Mobile Merchant Location Tracking via Payment Transaction Data
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Solution Overview
Problem
Mobile merchants face challenges in notifying customers and other merchants of their real-time locations, leading to potential lost sales and inefficiencies, especially for perishable goods, as existing systems lack effective mechanisms for dynamic location updates and collaborative promotions.
Innovation Solution
A system that uses a server computer to determine the location of mobile merchants based on transaction data and transmit notifications to client devices, including coupons, within a payment processing network, enabling real-time location awareness and collaborative setups between complementary merchants.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of information
If mobile merchants use traditional stationary notification methods, then customers can be informed of merchant locations, but the system complexity and infrastructure requirements increase substantially
Solution Approach 1:
The payment processing system is enhanced to perform multiple functions: it continues to process payments while simultaneously tracking merchant locations and generating notifications. By making the existing payment system multi-functional, the patent eliminates the need for separate notification infrastructure, thereby reducing system complexity while maintaining effective customer awareness of mobile merchant locations
Solution Approach 2:
The system automatically determines merchant locations from transaction data and generates notifications without requiring external notification infrastructure. The payment processing network itself provides the notification service, allowing the system to serve its own information dissemination needs without additional complex infrastructure
2Productivity
If mobile merchants provide real-time location updates through a dedicated system, then customer awareness and sales increase, but the loss of time for system implementation and infrastructure setup increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system is designed to leverage transaction data that is already being collected by the payment processing network. Location information is determined from existing transaction records, and notification parameters are pre-configured in the payment system, allowing immediate activation without lengthy implementation periods
Solution Approach 2:
By enhancing the existing payment processing system to include location tracking and notification capabilities, the patent allows immediate deployment using already-established infrastructure, eliminating the time required to build and deploy a separate dedicated notification system
3Device complexity
If mobile merchants use existing payment processing systems without enhancements, then infrastructure complexity remains low, but the ability to provide dynamic location-based coupons and notifications is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The system dynamically determines merchant locations from transaction data and generates location-based notifications and coupons in real-time. The notification content and parameters are dynamically adjusted based on the determined location and pre-configured notification parameters, providing adaptability without requiring complex static infrastructure
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses transaction data as feedback to continuously determine current merchant locations and generate appropriate notifications. This feedback loop allows the system to adapt to changing merchant locations and provide relevant, real-time information to customers without requiring complex external systems
Data Source
AI summary
Embodiments of the invention are directed to systems, apparatuses, and methods for determining the location of a mobile merchant, and performing further processing based on the determined location. Transaction data for a transaction conducted by a mobile merchant is electronically received at a server computer. The server computer determines a location of the mobile merchant based on the transaction data, and performs further processing based on the location of the mobile merchant.