System and Method for Facilitating Secure Self Payment Transactions of Retail Goods

• US 20130256403A1
• Filed: 03/13/2013
• Published: 10/03/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 03/23/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Digital Retail Apps, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Digital Retail Apps, Inc.
• Inventors: MacKinnon Keith, Wendy
• Granted Patent: US 8,720,771 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 235/375
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 5/00 Methods or arrangements for verifying the correctness of markings on a record carrier; Column detection devices
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/12 specially adapted for electronic shopping systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/20 Point-of-sale [POS] network systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/306 using TV related infrastructures external card used for payment with client device H04N21/4185
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/321 using wearable devices
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/322 Aspects of commerce using mobile devices [M-devices]
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/326 Payment applications installed on the mobile devices
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/3274 using a pictured code, e.g. barcode or QR-code, being displayed on the M-device
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/3276 using a pictured code, e.g. barcode or QR-code, being read by the M-device
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/3821 Electronic credentials
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/384 using social networks
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/385 using an alias or single-use codes
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/42 Confirmation, e.g. check or permission by the legal debtor of payment
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/06 Buying, selling or leasing transactions
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0637 Approvals

Abstract

Disclosed herein are various embodiments for systems and methods for self-payment and verification of the purchase of retail goods and services. According to an embodiment of the invention, a method for verifying the purchase using a mobile electronic device in wireless communication with a payment verification system and a code generating system is provided, the method comprising the steps of: receiving from a consumer information identifying an item for purchase; receiving from a consumer information identifying payment means for purchasing the item for purchase; processing the information identifying the item for purchase and information identifying payment means and generating a unique QR code indicating a purchase of the item; sending the unique QR code to a mobile device for display by a consumer to the vendor of the item for purchase.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method for verifying the purchase of goods and services between a consumer and a retailer, said consumer having a mobile device capable of communicating with a server, and said retailer having an electronic device capable of communicating with the server and with the mobile device, the method comprising the following steps:

receiving a first set of data from the mobile device, said first set of data identifying one or more goods or services to be purchased;

receiving a second set of data from the mobile device, said second set of data identifying payment means for the purchase of said one or more goods or services;

creating a data record in a database representing the purchase of said one or more goods or services by said consumer;

generating in response to the successful purchase of said one or more goods or services via the identified payment means a unique quick response (“

QR”

) code, said QR code associated with said data record such that said QR code contains a link to said data record;

transmitting said QR code to the mobile device for display thereon by the consumer to verify to the retailer the purchase of said one or more goods or services; and

wherein the steps of receiving the first set of data, receiving the second set of data, creating the data record, generating said QR code, and transmitting said QR code are performed by the server.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the data record includes the following data:

the goods or services purchased, the method of payment used to purchase the goods or services, the date of the purchase, and a consumer ID.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein the step of generating in response to the successful purchase of said one or more goods or services via the identified payment means a unique QR code comprises the steps of:

transmitting to a third-party server a request for a unique QR code, the request containing information to be embedded in the QR code; and

receiving from the third-party server the QR code in response to the request.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein the step of generating in response to the successful purchase of said one or more goods or services via the identified payment means a unique QR code comprises the step of:

embedding in the QR code a link to the data record.

5. The method of claim 1 further comprising the steps of:

determining whether any of the one or more goods or services identified in the first set of data are currently unavailable; and

transmitting a notification to the mobile device indicating whether any of the one or more goods or services identified in the first set of data are currently unavailable.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein the first set of data is input by the consumer when the consumer is outside of the retailer location containing the goods and services, and further comprising the steps of:

creating a data entry in the data record to indicate the portion of the goods identified in the first set of data that have already been collected from the retailer by the consumer.

7. The method of claim 1 further comprising the following steps:

scanning via the electronic device said QR code displayed on the mobile device;

verifying the validity of said QR code displayed on the mobile device; and

displaying via the electronic device whether or not said QR code displayed on the mobile device is valid.

8. The method of claim 7 further comprising the steps of:

retrieving from a database a data record associated with said QR code;

obtaining from said data record the identity of the goods or services purchased by the consumer;

transmitting to the electronic device the goods or services purchased by the consumer; and

displaying on the electronic device the goods or services purchased.

9. The method of claim 7 wherein the step of verifying the validity of the unique QR code displayed on the mobile device comprises:

transmitting said QR code to the server;

retrieving information embedded in said QR code;

comparing the embedded information from said QR code to entries in a table containing valid purchase information; and

indicating whether the embedded information in said QR code matches an entry in the table containing valid purchase information.

10. The method of claim 7 wherein the step of verifying the validity of the unique QR code displayed on the mobile device comprises:

transmitting said unique QR code to the server;

retrieving a link embedded in said unique QR code;

indicating whether this link is associated with a valid data record containing purchase information.

11. The method of claim 7 wherein the step of verifying the validity of the unique QR code displayed on the mobile device comprises:

retrieving a link embedded in said unique QR code;

transmitting said link to the server;

indicating whether the link is associated with a valid data record containing purchase information.

12. A system for verifying the purchase of goods and services between a consumer and a retailer, said consumer having a mobile device capable of communicating with one or more servers, the system comprising:

a server comprising one or more processors and a non-transitory storage medium in communication with said one or more processors, said non-transitory storage medium having instructions thereon which, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to execute the steps of;

receiving a first set of data from the mobile device, said first set of data identifying one or more goods or services to be purchased;

receiving a second set of data from the mobile device, said second set of data identifying payment means for the purchase of said one or more goods or services;

creating a data record in a database representing the purchase of said one or more goods or services by said consumer;

generating in response to the successful purchase of said one or more goods or services via the identified payment means a unique QR code, said unique QR code associated with said data record such that said unique QR code contains a link to said data record;

transmitting said unique QR code to the mobile device for display thereon by the consumer to verify to the retailer the purchase of said one or more goods or services

13. The system of claim 12 wherein the data record includes the following data:

the goods or services purchased, the method of payment used to purchase the goods or services, the date of the purchase, and a consumer ID.

14. The system of claim 12 wherein the step of generating in response to the successful purchase of said one or more goods or services via the identified payment means a unique QR code comprises the steps of:

transmitting to a third-party server a request for a unique QR code, the request containing information to be embedded in said unique QR code; and

receiving from the third-party server said unique QR code in response to the second request.

15. The method of claim 12 wherein the step of generating in response to the successful purchase of said one or more goods or services via the identified payment means a unique QR code comprises the step of:

embedding in said QR code a link to the data record.

16. The system of claim 12 wherein the non-transitory storage medium of the server has further instructions thereon which, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one more processors to execute the following steps:

determining whether any of the one or more goods or services identified in the first set of data are currently unavailable; and

transmitting a notification to the mobile device indicating whether any of the one or more goods or services identified in the first set of data are currently unavailable.

17. The method of claim 12 wherein the first set of data is input by the consumer into the when the consumer is outside of the retailer location containing the goods and services, and wherein the non-transitory storage medium of the server has further instructions thereon which, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one more processors to execute the following steps:

creating a data entry in the data record to indicate the portion of the goods identified in the first set of data that have already been collected from the retailer by the consumer.

18. The system of claim 12 further comprising an electronic device capable of communicating with the server, said retailer electronic device comprising:

one or more processors;

an optical input device operable by said one or more processors; and

a non-transitory storage medium in communication with the one or more processors of the retailer electronic device, said non-transitory storage medium having instructions thereon which, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to execute the steps of;

scanning via the optical input device said QR code displayed on the mobile device;

transmitting said QR code to the server;

receiving from the server an indication of whether said QR code displayed on the mobile device is valid; and

indicating via the electronic device whether said QR code displayed on the mobile device is valid.

19. The method of claim 18 wherein the non-transitory storage medium of the server has further instructions thereon which, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one more processors to execute the following steps:

retrieving from a database the data record associated with said QR code;

obtaining from said data record the identity of the goods or services purchased by the consumer; and

transmitting to the retailer electronic device the goods or services purchased by the consumer.

20. The method of claim 19 wherein the non-transitory storage medium of the retailer electronic device has further instructions thereon which, when executed by the one or more processors of the retailer electronic device, cause the one more processors of the retailer electronic device to execute the step of displaying the goods or services purchased by the consumer.

21. The method of claim 18 wherein the non-transitory storage medium of the server has further instructions thereon which, when executed by the one or more processors of the server, cause the one more processors of the server to execute the following steps:

retrieving embedded information from said QR code;

comparing the embedded information from said QR code to entries in a table containing valid purchase information; and

transmitting to the retailer electronic device whether the embedded information in said QR code matches an entry in the table containing valid purchase information.

22. The method of claim 18 wherein the non-transitory storage medium of the server has further instructions thereon which, when executed by the one or more processors of the server, cause the one more processors of the server to execute the following steps:

retrieving a link embedded in said QR code; and

accessing information associated with said link to determine whether said information contains valid purchase information.

23. The system of claim 12 further comprising an electronic device capable of communicating with the server, said retailer electronic device comprising:

one or more processors;

an optical input device operable by said one or more processors; and

a non-transitory storage medium in communication with the one or more processors of the retailer electronic device, said non-transitory storage medium having instructions thereon which, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to execute the steps of;

scanning via the optical input device said QR code displayed on the mobile device;

retrieving from said QR code a link embedded in said QR code;

transmitting to the server the link embedded in said QR code;

receiving from the server an indication of whether the link embedded in said QR code is valid; and

indicating via the electronic device whether said QR code displayed on the mobile device is valid.

24. A computer-implemented method for verifying the purchase of goods and services between a consumer and a retailer, said consumer having a mobile device capable of communicating with a server, and said retailer having an electronic device capable of communicating with the mobile device and with the server, the method comprising the following steps:

scanning a QR code displayed on the mobile device;

transmitting a request to server to verify that said QR code displayed on the mobile device is valid;

receiving a response from the server indicating whether said QR code displayed on the mobile device represents a valid purchase;

displaying whether said QR code displayed on the mobile device is valid; and

wherein the steps of scanning said QR code, transmitting the request, receiving the response, and displaying whether said QR code displayed on the mobile device is valid are performed by the electronic device.

25. The method of claim 24 wherein the data record includes the following data:

the goods or services purchased, the method of payment used to purchase the goods or services, the date of the purchase, and a consumer ID.

26. The method of claim 24 further comprising the steps of:

receiving from the server a list of goods or services purchased by the consumer associated with said QR code; and

displaying on the retailer electronic device the goods or services purchased.

27. The method of claim 24 wherein the step of transmitting a request to server to verify that said QR code displayed on the mobile device is valid comprises:

retrieving a link embedded in said QR code displayed on the mobile device;

transmitting to the server the link to whether the link is associated with a valid data record containing purchase information

28. A system for verifying the purchase of goods and services between a consumer and a retailer, said consumer having a mobile device capable of communicating with a server, the system comprising:

a retailer electronic device comprising one or more processors and a non-transitory storage medium in communication with said one or more processors, said non-transitory storage medium having instructions thereon which, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to execute the steps of;

scanning a QR code displayed on the mobile device;

transmitting a request to the server to verify that said QR code displayed on the mobile device is valid;

receiving a response from the server indicating whether said QR code displayed on the mobile device represents a valid purchase; and

displaying whether said QR code displayed on the mobile device is valid.

29. The system of claim 28 wherein the data record includes the following data:

the goods or services purchased, the method of payment used to purchase the goods or services, the date of the purchase, and a consumer ID.

30. The system of claim 28 wherein the non-transitory storage medium of the retailer electronic device has further instructions thereon which, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one more processors to execute the following steps:

receiving from the server a list of goods or services purchased by the consumer associated with the code; and

displaying the goods or services purchased.