POS Transaction Matching via Payment Hashing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing point-of-sale (POS) systems face challenges in efficiently tracking, matching, and storing transactions between consumers and merchants, making it difficult for consumers to manage records, particularly for tax deductions.
Innovation Solution
A method and system that generates hashes from payment information, matches them between consumers and merchants, and stores them in a database for easy retrieval and notification, using a network architecture that includes central servers and POS terminals to facilitate transaction matching and storage.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of information
If traditional POS terminals print or email receipts to consumers, then transaction records are provided to consumers, but it becomes difficult and time-consuming for consumers to keep track of all individual receipts and invoices
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges multiple transaction records from different merchants into a single consolidated receipt that aggregates all purchases made with a specific credit card account. This consolidation approach combines scattered individual receipts into one unified document, making it easier for consumers to track and manage their transaction records without losing any information.
Solution Approach 2:
The system creates a universal receipt format that can consolidate transactions from multiple different merchants and transaction types into a single standardized document. This multi-functional receipt serves as both a detailed transaction record and a simplified summary, accommodating various consumer needs for record-keeping and tax deduction purposes.
2Reliability
If consumers manually track and organize all individual receipts for tax deductions, then complete transaction records are maintained, but the process becomes inconvenient and time-consuming
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary consolidation of transaction records automatically before consumers need them for tax purposes. By pre-aggregating all transactions into consolidated receipts organized by time period or merchant category, the system eliminates the need for consumers to manually organize records later, saving significant time while ensuring completeness.
Solution Approach 2:
The system automatically generates and organizes consolidated receipts without requiring consumer intervention. The automated process collects transaction data from multiple merchants, validates the information, and produces organized receipts that consumers can directly use for tax deductions, making the entire process self-service oriented and eliminating manual organization efforts.
3Ease of operation
If a centralized system stores all transaction information, then easy retrieval and matching is enabled, but security risks increase due to storage of sensitive payment information
Solution Approach 1:
The system extracts and removes sensitive payment information such as full credit card numbers from the centralized database. Only essential transaction data needed for matching and consolidation is stored centrally, while sensitive information is excluded or masked, thereby reducing security risks while maintaining the ability to retrieve and match transactions effectively.
Solution Approach 2:
The system introduces hash functions as intermediaries between the centralized database and sensitive payment information. By storing hashed versions of card numbers and using these hashes for matching purposes, the system enables efficient transaction retrieval and matching while preventing direct access to actual sensitive data, thus mediating between operational ease and security requirements.
Data Source
AI summary
A simplified, automated, and convenient method and system for tracking, matching, and storing transactions from a point-of-sale (POS) terminal between a customer and any number of merchants. The method and system of matching a POS terminal transaction between a customer and merchant can include generating a first hash based on the received payment information from a user, generating a second hash of the payment information received from a sales transaction at a POS terminal, and performing a search to determine a match between the first hash and the second hash.