Browser Extension for Tokenized Authentication
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Solution Overview
Problem
Online shopping is inefficient due to the need for repeated login processes, expired checkout sessions, and the lack of a unified platform for comparing prices and tracking loyalty, which wastes resources and complicates merchant tracking of abandoned carts.
Innovation Solution
A browser extension that integrates with a payment processor to manage checkout processes, generate payment tokens, and display relevant shopping items from user history, calendar, and reminders, allowing secure and streamlined transactions without the need for multiple logins.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If users create accounts at various merchant sites to receive special offers and deals, then users can access exclusive content and pricing, but users must repeatedly enter credentials to log in, which takes a tremendous amount of time
Solution Approach 1:
A browser extension acts as an intermediary between the user and multiple merchant sites. The extension stores authentication tokens and user profiles locally, then automatically presents appropriate login information when users visit merchant sites, eliminating the need for manual credential entry while maintaining access to account-specific content and offers
2Productivity
If merchants provide checkout sessions with arbitrary or predetermined expiration time, then merchants can manage session resources, but checkout sessions may expire during virtual window-shopping, causing shopping cart items to be removed and forcing users to start over
Solution Approach 1:
The browser extension proactively maintains checkout sessions by storing cart contents and authentication state locally. When a user returns to a merchant site after leaving, the extension automatically restores the previous session state and preserves shopping cart items, eliminating the need for users to restart the checkout process while allowing merchants to manage session resources efficiently
3Reliability
If merchants build robust secure transaction channels to protect payment method information, then payment security is improved, but merchants must spend resources to build and maintain such secure channels
Solution Approach 1:
The browser extension serves as a security intermediary that handles payment method information locally on the user's device. Instead of merchants building and maintaining their own secure payment processing infrastructure, the extension uses established secure channels (such as those provided by payment processors like Visa) to transmit and store payment information, thereby ensuring security while eliminating the need for merchants to invest in complex secure transaction channels
4Reliability
If merchants use third party payment processors to provide secure transaction services, then payment security is improved without requiring robust merchant infrastructure, but merchants still have responsibility to securely store user information in associated accounts
Solution Approach 1:
The browser extension extracts and stores payment method information and user profiles locally on the user's device rather than on merchant servers. This removes the burden of secure user information storage from merchants, as the extension handles this function client-side using secure storage mechanisms (such as encrypted local storage or hardware security modules), while merchants only need to maintain basic account information for transaction processing
Data Source
AI summary
A direct payment token generation method provides executable codes to a client device. The executable codes invokes functionalities in a browser application. The set of executable codes further provides login prompts to the user for logging to a virtual wallet account. The method provides a list of products for purchase from merchants in response to a successful login to the virtual wallet account. A graphical element is provided for purchasing one provided product from one of the merchants. In response to receiving a selection of the provided graphical element confirming the purchase, a payment token is generated for the virtual wallet account. The received selection includes confirming detailed information of the purchase. The payment token is transmitted to the client device and is embedded in a payment payload with the detailed information of the purchase. The payment load is transmitted to the one of the merchants to complete the purchase.