BOSTON, Aug 26, 2016- The methods and systems described herein provide for processing electronic payments at a retail location. Secure payment information for use in processing future payment transactions initiated by a mobile device may be stored at a secure location remote from retail locations. A mobile device of a user may be detected and location determined based at least in part on the strength of a signal via a wireless antennas at the retail location. A determination is made that the mobile device is associated with a user who previously provided payment information for use in processing payment transactions. The mobile device may receive incentives based at least in part on the determined location. A user may complete a payment transaction at the retail location without providing the secure payment information at the retail location.

Cross reference to related appliations

This application continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 14/462,164 filed Aug. 18, 2014, reference of which is hereby incorporated in its entirety.

Background

A transaction at a fuel dispensing station typically requires many steps and sensitive information can be left vulnerable to detection or theft. A customer must interact with a fueling pump and provide sensitive information, such as credit card information, in order to begin and complete the process. The process can be inconvenient and leave the customer's sensitive information vulnerable to detection dependent upon the security infrastructure of the individual fuel dispensing station. Additionally, a merchant may post advertisements and promotions around the fuel dispensing station unsure of which customers will be exposed to them. The advertisements and promotions are targeted towards a general population as opposed to a specific customer.

Summary

The present disclosure is directed towards a virtual (mobile) wallet application for a mobile device to enable the processing of payment transactions. In particular, the system is directed to systems and methods for processing of payment transactions at fuel dispensing stations. The system and methods described herein can allow an end user of a mobile device to locate a nearest fuel dispensing station, authorize transactions, activate fueling stations, and complete payment transactions through the mobile application and without physically providing sensitive payment information, such as a credit card, at the retail location. A user may register and create an account with an online payment processing system via a mobile application. The account may include credit card information and debit card information for use in a future transaction and can be stored on a remote server remotely located from any retail location. When the user wants to buy goods from a store and/or fill-up at a fuel dispensing station, they can log-in to the mobile application to complete all aspects of the transaction. The payment system described herein can identify the location of the mobile device, provide product and fueling options to the mobile device based on the location, activate the fueling location, and deduct the appropriate amount from the pre-registered user account, stored remotely from the retail location. Through these systems and methods, a user can protect sensitive payment information and complete payment transactions without carrying cash and/or credit cards.

It should be understood that any reference to fuel dispensing stations in the present disclosure refers to any and all forms of fuel dispensing stations, including pumping stations and or pump-less stations that dispense any form of fuel, including but not limited to, gasoline, diesel, petroleum, petrol, benzene, biodiesel, kerosene, ethanol, and or blends thereof.

Further, the systems and methods described herein provide a merchant of retail location valuable information to provide different types of loyalty and reward programs specific to a customer. The incentives, promotions, and advertisements can be provided to and displayed on a mobile device of a customer and be targeted to that customer's interests.

In accordance with one embodiment of the present disclosure, a back office server at a retail location may be in communication with a central server and a plurality of point of sale locations to effectuate the processing of payment transactions. The central server may be remotely located from the retail location and facilitate the use of customer loyalty programs, analytics, receipt storage, tracking, and access. The central server may be responsible for communicating with the back office server to authorize, process, and complete payment transactions. The back office server may communicate with a point of sale server to retrieve transaction costs and loyalty program information. The point of sale server may activate a point of sale location in response to receiving authorization from the central server via the back office server.

The back office may detect the presence of one or a plurality of mobility devices within a range of the retail location. A mobile application executing on the mobile device may receive a request to process a payment transaction at a point of sale location. The back office server may facilitate the processing of the payment transaction via the mobile device. The back office may generate and display promotions and advertisements on the mobile device and the point of sale location during the transaction.

In accordance with a further embodiment of the present disclosure, a method for processing payments is provided, the method comprising receiving secure payment information for use in processing future payment transactions initiated by a mobile device; storing secure payment information for the user at a secure location remote from retail locations; determining location information associated with a mobile device based at least in part on the strength of the signal detected by three or more wireless antennas at a retail location; determining that the mobile device is associated with a user who previously provided payment information for use in processing payment transactions; providing, to the mobile device of the user, an incentive based at least in part on the determined location information; receiving, from the mobile device, a request to process a payment transaction at a fuel dispensing location; sending at least a portion of the previously stored secure payment information to a remotely located server for authorization; sending to the fuel dispensing location an authorization for the requested payment transaction that does not include secure payment information; and activating a fuel dispensing station at the fuel dispensing location for use by the user.

In some embodiments, the method further includes identifying an identifier, such as a MAC address, for at least one mobile device within a range of the retail location. In accordance with a further embodiment, the method includes calculating a distance from a point of sale to the at least one mobile device. In some embodiments, the method includes determining a location of the user at the retail location based on the calculated distance and storing the location of the user in a customer record.

In accordance with a further embodiment, the step of determining further includes determining a first set of identifiers, such as MAC addresses for a first set of mobile devices and associating information relating to a first set of payment transactions at a retail location with the first set of MAC addresses and determining a second set of identifiers, such as MAC addresses, of a second set of mobile devices and associating information relating to a second set of payment transactions at a retail location with the second set of identifiers; and determining that a particular identifier (e.g. MAC Address) is associated with the user from whom secure payment information was previously received. In some embodiments, the determinations may be made by comparing information relating to the first set of payment transactions associated with the first set of identifiers with the previously stored information relating to the user in order to identify one or more payment transactions associated with the user; comparing information relating to the second set of payment transactions associated with the second set of identifiers with the previously stored information relating to the user in order to identify one or more payment transactions associated with the user; and identifying an identifier (e.g. MAC Address) associated with the first set and second set of payment transactions associated with the user by identifying the identifier (e.g. MAC address) that is in both the first and second sets of identifiers.

In some embodiments, the method includes determining, based at least in part on a customer record, that the user belongs to a loyalty program and applying loyalty program information to the payment transaction. In some embodiments, a customer may be provided with an incentive via his or her mobile device. An incentive may be any electronic representation of value or enticement capable of being communicated to the customer via a mobile device. In some embodiments, the incentive is a coupon. In some embodiments, the incentive is a coupon that may contain a QR code that may be scanned in order to obtain a discount. In some embodiments the incentive may be a credit to the user's account. In some embodiments, the incentive may be a credit to a customer's account. In some embodiments, the incentive is a discount. In some embodiments, the incentive may be an advertisement. In some embodiments, the incentive may comprise promotional material. In some embodiments, the incentive may be based, at least in part, on information stored in the customer's customer record. In some embodiments, the incentive may be based, at least in part, on a customer's purchase history. In some embodiments, the incentive may be based, at least in part, on a customer's location. In some embodiments, the incentive may be based, at least in part, on a customer's location history. In some embodiments, the incentive is a reminder that the user may use their mobile device to complete the payment utilizing secure payment information previously stored at a secured location remote from retail locations.

In accordance with a further embodiment, the method includes generating promotional information based on at least one of a customer record associated with the user or a current location of the user at the retail location and displaying, to the user, promotional information at a point of sale at the retail location. In some embodiments, the method includes transmitting to the user via the at least one mobile device, promotions for products offered at the retail location. In some embodiments, the method includes transmitting to the user via the at least one mobile device, discounts for purchases made using the at least one mobile device at the retail location.

In accordance with a further embodiment, the method includes receiving information relating to payment transaction at a retail location that was not requested via the user's mobile device, determining a current location at the retail location of the mobile device, and associating information relating to the payment transaction that was not requested via the user's mobile device with the user based at least in part on the determined current location. For example, a customer may walk into a retail location and purchase a product using cash or credit card, rather than via his or her mobile device. In such a situation, the systems and methods of the present disclosure would nonetheless provide for determining a current location of the customer's mobile device and/or and identifier for the mobile device that may be associated with the customer's previously provided account information. In some embodiments, the fuel dispensing location and retail location at which location information was determined are the same location. In some embodiments, the fuel dispensing location and the retail location from which location information was determined are different locations. In some embodiments, the method includes, responsive to determining the location of the user, activating a point of sale location.

In accordance with a further embodiment of the present disclosure, a method for processing payments is provided, the method comprising: receiving, from a user, secure payment information for use in processing future payment transactions initiated by a mobile device; storing secure payment information for the user at a secure location remote from retail locations; detecting MAC addresses for a plurality of mobile devices at a retail location via one or more wireless antennas; determining that at least one mobile device of the plurality of mobile devices is a mobile device of a user based at least in part on the MAC address of the mobile device; providing, to the mobile device of the user, an incentive based at least in part on the determined association between the one mobile device and the user; receiving, from the mobile device, a request to process a payment transaction at a fuel dispensing location; sending at least a portion of the previously stored secure payment information to a remotely located server for authorization; sending to the fuel dispensing location an authorization for the requested payment transaction that does not include secure payment information; and activating s fuel dispensing station at the fuel dispensing location for use by the user.

In accordance with a further embodiment, the step of determining that at least one mobile device of the plurality of mobile devices is the mobile device of the user further includes determining a first set of MAC address of a first set of mobile devices and associating information relating to a first set of payment transactions at a retail location with the first set of MAC addresses, determining a second set of MAC addresses of a second set of mobile devices and associating information relating to a second set of payment transactions at a retail location with the second set of MAC addresses, and determining that a particular MAC address is associated with the user from whom secure payment information was previously received by. In some embodiments, the determination may be made by comparing information relating to the first set of payment transactions associated with the first set of MAC addresses with the previously stored information relating to the user in order to identify one or more payment transactions associated with the user, comparing information relating to the second set of payment transactions associated with the second set of MAC addresses with the previously stored information relating to the user in order to identify one or more payment transactions associated with the user, and identifying a MAC address associated with the first set and second set of payment transactions associated with the user by identifying the MAC address that is in both the first and second sets of MAC addresses.

It should be understood that any portions of the present disclosure that refer “MAC addresses” may alternatively refer to any other form of identifier for a mobile device. For example, any unique identifier, key, or hash that may be assigned to a mobile device and later detected may be utilized in place of a MAC Address. A MAC address (media access control address) is simply an exemplary form of such an identifier that is currently utilized by network connected devices.

In some embodiments, the method further includes comparing the MAC addresses from a current transaction to a customer record comprising MAC addresses from a previous transaction associated with the user, eliminating MAC addresses from the customer record not in both the current transaction and the previous transaction, and linking the remaining MAC addresses to the user in the customer record. In some embodiments, the method includes calculating a distance from a point of sale to the at least one mobile device. In some embodiments, the method includes determining a location of the user at the retail location based on the calculated distance and storing the location of the user at the retail location in a customer record. In some embodiments, the method includes activating the point of sale location.

In accordance with a further embodiment, the method includes determining, based at least in part on a customer record, that the user belongs to a loyalty program and applying loyalty program information to the payment transaction. In some embodiments, the method includes generating promotional information based on at least one of a customer record associated with the user or a current location of the user at the retail location and displaying, to the user, promotional information at a point of sale at the retail location.

In some embodiments, the method includes storing in a customer record at least one of: a MAC address of the at least one mobile device; a purchase history of the user; or point of sale location information. In some embodiments, the method includes transmitting to the user via the at least one mobile device, at least one of promotions for products offered at the retail location or discounts for purchases using the at least one mobile device at the retail location. In some embodiments, the method includes transmitting to the user via the at least one mobile device, discounts for purchases made using the at least one mobile device at the retail location.

In accordance with a further embodiment of the present disclosure a system for processing payments. The system includes at least one processing unit communicatively coupled to a memory unit capable of storing processor-executable instructions, wherein upon execution of the processor-executable instructions. The at least one processing unit: receiving, from a user, secure payment information for use in processing future payment transactions initiated by a mobile device; storing secure payment information for the user at a secure location remote from retail locations; determining location information associated with a mobile device based at least in part on the strength of the signal detected by three or more wireless antennas at a retail location; determining that the mobile device is associated with a user who previously provided payment information for use in processing payment transactions; and providing, to the mobile device of the user, an incentive based at least in part on the determined location information.

The system further includes a determined server comprising at least one processing unit communicatively coupled to a memory unit capable of storing processor-executable instructions. The at least one processing unit: receiving, from the mobile device, a request to process a payment transaction at a fuel dispensing location; sending at least a portion of the previously stored secure payment information to a remotely located server for authorization; sending to the fuel dispensing location an authorization for the requested payment transaction that does not include secure payment information; and activating a fuel dispensing station at the fuel dispensing location for use by the user.

In accordance with a further embodiment of the present disclosure a system for processing payments. The system includes at least one processing unit communicatively coupled to a memory unit capable of storing processor-executable instructions, wherein upon execution of the processor-executable instructions. The at least one processing unit: receiving, from a user, secure payment information for use in processing future payment transactions initiated by a mobile device; storing secure payment information for the user at a secure location remote from retail locations; detecting MAC addresses for a plurality of mobile devices at a retail location via one or more wireless antennas; determining that at least one mobile device of the plurality of mobile devices is a mobile device of a user based at least in part on the MAC address of the mobile device; and providing, to the mobile device of the user, an incentive based at least in part on the determined association between the one mobile device and the user.

The system further includes a determined server comprising at least one processing unit communicatively coupled to a memory unit capable of storing processor-executable instructions. The at least one processing unit: receiving, from the mobile device, a request to process a payment transaction at a fuel dispensing location; sending at least a portion of the previously stored secure payment information to a remotely located server for authorization; sending to the fuel dispensing location an authorization for the requested payment transaction that does not include secure payment information; and activating a fuel dispensing station at the fuel dispensing location for use by the user.

Patent History

Classifications