Patent Publication Number: US-9892401-B2

Title: Transaction completion using identity aggregator

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
     This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/892,280, filed Oct. 17, 2013, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND 
     1. Field of the Disclosure 
     This disclosure relates generally to e-commerce, and in particular to systems and methods for using an identity aggregator to facilitate online transactions. 
     2. Description of the Related Art 
     Online transactions for selling and buying products are becoming commonplace. To facilitate online transactions, merchants provide commerce websites that include products available for purchase and integrate with payment gateways to enable users to purchase the products through the commerce websites. When shopping online via a commerce website, users often create accounts with the website by selecting a user name, entering and verifying an email of the user, entering financial information such as a credit card number or a bank account number, and providing a billing address. A user may log into a user account when the user desires to purchase a product, or the user may enter financial information, billing address, and the like each time the user places an order. 
     While creating an account with an online merchant is more convenient for customers who frequently shop with a particular merchant than re-entering financial information each time the customer desires to make a purchase, many consumers purchase products or services from multiple different merchants. If a consumer creates accounts with each of several merchants, the consumer must remember several different username and password combinations, which can be cumbersome, inconvenient, and prone to security risks, as passwords can be stolen or harvested. Therefore, a need exists for a payment solution that overcomes the disadvantages described above with conventional payment methods. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The disclosed embodiments have other advantages and features which will be more readily apparent from the detailed description, the appended claims, and the accompanying figures (or drawings). A brief introduction of the figures is below. 
         FIG. 1A  illustrates a block diagram of a system for conducting transactions, according to one embodiment. 
         FIG. 1B  is a block diagram illustrating a plurality of computing devices that are communicatively coupled to a distributed storage system, according to one embodiment. 
         FIG. 2A  is a block diagram of a database structure for storing user data, according to one embodiment. 
         FIG. 2B  is a block diagram of a database structure for storing user account data, according to one embodiment. 
         FIGS. 3A-3C  are flowcharts illustrating embodiments of processes for using an identity aggregator. 
         FIG. 3D  is a flowchart illustrating an authorization process using a user&#39;s mobile device, according to one embodiment. 
         FIGS. 4A-4I  are example screenshots illustrating a process for conducting a transaction, according to one embodiment. 
         FIG. 5  is a flowchart illustrating a user registration process, according to one embodiment. 
         FIG. 6  is a flowchart illustrating a user registration process 
         FIG. 7  is a block diagram of an example machine able to read instructions from a machine-readable medium and execute them in a processor (or controller). 
         FIG. 8  is a block diagram illustrating an example mobile device. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     The Figures (FIGS.) and the following description relate to preferred embodiments by way of illustration only. It should be noted that from the following discussion, alternative embodiments of the structures and methods disclosed herein will be readily recognized as viable alternatives that may be employed without departing from the principles of what is claimed. 
     Reference will now be made in detail to several embodiments, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying figures. It is noted that wherever practicable similar or like reference numbers may be used in the figures and may indicate similar or like functionality. The figures depict embodiments of the disclosed system (or method) for purposes of illustration only. One skilled in the art will readily recognize from the following description that alternative embodiments of the structures and methods illustrated herein may be employed without departing from the principles described herein. 
     Configuration Overview 
     One embodiment of a disclosed system, method, and computer readable storage medium that includes aggregating user identities at a transaction processing server to enable transactions between a user device and a merchant server. In one embodiment, the transaction processing server acts as an identity aggregator and provides user identities to the merchant server so that the user does not need to recall and input log in information that is particular to the user&#39;s account with the particular merchant server. Further, in one embodiment, the transaction processor authenticates the transaction using a mobile device associated with the user account and likely used by the user, thereby improving security of the transaction. In one embodiment, the method includes receiving at the transaction processing server, a request from the user computing device to conduct the financial transaction with the merchant server. A plurality of user identifiers identifying a user account associated with the user at each of a plurality of online systems are determined based on sessions with the online systems active on the user computing device. A first user identifier of the plurality of user identifiers is a transaction processing server identifier identifying a user account at the transaction processing server and a second user identifier of the plurality of user identifiers is a merchant identifier identifying a user account at the merchant server. Financial information associated with the user account of the user is retrieved using the plurality of user identifiers. The transaction processing server transmits the merchant identifier and the financial information of the user to the merchant server, which conducts the transaction with the user computing device using the financial information. 
       FIG. 1A  illustrates a system environment  100  for conducting online transactions, according to one embodiment. A transaction as described herein refers to any action between a user device and a merchant system, including payments, transfer of information, display of information, new user registration, and the like. Transactions may include the transfer of money from a financial account of a user to a merchant system (e.g., to pay for a product or service offered by the merchant system), or the merchant system may offer products or services free of charge. In one embodiment, as shown in  FIG. 1A , the system environment  100  includes one or more user (or client) devices  110 , a mobile device  120 , an identity server  130 , one or more merchant servers  140 , and a transaction processing server  170  in communication over a network  160 . A user  105  uses the user device  110  to initiate a transaction at a merchant server  140 . 
     User device  110 , merchant server  140 , and transaction processing server  170  may each include one or more processors, memories, and other appropriate components for executing instructions such as program code and/or data stored on one or more computer readable media to implement the various applications, data, and steps described herein. For example, such instructions may be stored in one or more computer readable media such as memories or data storage devices internal and/or external to various components of system  100 , and/or accessible over network  160 . 
     Network  160  may comprise any combination of local area and/or wide area networks, using both wired and/or wireless communication systems. In one embodiment, the network  160  uses standard communications technologies and/or protocols. For example, the network  160  includes communication links using technologies such as Ethernet, 802.11, worldwide interoperability for microwave access (WiMAX), 3G, 4G, code division multiple access (CDMA), digital subscriber line (DSL), etc. Examples of networking protocols used for communicating via the network  120  include multiprotocol label switching (MPLS), transmission control protocol/Internet protocol (TCP/IP), hypertext transport protocol (HTTP), simple mail transfer protocol (SMTP), and file transfer protocol (FTP). Data exchanged over the network  160  may be represented using any suitable format, such as hypertext markup language (HTML) or extensible markup language (XML). In some embodiments, all or some of the communication links of the network  160  may be encrypted using any suitable technique or techniques. 
     The user device  110  may be implemented using any appropriate hardware and software configured for wired and/or wireless communication over the network  160 . For example, the user device  110  may be implemented as a personal computer (PC), a tablet, personal digital assistant (PDA), laptop computer, a smart television, and/or other types of computing devices capable of transmitting and/or receiving data over network  160 . In some embodiments, the user device  110  may be mobile device such as a tablet or mobile phone, while in other embodiments, as illustrated in  FIG. 1A , the user  105  uses a separate mobile device  120 . The user  105  may use one or more user devices  110 , one or more mobile devices  120 , or both a user device  110  and a mobile device  120 . 
     The user device  110  executes a browser application  115  that enables the user  105  to browse information available over the network  160 . In one embodiment, the browser application  115  is implemented as a web browser configured to view information available over the Internet, including accessing content of a social networking site and a web email client as well as content provided by a merchant server  140 . 
     The mobile device  120  (e.g., a cellular phone or a tablet) communicates with other mobile devices, the user device  110 , the merchant server  140 , and/or the transaction server  170  over a mobile communication network (not shown) or the network  160 . The mobile device  120  has a mobile device identifier  125 , such as a mobile phone number, an integrated digital enhanced network (IDEN) number, or an international mobile station equipment identity (IMEI) number. In one embodiment, the mobile device  120  executes one or more browser applications  122  providing an interface for the user  105  to browse information made available over the network  160 . For example, the browser application  122  may be implemented as a web browser configured to view information available over the Internet, including accessing a social networking site or a web email client as well as accessing content provided by a merchant server  140 . 
     The mobile device  120  may additionally or alternatively execute a client-side payment application  124 . In one embodiment, the client-side payment application is provided by the transaction processing server  170  (e.g., downloaded to the mobile device  120 ) and may be used, for example, to provide client-side processing for performing desired tasks in response to operations selected by the user  105 . In one embodiment, client-side payment application  124  has unique identifier and is uniquely tied to a mobile device identifier  125  associated with the mobile device  120 . In one embodiment, the client application  124  displays a user interface in connection with a financial transaction initiated by user  105  using the browser application  115  executing on user device  110 . 
     Associated with the user  105  and/or the user device  110  are one or more user identifiers  113  (e.g., username and password pairs) associated with user accounts at one or more online systems accessed via the user device  110  or the user device  135 . For example, the user  105  may currently be using a first username and password to access a FACEBOOK account, a second username and password to access a GMAIL account, a third username and password to access an online retailer, and so on. One or more of the identifiers  113  may be stored locally on the user device  110 , for example in cookies or a cache associated with the browser application  115 . 
     The identity server  130  manages the user identifiers  113 . The identity server  130  may be maintained by a third party provider, or the identity server  130  may be incorporated into the transaction processing server  170 . The identity server  130  may authenticate the user  105  across multiple sites and identities using the user identifiers  113 . In one embodiment, the identity server  130  executes an identity aggregation module  135 . The identity aggregation module  135  comprises software configured to aggregate a user&#39;s user identifiers  113  from the user device  110 . The identity aggregation module  135  may execute in the browser  115 , for example as a browser pop-up or overlay, a browser plug-in, or a browser toolbar, to retrieve the identifiers  113  from the online sessions active in the browser  115 . The identity aggregation module  135  communicates with the transaction processing server  170  and merchant server  140  to pass identity information in order to facilitate a registration of the user  105  or to conduct a payment transaction. 
     The merchant server  140  is maintained by a merchant or seller offering various products and/or services via online an online marketplace available over network  160 . The merchant server  140  may be used for point of sale (POS) or online purchases and transactions. Generally, the merchant server  140  may be maintained by any person or entity that provides an Internet-based service for which the person or entity receives money, including charities, traditional retailers, pop-up retailers, and restaurants. However, the merchant server  140  may offer products or services free of charge. The merchant server  140  may additionally or alternatively be an entity listing an advertisement for a product or service. In one embodiment, the merchant server  140  executes a marketplace application  142  configured to serve information over the network  160  to the browser  115  of the user device  110 . For example, the merchant server  140  may cause a webpage to be displayed via the browser application  115  on a display of the user device  110 . The webpage may contain content, such as information about a product for sale. In some embodiments, the webpage depicts a popup store. 
     In one embodiment, the merchant server  140  maintains a product information database  144  and a user account database  146 . The product information database  144  contains information about goods, merchandise, content, or services (collectively, “products”) that are available for purchase by users, including identifiers of the products, availability of the products, and price of the products. The user account database  146  stores information about users of the merchant server  140 , such as users who have established accounts with the merchant server  140 . The user information stored by the user account database  146  may include an identifier of the user at the merchant server  140  that can be used by the merchant server  140  to access an account associated with the user. In one embodiment, the user account database  146  does not store financial information of the user. 
     The transaction processing server  170  uses aggregated user identities to authenticate a user to the merchant server  140  and facilitate transactions between the merchant server  140  and the user device  110  (or the user device  135 ). The transaction processing server  170  may be maintained by an online payment service provider, which provides payment to the operator of the merchant server  140  for a transaction initiated by the user  105 . In one embodiment, the transaction processing server  170  executes a payment application  175  and a transaction processing module  172 , and maintains a user information database  180 . Other embodiments of the transaction processing server  170  may execute additional or different modules, and the functionality may be distributed differently among the modules. For example, another embodiment of the transaction processing server  170  may include a product shipping module that performs at least one product shipping-related functionality, such as causing a product to be shipped to the user  105 . 
     The user information database  180  stores a plurality of user accounts, each of which includes user account information associated with an individual user. For example, account information may include private financial information of users of devices such as account numbers, passwords, device identifiers, user names, phone numbers, credit card information, bank information, or other financial information which may be used to facilitate online transactions by user  105 . A user account in the user information database  180  can be accessed using a user identifier of a user associated with the user account. In one embodiment, the information stored in a user account may be provided by the user in creating an account with and registering with server-side payment application  175 , for example when installing client-side payment application  124  on user mobile device  120 . 
     The payment application  175  executed by the transaction processing server  170  communicates with the user device  110  or the mobile device  120  and the merchant server  140  over the network  160  to facilitate the purchase of goods or services, communicate and display information, and send payments by the user  105  to the operator of the merchant server  140 . The payment application  175  may also communicate with the client-side payment application  124  executing on the mobile device  120  to authorize the transaction. In one embodiment, the payment application  175  includes a buy button module  176  and an identity match module  178 , and is in communication with the user information database  180 . In one embodiment, the buy button module  176  provides a “buy button,” a user interface element invoking a checkout or payment function, for insertion into content in a web page displayed on the user device  110  or the mobile device  120 . For example, the buy button may be embedded in an advertisement, displayed in a social media feed, or included in email content or application data served by the merchant server  140  and displayed on the user device  110 . The buy button module  176  may also provide new user registration and cause registration information to be stored in the user database  180 . 
     When a user selects the buy button displayed on the user device  110 , the buy button module  176  invokes the identity aggregation module  135  of the identity server  130 , which aggregates user&#39;s provisioned identities  113  from the user device  110 . The identity aggregation module  135  communicates the identities to the transaction processing server  170 , where the identity match module  178  causes a user record to be created in the user information database  180  or updates an existing user record in the database  180 . 
     The transaction processing module  172  processes payments to the merchant server  140  on behalf of the user  105 . For example, the transaction processing module  172  sends funding source information, such as a credit card or bank account information, to the merchant server  140  to complete the transaction. 
     As shown in  FIG. 1A , the transaction processing server  170  may facilitate transactions between the user device  110  and each of a plurality of merchant servers  140 . The transaction processing server  170  may act as an identity aggregator for identities that can be used across several merchant servers  140 , obviating the need for the user  105  to recall login information to access accounts created with each of the merchant servers  140 . Instead, in some embodiments, the user  105  may simply need to recall a single login information for a single account associated with the transaction processing server  170 . In some embodiments, the login information for the account associated with the transaction processing server  170  may be an existing social identity, such as a social network identity or email identity for the user. Thus, for example, the user  105  may log into the user account with the transaction processing server  170  using the user&#39;s FACEBOOK identity. Furthermore, as the transaction processing server  170  sends funding source information to a merchant server  140  for conducting a transaction, the merchant servers  140  need not store users&#39; financial information. Storing financial information in a single system (the transaction processing server  170 ) is more secure for users, and reduces cost for the merchant servers  140  to establish and maintain secure databases for storing user financial information. 
     In some embodiments, the merchant server  140  and the transaction processing server  170  use cloud computing.  FIG. 1B  is a block diagram illustrating a plurality of computing devices, each including a virtual file system, that are communicatively connected to a distributed storage system according to some embodiments. Clients  101 A and  101 B (e.g., the merchant server  140  and the transaction processing server  170 ) are communicatively coupled to a storage cloud  121 , each client including a virtual file system  102 . In some embodiments, the virtual file system  102  includes an application programming interface (API)  103 , a local file system  105 , and a core engine  107 . API  103  is a software application for accessing the storage cloud  190  through the core engine  107 . In some embodiments, API  103  is an application dedicated for this purpose. In some embodiments, API  103  is an application that can perform multiple functions including accessing the storage cloud  190 . In some embodiments, the local file system  105  is the file system associated with the operating system (e.g., UNIX, WINDOWS, or LINUX, etc.) running on client  101 . For example, a user (e.g., a software application) can use the local file system  105  to access files not managed by the virtual file system  102 . Core engine  107  refers to a set of application modules that are responsible for managing different aspects of the virtual file system  102 , such as retrieving files from a remote storage device, etc. 
     In some embodiments, storage cloud  190  is a distributed, heterogeneous storage system including multiple types of storage devices such as local storage devices  192  (e.g., thumb drive, hard drive, network attached storage (NAS), etc.) and remote (and often distributed) cloud storage devices. In other words, the term “cloud” as used herein may refer to storage devices that are physically local to or remote from the virtual file system. In some embodiments, the remote cloud storage device is a cloud storage service provided by a third-party (e.g., AMAZON S3). In some embodiments, the cloud storage service includes a remote cloud platform  194 , a set of cloud service modules  196 , and a set of cloud storage devices  198 . The remote cloud platform  194  is typically a front end accessible through a web server. The cloud service modules  196  are responsible for performing operations (e.g., queuing, logging, billing, etc.) in support of the storage service. The cloud storage devices  127  are associated with a hardware architecture (e.g., storage area network) that supports massive data storage/access through network connections such as Internet. 
     In some embodiments, a user of the virtual file system  102 , which may be a software application, submits a request for a file to the API  103 . In response to the request, the API  103  checks if the requested file is available at the local file system  105 . If so, it returns the requested file to the requesting user. If not, the API  103  may forward the file request to the core engine  107 . The core engine  107  determines how to retrieve information associated with the file from a storage device within the storage cloud  190 . After receiving the information, the core engine  107  then rebuilds the requested file in the local file system  105  and makes it available for the user to access. Upon detection of the user&#39;s updates to the file, the core engine  107  then generates a new revision of the file and synchronizes the revised file including its metadata and data with one or more storage devices associated with the storage cloud  190  to make sure that all the user updates are appropriately saved and protected against potential file loss and/or unauthorized access. 
       FIG. 2A  is a block diagram of a structure of the user database  180  maintained by the transaction processing server  170 , according to one embodiment. The user database  180  contains a set of user account records. A respective user account record  201  may include such information as: (i) an identifier  202  that uniquely identifies the client-side payment application  124  installed on the user&#39;s mobile device  120 , (ii) one or more user identifiers  211  associated with the user (e.g., user&#39;s login user name and password associated with transaction processing server  170 , user&#39;s login user name and password associated with a social networking site, user&#39;s email login user name and password, and user&#39;s account user name and password associated with merchant servers  140 ), (iii) a mobile device identifier  221  associated with the user, such as a mobile phone number or an IDEN number, (iv) private financial information  231  of the user, such as credit card information, bank information, or other financial information that may be used to facilitate online transactions by the user, (v) attributes and capabilities  241  of the mobile device associated with the device number  221 , (vi) user preferences  251  (such as shipping address), and (vii) transaction records  261  (such as, transaction amounts, dates, etc.) associated with the user record  201 . 
       FIG. 2B  is a block diagram of a structure of the user account database  146  maintained by a merchant server  140 , according to one embodiment. The user account database  146  contains a set of user account records for a merchant server  140 . A respective user account record  270  may include such information as: (i) one or more user identifiers  271  associated with the user (e.g., user&#39;s login user name and password associated with merchant server  140 ) and user contact information, such as name, shipping address, and telephone number, (ii) private financial information  272  of the user, such as credit card information, bank information, or other financial information that may be used to facilitate online transactions by user, (iii) user preferences  273  (such as preferred shipping address), and (iv) transaction records  274  (such as transaction amounts, products purchased, and dates of the transactions) conducted by the user with merchant server  140 . 
     Conducting Financial Transactions 
       FIGS. 3A-3D  illustrate various embodiments of a process for conducting transactions between a user and a merchant server  140  using a transaction processing server  170  acting as an identity aggregator. The processes shown in  FIGS. 3A-3D  are described with respect to example user interfaces shown in  FIGS. 4A-I . While  FIGS. 3A-3D  discuss various transmissions between merchant server  140  and transaction processing server  170 , it is noted that cloud computing as discussed in  FIG. 1B  may instead be used. 
       FIG. 3A  illustrates a process  300  for using an identity aggregator to conduct a transaction, according to one embodiment. The merchant server  140  serves  305  content to user device  110 . The user  105  may interact with marketplace application  142  through browser application  115  over network  160  in order to view one or more items served by merchant server  140  on the user device  110 , for example as being served in the form of a pop-up online store, content being advertised, or content displayed in a social feed. The merchant server  140  may further provide a “buy now” button in the content that invites the user to initiate a transaction.  FIG. 4A  illustrates example content  410  served to the user device  110 . In the example of  FIG. 4A , the content  410  is served as part of a web page having a URL  405 . A buy button  415  is also displayed on the web page, and may be displayed near the content  110  or embedded in the content  410 . For example, as shown in  FIG. 4B , the buy button  415  is embedded in content  416 , which in one example is an advertisement. 
     If user  105  wishes to purchase an item for sale or otherwise initiate a transaction, the user interacts with the device  110 , which initiates  310  the transaction. For example, the user selects the buy button  415  displayed on the user device  110 . In one embodiment, the user is not required to create or log into an account associated with the merchant server  140  for the purpose of initiating the transaction. 
     In response to the user selection of the buy button  415 , the user device  110  sends  315  information to the transaction processing server  170 . The information sent  315  to the transaction processing server  170  may include a notification of the initiation of the transaction, an identifier of the user, and transaction details such as a transaction amount, identifiers of the products or services being purchased, availability of the products or services being purchased, and an identifier of the merchant server  140  providing the product or services. 
     The transaction processing server  170  determines  320  a plurality of user identifiers identifying user accounts at respective online systems, including social network identities, email identities, or identities of the user with the merchant server  140  with which the user desires to conduct the transaction. As described earlier, the user may not have entered a username and password into the merchant server&#39;s site before selecting the buy button  415 . As such, the merchant server  140  may not be able to identify the user, and an identity of the user at the merchant site  140  is not transmitted to the transaction processing server  170  when the buy button  415  is selected. To determine  320  the user identifiers, one embodiment of the transaction processing server  170  generates an identity framework for the user by retrieving identifiers of the user from one or more other websites for which a session is active on browser  115  and for which the user has provided user identifiers. For example, as discussed above, the user may have logged into an account associated with a social networking site and/or an email site on the user device  110 . The user may leave such sessions running in the background while the user conducts other business online, such as running the sessions in another tab in the browser  115  or leaving cookies storing the user identity in the browser  115 . In one embodiment, the transaction processing server  170  receives an aggregated list of the user identities from the identity aggregation module  135 . The transaction processing server  170  may store the aggregated identities in a record for the user in the user database  180 , and retrieve the user&#39;s record when the user selects the buy button  415 . 
     The transaction processing server  170  transmits  325  the determined identities to the merchant server  140 . The merchant server  140  receives  330  the user identities and uses the identities to determine a user account associated with at least one of them. For example, the merchant server  140  receives a set of email addresses used by the user (e.g., user_name@gmail.com, user_name@personal_email.com, user_name@twitter.com, and user_name@work_email.com), and determines that there is an account for the user_name@work_email.com in user account database  146 . The merchant server  140  retrieves the user account information from user account database  146 , including stored payment information, shipping address, and the like, and uses this information to conduct  335  the transaction. For example, the merchant server  140  debits a financial account of the user and processes shipment of the purchased product to the user. 
     The transaction processing server  170  receives  340  a transaction confirmation from the merchant server  140 , and updates the user record using the transaction confirmation. The transaction processing server  170  may further send a receipt to one or more stored email addresses for the user.  FIG. 4C  illustrate an example of a transaction confirmation  490  sent by the transaction processing server  170  to the user device  110 . The transaction confirmation  490  may contain such details as transaction amount, transaction date and time, a transaction record number, and payment source. Although not illustrated in  FIG. 4C , the user may be provided with options with respect to transaction confirmation  490 , such as to save, print, or email the receipt. 
       FIG. 3B  illustrates a process  350  for using an identity aggregator to conduct a transaction, according to another embodiment. Process  350  is similar to process  300 , except that at  312 , the user device  110  receives user login information associated with the user&#39;s account associated with transaction processing server  170 . For example, the user enters a login id and password associated with transaction processing server  170 .  FIG. 4D  illustrates an example user interface icon  417  requesting user to login into an account associated with transaction processing server  170 . The user may interact with the icon  417  to log in to the user&#39;s account with the transaction processing server  170  prior to selecting the buy button  415 , or the user may log in after selecting the buy button  415  but before the transaction processing server  170  determines  320  the identities of the user. The transaction processing server  170  then uses the login information of the user to access the account of the user with the transaction processing server  170 , and determines  320  the identities of the user from the user&#39;s account. In one embodiment, the user needs only remember a single log in associated with the transaction processing server  170 , instead of individual logins for multiple different merchant servers  140 . 
       FIG. 3C  illustrates a process  360  for using an identity aggregator to conduct a transaction, according to another embodiment. Process  360  is similar to processes  300  and  350 , except that at step  425 , the transaction processing server  170  uses stored payment information (as stored in the user&#39;s account with the transaction processing server  170 ) to make a pre-payment in the amount indicated in the transaction details received  315  from the user device  110 . The transaction processing server  170  may transmit a receipt of the pre-payment to merchant server  140  in addition to transmitting  325  the set of user identities, and the merchant server  140  may use the received pre-payment information to conduct  335  the transaction. An advantage of process  360  is that it may enable the user  105  to circumvent payment restrictions imposed by merchant server  140 , such as may be the case if the merchant server  140  were unable to accept a particular payment method. 
       FIG. 3D  illustrates a process  370  for a dual-step order confirmation using a user&#39;s mobile device  120 , according to one embodiment. Process  370  is similar to process  360 , except that for security purposes, user authorization is requested to complete the transaction. For example, it may be desirable to make certain that the user initiating the transaction is authorized to initiate the transaction before transferring money to the merchant server  140 . 
     In order to authorize the transaction, the transaction processing server  170  determines  321  an identifier of a mobile device  120  associated with the user account of the user. The mobile device identifier may be previously stored in a user database  180 , which may be populated, for example, during a user registration process completed when user  105  installed the client-side payment application  124  on a mobile device  120 . In some embodiments, the identity match module  178  of the server-side payment application  175  receives a user&#39;s provisioned identities  113  from the identity aggregation module  135 , retrieves a corresponding user record from the user information database  180 , and retrieves the mobile device identifier  125  from the user record. 
     The transaction processing server  170  sends  322  a request for user input to the mobile device having an associated identifier  125  determined at step  321 . In one embodiment, the request for user input into the mobile device is transmitted via an Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD) session. Other types of methods for communication between transaction processing server  170  and mobile device  120  can also be used. In another embodiment, the request for user input into the mobile device  120  is transmitted to client-side payment application  124 . In one embodiment, the payment application  124  is launched or awakened in response to receiving the request for user input from the transaction processing server  170 . 
     The mobile device  120  displays  323  a user interface to request the user input from the user. A variety of different types of user input may be requested from the user. Example user interfaces displayed by the mobile device  120  to request user input are illustrated in  FIGS. 4E-4H . 
     In one embodiment, the request for user input includes a request for completion of a physical act on the mobile device by the user. The completion of the physical act provides some assurance that the user is in possession and control of the mobile device associated with the user&#39;s identity framework. In one embodiment, the request for user input includes a request for selecting a soft button. The request for user input may alternatively include a request for completion of a touch screen gesture other than a selection of a soft button, such as a swipe or a flick.  FIGS. 4E-4G  illustrates examples of a request for user input at a soft button displayed on a mobile device  120 . In the example illustrated in  FIG. 4E , mobile device  120  has a touch screen and displays a message  420 , which in one embodiment is a soft button inviting the user of the mobile device  120  to approve the transaction by providing an input at the message  420 . In the example illustrated in  FIG. 4E , no information is provided in the initial message  420  about the transaction, since it can be assumed that the user has initiated the transaction and therefore has knowledge of it. However, in another embodiment, at least some information can be provided in the message about the transaction, as illustrated in  FIG. 4F , which shows a message  440  asking the user to confirm purchase of concert tickets. Details about the proposed transaction may alternatively be provided in a popup displayed on the mobile device  120  or the user device  110 . In yet another example, as illustrated in  FIG. 4G , the mobile device  120  displays both a soft button  420  enabling the user to approve the transaction and a soft button  422  enabling the user to decline the transaction. 
     In another embodiment, the request for user input includes a request for entry of a password (e.g., a password associated with client-side payment application  124 ). The request may alternatively include a request for entry of a bank ATM pin or other secret pin.  FIG. 4H  illustrates an example of an authorization process requesting user of mobile device  120  to provide a pin  470  to approve a transaction. In one embodiment, the user enters the pin  470  using a soft keyboard  480  displayed by the mobile device  120 . 
     In some embodiments, the type of physical act requested depends on the type and capabilities of the mobile device  120 . Thus, if the mobile device  120  has a touch screen capable of receiving touch input, a requested physical act may include a swipe. Such a physical act would not be requested of a mobile device  120  without a touch screen. Furthermore, in some embodiments, the type of physical act requested depends on the type of financial transaction, a transaction amount, and/or user preferences. For example, a user  105  may cause a preference to be stored, for example, in a user account maintained by the transaction processing server  170  that the user wishes dual-step authorization for purchases over a particular amount, or for transactions with a particular merchant system  140 . For dual-input authorization, in some embodiments, after receiving an initial user input from user mobile device  120 , the transaction processing server  170  sends a request for authorization to mobile device  120 . In some embodiments, the first request for user input may include a request for a simple task to signify that the user is in possession of the mobile device  120 , while the second request for user input may request sensitive user information. The sensitive user information can be matched against stored information for the user or otherwise used for authorization. For example, a first request of user input may require the user to depress a soft button (e.g., depress a “Approve Transaction” or similar button, as illustrated in  FIGS. 4E and 4F ), while the second request may require the user to enter a pin or password (as illustrated in  FIG. 4H ). In one embodiment, a hash of the pin or password is transmitted by the mobile device  120  to the transaction processing server  170  as indication of authorization. 
     The mobile device  120  receives  324  the user input from the user, and transmits a notification of the received user input or the pin or password entered by the user to the transaction processing server  170 . In some embodiments, depending on the sensitivity of the nature of information being transmitted, it may be protected, for example, using encryption techniques. The client-side payment application  124  executing on the user mobile device  120  may process the user input prior to transmitting the input or the notification to the transaction processing server  170  hash and salt the user-entered password or pin, and transmit the hashed and salted password to transaction processing server  170 , for instance via a USSD session. 
     The transaction processing server  170  uses the received authorization information to authorize  325 - 1  the transaction and to make a payment to the merchant server  140 . The user authorization information may be compared to information stored, for example, in user account information  180 , or may be sent to a third party (such as, a bank card or credit card issuing authority) for authorization. 
     In some embodiments, the user input is valid for a limited duration. Accordingly, if the user input is not received at the transaction processing server  170  within a predefined amount of time, transaction processing server  170  deems the transaction unsuccessful. The transaction processing server  170  cancels the unsuccessful transaction, and may send a cancellation message to merchant server  140  and/or may send a message, such as a fraud alert, to the user  105 , for example via an SMS message sent to the mobile device  120 . Similarly, if the user provides an input at the mobile device  120  to cancel the transaction (e.g., selecting the decline button  422  shown in  FIG. 4G ), the transaction processing server  170  cancels the transaction. 
     If the transaction is authorized  325 - 1 , the transaction processing server  170  transmits  325 - 2  an identity of the user at the merchant server  140  and financial information of the user to the merchant server  140 , which conducts  335  the transaction and sends  340  a receipt for the transaction to the transaction processing server  170 . In one embodiment, the transaction processing server  170  sends a receipt to the mobile device  120 , which displays  345  the receipt. An example transaction receipt  490  displayed by the mobile device  120  is shown in  FIG. 4I . In the example of  FIG. 4I , the transaction receipt  490  includes such information as an amount of the transaction and the time the transaction was completed. 
     Thus, process  370  enables authorization of a transaction initiated using a user device  110  and authorized using user mobile device  120 . In one embodiment, no authorization or other input is requested from the user  105  at the user device  110  after the transaction is initiated at the user device  110 . Rather, input is requested at the user&#39;s mobile device  120  to authorize the transaction. 
     In the system and methods illustrated in  FIGS. 1 and 3 , the client device  110  and mobile device  120  are illustrated as two separate devices. However, in another embodiment, the described functionality may be performed solely by the mobile device. In this case, the user  105  may use the browser application  122  on mobile device  120  to access content served by merchant server  140 , and transaction processing server  170  may use the mobile device  120  for user authorization. 
       FIG. 5  illustrates a block diagram of a registration process  500  used to create a user identity record  201  in the user information database  180 , according to one embodiment. In one embodiment, the process  500  comprises interactions between a mobile device  120  and the transaction processing server  170 . Other embodiments of the process  500  may include fewer, different, or additional steps, and the steps may be performed in different orders. 
     In one embodiment, process  500  begins with the mobile device  120  requesting  510  (e.g., in response to a user input) the client-side payment application  124  from the transaction processing server  170  for execution on the mobile device  120 . In response to the request, the transaction processing server  170  pushes or otherwise provides  520  the client-side payment application  124  to the mobile device  120  using, for example, a mobile communications network. Once executing on mobile device  120 , client-side payment application  124  obtains  530  an identifier associated with the user  105 . In one embodiment, client-side payment application  124  does not require user  105  to create or otherwise log in to client-side payment application  124 . Instead, the client-side payment application  124  determines  532  provisioned identifiers for the user  105  based on the user&#39;s active sessions, for example with social networking accounts, email accounts, or other online accounts active on the mobile device  120 . In another embodiment, where the user  105  does not participate in such sessions, for example, with social networking accounts, email accounts, or other online systems, the user  105  may create a user name and password with which to log into client-side payment application  124 . The payment application  124  receives  534  the user name and passwords, and uses the user name and password as the identifier associated with the user  105 . The client-side payment application  124  transmits  540  the one or more identifiers for the user  105  to the transaction processing server  170 , which creates  550  a record  201  for user  105  associating the mobile device identifier for mobile device  120  and the one or more user identifiers together. The transaction processing server  170  may subsequently modify or update user record  201  based, for example, on transactions completed by the user  105  or changes in the user identifier  211  data. The user  105  may optionally provide user preference data (e.g., preferred shipping address, preferred payment method information, etc.) during (or subsequent to) the registration process. 
       FIG. 6  illustrates a block diagram of a process  600  that may precede process  500  discussed with reference to  FIG. 5 . In particular, process  600  may lead to the user  105  requesting client-side payment application  124  from transaction processing server  170  for execution on mobile device  120 . In one embodiment, the process  600  comprises interactions between a user device  110  and the transaction processing server  170 . Other embodiments of the process  600  may include fewer, different, or additional steps, and the steps may be performed in different orders. 
     The user device  110  obtains  610  an identifier of the user of the user device  110 . In one embodiment, the user device  110  obtains  610  the identifier in response to the user selecting the buy button  415  displayed on the user device  110  to purchase an object for sale. In another embodiment, the user device  110  obtains  610  the identifier in response to the buy button  415  being displayed by the user device  110 , prior to the user selecting the buy button  415 . In an embodiment in which the buy button  415  is embedded or otherwise integrated into advertisement content (e.g., content  416 ), pre-emptive identification of the user can be used to personalize the advertisement content, for example by displaying a greeting to the user  105 . 
     In one embodiment, the user is not required to create or otherwise log into an account associated with the provider of the object for sale. Instead, the user device  110  or an external identity provider determines  612  provisioned identifiers for the user  105  based on the user&#39;s active sessions, for example with social networking accounts, email accounts, or accounts with other online systems that are active on user device  110 . In another embodiment, the user  105  may provide a user name and password with which to log into an account with server-side payment application  175 . In this case, the user device  110  determines  614  the identifiers from the user account. 
     The user device  110  transmits  620  the user identifier to the transaction processing server  170 , which performs a lookup to see if there is a user record  201  in the user information database  180 . If no record exits, user  105  is requested to register with server-side payment application  175  and install client-side payment application  124  on the mobile device  120 . 
     Computing Machine Architecture 
       FIG. 7  is a block diagram of one embodiment of a computing device  700 , which can be used as any one of user device  110 , merchant server  140  and transaction processing server  170 . In one embodiment computing device  700  includes one or more processing units (CPUs)  702 , one or more network or other communications interfaces  708 , memory  706 , and one or more communication buses  708  for interconnecting these components. The communication buses  708  may include circuitry (sometimes called a chipset) that interconnects and controls communications between system components. Computing device  700  may include a user interface  710  comprising an output (e.g. display) device  712  and an input device (e.g., keyboard)  714 . 
     Memory  706  includes high-speed random access memory, such as DRAM, SRAM, DDR RAM or other random access solid state memory devices; and may include non-volatile memory, such as one or more magnetic disk storage devices, optical disk storage devices, flash memory devices, or other non-volatile solid state storage devices. Memory  706  may optionally include one or more storage devices remotely located from the CPU(s)  702 . Memory  706 , or one or more of the storage devices (e.g., one or more non-volatile storage devices) in memory  706 , includes a computer readable storage medium. In some embodiments, memory  706  or the computer readable storage medium of memory  706  stores the following programs, modules and data structures, or a subset thereof: an operating system  716  that includes procedures for handling various basic system services and for performing hardware dependent tasks; a network communication module  718  that is used for connecting computing device  700  to other computers via the one or more communication network interfaces  708  and one or more communication networks, such as the Internet, other wide area networks, local area networks, or metropolitan area networks. In the case of the user device  110 , memory  706  may further store other applications, such as browser application  115  and word processing applications. In the case of the merchant server  140 , memory  706  may further store a marketplace application  142  and “buy button” interface module  156 . In the case of the transaction processing server  170 , memory  706  may further store server-side payment application  175 , an identity match module  178 , database of user accounts  180  (which may alternatively be stored externally), and transaction processing application  172 . 
       FIG. 8  illustrates one embodiment of a portable electronic device  800 , which can function as user mobile device  120 . The device  800  includes a memory  802 , a memory controller  104 , one or more processing units (CPU&#39;s)  806 , a peripherals interface  808 , RF circuitry  812 , audio circuitry  814 , a speaker  816 , a microphone  818 , an input/output (I/O) subsystem  820 , a touch screen  826 , other input or control devices  828 , and an external port  848 . These components communicate over the one or more communication buses or signal lines  810 . It should be appreciated that the device  800  is only one example of a portable electronic device  800 , and that the device  800  may have more or fewer components than shown, or a different configuration of components. The various components shown in  FIG. 8  may be implemented in hardware, software or a combination of both hardware and software, including one or more signal processing and/or application specific integrated circuits. 
     The memory  802  may include high speed random access memory and may also include non-volatile memory, such as one or more magnetic disk storage devices, flash memory devices, or other non-volatile solid state memory devices. In some embodiments, the memory  802  may further include storage remotely located from the one or more processors  806 , for instance network attached storage accessed via the RF circuitry  812  or external port  848  and a communications network (not shown) such as the Internet, intranet(s), Local Area Networks (LANs), Wide Local Area Networks (WLANs), Storage Area Networks (SANs) and the like, or any suitable combination thereof. Access to the memory  802  by other components of the device  800 , such as the CPU  806  and the peripherals interface  808 , may be controlled by the memory controller  804 . 
     The peripherals interface  808  couples the input and output peripherals of the device to the CPU  806  and the memory  802 . The one or more processors  806  run various software programs and/or sets of instructions stored in the memory  802  to perform various functions for the device  800  and to process data. 
     In some embodiments, the peripherals interface  808 , the CPU  806 , and the memory controller  804  may be implemented on a single chip, such as a chip  811 . In some other embodiments, they may be implemented on separate chips. 
     The RF (radio frequency) circuitry  812  receives and sends electromagnetic waves. The RF circuitry  812  converts electrical signals to/from electromagnetic waves and communicates with communications networks and other communications devices via the electromagnetic waves. The RF circuitry  812  may include well-known circuitry for performing these functions, including but not limited to an antenna system, an RF transceiver, one or more amplifiers, a tuner, one or more oscillators, a digital signal processor, a CODEC chipset, a subscriber identity module (SIM) card, memory, and so forth. The RF circuitry  812  may communicate with the networks, such as the Internet, also referred to as the World Wide Web (WWW), an Intranet and/or a wireless network, such as a cellular telephone network, a wireless local area network (LAN) and/or a metropolitan area network (MAN), and other devices by wireless communication. The wireless communication may use any of a plurality of communications standards, protocols and technologies, including but not limited to Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM), Enhanced Data GSM Environment (EDGE), wideband code division multiple access (W-CDMA), code division multiple access (CDMA), time division multiple access (TDMA), Bluetooth, Wireless Fidelity (Wi-Fi) (e.g., IEEE 802.11a, IEEE 802.11b, IEEE 802.11g and/or IEEE 802.11n), voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), Wi-MAX, a protocol for email, instant messaging, and/or Short Message Service (SMS)), or any other suitable communication protocol, including communication protocols not yet developed as of the filing date of this document. 
     The audio circuitry  814 , the speaker  816 , and the microphone  818  provide an audio interface between a user and the device  800 . The audio circuitry  814  receives audio data from the peripherals interface  808 , converts the audio data to an electrical signal, and transmits the electrical signal to the speaker  816 . The speaker converts the electrical signal to human-audible sound waves. The audio circuitry  814  also receives electrical signals converted by the microphone  816  from sound waves. The audio circuitry  814  converts the electrical signal to audio data and transmits the audio data to the peripherals interface  808  for processing. Audio data may be may be retrieved from and/or transmitted to the memory  802  and/or the RF circuitry  812  by the peripherals interface  808 . In some embodiments, the audio circuitry  814  also includes a headset jack (not shown). The headset jack provides an interface between the audio circuitry  814  and removable audio input/output peripherals, such as output-only headphones or a headset with both output (headphone for one or both ears) and input (microphone). 
     The I/O subsystem  820  provides the interface between input/output peripherals on the device  800 , such as the touch screen  826  and other input/control devices  828 , and the peripherals interface  808 . The I/O subsystem  820  includes a touch-screen controller  822  and one or more input controllers  824  for other input or control devices. The one or more input controllers  824  receive/send electrical signals from/to other input or control devices  828 . The other input/control devices  828  may include physical buttons (e.g., push buttons, rocker buttons, etc.), dials, slider switches, sticks, and so forth. 
     The touch screen  826  provides both an output interface and an input interface between the device and a user. The touch-screen controller  822  receives/sends electrical signals from/to the touch screen  826 . The touch screen  826  displays visual output to the user. The visual output may include text, graphics, video, and any combination thereof. Some or all of the visual output may correspond to user-interface objects, further details of which are described below. 
     The touch screen  826  also accepts input from the user based on haptic and/or tactile contact. The touch screen  826  forms a touch-sensitive surface that accepts user input. The touch screen  826  and the touch screen controller  822  (along with any associated modules and/or sets of instructions in the memory  802 ) detects contact (and any movement or break of the contact) on the touch screen  826  and converts the detected contact into interaction with user-interface objects, such as one or more soft keys, that are displayed on the touch screen. In an exemplary embodiment, a point of contact between the touch screen  826  and the user corresponds to one or more digits of the user. The touch screen  826  may use LCD (liquid crystal display) technology, or LPD (light emitting polymer display) technology, although other display technologies may be used in other embodiments. The touch screen  826  and touch screen controller  822  may detect contact and any movement or break thereof using any of a plurality of touch sensitivity technologies, including but not limited to capacitive, resistive, infrared, and surface acoustic wave technologies, as well as other proximity sensor arrays or other elements for determining one or more points of contact with the touch screen  826 . However, the touch screen  826  displays visual output from the portable device, whereas touch sensitive tablets do not provide visual output. The touch screen  826  may have a resolution in excess of 800 dpi. In an exemplary embodiment, the touch screen  826  may have a resolution of approximately 868 dpi. The user may make contact with the touch screen  826  using any suitable object or appendage, such as a stylus, finger, and so forth. 
     In some embodiments, in addition to the touch screen, the device  800  may include a touchpad (not shown) for activating or deactivating particular functions. In some embodiments, the touchpad is a touch-sensitive area of the device that, unlike the touch screen, does not display visual output. The touchpad may be a touch-sensitive surface that is separate from the touch screen  826  or an extension of the touch-sensitive surface formed by the touch screen  826 . 
     The device  800  also includes a power system  830  for powering the various components. The power system  830  may include a power management system, one or more power sources (e.g., battery, alternating current (AC)), a recharging system, a power failure detection circuit, a power converter or inverter, a power status indicator (e.g., a light-emitting diode (LED)) and any other components associated with the generation, management and distribution of power in portable devices. 
     In some embodiments, the software components include an operating system  832 , a communication module (or set of instructions)  834 , a contact/motion module (or set of instructions)  838 , a graphics module (or set of instructions)  840 , a user interface state module (or set of instructions)  844 , and one or more applications (or set of instructions)  846 . 
     The operating system  832  (e.g., Darwin, RTXC, LINUX, UNIX, OS X, WINDOWS, or an embedded operating system such as VxWorks) includes various software components and/or drivers for controlling and managing general system tasks (e.g., memory management, storage device control, power management, etc.) and facilitates communication between various hardware and software components. 
     The communication module  834  facilitates communication with other devices over one or more external ports  848  and also includes various software components for handling data received by the RF circuitry  812  and/or the external port  848 . The external port  848  (e.g., Universal Serial Bus (USB), FIREWIRE, etc.) is adapted for coupling directly to other devices or indirectly over a network (e.g., the Internet, wireless LAN, etc.). 
     The contact/motion module  838  detects contact with the touch screen  826 , in conjunction with the touch-screen controller  822 . The contact/motion module  838  includes various software components for performing various operations related to detection of contact with the touch screen  822 , such as determining if contact has occurred, determining if there is movement of the contact and tracking the movement across the touch screen, and determining if the contact has been broken (i.e., if the contact has ceased). Determining movement of the point of contact may include determining speed (magnitude), velocity (magnitude and direction), and/or an acceleration (including magnitude and/or direction) of the point of contact. In some embodiments, the contact/motion module  826  and the touch screen controller  822  also detects contact on the touchpad. 
     The graphics module  840  includes various known software components for rendering and displaying graphics on the touch screen  826 . Note that the term “graphics” includes any object that can be displayed to a user, including without limitation text, web pages, icons (such as user-interface objects including soft keys), digital images, videos, animations and the like. 
     In some embodiments, the graphics module  840  includes an optical intensity module  842 . The optical intensity module  842  controls the optical intensity of graphical objects, such as user-interface objects, displayed on the touch screen  826 . Controlling the optical intensity may include increasing or decreasing the optical intensity of a graphical object. In some embodiments, the increase or decrease may follow predefined functions. 
     The user interface state module  844  controls the user interface state of the device  800 . The user interface state module  844  may include a lock module  850  and an unlock module  852 . The lock module detects satisfaction of any of one or more conditions to transition the device  800  to a user-interface lock state and to transition the device  800  to the lock state. The unlock module detects satisfaction of any of one or more conditions to transition the device to a user-interface unlock state and to transition the device  800  to the unlock state. 
     The one or more applications  830  can include any applications installed on the device  800 , including without limitation, a browser, address book, contact list, email, instant messaging, word processing, keyboard emulation, widgets, JAVA-enabled applications, encryption, digital rights management, voice recognition, voice replication, location determination capability (such as that provided by the global positioning system (GPS)), a music player (which plays back recorded music stored in one or more files, such as MP3 or AAC files), etc. Client-side payment application  124  may also be installed on device  800 . 
     Additional Configuration Considerations 
     Throughout this specification, plural instances may implement components, operations, or structures described as a single instance. Although individual operations of one or more methods are illustrated and described as separate operations, one or more of the individual operations may be performed concurrently, and nothing requires that the operations be performed in the order illustrated. Structures and functionality presented as separate components in example configurations may be implemented as a combined structure or component. Similarly, structures and functionality presented as a single component may be implemented as separate components. These and other variations, modifications, additions, and improvements fall within the scope of the subject matter herein. 
     Certain embodiments are described herein as including logic or a number of components, modules, or mechanisms. Modules may constitute either software modules (e.g., code embodied on a machine-readable medium or in a transmission signal) or hardware modules. A hardware module is tangible unit capable of performing certain operations and may be configured or arranged in a certain manner. In example embodiments, one or more computer systems (e.g., a standalone, client or server computer system) or one or more hardware modules of a computer system (e.g., a processor or a group of processors) may be configured by software (e.g., an application or application portion) as a hardware module that operates to perform certain operations as described herein. 
     In various embodiments, a hardware module may be implemented mechanically or electronically. For example, a hardware module may comprise dedicated circuitry or logic that is permanently configured (e.g., as a special-purpose processor, such as a field programmable gate array (FPGA) or an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC)) to perform certain operations. A hardware module may also comprise programmable logic or circuitry (e.g., as encompassed within a general-purpose processor or other programmable processor) that is temporarily configured by software to perform certain operations. It will be appreciated that the decision to implement a hardware module mechanically, in dedicated and permanently configured circuitry, or in temporarily configured circuitry (e.g., configured by software) may be driven by cost and time considerations. 
     The various operations of example methods described herein may be performed, at least partially, by one or more processors that are temporarily configured (e.g., by software) or permanently configured to perform the relevant operations. Whether temporarily or permanently configured, such processors may constitute processor-implemented modules that operate to perform one or more operations or functions. The modules referred to herein may, in some example embodiments, comprise processor-implemented modules. 
     The one or more processors may also operate to support performance of the relevant operations in a “cloud computing” environment or as a “software as a service” (SaaS). For example, at least some of the operations may be performed by a group of computers (as examples of machines including processors), these operations being accessible via a network (e.g., the Internet) and via one or more appropriate interfaces (e.g., application program interfaces (APIs).) 
     The performance of certain of the operations may be distributed among the one or more processors, not only residing within a single machine, but deployed across a number of machines. In some example embodiments, the one or more processors or processor-implemented modules may be located in a single geographic location (e.g., within a home environment, an office environment, or a server farm). In other example embodiments, the one or more processors or processor-implemented modules may be distributed across a number of geographic locations. 
     Some portions of this specification are presented in terms of algorithms or symbolic representations of operations on data stored as bits or binary digital signals within a machine memory (e.g., a computer memory). These algorithms or symbolic representations are examples of techniques used by those of ordinary skill in the data processing arts to convey the substance of their work to others skilled in the art. As used herein, an “algorithm” is a self-consistent sequence of operations or similar processing leading to a desired result. In this context, algorithms and operations involve physical manipulation of physical quantities. Typically, but not necessarily, such quantities may take the form of electrical, magnetic, or optical signals capable of being stored, accessed, transferred, combined, compared, or otherwise manipulated by a machine. It is convenient at times, principally for reasons of common usage, to refer to such signals using words such as “data,” “content,” “bits,” “values,” “elements,” “symbols,” “characters,” “terms,” “numbers,” “numerals,” or the like. These words, however, are merely convenient labels and are to be associated with appropriate physical quantities. 
     Unless specifically stated otherwise, discussions herein using words such as “processing,” “computing,” “calculating,” “determining,” “presenting,” “displaying,” or the like may refer to actions or processes of a machine (e.g., a computer) that manipulates or transforms data represented as physical (e.g., electronic, magnetic, or optical) quantities within one or more memories (e.g., volatile memory, non-volatile memory, or a combination thereof), registers, or other machine components that receive, store, transmit, or display information. 
     As used herein any reference to “one embodiment” or “an embodiment” means that a particular element, feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment. The appearances of the phrase “in one embodiment” in various places in the specification are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment. 
     Some embodiments may be described using the expression “coupled” and “connected” along with their derivatives. For example, some embodiments may be described using the term “coupled” to indicate that two or more elements are in direct physical or electrical contact. The term “coupled,” however, may also mean that two or more elements are not in direct contact with each other, but yet still co-operate or interact with each other. The embodiments are not limited in this context. 
     As used herein, the terms “comprises,” “comprising,” “includes,” “including,” “has,” “having” or any other variation thereof, are intended to cover a non-exclusive inclusion. For example, a process, method, article, or apparatus that comprises a list of elements is not necessarily limited to only those elements but may include other elements not expressly listed or inherent to such process, method, article, or apparatus. Further, unless expressly stated to the contrary, “or” refers to an inclusive or and not to an exclusive or. For example, a condition A or B is satisfied by any one of the following: A is true (or present) and B is false (or not present), A is false (or not present) and B is true (or present), and both A and B are true (or present). 
     In addition, use of the “a” or “an” are employed to describe elements and components of the embodiments herein. This is done merely for convenience and to give a general sense of the invention. This description should be read to include one or at least one and the singular also includes the plural unless it is obvious that it is meant otherwise. 
     Upon reading this disclosure, those of skill in the art will appreciate still additional alternative structural and functional designs for a system and a process for conducting a transaction through the disclosed principles herein. Thus, while particular embodiments and applications have been illustrated and described, it is to be understood that the disclosed embodiments are not limited to the precise construction and components disclosed herein. Various modifications, changes and variations, which will be apparent to those skilled in the art, may be made in the arrangement, operation and details of the method and apparatus disclosed herein without departing from the spirit and scope defined in the appended claims.