Patent Publication Number: US-2017352086-A1

Title: Method and system for an intelligent mobile device triggered terminal

Description:
FIELD OF INVENTION 
     This invention generally relates to a system of devices, including point-of-sale devices, mobile devices of users, and cloud storage of user profiles, that provide intelligence to purchasing recommendations. 
     BACKGROUND 
     A key area in retail markets is to understand the customer in terms of spending patterns, preferences and inferred attributes. Several solutions exist in the market providing limited functionality to understand the customer. One of the shortfalls is terminals at merchants or devices such as ATMs have not been updated to participate in the spending patterns and recommendations. In addition, due to the popularity of cloud storage, many solutions rely on the cloud infrastructure as an intermediary and do not provide a direct communication between the devices. 
     SUMMARY 
     Aspects of the invention include methods and systems to create a data packet structure that is transmitted directly between two devices (e.g., user&#39;s mobile device and POS or ATM terminal) without the need to have a cloud or remote storage or server as an intermediary. In one embodiment, a system may first create a customer profile for a customer in a remote server or in a remote distributed computing environment, such as cloud storage and cloud processing. In this fashion, the customer profile may include at least purchase history, purchase preferences, and purchase habits, etc., of the customer. In one embodiment, the customer profile may be encrypted. Once the customer profile has been established, the embodiments of the invention may further install a copy or version of the customer profile on a mobile device of the customer. This version of the profile may be regularly synchronized with the version of the profile in the cloud storage such that both versions are current. 
     Once the version of the profile is instantiated on the mobile device of the customer, aspects of the invention may collect and monitor data based on the customer&#39;s interactive activities, such as purchasing habits, patterns, preferences, etc., on the mobile device. In one embodiment, the version of the profile stored on the mobile device may be stored in a secured portion of the device or in a secured manner through encryption, etc. For example, aspects of the invention may install cookies or other tracking notes or mechanisms, of course being mindful about customer&#39;s privacy issues, to accomplish this collection of data. In one embodiment, profile data collection or updates may be triggered by interactional events, including browsing events, intent to purchase events, actual transaction or purchase events, linked social media activity events (e.g., sharing of products), etc. In another embodiment, the customer may also review the collected data in the profile. In a further embodiment, the user may further modify or change the presentation or organization of the data, such as according to a timeline or deciding to remove or keep them. Embodiments of the invention may further analyze the collected data stored as part of the profile. 
     As the data continues to build in the profile, the system according to aspects of the invention may also enable the mobile device to communicate directly with the terminals, such as point-of-sale (POS), kiosk, or ATM terminals, to further pass the profile data from the version stored in the mobile device along such that the terminals may intelligently provide additional purchasing incentives, recommendations, suggestions, or purchase offers to the customers upon using the terminals. For examples, the data may be presented or converted to a data packet structured according to embodiments of the invention as an exemplary metadata matrix that will be packaged for transmission via wireless networking protocols, such as Bluetooth, RFID, NFC, etc. to the POS or ATM terminals. 
     Upon receiving such packaged data in the terminals, which may be triggered by the mobile device, the terminals may provide intelligent offers or potential purchasing incentives to the customer near or at the terminals. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The invention may be better understood by references to the detailed description when considered in connection with the accompanying drawings. The components in the figures may not necessarily be to scale, emphasis instead being placed upon illustrating the principles of the invention. In the figures, like reference numerals designate corresponding parts throughout the different views. 
         FIG. 1  illustrates an overview of a system of an intelligent mobile device triggered terminal according to one embodiment of the invention; 
         FIG. 2  illustrates a diagram of interactions of a user profile on a mobile device of a user according to one embodiment of the invention; 
         FIG. 3  illustrates a diagram of interactions between a mobile device, a cloud server, and one or more triggered devices according to one embodiment of the invention; 
         FIG. 4  illustrates a diagram of exemplary data structure of a user profile according to one embodiment of the invention; 
         FIG. 5  illustrates a flow chart of a method of an intelligent mobile device triggered terminal according to one embodiment of the invention; 
         FIG. 6  is an illustration of a portable computing device suitable for aspects of the invention; and 
         FIG. 7  is an illustration of a server computing device suitable for aspects of the invention. 
     
    
    
     Persons of ordinary skill in the art may appreciate that elements in the figures are illustrated for simplicity and clarity so not all connections and options have been shown to avoid obscuring the inventive aspects. For example, common but well-understood elements that are useful or necessary in a commercially feasible embodiment may often not be depicted in order to facilitate a less obstructed view of these various embodiments of the present disclosure. It will be further appreciated that certain actions and/or steps may be described or depicted in a particular order of occurrence while those skilled in the art will understand that such specificity with respect to sequence is not actually required. It will also be understood that the terms and expressions used herein may be defined with respect to their corresponding respective areas of inquiry and study except where specific meanings have otherwise been set forth herein. 
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     The present invention may now be described more fully with reference to the accompanying drawings, which form a part hereof, and which show, by way of illustration, specific exemplary embodiments by which the invention may be practiced. These illustrations and exemplary embodiments may be presented with the understanding that the present disclosure is an exemplification of the principles of one or more inventions and may not be intended to limit any one of the inventions to the embodiments illustrated. The invention may be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein; rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of the invention to those skilled in the art. Among other things, the present invention may be embodied as methods, systems, computer readable media, apparatuses, or devices. Accordingly, the present invention may take the form of an entirely hardware embodiment, an entirely software embodiment, or an embodiment combining software and hardware aspects. The following detailed description may, therefore, not to be taken in a limiting sense. 
     Referring now to  FIG. 1 , an overview of a system of an intelligent mobile device triggered terminal according to one embodiment of the invention may be illustrated. In one embodiment, a system  100  may include one cloud server or service  106  connected or coupled to an online portal  104  and a remote storage unit  110 . In one embodiment, the system  100  may include a cluster of cloud servers or services  106  that may not be limited to one physical location but are connected in distributed network sense. In another embodiment, the cloud server or services are connected via the 
     Internet or other kinds of computer networks. 
     The cloud server or service  106  may be in constant network communications and connections with the online portal  104  and the remote storage unit  110 . According to aspects of the invention, a user  102  may wish to enjoy a service of seamless connectivity between devices in his purchasing routine across different devices. Many approaches have been proposed but the approaches may center around providing a universal experience using a central depository of information and pushing the information to different devices. However, the central depository approach may generate delay and redundancy when information source is created from individual devices. 
     Embodiments of the invention may propose an approach by providing a device triggered approach, such as using a mobile device  112 . Aspects of the invention may enable the user  102  to visit the online portal  104  to register (e.g., creating a login using a variety of mechanisms) and create a user profile  108 . This approach at least improves the functionality of the mobile device, the triggered device, etc., because the data involved is substantially and immediately available from the mobile device or the triggered device. The need to retrieve information from remote cloud server for the same data is lessened. This may create a better and richer experience for the user. 
     In one embodiment, the user  102  may visit the online portal  104  via the mobile device  112  or any other device that is capable of displaying or providing information of the online portal  104  to the user  102 . For example, the user  102  may use his or her own home desktop or laptop, work desktop or laptop, etc., to visit the online portal  104 . In one example, the mobile device  112  includes a cellular phone, a smartphone, a smart watch, a smart wristband, a pair of “smart” glasses, a tablet, etc. In another example, the mobile device  112  may not need to be mobile as the device could also be one&#39;s computer that does not typically move, relative to a mobile phone or a smartphone. This user profile  108  may include a data structure storing user transaction information. For example, the data structure of the user profile  108  may include information or data such as credit card information, contact information (e.g., phone number, addresses, email addresses, date of birth, name, etc.), loyalty program information, affiliated program information, preferred program status information, purchase history, purchase preferences, and purchase habits, etc. In addition, the data structure of the user profile  108  may store information such as mobile device information as well as session information (to be further discussed below). As such, the user profile  108  may be considered as a “virtual card” for the user. It is to be understood that other transactional information may be included without departing from the spirit and the scope of the invention. As such, the data structure of the user profile  108  may include and define data fields for storing the information or data described above. 
     Once the user  102  created the user profile  108 , the cloud server or service  106  may store a copy of the user profile  108  on the remote storage unit  110 . Next, the user  102  may be directed to download an app or a program to the mobile device. In response to the download, the user  102  may log into the app using credentials created when the user  102  first creates the user profile  108  via the online portal  104 . The user  102  may create a user profile  114 , which may include the similar data structure as the user profile  108  with the defined data fields. In fact, the user profile  108  and the user profile  114  may frequently synchronize the information stored such as to update the data structure or profile executable instructions. In another embodiment, the synchronization may synchronize the user profile  108  partially, depending on the changes or differences between the last synchronization. In one example, the user profile  114  may include session information related to the mobile device  112 . In one embodiment, the user  102  may not need to download an app or a program to create the user profile  114 . In this example, the user profile  114  may be independently stored or created based on the operating system of the mobile device  112 . For example, Microsoft Windows, Apple iOS operating system, Android mobile operating system, etc., may allow group policies or profiles to be stored and used without an additional app downloaded. For example, the user  102  may visit the online portal  104  and upon authenticating the credentials, the online portal  104  may push the user profile  114  to be instantiated on the mobile device  112 . 
     Embodiments of the invention may enable the user profile  114  to collect and store additional information about the user  102  on the mobile device  112 . For example, the user profile  114  may include executable instructions or codes to activate or energize different pieces of the hardware of the mobile device or different apps or pieces of software of the mobile device  112 . As another example, the user profile  114  may enable codes, configured for execution by a processor of the mobile device  112 , to monitor or track online activities of the user  102 . In yet another example, the executable instructions or codes may enable the processor of the mobile device  112  to read cookies or other log files stored on the mobile device  112  to identify the interaction information. The interaction information may include, but not limited to, browsing activities, social networking activities, browsing content activities, etc. Additionally, the user profile  114  may receive information from different pieces of hardware of the mobile device  112 , such as the GPS sensor, cellular signal sensor, heart rate monitor sensor, Bluetooth sensor, NFC sensor, etc. In the example where the mobile device  112  is a smart watch, the data structure of the user profile  114  may further include optional data fields for storing notifications sent and received between the smart watch and the smartphone or another mobile device that is coupled or connected therewith. As such, the user profile  114  may be in some circumstances be loaded as a bootloader payload for the processor of the mobile device  112  to execute. 
     In either instance, the executable codes or instructions to be executed by the processor of the mobile device may analyze the activities of the user  102  and store information in the data structure of the user profile  114  of the user  102  to identify a set of transactional behaviors or patterns of the user  102 . During this process, the user profile  114  may periodically synchronize with the user profile  108 . Additionally, as described above, the user profile  114  may include data fields for storing the session information of the mobile device  112 . In one example, the session information may include time information and the state information of activities of the mobile device  112 . As an illustration and not as a limitation, the session information may include one or more web pages the user  102  is viewing or has viewed, one or more of apps opened in the mobile device  112 , time the user  102  spends on viewing the one or more web pages, content of the one or more web pages, etc. 
     As such, embodiments of the invention may build or construct a data-rich user profile  114  to enable the mobile device  112  to use when the mobile device  112  triggers other devices in an interactive fashion. 
     It is also understandable that the privacy of the user  102  may be important. As such, in one embodiment, the user  102  may review the user profile  114  to determine whether certain information or data should be stored or monitored. Embodiments of the invention may provide the user profile  114  in a user-friendly rendering or format such that the user  102  could use gesture-like control or graphical user interface (GUI) to configure, modify, or review the information in the user profile  114 . This approach of embodiments of the invention overrides the routine and conventional sequence of events as other approaches frequent hide the information and use the cloud storage to shield direct access by the user. In another embodiment, the user  102  may also determine how often the user profile  114  synchronize with the user profile  108 . 
     It is also understood that the mobile device  112  may include limited storage space for storing the user profile  114  and other data or information, such as apps or the operating system of the mobile device  112 . Therefore, the user profile  114  may include options, settings or configurations to enable the user  102  to decide how much information is stored on the mobile device  112 . In an example, the user profile  114  may, after collecting the information or data in temporary storage, synchronize with the user profile  108  before removing the information or data to save memory storage of the mobile device  112 . 
     Referring now to  FIG. 2 , a diagram may illustrate interactions between a user profile on a mobile device of a user and a triggered or target device according to one embodiment of the invention. As described above, the user profile  114  may be stored and instantiated on the mobile device  112  and may gather and collect transactional information of the user  102  based on the interaction activities of the user  102  on the mobile device  112 . The following example further illustrates, not as a limitation, aspects of the invention that may be part of triggering interactions between the mobile device  112  and a triggered device  202 . These triggering interactions also may cause the user profile  114  to be updated, but not necessarily synchronized with the cloud server  106 . In one embodiment, the synchronization of the user profile  114  and user profile  108  and the update of the user profile  114  by a triggering interaction may be simultaneous in response to a specific triggering interaction. For example, a specific and explicit user instruction or an account reset may just be a small set of example of such triggering interaction. 
     Suppose the user  102  interacts with the mobile device  112  while commuting to work. The interactions may include browsing news stories, reviewing email messages and updating the social network pages of the user  102 . One of the interactions may include a series of messages received from a family member of the user  102  regarding a purchase of a certain item. In response to the series of messages, the user  102  may start searching for and surfing the Internet for identifying deals or sales as an indication or a desire to purchase the item. Around the same time, the user  102  may have exited the public transportation system to go to a nearby ATM terminal. These action may be recorded or collected in the user profile  114  through the GPS sensor or chip and/or cellular data usage along with looking up nearby locations of ATM terminals by the user  102  on a browser or a search engine. 
     As indicated above, the user profile  114  may include information such as the session information of the interactive activities of the user  102 . As such, a session associated with the search for the item may be stored in the user profile  114 . Another session for the ATM locations on the search engine may be stored in the user profile  114  as well. 
     In one embodiment, the triggered device  202  may be the ATM terminal. Using the example above, the user  102  may approach the triggered device  202  to retrieve cash, check balances, fund transfer, bill pay, or any other transactions that are offered by the triggered device  202 . According to embodiments of the invention, the triggered device  202  and the mobile device  112  may both include connectivity hardware devices that enable wireless connections. In this example, the mobile device  112  and the triggered device  202  may include wireless chips or pieces of hardware that are capable of communicating with another device or each other based on wireless networking protocols, such as Bluetooth, RFID, NFC, etc. These wireless networking protocols may incorporate aspects of geofensing and proximity locational information based on signal strength transmitted or received to or from the devices. As such, using the example of the user  102  of approaching the ATM terminal, as the user  102  approaches the triggered device  202 , the approach may be treated as a triggering event. As such, the wireless hardware within the mobile device  112  may be attempting to communicate with the triggered device  202  once the mobile device  112  and the triggered device  202  are within a zone of connectivity  204 . It is to be understood that the zone of connectivity  204  shown in  FIG. 2  may be a simplified illustration, and not a limitation, of the reach of the signals of the wireless devices. 
     Based on the specifications of the particular wireless networking protocols, the mobile device  112  and the triggered device  202  may negotiate a connection. The mobile device  112  may display a message, vibrate in a specific pattern, produce audio alerts, or a combination of the above or other techniques to inform or alert the user  102  that the mobile device  112  is attempting to connect with the triggered device  202 . In one embodiment, a user interface (UI)  206  may be coupled to the triggered device  202  that also displays a message or plays an audio message to inform the user that the mobile device  112  wishes to establish a connection. The user  102  may be given an opportunity to confirm or deny the connection. In one embodiment, as part of protecting the privacy of the user  102 , a lack of response to either of the alerts on the mobile device  112  or the triggered device  202  may be interpreted as a denial of the connection. 
     In the event that the user  102  confirms the connection, the mobile device  112  may access the user profile  114  and send a data packet  208  to the triggered device  202  in response to the confirmed connection. In this example, due to the fact that the triggered device  202  is an ATM terminal, the data packet  208  transmitted to the triggered device  202  may include information relating to the interactive activities of attempting to purchase the item as well as the session information. The triggered device  202 , which also may include a processor and a memory storage, may receive this data packet  208  and the processor may execute instructions to process the data packet  208 . In one embodiment, the data packet  208  may include bootloader instructions such that the processor of the triggered device  202  may execute the instructions in addition to the system or the software of the triggered device  202 . For example, the data packet  208  may be received as a payload for the execution by the processor such that the upon further verification, the processor of the triggered device  202  may provide UI for the user  102  to interact therewith. 
     Upon receiving the data packet  208 , the triggered device  202  may process the data and information contained in the data packet  208 . In response to processing, the triggered device  202  may provide information to the UI  206  to the user  102  for further interaction. 
     Using the example described above regarding the user who was searching or surfing the Internet for an item before heading to an ATM terminal, the data packet  208  from the mobile device  112  of the user  102  may be transmitted to the eligible or compatible ATM terminal (i.e., a triggered device  202  having compatible hardware parts). The ATM terminal, upon processing the data packet  208 , may still prompt the user  102  to operate the ATM terminal, such as inserting a debit card or a credit card of the user  102  to the ATM terminal before entering PIN codes of the corresponding debit card or the credit card. Upon a successful authentication, the ATM terminal, in addition to displaying or rendering the standard operational menu options (such as withdrawal, deposit, check balances, etc.), may display or render data based on the data packet  208 . That is, the ATM terminal may display or render a set of continuity information such as: 
     (a) “If you wish to purchase the item you were looking for, you may wish to withdraw an additional amount of ______.” Or 
     (b) “Good news, you will receive a promotional discount for purchasing the item you were looking for by using your debit card! Please click here for more information.” Or 
     (c) “Great news, you may redeem reward points in your checking account for purchasing the item you were looking for at this store ______ using your debit card.” Or 
     (d) “Buy the item at the online store of ______ using your debit card and receive a 10% discount!” 
     Embodiments of the invention may enable the ATM terminal to provide the set of continuity information as a function of the data packet  208  that is processed, such as the session information and the browsing history therein to give a “connected” experience to the user  102 . The continuity information provided by the triggered device  202  or the ATM terminal may be more than the raw data provided from the data packet  208 . In the example above, the continuity information may include recommendations or suggestions based on the information in the data packet  208 . 
     In another embodiment, the ATM terminal or another triggered device  202  may, in composing the continuity information, supplement the processing of the data packet  208  by connecting to the Internet separately. In this example, the ATM terminal may additionally search information based on the data or information from the data packet  208 . For instance, the ATM terminal may retrieve product ratings or pricing comparison information on the UI  206  for the user  102  to review or consider as part of the continuity information. In another embodiment, the ATM terminal may retrieve information or the latest offerings of a loyalty program if the data packet  208  includes the user&#39;s information of the loyalty program. 
     In another example, the user  102  may not be visiting the ATM terminal but a store with one or more cash register or Point-of-Sale (POS) terminals. In this example, for those cash register terminals having compatible hardware parts, the mobile device  112  of the user  102  may interact therewith in a similar fashion as the ATM terminal example above. In other words, in response to the mobile device  112  of the user  102  being in a range of connectivity, the mobile device  112  and the POS terminal may exchange the data packet  208  to provide the set of continuity information as a rich experience for the user  102 . This experience is similar to having a halo or a field of connectivity centered around the mobile device  112  of the user  102 . It may be dynamic and constantly refreshed due to the user&#39;s activities and interactions on the mobile device  112 . Unlike previous approaches of waiting for the remote server to push the information to the different devices, aspects of the invention may enable the mobile device  112  to push the data packet  208  to the relevant triggered devices  202  in response to the user&#39;s activities and the different triggering events. 
       FIG. 3  may illustrate a diagram of interactions between a mobile device, a cloud server, and one or more triggered or target devices according to one embodiment of the invention. For example,  FIG. 3  may illustrate an exemplary data flow diagram showing data flow among the mobile device  112 , the cloud server or services  106 , and the triggered device  202 . In another embodiment and as previously described, the triggered device  202  may optionally receive additional information from the cloud server or services  106  or supplemental information from an additional source  302 . In one example, the additional source  302  may be the Internet, a memory storage of the triggered device, and other networked informational source. 
       FIG. 4  may illustrate a diagram of exemplary data structure of a user profile according to one embodiment of the invention. In one example, a data structure  400  may include a data field  402  for storing mobile device identification. This data field  402  may be of formats that are known, such as alphanumerical format, text string format, etc., of 8-bit, 16-bit or any other unit. In one embodiment, the data field  402  may be hashed or encrypted. The data structure  400  may further include a data field for storing synchronization status of the user profile  114  or  108 . In another embodiment, the data structure  400  may include a data field  406  for storing session information of the mobile device  112 . In one example and not as a limitation, the session information may include time stamps, state of the mobile device  112  with information such as geographical data, battery data, browser state, app state, state information of the wireless devices of the mobile device  112 . The data structure  400  may further include a data field  408  for storing interactivity information. In one example and not as a limitation, the interactivity information may include information about/from cookies, information about/from browsing histories, information about/from page cache, information about/from app cache, information about/from wireless devices of the mobile device  112 , loyalty program information of the user, payment information of the user, and/or information about/from other parts of the mobile device  112 . It is to be understood that the interactivity information may also include information about/from the mobile device  112  relating to the interactive activities that an manufacturer of the mobile device  112  may collect from the user  102  for various purposes, such as diagnostic or enhancement purposes. The data structure  400  further may include a data field  410  for storing profile executable instructions or codes. The profile executable instructions or codes may include a collection of computer executable instructions for processing information stored in the data structure  400 , and computer executable instructions for operating or activating devices or parts of the mobile device  112 . In another embodiment, the data field  410  may store the computer executable instructions to monitor or track triggering events. In another embodiment, the profile executable instructions may be pushed, updated, or provided by the cloud server or services  106  when the user profile  114  is synchronized with the user profile  108 . 
     It is to be understood that the data fields  402  to  410  may include other properties. It is also to be understood that each of the data fields in the data structure  400  may be further segmented or divided into different units to meet the storage needs. In addition, the data structure  400  needs not limited to a single file. It may be compressed file or a cab file that may be uncompressed by the processor(s) at the mobile device  112 , the cloud server or services  106 , or the triggered device  202 . In another embodiment, the data structure  400  may include additional data fields without departing from the scope or spirit of the invention. In another embodiment, the data structure  400  may include metadata and may present the information as metadata matrix using a structured format (e.g., XML), an unstructured format (e.g., TXT file), or a combination of the two. 
       FIG. 5  may illustrate a flow chart of a computerized method of an intelligent mobile device triggered terminal according to one embodiment of the invention. At  502 , the method may provide a mobile version of a user profile to be instantiated on a mobile device operable by the user. For example, the method may provide the mobile version in response to a user&#39;s request to establish an account. As previously described, a version of the user profile may be stored on the mobile device and another version of the profile may be stored on a remote data store. At  504 , the method may periodically synchronize the mobile version to the remote version. In this example, the synchronization schedule may be predetermined or dynamic. In one embodiment, the method further may update the mobile version of the user profile in response to one or more triggering interactions. At  506 , the method may periodically detect one or more triggering events. As discussed above, the triggering event may include the mobile device detecting a triggered device capable of receiving data packets from the mobile device. 
     At  508 , it may be determined whether the triggering event has been detected. If the determination is positive, the method may proceed to  510  to connect to the triggered device and transmit a data packet to the triggered device. If the determination is negative, the method may return to  506 . At  512 , the triggered device, which may be caused by the profile executable instructions in the data packet, may process the data packet. At  514 , the method may cause the triggered device to provide a set of continuity information to the user to interact on the triggered device. 
     In another embodiment, the computerized method described in connection with  FIG. 5  may be provided or pushed by the cloud server or services  106 . In such an embodiment, the cloud server or services  106  may be a transaction server capable of processing payment transactions or electronic commerce transactions. As such, the transaction server may push executable instructions to the user profile as part of payload for execution by the mobile device or the triggered device. 
       FIG. 6  may be a high level illustration of a portable computing device  801  communicating with a remote computing device  841  but the application may be stored and accessed in a variety of ways. In addition, the application may be obtained in a variety of ways such as from an app store, from a web site, from a store Wi-Fi system, etc. There may be various versions of the application to take advantage of the benefits of different computing devices, different languages and different API platforms. 
     In one embodiment, a portable computing device  801  may be a mobile device  112  that operates using a portable power source  855  such as a battery. The portable computing device  801  may also have a display  802  which may or may not be a touch sensitive display. More specifically, the display  802  may have a capacitance sensor, for example, that may be used to provide input data to the portable computing device  801 . In other embodiments, an input pad  804  such as arrows, scroll wheels, keyboards, etc., may be used to provide inputs to the portable computing device  801 . In addition, the portable computing device  801  may have a microphone  806  which may accept and store verbal data, a camera  808  to accept images and a speaker  810  to communicate sounds. 
     The portable computing device  801  may be able to communicate with a computing device  841  or a plurality of computing devices  841  that make up a cloud of computing devices  811 . The portable computing device  801  may be able to communicate in a variety of ways. In some embodiments, the communication may be wired such as through an Ethernet cable, a USB cable or RJ6 cable. In other embodiments, the communication may be wireless such as through Wi-Fi (802.11 standard), Bluetooth, cellular communication or near field communication devices. The communication may be direct to the computing device  841  or may be through a communication network  102  such as cellular service, through the Internet, through a private network, through Bluetooth, etc.  FIG. 6  may be a simplified illustration of the physical elements that make up a portable computing device  801  and  FIG. 7  may be a simplified illustration of the physical elements that make up a server type computing device  841 . 
       FIG. 6  may be a sample portable computing device  801  that is physically configured according to be part of the system. The portable computing device  801  may have a processor  850  that is physically configured according to computer executable instructions. It may have a portable power supply  855  such as a battery which may be rechargeable. It may also have a sound and video module  860  which assists in displaying video and sound and may turn off when not in use to conserve power and battery life. The portable computing device  801  may also have volatile memory  865  and non-volatile memory  870 . It may have GPS capabilities  880  that may be a separate circuit or may be part of the processor  850 . There also may be an input/output bus  875  that shuttles data to and from the various user input devices such as the microphone  806 , the camera  808  and other inputs, such as the input pad  804 , the display  802 , and the speakers  810 , etc. It also may control of communicating with the networks, either through wireless or wired devices. Of course, this is just one embodiment of the portable computing device  801  and the number and types of portable computing devices  801  is limited only by the imagination. 
     As a result of the system, better information may be provided to a user at a point of sale. The information may be user specific and may be required to be over a threshold of relevance. As a result, users may make better informed decisions. The system is more than just speeding a process but uses a computing system to achieve a better outcome. 
     The physical elements that make up the remote computing device  841  may be further illustrated in  FIG. 7 . At a high level, the computing device  841  may include a digital storage such as a magnetic disk, an optical disk, flash storage, non-volatile storage, etc. Structured data may be stored in the digital storage such as in a database. The server  841  may have a processor  1000  that is physically configured according to computer executable instructions. It may also have a sound and video module  1005  which assists in displaying video and sound and may turn off when not in use to conserve power and battery life. The server  841  may also have volatile memory  1010  and non-volatile memory  1015 . 
     The database  1025  may be stored in the memory  1010  or  1015  or may be separate. The database  1025  may also be part of a cloud of computing device  841  and may be stored in a distributed manner across a plurality of computing devices  841 . There also may be an input/output bus  1020  that shuttles data to and from the various user input devices such as the microphone  806 , the camera  808 , the inputs such as the input pad  804 , the display  802 , and the speakers  810 , etc. The input/output bus  1020  also may control of communicating with the networks, either through wireless or wired devices. In some embodiments, the application may be on the local computing device  801  and in other embodiments, the application may be remote  841 . Of course, this is just one embodiment of the server  841  and the number and types of portable computing devices  841  is limited only by the imagination. 
     The claimed system and method may address several technical problems and challenges, some of which are described. Currently, entering potential sensitive data across networks makes users nervous to the point that a sale may be lost or money or time saving tips or coupons may not be received. By using a proprietary network such as a payment network, to transfer potentially sensitive data, security may be higher and users may be more open to joining additional beneficial programs. Similarly, moving data from one payment system to another loyalty system has felt risky to some users, but by using a proprietary, trusted network, the data may be communicated in a more trustworthy fashion. In addition, formatting data and communicating data in a manner which may be understood by a variety of additional programs is a technical challenge or problem which the system and method has addressed. 
     The user devices, computers and servers described herein may be general purpose computers that may have, among other elements, a microprocessor (such as from the Intel Corporation, AMD or Motorola); volatile and non-volatile memory; one or more mass storage devices (i.e., a hard drive); various user input devices, such as a mouse, a keyboard, or a microphone; and a video display system. The user devices, computers and servers described herein may be running on any one of many operating systems including, but not limited to WINDOWS, UNIX, LINUX, MAC OS, or Windows (XP, VISTA, etc.). It is contemplated, however, that any suitable operating system may be used for the present invention. The servers may be a cluster of web servers, which may each be LINUX based and supported by a load balancer that decides which of the cluster of web servers should process a request based upon the current request-load of the available server(s). 
     The user devices, computers and servers described herein may communicate via networks, including the Internet, WAN, LAN, Wi-Fi, other computer networks (now known or invented in the future), and/or any combination of the foregoing. It should be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art having the present specification, drawings, and claims before them that networks may connect the various components over any combination of wired and wireless conduits, including copper, fiber optic, microwaves, and other forms of radio frequency, electrical and/or optical communication techniques. It should also be understood that any network may be connected to any other network in a different manner. The interconnections between computers and servers in system are examples. Any device described herein may communicate with any other device via one or more networks. 
     The example embodiments may include additional devices and networks beyond those shown. Further, the functionality described as being performed by one device may be distributed and performed by two or more devices. Multiple devices may also be combined into a single device, which may perform the functionality of the combined devices. 
     The various participants and elements described herein may operate one or more computer apparatuses to facilitate the functions described herein. Any of the elements in the above-described Figures, including any servers, user devices, or databases, may use any suitable number of subsystems to facilitate the functions described herein. 
     Any of the software components or functions described in this application, may be implemented as software code or computer readable instructions that may be executed by at least one processor using any suitable computer language such as, for example, Java, C++, or Perl using, for example, conventional or object-oriented techniques. 
     The software code may be stored as a series of instructions or commands on a non-transitory computer readable medium, such as a random access memory (RAM), a read only memory (ROM), a magnetic medium such as a hard-drive or a floppy disk, or an optical medium such as a CD-ROM. Any such computer readable medium may reside on or within a single computational apparatus and may be present on or within different computational apparatuses within a system or network. 
     It may be understood that the present invention as described above may be implemented in the form of control logic using computer software in a modular or integrated manner. Based on the disclosure and teachings provided herein, a person of ordinary skill in the art may know and appreciate other ways and/or methods to implement the present invention using hardware, software, or a combination of hardware and software. 
     The above description is illustrative and is not restrictive. Many variations of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon review of the disclosure. The scope of the invention should, therefore, be determined not with reference to the above description, but instead should be determined with reference to the pending claims along with their full scope or equivalents. 
     One or more features from any embodiment may be combined with one or more features of any other embodiment without departing from the scope of the invention. A recitation of “a”, “an” or “the” is intended to mean “one or more” unless specifically indicated to the contrary. Recitation of “and/or” is intended to represent the most inclusive sense of the term unless specifically indicated to the contrary. 
     One or more of the elements of the present system may be claimed as means for accomplishing a particular function. Where such means-plus-function elements are used to describe certain elements of a claimed system it will be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art having the present specification, figures and claims before them, that the corresponding structure is a general purpose computer, processor, or microprocessor (as the case may be) programmed to perform the particularly recited function using functionality found in any general purpose computer without special programming and/or by implementing one or more algorithms to achieve the recited functionality. As would be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art that algorithm may be expressed within this disclosure as a mathematical formula, a flow chart, a narrative, and/or in any other manner that provides sufficient structure for those of ordinary skill in the art to implement the recited process and its equivalents. 
     While the present disclosure may be embodied in many different forms, the drawings and discussion are presented with the understanding that the present disclosure is an exemplification of the principles of one or more inventions and is not intended to limit any one of the inventions to the embodiments illustrated. 
     The present disclosure provides a solution to the long-felt need described above. In particular, the systems and methods described herein may be configured for improving user transaction systems. Further advantages and modifications of the above described system and method will readily occur to those skilled in the art. The disclosure, in its broader aspects, is therefore not limited to the specific details, representative system and methods, and illustrative examples shown and described above. Various modifications and variations can be made to the above specification without departing from the scope or spirit of the present disclosure, and it is intended that the present disclosure covers all such modifications and variations provided they come within the scope of the following claims and their equivalents.