Mobile POS Sleeve with Encrypted Cellular Link
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing mobile wireless POS terminals are expensive and vulnerable to tampering, as they require dedicated hardware and lack robust security features to protect sensitive information during transactions.
Innovation Solution
A customer mobile personal point-of-sale terminal (CMPPT) that uses a standard cellular telephone with a POS sleeve containing secure circuitry, allowing encrypted communication and storing personal encryption keys, keeping sensitive information secure and preventing unauthorized transactions by alerting the financial transaction verification entity if the device is lost or stolen.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If dedicated hardware is used for mobile wireless POS terminal, then security and reliability are improved, but device complexity and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system divides the POS terminal into two separate components: a standard cellular telephone and a detachable POS attachment. The attachment contains the secure hardware (magnetic stripe reader, encryption circuitry) while the telephone provides communication capabilities. This segmentation allows security features to be isolated in a dedicated module without requiring the entire device to be complex or expensive dedicated hardware.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an intermediary relationship where the standard cellular telephone acts as a mediator between the user and the secure POS attachment. The telephone's software and hardware provide an interface to control and communicate with the secure attachment, allowing a standard device to work with specialized security hardware without requiring the entire system to be dedicated POS terminal hardware.
2Reliability
If dedicated hardware is used for mobile wireless POS terminal, then security is improved, but cost increases
Solution Approach 1:
By segmenting the POS terminal into a standard cellular telephone and a separate POS attachment, the system allows manufacturers to produce each component separately using existing manufacturing processes. The attachment can be produced with secure hardware while the telephone uses standard mass-production techniques, reducing overall cost compared to producing expensive dedicated POS terminal hardware.
Solution Approach 2:
The system achieves universality by making the cellular telephone a multi-functional device that serves both as a communication device and as a POS terminal when the attachment is connected. This allows a single standard device to perform multiple functions, eliminating the need to purchase and maintain separate dedicated POS terminal hardware, thereby reducing cost.
3Ease of manufacture
If standard cellular telephone is used instead of dedicated POS terminal, then cost is reduced, but security and reliability worsen
Solution Approach 1:
The system segments security-critical functions into a separate POS attachment that contains dedicated secure hardware (magnetic stripe reader, encryption circuitry, secure memory). This allows the standard cellular telephone to be paired with specialized security hardware, achieving both cost reduction (using standard phone) and security improvement (using dedicated secure attachment).
Solution Approach 2:
The standard cellular telephone acts as an intermediary that interfaces with the secure POS attachment. The telephone's processing unit and communication interfaces mediate between the user and the secure hardware, enabling a standard device to work with specialized security components to achieve both affordability and security.
Data Source
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AI summary
A customer mobile personal point-of -sale terminal (CMPPT) includes a Point-Of -Sale (POS) sleeve portion that slidingly engages, and couples to, a cellular telephone. The cellular telephone is used to communicate encrypted information between a financial transaction verification entity (FTVE) and the POS sleeve portion. The sleeve portion includes a mechanism for reading in a merchant account number at the point-of -sale, and for communicating in a secure encrypted fashion with the FTVE via the cellular telephone portion. Rather than a customer entering sensitive financial information into a merchant's POS terminal (MPT) and trusting the merchant with such information, merchant information is entered into the CMPPT. The CMPPT initiates a transaction by- sending the customer's account information and the merchant information to the FTVE. The FTVE receives information about the transaction directly from the MPT. The FTVE verifies the transaction, and after authorization, the FTVE forwards approval codes to the CMPPT and MPT.