Dongle Device for Automatic Payment Terminal Pairing
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Solution Overview
Problem
The existing wireless pairing systems for mobile merchant devices and payment terminals are cumbersome and time-consuming, especially when terminals are misplaced or lose power, leading to increased setup times and customer dissatisfaction due to difficulties in establishing and maintaining wireless connections.
Innovation Solution
A dongle device with a non-transitory memory and integrated connection interface, including a processor and applications, is used to store connection information for wireless terminals, allowing for automatic pairing with merchant devices via USB, Micro-USB, or Apple Lightning interfaces, and enabling secure, one-to-one connections using protocols like Bluetooth or WiFi.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If wireless terminals are used to allow customers to enter payment instrument information, then customer convenience and mobility are improved, but setup time and connection establishment complexity increase when terminals are misplaced or lose power
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary pairing between the mobile computing device and the wireless terminal before the terminal is needed for transactions. The pairing information is stored in advance, so when a terminal is returned or replaced, the connection is automatically reestablished without requiring manual setup, thus reducing setup time while maintaining customer convenience
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces pairing information as an intermediary element that mediates between the mobile computing device and wireless terminals. This pairing information acts as a pre-configured connection credential that enables automatic reconnection, eliminating the need for time-consuming manual pairing processes while preserving the ease of wireless operation
2Reliability
If manual pairing processes are used to establish connections between mobile merchant devices and terminals, then connection security can be maintained, but transaction processing speed and efficiency decrease
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs the security verification and pairing process in advance, before transactions begin. The pairing information is established and stored beforehand, allowing automatic reconnection without repeating the full security handshake process, thus maintaining security while improving transaction processing speed
Solution Approach 2:
The mobile computing device automatically retrieves and uses stored pairing information to reestablish connections with returned terminals without requiring manual intervention. This self-service mechanism maintains security through pre-validated pairing data while significantly improving transaction processing efficiency by eliminating repetitive manual pairing steps
3Adaptability or versatility
If wireless terminals are handed to customers for payment entry, then customer autonomy and service quality improve, but connection stability and reliability worsen when terminals are moved or lose power
Solution Approach 1:
The system establishes pairing information in advance when the terminal is first connected to the mobile computing device. This pre-established pairing data remains stored and enables automatic reconnection even after the terminal is moved or loses power, thus maintaining connection stability while preserving customer autonomy during payment entry
Solution Approach 2:
The system creates and stores a copy of the pairing information in the mobile computing device. This copied pairing data serves as a backup connection credential that can be used to reestablish the wireless connection without requiring the original pairing process to be repeated, ensuring connection reliability while maintaining customer autonomy
Data Source
AI summary
There are provided systems and methods for a dongle device for automatic pairing of payment terminal to mobile computing device. A merchant location may include one or more merchant devices used to provide sales to between the merchant and customers through generating transactions and processing payments. In this regard, the merchant devices may use connectable terminals that provide payment instrument processing. The connectable terminals may utilize a wireless connection with a merchant device and allow a user to provide their payment instrument, such as an EMV payment card, to the terminal to insert their payment information into a transaction. In order to pair the terminal to the merchant device, a dongle device may be added to the terminal to provide connection information to the merchant device for automatic pairing. The dongle device may also remove the connection information on removal or insertion of a new dongle device.