Split Mobile Payment System Using Intermediary Platform
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current mobile payment systems lack efficient and secure methods for transferring funds at the point of sale, with consumers concerned about the security of their financial information and existing technologies not providing adequate control over how their payment information is shared during transactions.
Innovation Solution
A split transaction system using a mobile device to process payments, where the consumer's financial account information is not directly accessible to the merchant, with a mobile payment application communicating with a payment platform to facilitate transactions through encrypted codes or barcodes, ensuring that sensitive information is not exposed to the merchant.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If traditional credit card or debit card based Point of Sale systems are used, then payment processing is widely adopted, but consumer security is compromised due to exposure of sensitive payment account information and PIN entry at the merchant's terminal
Solution Approach 1:
A payment platform is introduced as an intermediary between the consumer and the merchant. The payment platform receives the consumer's payment account information and PIN from the mobile device, processes the transaction, and communicates with the merchant's POS terminal. This intermediary structure ensures that sensitive consumer information is never exposed to the merchant, while still enabling seamless payment processing at the point of sale.
Solution Approach 2:
The sensitive payment account information and PIN entry functions are extracted from the merchant's POS terminal and relocated to the consumer's mobile device. The mobile device becomes the secure enclave where financial credentials are stored and verified, eliminating the need for consumers to enter their PINs at the merchant's terminal and preventing exposure of their payment account information to the merchant.
2Ease of operation
If mobile payment systems use RFID and/or NFC technologies, then payment processing is enabled, but security is reduced because possession equals ownership allowing lost devices to be used by fraudsters
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of using direct RFID/NFC coupling that equates device possession with account access, the system creates a digital copy of the payment account information in the form of a barcode or QR code on the mobile device screen. This copy can be displayed to the merchant for scanning, but it does not provide direct device-level access to the account. The actual account credentials remain encrypted on the device and are only revealed to the payment platform during authenticated transactions, preventing fraudsters from using lost devices without proper authentication.
3Productivity
If barcodes are used to speed up customer shopping experiences, then product information lookup is improved, but the ability to provide secure direct funds transfer control is lost
Solution Approach 1:
The barcode/QR code displayed on the mobile device serves multiple functions: it can be scanned by the merchant's terminal to retrieve product information for pricing (maintaining barcode utility), but it also simultaneously initiates a secure payment transaction when combined with the payment platform's processing system. This universal code structure enables both product information lookup and secure direct funds transfer control within a single interaction, eliminating the need for separate secure authentication steps.
Data Source
AI summary
Systems and methods for providing enhanced transaction security via use of a split mobile payment system which allows a Consumer to pay for a purchase using his mobile device without exposing Payment Account information to the merchant. The split mobile payment system may include a mobile payment application (MPA), running on a Consumer's mobile device, which can communicate with a Payment Platform and merchant's in-store Point of Sale Payment Application (PPA). A barcode can be used as one means for identifying a Consumer's Payment Account to the Payment Platform via the PPA. In the event of a PIN being required, the PIN may be entered by the Consumer via the mobile device rather than the merchant's PPA.