Multiple merchants in cardless payment transactions and multiple customers in cardless payment transactions

• US 9,264,850 B1
• Filed: 03/13/2013
• Issued: 02/16/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 11/20/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Block, Inc. (f/k/a Square, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Block, Inc. (f/k/a Square, Inc.)
• Inventors: Lee, Bob
• Primary Examiner(s): Rampuria, Sharad
• Assistant Examiner(s): Madani, Farideh
• Application Number:
  US13/802,064
• Time in Patent Office: 1,070 Days
• Field of Search: 705/7.29, 705/7.33, 705/7.34, 705/14.49, 705/14.57, 705/14.58, 705/346, 705/44, 705/35, 4554561-457
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/3224 Transactions dependent on location of M-devices
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/352 Contactless payments by cards
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0261 based on user location
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/02 Services making use of location information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/021 Services related to particular areas, e.g. point of interest [POI] services, venue services or geofences
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/023 using mutual or relative location information between multiple location based services [LBS] targets or of distance thresholds
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/029 Location-based management or tracking services

Abstract

A method includes receiving a request for a list of nearby user devices, where the list of nearby user devices will be sent to a merchant device, where the merchant device is associated with a merchant, where the merchant operates a plurality of merchant devices, and where the merchant device is included in the plurality of merchant devices; receiving a respective location for one or more user devices, where each user device is associated with the merchant; determining, for each of the one or more user devices, whether the user device is nearby the merchant device, based on the respective location, to the merchant device than the other merchant devices in the plurality of merchant devices; generating the list of nearby user devices based at least on the determination; and sending the list of nearby user devices to the merchant device.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

receiving, from a merchant device associated with a merchant, a request for a list of nearby user devices, wherein the merchant operates a plurality of merchant devices including the merchant device and one or more other merchant devices;

receiving, from a user device, an indication of consent to perform a cardless payment transaction with the merchant;

receiving, from the user device, a current geolocation of the user device;

determining, based at least in part on the current geolocation of the user device, whether the user device is geographically closer to the merchant device than to the one or more other merchant devices in the plurality of merchant devices;

generating the list of nearby user devices based at least in part on the determining; and

sending the list of nearby user devices to the merchant device.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein, responsive to determining that the user device is geographically closer to the merchant device than to the one or more other merchant devices in the plurality of merchant devices, the list of nearby user devices includes the user device.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein, responsive to determining that the user device is geographically closer to at least one of the one or more other merchant devices than the merchant device, the list of nearby user devices does not include the user device.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein, responsive to determining that the user device is similarly distant, within a threshold margin, from the merchant device and from at least one of the one or more other merchant devices, the list of nearby user devices includes the user device.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the user device is a mobile device.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the current geolocation of the user device is determined based at least in part on global positioning system (GPS) information.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the receiving the current geolocation of the user device occurs after the receiving the indication of consent to perform the cardless payment transaction with the merchant.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the receiving the request for a list of nearby user devices is performed by one or more computing devices of a payment service system, and the one or more computing devices are configured to process payments for multiple merchants including the merchant.

9. A system comprising:

a processor; and

computer-readable medium coupled to the processor and having instructions stored thereon, which, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to perform operations comprising;

receiving, from a merchant device associated with a merchant, a request for a list of nearby user devices, wherein the merchant operates a plurality of merchant devices including the merchant device and one or more other merchant devices;

receiving, from a user device, an indication of consent to perform a cardless payment transaction with the merchant;

receiving, from the user device, a current geolocation of the user device;

determining, based at least in part on the current geolocation of the user device, whether the user device is geographically closer to the merchant device than to the one or more other merchant devices in the plurality of merchant devices;

generating the list of nearby user devices based at least in part on the determining; and

sending the list of nearby user devices to the merchant device.

10. The system of claim 9, wherein, responsive to determining that the user device is geographically closer to the merchant device than to the one or more other merchant devices in the plurality of merchant devices, the list of nearby user devices includes the user device.

11. The system of claim 9, wherein, responsive to determining that the user device is geographically closer to at least one of the one or more other merchant devices than the merchant device, the list of nearby user devices does not include the user device.

12. The system of claim 9, wherein, responsive to determining that the user device is similarly distant, within a threshold margin, from the merchant device and from at least one of the one or more other merchant devices, the list of nearby user devices includes the user device.

13. The system of claim 9, wherein the user device is a mobile device, and the current geolocation of the user device is determined based at least in part on one or more of cellphone data or wireless network data.

14. The system of claim 9, wherein the current geolocation of the user device is determined based at least in part on global positioning system (GPS) information.

15. A computer-readable storage medium having instructions stored thereon, which, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to perform operations comprising:

receiving, from a merchant device associated with a merchant, a request for a list of nearby user devices, wherein the merchant operates a plurality of merchant devices including the merchant device and one or more other merchant devices;

receiving, from a user device, an indication of consent to perform a cardless payment transaction with the merchant;

receiving, from the user device, a current geolocation of the user device;

determining, based at least in part on the current geolocation of the user device, whether the user device is geographically closer to the merchant device than to the one or more other merchant devices in the plurality of merchant devices;

generating the list of nearby user devices based at least in part on the determining; and

sending the list of nearby user devices to the merchant device.

16. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 15, wherein, responsive to determining that the user device is geographically closer to the merchant device than to the one or more other merchant devices in the plurality of merchant devices, the list of nearby user devices includes the user device.

17. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 15, wherein, responsive to determining that the user device is geographically closer to at least one of the one or more other merchant devices than the merchant device, the list of nearby user devices does not include the user device.

18. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 15, wherein, responsive to determining that the user device is similarly distant, within a threshold margin, from the merchant device and from at least one of the one or more other merchant devices, the list of nearby user devices includes the user device.

19. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 15, wherein the current geolocation of the user device is determined based at least in part on global positioning system (GPS) information.

20. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 15, wherein the receiving the request for a list of nearby user devices is performed by one or more computing devices of a payment service system, and the one or more computing devices are configured to process payments for multiple merchants including the merchant.