Mobile Device In-Person Transaction System
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing systems face challenges in managing in-person transactions, particularly for small or medium-size sellers, due to high point-of-sale installation and maintenance costs, lack of support for cashless transactions in settings like garage sales and farmers' markets, and difficulties in reconciling online and in-person transactions.
Innovation Solution
A network system that enables in-person transactions without the need for a point-of-sale system, by generating unpublished listings and unique codes that access these listings when scanned, and providing user interfaces for creating, viewing, confirming, and authorizing transactions.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If point-of-sale systems are installed for in-person transactions, then transaction processing capability is improved, but installation and maintenance costs increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses mobile devices (smartphones, tablets) as copies or substitutes for traditional point-of-sale systems. The mobile device's camera captures images of items, and the device itself serves as both the scanning terminal and the processing unit, eliminating the need for dedicated expensive POS hardware while maintaining full transaction processing capability
Solution Approach 2:
The system enables sellers to perform transactions using their own mobile devices without requiring specialized equipment. The mobile device automatically captures item images, retrieves pricing information, calculates totals, and processes payments, allowing the device to serve multiple functions that traditionally required separate specialized systems
2Adaptability or versatility
If traditional in-person transaction systems are used, then face-to-face payment is supported, but cashless transaction support is lacking
Solution Approach 1:
The mobile device performs multiple functions including capturing item images, retrieving pricing data, calculating totals, storing payment information, and processing cashless transactions. This multi-functional approach integrates previously separate processes into a single device, enabling both traditional and modern payment methods without requiring multiple specialized systems
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses an intermediary database or cloud service that stores pricing information, product details, and transaction data. This intermediary allows the mobile device to access real-time pricing and process cashless transactions without requiring direct connection to traditional payment infrastructure, bridging the gap between simple mobile scanning and complex payment processing
3Productivity
If separate systems are used for online and in-person transactions, then each transaction type can be processed independently, but reconciliation becomes difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges online and in-person transaction processing into a unified system using the same mobile device and database infrastructure. Both transaction types use identical data structures, pricing databases, and transaction logging mechanisms, allowing automatic reconciliation without requiring separate systems or complex integration layers
Data Source
AI summary
Systems and methods for managing an in-person transaction process are provided. In example embodiments, a network system receives, from a first user device, information regarding a service or an item. Using the received information, the network system generates an unpublished listing and associates the unpublished listing with a session identifier. The unpublished listing is temporarily stored to a datastore. The network system then generates a scannable code that provides a uniform resource identifier (URI) associated with the session identifier. The scannable code is presented on the first user device, whereby the scannable code can be scanned by a second user device to access, via the URI, a transaction user interface associated with the session identifier. In response to a request to access the transaction user interface triggered by the second user device scanning the scannable code, the transaction user interface is displayed on the second user device.