepted (assuming eligibility criteria are ultimately met). This can help the traveller to have confidence in the refund process. Indeed, if the issue request repeatedly fails, the user may request a refund of the purchase, particularly if they were relying on the refund being available. In some examples, the obtain circuitry comprises a magnetic reader, camera or keyboard. The camera can be used to, for instance, capture information from a document such as a passport through techniques such as optical character recognition (OCR). The magnetic reader can be used to read the magnetic characters on a passport for instance. The keyboard can be used to manually input data as required. In some examples, a combination of these devices may be provided potentially with other input methods. In some examples, the pre-printed document is a sticker; the at least part of the pre-printed document comprises a barcode. The pre-printed document can take the form of a pre-prepared sticker which is provided to the merchant (e.g. by the tax authority or their agent). The pre-prepared document (e.g. sticker) contains a unique transaction identifier that can be used to uniquely identify a transaction. In particular, when the document takes the form of a sticker, the sticker can be stuck to the bottom or reverse side of a standard receipt that is issued as part of a transaction in a merchant store. The contents of the receipt (typically a list of items, prices, and a total price) can then be associated with a unique transaction identifier. The barcode can be used to encode the unique transaction identifier in the form of an image, which can be read using a laser. In some examples, the barcode is a QR code. A QR code is a two dimensional image that can be used to encode data such as, in this example, the unique transaction identifier. In some examples, the unique traveller identifier is a passport number. In other examples, the unique traveller identifier could act as a proxy for the passport number. It could be assigned to a traveller for the duration of a trip (e.g. via a visa number) or could be assigned by a tax refund supplier - either via an account number or via a trip identifier. In some examples, the apparatus comprises: traveller input circuitry configured to receive further information relating to the traveller, wherein the at least one issue request comprises the further information relating to the traveller; and the further information relating to the traveller comprises one or more of: a country of residence of the traveller, an arrival date of the traveller, a departure date of the traveller. The traveller input circuitry could be one of the other input circuits (e.g. the obtain circuitry or the scan circuitry) or could be distinct. The further information relating to the traveller could be information that is otherwise legally required for a tax refund issue request to be fulfilled, as described above. In some examples, the apparatus comprises: transaction input circuitry configured to receive further information relating to the transaction, wherein the at least one issue request comprises the further information relating to the transaction; and the further information relating to the transaction comprises one or more of: a total amount of the transaction, a tax amount of the transaction, a list of items forming the transaction, a category or type of the items forming the transaction, a payment method used for the transaction, a refund method, and a non-cash refund target. The transaction input circuitry could take the form of one of the other input circuits (e.g. the obtain circuitry, the scan circuitry, or the traveller input circuitry if present). The further information relating to the transaction could be information that is otherwise legally required for a tax refund issue request to be fulfilled, as described above. In some examples, when the period of time elapses without the response being received, the result is a timeout indication. In some examples, in a first mode of operation, the timeout indication is considered to be an error; and in a second mode of operation, the timeout indication is considered to be a success. The mode of operation may be changeable by the user or in some examples may only be changeable by the tax refund operator. Indeed, the change of mode may be locked so that only the tax refund operator can change the mode of operation. Particular embodiments will now be described with reference to the figures. Figure 1 illustrates a system 100 in which a traveller 106 carries out a transaction with a merchant 132. The traveller in this example is not resident in the same jurisdiction as the merchant 132 and so may be able to reclaim tax that is paid on goods sold in the transaction. Such taxes may include value added taxes (VAT) or sales taxes that are added to goods or services. Not being a resident, the traveller may be entitled to reclaim those taxes. After the transaction has completed, a standard receipt 112 is generated (e.g. using a regular shopping till). In this example, the receipt is assumed to contain a list of the items that formed part of the transaction together with a sale amount and a total sale amount. Receipts may contain other information such as merchant identifiers, VAT numbers, the name and address of the merchant, the purchase format (e.g. a credit card, bank transfer, cash, or other option), a tax that is paid (which may be per item) and so on. Having printed the receipt 112, a pre-printed document 110 in the form of, for instance, a sticker is attached to the receipt. The stickers 110 are provided to the merchant 132 by the tax authority 134 ahead of time and contain a unique transaction identifier on them (which may be encoded in the form of an image or may be printed directly on the sticker). The merchant 132 applies the sticker to the receipt 112. In this way, the goods and / or services that have been purchased are assigned a unique transaction identifier without the merchant 132 being required to print anything other than a regular shopping receipt. In particular, either the stickers are pre-assigned to merchants previous to being sent out to the merchants or, during the following process, the merchant identifies itself in respect of the unique transaction identifier to the tax refund operator). In other embodiments, the pre-printed documents are pre-printed by the merchant themselves ahead of the transaction taking place rather than being pre-printed by (e.g. the tax refund operator and sent out). Again in this situation, the merchant identifier may be provided during the tax refund issue request in combination with the unique transaction identifier. Indeed, in some embodiments, the sticker is not a preprinted document at all, but is printed at the time of the transaction (or even afterwards) and contains the unique transaction identifier. Having done this, the merchant 132 obtains a unique traveller identifier from the traveller 106. In this example, the identifier takes the form of a passport number, which is provided on a passport 108 and this is obtained via obtain circuitry 118 in a first apparatus 102. The obtain circuitry 118 could take the form of a camera (which may perform OCR on the contents of the passport), a magnetic stripe reader (which may read a passport), a keyboard (which could be used to manually input the passport number), an RFID or NFC reader (which could be used to read a chip provided in a passport) or other input mechanism. In some cases, the obtain circuitry may provide a combination of these input mechanisms. In other examples, something other than a passport number may be provided. For instance, a traveller identification number may be provided to all travellers intending to tax advantage of tax free shopping. The traveller number may be associated with the traveller’s specific trip - e.g. by taking the form of a visa number assigned to the traveller on entry to the country. Other possibilities also exist. As well as obtaining the unique traveller identifier, scan circuitry 120 is used to scan the pre-printed document 110 in order to obtain the unique transaction identifier. The unique transaction identifier may be encoded within a barcode (e.g. a QR code), which can be scanned by the scan circuitry 120 in order to obtain the unique transaction identifier. Having obtained the unique transaction identifier and the unique traveller identifier, these items of data can be transmitted to a server 104 of the tax authority 134 as part of a tax refund issue request using communication circuitry 124. The communication circuitry 126 on the server 104 receives this information and passes it to processing circuitry 128 on the server 104 in order to determine eligibility of the traveller (identified by the unique traveller identifier) to perform tax free shopping for the transaction identified by the unique transaction identifier. The eligibility detection may take a number of forms and in some cases may be further dependent on additional data that is send as part of the tax refund issue request. However, some examples of checks that might be performed include whether the unique traveller identifier is a valid passport number. Clearly if a passport number is expected and is expected to be 10 digits long then an 11 digit number, a 9 digit number, or an alphanumeric sequence would all lead to rej ection. A further check that might be carried out is whether the passport number is on a known list of traveller passport numbers or indeed if the passport number is on a list of banned traveller passport numbers. Further checks might include whether it can be determined whether the traveller is a non-resident and whether the traveller has made numerous transactions in a short space of time (which might indicate fraudulent activity - e.g. if the number is provided several times in the space of a few seconds). Checks may also be carried out on the unique transaction identifier - e.g. to ensure that it is of the correct format. If the unique transaction identifier has been pre-registered at the tax authority (which need not be the case) then a check may be made to determine whether the unique transaction identifier exists. However, even if the numbers have not been pre-registered, a check may be performed to determine whether the unique transaction identifier has been previously used or not. If the number has already been used and accepted then it cannot be used again. If the number has already been used and was rejected then it may be permitted for the number to be tried again provided other requirements are met (e.g. same merchant and same amount). Further checks will be known to the skilled person and may depend on the data that is provided as part of the tax refund issue request. For instance, where a tax refund amount is provided, the checks may confirm that the amount is below a maximum threshold and below a minimum threshold. For security reasons this might be set on a merchant-by-merchant basis. The storage circuitry 130 is used to store unique transaction identifiers. These start life as being unassigned in the storage circuitry. In response to tax refund issue requests, the unique transaction identifiers are assigned to unique traveller identifiers. The result of the issuing check that is performed (as described above) is also recorded alongside each entry and is updated as appropriate. As well as recording the outcome of the issue check, the result is sent back to the apparatus 102 and this is used to control the display circuitry 122 to either the merchant 132 and / or the traveller 106. For instance, if the issue request is refused then a warning may be signalled and if the issue request is accepted then this may also be indicated. In some cases, a predetermined period of time might expire without any response being received by the apparatus 102. In this situation, a timeout might occur and this could lead to an error being shown via the display circuitry 122 - either a specific timeout error or a more generic error. When an error occurs, more specific information may be presented on the display circuitry 122, e.g. in order to indicate how and whether the error can be corrected. Figure 2A illustrates an example of a pre-printed document 200 in the form of a sticker. The sticker can be attached to an ordinary till receipt in order to associate the purchased items (and purchased amounts) with a transaction identifier, using a limited amount of hardware. In this example, the sticker 200 includes a barcode 204 that encodes the unique transaction identifier 206 for easy reading via scan circuitry 120. Alternatively, the unique transaction identifier 206 can be typed in (where permitted). In addition, the sticker 200 contains a barcode 202. This encodes an amendment identifier (e.g. 758499938501). The amendment identifier is uniquely matched to one of the unique transaction identifiers (in this case, AE129-143421-111), and allows the traveller to log in to a tax refund web service in order to change the refund method and target. This is shown in more detail in Figure 3. Note that providing the unique transaction identifier 206 in a human readable form is entirely optional and may be removed in some examples. Figure 2B shows an alternative pre-printed document 250 in the form of a sticker. The sticker can again be attached to an ordinary till receipt and again contains a QR code 252, barcode 254 and unique transaction identifier 256 that work in a similar example to the example shown in Figure 2A. However in this example, the sticker 250 also includes a number of fields 258A, 258B, 258C, 258D, 258E, 258F, 258G, 258H to be filled in. These fields cover extra information that is legally necessary for the traveller to have their tax refunded. In some examples, where this information is required, it may be provided electronically when the barcode 254 is scanned by the merchant. However, this requires the merchant device to have the ability for this information to be provided electronically whereas the example shown in Figure 2B requires the information only to be written onto the sticker 250. In any case, the sticker 200; 250 with any extra information (supplied electronically or on the form) is scanned by the merchant and attached to the till receipt. In this way, the till receipt (listing the purchased items) is associated with a unique transaction identifier. Meanwhile, the unique transaction identifier is associated with the merchant and with the traveller (via their unique traveller identifier) at the tax refund operator and the tax refund operator is able to determine that the unique transaction identifier has been activated. Any additional information is then provided on the sticker 200; 250, which can be associated with the unique transaction identifier on the sticker 250 or is electronically provided by the merchant. Figure 3 illustrates how the QR code 202; 252 can be used in order to allow the traveller to update their refund preferences. In this example, the QR code leads to a website and contains data that identifies the unique transaction identifier in question. The user is then able to select (e.g. from a popup menu) a refund method 302. In this case, the user is choosing to be refunded to a credit card. Then, the user is able to provide a refund target 304. The refund target may be specific to the refund method that is specified so in this example, the refund target allows the user to enter the credit card number to which the refund should be sent. Having modified the details, the change can be accepted 306 or cancelled 208 by the user. If accepted, this results in a tax refund destination request being issued, that allows the refund details to be changed at the storage circuitry 130. Although not shown in this particular example, the user might be required to provide their passport number in order to verify their identity before they are able to change the refund target. Figure 4 shows another version of the storage circuitry 400, which is an elaboration of the storage circuitry 130 shown in Figure 1. In this example, all of the fields are provided in a single table, but in practice it is likely that the data may be split across multiple tables. This is particularly true where the traveller might have an account with the tax refund operator that allows multiple transactions to be grouped (and perhaps refunded) together. It will of course be appreciated by the skilled person that the movement of fields and interlinking of data across tables is one that can be trivially achieved. In this example the table includes the unique transaction identifier 402. These may or may not be assigned to merchants before being used. For example, Figure 3 shows a row 422 in which the unique transaction identifier AE129-143423 has been assigned to the merchant with identifier 1114973 prior to that merchant doing anything with it. In this case, the merchant will have a sticker with the identifier AE129-143423, even though that identifier has not yet been activated (the sticker has not yet been used). In some cases, however, there may also be some entries 420 where the identifier (AE129-143422 in this case) has not been assigned to a merchant. When the sticker with this identifier is scanned by the merchant that has the sticker, the tax refund issue request sent to the tax refund operator can be traced to the specific merchant - e g. by authentication of the merchant prior to the tax refund issue request being made or by the merchant explicitly providing a merchant identifier. In either event, as well as the unique transaction identifier being associated with the unique traveller identifier, the unique transaction identifier is associated (potentially indirectly) with the merchant’s identifier. In this way it can be determined which merchant engaged in the transaction. Each of the unique transaction identifiers is expected to be unique within the table. Each of the unique transaction identifiers can be associated with a merchant identifier 404 as already described. In addition, at the time of purchase (i.e. once the traveller has completed the transaction with the merchant), the traveller’s unique identifier 406 (as provided by the merchant from using the obtain circuitry 118) is also linked to the transaction unique identifier. In this way, the purchase made by the traveller can be linked to the traveller. In this example, the further fields include the value of the goods 408 that have been purchased. In some jurisdictions, this is carried out to ensure that a minimum purchase amount or maximum purchase amount is not exceeded since tax free shopping may only be applicable for amounts between particular thresholds. The country of residence 410 of the traveller is also recorded. It is generally a requirement of tax free shopping that the traveller’s country of residence differs from the country in which the transaction is taking place. Thus, recording the country of residence of the traveller can be used to verify that such a requirement has been met. Refund fields 412, 414 are used to indicate a refund method 412 and refund target 414 for paying the refunded tax. In the example row 418, the refund method is selected as an electronic wallet, which is identified by the identifier F2136CDA1, which is a hexadecimal number. The final field is a status field 416 that shows the status of the refund request. In this case, ‘Exported’ indicates that the traveller has left the country with the purchased goods and the request is clear for the refund to be made (e.g. using the refund method to the refund target identified by the refund fields 412, 414). As noted in Figure 3 and as shown in Figure 3, the refund method 412 and the refund target 414 can be changed by scanning the QR code 202; 252 on the pre-printed document 200, which allows the user to change their refund details via a website 300. This causes a tax refund destination request to be issued, which can be used to store the values 412, 414 in the storage circuitry 300. In the example of Figure 4, it may be possible for each of the goods value 408, country of residence 410, refund method 412, and refund target 414 to be provided by the merchant. However, in some examples, this may not be possible, may not be desirable and in any case may be optional. Where this is not possible (or where it is optional and the merchant chooses not to complete this information), the information is instead filled in on the pre-printed document 200; 250. Figure 5 illustrates a variant of the merchant apparatus 102 and the additional information that may be collected (e.g. via a keyboard 114, 116). In this example, the optional information can be split into further transaction information and further traveller information. The former includes one or more of a total transaction amount, a tax amount, a list of items that have been purchased, a category or type of each item, a payment method, a refund method, and a refund target (a non-cash refund target). The further traveller information can include a country of residence of the traveller, an arrival date of the traveller and a departure date of the traveller. Information that is collected is then provided in the tax refund issue request(s) that are sent to the tax refund operator and may be used in the decision making process of whether the issuing process should succeed or not. Figure 6 shows a flowchart 600 that shows a method for determining whether a tax refund issue request should be issued or not. That is, the method determines the result that is issued back to the communication circuitry 124 of the merchant device. At a step 602, the assessment begins. At a step 604, it is determined whether the passport number (which in this example acts as the unique traveller identifier) is a number or contains letters for instance. If the passport number is not numeric then at step 606, the request is denied. Otherwise at step 608 it is determined whether the passport number contains the correct number of digits. If not, then at step 610 the request is rejected. Otherwise at step 612, it is determined whether the passport number is on the ban list (or alternatively whether it is not on the allowed list - e.g. of known visitors to the country or signed up for tax free shopping). If the user is banned then at step 614, the request is rejected. Otherwise at step 616 it is determined whether multiple requests have been made within a time window so as to indicate some kind of fraudulent activity is taking place. If so, then at step 618 the request is rejected. Otherwise at step 620, it is determined whether the unique transaction identifier is known. If not, then at step 622 the request is rejected. Otherwise at step 624, it is determined whether the transaction identifier has been used already. If so, then at step 626, the request is rejected. Note that in some embodiments, the transaction identifier may be reusable if it was previously rejected provided the new request is made by the same merchant within a short space of time. In any event, if the transaction identifier has not been used then at step 628, it is determined whether the merchant is on the ban list or not (or again whether it is not on the ‘allowed’ list). If the merchant is banned then at step 630, the request is rejected. Otherwise at step 532, it is determined whether a supplied country of residence matches the country of the merchant. If so, the request is rejected at step 634. Otherwise, the request is allowed and issuing is successful. Note that in this example, the issuing decision is made based on further information that is supplied. That is, it is required that the country is residence is electronically provided prior to a successful issuing decision being made. In some other examples, this information might result in a conditional issuing status - that is, that the issuing is successful subject to missing information being supplied on the sticker. The result that is sent back to the merchant device 102 might include this fact to remind the merchant 132 that the sticker must be amended for the missing information to be added and that this information will be checked for at the time of export. In other examples, of course, this information may not be checked for at issuing. If a conditional issue decision is reached, then this information is indicated in the status column 416 in the storage circuitry. This column might also indicate the information that is missing and / or the missing information might be indicated elsewhere. Other information might be checked for, conditionally required, and so on. Figure 7 shows a flowchart 700 that gives an example of the export process when the traveller leaves the country with the purchased goods for which a refund is to be made. At a step 702, the traveller enters the export zone in, for instance, the airport. Then at step 704, the unique transaction identifier is scanned by a tax refund operator or by an apparatus operated by the tax refund operator. At step 706, it is determined whether a record can be accessed / returned or not. If not, then at step 708 an error occurs. That is to say that the unique transaction identifier that is provided by the user is not known and no record of the purchase is held then the exporting / refunding process cannot take place. Otherwise, at step 710, it is determined whether the current status of the returned / accessed record is issued or conditionally issued. If not, then at step 712 an error occurs. This represents the situation in which there is a record but that record either indicates that the goods have already been exported (in which case they cannot be reexported) or the goods were refused for issuing already and no correction was made. In this example, it is assumed that it is not possible for the issuing process to be corrected but in some jurisdictions, depending on the legal process, this might be correctable. Nevertheless, if the status is issued or conditionally issued then at step 714, it is determined whether the status is a conditional issue. If so, then at step 716 it is determined whether the conditions are met - specifically if particular information had to be provided at step 716 then it is determined whether that information is provided on the sticker / pre-printed document . If not, then an error occurs because the conditions have not been met. If so, or if the issue was unconditional, then at step 720, an export request is sent to the tax refund operator at step 720. This causes the refund to be made (or queued to be made) via the requested method to the requested target. If no refund method (and target if applicable) is provided then the user may be refunded in cash. If this is not permitted, then the refund may be held for a specified period of time until the user provides the refund information. If / when the user provides the refund information then the refund will be made. Figure 8 contains a flowchart 800 that shows a process for handling timeouts at the merchant apparatus 102. In this example, the issue request is sent at step 802. Then at step 804, it is determined whether the request is refused or (conditionally) allowed at step 804. If so, then at step 806 a result is displayed at the display circuitry 122. For instance, this might give further instructions of what the traveller should do on leaving the country or instructions for further information that should be supplied on the sticker. In the event of an error, it might indicate that an error has occurred and what should be done (if anything) to rectify it. If none of these situations exist then at step 808, it is determined whether a timeout has occurred. That is, whether a predetermined period of time has elapsed without a result being received. If not, then the process returns to step 804. In other words, steps 804 and 808 loop until a response is received, or until a timeout occurs. If the timeout does occur at step 808 then at step 810 it is determined whether the first mode of operation is active. If so, then the timeout is treated as an error at step 812 and an appropriate message is displayed at step 806. For instance, the error might take the form of a timeout error to indicate that the request should be made again. If the first mode is not active then the second mode is active and so at step 814 the timeout is treated as a success. A result is then displayed to the user at step 806. In some embodiments, the timeout acts as a conditional issue. That is, that the issuing request is successful conditional on everything being in order when the user exports the purchased goods. In these examples, it is assumed that there are two modes of operation - one in which a timeout is treated as an error and one in which the timeout is treated as a failure. It may be the case that the mode of operation can only be changed by the tax refund operator and is otherwise locked to the merchant. In other embodiments, the mode of operation is hard coded and cannot be changed at all. Figure 9 shows a swim lane that shows different operations performed by each of the merchant 132 and traveller 106 according to one embodiment. This particular process, unlike the previously described processes, allows for the complete lack of a computerised system at the merchant’s store. In particular, at step 900, the traveller 106 makes their purchase and requests that the purchase be subjected to tax free shopping. If, at step 902, the merchant scans the barcode on the sticker that is to be used for the transaction then at step 904 they may enter any additional fields (e.g. on the sticker itself or electronically) that are required for the process to operate. This may include passport details (which can be entered using a keyboard as other fields may, or could be scanned using an appropriate scanning device such as a camera). At step 906, the supplied data is transmitted in an issue request to the operator. At step 908 the result is received. If this is not positive, then corrections are made (as appropriate) at step 910 and the process returns to step 906. Note that if corrections are not possible then the process essentially ends here with the tax refund request refused. If a positive result is received, or if the merchant does not scan the barcode at step 902 then at step 912 the sticker is stuck to the receipt. If the merchant has not scanned the barcode then the process essentially devolves to a classic paper-based tax free shopping process which is entirely handled at the time of export. At step 914, the traveller collects the receipt with the sticker. Thus, a transaction identifier (which in this example is pre-assigned to a merchant) is associated with the purchased goods. At step 916 it is determined whether the user has scanned the QR code on the sticker in order to be able to supply missing information. If so, then at step 918, the user enters their passport details (or unique traveller identifier). This can be used for security if the passport details (or unique traveller identifier) has already been provided in order to authenticate the user prior to any refund details being modified. Alternatively, if no details have been entered by the merchant then the supplied passport details can be associated with the transaction in order to verify the traveller’s status and the storage circuitry can be updated with the new information accordingly. Regardless, at step 920, it is determined whether new refund data has been entered by the user (e.g. a refund method and target). If so, then at step 922, the appropriate record in the storage circuitry is updated. In any event, at step 924, the process halts until the user enters the export area (e.g. in a port). Once the user enters, the validation and export process can begin in which the user presents the receipt with the sticker for validation at step 926. Although this process is able to use the passport number as verification, other methods may use other techniques. For instance, this may take place using a video or photograph of the traveller. The process then continues in dependence on information that has been electronically supplied, manually supplied on the sticker, or not supplied. At the very least, the merchant can be associated with the goods that have been purchased, which are being provided for inspection by the traveller. The traveller, at that time, can also supply any other evidence to demonstrate that they are not resident (e.g. passport details) together with any other request information (e.g. country of residence). This information can be supplied to the storage circuitry / tax refund operator 134 as part of the export request in order to cause the refund to take place. In the present application, the words “configured to...” are used to mean that an element of an apparatus has a configuration able to carry out the defined operation. In this context, a “configuration” means an arrangement or manner of interconnection of hardware or software. For example, the apparatus may have dedicated hardware which provides the defined operation, or a processor or other processing device may be programmed to perform the function. “Configured to” does not imply that the apparatus element needs to be changed in any way in order to provide the defined operation. 5 Although illustrative embodiments of the invention have been described in detail herein with reference to the accompanying drawings, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to those precise embodiments, and that various changes, additions and modifications can be effected therein by one skilled in the art without 10 departing from the scope and spirit of the invention as defined by the appended claims. For example, various combinations of the features of the dependent claims could be made with the features of the independent claims without departing from the scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. An apparatus comprising:communication circuitry configured to receive, from a sender, at least one tax refund issue request comprising one of a plurality of unique transaction identifiers that uniquely identifies a transaction and a unique traveller identifier that uniquely identifies a traveller and responds to the sender with an eligibility of the traveller to receive a tax refund for the transaction; andprocessing circuitry configured to determine the eligibility and to update storage circuitry using the unique traveller identifier and the eligibility to indicate the eligibility of the traveller identified by the unique traveller identifier carrying out the transaction identified by the unique transaction identifier for a tax refund.

2. The apparatus according to any preceding claim, whereinthe unique traveller identifier is a passport number.

3. The apparatus according to any preceding claim, whereinthe at least one tax refund issue request comprises further information relating to the traveller;the processing circuitry is configured to update the storage circuitry using the further information relating to the traveller; andthe further information relating to the traveller comprises one or more of: a country of residence of the traveller,an arrival date of the traveller, a departure date of the traveller.

4. The apparatus according to any preceding claim, wherein:the at least one tax refund issue request comprises further information relating to the transaction;the processing circuitry is configured to update the storage circuitry using the further information relating to the transaction; andthe further information relating to the transaction comprises one or more of:a total amount of the transaction,a tax amount of the transaction,a list of items forming the transaction,a category or type of the items forming the transaction,a payment method used for the transaction,a refund method, anda non-cash refund target.

5. The apparatus according to any preceding claim, whereinthe communication circuitry is configured to receive a tax refund destination request comprising a refund destination; andthe processing circuitry is configured to update the storage circuitry using the refund destination.

6. The apparatus according to claim 5, whereinthe tax refund destination request comprises the one of the unique transaction identifiers; andthe processing circuitry is configured to update an entry in the storage circuitry, comprising the one of the unique transaction identifiers, with the refund destination.

7. The apparatus according to claim 5, whereinthe storage circuitry is configured to store, in association with each of the unique transaction identifiers, one of a plurality of amendment identifiers,the tax refund destination request comprises one of the amendment identifiers; andthe processing circuitry is configured to update an entry in the storage circuitry, comprising a matching one of the unique transaction identifiers associated with the one of the plurality of amendment identifiers, with the refund destination.

8. The apparatus according to any one of claims 5-7, whereinthe communication circuitry is configured to receive an export confirmation and, in response, to pay a tax refund for the transaction to the refund destination and to mark the transaction as completed in the storage circuitry.

9. The apparatus according to any one of claims 1-4, whereinthe communication circuitry is configured to receive an export confirmation and, in response, to mark the transaction as completed in the storage circuitry.

10. A method comprising:storing, in data storage, a list of unique transaction identifiers assigned to merchants;electronically receiving, from a sender, at least one tax refund issue request comprising one of the unique transaction identifiers that uniquely identifies a transaction and a unique traveller identifier that uniquely identifies a traveller and responds to the sender with an eligibility of the traveller to receive a tax refund for the transaction;determining the eligibility; andupdating the storage circuitry to indicate the eligibility of the traveller identified by the unique traveller identifier carrying out the transaction identified by the unique transaction identifier for a tax refund.

11. An apparatus comprising:obtain circuitry configured to obtain a unique traveller identifier usable to identify a traveller;scan circuitry configured to scan at least part of a pre-printed document that represents a transaction between the traveller and a merchant, to obtain a unique transaction identifier usable to identify the transaction;communication circuitry configured to transmit at least one tax refund issue request to a tax refund operator, the tax refund issue request comprising theunique transaction identifier and the unique traveller identifier, and after transmitting the tax refund issue request to wait a period of time for a response to be received from the tax refund operator; anddisplay circuitry configured to display a result to at least one of the merchant and the user, whereinwhen the response indicates that the issue request was successful, the result is a success indication; andwhen the response indicates that the issue request was unsuccessful, the result is an error indication.

12. The apparatus according to claim 11, whereinthe obtain circuitry comprises a magnetic reader, camera or keyboard.

13. The apparatus according to any one of claims 11-12, whereinthe pre-printed document is a sticker;the at least part of the pre-printed document comprises a barcode.

14. The apparats according to claim 13, whereinthe barcode is a QR code.

15. The apparatus according to any one of claims 11-14, whereinthe unique traveller identifier is a passport number.

16. The apparatus according to any one of claims 11-15, comprising:traveller input circuitry configured to receive further information relating to the traveller, whereinthe at least one issue request comprises the further information relating to the traveller; andthe further information relating to the traveller comprises one or more of: a country of residence of the traveller,an arrival date of the traveller, a departure date of the traveller.

17. The apparatus according to any one of claims 11-16, comprising:transaction input circuitry configured to receive further information relating to the transaction, whereinthe at least one issue request comprises the further information relating to the transaction; andthe further information relating to the transaction comprises one or more of:a total amount of the transaction,a tax amount of the transaction,a list of items forming the transaction,a category or type of the items forming the transaction,a payment method used for the transaction, a refund method, anda non-cash refund target.

18. The apparatus according to any one of claims 11-17, whereinwhen the period of time elapses without the response being received, the result is a timeout indication.

19. The apparatus according to claim 18, whereinin a first mode of operation, the timeout indication is considered to be an error; andin a second mode of operation, the timeout indication is considered to be a success.

20. A method comprising:obtaining a unique traveller identifier usable to identify a traveller;scanning at least part of a pre-printed document that represents a transaction between the traveller and a merchant, to obtain a unique transaction identifier usable to identify the transaction;transmitting at least one tax refund issue request to a tax refund operator, the tax refund issue request comprising the unique transaction identifier and the unique traveller identifier, and after transmitting the tax refund issue request to wait a period of time for a response to be received from the tax refund operator;5 anddisplaying a result to at least one of the merchant and the user, whereinwhen the response indicates that the issue request was successful, the result is a success indication; andwhen the response indicates that the issue request was unsuccessful, the10 result is an error indication.

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