Customer checkout accelerator
First Claim
1. A system for accelerating the sales transactions of customers in a retail store, comprising:
- a customer checkout accelerator that provides a customer user interface that is used to initiate a request for a preapproval amount for a sales transaction;
a card reader attached to, or integrated into, the customer checkout accelerator that reads a customer payment card number when the card is swiped through the card reader;
processing logic for said customer checkout accelerator configured to calculate the preapproval amount for the sales transaction;
a customer checkout accelerator server module residing on a store controller server that receives the preapproval amount for the sales transaction and transmits the preapproval amount to an external card services system for approval; and
a preapproval cache located at a point of sales terminal that stores the preapproval amount for use in completing the sales transaction.
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 to initiate a request for a preapproval amount for a sales transaction before reaching the point of sale terminal 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 transaction 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.
25 Citations
12 Claims
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1. A system for accelerating the sales transactions of customers in a retail store, comprising:
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a customer checkout accelerator that provides a customer user interface that is used to initiate a request for a preapproval amount for a sales transaction; a card reader attached to, or integrated into, the customer checkout accelerator that reads a customer payment card number when the card is swiped through the card reader; processing logic for said customer checkout accelerator configured to calculate the preapproval amount for the sales transaction; a customer checkout accelerator server module residing on a store controller server that receives the preapproval amount for the sales transaction and transmits the preapproval amount to an external card services system for approval; and a preapproval cache located at a point of sales terminal that stores the preapproval amount for use in completing the sales transaction. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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Specification