POS Authentication Flow Using FI Proxies for Pocket Payments
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional mobile transaction systems require customers to remove their mobile devices from their pockets to perform transactions, exposing sensitive information to security risks and inconveniencing users, while also challenging the habit shift from physical wallets to digital payments.
Innovation Solution
A system that allows customers to perform mobile transactions without removing their devices, using a merchant system to establish an in-store session with the customer's mobile device via a short-range communication protocol, authenticating the payment account through a system provider without exposing sensitive information to the merchant, and presenting funding options without revealing actual financial details.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If conventional mobile transaction systems require customers to remove their mobile devices from pockets to perform transactions, then transaction convenience is improved, but security risks increase due to exposure of sensitive information
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a merchant device as an intermediary between the customer's mobile device and the payment processing system. The merchant device receives authentication information from the mobile device, forwards it to the system provider, and receives confirmation without exposing sensitive payment information on the mobile device screen. This intermediary approach allows transactions to be completed with the device remaining in the customer's pocket while maintaining security.
2Reliability
If check-in procedures are conducted at the POS device to identify and authenticate customers, then authentication reliability is improved, but time consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements preliminary authentication by having the customer's mobile device automatically generate and transmit authentication information to the merchant device as they approach or enter the store, before the actual transaction is initiated. This preliminary action establishes the customer's identity and authorization in advance, allowing the actual transaction to be completed quickly without requiring the customer to manually input information at the POS device.
3Productivity
If sensitive information including payment account identifiers is provisioned to the merchant device, then transaction processing capability is improved, but security concerns increase due to potential data breaches
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts sensitive payment information from the transaction flow by using tokenization. Instead of provisioning actual payment account identifiers to the merchant device, the system uses temporary tokens or references that can be used for transaction processing without containing any sensitive financial data. This extraction of sensitive information maintains transaction capability while eliminating security risks associated with data storage and transmission.
Data Source
AI summary
A system includes a service provider device and a point of sale (POS) device. A session between a user device and the POS device is established. An authentication request associated with the user device is provided via a user interface of the POS device. Subsequent to an authentication of information, responsive to the authentication request, the POS device receives funding instrument (FI) proxy information corresponding to FIs, which is unusable to identify the FIs by a merchant. A selectable representation corresponding to the FI proxy information is provided via the user interface. Responsive to receiving an indication of a selected member from the selectable representation, information for the selected member is sent. The service provider device determines that the session corresponds to an account associated with the user device and the merchant, and performs a transaction for the session using a first FI that corresponds to the selected member.