Patent ID: 7748621

Claim:
A method for completing a transaction between a Point of Sale (POS) device of a vendor or service provider (vendor/service provider) and a portable electronic device (PED) possessed by a consumer, said method comprising: said POS device receiving payment for the transaction, said transaction comprising a purchase of goods or services by the consumer, wherein the PED is located in close proximity to and separated from the POS device; after said receiving payment, said POS device directing the consumer to select a receipt option selected from the group consisting of receiving an electronic receipt for the transaction, receiving a paper receipt for the transaction, and not receiving a receipt for the transaction; after said directing the consumer, said POS device receiving notification that the consumer has selected the receipt option of receiving an electronic receipt for the transaction; responsive to said receiving notification, said POS device scanning for a radio frequency signal or an infrared signal emitted from the PED in a vicinity of the POS device; said POS device detecting the emitted signal; responsive to said detecting, said POS device establishing a connection with the PED; after said establishing the connection, said POS device performing activities that comprise transmitting vendor/service provider data pertaining to the transaction to the PED; receiving consumer data from the PED, and receiving a PED authentication key from the PED; after said performing activities, said POS device assembling the electronic receipt consisting of a receipt data packet, wherein said assembling includes encrypting the consumer data using the received PED authentication key, encrypting the vendor/service provider data using a vendor/service provider authentication key provided by the vendor or service provider, and inserting the encrypted consumer data and the encrypted vendor/service provider data into a consumer data portion and a vendor/service provider data portion, respectively, of the receipt data packet; said POS device transmitting the assembled receipt data packet to the PED.