Ephemeral Token Handoff for Clean POS Transactions
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Current electronic point-of-sale systems in retail establishments often create bottlenecks during payment processing, requiring customers to handle devices that may be unclean and inconvenient, and lack private options for tipping and feedback.
Innovation Solution
A method and system that enables transaction handoff from a point-of-sale terminal to a customer's smart device using ephemeral transaction authorization tokens, allowing for secure, private, and clean payment processing, along with simultaneous display of transaction details and feedback options on both devices.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Extent of automation
If a staff member presents an electronic point-of-sale terminal to a guest for payment processing, then the transaction can be completed with automated payment processing and accurate pricing, but the staff member must hover around the service area waiting for customer input, creating an awkward atmosphere and service bottleneck
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the payment processing function from the staff member's workflow by enabling guests to complete transactions independently on their own mobile devices. The system separates the payment authorization function from the staff member, allowing the guest to handle the entire payment process without staff intervention, thus eliminating the hovering behavior and improving service flow smoothness while maintaining automated payment processing capabilities
2Productivity
If an electronic point-of-sale terminal is used for transaction processing, then accurate and up-to-date pricing and automated payment processing are achieved, but the device may be unclean after being handled by multiple guests, causing discomfort during pandemics or disasters
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates a virtual copy of the point-of-sale interface on the guest's personal mobile device. Instead of requiring the guest to interact with a physical terminal that may be contaminated, the system projects the payment interface onto the guest's own clean device through wireless communication, maintaining transaction processing efficiency while eliminating the cleanliness issue
Solution Approach 2:
The system introduces a wireless communication intermediary between the point-of-sale system and the guest's device. This intermediary (wireless network connection) allows transaction data to be transmitted without physical contact, enabling the guest to complete payment on their own device without touching the establishment's terminal, thus maintaining productivity while addressing cleanliness concerns
3Ease of operation
If a guest uses their own smart device to complete a transaction, then the guest can complete payment privately without staff hovering and the device remains clean, but the guest must handle and manipulate their own device which may be inconvenient
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary actions by automatically initiating the payment interface on the guest's device and pre-configuring the transaction details before the guest needs to interact with it. The system sends a notification to the guest's device with all transaction information already populated, reducing the complexity of the transaction process for the guest while maintaining privacy and eliminating the need for staff hovering
Data Source
AI summary
A method for handoff includes: scanning an ephemeral token displayed on a guest device, where a guest has previously registered a payment instrument with a server, and associated the payment instrument with a plurality of ephemeral tokens, and the server has stored a payment token that associates the plurality of ephemeral tokens with the payment instrument in a database record along with a notification identifier, and where the guest device has received the ephemeral token; transmitting the ephemeral token to the server; simultaneously displaying details for a transaction, where the server has accessed the notification identifier to transmit a push notification to the guest device, and where the guest device is executing a proprietary application that allows for simultaneously displaying details for the transaction; and receiving notification from the server that the transaction is complete, where transaction completion data was entered via the guest device and transmitted to the server.