Merchant Payment System Digital Wallet Integration
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional point of sale (POS) systems require hardware and/or software upgrades to accept new forms of payment methods, such as digital wallets, which can be costly and inefficient.
Innovation Solution
A system comprising a merchant payment system, user accounts database, and digital wallet provider systems that allows for the association of user accounts with multiple digital wallet accounts, enabling payment authorization through a control circuit that communicates with POS systems, customer devices, and digital wallet providers to process transactions without the need for extensive upgrades.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If conventional POS systems accept new payment methods through hardware and software upgrades, then payment capability is improved, but system complexity and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a mobile device as an intermediary between the customer and the POS system. The mobile device stores digital wallet accounts and communicates payment information wirelessly to the POS system, eliminating the need for the POS system to directly integrate with multiple digital wallet providers. This mediator approach allows the POS system to maintain simplicity while supporting multiple payment methods.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements a universal interface in the mobile device that can store and manage multiple digital wallet accounts from different providers (e.g., Apple Pay, Google Pay, Samsung Pay). This universal mobile wallet system allows a single device to handle multiple payment methods, and the POS system only needs to communicate with this universal interface rather than integrating with each individual wallet provider.
2Adaptability or versatility
If POS systems integrate multiple digital wallet providers, then payment versatility is improved, but integration complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The mobile device serves as an intermediary layer that handles all the complexity of communicating with different digital wallet providers. The POS system simply needs to send payment requests to the mobile device and receive responses, without needing to understand or integrate with the specific protocols of Apple Pay, Google Pay, or other providers. This mediator approach significantly reduces integration complexity at the POS system level.
3Adaptability or versatility
If existing POS systems are upgraded to support new payment methods, then payment functionality is improved, but implementation cost increases
Solution Approach 1:
By using the mobile device as an intermediary, the patent eliminates the need for expensive hardware upgrades at the POS system. Instead of installing new hardware or complex software at the merchant's location, the solution leverages the mobile device that customers already possess, significantly reducing implementation costs for businesses while still enabling support for new payment methods.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates a digital copy of the payment authentication process that occurs on the mobile device. Rather than requiring physical changes at the POS system, the system communicates payment information wirelessly to the mobile device where the actual authentication and payment processing occur. This copying approach allows new payment methods to be implemented without physical upgrades at the merchant location.
Data Source
AI summary
Systems, apparatuses, and methods are provided herein for payments through point of sale systems. A system comprises a plurality of in-store POS systems, a user accounts database, and a merchant payment system configured to communicate with a plurality of user devices and a plurality of digital wallet provider systems. The merchant payment system comprises a control circuit configured to associate a user account with a plurality of digital wallet accounts in the user accounts database, wherein at least one of the plurality of digital wallet accounts is associated with two or more payment methods, receive a transaction request from a user device associated with the user account, select a digital wallet provider from the plurality of digital wallet accounts associated with the user account, and send a payment authorization request to a digital wallet provider system associated with the digital wallet provider for payment authorization.