Patent ID: 7865430

Claim:
A payment module configured to communicate with a vending machine controller and a computing platform remote from the payment module, said vending machine controller interconnected with a vending machine, said payment module comprising: a payment module board including: a vending equipment interface configured to communicate with the vending machine controller; an interactive interface configured to communicate with the computing platform; and a microcontroller coupled to the vending equipment interface and the interactive interface, the microcontroller configured to control cashless vending by locally authorizing a cashless vending transaction without receiving an authorization from a third party via the interactive interface, the microcontroller further configured to receive via the interactive interface an interactive interface command, the interactive interface command indicating that the computing platform is to control the cashless vending, the microcontroller further configured to switch control of the cashless vending from the microcontroller to the computing platform responsive to receiving the interactive interface command such that the computing platform controls the cashless vending by remotely authorizing the cashless vending transaction via the interactive interface.