Patent ID: 7520430
Filing Date: 2009-04-21
Classification: G06Q

Abstract:
1. A method comprising: receiving a first message from a point-of-sale terminal, wherein the receiving the first message comprises intercepting the first message as the first message is being sent from the point-of-sale terminal, and wherein the first message is formatted for transmission via a public switched telephone network (PSTN); preparing a second message based at least in part on the first message; transmitting the second message over a wide area network; providing a client of a merchant with access to the wide area network, wherein the receiving, the preparing, the transmitting, and the providing are performed by a merchant gateway device located on a premises operated by the merchant, and wherein the client is one of a device operated by a customer of the merchant and a device operated by the merchant; and converting the second message into a third message; and sending the third message via the PSTN, wherein the receiving, the preparing, and the transmitting are performed by the merchant gateway device, and wherein the converting and the sending are performed by a PSTN proxy server coupled to the merchant gateway device by the wide area network.