Auto-detecting Merchant Payment Preferences
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Consumers often encounter inconvenience when purchasing goods and services as they typically do not know what forms of mobile payment are accepted by merchants until check-out, leading to potential issues with payment methods.
Innovation Solution
A system and method that automatically determines and displays the payment methods accepted by a merchant to a user's device, such as barcodes, QR codes, or high-frequency audio signals, based on user device capabilities, user preferences, merchant preferences, and environmental conditions, allowing for seamless payment facilitation without user action.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If the system provides multiple payment options to users, then payment flexibility and user convenience are improved, but the complexity of determining and displaying appropriate payment methods increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary detection of merchant payment preferences and user device capabilities before the payment transaction occurs. The server proactively determines compatible payment methods and displays them to the user in advance, eliminating the need for complex real-time decision-making during checkout.
Solution Approach 2:
A server acts as an intermediary between the user's mobile device and the merchant's payment system. The server receives payment preference information from merchants, processes compatibility checks with user devices, and manages the display of appropriate payment options, thereby reducing the complexity burden on both user devices and merchant systems.
2Productivity
If the system automatically detects and displays payment preferences, then user convenience and checkout efficiency are improved, but the amount of information processing and detection required increases
Solution Approach 1:
Payment preference information is detected and processed in advance before the user reaches the checkout stage. The server proactively retrieves merchant payment preferences and user device capabilities, performs compatibility matching, and prepares the payment options display beforehand, making the actual checkout process quick and efficient.
Solution Approach 2:
The system enables automatic self-detection of payment compatibility without requiring manual user input or complex merchant intervention. The server autonomously retrieves payment preference information, performs detection and matching operations, and presents appropriate options to users, reducing the perceived complexity for end-users.
3Adaptability or versatility
If the system considers multiple factors (user device capabilities, preferences, merchant preferences, environmental conditions), then payment compatibility and user experience are improved, but the complexity of the decision-making process increases
Solution Approach 1:
The server serves as a central intermediary that consolidates multiple factors including user device capabilities, user preferences, merchant payment preferences, and environmental conditions. It processes all these inputs through automated compatibility logic and returns a simplified set of recommended payment options to the user, thereby managing decision-making complexity centrally rather than distributing it across user devices or merchant systems.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs comprehensive factor analysis and compatibility determination in advance, before the user needs to make a payment decision. By pre-processing multiple factors and pre-determining compatible payment methods, the system reduces the perceived decision-making complexity during the actual payment moment.
Data Source
AI summary
Systems and methods for retrieving and displaying merchant payment preferences to a user are described. When a user is at or near a merchant location, a service provider determines the type or form of electronic payment the merchant can accept. The service provider then generates the specific type or form of payment for display or communication to a user device. The user is then able to present a type of payment accepted by the merchant and pay for a purchase.