Programmable Payment Cards With GUI-Selected Transaction Services
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing payment systems lack the ability to seamlessly integrate additional services or features beyond the basic purchase transaction, such as game actions, check-ins, loyalty programs, or coupon redemptions, without requiring complex infrastructure changes or user interaction beyond the point of sale.
Innovation Solution
A payment card or device equipped with buttons or capacitive sensors allows users to select additional services via a GUI, which communicates user selections to a point-of-sale system, enabling third-party applications to perform desired actions, with information exchange through a merchant acquirer's network and remote facilities, and integrating features like loyalty points, ratings, or game actions.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If a payment card system integrates additional services (game actions, check-ins, loyalty programs, coupon redemptions), then user experience and service functionality are improved, but system complexity and infrastructure requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The payment card is transformed into a multi-functional device that combines traditional payment capabilities with additional services including game actions, check-ins, loyalty program participation, and coupon redemptions. The card includes a processor that can execute different applications and a display that can present various types of information, allowing a single card to perform multiple functions that previously would have required separate systems or devices.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements a nested architecture where third-party applications are embedded within the card's processing environment. The card contains a processor that can load and execute external applications, creating a layered structure where multiple service layers operate within the card's hardware framework. This allows complex services to be nested within the simple form factor of a payment card.
2Ease of operation
If users can select and associate additional services with payment card buttons, then ease of operation is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system enables users to independently configure and associate additional services with card buttons through a user interface. Users can select which applications or services they want to access by pressing specific buttons on the card, and the system automatically configures these associations. This self-service approach allows users to customize their card's functionality without requiring technical assistance or complex setup procedures.
Solution Approach 2:
The card's functionality is made dynamic through programmable buttons that can be reconfigured to different services based on user selection. The display can dynamically show different information related to the selected service, and the processor can execute different applications based on which button is pressed. This dynamic behavior allows the card to adapt its functionality in real-time based on user needs while maintaining a simple physical interface.
3Adaptability or versatility
If third-party applications are integrated into the payment system, then adaptability is improved, but security and transaction reliability become more challenging
Solution Approach 1:
The card processor acts as an intermediary between the payment network and third-party applications. It provides a controlled environment where applications can access transaction data and execute services while the processor maintains oversight and control over the interaction. This intermediary layer ensures that applications operate within defined parameters and that transaction integrity is maintained even as multiple third-party services are integrated into the system.
Data Source
AI summary
A user is provided with a GUI that may allow the user to change functionality associated with a non-powered card, a powered card or other device (e.g., a mobile telephonic device). The functionality associated with the device may be displayed by the GUI as a list of third-party applications that may be executed when the user's powered card or other device is used to complete a purchase transaction. The GUI allows the user to rate the user's experience with the executed application and then propagate the user's rating to a ratings database. The ratings database is accessible so that other users may view the rating of each user.