Mobile Device Merchant Application for Affordable POS
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Small merchants and startup businesses face economic challenges in adopting conventional point-of-sale terminals due to high terminal fees and service charges, limiting their ability to accept electronic payments and compete with other merchants.
Innovation Solution
Configuring a mobile device with a merchant application that interfaces with a transaction engine to process transactions, utilizing near field communication or other short-range communication methods to transmit transaction tokens, enabling affordable and portable electronic payment processing.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If conventional point-of-sale terminals are used, then electronic payment processing capability is improved, but transaction costs increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces expensive, permanent point-of-sale terminals with inexpensive mobile devices that can be disposed of or replaced easily. The mobile device runs a application that provides credit card processing capabilities without requiring the merchant to invest in costly dedicated hardware
Solution Approach 2:
The mobile device serves multiple functions: it acts as both a communication device for the merchant and a credit card terminal for processing payments. This eliminates the need for separate dedicated point-of-sale equipment, reducing overall system cost and complexity
2Adaptability or versatility
If conventional point-of-sale terminals are used, then electronic payment processing capability is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the credit card processing functionality from the complex point-of-sale terminal infrastructure and relocates it to a simple mobile device. The mobile device communicates with the payment network through standard communication protocols, eliminating the need for specialized terminals and reducing infrastructure complexity
Solution Approach 2:
The mobile device copies the essential functionality of a point-of-sale terminal into a software application, rather than requiring physical hardware. This software-based approach simplifies the system architecture and reduces the complexity of terminal infrastructure requirements
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Reduces transaction costs for small merchants, allowing them to accept electronic payments without the high expenses associated with traditional point-of-sale terminals, enhancing their competitiveness and profitability.
Implementation Method 1
The merchant application may then transmit the transaction token to the client device of the customer using near field communication (NFC) data
Data Source
AI summary
The use of a mobile device with a merchant application may enable the merchant to turn the mobile device into a point-of-sale terminal that interfaces with a server. The server may receive from the mobile device a transaction via a network, in which the transaction includes transaction details for a purchase request made by a customer. In turn, the server may transmit a transaction token that identifies the transaction to the mobile device of the merchant. Subsequently, the server may receive the transaction token from a client device of the customer. The transaction token being transmitted from the mobile device to the client device using a short range communication that is independent of the network. After receiving the transaction token, the server may provide the transaction details of the transaction that matches the transaction token to the client device for display so that the customer may pay for the transaction.