Customer checkout accelerator
First Claim
1. A computer readable medium containing a computer program product for accelerating sales transactions of customers in a retail store, comprising:
- program instructions that read a customer payment card number at a customer checkout accelerator;
program instructions that determine a preapproval amount for the sales transaction;
program instructions that display the preapproval sales transaction amount to the customer on the customer checkout accelerator for acceptance;
program instructions that transmit the preapproval amount to an external card services system for approval;
program instructions that store the approval amount in a preapproval cache at a point of sales terminal for use in completing the sales transaction;
program instructions that transmit the preapproval amount from the customer checkout accelerator to a store controller;
program instructions that place an entry in a preapproval database if the external card services system approves the transaction amount;
program instructions that notify a point of sales terminal of the approval amount;
program instructions that determine if the payment card is one or more of a credit card, a debit card, a customer loyalty card, an electronic/Internet wallet or an electronic gift certificate; and
program instructions that determine a preapproval amount that is based on an actual purchase history for the customer if the payment card is a customer loyalty card.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A system and method for accelerating customer sales transactions in a retail store. A customer checkout accelerator provides a customer user interface initiate a request for a preapproval amount for a sales transaction before reaching the point of sale for completion of the purchase transaction. A card reader integrated into the customer checkout accelerator reads a customer payment card number when the payment card is swiped through the reader. A customer checkout accelerator server module resident on a store controller server determines a preapproval amount for the sales action and transmits the request to an external card services system for payment approval. The customer checkout accelerator also provides the ability to purchase additional promotional items in the checkout lane with this process integrated into the payment preapproval process. Once payment approval is obtained from the external card services system, an entry is placed in a preapproval database associated with the customer checkout accelerator server module on the store controller server. The server module forwards the approval notification to the point of sales terminal where it is placed in a preapproval cache for use in completing the actual sale transaction.
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Citations
7 Claims
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1. A computer readable medium containing a computer program product for accelerating sales transactions of customers in a retail store, comprising:
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program instructions that read a customer payment card number at a customer checkout accelerator; program instructions that determine a preapproval amount for the sales transaction; program instructions that display the preapproval sales transaction amount to the customer on the customer checkout accelerator for acceptance; program instructions that transmit the preapproval amount to an external card services system for approval; program instructions that store the approval amount in a preapproval cache at a point of sales terminal for use in completing the sales transaction; program instructions that transmit the preapproval amount from the customer checkout accelerator to a store controller; program instructions that place an entry in a preapproval database if the external card services system approves the transaction amount; program instructions that notify a point of sales terminal of the approval amount; program instructions that determine if the payment card is one or more of a credit card, a debit card, a customer loyalty card, an electronic/Internet wallet or an electronic gift certificate; and program instructions that determine a preapproval amount that is based on an actual purchase history for the customer if the payment card is a customer loyalty card.
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2. A computer readable medium containing a computer program product for accelerating sales transactions of customers in a retail store, comprising:
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program instructions that read a customer payment card number at a customer checkout accelerator; program instructions that determine a preapproval amount for the sales transaction; program instructions that display the preapproval sales transaction amount to the customer on the customer checkout accelerator for acceptance; program instructions that transmit the preapproval amount to an external card services system for approval; program instructions that store the approval amount in a preapproval cache at a point of sales terminal for use in completing the sales transaction; program instructions that transmit the preapproval amount from the customer checkout accelerator to a store controller; program instructions that place an entry in a preapproval database if the external card services system approves the transaction amount; program instructions that notify a point of sales terminal of the approval amount; program instructions that determine if the payment card is one or more of a credit card, a debit card, a customer loyalty card, an electronic/Internet wallet or an electronic gift certificate; and program instructions that determine a preapproval amount that is based on an average customer purchase amount for credit and debit transactions on a store wide basis if the payment card is a credit or debit card.
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3. A computer readable medium containing a computer program product for accelerating sales transactions of customers in a retail store, comprising:
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program instructions that read a customer payment card number at a customer checkout accelerator; program instructions that determine a preapproval amount for the sales transaction; program instructions that display the preapproval sales transaction amount to the customer on the customer checkout accelerator for acceptance; program instructions that transmit the preapproval amount to an external card services system for approval; program instructions that store the approval amount in a preapproval cache at a point of sales terminal for use in completing the sales transaction; program instructions that scan the customer payment card at a point of sales terminal; program instructions that determine if there is an entry for the customer in the preapproval cache; and program instructions that resume the sales transaction at the point of sale terminal. - View Dependent Claims (4, 5, 6, 7)
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Specification