Patent Publication Number: US-2018039976-A1

Title: Method and system for in-store wireless mobile payment

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
     This application is a U.S. National Stage filing under 35 U.S.C. §119, based on and claiming benefit of and priority to SG Patent Application No. 10201606464R filed Aug. 4, 2016. 
     TECHNICAL FIELD 
     The following discloses method and system arrangements for in-store wireless mobile payment. 
     BACKGROUND 
     Mobile payment, a payment transaction technology performed from or via a mobile device, has emerged recently and evolved rapidly by virtue of the convenience it provides. Using mobile payment, instead of paying with cash, cheque, or credit cards, a consumer can use a payment application installed on a mobile device to pay for a wide range of services and digital or physical goods. The payment application may store details of one or more payment instruments that have been registered in the application. The one or more payment instruments may be issued by one or more financial institutions, e.g. banks, and supported by one or more intermediaries. 
     Due to its convenience, mobile payment has been increasingly used by the customers for online retail purchases. However, mobile payment is not readily adopted in brick and mortar stores (i.e. in-store purchases), which may assist in accelerating the processing of long queues for payment of goods or services. This may be due to many restraints. For example, one restraint may be the lack of a network connection for the mobile device, or may be because the consumer is unaware that such a network (e.g. WiFi network) is available. Further, another restraint may be that the stores do not have a system to support integration of mobile payment. Another restraint sees the mobile device finding free network access, but being unable to verify that the free network access is provided by the store. Also, for mobile payment methods that use an open loop network (such as via the internet), the connection speed may be too slow for the users to perform mobile payments. 
     There is thus a need to provide a method and system to facilitate and configure mobile payment for an in-store purchase. Herein disclosed is a method that operates in a secure network environment. Preferably, the secure network environment is a wireless network connected to the internet. The method and system should be configured to provide the secure wireless network in the store that does not require additional front-end input from the mobile device. Furthermore, other desirable features and characteristics will become apparent from the subsequent detailed description and the appended claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and this background of the disclosure. 
     SUMMARY 
     According to one aspect of the invention, there is provided a method for accessing a secure wireless network used by an in-store system so as to make payment for goods or services over the secure wireless network. The method comprises initializing an application installed in a device capable of making the payment of goods or services, wherein the application is configured to generate a handshaking signal that is recognized by the in-store system to allow the device to access the secure wireless network established by the in-store system; transmitting the handshaking signal from the device to the in-store system; establishing access to the secure wireless network in response to validation of the handshaking signal by the in-store system; and initiating a payment process used to complete the payment for the goods or services. 
     According to a second aspect of the invention, there is provided an in-store system for establishing a secure wireless network over which payment for goods or services is performed. The in-store system comprising: at least one processor; at least one memory including computer program code; and at least one communication interface. The at least one memory and the computer program code configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the in-store system at least to: detect a handshaking signal transmitted by an initialized application in a device used to make the payment of goods or services, wherein the handshaking signal is recognized by the in-store system to allow the device to access the secure wireless network established by the in-store system; validate the detected handshaking signal from the device; and establish access to the secure wireless network in response to validation of the handshaking signal by the in-store system, so as to allow the initiation of a payment process used to complete the payment for the goods or services. 
     According to a third aspect of the invention, there is provided a non-transitory computer readable medium having stored thereon executable instructions for an in-store system establishing a secure wireless network over which payment for goods or services is performed. The executable instructions cause the in-store system to perform at least the following: detect a handshaking signal transmitted by an initialized application in a device used to make the payment of goods or, wherein the handshaking signal is recognized by the in-store system to allow the device to access the secure wireless network established by the in-store system; validate the detected handshaking signal from the device; and establish access to the secure wireless network in response to validation of the handshaking signal by the in-store system, so as to allow the initiation of a payment process used to complete the payment for the goods or services. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       Embodiments of the invention will be better understood and readily apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art from the following written description, by way of example only, and in conjunction with the drawings, in which: 
         FIGS. 1A-1D  show a schematic of a system in which in-store wireless mobile payment, in accordance with the present disclosure, may be performed. Each of  FIGS. 1A-1D  shows a stage of the in-store wireless mobile payment process. 
         FIG. 2  shows an exemplary computing device to realize an in-store system in accordance with the system shown in  FIGS. 1A-1D . 
         FIG. 3  shows a flowchart depicting steps of a method that allows the system in accordance with  FIGS. 1A-1D  to perform in-store wireless mobile payment. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     Embodiments of the present invention will be described, by way of example only, with reference to the drawings. Like reference numerals and characters in the drawings refer to like elements or equivalents. 
     Some portions of the description which follows are explicitly or implicitly presented in terms of algorithms and functional or symbolic representations of operations on data within a computer memory. These algorithmic descriptions and functional or symbolic representations are the means used by those skilled in the data processing arts to convey most effectively the substance of their work to others skilled in the art. An algorithm is here, and generally, conceived to be a self-consistent sequence of steps leading to a desired result. The steps are those requiring physical manipulations of physical quantities, such as electrical, magnetic or optical signals capable of being stored, transferred, combined, compared, and otherwise manipulated. 
     Unless specifically stated otherwise, and as apparent from the following, it will be appreciated that throughout the present specification, discussions utilizing terms such as “scanning”, “calculating”, “determining”, “replacing”, “generating”, “initializing”, “outputting”, or the like, refer to the action and processes of a computer system, or similar electronic device, that manipulates and transforms data represented as physical quantities within the computer system into other data similarly represented as physical quantities within the computer system or other information storage, transmission or display devices. 
     The present specification also discloses apparatus for performing the operations of the methods. Such apparatus may be specially constructed for the required purposes, or may comprise a computer or other device selectively activated or reconfigured by a computer program stored in the computer. The algorithms and displays presented herein are not inherently related to any particular computer or other apparatus. Various machines may be used with programs in accordance with the teachings herein. Alternatively, the construction of more specialized apparatus to perform the required method steps may be appropriate. The structure of a computer will appear from the description below. 
     In addition, the present specification also implicitly discloses a computer program, in that it would be apparent to the person skilled in the art that the individual steps of the method described herein may be put into effect by computer code. The computer program is not intended to be limited to any particular programming language and implementation thereof. It will be appreciated that a variety of programming languages and coding thereof may be used to implement the teachings of the disclosure contained herein. Moreover, the computer program is not intended to be limited to any particular control flow. There are many other variants of the computer program, which can use different control flows without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention. 
     Furthermore, one or more of the steps of the computer program may be performed in parallel rather than sequentially. Such a computer program may be stored on any computer readable medium. The computer readable medium may include storage devices such as magnetic or optical disks, memory chips, or other storage devices suitable for interfacing with a computer. The computer readable medium may also include a hard-wired medium such as exemplified in the Internet system, or wireless medium such as exemplified in the GSM mobile telephone system. The computer program when loaded and executed on such a general-purpose computer effectively results in an apparatus that implements the steps of the preferred method. 
       FIGS. 1A to 1D  depict a schematic of a system  100  in which in-store wireless mobile payment, in accordance with the present embodiment, may be performed. Each of  FIGS. 1A-1D  shows a stage of the in-store wireless mobile payment process. As shown in  FIG. 1A , a secure wireless network  104  is provided at the merchant&#39;s premises, i.e. in the store. In the present embodiment, the secure wireless network  104  is established and used by an in-store system  112 . The in-store system  112  may also comprise a payment terminal  110  and a merchant server  106 . 
     In the present embodiment shown in  FIG. 1A , when an in-store mobile payment is sought, a consumer initializes an application  114  installed in his/her device  102 . The device  102  may be a mobile phone, a tablet, a PDA, or a similar device that can be configured to network and is capable of making payment of goods and services. The store may be a market, a department store, a franchised outlet, or a restaurant. In the present embodiment, the application  114  may be designed by and belong to the merchant of the store, or designed by a third party with the consent of the merchant of the store. Upon initialization, the application  114  installed in the device  102  generates a handshaking signal (depicted as data packet  118 ). The handshaking signal  118  is in a format that can be recognised by the in-store system  112  and contains information that requests the in-store system  112  to allow the device  102  to access the secure wireless network  104 . 
     The generation of the handshaking signal  118  may comprise a correct selection of the secure wireless network  104  amongst available wireless networks when one or more wireless networks are available and/or accessible in the store. For the simplicity of understanding, the one or more wireless networks available in the store are not shown in  FIG. 1A . In the present embodiment, the correct selection of the secure wireless network  104  is based on recognition of the secure wireless network  104  by the installed application  114 . The recognition may comprise the application  114  obtaining geographic location information from the device  102 , and identifying the present store by matching the geographic location information provided by the device  102  against a plurality of geographic locations in respect of stores entered in a server with which the application  114  communicates. The recognition may also comprise the application  114  obtaining a service set identifier (SSID) from the secure wireless network  104 , and identifying the present store by matching the obtained SSID of the secure wireless network  104  with a list of SSIDs provided through the application  114 . The list of SSIDs may be obtained by the application  114  from the server with which the application  114  communicates. For the sake of simplicity, the server (that has a plurality of geographic locations in respect of the entered stores and/or has a list of SSIDs) with which the application  114  communicates is not depicted in  FIGS. 1A-1D . The server with which the application  114  communicates may be separate from the merchant server  106 . Alternatively, it may be appreciated by the skilled person in the art that the merchant server  106  may function as such a server. 
     As shown in  FIG. 1A , the handshaking signal  118  is then transmitted  122  from the device  102  to the in-store system  112 . In the present embodiment, if the handshaking signal  118  is recognised by the in-store system  112  to be valid, a validation signal  120  is then sent  124  back to the device  102  and access  125  between the device  102  and the in-store system  112  is thereby established in response to the validation of the handshaking signal  118 . 
     The establishment of the access  125  between the device  102  and the in-store system  112  advantageously enables a secure network environment for the consumer so that the consumer can initiate a mobile payment process to complete payment for the goods or services. As shown in  FIGS. 1A to 1D , the mobile payment process is performed via an electronic payment application  116  installed in the device  102 . In the present embodiment, the electronic payment application  116  may be an application designed to run separately from the application  114 , or an application designed to be integrated into the application  114 . In the first instance, the consumer needs to initiate the payment application  116  separately. In the latter instance, the consumer can initiate the payment application  116  within the application  114 . The initiation of the payment application  116  leads to establishment of communication  126 ,  128  between the device  102  and a payment gateway  108  with which the payment application  116  communicates. 
     As shown in  FIG. 1B , after the access  125  is established between the device  102  and the secure wireless network  104 , an authentication process is initiated between the application  114  and the in-store system  112 . In the authentication process, credentials  130  of the device  102  are transmitted  134  from the application  114  to the in-store system  112 . In the present embodiment, the in-store system  112  receives the credentials  130  via the secure mobile network  104 , wherein the secure mobile network  104  transmits the credentials  130  to the merchant server  106 . The credentials  130  of the device  102  may comprise an identifier  130  of the device  102 . The credentials  130  of the device  102  may be real-time generated by the application  114  after the application  114  is initialized, or may be generated previously by the application  114  before initialization of the application  114  and retained in the application  114  for subsequent use. 
     Upon receipt of the credentials  130  of the device  102 , the in-store system  112  generates an authentication code  132  based on the received credentials  130  of the device  102 . In the present embodiment shown in  FIG. 1B , the authentication code  132  is generated  135  at the merchant server  106  of the in-store system  112  based on the received credentials  130  of the device  102 . It is appreciated to the skilled person in the art that the generation  135  of the authentication code  132  may be conducted by other components of the in-store system  112  not shown in  FIGS. 1A to 1D . 
     As shown in  FIG. 1B , the generated authentication code  132  is then transmitted  136  via the secure wireless network  104  (since access  125  has already been granted, as discussed above) from the in-store system  112  (specifically the merchant server  106  in the present embodiment) to the device  102 . 
     With reference to  FIG. 10 , after the device  102  receives the generated authentication code  132 , the mobile payment process is initiated. In the present embodiment, the mobile payment process is performed via the payment application  116  installed in the device  102 . 
     In more detail, as shown in  FIG. 10 , in the mobile payment process, the device  102  receives  140 ,  140   r  data  138  of the goods or services to be purchased and activates the payment application  116  to process the received data  138  to make the payment. 
     As shown in  FIG. 10 , the data  138  of the goods or services to be purchased may be received  140  at the device  102  from the in-store system  112 . In one embodiment, the data  138  of the goods or services to be purchased may be obtained by the payment terminal  110  of the in-store system  112  scanning barcodes on the goods or services to be purchased. The payment terminal  110  may then generate a code. The code may be generated as a barcode or QR code, which is captured by an image capturing apparatus (such as a camera on the device  102 ). Instead of physical capture of a generated barcode or QR code, the code may be wirelessly obtained, such as by transmission  140  from the payment terminal  110  to the device  102  through a Near Field Communication (NFC) connection, a wireless fidelity (WiFi) communication or a Bluetooth low energy (BLE) communication. In another embodiment, the data  138  of the goods or services to be purchased may be obtained  140   r  directly by the device  102 , either by manually entering the information of the goods or services to be purchased into the device  102  or by the device  102  scanning barcodes on the goods or services to be purchased. Similarly, the application  114  may generate the code as a barcode or QR code, which is then captured by an image capturing apparatus (such as a scanner) of the payment terminal. Instead of physical capture of a generated barcode or QR code, the code may be wirelessly obtained, such as by transmission  140  from the device  102  to the payment terminal  110  through a NFC connection, a Wi-Fi communication or a BLE communication. 
       FIG. 1D  details the mobile payment process in the system  100  after the payment application  116  is activated. As shown in  FIG. 1D , after activation, a communication  128 ,  126  is established between the device  102  and the payment gateway  108  so as to enable the payment application  116  to seek approval of payment via data  142  transmitted to the payment gateway  108  via the payment application  116 . The payment gateway  108  with which the payment application  116  communicates, upon receipt of the seeking approval data  142 , generates  144  payment credentials  146  in response to the data  142  used to seek approval of payment. The data  142  used to seek approval of payment may comprise data  138  of the goods or services to be purchased. In the present embodiment, the payment credentials  146  may be accompanied by an indicator  147  generated  144  by the payment gateway  108  with which the payment application  116  communicates. The payment credentials  146  may comprise an identifier  142   r  of a payment instrument selected in the payment application  116  and the data  138  of the goods or services to be purchased. The indicator  147  provides an indicator of the completion of the payment approval. 
     After the indicator  147  of the payment process is generated, the payment gateway  108  of the payment application  116  transmits the indicator  147  of the payment process to the in-store system  112  along with the payment credentials  146 , wherein the merchant server  106  of the in-store system  112  forwards the indicator  147  of the payment process approval to the payment terminal  110  along with the payment credentials  146 . The indicator  147  can be a positive indicator that the payment of goods or services is successful or a negative indicator that the payment of goods or services is unsuccessful. In the present embodiment, the indicator  147  is a positive indicator. Upon the payment terminal  110  receiving  150  the positive indicator  146 , the mobile payment is made. The payment terminal  110  then may transmit  152  the positive indicator  146  to the device  102 . The transmission of the positive indicator  146  from the payment terminal  110  to the device  102  may be done via push notification in the payment application  116  or via an email sent to one of the consumer&#39;s email address entered in the application  114  and/or the payment application  116 . Upon the consumer being notified with the positive indicator  146 , the in-store mobile payment in accordance with the present embodiment shown in  FIGS. 1A to 1D  is completed. 
       FIG. 2  depicts an exemplary computing device  200 , hereinafter interchangeably referred to as a computer system  200 , where one or more such computing devices  200  may be used to implement the above-described system  100  for the secure in-store mobile payment. The exemplary computing device  200  in accordance with the present embodiment can be the device  102 , the merchant server  106 , the payment gateway  108  of the payment application  116 , and/or the payment terminal  110 . The following description of the computing device  200  is provided by way of example only and is not intended to be limiting. 
     As shown in  FIG. 2 , the example computing device  200  includes a processor  204  for executing software routines. Although a single processor is shown for the sake of clarity, the computing device  200  may also include a multi-processor system. The processor  204  is connected to a communication infrastructure  206  for communication with other components of the computing device  200 . The communication infrastructure  206  may include, for example, a communications bus, cross-bar, or network. 
     The computing device  200  further includes a main memory  208 , such as a random access memory (RAM), and a secondary memory  210 . The secondary memory  210  may include, for example, a storage drive  212 , which may be a hard disk drive, a solid state drive or a hybrid drive and/or a removable storage drive  214 , which may include a magnetic tape drive, an optical disk drive, a solid state storage drive (such as a USB flash drive, a flash memory device, a solid state drive or a memory card), or the like. The removable storage drive  214  reads from and/or writes to a removable storage medium  244  in a well-known manner. The removable storage medium  244  may include magnetic tape, optical disk, non-volatile memory storage medium, or the like, which is read by and written to by removable storage drive  214 . As will be appreciated by persons skilled in the relevant art(s), the removable storage medium  244  includes a computer readable storage medium having stored therein computer executable program code instructions and/or data. 
     In an alternative implementation, the secondary memory  210  may additionally or alternatively include other similar means for allowing computer programs or other instructions to be loaded into the computing device  200 . Such means can include, for example, a removable storage unit  222  and an interface  230 . Examples of a removable storage unit  222  and interface  230  include a program cartridge and cartridge interface (such as that found in video game console devices), a removable memory chip (such as an EPROM or PROM) and associated socket, a removable solid state storage drive (such as a USB flash drive, a flash memory device, a solid state drive or a memory card), and other removable storage units  222  and interfaces  230  which allow software and data to be transferred from the removable storage unit  222  to the computer system  200 . 
     The computing device  200  also includes at least one communication interface  224 . The communication interface  224  allows software and data to be transferred between computing device  200  and external devices via a communication path  226 . In various embodiments of the inventions, the communication interface  224  permits data to be transferred between the computing device  300  and a data communication network, such as a public data or private data communication network. The communication interface  224  may be used to exchange data between different computing devices  200  which such computing devices  200  form part an interconnected computer network. Examples of a communication interface  224  can include a modem, a network interface (such as an Ethernet card), a communication port (such as a serial, parallel, printer, GPIB, IEEE 1393, RJ35, USB), an antenna with associated circuitry and the like. The communication interface  224  may be wired or may be wireless. Software and data transferred via the communication interface  224  are in the form of signals which can be electronic, electromagnetic, optical or other signals capable of being received by communication interface  224 . These signals are provided to the communication interface via the communication path  226 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 2 , the computing device  200  further includes a display interface  202  which performs operations for rendering images to an associated display  230  and an audio interface  232  for performing operations for playing audio content via associated speaker(s)  234 . 
     As used herein, the term “computer program product” may refer, in part, to removable storage medium  244 , removable storage unit  222 , a hard disk installed in storage drive  212 , or a carrier wave carrying software over communication path  226  (wireless link or cable) to communication interface  224 . Computer readable storage media refers to any non-transitory, non-volatile tangible storage medium that provides recorded instructions and/or data to the computing device  200  for execution and/or processing. Examples of such storage media include magnetic tape, CD-ROM, DVD, Blu-Ray™ Disc, a hard disk drive, a ROM or integrated circuit, a solid state storage drive (such as a USB flash drive, a flash memory device, a solid state drive or a memory card), a hybrid drive, a magneto-optical disk, or a computer readable card such as a PCMCIA card and the like, whether or not such devices are internal or external of the computing device  200 . Examples of transitory or non-tangible computer readable transmission media that may also participate in the provision of software, application programs, instructions and/or data to the computing device  200  include radio or infra-red transmission channels as well as a network connection to another computer or networked device, and the Internet or Intranets including e-mail transmissions and information recorded on Websites and the like. 
     The computer programs (also called computer program code) are stored in main memory  208  and/or secondary memory  210 . Computer programs can also be received via the communication interface  224 . Such computer programs, when executed, enable the computing device  200  to perform one or more features of embodiments discussed herein. In various embodiments, the computer programs, when executed, enable the processor  204  to perform features of the above-described embodiments. Accordingly, such computer programs represent controllers of the computer system  200 . 
     Software may be stored in a computer program product and loaded into the computing device  200  using the removable storage drive  214 , the storage drive  212 , or the interface  230 . Alternatively, the computer program product may be downloaded to the computer system  200  over the communications path  226 . The software, when executed by the processor  204 , causes the computing device  200  to perform functions of embodiments described herein. 
     It is to be understood that the embodiment of  FIG. 2  is presented merely by way of example to explain the operation and structure of the device  102 , the merchant server  106 , the payment gateway  108  of the payment application  116 , and/or the payment terminal  110 . In particular, the embodiment of  FIG. 2  may be implemented in the merchant server  106  to at least perform: detecting the handshaking signal  118  transmitted by an initialized application  114  in a device  102  used to make the payment of goods or services, wherein the handshaking signal  118  is recognized by the in-store system  112  to allow the device  102  to access the secure wireless network  104  established by the in-store system  112 ; validating the detected handshaking signal  118  from the device  102 ; and establishing access  125  to the secure wireless network  104  in response to validation  120  of the handshaking signal  118  by the in-store system  112 , so as to allow the initiation of the payment process  116  used to complete the payment for the goods or services. 
     Therefore, in some embodiments one or more features of the computing device  200  may be omitted. Also, in some embodiments, one or more features of the computing device  200  may be combined together. Additionally, in some embodiments, one or more features of the computing device  200  may be split into one or more component parts. 
     With reference to  FIG. 3 , the method according to the flow chart shown in  FIG. 3  may be implemented as software and stored in a non-transitory fashion in the secondary memory  210  or the removable storage units  218 ,  222  of the computing device  200 . The software is executable by the processor  204  of the computing device  200 . The method allows for accessing a secure wireless network  104  used by an in-store system  112  so as to make payment for goods or services over the secure wireless network in accordance with the present embodiment. The method includes the following steps as detailed below and described with reference to  FIGS. 1A to 1D . 
     At step  302 , an application  114  installed in a device  102  capable of making the payment of goods or services is initialized. The application  114  is configured to generate a handshaking signal  118  that is recognized by the in-store system  112  to allow the device to access the secure wireless network  104  established by the in-store system  112 . 
     At step  304 , the device  102  transmits  122  the handshaking signal  118  from the device  102  to the in-store system  112 . 
     At step  306 , an access  125  is established to the secure wireless network  104  in response to validation  120  of the handshaking signal  118  by the in-store system  112 . 
     At step  308 , a payment process is initiated to complete the mobile payment for the goods or services. 
     It will be appreciated by a person skilled in the art that numerous variations and/or modifications may be made to the present invention as shown in the specific embodiments without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention as broadly described. The present embodiments are, therefore, to be considered in all respects to be illustrative and not restrictive.