A purchase transaction at a point of sale (“POS”) typically involves the provision of payment information from a consumer payment device to a merchant terminal. For example, a consumer payment card is typically swiped by a merchant in order to read magnetic stripe information from the card. Increasingly, a wide variety of other types of consumer devices are being utilized in association with POS payment transactions. For example, a consumer can utilize a contactless smart card or a near field communication (“NFC”) mobile device to provide payment information to a merchant terminal.
However, contactless reader devices, such as NFC and radio frequency (“RF”) readers, may not be available or deployed at certain merchant points of service. For example, a contactless reader may not be deployed at a gasoline pump or at a particular table within a restaurant. Accordingly, it may take additional time to process a transaction on behalf of a consumer. For example, a consumer may be required to enter a store or other establishment at a gas station in order to pay with a contactless device. As another example, in a restaurant setting, the consumer may be required to wait for a waiter to process a payment device. Additionally, the consumer may be hesitant to provide certain contactless devices, such as mobile phones, to the waiter. Accordingly, there is an opportunity for improved system and methods for facilitating transactions at a merchant point of sale.
USPTO Backgrounds
USPTO Backgrounds