Unified Payment Messaging Interface for POS Interoperability
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Solution Overview
Problem
The integration and interoperability of electronic point of sale (POS) terminals and Island Card Readers (ICRs) with various software packages and interfaces cause significant issues, requiring a standard interface for easier development and client interactions.
Innovation Solution
A language-independent payment messaging interface using RESTful APIs is implemented, providing a unified interface for POS terminals and ICRs to interact with payment, loyalty, and pinpad hosts, reducing the need for multiple software packages and simplifying development and testing.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If different individual software packages and interfaces are used for processing interactions with various entities, then specific functionality for each interface is achieved, but integration and interoperability issues arise between software packages
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a universal payment messaging interface that can handle multiple types of interactions (payment processing, loyalty program management, PIN pad operations) through a single standardized API framework. This allows the system to maintain specific functionality for different interfaces while reducing overall integration complexity by providing a common communication protocol and message structure that works across all host systems.
2Adaptability or versatility
If multiple pieces of software are installed separately for different interfaces, then specific interface requirements are met, but client installation and maintenance complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines multiple previously separate software packages into a single integrated client application that provides access to all interface functionalities through the unified payment messaging interface. This consolidation eliminates the need for clients to install and maintain multiple separate software packages while still supporting payment processing, loyalty programs, and PIN pad operations through a single installation.
3Adaptability or versatility
If different software packages are used for different interfaces, then specific processing capabilities are achieved, but development and testing effort increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the payment messaging interface into distinct, well-defined API components (payment processing API, loyalty API, PIN pad API) that can be independently developed, tested, and maintained. Each API module handles specific processing capabilities while adhering to a common message structure and communication protocol, making it easier for developers to implement and test each functionality separately while ensuring overall system integration.
Data Source
AI summary
A system, method and software using a common language-independent interface to interact with multiple hosts are generally described. POS terminals and ICRs interact with a PMI acting as a payments API server. The PMI contains rest-based APIs that are able to respond to HTTP requests for transactional and testing purposes. The PMI communicates with EPS in an EPC interact with an epsilon interface to process transactions and interact with payment hosts, a sigma interface to process loyalty transactions and interact with loyalty hosts and a POSCache interface to interact with pinpads.