Patent Publication Number: US-2018039989-A1

Title: Online transaction efficiency improvement system

Description:
BACKGROUND 
     With advancements in communication technology and resource storage, managers of resources are now able to offer a wide variety of terms to fit the needs of users. The terms and/or user needs may continually change over a period of time without adjustments to resource utilization. 
     BRIEF SUMMARY 
     The following presents a simplified summary of one or more embodiments of the invention in order to provide a basic understanding of such embodiments. This summary is not an extensive overview of all contemplated embodiments, and is intended to neither identify key or critical elements of all embodiments, nor delineate the scope of any or all embodiments. Its sole purpose is to present some concepts of one or more embodiments in a simplified form as a prelude to the more detailed description that is presented later. 
     Embodiments of the present invention address these and/or other needs by providing an innovative system, method and computer program product for dynamic resource selection and implementation for web-based transactions. Embodiments provide a system comprising a computer apparatus including a processor, a memory device, and a communication device; and a software module stored in the memory, comprising computer-readable instructions that when executed by the processor cause the processor to identify user resources and one or more resource managers associated with the identified user resources; access a user web profile, wherein the user web profile comprises user resources, user preferences, historic resource trends, and resource characteristics for resource use; generate a ranked list of resources for providing the total resource amount to an online merchant, wherein the ranked list comprises a highest ranked user resource; in response to generating the ranked list of resources, automatically select the highest ranked user resource for providing the total resource amount to the online merchant; establish a secure operative connection between the system and an online merchant system; and initiate transmission of credential associated with the selected user resource to the online merchant system over the secure operative connection for providing the total resource amount to the online merchant. 
     In some embodiments, the computer-readable instructions when executed by the processor further cause the processor to receive, at the system, a communication from an online merchant indicating a pending transaction; initiate an authentication request for the user; receive the user&#39;s authentication credentials and authenticate the user; and transmit, to the online merchant and over the secure operative connection, that authentication was successful. 
     In some of these embodiments, the authentication request comprises a request to provide biometric authentication credentials. In some of these embodiments, receiving the user&#39;s authentication credentials comprises receiving the user&#39;s fingerprint. 
     In some embodiments, the computer-readable instructions when executed by the processor further cause the processor to trigger a communicable linkage with the one or more resource managers based on receiving a determined total resource amount required by the online merchant; and open the communicable linkage with the one or more resource managers for resource manager updating resource characteristics associated with the user resources. 
     In some embodiments, the computer-readable instructions when executed by the processor further cause the processor to initiate presentation of the selected user resource and the ranked list of resources from the one or more resource managers to the user device; and enable user selection of one of the ranked list of resources for providing the total resource amount to the online merchant. 
     In some embodiments, the computer-readable instructions when executed by the processor further cause the processor to generate a confidence score of the resources on the ranked list of resources, wherein the confidence score comprises a confidence of the user employing a specific resource for providing the total resource amount to the online merchant and completing a transaction, wherein generating the confidence score is based on weighted factors, wherein the weighted factors may include in descending order of weighted value: user preferences, past transaction data, historic trends, and/or location data associated with the user; identify a first resource on the ranked list of resources with a confidence score that meets or exceeds a predetermined confidence limit; and transmit, based on identifying the first resource, the first resource on the ranked list of resources, to the online merchant for providing the total resource amount to the online merchant and completing the transaction. 
     In some embodiments, the one or more resource managers comprise financial institutions that provide a debit card, credit card, and/or line of credit to the user for providing the total resource amount to the online merchant and completing a transaction. 
     In some embodiments, generating the ranked list of resources from the one or more resource managers further comprises analyzing the user preferences, wherein the user preferences include a preferred form of reward, incentive, and/or discount such as cash back, more reward points, lower interest rates, and/or the like provided to the user by an associated resource relative to resource characteristics set forth by the one or more resource managers. 
     In some embodiments, triggering the communicable linkage with the one or more resource managers based on determining the total resource amount required by the online merchant further comprises receiving from the user device the determined total resource amount required by the online merchant; and, in response to receiving from the user device the determined total resource amount required by the online merchant, establishing a communication link between the user device and the cloud-based dynamic resource selection and implementation system. 
     In some embodiments, generating the user profile comprises pushing a user profile comprising user preference selectable indicators to the user device; receiving selected user preferences from the user device based on the pushing of the user profile; identifying historic trends associated with user accounts; and allowing the user to modify the user specific competitive proposal profile on the user device. 
     In some embodiments, the computer-readable instructions when executed by the processor further cause the processor to generate a cloud-based dynamic payment decisioning application, wherein the cloud-based dynamic payment decisioning application enables for communicable linkage between the resource managers systems, the user device, and a merchant point-of-transaction device for integrative transaction completion. 
     According to embodiments of the invention, a computer program product for dynamic resource selection and implementation for web-based transactions, the computer program product comprising at least one non-transitory computer-readable medium having computer-readable program code portions embodied therein, the computer-readable program code portions comprising an executable portion configured for identifying user resources and one or more resource managers associated with the identified user resources; an executable portion configured for accessing a user web profile, wherein the user web profile comprises user resources, user preferences, historic resource trends, and resource characteristics for resource use; an executable portion for generating a ranked list of resources for providing the total resource amount to an online merchant, wherein the ranked list comprises a highest ranked user resource; an executable portion for, in response to generating the ranked list of resources, automatically select the highest ranked user resource for providing the total resource amount to the online merchant; an executable portion for establishing a secure operative connection between the system and an online merchant system; and an executable portion for initiating transmission of credential associated with the selected user resource to the online merchant system over the secure operative connection for providing the total resource amount to the online merchant. 
     In some embodiments, the computer-readable program code further comprises an executable portion configured for receiving, at the system, a communication from an online merchant indicating a pending transaction; an executable portion configured for initiating an authentication request for the user; an executable portion configured for receiving the user&#39;s authentication credentials and authenticate the user; and an executable portion configured for transmitting, to the online merchant and over the secure operative connection, that authentication was successful. In some such embodiments, the authentication request comprises a request to provide biometric authentication credentials. In some such embodiments, receiving the user&#39;s authentication credentials comprises receiving the user&#39;s fingerprint. 
     In some embodiments, the computer-readable program code comprises an executable portion configured for triggering a communicable linkage with the one or more resource managers based on receiving a determined total resource amount required by the online merchant; and an executable portion configured for opening the communicable linkage with the one or more resource managers for resource manager updating resource characteristics associated with the user resources. 
     In some embodiments, the computer-readable program code comprises an executable portion configured for initiating presentation of the selected user resource and the ranked list of resources from the one or more resource managers to the user device; and an executable portion configured for enabling user selection of one of the ranked list of resources for providing the total resource amount to the online merchant. 
     In some embodiments, the computer-readable program code further comprises an executable portion configured for generating a confidence score of the resources on the ranked list of resources, wherein the confidence score comprises a confidence of the user employing a specific resource for providing the total resource amount to the online merchant and completing a transaction, wherein generating the confidence score is based on weighted factors, wherein the weighted factors may include in descending order of weighted value: user preferences, past transaction data, historic trends, and/or location data associated with the user; an executable portion configured for identifying a first resource on the ranked list of resources with a confidence score that meets or exceeds a predetermined confidence limit; and an executable portion configured for transmitting, based on identifying the first resource, the first resource on the ranked list of resources, to the online merchant for providing the total resource amount to the online merchant and completing the transaction. 
     According to embodiments of the invention, a computer-implemented method for dynamic resource selection and implementation for web-based transactions includes identifying user resources and one or more resource managers associated with the identified user resources; accessing a user web profile, wherein the user web profile comprises user resources, user preferences, historic resource trends, and resource characteristics for resource use; generating a ranked list of resources for providing the total resource amount to an online merchant, wherein the ranked list comprises a highest ranked user resource; in response to generating the ranked list of resources, automatically selecting the highest ranked user resource for providing the total resource amount to the online merchant; establishing a secure operative connection between the system and an online merchant system; and initiating transmission of credential associated with the selected user resource to the online merchant system over the secure operative connection for providing the total resource amount to the online merchant. 
     The features, functions, and advantages that have been discussed may be achieved independently in various embodiments of the present invention or may be combined with yet other embodiments, further details of which can be seen with reference to the following description and drawings. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       Having thus described embodiments of the invention in general terms, reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings, wherein: 
         FIG. 1  provides a dynamic payment decisioning system environment, in accordance with embodiments of the invention; 
         FIG. 2  provides a cloud-based dynamic payment decisioning system environment, in accordance with embodiments of the invention. 
         FIG. 3  provides a high level process flow illustrating implementation of a dynamic payment decisioning system, in accordance with embodiments of the invention; 
         FIG. 4  provides a high level process flow illustrating generation of a user profile, in accordance with embodiments of the invention; 
         FIG. 5  provides a high level process flow illustrating opening a communicable linkage with resource managers in detail, in accordance with embodiments of the invention; 
         FIG. 6  provides a high level process flow illustrating generating a ranked list of resources, in accordance with embodiments of the invention; 
         FIG. 7  provides a high level process flow illustrating available resource selection according to embodiments of the invention; 
         FIG. 8  provides a high level combined process flow and diagram illustrating payment sequence according to embodiments of the invention; 
         FIG. 9  provides a high level combined process flow and diagram illustrating a splitting sequence according to embodiments of the invention; 
         FIGS. 10A, 10B, 10C and 10D  provide illustrations of screenshots of the user application running on a user device according to embodiments of the invention; 
         FIG. 11  provides a flowchart illustrating a method for dynamic resource selection and implementation for web-based transactions according to embodiments of the invention; and 
         FIG. 12  provides a flowchart illustrating a method for dynamic intelligent resource selection and implementation according to embodiments of the invention. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION 
     Embodiments of the present invention will now be described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which some, but not all, embodiments of the invention are shown. Indeed, 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 satisfy applicable legal requirements. Like numbers refer to elements throughout. Where possible, any terms expressed in the singular form herein are meant to also include the plural form and vice versa, unless explicitly stated otherwise. Also, as used herein, the term “a” and/or “an” shall mean “one or more,” even though the phrase “one or more” is also used herein. 
     Furthermore, as used herein the term “user device” may refer to mobile phones, personal computing devices, tablet computers, wearable devices, and/or any portable electronic device capable of receiving and/or storing data therein. 
     An “account” is the relationship that a user has with an entity, such as a financial institution. Examples of accounts include a deposit account, such as a transactional account (e.g., a banking account), a savings account, an investment account, a money market account, a time deposit, a demand deposit, a pre-paid account, a credit account, a debit/deposit account, a non-monetary user profile that includes information associated with the user, or the like. The account is associated with and/or maintained by the entity. A “resource” is an account of the user, and/or a payment device associated with an account of the user. Examples of resources may be accounts that have cash or cash equivalents, a credit card and associated credit card account, a debit card and associated banking account, or accounts that are funded with or contain property, such as safety despots box account that jewelry, a trust account that is funded with property, or the like. In some embodiments, a “resource” may also be a goods or services provided by a manufacturer, business, and/or the like to the user. 
     A “transaction” refers to any communication between a user and the financial institution or other entity monitoring the user&#39;s activities. A transaction may refer to a physical or virtual purchase of goods or services, a return of goods or services, a payment transaction, a credit transaction, or other interaction involving a user&#39;s account. In the context of a financial institution, a transaction may refer to one or more of: a sale of goods and/or services, initiating an automated teller machine (ATM) or online banking session, an account balance inquiry, a rewards transfer, an account money transfer or withdrawal, opening a bank application on a user&#39;s computer or mobile device, a user accessing their e-wallet, or any other interaction involving the user and/or the user&#39;s device that is detectable by the financial institution. A transaction may include one or more of the following: renting, selling, and/or leasing goods and/or services (e.g., groceries, stamps, tickets, DVDs, vending machine items, and the like); making payments to creditors (e.g., paying monthly bills; paying federal, state, and/or local taxes; and the like); sending remittances; loading money onto stored value cards (SVCs) and/or prepaid cards; donating to charities; and/or the like. 
     Embodiments of the present invention address the above needs and/or achieve other advantages by providing apparatuses (e.g., a system, computer program product and/or other device) and methods for providing a dynamic payment selection system. The present invention improves the process of a user selecting a resource to complete a transaction by enabling for selection of the resource that best matches a set of predetermined preferences and/or criteria at the time of a transaction. This may be done by building a selection profile among a variety of possible profiles appropriate for the purchase given details about the purchaser and the payment transaction. Additionally, the present invention enables resource managers the opportunity to potentially procure additional business by offering competitive, user-specific proposals in real-time. 
     More specifically, embodiments of the invention provide for using a mobile wallet to determine the best payment method at the time of purchase (i.e., during a mobile transaction with a merchant). The system determines the best payment method based on building a selection profile among a variety of possible profiles appropriate for the purchaser given details about the purchaser and the payment transaction itself. Some of the criteria for selecting the best payment method includes rewards opportunities, APR, spending limits (e.g., credit limits, user-implemented category spending limits, etc.), coupons and gift cards and user choices. 
     In various embodiments, the system may be leveraged to web browsers to favor online shopping, which may be performed on any user device including a workstation, desktop, tablet computer, mobile device or the like of the user. All sensitive data that includes user information and card information, and public data that includes deals will be stored locally on mobile devices or on secured servers. The data communication and synchronization between the mobile version and web version occur via end-to-end encryption when this invention is in use. When making a purchase online, the user can choose between the conventional store payment method and “pay with the app”. “Pay with the app” enables users to complete the transaction with a single click. This web-based concept, in some embodiments, enables a browser plugin/extension running locally at the device with which the user is navigating the Internet merchant&#39;s website and at a checkout page of that online marketplace. When the user moves forward with an online marketplace transaction, the browser plugin/extension may be called and performs some or all the functionality described herein, including but not limited to, selecting a best resource for completing a transaction. In some embodiments, once the user makes a selection to utilize the web-based system described herein, by for example, clicking a “Pay with the app” button, additional authentication may be required at the device the user is using or, in some cases, at another device associated with the user, such as the user&#39;s mobile device. In some embodiments, for example, biometric authentication (e.g., fingerprint authentication) will be captured by the mobile device of the user, confirmation of which may then be forwarded across an operative connection between the mobile device and the device which the user is using (e.g., the user&#39;s desktop computer) to complete the transaction. Such authentication communication may be sent through one or more administrator systems or servers (such as a financial institution system) or may be sent over a secure communication channel over the Internet between the mobile device and the user&#39;s desktop. 
     In various other embodiments, the system can itemize transactions by item categories. Based on the user&#39;s shopping habits, the app can utilize item data and/or merchant category data to predict spending, recommend payment credentials (e.g., credit cards) that the users may like, and promote coupons/sales. 
     In some such embodiments, and based on the user&#39;s shopping habits, the application enables machine learning to fine-tune the user preferences. For example, if the user makes a lot of travel purchases, the application can suggest to the user that, within the credential selection system, the weighting (i.e., the rank) for rewards, that is, how much the rewards criterion is considered in the credential selection algorithm is weighted should be increased. Another example is if the user has heavy balances on his cards, then the application can recommend to the user to give APR a higher rank. 
     In various embodiments, a location-based decisioning process may be included in one or more of the dynamic payment decisioning processes described herein. For example, in some embodiments, a user may travel within a geographic region associated with a deal. As a more specific example, the user may be traveling outside his or her normal area of travel and the application may determine that a particular merchant in that area has a deal that may be attractive to the user. Although, in some cases, the user need not be outside her/his regular geographic region, but rather, may simply move inside a predetermined geographic region or location associated with the deal. This deal may be an exclusive deal negotiated with the provider of the dynamic payment decisioning system such that only users running the application  222  or a similar application would have access to the particular deal. The deal may be presented to the user as part of the dynamic payment decisioning process during a pending transaction or may be pushed to the user when the application  222  recognizes that the user is within the geographic area that qualifies for the deal. Once the user receives the deal, the user may “opt-in” to the deal and receive further information on the deal or the application  222  may automatically move forward with a transaction in response, for example, the application may automatically perform a purchase using the determined best resource for deal once the user confirms they would like to move forward with the deal. 
     Referring now to the Figures,  FIG. 1  illustrates a dynamic payment decisioning system environment  200 , in accordance with embodiments of the present invention. As illustrated in  FIG. 1 , the dynamic payment decisioning system  208  is operatively coupled, via a network  201  to the user device  204 , a merchant point-of-transaction device  210 , and one or more resource manager systems  206 . In this way, the dynamic payment decisioning system  208  can send and receive information to and from the user device  204 , the merchant point-of-transaction device  210 , and the one or more resource manager systems  206 .  FIG. 1  illustrates only an example of an embodiment of the system environment  200 , and it will be appreciated that in other embodiments one or more of the systems, devices, or servers may be combined into a single system, device, or server, or be made up of multiple systems, devices, or servers. 
     The network  201  may be a global area network (GAN), such as the Internet, a wide area network (WAN), a local area network (LAN), or any other type of network or combination of networks. The network  201  may provide for wireline, wireless, or a combination wireline and wireless communication between devices on the network  201 . 
     In some embodiments, the user  202  is an individual or entity initiating a transaction for a product or service using a resource managed by a resource manager. In some embodiments, the user  202  may have a user device  204 .  FIG. 1  also illustrates a user device  204 . The user device  204  may be, for example, a desktop personal computer, a mobile system, such as a cellular phone, smart phone, personal data assistant (PDA) wearable device, laptop, or the like. The user device  204  generally comprises a communication device  212 , a processing device  214 , and a memory device  216 . The processing device  214  is operatively coupled to the communication device  212  and the memory device  216 . The processing device  214  uses the communication device  212  to communicate with the network  201  and other devices on the network  201 , such as, but not limited to the one or more resource manager systems  206  and the dynamic payment decisioning system  208 . As such, the communication device  212  generally comprises a modem, server, or other device for communicating with other devices on the network  201 . 
     The user device  204  comprises computer-readable instructions  220  and data storage  218  stored in the memory device  216 , which in some embodiments includes the computer-readable instructions  220  of a user application  222 . In some embodiments, the user application  222  enables the user device  204  to dynamically select a resource for conducting a transaction, communicate with the merchant point-of-transaction device  210 , and authorize the transaction for completion. 
     As further illustrated in  FIG. 1 , the dynamic payment decisioning system  208  generally comprises a communication device  246 , a processing device  248 , and a memory device  250 . As used herein, the term “processing device” generally includes circuitry used for implementing the communication and/or logic functions of the particular system. For example, a processing device may include a digital signal processor device, a microprocessor device, and various analog-to-digital converters, digital-to-analog converters, and other support circuits and/or combinations of the foregoing. Control and signal processing functions of the system are allocated between these processing devices according to their respective capabilities. The processing device may include functionality to operate one or more software programs based on computer-readable instructions thereof, which may be stored in a memory device. 
     The processing device  248  is operatively coupled to the communication device  246  and the memory device  250 . The processing device  248  uses the communication device  246  to communicate with the network  201  and other devices on the network  201 , such as, but not limited to the one or more resource manager systems  206 , the merchant point-of-transaction device  210 , and the user device  204 . As such, the communication device  246  generally comprises a modem, server, or other device for communicating with other devices on the network  201 . 
     As further illustrated in  FIG. 1 , the dynamic payment decisioning system  208  comprises computer-readable instructions  254  stored in the memory device  250 , which in one embodiment includes the computer-readable instructions  254  of a dynamic payment decisioning application  258 . In some embodiments, the memory device  250  includes data storage  252  for storing data related to the system environment  200 , but not limited to data created and/or used by the dynamic payment decisioning application  258 . 
     Embodiments of the dynamic payment decisioning system  208  may include multiple systems, servers, computers or the like maintained by one or many entities.  FIG. 1  merely illustrates one of those systems that, typically, interacts with many other systems to form a cloud-based network. In one embodiment of the invention, the dynamic payment decisioning system  208  is operated by an entity that acts as a resource manager to the user. In some embodiments, the dynamic payment decisioning system  208  is operated by an entity that is separate or does not act as a resource manager, and in some embodiments, the user device  204  and the user application  222  operate independently during the real-time dynamic decisioning regarding resources for a transaction. In some cases, the user device  204  communicates with the dynamic payment decisioning system  208  initially and/or periodically in order to retrieve profiles related to the user and/or standard profiles that may be matched to the user-pending transaction combination such that the appropriate resource may be selected for the user-pending transaction combination. 
     The processing device  248  is configured to use the communication device  246  to gather data, such as data corresponding to user information, transactions, or resources offered by resource managers. The processing device  248  stores the data that it receives in the memory device  250 . 
     In the embodiment illustrated in  FIG. 1  and described throughout much of this specification, the dynamic payment decisioning application  258  may gather information related to the user and generate a user-specific profile, available resource profiles from resource managers, and create a ranked list of resources for completing a pending transaction. 
     In some embodiments, the dynamic payment decisioning application  258  identifies resources associated with the user  202 . Furthermore, the dynamic payment decisioning application  258  may identify the resource managers that are responsible for maintaining, housing, or otherwise managing the resources associated with the user  202 , for example, those resources that are included in a mobile wallet of the user device  204 . 
     In some embodiments, the dynamic payment decisioning application  258  generates a user profile by first pushing a user profile to the user  202  in order to acquire user preferences. The dynamic payment decisioning application  258  sends a command signal to a user device  204  via a network  201  to display a graphical user interface comprising the user profile wherein the user profile comprises fields to be completed by the user  202 . In some embodiments, the user profile is transmitted by the dynamic payment decisioning application  258  to a user device  204  associated with the user  202 . The user profile is completed by the user  202 , and upon completion, the user profile is transmitted, via a network  201 , by the user device and received by the dynamic payment decisioning application  258 . Subsequently, the user profile is processed by the dynamic payment decisioning application  258 , wherein processing the user profile comprises extracting, compiling, and formatting user-inputted data so as to be presented via a graphical user interface. 
     In some embodiments, the dynamic payment decisioning application  258  uses information contained within the user profile to identify user accounts associated with available resources and one or more resource managers associated with the user accounts. The user accounts may be financial accounts such as a savings account, checking account, credit card account and/or the like. Account information such as account identifying numbers, credit card numbers, account manager and/or the like is obtained from the user profile completed by the user  202 . In some embodiments, the user  202  on the user device  204  authorizes the dynamic payment decisioning application  258  to access the user accounts associated with the user  202  on the resource manager systems  206 . The dynamic payment decisioning application  258  receives the account information associated with the user accounts directly from the one or more resource manager systems  206  via a network  201 . 
     In various other embodiments, the user application  222  of the user device  204  determines the user accounts associated with the user by accessing the mobile wallet or multiple mobile wallets contained within the user device  204 . In some embodiments, the user application  222  initiates formation of the user profile by accessing the mobile wallet(s) contained therein, and then supplements the user profile and/or confirms portions of the user profile by accessing the dynamic payment decisioning system  208  and/or the resource manager system  206 . 
     In some embodiments of the invention, the dynamic payment decisioning application  258  may be maintained by a financial institution that also manages one or more accounts of the user  202 , and the account information is already known by the financial institution without the user  202  needing to provide the account information in the user profile. In some embodiments, the user accounts may be nonfinancial accounts such as social media accounts, wherein the dynamic payment decisioning application  258  gathers nonfinancial information about the user  202  from a social media account profile associated with the user  202 . 
     In some embodiments, the dynamic payment decisioning application  258  stores the user profile on a cloud network  301  as further illustrated in  FIG. 2 . In some embodiments, the cloud network is maintained by the dynamic payment decisioning application  258 . In some embodiments, the network  201  is the cloud network. In other embodiments the dynamic payment decisioning application  258  stores the user profile in the memory device  250  of the dynamic payment decisioning system  208 . 
     In some embodiments, the dynamic payment decisioning application  258  allows the user  202  to modify the user profile and/or portions of the user profile on the user device  204  associated with the user  202  ensuring that the user profile contains current user preferences, historic trends, and resources associated with the user  202 . Upon request by the user  202 , the user profile may be transmitted by the dynamic payment decisioning application  258  via a network  201  to the user device  204  or from the user application  222  via a network  201  to the dynamic payment decisioning system  208 . Upon the user  202  updating the profile on the user device  204 , the user profile may be transmitted back by the user device  204  and received by the dynamic payment decisioning application  258  and stored on the cloud network maintained by the dynamic payment decisioning application  258 . In some embodiments of the invention, the user profile may be stored on the user device  204  and received by the dynamic payment decisioning system  208  upon the user  202  updating the user profile, which may then be transmitted to the dynamic payment decisioning system  208  in embodiments where the system  208  stores a copy of the user profile. 
     In some embodiments, the competitive proposal application  258  may automatically transmit the user profile to the user device  204  in response to a predefined period of user inactivity, wherein the dynamic payment decisioning system  208  prompts the user  202  to update the user profile and/or confirm that all user preferences, historic trends, and resources associated with the user  202  are current. Upon the user  202  updating and/or confirming the user profile, the user profile is transmitted via a network  201  by the user device  204  and received by the dynamic payment decisioning application  258 . 
     Upon all items contributing to the total resource amount required by the merchant being scanned by the merchant, in some embodiments, the dynamic payment decisioning application  258  may receive from a merchant point-of-transaction device  210  a total resource amount required by the merchant for the transaction between the user  202  and the merchant at a merchant location. In some embodiments, the user device  204  communicates via radio frequency (RF) communication or some other wireless communication method with a merchant point-of-transaction device  210  and triggers a payment process. In response to the triggering of the payment process, the total resource amount is transmitted by the user device  204  over a network  201  and received by the dynamic payment decisioning application  258 . 
     In some embodiments, the dynamic payment decisioning application  258  is triggered to establish a communicable linkage with the resource manager systems  206  in response to receiving the total resource amount required by the merchant for the transaction between the user  202  and the merchant at the merchant location. The communicable linkage between the resource manager systems  206  and the dynamic payment decisioning application  258  is established in order to acquire resource characteristics updates from the one or more resource managers, wherein the dynamic payment decisioning application  258  and the one or more resource manager systems  206  transmit and receive data from one another via a network  201  during the dynamic payment decisioning process. 
     The dynamic payment decisioning application  258  requires all systems and devices participating in the dynamic payment decisioning process to implement an application program interface (API) and an accessible cloud service with appropriate security capable of sending and/or receiving updates regarding resource characteristics. Resource characteristics may include terms regarding rewards, interest rates or the like associated with the resources. 
     In some embodiments, the user application  222  and/or the dynamic payment decisioning application  258  generates a ranked list of the resources associated with the user and available for use to complete the pending transaction. In some embodiments of the invention, generating a ranked list of resources includes analyzing the user preferences, wherein the user preferences include a preferred form of reward, incentive, and/or discount such as cash back, more reward points, lower interest rates, and/or the like provided to the user  202  by an associated resource relative to current terms set forth by the one or more resource managers upon selection of the associated resource to complete the transaction. 
     In some embodiments of the invention, generating a ranked list of the resources associated with the user includes generating a confidence score for each of the resources on the ranked list, wherein the confidence score comprises a confidence of the user employing a specific resource for providing the total resource amount to the merchant and completing the transaction. The confidence score is based on weighted factors, where the weighted factors may include in descending order of weight value: user preferences, past transaction data, historic trends, and/or location data associated with the user  202 . 
     In embodiments where the dynamic payment decisioning application  258  determines the ranked list of resources, the dynamic payment decisioning application  258  transmits the ranked list of resources to the user device  204  associated with the user  202  via a network  201 . The dynamic payment decisioning application  258  transmits a command signal to the user device  204  causing it to display a graphical user interface containing the ranked list of resources. 
     In some embodiments, the dynamic payment decisioning application  258  allows the user to select a resource from the ranked list of resources on the graphical user interface to provide the total resource amount to the merchant and complete the transaction. In some embodiments of the invention, the dynamic payment decisioning application  258  automatically selects a first resource on the ranked list and transmits the first resource to the merchant point-of-transaction device  210  via a network to complete the transaction. In other embodiments of the invention, the dynamic payment decisioning system  208  identifies a first resource on the ranked list of resources with a confidence score that meets or exceeds a predetermined confidence limit and transmits the first resource on the ranked list to the merchant point-of-transaction device  210  for providing the total resource amount to the merchant and completing the transaction. 
     In some embodiments, the dynamic payment decisioning application  258  transmits the ranked list of resources to the user device  204  associated with the user  202 . The dynamic payment decisioning application  258  transmits a command signal to the user device  204  causing it to display a graphical user interface containing the ranked list of resources and allowing for the user  202  to select a resource from the ranked list and complete the transaction. 
     As illustrated in  FIG. 1 , the merchant point-of-transaction device  210  generally comprises a communication device  272 , a processing device  274 , and a memory device  276 , wherein the processing device  274  is operatively coupled to the communication device  272  and memory device  276 . Further, the memory device  276  comprises data storage  278  computer-readable instructions  280 , which in some embodiments includes the computer-readable instructions  280  of a merchant application  282 . The merchant point-of-transaction device  210  may use the communication device  272  to communicate over the network  201  with other systems and servers in the system environment  200 , such as the user device  204 , the resource manager systems  206 , and the dynamic payment decisioning system  208 . In some embodiments, the merchant application  282  allows the merchant point-of-transaction device  210  to communicate with the user device  204 , and other systems in order to receive a resource for completion of a transaction and to complete the processing of the transaction. 
     The resource manager systems  206  generally includes a communication device  236 , a processing device  238 , and a memory device  240 , where the processing device  238  is operatively coupled to the communication device  236  and memory device  240 . Further, the memory device  240  comprises data storage  242  computer-readable instructions  244 , which in some embodiments includes the computer-readable instructions  244  of a resource manager application  246 . The resource manager systems  206  may use the communication device  236  to communicate over the network  201  with other systems and servers in the system environment  200 , such as the user device  204 , the merchant point-of-transaction device  210 , and the dynamic payment decisioning system  208 . In some embodiments, the resource manager application  246  allows the resource manager systems  206  to communicate with the dynamic payment decisioning system  208  in order to receive requests for and transmit updates to resource characteristics. The resource manager system  206  is associated with a resource manager that provides a resource with established terms to the user  202 , wherein a resource is an account of the user, and/or a payment device associated with an account of the user such as accounts that have cash or cash equivalents, a credit card and associated credit card account, a debit card and associated banking account, and the like. In some embodiments, the resource manager may be a manufacturer, business, and/or the like, wherein a resource may be goods or services. 
       FIG. 2  illustrates a cloud-based dynamic payment decisioning system environment  300 , in accordance with some embodiments of the invention. In some embodiments, a cloud network  301  is maintained and managed by the dynamic payment decisioning system  208 . The cloud network  301  comprises the dynamic payment decisioning system  208 , user device  204 , merchant point-of-transaction device  210 , and the resource manager systems  302 . As illustrated in  FIG. 1 , in some embodiments, the cloud network can comprise one or more resource manager systems, wherein the one or more resource manager systems are operated and maintained by different resource managers. In other embodiments, a resource manager may provide multiple resource manager systems  302  to be included in the cloud network  301 . Through the cloud network  301 , the dynamic payment decisioning system  208  may transmit requests to the resource manager system(s)  302 . In some embodiments, information can be stored and processed on the cloud network  301  instead of a local computing device such as the user device  204 , where memory and processing capabilities of the local computing device remain unaffected. 
     In various embodiments of the invention, onboarding new resources such as new cards may be performed by taking pictures of the cards with the user device camera. Users may also manually input payment credential information into one or more mobile wallets. Alternatively, or in addition to this, the user application  222  may retrieve available resource information from at least four (4) sources, including user inputs, local repositories, remote repositories and/or vendor repositories. 
     The first source, user inputs, may be for example, in the format of a survey whereby the user is asked a series of questions regarding the resource such as payment terms, APR, billing cycle, personal preferences ranking the card against others in the wallet(s), etc. In some cases, first time users may be provided a tutorial explaining how to set and rank the preferences through the user device interface. Users may prioritize not only the main criteria (such as rewards, APR, spending limits, coupons, etc.), but also sub-criteria (such as cash back, frequent mileage, discounts, etc.). In some cases, when completing the survey, the users are timed and automatic selections are made after a predetermined period of time, but the users are typically given an opportunity to confirm or deny the automatic selections. 
     The second source is a local repository that may be stored on the user device itself. User are able to store coupons locally on the user application  222  by pulling electronic coupons from providers or by taking pictures of the coupons. A picture of a coupon is processed to populate the local repository with various terms of the coupon such as the expiration date, manufacturer, and participating merchant. This enables notification of coupon availability upon entering a participating merchant location where the coupon item is available. In some embodiments, the user application  222  or dynamic payment decisioning application  258  periodically offers discounts/coupons by pushing to those user devices  204  in a specific geographic area or otherwise and/or may also push messaging regarding available offers or coupons. 
     The third source is a remote repository on a system such as the dynamic payment decisioning system  208 . In some embodiments, APIs are provided to expose the payment provider institutions (i.e., the resource managers), and the dynamic payment decisioning application  258  periodically retrieves currents terms and conditions (e.g., APR, payment terms, etc.) from the resource manager system(s) as discussed in further detail below. Such current terms may be stored locally at the user device  204  or remotely at the dynamic payment decisioning system  208  or otherwise. In some cases, the updated terms (also referred to herein as the resource characteristics) are stored as part of the user profile. In various embodiments, the dynamic payment decisioning application  258  will synchronize the user profile stored at the user device  204  each time the user application  222  starts, periodically or upon push notifications. 
     The fourth source is a vendor repository, which may provide information on resource features and rewards. In some cases, the dynamic payment decisioning system may purchase data from one or more vendor(s). 
     In various embodiments, the user application  222  and/or the dynamic payment decisioning application  158  can itemize transactions by item categories. For example, if a user buys kitchenware and electronics from a department store, the entire transactions should be categorized by the merchant code of the store. The application(s)  222  and/or  158  may be able to identify certain product categories within the transaction based on product information provided by the point of transaction device (or by other methods such as by scanning product UPC, taking a photo, etc.). Such information may be input into the resource selection algorithm for better selection of resources to be used to complete the transaction. In some cases, the application(s)  222  and/or  158  may utilize item and merchant category data to predict spending, recommend new products such as credit cards and promote coupons/sales. In other cases, the application(s)  222  and/or  158  may provide the item and merchant category data to merchants and/or resource managers (e.g., card issuing banks) for highly customized rewards or other card/merchant benefits. 
     In various embodiments, the preferences used by the resource selection algorithm may include rewards, APR, spending limits, coupons/gift cards and others, some or all of which may be overridden by the user&#39;s choice in some cases. Regarding rewards, cash back incentives may be associated with credit cards. For example, a bank may provide a percentage of a purchase back for a particular merchant category and a different percentage of the purchase back for a different merchant category and a different percentage back for all other merchant categories. Other rewards may be frequent mileage rewards such as every dollar spent is worth a particular number of miles. Discount rewards such as receiving a certain percentage off on a particular merchant category during a specified calendar range. Other rewards may include account opening rewards such as receiving cash when opening a new account and spending a certain amount within a specified period of time. The annual percentage rate (APR) for a payment instrument may be a traditional APR set by the issuing bank or may be a customized APR range such that the user can set the application(s)  222  or  158  to only choose the cards that have APR between a specified range, for example, between zero percent (0%) and five percent (5%). The spending limits may be bank-set limits or user-set limits on available credit. For example, the spending limits may be set to an eighty percent (80%) threshold of the total available credit on a specified cards or all cards in aggregate. Further, limits may be set based on item categories and/or merchant categories. For example, the user may set a limit of five hundred dollars ($500) on a particular merchant category or a limit of one hundred dollars ($100) on a particular type of item for a month. Coupons and giftcards may be stored as pre-paid coupons, store coupons and gift cards by the application(s)  222  or  158 . The resource selection algorithm may look for coupons and gift cards and apply them automatically to the final total amount of the pending transaction. Some miscellaneous criteria may be considered as well, such as foreign transaction fees, rental car insurance coverage if the pending transaction is a rental car payment, extended warranties for particular products, etc. Finally, the user&#39;s choice may be considered. The user may, for example, manually override the resource selection algorithm&#39;s selection by setting a flag for a time to favor a particular resource or card. For example, the user may decide to promote a particular affinity over all other rewards/offers for a time period. 
       FIG. 3  provides a high level process flow for completing a transaction between a user and a merchant using a cloud-based dynamic payment decisioning system  100 , in accordance with embodiments of the present invention. As illustrated by block  102 , a dynamic payment decisioning system  208  identifies resources associated with the user  202 . Furthermore, the dynamic payment decisioning system  208  may identify the resource managers that are responsible for maintaining, housing, or otherwise managing the resources associated with the user  202 . In some embodiments of the invention, the one or more resource managers are financial institutions that provide and manage one or more credit cards, debit cards, lines of credit and/or the like to the user  202 . In some embodiments, the resources are the one or more credit cards, debit cards, lines of credit and/or the like that the financial institutions provide to the user  202 . For example, a resource manager may be a bank or a credit card company that provides and manages a credit card to the user  202 . 
     In some embodiments, the one or more resource managers may be manufacturers of a product, wherein the resources are offers for products that the one or more manufacturers produce, wherein the offers could be discounts, coupons, and/or the like associated with the products. In some embodiments of the invention, the resource managers associated with the user  202  are identified by receiving communication from the user  202 . In other embodiments, the resources associated with the user  202  are identified from accounts associated with the user  202  extracted and/or identified by the dynamic payment decisioning system  208 . 
     As illustrated by block  104  of  FIG. 3 , the dynamic payment decisioning system  208  generates a user profile. 
     The generation of a user profile is further illustrated in  FIG. 4 . As illustrated in  FIG. 4 , which provides a process flow for generating a user profile  600 , the dynamic payment decisioning system  208  generates the user profile in block  602  by first pushing a user profile to the user  202  in order to acquire user preferences as illustrated in block  604 . The user profile comprises fields to be completed by the user  202 . For example, the user profile may contain fields for user input such as a name, address, phone number, email address, social media account information, preferred form of reward or incentive, financial account information and/or the like. In some embodiments, the user profile is transmitted by the dynamic payment decisioning system  208  to a user device  204  associated with the user  202 . The user profile is completed by the user  202 , and upon completion, the user profile is transmitted and received by the system from the user device  204 . Subsequently, the user profile is processed by the dynamic payment decisioning system  208 , where processing the user profile comprises extracting, compiling, and formatting user-inputted data so as to be presented via a graphical user interface. 
     As illustrated by block  606  in  FIG. 4 , the dynamic payment decisioning system  208  processes the user profile and receives the user preferences, where the user preferences comprise preferences of the user  202  for a specific form of reward, incentive, and/or discount such as cash back, reward points, lower interest rates, and/or the like. For example, the user  202  may state in response to a prompt in the user profile that he/she prefers to receive cash back rather than reward points for a transaction. In some embodiments the form of reward could be a coupon, rebate, and/or the like provided by a manufacturer of a product for the product associated with the manufacturer that is included in the transaction between the user  202  and the merchant. For example, the user  202  may state in response to a prompt in the user profile that he/she prefers to receive a coupon that can be immediately applied to the transaction instead of a mail-in rebate. 
     As illustrated in block  608  in  FIG. 4 , the process  600  continues by identifying user accounts and resource managers associated with the accounts. As such, the dynamic payment decisioning system  208  uses information contained within the user profile to identify user accounts and one or more resource managers associated with the user accounts. The user accounts may be financial accounts such as a savings account, checking account, credit card account and/or the like. Account information such as account identifying numbers, credit card numbers, account manager and/or the like is obtained from the user profile completed by the user  202 . For example, the user  202  may complete the user profile and provide information regarding a credit card associated with the user  202  and a credit card company that manages an account associated with the credit card. In some embodiments, the user  202  authorizes the dynamic payment decisioning system  208  to access the user accounts associated with the user  202 , and the dynamic payment decisioning system  208  receives the account information associated with the user accounts directly from the one or more resource managers. In some embodiments of the invention, the dynamic payment decisioning system  208  may be maintained by a financial institution that also manages one or more accounts of the user  202 , and the account information is already known by the financial institution without the user  202  needing to provide the account information in the user profile. In some embodiments, the user accounts may be nonfinancial accounts such as social media accounts, wherein the dynamic payment decisioning system  208  gathers nonfinancial information about the user  202  from a social media account profile associated with the user  202 . 
     As illustrated in block  610  of  FIG. 4 , the dynamic payment decisioning system  208  extracts information contained within the user profile to identify historic trends associated with the user accounts. The system  208  may extract transaction purchase amounts, date and time of a transaction, location of a transaction, items included in a transaction and the like associated with a user account in order to identify historic trends. 
     Historic trends may include, for example, but are not limited to a proclivity of the user  202  for purchasing a specific brand of an item, a frequency that the user  202  shops at a merchant location, an average total amount of money spent by the user  202  while shopping at a merchant location, other behavioral tendencies of the user  202 , and/or the like. For example, the dynamic payment decisioning system  208  may recognize from past transactions associated with a user account that the user  202  has traveled a certain number of times over a time period and associate a tendency to travel with the user  202 . In some embodiments, wherein the user account is a social media account, the dynamic payment decisioning system  208  may identify trends from a social media account associated with the user  202  by recognizing words or phrases frequently employed by the user  202 , wherein the words or phrases may be a product brand name, a merchant name or location, and/or the like. The dynamic payment decisioning system  208  may also identify trends from the social media account associated with the user  202  by recognizing pages on a social media platform associated with the social media account that have been made favorite by the user  202 . For example, the dynamic payment decisioning system  208  may identify a proclivity of the user  202  for a certain brand of a product by recognizing that the user  202  “liked” the page on the social media platform associated with the certain brand of the product. 
     As illustrated in block  612  of  FIG. 4 , the dynamic payment decisioning system  208  uses collected information associated with the user  202  to generate a user profile for the user  202  based on the user preferences, historic trends, and the one or more resources available to the user  202 . 
     As seen in block  614  of  FIG. 4 , the process  600  continues by storing the user profile on a cloud network  301  as seen in  FIG. 2 . In some embodiments, the cloud network  301  is maintained by the dynamic payment decisioning system  208 . Access to the user profile may be provided, in some embodiments, to one or more of the resource manager systems  206  by the dynamic payment decisioning system  208  allowing the one or more resource managers access to the user preferences and historic trends associated with the user  202  in order for the one or more resource managers to offer competitive resource characteristics that may be seen as attractive to the user  202 . In some embodiments of the invention, the user profile or specified portions of the user profile is/are transmitted to the one or more resource managers and stored on the resource manager systems  206 , where user profiles stored on the resource manager system  206  are updated in real time by the dynamic payment decisioning system  208  as new information associated with the user becomes available to ensure that the one or more resource managers are able to provide competitive resource characteristics that may be seen as attractive to the user  202  based on recent information associated with the user  202 . In other embodiments, aspects of the user profile is kept private from the resource managers. The dynamic payment decisioning system  208  may not allow the resource managers to access the user preferences and instead matches the user profile to received offers and/or resource characteristics from the resource managers. 
     In some embodiments, the user profile is made available to the resource manager systems  206  solely for the purpose of the resource managers updated the applicable resource characteristics stored as part of the user profile. Once the user profile has received updated resource characteristics, then the dynamic payment decisioning system  208 , in some embodiments, may send the updated user profile to the user device concurrently with instructions causing the user device to replace an old version of the user profile with the updated version of the user profile. In some embodiments, only updated portions of the user profile are transmitted from the dynamic payment decisioning system  208  to the user device  204  for replacement in the user profile stored by the user device  204 . 
     As illustrated in block  616  of  FIG. 4 , the dynamic payment decisioning system  208  enables the user  202  to modify the user profile on the user device  204  associated with the user  202  ensuring that the user profile contains current user preferences, historic trends, and resources available to the user  202 . Upon request by the user  202 , any updates to the user profile may be transmitted by the dynamic payment decisioning system  208  to the user device  204 . Upon the user  202  updating the user profile on the user device  204 , the user profile may be transmitted by the user device  204  concurrently with instructions causing the dynamic payment decisioning system  208  to update its copy of the user profile. These instructions and the updated user profile may be received by the dynamic payment decisioning system  208  and stored on the cloud network  301  maintained by the dynamic payment decisioning system  208 . In other words, in some embodiments of the invention, the user profile may be stored on the user device  204  and received by the dynamic payment decisioning system  208  upon the user  202  updating the user profile, where the user profile with the current user preferences, historic trends, and resources available to the user  202 . In some embodiments, the dynamic payment decisioning system  208  may automatically transmit the user profile to the user device  204  in response to a predefined period of user inactivity, wherein the dynamic payment decisioning system  208  prompts the user  202  to update the user profile and/or confirm that all user preferences, historic trends, and resources available to the user  202  are current. Upon the user  202  updating and/or confirming the user profile, the user profile may be transmitted from the user device  204  and received by the dynamic payment decisioning system  208 , where some or all the user profile with the current user preferences, historic trends, and resources available to the user  202  may be provided to the resource manager systems  206  for regular updating of resource characteristics. 
     Referring back to  FIG. 3 , as illustrated in block  106 , after generating the user profile  104 , the process  100  continues by receiving at the dynamic payment decisioning system  208  from the user device  204  a total resource amount required by the merchant for the transaction between the user  202  and the merchant at a merchant location. Upon all items contributing to the total resource amount required by the merchant being scanned by the merchant, the user device  204  communicates with a merchant point-of-transaction device  210  and triggers a payment process. In response to the triggering of the payment process, the total resource amount is received by the dynamic payment decisioning system  208  from the user device  204  via network communication. In some embodiments of the invention, the communication between the user device  204  and the merchant point-of-transaction device  210  may be a wireless radio frequency (RF) communication or other wireless communication method. 
     In various other embodiments, the total resource amount required by the merchant for the transaction between the user  202  and the merchant is communicated from the merchant to the dynamic payment decisioning system  208  without being passed through the user device, that is, it is communicated over the network  201 . In some embodiments, the total resource amount required for the transaction is not communicated to the dynamic payment decisioning system  208 , but rather, it is processed solely by the user device  204  to select and implement the appropriate resource for the transaction. 
     As illustrated in block  108  of  FIG. 3  the dynamic payment decisioning system  208  is triggered to establish a communicable linkage with the resource manager systems  206  in response to receiving the total resource amount required by the merchant for the transaction between the user  202  and the merchant at the merchant location. The communicable linkage between the resource manager systems  206  and the dynamic payment decisioning system  208  is established in order to acquire updated resource characteristics from the one or more resource managers, where the updated resource characteristics may include changes to pre-established payment terms between the user  202  and the one or more resource managers such as interest rates, amount of cash back earned by the user  202 , amount of reward points earned by the user  202 , and/or the like. For example, a resource manager may propose to the user  202  a lower interest rate for the transaction relative to a pre-established interest rate in return for the user  202  choosing to complete the transaction using a credit card associated with the resource manager. 
     In some embodiments where the resource selection and implementation process is not conducted solely on the user device  204 , the dynamic payment decisioning system  208  may require some or all the systems and devices participating in the process to implement an application program interface (API) and an accessible cloud service with appropriate security capable of sending and/or receiving transmissions by a manager of the resources. 
     As illustrated in block  112 , the dynamic payment decisioning system  208  and/or the user device  204  generates a ranked list of the resources associated with the user. In some embodiments of the invention, generating a ranked list of resources available to the user includes analyzing the user preferences, where the user preferences include a preferred form of reward, incentive, and/or discount such as cash back, more reward points, lower interest rates, and/or the like provided to the user  202  by an associated resource relative to current terms set forth by the one or more resource managers upon selection of the associated resource to complete the transaction. For example, if the user profile states that the user  202  prioritizes lower interest rates over cash back, the dynamic payment decisioning system  208  will rank a resource that provides a lower interest rate over a resource that provides cash back. 
     In some embodiments of the invention, generating a ranked list of the resources available to the user includes generating a confidence score for each of the resources on the ranked list, where the confidence score includes a confidence of the user employing a specific resource for providing the total resource amount to the merchant and completing the transaction. The confidence score is based on weighted factors, where the weighted factors may include in descending order of weight value: user preferences, past transaction data, historic trends, and/or location data associated with the user  202 . 
     As illustrated in block  114 , in embodiments where the process is not being performed solely by the user device  204 , the dynamic payment decisioning system  208  transmits the ranked list of resources to the user device  204  associated with the user  202 . The dynamic payment decisioning system  208  transmits a command signal to the user device  204  causing it to display a graphical user interface containing the ranked list of resources. 
     As illustrated in block  116 , the dynamic payment decisioning system  208  and/or the user device  204  enables the user to select a resource from the ranked list of resources to provide the total resource amount to the merchant and complete the transaction. In some embodiments of the invention, the dynamic payment decisioning system  208  or the user device  204  automatically selects a first resource on the ranked list and completes the transaction. In some embodiments of the invention, the dynamic payment decisioning system  208  or the user device  204  identifies a first resource on the ranked list of resources with a confidence score that meets or exceeds a predetermined confidence limit and transmits the first resource on the ranked list to the merchant for providing the total resource amount to the merchant and completing the transaction. In embodiments where the dynamic payment decisioning system  208  selects the resource, it may either (i) send the resource to the merchant via the user device by instructing the user device to establish an operative connection with the point of transaction of the merchant or (ii) by sending the resource to the merchant over a secure established communication rail via the network  201 . 
     In some embodiments of the invention, the merchant may be allowed to participate in a payment selection and implementation process as described herein by incentivizing the user  202  to complete the transaction through a real-time, direct transfer of cash to a financial account associated with the merchant from a financial account associated with the user  202 , where third party resource managers are not required to participate in the transaction. By not including the third party resource managers, the merchant is able to avoid any potential processing fees associated with the third party resource managers, and cost of completing the transaction for the merchant is reduced. Additionally, risk of crime for the merchant such as robbery is reduced as all cash is transferred electronically and not located at the merchant location. In some embodiments, the merchant may incentivize the user  202  to complete the transaction through the real-time, direct transfer of cash by offering a discount to the total resource amount required by the merchant, in-store credit, gift cards and/or the like. In some embodiments, the merchant&#39;s depository information is transmitted directly to the dynamic payment decisioning system  208  by the merchant point-of-transaction device  210 , while in another embodiment, the user device  204  receives the merchant&#39;s depository information from the merchant point-of-transaction device  210  and transmits the information to the dynamic payment decisioning system  208 . In some embodiments, the communication between the user device  204  and the merchant point-of-transaction device  210  may be accomplished through near-field communication (NFC) or other wireless communication technology. 
     In some embodiments, the merchant may be notified by the dynamic payment decisioning system  208  of the terms of the pending transaction and/or the resources available to the user and/or the corresponding resource characteristics available to the user  202 . In some such embodiments, the merchant may provide additional or alternative incentives to the user, through the user device  204  and/or the dynamic payment decisioning system  208  for completion of the transaction via a merchant-specific resource or resource available to the user that otherwise benefits the merchant in some way. In other embodiments, the merchant is unaware of the terms of the pending transaction and/or the resources available to the user and/or the corresponding resource characteristics available to the user  202 . 
     In some embodiments of the invention, the one or more resource managers comprise one or more manufacturers of competing products similar to a product to be included in the transaction, wherein the ranked list of resources comprises a ranked list of product proposals from the one or more manufacturers of the competing products similar to the product to be included in the transaction between the user  202  and the merchant. Upon identifying the product has been selected by the user  202  to be included in the transaction, the dynamic payment decisioning system  208  may generate the ranked list of product proposals from the one or more manufacturers of competing products similar to the product to be included in the transaction. 
       FIG. 5  provides a process flow for requesting, receiving, and transmitting updated resource characteristics from the resource managers  700 . As illustrated in block  702 , the dynamic payment decisioning system  208  is triggered to establish a communicable linkage with the resource manager systems  206  periodically, regularly, or in response to some trigger, such as receiving the total resource amount required by the merchant for the transaction between the user  202  and the merchant at the merchant location. The communicable linkage between the resource manager systems  206  and the dynamic payment decisioning system  208  is established in order to acquire updated resource characteristics from the one or more resource managers, where the updated resource characteristics may include changes to pre-established payment terms between the user  202  and the one or more resource managers such as interest rates, amount of cash back earned by the user  202 , amount of reward points earned by the user  202 , and/or the like. In some embodiments, the one or more resource managers are manufacturers of a competing product similar to a product to be included in the transaction, wherein the updated resource characteristics are proposed price changes, discounts, coupons, rebates and/or other like incentives for a product offered by a manufacturer of a product in return for including the product in the transaction. 
     As illustrated in block  704  of  FIG. 5 , based on the triggering the establishment of the communicable linkages with the resource manager systems  206 , the dynamic payment decisioning system  208  requests updating of the resource characteristics for the resources available to the user  202 . In some embodiments, the dynamic payment decisioning system  208  enables the one or more resource managers to access the user profile stored in the cloud and to use the information contained within the user profile to offer attractive and competitive proposals to the user  202 . In some embodiments of the invention, the dynamic payment decisioning system  208  also requests offers from one or more resource managers not associated with the user  202  to compete with the other resource characteristics associated with the user  202 . For example, the dynamic payment decisioning system  208  may request an offer for terms associated with a new credit card from a credit card company not already associated with the user  202  to compete with the term changes provided by credit card companies already associated with the user  202 , wherein the user  202  may sign-up for the new credit card and complete the transaction with the new credit card. 
     As illustrated in block  706  of  FIG. 5 , the dynamic payment decisioning system  208  receives the updated resource characteristics transmitted from the one or more resource managers. In some embodiments of the invention, receiving the updated resource characteristics from the one or more resource managers through the communicable linkage between the dynamic payment decisioning system  208  and the resource manager systems  206  comprises a confidential bidding process, wherein the one or more resource managers submit a single, private term change proposal for a resource associated with the user  202  for completing the transaction between the user  202  and the merchant. The one or more resource managers are unaware of offers proposed by competitor resource managers during the competitive proposal process. In some embodiments, receiving the term change proposals from the one or more resource managers through the communicable linkage between the dynamic payment decisioning system  208  and the resource manager systems  206  comprises a public auction, wherein, after offering initial term change proposals, the one or more resource managers may be notified of a currently pending term change proposal from a competitor resource manager. In response, the one or more resource managers not offering the currently pending term change proposal for completing the transaction between the user  202  and the merchant and providing the total resource amount to the merchant may offer additional term change proposals to compete with the currently pending term change proposal. 
     As illustrated in block  708 , the dynamic payment decisioning system  208  generates a ranked list of the resources associated with the term change proposals from the one or more resource managers. 
       FIG. 6  further illustrates the process of generating a ranked list of resources provided by the one or more resource managers  800 , where the process is used to generate the ranked list as seen in block  802 . The process begins with the dynamic payment decisioning system  208  or user device  204  comparing updated resource characteristics to the user preferences contained within the user profile as seen in block  804 . As illustrated in block  806 , the system  208  or user device  204  attempts to match the user preferences with resource characteristics defined in the user profile such that the match would provide the highest amount of user preferred incentives. After determining a match, the dynamic payment decisioning system  208  or the user device  204  in block  808  determines the resources that offer the highest amount of transaction-specific incentive or other transaction-specific benefit based on the user preferences. Steps  806  and  808  may be performed concurrently such that the transaction parameters may be considered during determination of which resource provides the highest amount of user preferred incentives for the specific transaction. For example, if the user  202  specified a preference for a rebate on a product as a preferred form of incentive, the system  208  will determine the available resource that provides the highest rebate amount. As illustrated in block  810 , based on comparing the available resource characteristics with the user preferences and determining which matched resource offers the highest amount of user-preferred incentive, the dynamic payment decisioning system  208  or user device  204  ranks the available resources and subsequently generates a list of the ranked available resources as illustrated in blocks  810  and  812  respectively. 
     In some embodiments of the invention, generating a ranked list of resources from the one or more resource managers further comprises analyzing the user preferences, wherein the user preferences include a preferred form of reward, incentive, and/or discount such as a lower price, a rebate, a coupon, and/or similar offers provided to the user by a manufacturer of a competing product upon selection by the user to include the competing product in the transaction. For example, if the user profile states that the user  202  prioritizes a lower price over a rebate, the dynamic payment decisioning system  208  will rank a resource that provides a lower price over a resource that provides a rebate. 
     In some embodiments of the invention, generating a ranked list of the resources associated with the available resources comprises generating a confidence score for each of the resources on the ranked list, where the confidence score comprises a confidence of the user selecting a specific product to include in the transaction and is based on weighted factors. The weighted factors may include in descending order of weight value: user preferences, past transaction data, historic trends, and/or location data associated with the user. Based on generated confidence scores for the available resources, the dynamic payment decisioning system  208  or user device  204  may identify a first available resource on the ranked list of available resources that possesses a confidence score that meets or exceeds a predetermined confidence limit. The first available resource on the ranked list of available resources may be transmitted to the user device  204  if this processing is performed by the dynamic payment decisioning system  208 . 
     In some embodiments of the invention, the dynamic payment decisioning system  208  transmits an in-store location of a first product associated with the first product proposal to the user device  204  with the first product proposal. For example, the user  202  may choose a first brand of milk to be included in the transaction between the user  202  and the merchant. Upon identification that the user  202  has selected the first brand of milk, the dynamic payment decisioning system  208  may determine whether a product from manufacturers of other brands of milk in competition with the first brand provides differing incentives when associated with the various resources available to the user for completing the transaction. The dynamic payment decisioning system  208  or user device  204  may generate a ranked list of the product proposals from the manufactures of the other brands of milk and generate confidence scores for each of the product proposals. Based on the ranked list and the confidence scores, the dynamic payment decisioning system  208  or user device  204  may transmit a first product proposal and in-store location for a second brand of milk to the interface of the user device  204 , where there may be an incentive to add the second brand of milk to the transaction instead of the first brand of milk such as a lower price, a discount, and/or the like. 
     Similarly, given the brands of products being purchased, the dynamic payment decisioning system  208  or user device  204  may analyze the incentive/benefits for purchasing those particular products using each of the available resources to determine whether any product-specific benefits exist and, upon doing so, aggregate the benefits for each of the available resources to generate the ranked list of available resources. 
     Referring back to  FIG. 5 , as illustrated in block  710 , the dynamic payment decisioning system  208  or user device  204  transmits the ranked list of resources to the interface of the user device  204  associated with the user  202 . In some embodiments, the dynamic payment decisioning system  208  transmits a command signal to the user device  204  causing it to display a graphical user interface containing the ranked list of resources. 
     Referring now to  FIG. 7 , a flowchart illustrates a method  750  for dynamic payment selection and implementation according to some embodiments of the invention. As discussed above, the algorithm for selecting the best resource available to the user takes in two parameters in some embodiments—the merchant identity and the transaction amount. Using these parameters, the algorithm may go through a series of steps to assign values to a set of payment methods and then determines the best possible payment method. First, the algorithm determines the category of the merchant based on merchant information and a datastore mapping merchant information to merchant categories. Then, based off the merchant category and a datastore of payment credentials (e.g., payment cards) accepted by particular merchants, the system determines which payment credentials are eligible. From this subset of payment credentials, the system checks if the card is expired. Concurrently, the system checks to see if the payment credential&#39;s balance is sufficient to cover the transaction amount. Then, the system receives a subset of valid payment methods that can be used for the particular transaction. 
     The next step is for the system to calculate relative importance of different payment credentials according to the preferences of the particular user. From a set of features of the different payment methods (e.g., rewards, APR, balance, etc.), the system enables the user to rank the relative importance of each of the features during the initial setup of the application, or in some cases, whenever particular values change and need updating. The system then uses the relative importance of a card feature to give each feature weight. The system then calculates a score for each of the features using the corresponding weight of the relative importance of the feature. 
     More specifically, and referring back to  FIG. 7 , the first step of method  750  represented by block  752  is for the dynamic payment decisioning system  208  or user device  204  to check card validity including to ensure the card has not expired and that the merchant associated with the pending transaction accepts the card, which results in a list of valid cards, as represented by block  754 . Next, as represented by block  756 , the system  208  or user device  204  checks the balance on the cards and any thresholds associated with the cards, which results in a list of valid cards that meet the balance and threshold requirements for the transaction, as represented by block  758 . Next, the system  208  or user device  204  notes how many cards are on the list, as represented by block  760 , and in the case zero (0) cards are on the list, the process stops and, in some embodiments, provides an error notification that none of the cards meet the requirements for the transaction (and in some cases note the failed requirement such as not meeting the balance requirement for the transaction), as represented by block  762 . If there is one (1) card on the list, then the process stops and that card is selected. If there are more than one (1) card on the list, then the next step is to determine if user preferences exist, as represented by block  764 . If not, then the next step is to select the best card based on default system preferences, as represented by block  770 . The default system preferences may weight certain features highly, such as the card that provides the best standardized rewards or the card that provides the lowest APR. Next, as represented by block  772 , the system  208  or user device  204  recursively selects the best fit card for a particular preference. As shown in block  766 , if the user has set a preference, then the system  208  or user device  204  selects the best fit card based on the user&#39;s preference and then recursively finds the best fit card for any other preferences being considered in the selection, as represented by block  768 . In other words, if more than one preference is being used in the selection process, then the process steps through each of the preferences to determine the best card for that particular preference (regardless of whether the user has set the preference or whether it is a default preference). Once all the preferences being used in the selection process have been considered, then, in some embodiments, the preferences are weighted based on user selected weightings or based on default weightings and each of the available cards are ranked in a list of available cards. 
     Referring now to  FIG. 8 , a combined diagram and flowchart illustrates a payment sequence process  800  according to embodiments of the invention. The first step is for the user to select a pay button on the user device  204 , as represented by arrow  852 . In case the user device is not oriented properly with regard to the point of transaction device, a landing page interface then alerts to point to the point of transaction terminal (such as an NFC device) as represented by arrow  854 . Then, as represented by arrow  856 , the user points the user device  204  toward the NFC reader (or manipulates the user device in relation to the point of transaction device as necessary for establishing an operative connection between the user device and the point of transaction device). The NFC reader then gets the merchant and amount of the transaction from a merchant device, as represented by arrow  858 . As represented by arrow  860 , the “get best card” algorithm (embodiments of which were described above with reference to  FIG. 7 ) is called and executed. The algorithm send a query for the best card to a database in some embodiments, as represented by arrow  862 . The database returns the best card for the circumstances as represented by arrow  864 , and the algorithm then initiates the payment using the selected card, as represented by arrow  866  by initiating communication with the payment processor. The payment processor then returns an alert to the user device that the card has been charged successfully, as represented by arrow  868 . 
     Referring now to  FIG. 9 , a combined diagram and flowchart illustrates a splitting sequence process  900  according to embodiments of the invention. First, as represented by arrow  902 , the user selects a pay button on the user device, and a landing page sends an alert to point the user device toward the NFC reader or other point of transaction device as necessary to establish an operative connection between the user device and the point of transaction device, as represented by arrow  904 . Next, as represented by arrow  906 , the user points the user device toward the NFC reader or otherwise manipulates the user device as necessary to establish an operative connection between the user device and the point of transaction device. Next, the NFC reader gets the merchant and amount of the pending transaction from a merchant system, as represented by arrow  908  and the “get best card” algorithm is called and executed with merchant and amount of transaction as inputs, as represented by arrow  910 . The algorithm then queries a database for the best card, as represented by arrow  912 , from which is returned an array of cards if there is no definitive best card, as represented by arrow  914 . The algorithm then alerts that insufficient funds or other error exists and suggests splitting the purchase among multiple cards or other available resources, as represented by arrow  916 . Then, the user approves the split by making a selection on the user device, as represented by arrow  918 . The landing page then calls and executes a “split payment” algorithm with the cards and balances on the cards as inputs, as represented by arrow  920 . The algorithm then charges the selected cards the split amounts to complete the transaction, as represented by arrow  922 . Finally, as represented by arrow  924 , the payment processor sends an alert that the cards have been charged. 
     Referring now to  FIGS. 10A, 10B, 10C and 10D , various screenshots  1000 ,  1010 ,  1020  and  1030  of the user application  222  running on the user device  204  are shown according to embodiments of the invention. In  FIG. 10A , the first screenshot  1002  illustrates a log-in page for a user to input authentication credentials. The next screenshot  1004  illustrates an overview page of the user application  222 , which includes available resources (accounts), alerts, recent transactions and spending trends, as well as a pay button. Screenshot  1006  illustrates an alert to scan the phone to complete a payment, which was triggered after the user selected the pay button. In  FIG. 10B , the first screenshot  1012  illustrates a payment page that also communicates information related to the selected resource for completion of the transaction. The relevant information is provided so that the user can confirm that the user wants to use the automatically selected available resource to complete the transaction. Screenshot  1014  shows a supplemental authentication screen illustrating an additional authentication that may be required in some embodiments before processing the payment. Screenshot  1016 A illustrates an alert that the payment has been accepted and provides details about the payment to the user. In  FIG. 10C , the first screenshot  1016 B illustrates an error alert indicating that the selected card has an insufficient balance to process the transaction, and enables a split option. Screenshot  1018  illustrates that the payment was processed successfully using multiple available resources and indicates details about the transaction.  FIG. 10D  includes several screenshots  1030  of optional pages of the user application  222 . Screenshot  1032  illustrates various available resources, which in this example include multiple payment cards depicted with card icons. Screenshot  1034  illustrates transaction details by account/card, and screenshot  1036  illustrates a preferences set-up page, which enables user-input preferences such as prioritizing cash rewards, APR, etc. and establishing spending limit thresholds and the like. 
     In various embodiments of the invention, the user device and/or the dynamic decisioning system may be leveraged to web browsers to favor online shopping. All sensitive data that includes user information and card information, and public data that includes deals may, in some embodiments, be stored locally on mobile devices or on secured servers. The data communication and synchronization between the mobile version described above and the web version described below occur via an end-to-end encryption when embodiments of this invention are in use. When making a purchase online, the user can choose between the conventional store payment method and “pay with the app”. “Pay with the app” enables users to complete the transaction with a single click. This web-based concept also enables a browser plugin/extension at a checkout page. Once the user clicks “Pay with the app”, biometric authentication (e.g., fingerprint authentication) will be sent to the mobile device to authorize completion of the transaction. 
     Referring now to  FIG. 11 , a flowchart illustrates a method  1100  for dynamic resource selection and implementation for web-based transactions. The first step, as represented by block  1102 , is to identify user resources and resource managers and access and/or generate a user profile as described in detail above. Next, as represented by block  1104 , the user device  204  or system  208  generates a ranked list of resources, also as discussed in further detail above. Then, as represented by block  1106 , the user device  204  or system  208  automatically selects the highest ranked user resource in response to the ranked list being generated (or some other trigger). The next step, as represented by block  1108 , is to establish a secure operative connection between the system and an online merchant system. Then, as represented by block  1110 , the system  208  or user device  204  initiates an authentication request for the user and receives the user&#39;s authentication credentials. In some embodiments, these authentication credentials are biometric credentials such as a fingerprint. Finally, as represented by block  1112 , the system  208  or user device  204  transmits, to the online merchant and over the secure operative connection, that authentication was successful. 
     As an example of the web-based process, a user may be navigating an online merchant&#39;s marketplace on the Internet using a web browser on a device, such as a user&#39;s laptop, tablet, desktop or other computing device. When the user initiates a transaction to make a purchase through the online marketplace, the user&#39;s computing device may provide the user an option to choose between the conventional online marketplace payment processing system or to “pay with the app”, which would enable the user to complete the transaction with a single click. More particularly, the user may select to “pay with the app” and an application  222 ,  258  or other application performs a dynamic resource selection and implementation as discussed in further detail above. The payment credentials are automatically selected and used to complete the transaction. The user may set up supplemental authentication requirements, whereby the user&#39;s mobile device may be leveraged to supply a biometric authentication before the transaction is processed. 
     In various embodiments of the invention, the user device and/or the dynamic decisioning system may be leveraged to itemize transactions by item categories. Based on the user&#39;s shopping habits, the application  222  or  158  can utilize item data and/or merchant category data to predict spending, recommend payment credentials (e.g., credit cards) that the users may like, and promote coupons/sales. Based on the user&#39;s shopping habits, the application  222  or  158  enables machine learning to fine-tune the user preferences. For example, if the user makes a lot of travel purchases, the application can suggest to the user that, within the credential selection system, the weighting (i.e., the rank) for rewards, that is, how much the rewards criterion is considered in the credential selection algorithm is weighted should be increased. Another example is if the user has heavy balances on his cards, then the application can recommend to the user that the APR be weighted with a higher weighting. 
     Referring now to  FIG. 12 , a flowchart illustrates a method  1200  for dynamic intelligent resource selection and implementation. The first step, as represented by block  1202 , is to identify user resources and resource managers and access and/or generate a user profile as discussed in detail above. The next step, as represented by block  1204 , is for the application  222  or  158  to identify item categories for items included in the pending transaction. As discussed above, items involved in the transaction may be determined by scanning UPC code or other code, taking a photograph of the product(s) and analyzing the photograph to determine the identity of the product(s), RFID or other tag recognition or otherwise. Next, as represented by block  1206 , the application  222  or  158  accesses and/or generates a user profile and then, at block  1208 , generates ranked list of resources as discussed in further detail above. The next step, as represented by block  1210 , is to access additional resource information to determine whether an additional resource would be ranked higher than the highest ranked resource from the generated ranked list of resources. Then, as represented by block  1212 , the application  222  or  158  initiates presentation of the additional resource to the user in the case that the additional resource would have ranked at the top of the list. Finally, as represented by block  1214 , the application  222  or  158  determines that a different user weighting would result in a more beneficial highest ranked user resource and recommend a re-weighting to the user. 
     For example, in a case where the user has a relatively high APR on one or more credit cards, the system may determine that a high weighting for APR would be more beneficial to the user and the system then initiates presentation of a recommended re-weighting comprising a higher weighting associated with APR to the user. As another example, the system may determine that a higher weighting for rewards would be more beneficial to the user and then initiates presentation of a recommended re-weighting including a higher weighting associated with the rewards to the user. 
     In various embodiments, the intelligent resource selection system may provide, to the user, additional resource sign-up information and receive, from the user, confirmation that the user desires to sign-up for the additional resource. The system may, in response to receiving the user&#39;s confirmation, automatically sign-up the user for the additional resource. This may be done via an operative connection with the corresponding resource manager. The system may have the necessary information related to the user for completing the application process with the corresponding resource manager, or in some cases, the system may need to request additional information from the user and/or a confirmation from the user that the user wishes for the system to submit the application to the resource manager for the additional resource. In some instances, the system may capture some authentication or confirmation from the user, such as a fingerprint scan or a signature and save the confirmation with the application for submission to the resource manager. The system may then receive confirmation from the resource manager that the user has been successfully signed up for the additional resource. In response to receiving confirmation from the resource manager, the system may then add the additional resource to a digital wallet of the user and complete the pending transaction using the additional resource. In some embodiments, the system may also re-calculate the ranked list of resources using the additional resource and indicate to the user the updated ranked list of resources. This display to the user may include some information regarding the rationale the system used to recommend the resource for the pending transaction, for example, providing information indicating that the user may receive ten percent (10%) cash back when completing the transaction with the additional resource. 
     As will be appreciated by one of ordinary skill in the art, the present invention may be embodied as an apparatus (including, for example, a system, a machine, a device, a computer program product, and/or the like), as a method (including, for example, a business process, a computer-implemented process, and/or the like), or as any combination of the foregoing. Accordingly, embodiments of the present invention may take the form of an entirely software embodiment (including firmware, resident software, micro-code, and the like), an entirely hardware embodiment, or an embodiment combining software and hardware aspects that may generally be referred to herein as a “system.” Furthermore, embodiments of the present invention may take the form of a computer program product that includes a computer-readable storage medium having computer-executable program code portions stored therein. As used herein, a processor may be “configured to” perform a certain function in a variety of ways, including, for example, by having one or more special-purpose circuits perform the functions by executing one or more computer-executable program code portions embodied in a computer-readable medium, and/or having one or more application-specific circuits perform the function. As such, once the software and/or hardware of the claimed invention is implemented the computer device and application-specific circuits associated therewith are deemed specialized computer devices capable of improving technology associated with generating communicable linkages for providing a cloud-based dynamic payment decisioning system  208 . 
     It will be understood that any suitable computer-readable medium may be utilized. The computer-readable medium may include, but is not limited to, a non-transitory computer-readable medium, such as a tangible electronic, magnetic, optical, infrared, electromagnetic, and/or semiconductor system, apparatus, and/or device. For example, in some embodiments, the non-transitory computer-readable medium includes a tangible medium such as a portable computer diskette, a hard disk, a random access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or Flash memory), a compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), and/or some other tangible optical and/or magnetic storage device. In other embodiments of the present invention, however, the computer-readable medium may be transitory, such as a propagation signal including computer-executable program code portions embodied therein. 
     It will also be understood that one or more computer-executable program code portions for carrying out the specialized operations of the present invention may be required on the specialized computer include object-oriented, scripted, and/or unscripted programming languages, such as, for example, Java, Perl, Smalltalk, C++, SAS, SQL, Python, Objective C, and/or the like. In some embodiments, the one or more computer-executable program code portions for carrying out operations of embodiments of the present invention are written in conventional procedural programming languages, such as the “C” programming languages and/or similar programming languages. The computer program code may alternatively or additionally be written in one or more multi-paradigm programming languages, such as, for example, F#. 
     It will further be understood that some embodiments of the present invention are described herein with reference to flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams of systems, methods, and/or computer program products. It will be understood that each block included in the flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams, and combinations of blocks included in the flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams, may be implemented by one or more computer-executable program code portions. These one or more computer-executable program code portions may be provided to a processor of a special purpose computer for generating communicable linkages for providing a cloud-based dynamic payment decisioning system  208 , and/or some other programmable data processing apparatus in order to produce a particular machine, such that the one or more computer-executable program code portions, which execute via the processor of the computer and/or other programmable data processing apparatus, create mechanisms for implementing the steps and/or functions represented by the flowchart(s) and/or block diagram block(s). 
     It will also be understood that the one or more computer-executable program code portions may be stored in a transitory or non-transitory computer-readable medium (e.g., a memory, and the like) that can direct a computer and/or other programmable data processing apparatus to function in a particular manner, such that the computer-executable program code portions stored in the computer-readable medium produce an article of manufacture, including instruction mechanisms which implement the steps and/or functions specified in the flowchart(s) and/or block diagram block(s). 
     The one or more computer-executable program code portions may also be loaded onto a computer and/or other programmable data processing apparatus to cause a series of operational steps to be performed on the computer and/or other programmable apparatus. In some embodiments, this produces a computer-implemented process such that the one or more computer-executable program code portions which execute on the computer and/or other programmable apparatus provide operational steps to implement the steps specified in the flowchart(s) and/or the functions specified in the block diagram block(s). Alternatively, computer-implemented steps may be combined with operator and/or human-implemented steps in order to carry out an embodiment of the present invention. 
     While certain exemplary embodiments have been described and shown in the accompanying drawings, it is to be understood that such embodiments are merely illustrative of, and not restrictive on, the broad invention, and that this invention not be limited to the specific constructions and arrangements shown and described, since various other changes, combinations, omissions, modifications and substitutions, in addition to those set forth in the above paragraphs, are possible. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that various adaptations and modifications of the just described embodiments can be configured without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention. Therefore, it is to be understood that, within the scope of the appended claims, the invention may be practiced other than as specifically described herein. 
     INCORPORATION BY REFERENCE 
     To supplement the present disclosure, this application further incorporates entirely by reference the following commonly assigned patent applications: 
     
       
         
           
               
               
               
               
             
               
                   
               
               
                   
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                 7160US1.014033.2809 
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                 DYNAMIC CREDENTIAL 
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                 7160US3.014033.2871 
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