Remote Contactless Payment Using Customer NFC Hardware

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Solution Overview

Problem

Customers are unable to use contactless payment technology when remote from physical merchant locations, and mobile payment applications require installation and registration before use.

Innovation Solution

Enabling merchants to temporarily control payment hardware on customer devices and facilitating transactions using mobile payment applications without prior installation or registration through a payment-processing service.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Ease of operation

If customers use contactless payment technology at physical merchant locations, then payment convenience is improved, but the ability to pay remotely is limited

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvepayment convenienceVSAvoidremote payment capability

Core Design Contradiction:

Ease of operationVSAdaptability or versatility

Solution Approach 1:

The payment hardware on the customer device is enabled for use by multiple merchants through remote authorization, allowing the same hardware to serve different payment purposes across different locations and time periods, thereby achieving both local convenience and remote versatility

Inventive Principle:

Principle #6Universality (Multi-functionality)

2Reliability

If mobile payment applications require installation and registration before use, then application security is improved, but user accessibility is reduced

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveapplication securityVSAvoiduser accessibility

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSEase of operation

Solution Approach 1:

The payment-processing service performs preliminary actions by authorizing merchants to use payment hardware on customer devices before the actual transaction occurs, allowing customers to make payments without having installed or registered the mobile payment application in advance

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The payment-processing service acts as an intermediary that enables transactions by authorizing merchants to access payment hardware on customer devices remotely, eliminating the need for direct customer installation or registration while maintaining security through controlled authorization

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

3Adaptability or versatility

If payment hardware is permanently installed on customer devices, then payment functionality is improved, but device complexity increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvepayment functionalityVSAvoidhardware installation complexity

Core Design Contradiction:

Adaptability or versatilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The payment hardware authorization is made dynamic and temporary rather than permanent, allowing the hardware to be authorized for specific merchants and time periods through remote control, thereby maintaining full payment functionality while reducing the complexity of permanent installations

Inventive Principle:

Principle #15Dynamics

Data Source

PatentUS20260024069A1Updating Applications Without Interrupting Transactions

Publication Date: 2026.01.22 BLOCK INC

AI summary

Techniques described herein are directed to, among other things, enabling the use of contactless payment technology when customers and merchant are remote from one another by, for example, authorizing merchants to use payment hardware components residing on customer devices. For example, when a customer requests to purchase an item from a merchant via a ecommerce page of the merchant, a payment-processing service may authorize, at the request of the customer, the merchant to use an NFC reader residing on the customer device to accept payment information from a contactless card of the customer for satisfying a cost of the transaction.