Digital Voucher Processing via Proximity Communication
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Solution Overview
Problem
Traditional paper vouchers are difficult to manage, recall, or modify, and electronic voucher systems face issues with security, hardware requirements, and complexity, lacking effective anti-fraud controls and efficient digital distribution.
Innovation Solution
A digital voucher system using proximity communication technologies like NFC, Bluetooth, or RFID allows consumers to store and apply digital vouchers on portable devices, enabling merchants to query, process, and transfer vouchers securely and efficiently, facilitating real-time transactions.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If paper vouchers are used, then distribution is simple, but management, recall, and modification are extremely difficult or impossible
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces physical paper vouchers with electronic voucher representations stored on mobile devices. This substitution enables digital distribution through electronic channels while allowing centralized management, recall, and modification of vouchers through software systems, eliminating the manual handling requirements of paper-based systems.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates digital copies of voucher information that can be distributed electronically to multiple devices. These digital representations can be replicated, transmitted, and managed through electronic systems, enabling efficient distribution while maintaining centralized control over the voucher data through server-based management.
2Reliability
If dedicated electronic cards are used to carry digital vouchers, then voucher management becomes possible, but system cost and complexity increase due to special purpose hardware and communication protocols
Solution Approach 1:
The patent leverages mobile devices that consumers already possess and use for general purposes. These universal devices run standard operating systems and can execute voucher applications without requiring dedicated hardware. The mobile device's existing communication capabilities (cellular, wireless) are utilized for voucher transactions, eliminating the need for specialized voucher card readers and protocols.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a software application as an intermediary layer between the mobile device and the voucher management system. This application handles voucher storage, display, and transaction processing, while communicating with merchant systems through standard protocols. The intermediary software abstracts the complexity from both the user and the merchant, enabling voucher management through common mobile devices.
3Reliability
If electronic voucher systems are implemented, then anti-fraud control can be improved, but hardware requirements and system complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces specialized electronic card hardware with software-based voucher storage on mobile devices. Security is implemented through software mechanisms including encrypted storage of voucher data, authentication protocols, and secure communication channels. This approach provides robust anti-fraud controls without requiring dedicated hardware security modules or specialized card readers.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses digital representations of vouchers that can be securely copied and transmitted through electronic channels. Each voucher contains unique identifying information and security features that can be verified by the system. The digital nature of these copies enables centralized validation and fraud detection through server-based authentication, eliminating the need for complex hardware verification systems.
Data Source
AI summary
A digital voucher system facilitates the convenient application of vouchers against products and services purchased from a merchant by a consumer. A voucher enabled device carried by the consumer stores digital vouchers in memory. The merchant queries and obtains applicable vouchers for the consumer from the voucher enabled device carried by the consumer, applies the vouchers to a transaction, and communicates the resulting transaction data back to the voucher enabled device.