POS Payment Add-in SDK for Extensible Transaction Processing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Point-of-sale (POS) systems lack the ability to support new payment requirements in emerging markets without requiring a new release of the POS application, as existing systems are not extensible to accommodate varying payment formats and processors across different jurisdictions.
Innovation Solution
The introduction of a software development kit (SDK) that facilitates the creation of add-in modules within the POS application, allowing for the definition of APIs and development of add-in modules to collect payment data and communicate with payment processors, enabling support for new payment formats, hardware, and processors without updating the POS application itself.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If the POS application uses pre-defined payment methods and processors, then the system maintains stability and reliability, but the system cannot support new payment requirements in emerging markets without a new release
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the payment processing functionality into separate add-in modules that can be independently developed, installed, and updated. These modules include payment data collectors, payment processors, and payment methods, each handling specific payment requirements. This segmentation allows the core POS application to remain stable while add-ins provide adaptability to new payment formats without requiring system-wide updates.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates a universal add-in architecture that can handle multiple payment formats and processors through a common interface. The add-in model provides universal support for collecting payment data, processing payments, and managing payment methods across different jurisdictions and hardware platforms, allowing a single framework to serve diverse payment requirements.
2Adaptability or versatility
If the POS application is updated to support new payment formats and processors, then the system gains adaptability to new markets, but the update frequency increases and deployment complexity grows
Solution Approach 1:
By segmenting payment functionality into independent add-in modules, the patent enables incremental updates without requiring full application releases. Each add-in can be developed, tested, and deployed separately, significantly reducing the time and coordination required for updates compared to traditional monolithic application updates.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent establishes a pre-defined add-in framework and interface standards in advance, allowing third-party developers to create payment add-ins independently. This preliminary structuring enables rapid integration of new payment formats and processors without requiring changes to the core application, eliminating lengthy update cycles.
3Adaptability or versatility
If the POS application includes built-in support for all possible payment requirements, then the system is highly adaptable, but the initial product complexity and development time increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a universal add-in framework that provides built-in support for multiple payment formats, processors, and hardware types through a common architecture. This framework includes standardized interfaces for payment data collection, processing, and management, enabling the system to support diverse payment requirements without duplicating functionality across different code paths.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an intermediary add-in layer between the core POS application and payment hardware/processors. This intermediary layer handles the complexity of different payment formats and protocols, shielding the core application from complexity while providing comprehensive payment support through standardized interfaces.
4Adaptability or versatility
If third-party developers create add-in modules, then the system gains extensibility and adaptability, but the integration complexity and quality control challenges increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent provides a universal add-in framework with standardized interfaces and development guidelines that simplify third-party integration. The framework includes pre-defined templates for payment collectors, processors, and methods, allowing developers to create add-ins without deep knowledge of the core system, thereby reducing integration complexity while maintaining extensibility.
Data Source
AI summary
Architecture that employs a software development kit and an add-in model to collect payment data and communicate with payment processors in a point-of-sale (POS) application to meet new requirements in new markets. Data gathered from an add-in and from the POS application can be combined and then communicated to the payment processor. The payment method can be determined and payment processing routed to different payment processors based on data and schema of data collected is also described. An add-in can also programmatically obtain information from the POS application information about a transaction and authorize a payment. A payment collecting/processing API is the interface between the POS application tender logic and payment collecting/processing logic and defines how a payment collecting/processing add-in interacts with the POS application.