PATENT DOCUMENT

Publication Number: US-10380573-B2
Application Number: US-28648808-A
Country: US
Kind Code: B2

Title: Peer-to-peer financial transaction devices and methods

Abstract:
Various techniques are provided for carrying out peer-to-peer financial transactions using one or more electronic devices. In one embodiment, a request for payment is transmitted from a first device to a second device using a near field communication (NFC) interface. In response to the request, the second device may transmit payment information to the first device. The first device may select a crediting account and, using a suitable communication protocol, may communicate the received payment information and selected crediting account to one or more external financial servers configured to process and determine whether the payment may be authorized. If the payment is authorized, a payment may be credited to the selected crediting account. In a further embodiment, a device may include a camera configured to obtain an image of a payment instrument. The device may further include an application to extract payment information from the acquired image.

Claims:
What is claimed is: 
     
       1. A method for receiving a payment in a peer-to-peer transaction between a payee and a payor comprising:
 determining, using a processor of a payee handheld electronic device, an amount of a payment to be requested from the payor in response to a first input provided by the payee to a peer-to-peer transaction application executed on the payee handheld electronic device by the processor; 
 using the processor of the payee handheld device to cause an electronic payment request to be transmitted, via a near field communication-based wireless communication link between the payee handheld electronic device and the payor, from a communication interface of the payee handheld electronic device to the payor, wherein the electronic payment request is configured to indicate the requested payment amount to the payor; 
 acquiring, via the near field communication-based wireless communication link, payment information provided by the payor, the payment information comprising a default payment account selected by the payor in response to the electronic payment request, and wherein acquiring the payment information comprises acquiring an image of a payment instrument and extracting payment information data from the acquired image; 
 determining, using the processor of the payee handheld electronic device, a default crediting account for receiving the payment; and 
 transmitting, via a wireless communication link that is different from the near field communication-based wireless communication link, a request from the payee handheld electronic device to obtain authorization for the payment of the requested payment amount from the payor to the payee, wherein transmitting the request to obtain authorization for the payment, comprises transmitting the default payment account and the default crediting account from the payee handheld electronic device to at least one external server that is separate from both the payee handheld electronic device and the payor handheld electronic device, the at least one external server being further configured to determine whether the default payment account and the default crediting account are compatible; 
 receiving, from the external server, a notification indicating whether the default crediting account of the payee handheld electronic device and the default payment account of the payor handheld electronic device are compatible with one another; 
 in accordance with a determination, based on the notification, that the default payment account and the default crediting account are compatible with one another:
 displaying an indication that the electronic payment request has been successfully completed; and 
 
 in accordance with a determination, based on the notification, that the default payment account and the default crediting account are incompatible with one another:
 displaying an indication that the electronic payment request has not been successfully completed; and 
 while displaying the indication that the electronic payment request has not been successfully completed, receiving, using an interface element of the payee handheld electronic device, a selection of an alternative crediting account that is compatible with the default payment account, wherein the at least one external server is further configured to authorize the payment from the default payment account and to credit the payment to the alternative crediting account if the payment is authorized. 
 
 
     
     
       2. The method of  claim 1 , wherein acquiring the payment information using the payee handheld electronic device comprises receiving the payment information on the communication interface of the payee handheld electronic device, the communication interface of the payee handheld electronic device being configured to establish a communication path with another communication interface on a payor handheld electronic device. 
     
     
       3. The method of  claim 2 , wherein providing the electronic payment request to the payor comprises transmitting the electronic payment request from the payee handheld electronic device to the payor handheld electronic device using the communication path established by the communication interfaces. 
     
     
       4. The method of  claim 3 , wherein the communication interface comprises a near field communication (NFC) interface, wherein the communication path comprises an NFC path, and wherein the NFC path is established using an NFC tap operation performed between the payee handheld electronic device and the payor handheld electronic device. 
     
     
       5. The method of  claim 4 , wherein the NFC path is maintained between receiving, the notification that the default crediting account of the payee handheld electronic device and the default payment account of the payor handheld electronic device that are incompatible with one another and receiving a selection of an alternative crediting account that is compatible with the default payment account such that an additional NFC tap operation does not need to be performed between the payee handheld electronic device and the payor handheld electronic device. 
     
     
       6. The method of  claim 3 , wherein the payment information provided by the payor in response to the electronic payment request is transmitted from the payor handheld electronic device to the payee handheld electronic device using the communication path. 
     
     
       7. The method of  claim 1 , wherein the default payment account comprises a smart card, and wherein acquiring the payment information comprises using the payee handheld electronic device to receive payment information stored on the smart card. 
     
     
       8. The method of  claim 1 , wherein the payment instrument comprises a credit card, and wherein the extracted payment information data comprises at least one of a credit card account number, an expiration date, an identity of a credit card provider, or an identity of a credit card account holder, or any combination thereof. 
     
     
       9. The method of  claim 1 , wherein the payment instrument comprises a check, and wherein the extracted payment information data comprises at least one of a bank routing number, a bank account number, a payment amount, an identity of the bank account holder, or a check identifier number, or any combination thereof. 
     
     
       10. The method of  claim 1 , wherein the default payment account comprises a credit card account, and wherein the at least one external server includes a server associated with a credit card provider that maintains the credit card account, wherein the server is configured to authorize payments from the credit card account. 
     
     
       11. The method of  claim 1 , wherein the default payment account is a bank account, and wherein the at least one external server includes a server associated with a banking provider that maintains the bank account, wherein the server is configured to authorize payments from the bank account. 
     
     
       12. The method of  claim 1 , wherein the default payment account is a non-cash account. 
     
     
       13. The method of  claim 12 , wherein the non-cash account comprises an account associated with an online digital media provider, and wherein the at least one external server includes a server associated with the online digital media provider that maintains the noncash account, wherein the server is configured to authorize payments from the non-cash account. 
     
     
       14. A method for providing a payment in a peer-to-peer transaction between a payee and a payor comprising:
 selecting, using a processor of the payor handheld electronic device, a payment account stored on the payor handheld electronic device; 
 using the processor of the payor handheld electronic device to cause a communication interface of the payor handheld electronic device to transmit, via a near field communication-based wireless communication link between the payor handheld electronic device and a separate payee handheld electronic device, payment information, the payment information including the payment account, to the separate payee handheld electronic device configured to transmit, via a wireless communication link that is different from the near field communication-based wireless communication link, the payment information to at least one external server configured to determine that the payment account is not compatible with a crediting account of the payee handheld device, wherein the payment information is at least partially acquired by acquiring an image of a payment instrument and extracting payment information data from the acquired image; 
 receiving, from the external server, a notification indicating whether the default crediting account of the payee handheld electronic device and the default payment account of the payor handheld electronic device are compatible with one another; 
 in accordance with a determination, based on the notification, that the default payment account and the default crediting account are compatible with one another:
 displaying an indication that the electronic payment request has been successfully completed; and 
 
 in accordance with a determination, based on the notification, that the default payment account and the default crediting account are incompatible with one another:
 displaying an indication that the electronic payment request has not been successfully completed; and 
 while displaying the indication that the electronic payment request has not been successfully completed, receiving, using an interface element of the payor handheld electronic device, a selection of an alternative payment account that is compatible with the default payment account, wherein the external server is further configured to authorize the payment from the payor to the payee using the alternative payment account, and wherein at least one external server is separate from the payor and payee handheld electronic devices. 
 
 
     
     
       15. The method of  claim 14 , wherein the selection of the payment account is performed by the processor of the payor handheld electronic device in response to an electronic payment request transmitted by the payee handheld electronic device to the payor handheld electronic device. 
     
     
       16. The method of  claim 15 , wherein the electronic payment request is received using the communication interface of the payor handheld electronic device, wherein the communication interface is configured to establish a communication path with another communication interface on the payee handheld electronic device. 
     
     
       17. The method of  claim 14 , comprising prompting the payor to input an authorization PIN to the payor handheld electronic device prior to transmitting the payment information to the payee handheld electronic device, wherein the payment information is transmitted to the payee handheld electronic device if the correct authorization PIN is provided by the payor. 
     
     
       18. The method of  claim 14 , wherein the communication interface comprises a near-field communication (NFC) interface, wherein the communication path comprises an NFC path, and wherein the NFC path is established using an NFC tap operation performed between the payor handheld electronic device and the payee handheld electronic device. 
     
     
       19. The method of  claim 18 , wherein the NFC path is maintained between receiving, the notification that the payment account of the payor handheld electronic device and the crediting account of the payee handheld electronic device that are incompatible with one another and receiving a selection of an alternative crediting account that is compatible with the default payment account such that an additional NFC tap operation does not need to be performed between the payee handheld electronic device and the payor handheld electronic device. 
     
     
       20. The method of  claim 14 , wherein the payor handheld device stores a plurality of payments accounts, and the payment account is selected based upon a previous configuration performed by the payor in a peer-to-peer transaction application stored on the payor handheld electronic device, wherein the previous configuration identifies a preferred default payment account from the plurality of payment accounts. 
     
     
       21. The method of  claim 14 , wherein receiving a selection of an alternative payment account comprises:
 displaying a listing of the payment accounts stored on the payor handheld electronic device in response to a request by the payor; 
 receiving a selection input from the payor; and 
 using the processor of the payor handheld electronic device to select the payment account from the listing based on the received selection input. 
 
     
     
       22. The method of  claim 14 , wherein the payment account comprises a credit card account, a bank account, or a non-cash account. 
     
     
       23. The method of  claim 14 , comprising applying encryption to the payment information prior to providing the payment information to the payee handheld electronic device. 
     
     
       24. A handheld electronic device comprising:
 a processor; 
 communication circuitry; 
 one or more input structures; and 
 a memory device communicatively coupled to the processor and configured to store a plurality of payment accounts and a transaction application executable by the processor, wherein, upon execution of the transaction application, the processor is configured to:
 determine an amount of a payment to be requested by a payor in response to a first input provided by a payee operating the handheld electronic device, the first input being indicated by the one or more input structures; 
 cause an electronic payment request to be transmitted from the communication circuitry to another handheld electronic device operated by the payor, wherein the electronic payment request is transmitted via a near field communication-based wireless communication link between the handheld electronic device operated by the payee and the another handheld electronic device operated by the payor, and wherein the electronic payment request is configured to indicated the requested payment amount to the payor; 
 acquire, via the near field communication-based wireless communication link, payment information provided by the payor handheld electronic device using the communication circuitry, wherein the payment information comprises a default payment account selected by the payor, and wherein acquiring the payment information comprises acquiring an image of a payment instrument and extracting payment information data from the acquired image; 
 cause the communication circuitry to transmit, via a wireless communication link that is different from the near field communication-based wireless communication link, a request from the payee handheld electronic device to obtain authorization for the payment of the requested payment amount from the payor to the payee, wherein the transmission of the request to obtain authorization for the payment comprises transmitting the selected payment account and a default crediting account from the payee handheld electronic device to at least one external server that is separate from both the payee handheld electronic device and the payor handheld electronic device and configured to determine that the default payment account and the default crediting account are incompatible; 
 receive, from the external server, a notification indicating whether the default crediting account of the payee handheld electronic device and the default payment account of the payor handheld electronic device are compatible with one another; 
 in accordance with a determination, based on the notification, that the default payment account and the default crediting account are compatible with one another:
 display an indication that the electronic payment request has been successfully completed; and 
 
 in accordance with a determination, based on the notification, that the default payment account and the default crediting account are incompatible with one another:
 display an indication that the electronic payment request has not been successfully completed; and 
 while displaying the indication that the electronic payment request has not been successfully completed, receive, using an interface element of the payee handheld electronic device, a selection of an alternative crediting account that is compatible with the default payment account and authorize the payment from the default payment account and to credit the payment to the alternative crediting account if the payment is authorized. 
 
 
 
     
     
       25. The handheld electronic device of  claim 24 , wherein the communication circuitry comprises a first communication interface and a second communication interface. 
     
     
       26. The handheld electronic device of  claim 25 , wherein the electronic payment request is transmitted and the payment information from the payor handheld electronic device is received using the first communication interface of the communication circuitry, and wherein the request to obtain authorization for the payment of the requested payment amount is transmitted using the second communication interface of the communication circuitry. 
     
     
       27. The handheld electronic device of  claim 25 , wherein the first communication interface comprises a near-field communication (NFC) interface. 
     
     
       28. The handheld electronic device of  claim 27 , wherein the NFC path is maintained between receiving, the notification that the payment account of the payor handheld electronic device and the crediting account of the payee handheld electronic device that are incompatible with one another and receiving a selection of an alternative crediting account that is compatible with the default payment account such that an additional NFC tap operation does not need to be performed between the payee handheld electronic device and the payor handheld electronic device. 
     
     
       29. The handheld electronic device of  claim 25 , wherein the second communication interface comprises at least one of a local area network, a personal area network, or a cellular data network, or a combination thereof. 
     
     
       30. The handheld electronic device of  claim 24 , comprising a display, wherein the display is configured to display a listing of crediting accounts stored on the payee handheld electronic device for selection by the payee using the one or more input structures. 
     
     
       31. The handheld electronic device of  claim 24 , wherein the display comprises a touchscreen display, and wherein the one or more input structures comprises a touch-sensitive element of the touchscreen display. 
     
     
       32. The handheld electronic device of  claim 24 , wherein the processor is configured to encrypt the payment account and the default crediting account prior when transmitting the request to the at least one external server. 
     
     
       33. The handheld electronic device of  claim 24 , wherein the handheld electronic device comprises at least one of a cellular telephone, a digital media player, a personal digital assistant, or any combination thereof. 
     
     
       34. The handheld electronic device of  claim 24 , wherein the selected crediting account comprises least one of a credit card account, a bank account, or a non-cash account, or any combination thereof. 
     
     
       35. The handheld electronic device of  claim 24 , wherein the alternative crediting account is selected in response to a second input provided by the payee, the second input being indicated by the one or more input structures. 
     
     
       36. A method comprising:
 determining, using a processor of a first electronic device, a data value to be requested from a second electronic device in response to a first input provided by the first electronic device; 
 using the processor of the first electronic device to cause an electronic communication to be transmitted from a near field communication interface of the second electronic device to the first electronic device, wherein the electronic communication is transmitted via a near field communication-based wireless communication link between the first electronic device and the second electronic device, and wherein the electronic communication is configured to indicate the requested data value; 
 acquiring, via the near field communication-based wireless communication link, a second account identification information provided by the second electronic device in response to the request for the data value, wherein acquiring the second account identification information comprises acquiring an image of an account instrument and extracting account identification information data from the acquired image; 
 determining, using the processor of the first electronic device, a first account identification information; 
 transmitting a request from the first electronic device, via a wireless communication link that is different from the near field communication-based wireless communication link, to at least one external server that is separate from both the first electronic device and the second electronic device to obtain authorization to conduct an electronic data transaction between the first account and the second account corresponding to the data value; 
 receiving, from the external server, a notification indicating whether the first account second account are compatible with one another; 
 in accordance with a determination, based on the notification, that the default payment account and the default crediting account are compatible with one another:
 displaying an indication that the electronic payment request has been successfully completed; and 
 
 in accordance with a determination, based on the notification, that the default payment account and the default crediting account are incompatible with one another:
 displaying an indication that the electronic payment request has not been successfully completed; and 
 while displaying the indication that the electronic payment request has not been successfully completed, receiving, using an interface element of the first electronic device, a selection of an alternative to the first account that is compatible with the second account.

Description:
BACKGROUND 
     1. Technical Field 
     Embodiments of the present disclosure relate generally to peer-to-peer transactions and, more particularly, to various systems, methods, and electronic devices configured to initiate and process such transactions. 
     2. Description of the Related Art 
     This section is intended to introduce the reader to various aspects of art that may be related to various aspects of the present techniques, which are described and/or claimed below. This discussion is believed to be helpful in providing the reader with background information to facilitate a better understanding of the various aspects of the present disclosure. Accordingly, it should be understood that these statements are to be read in this light, and not as admissions of prior art. 
     Many payment instruments currently exist and may be used to carry out financial exchanges between two or more parties. For instance, payments may be made using credit cards, debit cards, checks, electronic checks, and cash. In recent years, the growth of electronic commerce has at least partially attributed to the popularity of credit cards, debit cards, and other non-currency based payment instruments. Further, because a consumer may not always have a precise amount of cash on hand to pay an outstanding invoice or bill, such as to a vendor or retailer, it may, at times, be more convenient to charge the owed amount to the consumer&#39;s credit card. 
     As we move to a more mobile and fast-paced society, the use of cash or currency is being increasingly replaced by electronic transactions using credit cards, debit cards, etc. Accordingly, it is not uncommon for consumers to hold multiple non-currency accounts concurrently (e.g., multiple credit cards or debits cards corresponding to a respective banking provider), each of which may be dedicated for a particular type of purchase or financial exchange. For example, a consumer may concurrently hold a credit card account that may be dedicated for gas or automotive purchases, a credit card account specifically for travel-related purchases, a general purpose credit card account for miscellaneous purchases, as well as one or more loyalty credit card accounts that may be used only with specific retailers or vendors. In addition, the consumer may also hold, concurrently, one or more debit card accounts associated with respective banking providers. 
     As can be appreciated, the consumer may make payments or participate in financial exchanges using any of the above-discussed accounts by way of a payment instrument representing the account, such as a credit card. As the number of payment accounts held by the consumer increases, however, it may become increasingly inconvenient to carry such a large number of credit/debit cards. Further, while payments made using the above-discussed accounts may be readily compatible with retailer and vendor businesses, including those established online on the Internet, payments made from these accounts may not always be readily accepted by other consumers or “peers.” 
     SUMMARY 
     Certain aspects of embodiments disclosed herein by way of example are summarized below. It should be understood that these aspects are presented merely to provide the reader with a brief summary of the various techniques disclosed and/or claimed herein might take and that these aspects are not intended to limit the scope of any technique disclosed and/or claimed herein. Indeed, any technique disclosed and/or claimed herein may encompass a variety of aspects that may not be set forth below. 
     The present disclosure generally relates to various techniques for performing peer-to-peer transactions using a portable device. In accordance with one disclosed embodiment, a portable electronic device may be configured to store information representing one or more accounts held by a user. For instance, the stored information may represent one or more credit card accounts held by the user. As used in the present disclosure, the term “credit card” shall be understood to encompass any type of card, including those in conformance with the ISO 7810 standard, such as credit cards, debit cards, charge cards, gift cards, or the like. In one embodiment, a credit card may store a user&#39;s account information using a magnetic stripe encoded on the card (e.g., ISO 7813 standard). In other embodiments, as will be described below, a credit card may include a storage device (e.g., in addition to the above-mentioned magnetic stripe) configured to store the user&#39;s account information. The portable device may also be configured to store information relating to one or more bank accounts held by the user. 
     The portable device may also be provided one or more communication interfaces configured to send or transmit information stored on the device. For example, based on inputs or commands received from the user, the portable device may be configured to initiate payments (e.g., as a payor) by transmitting payment information corresponding to a credit account stored on the device, for example, to an external device (e.g., as a payee). In one embodiment, the receiving device may be a similar portable electronic device. Additionally, the device may be configured to receive payment information from the external device and to initiate a transaction request in order to process the received payment information, such that a corresponding payment is credited to an appropriate account stored on the device (e.g., a bank account). For instance, the transaction request may include communicating with one or more external servers configured to provide an authorization for the requested transaction. 
     The electronic device may further include one or more input device, such as a camera device, as well as a plurality of communication interfaces, which may include a near field communication (NFC) interface. In accordance with one embodiment, the device may initiate the sending and receiving of payment information with the external device using the NFC interface by way of an NFC handshake operation. Additionally, the electronic device also may use a device identification networking protocol to establish a communication link with the external device in order to receive or send payment information. 
     In a further embodiment, the electronic device may include an image processing application for processing an image to extract information. For instance, using the camera input device discussed above, an image of a payor&#39;s payment instrument, which may include a credit card, check, etc., may be acquired. The acquired image may be processed in order to extract and determine information relating to the payment account represented by the payment instrument. Thus, the electronic device may transmit a request including the extracted payment account information to one or more financial servers for the authorization of a payment using the extracted information. Accordingly, the presently described techniques, which may include methods, systems, and devices, may provide for a convenient method and system for performing peer-to-peer financial exchanges, as well as provide for a single transaction point for the sending and receiving payments, thus reducing or eliminating the need for the user to carry each physical payment instruments (e.g., multiple credit/debit cards). 
     The presently described techniques may also provide one or more systems for performing a group transaction including a plurality of group transaction members may be provided. In one embodiment, the group transaction members may include an initiator operating the electronic device. The initiator may initiate a primary transaction to pay the entirety of a group invoice containing amounts owed by each of the group transaction members. Thereafter, the initiator may perform one or more secondary transactions with each of the remaining group transaction members to collect the respective amounts owed. As can be appreciated, the collection of the outstanding payments may be performed using one or more of the communication or image processing techniques briefly explained above. Also, in a further embodiment, the initiator may be the originator of the invoice and directly collect payments corresponding to amounts owed by the group transaction members (e.g., without the above-discussed primary transaction). 
     The electronic device may further be provided an application, such as a computer program stored on one or more machine-readable media, adapted to provide the functions discussed above. In one embodiment, the device may include a display and the application may provide for a graphical user interface viewable on the display. By way of the graphical interface, the user may operate the device to perform one or more of the above-mentioned functions, which will be described in further detail below. 
     Various refinements of the features noted above may exist in relation to various aspects of the present disclosure. Further features may also be incorporated in these various aspects as well. These refinements and additional features may exist individually or in any combination. For instance, various features discussed below in relation to one or more of the illustrated embodiments may be incorporated into any of the above-described aspects of the present disclosure alone or in any combination. Again, the brief summary presented above is intended only to familiarize the reader with certain aspects and contexts of embodiments of the present disclosure without limitation to the claimed subject matter. 
    
    
     
       DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       These and other features, aspects, and advantages of the present disclosure will become better understood when the following detailed description of certain exemplary embodiments is read with reference to the accompanying drawings in which like characters represent like parts throughout the drawings, wherein: 
         FIG. 1  is a front view of an electronic device in accordance with one embodiment; 
         FIG. 2  is a rear view of the electronic device illustrated in  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 3  is a simplified block diagram depicting components which may be used in the electronic device illustrated in  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 4  is a block diagram illustrating the processing of a peer-to-peer transaction between the device of  FIG. 1  and an external device in communication with the device of  FIG. 1 , wherein the device of  FIG. 1  acts as a payee device, and wherein the external device acts as a payor device in the accordance with one embodiment; 
         FIG. 5A  shows a plurality of screens that may be displayed on the device of  FIG. 1  illustrating a method for storing credit card information into the device of  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 5B  shows a plurality of screens that may be displayed on the device of  FIG. 1  illustrating a method for verifying the credit card information entered in  FIG. 5A ; 
         FIG. 6A  shows a plurality of screens that may be displayed on the device of  FIG. 1  illustrating a method of storing banking information into the device of  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 6B  shows a plurality of screens that may be displayed on the device of  FIG. 1  illustrating a method for verifying the banking information stored in  FIG. 6A ; 
         FIG. 7  shows a plurality of screens that may be displayed on the device of  FIG. 1  illustrating a method for configuring a default payment account on the device of  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 8  shows a plurality of screens that may be displayed on the device of  FIG. 1  illustrating a method for configuring a default crediting account on the device of  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 9  shows a plurality of screens that may be displayed on the device of  FIG. 1  illustrating a method for configuring an authorization PIN code in accordance with one embodiment; 
         FIGS. 10A and 10B  show a plurality of screens that may be displayed on the device of  FIG. 1  illustrating a method for locking and unlocking a transaction application stored on the device of  FIG. 1  in accordance with one embodiment; 
         FIG. 11A  depicts a flowchart illustrating a method of operating the payee device of  FIG. 4  to initiate a transaction in accordance with one embodiment; 
         FIG. 11B  depicts a flowchart illustrating a method of operating the payor device of  FIG. 4  to respond to the transaction initiated by the method of  FIG. 11A  in accordance with one embodiment; 
         FIGS. 12A-12C  are schematic representations of systems adapted to carry out various types of transactions that may be performed between the payee and payor devices of  FIG. 4  in accordance with aspects of the present technique; 
         FIG. 13  is a schematic representation illustrating a communication process that may occur between the payee and payor devices of  FIG. 4  during the transactions depicted by  FIGS. 12A-12C ; 
         FIG. 14A  shows a plurality of screens that may be displayed on the device of  FIG. 1  illustrating a method for initiating a payment request to be transmitted to a payor device in accordance with one embodiment; 
         FIG. 14B  shows a plurality of screens depicting the transmission of the payment request of  FIG. 14A  from the payee device to the payor device using an established communication channel; 
         FIGS. 14C and 14D  illustrate the establishment of the communication channel of  FIG. 14B ; 
         FIGS. 14E-14G  show a plurality of screens that may be displayed on payor device illustrating various methods for selecting a payment account in response to the payment request of  FIG. 14A ; 
         FIG. 14H  shows a plurality of screens that may be displayed on the payor device for initiating the transmission of the payment account information selected in  FIG. 14E  to the payee device; 
         FIG. 14I  shows a plurality of screens depicting the transmission of the payment account information selected in  FIG. 14E  to from the payor device to the payee device using the established communication channel of  FIG. 14B ; 
         FIG. 14J  shows a plurality of screens that may be displayed on the payee device illustrating a method for selecting a crediting account and completing the transaction originally initiated in  FIG. 14A ; 
         FIG. 15A  depicts one or more steps of the method illustrated in  FIG. 11A  in further detail in accordance with the transactions depicted in  FIGS. 12A-12C ; 
         FIG. 15B  depicts certain steps of the method illustrated in  FIG. 11B  in accordance with the transactions depicted in  FIGS. 12A-12C ; 
         FIG. 16A  depicts a flowchart illustrating a method in which the payor device of  FIG. 4  is operated to initiate a transaction in accordance with one embodiment; 
         FIG. 16B  depicts a flowchart illustrating a method in which the payee device of  FIG. 4  is operated to respond to the transaction initiated in  FIG. 16A  in accordance with one embodiment; 
         FIG. 17A  shows a plurality of screens that may be displayed on a payor device illustrating a method for initiating a transaction in accordance with the methods described in  FIGS. 16A-16B  in accordance with one embodiment; 
         FIG. 17B  shows a plurality of screens that may be displayed on a payee device illustrating a method for selecting a crediting account and completing the transaction initiated by  FIG. 17A ; 
         FIG. 18  is a schematic representation of a system adapted to carry out a transaction in which a selected payment account includes a non-cash account in accordance with one embodiment; 
         FIGS. 19A and 19B  show a plurality of screens that may be displayed on a payor device illustrating a method for selecting the non-cash account of  FIG. 18  as a payment account and initiating a transaction in accordance with one embodiment; 
         FIG. 19C  shows a plurality of screens that may be displayed on a payee device illustrating a method for selecting a non-cash crediting account in accordance with one embodiment; 
         FIG. 19D  shows a plurality of screens that may be displayed on a payee device illustrating a method for selecting a crediting account and completing the transaction initiated in  FIG. 19A ; 
         FIG. 20  is a schematic representation of a system adapted to carry out a transaction in which a selected payment account is provided by a smart card; 
         FIG. 21A  depicts one or more steps of the method illustrated in  FIG. 11A  in further detail in accordance with the transaction depicted in  FIG. 20 ; 
         FIG. 21B  depicts certain steps of the method illustrated in  FIG. 11B  in accordance with the transaction depicted in  FIG. 20 ; 
         FIG. 22A  shows a plurality of screens that may be displayed on a payee device of  FIG. 18  illustrating a method for receiving payment information stored on the smart card of  FIG. 18  in accordance with one embodiment; 
         FIG. 22B  illustrates the establishment of the communication channel between the payee device and the smart card of  FIG. 18  for the transmission of the payment information in  FIG. 22A ; 
         FIG. 22C  illustrates a plurality of screens that may be displayed on a payee device illustrating a method for selecting a crediting account and completing the transaction initiated in  FIG. 22A ; 
         FIG. 23  is a schematic representation of a system adapted to carry out a transaction in which a selected payment account is provided using a magnetic credit card provided by the payor in accordance with one embodiment; 
         FIG. 24  is a schematic representation of a system adapted to carry out a transaction in which a selected payment account is provided using a check provided by the payor in accordance with one embodiment; 
         FIG. 25A  depicts one or more steps of the method illustrated in  FIG. 11A  in further detail in accordance with the transactions depicted in  FIGS. 23 and 24 ; 
         FIG. 25B  depicts one or more steps of the method illustrated in  FIG. 11B  in further detail in accordance with the transactions depicted in  FIGS. 23 and 24 ; 
         FIG. 26A  shows a plurality of screens that may be displayed on a payee device illustrating a method for acquiring an image of the credit card of  FIG. 23  in accordance with one embodiment; 
         FIG. 26B  depicts a technique for processing the image acquired in  FIG. 26A  for the extraction of payment information; 
         FIG. 26C  shows a plurality of screens that may be displayed on a payee device illustrating a method for editing information obtained by the image processing step depicted in  FIG. 26B ; 
         FIG. 26D  shows a plurality of screens that may be displayed on a payee device illustrating a method for selecting a crediting account and completing the transaction initiated in  FIG. 22A ; 
         FIGS. 27A and 27B  show a plurality of screens that may be displayed on a payee device illustrating a method for acquiring an image of the check in  FIG. 24  in accordance with one embodiment; 
         FIG. 27C  depicts a technique for processing the image acquired in  FIG. 27B  for the extraction of payment information; 
         FIG. 27D  shows a plurality of screens that may be displayed on a payee device illustrating a method for selecting a crediting account and completing the transaction initiated in  FIG. 27A ; 
         FIG. 27E  shows a plurality of screens that may be displayed on a payee device illustrating a method for acquiring an image of the check in  FIG. 24  in accordance with a further embodiment; 
         FIG. 27F  depicts a technique for processing the image acquired in  FIG. 27E  for the extraction of payment information; 
         FIG. 27G  shows a plurality of screens that may be displayed on a payee device illustrating a method for selecting a crediting account and completing the transaction initiated in  FIG. 27A  based on the image acquired in  FIG. 27E ; 
         FIG. 28  is a schematic representation of a system adapted to carry out a group transaction including multiple payors in accordance with one embodiment; 
         FIG. 29  depicts a flowchart illustrating a method of for performing the group transaction of  FIG. 28 ; 
         FIG. 30A  shows a plurality of screens that may be displayed on an initiator device illustrating a method for initiating a primary portion of the group transaction of  FIG. 28 ; 
         FIGS. 30B and 30C  show a plurality of screens that may be displayed on an initiator device illustrating a method for completing the primary transaction initiated in  FIG. 30A  and further initiating a secondary portion of the group transaction; 
         FIG. 30D  shows a plurality of screens that may be displayed on an payor device illustrating a method for joining the group transaction of  FIG. 28 ; 
         FIG. 30E  shows a plurality of screens that may be displayed on an initiator device illustrating a technique for adding additional transaction members to the group transaction depicted in  FIG. 28 ; 
         FIG. 30F  shows a plurality of screens that may be displayed on an initiator device illustrating a technique for apportioning invoice items to a group transaction member; 
         FIG. 30G  shows a plurality of screens that may be displayed on an initiator device illustrating a technique for apportioning invoice items to two or more group transaction members; 
         FIG. 30H  shows a plurality of screens that may be displayed on an initiator device illustrating a method for viewing a partial invoice in accordance with one embodiment; 
         FIGS. 30I-30L  show a plurality of screens that may be displayed on an initiator device illustrating methods for collecting payments from each of the group transaction members in accordance with one embodiment; 
         FIG. 31  is a schematic representation of a system adapted to carry out a transaction including multiple payors in accordance one embodiment; 
         FIGS. 32A and 32B  show a plurality of screens that may be displayed on a vendor device illustrating a methods for initiating the group transaction of  FIG. 31 ; 
         FIG. 32C  shows a plurality of screens that may be displayed on an vendor device illustrating a technique for apportioning invoice items to a group transaction member; and 
         FIG. 32D  show a plurality of screens that may be displayed on an vendor device illustrating methods for collecting payments from each of the group transaction members and completing the group transaction of  FIG. 31 ; 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF SPECIFIC EMBODIMENTS 
     One or more specific embodiments of the present disclosure will be described below. These described embodiments are only exemplary of the presently disclosed techniques. Additionally, in an effort to provide a concise description of these exemplary embodiments, all features of an actual implementation may not be described in the specification. It should be appreciated that in the development of any such actual implementation, as in any engineering or design project, numerous implementation-specific decisions must be made to achieve the developers&#39; specific goals, such as compliance with system-related and business-related constraints, which may vary from one implementation to another. Moreover, it should be appreciated that such a development effort might be complex and time consuming, but would nevertheless be a routine undertaking of design, fabrication, and manufacture for those of ordinary skill having the benefit of this disclosure. 
     The present disclosure is directed to various techniques for conducting peer-to-peer financial exchanges using a handheld, portable electronic device. The handheld electronic device, in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure, may integrate several functionalities for performing peer-to-peer transactions, including the storing information representation a user&#39;s payment accounts and crediting accounts, acquiring and sending payment information, and obtaining payment authorization. One or more input devices, such as a camera or near field communication (NFC) device may be provided for the acquisition of payment information. For example, the NFC device may be used to initiate an NFC connection with an external device for acquiring or sending payment information data. Additionally, the camera device may be utilized in cooperation with an image processing application to extract payment information data from an image of a payment instrument provided by a payor. The electronic device may also be configured to communicate with one or more external servers to acquire an authorization for a payment through a selected communication channel, such as a wide area network (WAN), local area network (LAN), personal area network (PAN), or near field communication channel. Thus, the various functions provided by an electronic device in accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure, as will be described in further detail below, may provide a convenient technique for performing peer-to-peer financial exchanges, include group exchanges involving more than two members. Indeed, as will be discussed in further detail below, certain aspects of the below-described techniques may be particular useful in person-to-person transactions conduct between individuals. 
     Turning now to the drawings and referring initially to  FIG. 1 , an electronic device that may include one or more transaction applications for providing the transaction related techniques and capabilities briefly mentioned above is illustrated and generally referred to by reference numeral  10 . In accordance with the illustrated embodiment, the electronic device  10  may be a handheld device incorporating the functionality of one or more portable devices, such as a media player, a cellular phone, a personal data organizer, and so forth. Thus, depending on the functionalities provided by the electronic device  10 , a user may listen to music, play games, record video, take pictures, and place telephone calls, while moving freely with the device  10 . In addition, the electronic device  10  may allow a user to connect to and communicate through the Internet or through other networks, such as local or wide area networks. For example, the electronic device  10  may allow a user to communicate using e-mail, text messaging, instant messaging, or other forms of electronic communication. The electronic device  10  also may communicate with other devices using short-range connection protocols, such as Bluetooth and near field communication (NFC). By way of example only, the electronic device  10  may be a model of an iPhone®, available from Apple Inc. of Cupertino, Calif. 
     As shown in the illustrated embodiment, the device  10  may be enclosed by an enclosure or housing  12 . The enclosure  12  may serve to protect the internal components of the device  10  from physical damage. In addition, the enclosure  12  may also provide the device  10  and its internal components shielding from electromagnetic interference. As will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, the enclosure  12  may be formed and/or constructed from any suitable material such as plastic, metal, or a composite material and may allow certain frequencies of electromagnetic radiation to pass through to wireless communication circuitry within the device  10  for facilitation of wireless communications. 
     The enclosure  12  may further provide for access to various user input structures, depicted in  FIG. 1  by reference numerals  14 ,  16 ,  18 ,  20 , and  22 . By way of these user input structures, a user may interface with the device  10 , wherein each user input structure  14 ,  16 ,  18 ,  20 , and  22  may be configured to control one or more device functions when pressed or actuated. By way of example, the input structure  14  may include a button that when pressed or actuated causes a home screen or menu to be displayed on the device. The input structure  16  may include a button for toggling the device  10  between one or more modes of operation, such as a sleep mode, a wake mode, or a powered on/off mode, for example. The input structure  18  may include a dual-position sliding structure that may mute or silence a ringer in embodiments where the device  10  includes a cell phone application. Further, the input structures  20  and  22  may include buttons for increasing and decreasing the volume output of the device  10 . It should be understood that the illustrated input structures  14 ,  16 ,  18 ,  20 , and  22  are merely exemplary, and that the electronic device  10  may include any number of user input structures existing in various forms including buttons, switches, control pads, keys, knobs, scroll wheels, and so forth, depending on specific implementation requirements. 
     The electronic device  10  may further include a display  24  configured to display various images generated by the device  10 . By way of example, the display  24  may be configured to display photos, movies, album art, and/or data, such as text documents, spreadsheets, text messages, and e-mail, among other things. The display  24  may also display various system indicators  26  that provide feedback to a user, such as power status, signal strength, call status, external device connections, or the like. The display  24  may be any type of display such as a liquid crystal display (LCD), a light emitting diode (LED) display, an organic light emitting diode (OLED) display, or other suitable display. In certain embodiments, the device  10  may include a touch sensitive element, such as a touch screen interface (not shown in  FIG. 1 ) disposed adjacent to the display  24  that may function as an additional user input structure (e.g., in addition to structures  14 ,  16 ,  18 ,  20 , and  22 ). By way of this touch screen interface, a user may select elements displayed on the display  24  such as, for example, by touching certain elements using the user&#39;s finger or a stylus. 
     As further shown in the present embodiment, the display  24  may be configured to display a graphical user interface (“GUI”)  28  that allows a user to interact with the device  10 . The GUI  28  may include various graphical layers, windows, screens, templates, elements, or other components that may be displayed on all or a portion of the display  24 . For instance, the GUI  28  may display a plurality of graphical elements, depicted here generally as icons  30 . By default, such as when the device  10  is first powered on, the GUI  28  may be configured to display the illustrated icons  30  as a “home screen,” represented herein by the reference numeral  29 . In certain embodiments, the user input structures  14 ,  16 ,  18 ,  20 , and  22 , may be used to navigate through the GUI  28  and, accordingly, away from the home screen  29 . For example, one or more of the user input structures may include a wheel structure that may allow a user to select various icons  30  displayed by the GUI  28 . Additionally, the icons  30  may also be selected via the touch screen interface. 
     As will be appreciated, the icons  30  may represent various layers, windows, screens, templates, elements, or other components that may be displayed in some or all of the areas of the display  24  upon selection by the user. Furthermore, the selection of an icon  30  may lead to or initiate a hierarchical screen navigation process. For instance, the selection of an icon  30  may cause the display  24  to display another screen that includes one or more additional icons  30  or other GUI elements. Also, as shown in the present embodiment, each graphical element  30  may have one or more textual indicators  32  associated therewith, which may be displayed on or near its respective graphical element  30  to facilitate user interpretation of each graphical element  30 . For example, the icon  34  may be associated with the textual indicator “Transactions.” It should be appreciated that the GUI  28  may include various components arranged in hierarchical and/or non-hierarchical structures. 
     When an icon  30  is selected, the device  10  may be configured to initiate, open, or run an application associated with the selected icon  30  and to display a corresponding screen. For example, when the transaction icon  34  is selected, the device  10  may open a transaction program and display a transactions menu displaying the various tools, features available in the transaction program. Thus, for each application provided on the device  10 , one or more respective screen or screens may be displayed on the display  24  that may include various user interface elements corresponding to a respective application. 
     The electronic device  10  may also include various input/output (I/O) ports, such as the illustrated I/O ports  36 ,  38 , and  40 . These I/O ports may allow a user to connect the device  10  to or interface the device  10  with one or more external devices. For example, the input/output port  36  may include a proprietary connection port for transmitting and receiving data files, such as media files. The input/output port  38  may include a connection slot for receiving a subscriber identify module (SIM) card, for instance, where the device  10  includes cell phone functionality. The input/output port  40  may be an audio jack that provides for connection of audio headphones or speakers. As will appreciated, the device  10  may include any number of input/output ports configured to connect to a variety of external devices, such as to a power source, a printer, and a computer, or an external storage device, just to name a few. As will appreciated, the I/O ports may include any suitable interface type such as a universal serial bus (USB) port, serial connection port, FireWire port (IEEE-1394), or AC/DC power connection port. 
     Further, in some embodiments, certain I/O ports may be configured to provide for more than one function. For instance, in one embodiment, the I/O port  36  may be configured to not only transmit and receive data files, as described above, but may be further configured to couple the device to a power charging interface, such as an power adaptor designed to provide power from a electrical wall outlet, or an interface cable configured to draw power from another electrical device, such as a desktop computer. Thus, the I/O port  36  may be configured to function dually as both a data transfer port and an AC/DC power connection port depending, for example, on the external component being coupled to the device  10  through the I/O port  36 . 
     The electronic device  10  may also include various audio input and output elements. For example, the audio input/output elements, depicted generally by reference numeral  42 , may include an input receiver, which may be provided one or more microphones. For instance, where the electronic device  10  includes cell phone functionality, the input receivers may be configured to receive user audio input such as a user&#39;s voice. Additionally, the audio input/output elements  42  may include one or more output transmitters. Thus, where the device  10  includes a media player application, the output transmitters of the audio input/output elements  42  may include one or more speakers for transmitting audio signals to a user, such as playing back music files, for example. 
     Further, where the electronic device  10  includes a cell phone application, an additional audio output transmitter  44  may be provided, as shown in  FIG. 1 . Like the output transmitter of the audio input/output elements  42 , the output transmitter  44  may also include one or more speakers configured to transmit audio signals to a user, such as voice data received during a telephone call. Thus, the input receivers and the output transmitters of the audio input/output elements  42  and the output transmitter  44  may operate in conjunction to function as the audio receiving and transmitting elements of a telephone. 
     In the illustrated embodiment, the electronic device  10  further includes a near field communication (NFC) device  46 . The NFC device  46  may be located within the enclosure  12 , and a mark or symbol on the exterior of the enclosure  12  may identify its location within the enclosure  12 . The NFC device  46  may include an antenna that may generally be positioned along the circumference of the housing  12 , and may allow for close range communication at relatively low data rates (e.g., 424 kb/s), and may comply with standards such as ISO 18092 or ISO 21481. In some embodiments, the NFC device  46  may also allow for close range communication at relatively high data rates (e.g., 560 Mbps), and may comply with the TransferJet® protocol. As used herein, it should be understood that the term “NFC device” refers to both an NFC communication device  46 , as well as the above-mentioned antenna. 
     In certain embodiments, the communication using the NFC device  46  may occur within a range of approximately 2 to 4 cm. As will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, close range communication using the NFC device  46  may take place via magnetic field induction, thus allowing the NFC device  46  to communicate with other NFC-enabled devices or to retrieve information from tags having radio frequency identification (RFID) circuitry. Additionally, magnetic field induction may also allow the NFC device  46  to “wake” or induce another NFC-enabled device that is in a passive or sleep mode into an active mode. As will discussed in further detail below, the NFC device  46  may be utilized in conjunction with the transaction application described above (e.g., represented by graphical element  34 ) to provide for the acquisition and transmission of payment and crediting information, as well as communication with one or more external servers for processing and authorization of a transaction as well as the verification of payment and crediting accounts. 
     Continuing now to  FIG. 2 , a rear view of the electronic device  10  depicted in  FIG. 1  is illustrated. As shown in  FIG. 2 , the device  10  may include a camera  48 . The camera  48  may be used to acquire digital still or moving images, such as digital photographs or movies. As will be discussed in further detail below, the camera  48  may be utilized in conjunction with the aforementioned transaction application, depicted by the graphical element  34 , in order to acquire images of various types of payment instruments, such as checks or credit cards. As will be known by those skilled in the art, various image processing techniques, such as optical character recognition (OCR), may be applied to the processing of the acquired photographic images of payment instruments in order to extract information corresponding to account holder identify and account information associated with a particular payment instrument. 
     Additional details of the illustrative device  10  may be better understood through reference to  FIG. 3 , which is a block diagram illustrating various components and features of the device  10  in accordance with one embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in  FIG. 3 , the device  10  may include the above discussed display  24 , the NFC device  46 , and the camera  48 , as well as a CPU  50 , control circuitry  52 , a storage device  54 , a plurality of communication interfaces  56 , a video controller  76 , a touch screen interface  78 , an I/O controller  80 , and a power source  80 . 
     The operation of the device  10  may be generally controlled by the central processing unit (CPU)  50  and the control circuit  52 . In cooperation, these elements may provide the processing capability required to execute an operating system, application programs, the GUI  28 , and any other functions provided on the device  10 . The CPU  50  may include a single processor or, in other embodiments, it may include a plurality of processors. By way of example, the CPU  50  may include “general purpose” microprocessors, a combination of general and application-specific microprocessors, instruction set processors, graphics processors, video processors, as well as related chips sets and/or special purpose microprocessors. The control circuit  52  may include one or more data buses for transferring data and instructions between components of the device  10 . The control circuit  52  also may further include on board memory (RAM) for caching purposes. Additionally, although not illustrated in  FIG. 3 , the device  10  may include a standalone random access memory (RAM) in communication with the CPU  50  by way of one or more memory controllers, which may be integrated within the control circuit  52 . 
     Information used by the CPU  50  may be stored within a long-term storage device, represented by reference numeral  54 . The storage device  54  of the electronic device  10  may be utilized for storing data required for the operation of the CPU  50 , data to be processed or executed by the CPU  50 , as well as other data required by the device  10 , such as application and program data. By way of example, the storage device  54  may be configured to store the firmware for the electronic device  10  that is used by the CPU  50 . The firmware may include an operating system, as well as other programs or drivers that enable various functions of the electronic device  10 , GUI functions, and/or processor functions. The storage device  54  may also store components for the GUI  28 , such as graphical elements, screens, and templates. Additionally, the storage device  54  may store data files such as media (e.g., music and video files), image data, application software, preference information (e.g., media playback preferences, general user preferences), wireless connection information (e.g., information that may enable the device  10  to establish a wireless connection, such as a telephone or Internet connection), subscription information (e.g., information that maintains a record of podcasts, television shows or other media to which a user subscribes), telephone information (e.g., telephone numbers), and any other suitable data required by the device  10 . 
     The long term storage  54  may be non-volatile memory such as read only memory, flash or solid state memory, a hard disk drive, or any other suitable optical, magnetic, or solid-state computer readable media, as well as a combination thereof. Thus, although the long term storage  54  is depicted as a single device for purposes of clarity, it should understood that the long term storage  54  may include one or more of a combination of the above-listed storage devices operating in conjunction with the CPU  50 . 
     Further, in certain embodiments, the storage device  54  may include an image processing application configured to perform extraction of textual or encoded information from image data, such as an image acquired using the camera device  48 . The image processing application may employ one or more OCR techniques, as briefly described above. For example, the image processing application may be used to extract credit card information from an acquired image of the credit card, or banking information from an acquired image of a check. These features and applications will be described in further detail below. 
     The device  10  may further include one or more communication interfaces, illustrated in  FIG. 3  by reference numeral  56 , for providing additional connectivity channels for receiving and transmitting information. For example, communication interface  56  may represent one or more network interface cards (NIC) and/or a network controller as well as various associated communication protocols. The communication interface  56  may include several types of communication interfaces, including but not limited to, a wireless local area network (WLAN) interface  58 , an NFC interface  60 , an unstructured supplementary service data (USSD) interface  62 , a personal area network (PAN) interface  64 , a local area network (LAN) interface  66 , a wide area network (WAN) interface  68 , and a short message service (SMS) interface  70 . 
     The PAN interface  64  may provide capabilities to network with, for example, a Bluetooth® network, an IEEE 802.15.4 (e.g., ZigBee) network, or an ultra wideband network (UWB). As will be appreciated, the networks accessible by the PAN interface  64  may, but do not necessarily, represent low power, low bandwidth, or close range wireless connections. The PAN interface  64  may permit one electronic device  10  to connect to another local electronic device, such as a computer or portable media player, via an ad-hoc or peer-to-peer connection. However, the connection may be disrupted if the physical distance between the two electronic devices exceeds the effective range of the PAN interface  64 . 
     The LAN interface  66  and WLAN interface  58  may provide longer-range communication channels, generally exceeding the range available via the PAN interface  64 . The LAN interface  66  may represent, for example, an interface to a wired Ethernet-based network providing a connection to an Intranet or the Internet, and the WLAN interface  58  may represent an interface for connecting to a wireless LAN, such as an IEEE 802.11x wireless network. Additionally, in many cases, a connection between two electronic devices via the LAN interface  66  may involve communication through one or more network routers, switches, gateways, or some other intermediary device. 
     Connection to a wide area network (WAN) may be provided by way of the WAN interface  68 . The WAN interface  68  may permit a private and/or secure connection to a cellular data network, such as the Enhanced Data rates for GSM Evolution (EDGE) network or the 3G network (e.g., based on the IMT-2000 standard). When connected via the WAN interface  68 , the electronic device  10  may remain connected to the Internet and, in some embodiments, to one or more additional electronic devices, despite changes in location that might otherwise disrupt a connection through the PAN interface  64 , LAN interface  66 , or the WLAN interface  58 . 
     In certain embodiments, the electronic device  10  may also include a service discovery networking protocol to establish a connection with an external device through a network interface. For example, both the device  10  and the external device may broadcast identification information using internet protocol standards (IP). In some embodiments, the external device may additionally broadcast information relating to the available services the external device is capable of providing (e.g., printing services for a networked printer). The devices may then use the identification information to establish a network connection, such as a PAN connection or a WLAN connection, between the devices. By way of example, a device identification protocol may be provided by Bonjour®, developed by Apple Inc. 
     Small size communications may be sent using the USSD interface  62  and the SMS interface  70 . The SMS interface  70  may allow transmission of text messages of 140 bytes or less. In certain embodiments, larger size messages may be sent using concatenated SMS. The USSD interface  62  may facilitate the transmission of real time text messages over GSM signaling channels. By way of example, the USSD interface  62  may be used to query for locations and addresses, movie showing times, stock quotes, or the like. 
     The device  10  may be further provided with close range communication capabilities by way of the NFC interface  60 . The NFC interface  60  may operate in conjunction with the above-described NFC device  46  to provide for close range communications between the device  10  and an external device. The NFC interface  60  may exist as a separate component, may be integrated into another chipset, or may be integrated into the NFC device  46  itself, for example, as part of a system-on-chip (SoC) circuit. The NFC interface  60  may include one or more protocols, such as the Near Field Communication Interface and Protocols (NFCIP-1), for communicating with another NFC-enabled device. The protocols may be used to adapt the communication speed and to designate one of the connected devices as an initiating device that controls and/or initiates the NFC connection. In certain embodiments, the NFC interface  60  may be used to receive information, such as a service set identifier (SSID), channel, and/or encryption key that may be required to permit a connection through another communication interface, such as the WLAN interface  58 , the PAN interface  64 , the LAN interface  66 , or the WAN interface  68 . 
     In certain embodiments, the NFC interface  60  may enable the electronic device  10  to communicate in a peer-to-peer mode for exchanging data, such as payment and crediting information, with another NFC-enabled device in the context of carrying out or initiating the processing of a financial transaction, as will be discussed in further detail below. The NFC interface  60  also may be configured to switch the NFC device  46  between a “host” or active mode in which the NFC device  46  generates its own RF field, as well as a passive mode or “wake-on-NFC” mode in which the NFC device  46  may be induced into an active state for performing the transfer or receiving of data upon detection of an RF field generated by another device. As will be appreciated, operation of the NFC device  46  and interface  60  in the passive mode may prolong the battery life of the device  10 . In additional embodiments, the NFC device  46  may be controlled based on user or manufacturer preferences, represented herein by reference number  72 , which may be pre-configured by a manufacturer or vendor, or subsequently configured by a user based on the user&#39;s preferences. These preferences, whether pre-configured or later configured, may be stored in the storage device  54 . 
     In embodiments where the electronic device  10  is configured to provide for the initiation of peer-to-peer transactions, including financial transactions, between an external device, as will be discussed in further detail below, the preferences  72  may include a user-specified preferred or default payment account or source, as well as user-specified preferred or default crediting account. As used herein, the term “payment account” or the like shall be understood to refer to an account from which a payment is to be debited or charged. Additionally, the term “crediting account” or the like shall be understood to refer to an account from which a payment is to be deposited or credited. Thus, a default payment account may be an account that is automatically selected for providing a payment when a transaction is initiated on the device  10 . Similarly, a default crediting account may be an account that is automatically selected for the crediting or deposit of a received payment. The preferences  72  may also include a preferred e-mail address at which a user prefers to receive electronic receipt records or confirmation messages with regard to payments made or received via operating the electronic device  10 . 
     In certain embodiments, the preferences  72  may further determine properties of the above-mentioned communication interfaces  56  (e.g., including  58 ,  60 ,  62 ,  64 ,  66 ,  68 , and  70 ). For instance, the preferences  72  may include a list of networks that the device  10  may connect to and may further govern the order or priority between the communication interfaces  56 . By way of example, the device  10  may be configured to communicate through the NFC interface  60  if the communication is with regard to receiving payment information from or sending payment information to an external device. Similarly, the device  10  may be configured to communicate through the WLAN  58  or LAN  66  interfaces if the communication is with regard to verifying received payment information with an external and/or remote financial server, for example. Still further, the device  10  may be configured to initiate or take part in a group transaction, in which communication with a plurality of external devices is achieved through a combination of the provided communication interfaces  56 . For instance, in one embodiment, the device  10  may receive payment information from one or more of a plurality of external devices through the NFC interface  60 , while simultaneously communicating an updated invoice or bill to each of the external devices through an ad-hoc network established through one of the WLAN  58 , PAN  64 , or LAN  66  interfaces. 
     As will be further appreciated, the communication preferences associated with the preferences  72  may be further dependent upon security features  74  available for each respective communication interface  58 ,  60 ,  62 ,  64 ,  66 ,  68 , and  70 . The security features  74  may be stored in the storage device  54  and may include one or more cryptographic protocols, such as a secure sockets layer (SSL) protocol or a transport layer security (TLS) protocol, for establishing secure communications between the device  10  and an external device. The security features  74  may also include one or more encryption applications for encrypting information sent from the device  10 . These features may be particularly useful when transmitting information of a sensitive nature, such as payment and/or crediting account information, which may generally include credit card and bank account information, for example. 
     The security features  74  may also include a secure access-restricted storage area (e.g., within the storage device  54 ) to limit access to the data that may be required by the certain aspects of the security features  74 , such as encryption keys, passcodes and passwords, digital certificates, or the like. Additionally, the secure storage area may be adapted to store sensitive data, such as information pertaining to a user&#39;s financial accounts, including credit card accounts and banking accounts. The secure storage area may also store information regarding accounts of a non-financial nature. As used herein, the term “non-cash account,” “non-financial account,” or the like shall be understood to refer to accounts which may contain non-monetary assets that may nevertheless be used as a medium of exchange with at least one party, such as the institution holding or maintaining the non-cash account. To provide one example, a non-financial or non-cash account may be a user&#39;s online music/media subscription or purchase account, such as an iTunes® account available through the iTunes® online digital media store, developed and operated by Apple Inc. An iTunes® account may include a number of “credits” by which a user may redeem or exchange at the iTunes® online media store for media files, such as music files, movie files, audiobooks, podcasts, or the like. Thus, these non-cash accounts may be stored alongside financial accounts (e.g., banking and credit card accounts) within the secure storage area provided by the security features  74 . In certain embodiments, the secure storage area may include a microcontroller embedded within the electronic device  10 . Additionally, in some embodiments, the secure storage area, in addition to storing the above-mentioned sensitive data, may be further protected by its own respective password or authorization “personal identification number” (PIN), for example, in order to prevent unauthorized access to the information stored therein. 
     In accordance with further embodiments, the security features  74  may further allow a user to lock or temporarily disable all (e.g., lock on power-up) or only certain functions on the device  10 , such as the functionalities which may be provided by transaction application (e.g., represented by the icon  34 ) described above. By way of example, when locked, the peer-to-peer transaction features briefly discussed above may be disabled or inaccessible by users until a user-specified PIN or password is provided. Further, the security features  74  may additionally include requiring that the PIN be provided prior to the sending or transmissions of payment account information to external devices. As can be appreciated, the security features  74  described herein may aid to prevent the device  10  from being used to make payments by unauthorized persons. 
     As discussed above, the device  10  may also include the video controller  76 , which may be operatively coupled to the display  24  and configured to receive image data and to send voltage signals corresponding to the pixel values of the image data to the display  24 . The displayed image data may be representative of information received through the communication interface  56 , as well as information contained in the storage device  54 . As will be understood by those skilled in the art, pixel values may be numerical assignments corresponding to respective pixel intensities. Thus, the display  24  may receive the voltage signals from the video controller  76  as an input and produce an image corresponding to the voltage signals. For instance, an image produced by the signals provided by the video controller  76  may represent a screen of the GUI  28  described above with reference to  FIG. 1 . 
     As further noted above, a user operating the device  10  may select various graphical elements which may represent applications or information that may be displayed through the GUI  28 . As shown in  FIG. 3 , a touch screen interface  78  may be positioned in front of or behind the display  24  and may provide a user the ability to select graphical elements, such as the icons  30  displayed by the GUI  28  described above in  FIG. 1 . The touch screen interface  78  may be configured to receive inputs based on a physical contact (e.g., touching the display  24 ) either by the user or an object (e.g., stylus) being controlled or manipulated by the user, and to send “touch event” information to the CPU  50 . The CPU  50  may then process the detected touch event information and perform a corresponding action. For instance, referring briefly back to  FIG. 1 , the “touching” of the icon  34  may be processed by the CPU  50  as an instruction to execute or initiate the corresponding transaction application. The touch screen interface  78  may employ any suitable type of touch screen technology such as resistive, capacitive, infrared, surface acoustic wave, electromagnetic, or near field imaging. Furthermore, the touch screen interface  78  may employ single point or multipoint sensing. 
     The I/O controller  80  depicted in  FIG. 3  may provide an infrastructure for allowing a user to communicate with the CPU  50  through various input structures provided on the device  10 , such as the input structures represented by the reference numerals  14 ,  16 ,  18 ,  20 , and  22  in  FIG. 1 . The user input structures  14 ,  16 ,  18 ,  20 , and  22  may be used in conjunction with, or independently of, the touch screen interface  76  to provide input information to the device  10 . 
     The power source  82  of the device  10  may include the capability to power the device  10  in both non-portable and portable settings. For example, in a portable setting, in order to facilitate transport and ease of motion, the device  10  may include an integrated power source  82  for powering the device  10 . The power source  82  may include one or more batteries, such as a Li-Ion battery, which may be user-removable or secured to the enclosure  12 . In certain embodiments, the proprietary connection I/O port  36  may be used to connect the device  10  to a power source for recharging the battery. In other embodiments, the one or more batteries may be non-integrated and may include one or more rechargeable or replaceable batteries. Further, in a non-portable setting, the power source  82  may include AC power, such as provided by an electrical outlet. 
     As described above, the device  10  may include a transaction application (e.g., represented by icon  34 ) providing the device  10  the ability to initiate and receive transactions (e.g., payments and credits) from an external device. Referring now to  FIG. 4 , a system, generally designated by reference numeral  90 , for conducting a peer-to-peer transaction between a first device  10  being operated by a “payee” and a second device  92  operated by a “payor” is illustrated. The second device  92  may be a portable device that is substantially identical to the first device  10  or, in other embodiments, may be a non-portable device, such as a desktop computer or a payment terminal, for example. As used herein, the term “payee” shall be understood to refer to one party in a transaction that is receiving a payment, and the term “payor” shall be understood to refer to another party in the transaction that is making the payment.” Accordingly, the terms “payee device” and “payor device” shall be understood to refer to devices (e.g., the devices  10  and  92 ) being operated by a payee and a payor, respectively. 
     As shown in  FIG. 4 , the device  10  acts as the payee device of the transaction, and the second device  92  acts as the payor device. Initially, the payee device  10  may transmit a payment request, illustrated herein by reference numeral  94 , to the payor device  92 . The payment request information  94  may include information relating to the amount of a payment being requested by the payee device  10 . The payment request information  94  may also include information indicating the identity of the payee, which may include text data corresponding to the name of the payee, an e-mail address belonging to and/or identifying the payee, or any other type of suitable identification information. Additionally, the payment request  94  may further include information indicating the purpose of the payment request. For example, the payment request  94  may be in response to a specific outstanding debt or balance owed to the payee by the payor. 
     In one embodiment, the payee device  10  and the payor device  92  may both be NFC-enabled devices each having a respective NFC device  46  and NFC interface  60 , as described above. Initially, both the payee  10  and payor  92  devices may be in a passive mode of operation. Just prior to transmitting the payment request  94  to the payor device  92 , the NFC device  46  of the payee device  10  may be powered on, thus transitioning the payee device  10  to an active mode in which an RF field is generated by the NFC device  46  of the payee device  10 . Thus, when the payee device  10  and the payor device  92  are placed within a close enough proximity or distance to facilitate the establishment of an NFC connection (e.g., typically 2-4 cm), the RF field generated by the payee device  10  may induce the NFC device  46  of the payor device  92  to transition to an active mode of operation, thus establishing an NFC connection between the two devices, as discussed above. Accordingly, by way of this established NFC connection, the payment request information  94  may be transmitted to and received by the payor device  92 . 
     Upon receiving the payment request information  94  from the payee device  10 , the payor device  92  may display the received payment request information  94  on a display, such as the display  24  described above. Thus, the payor may review the payment request information  94  for accuracy and select a payment method to be used in providing the requested payment to the payor. The payment method may be, for example, a credit card account or a bank account belonging to payee. As discussed above, account information pertaining to the selected payment account may be stored on the payor device  92 , such as in a secure storage area with the storage device  54  described above in  FIG. 3 . Thus, information pertaining to the selected payment method (e.g., credit card or bank account) may be stored in and retrieved from the secured storage area for transmission to the payee device  10  upon selection of a particular account by the payor. 
     Accordingly, once the desired payment account is selected, the payment account information, represented here by reference numeral  96 , may be transmitted to the payee device  10 . For example, like the transmission of the payment request information  94 , the payment account information  96  may similarly be transmitted from the payor device  92  to the payee device  10  by way of the previously established NFC connection through each device&#39;s respective NFC interface  60 , or by initiating a new separate NFC connection session if the previous NFC connection has already terminated (e.g., the distance between the devices exceeds the 2-4 cm range). In certain embodiments, the payee device  92  may also include security features  74  discussed above and may permit the transmission of the payment information  96  only if a password, PIN, or some other suitable form of authentication is first provided. Before continuing, it should be noted that the NFC-based exchange of payment information between the payee device  10  and the payor device  92  is provided merely by way example. Indeed, in other embodiments, any type of suitable communication interface, such as those described above with reference to the communication interface components  56  in  FIG. 3 , may be utilized. 
     Upon receiving the payment information  96  from the payor device  92 , the payee may view the payment information  96  on the display  24  of the payee device  10 . Thereafter, the payee may select a desired crediting account, which may be stored on the payee device  10 , to which the payment represented by the payment account information  96  is to be credited or deposited. Once the crediting account is selected on the payee device  10 , the requested payment amount, the payment account information  96 , and the selected crediting account, collectively referred to as the “transaction information” and represented by reference numeral  98 , may be transmitted by the payee device  10  to one or more financial servers  100  for verification of the account information and the subsequent authorization and processing of the requested payment. As will be appreciated, communication with the financial servers  100  may be accomplished through one or more of the communication interfaces described above. For instance, if the payee device  10  is a portable device having WLAN or WAN capabilities, the payee device  10  may communicate with the financial servers  100  via a wireless connection. If the device  10  is a non-portable device, then a LAN connection may be provided for communication with the financial servers  100 . Regardless of the type of connection established between the device  10  and the financial servers  100 , it should be understood that one or more of the data encryption techniques and security protocols (e.g., SSL or TSL protocols) discussed above with regard to the security features  74  of  FIG. 3  may be further utilized in order to facilitate the secure transmission of the transaction data  98  to the financial servers  100 . 
     As can be appreciated by those skilled in the art, the type or types of financial servers  100  to which in the transaction data  98  is transmitted may depend on the type of payment account selected by the payor and/or the type of crediting account selected by the payee. For instance, if the payment account selected by the payor is a credit card account and if the crediting account specified on the payee device  10  is a bank account, then the financial servers  100  may include both a bank server as well as a credit card verification server. By way of example, the transaction information  98  may first be transmitted to a bank server associated with a banking institution at which the specified crediting account is held for verification of whether the specified crediting account is a valid account and capable of receiving a credit card payment. As will be understood, the receipt of credit card payments to a bank account may constitute a special service that may require enrollment, subscription, or additional payment of fees by the payee. Thus, if the crediting account is not authorized to receive payments made using a credit card account, then the payee may be notified to select a different crediting account. 
     If it is determined that the selected crediting account is authorized to receive payments from a credit card account, then the transaction data  98  may be further transmitted to a credit card verification server in the form of an authorization request. The credit card verification server may be associated with a credit card company which maintains the payor&#39;s selected credit card account, such as American Express® or MasterCard®. The credit card verification server may process the transaction information  98  to determine whether a charge to the payor&#39;s credit card account in the amount specified in the payment request may be authorized. By way of example, the credit card verification server may first verify whether the credit card account information provided in the transaction information  98  corresponds to a valid credit card account belonging to the specified payor. The credit card verification server may further determine whether the line of credit associated with the credit card account is sufficient to satisfy the requested payment amount. If the credit card verification server determines that the specified credit card account is valid and is authorized to make the requested payment, then the credit card verification server may authorize a payment to the crediting account selected by the payee by charging the payor&#39;s credit card. The credit card verification server may then transmit an authorization message to the bank server indicating that the requested payment has been authorized and that the requested payment has been charged to the payor&#39;s credit card account and credited or deposited to the payee&#39;s crediting account (e.g., bank account). 
     The above-discussed interactions between the credit card verification server and the bank server are intended to illustrate just one possible scenario with regard to processing a transaction initiated by the payee device  10  or the payor device  92 . Thus, it should be understood that various other types of scenarios may exist in which one or more types of financial servers are utilized for the processing of a peer-to-peer transaction in accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure. For instance, instead of a credit card verification server, a transaction may be processed by multiple bank servers in a scenario in which the specified crediting account and payment account are both bank accounts held at different respective banking institutions. It should be further understood that the communication between the various financial servers  100  described above may be provided by any suitable communication interface available on the payee device  10  and payor device  92 , such as a WAN  68 , LAN  66 , or WLAN interface  58  to name just a few, and may include one or more security protocols, such as SSL or TSL, as well as one or more data encryption techniques for protecting the security and integrity of the transaction information  98 . 
     As further illustrated in  FIG. 4 , once the transaction is processed, a completion message  102  may transmitted to the payee device  10 . The completion message  102  may be received by the WAN, WLAN, LAN interfaces, as described above or, or in some embodiments may be transmitted through e-mail or by way of an SMS text message (e.g., via the SMS interface  70 ). The completion message  102  may indicate whether or not the requested transaction has been successfully processed. If the transaction is successful, then the completion message  102  may include a confirmation indicating to the payee that the requested payment  94  has been credited to the specified crediting account. Alternatively, if the transaction is unsuccessful for one or more reasons (e.g., the provided credit card account lacks sufficient funds or credit), then the completion message  102  may indicate that the transaction was unsuccessful and/or advise the payee to pursue an alternate method of payment. 
     In one embodiment, the payee device  10  may have multiple crediting accounts stored thereon, and payee may specify, such as via the user preferences  72 , an order of priority with regard to the crediting accounts. For instance, the selected crediting account may automatically be selected as the crediting account having the highest priority ranking. Thus, if the reason that the transaction is unsuccessful is due to the currently selected crediting account (e.g., the account may not be configured to receive credit card payments), the transaction application may be configured to automatically initiate a subsequent transaction request to the financial servers  100  using the crediting account having the next highest priority setting. Additionally, the financial servers  100  or the payee device  10  may also transmit a confirmation message in the form of an electronic receipt, represented herein by reference numeral  104 , to the payor device  92  if the transaction is processed successfully. The electronic receipt  104  may serve as acknowledgment that the requested payment has been satisfied by the payor and received by the payee. 
     While the one or more financial servers  100  in the examples provided above refer to multiple servers (e.g., bank servers and credit card verification servers), in certain scenarios, the one or more financial servers  100  may include a single financial server, such as in situations where the specified payment account and crediting account are held by the same financial institution (e.g., the same bank). In this scenario, the transaction authorization process described above may be performed by a single server associated with the common financial institution. Thus, it should be understood that the phrase “single server” may refer to more than one computing device in different locations, but that each of the computing devices are owned, operated, or otherwise associated with the same financial institution. Additionally, the one or more financial servers  100  need not necessarily be limited to financial servers configured to manage monetary assets. For instance, where a transaction involves non-cash assets, such as credits stored in an iTunes® account, as discussed above, the financial servers  100  may include a server managed by the iTunes® online server. Indeed, these additional embodiments with regard to the interactions of various financial servers  100  are also envisioned within the scope of the present disclosure and will be described in further detail below. 
     Continuing with the present disclosure,  FIGS. 5A-10B  illustrate, by way of a plurality of screen images, various methods and techniques for configuring the electronic device  10  for use with the above-described transaction application  34 . The depicted screen images may be generated by the GUI  28  and displayed on the display  24 . For instance, these screen images may be generated as the user interacts with the device  10 , such as via the input structures  14 ,  16 ,  18 ,  20 , and  22 , and/or the touch screen interface  78 . Specifically, these figures illustrate techniques and methods for storing payment account and crediting account information into the device  10 , as well as for configuring one or more of the user preferences  72  and security features  74  described above with regard to  FIG. 3 , in accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure. 
     As discussed above, the GUI  28 , depending on the inputs and selections made by a user, may display various screens including icons (e.g., 30) and graphical elements. These elements may represent graphical and virtual elements or “buttons” which may be selected by the user by physically touching their respective location on the display  24  using the touch screen interface  76 , for example. Accordingly, it should be understood that the term “button,” “virtual button,” “graphical button,” “graphical elements,” or the like, as used in the following description of screen images below, is meant to refer to the graphical representations of buttons or icons represented by the graphical elements provided on the display  24 . Further, it should also be understood that the functionalities set forth and described in the subsequent figures may be achieved using a wide variety graphical elements and visual schemes. Therefore, the present disclosure is not intended to be limited to the precise user interface conventions depicted herein. Rather, embodiments of the present disclosure may include a wide variety of user interface styles. 
     Referring first to  FIGS. 5A and 5B , these figures collectively illustrate screen images that may be displayed on the device  10  when information representing a credit card account is entered and stored into the device  10  by a user. The stored credit card information may then be used as a payment account in conjunction with the transaction application described above. As shown in  FIG. 5A , a user may initiate the transaction application by selecting the icon  34  displayed on the home screen  29  of the device  10 . Upon selection of the icon  34 , the transaction application may be initiated, such as via the CPU  50 , and the user may be advanced to the screen  110 , which may represent a “home” or “main” screen for the transaction application. 
     The screen  110  may include a plurality of graphical elements, represented by the reference numerals  112 ,  114 , and  116 . Each of the graphical elements  112 ,  114 , and  116  may be displayed in the form of a button or key, and may include a brief description of a corresponding function or action associated therewith. For instance, the graphical button  112  may represent a function by which a user may view and modify account information stored on the device  10 . The graphical button  114  may represent a function by which the user may initiate a peer-to-peer transaction, such as the transaction described above in  FIG. 4 . Further, the graphical button  116  may represent a function by which the user may view and modify a variety of user preferences, such as the user preferences  72  described above with reference to  FIG. 3 . The functionalities provided by the graphical button  116  may also allow the user to modify or access one or more of the security features  74  discussed above. 
     The present discussion will initially begin with a description of the functionalities provided by the graphical button  112 . However, it should be kept in mind that the additional functionalities provided by the graphical buttons  114  and  116  will be discussed in further detail below. Additionally, as shown in  FIG. 5A , the screen  110  may include the graphical button  118 . The graphical button  118  may represent an action returning a user to a previous screen. For instance, if the user were to select the button  118  displayed on the screen  110  in  FIG. 5A , the user would be returned to the home screen  29 . 
     In order to enter and store a new credit card account into the device  10 , the user may select the graphical button  112  to access the screen  120 , which may display a listing of all accounts presently stored on the device  10 . As illustrated by the screen  120 , the presently stored accounts may be organized and displayed in accordance with certain categories. For instance, the account information screen  120  may display a first listing  122  of presently stored credit card accounts, a second listing  124  of presently stored banking accounts, a third listing  126  of presently stored non-cash accounts, as well as additional listings  128  of other accounts, which may include charge cards or loyalty cards associated with a specific vendor or retailer. Additionally, the account information screen  120  may include additional graphical elements representing the functions of adding additional accounts to or removing existing accounts from the device  10 , as represented by the graphical buttons  130  and  132 , respectively. Thus, to add a new account to the device  10 , the user may select the graphical button  130 . Further, if the user desires to remove a previously stored account displayed on one or more of the listings  122 ,  124 ,  126 , or  128 , the user may do so by selecting the graphical button  132 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 5A , upon selecting the graphical button  130 , the user may be advanced to the screen  134 . The screen  134  may include a plurality of graphical buttons  136 ,  138 ,  140 ,  142 , and  144 , each of which may represent categories of various types of accounts which may be stored onto the device  10 . By way of example, the user may initiate the process of entering and storing a new credit card account by selecting the graphical button  136 . This selection may advance the user to the screen  146 . It should be understood, however, that if the user may chooses to select any of the other graphical buttons  138 ,  140 ,  142 , or  144 , for the entering of different account types, and that the selection of any of these other graphical buttons will advance the user to a respective appropriate screen. 
     Referring now to the screen  146 , several drop-down style selection fields, illustrated by reference numerals  148 ,  150 ,  152 , and  154  may be displayed. For instance, the drop-down selection field  148  may provide a listing of credit card brands corresponding to various credit card providers, upon which the user may make an appropriate selection based upon the particular credit card which the user desires to store in the device  10 . Additionally, the drop-down fields  150  and  152  may provide the user with a selection of the month and year, respectively, corresponding to the expiration date associated with the new credit card account. As will be appreciated, the drop-down fields, when actuated or selected by a user, the drop-down fields may display a list of available options that may be selected to populate the respective drop-down field. For instance, referring to the drop-down field  154 , which may represent the selection of a category corresponding to the type of credit card account being entered, the user may select a category from a listing of available categories generally describing various credit card account types. By way of example, the credit card may be generally used with regard to gas purchases, airline or travel purchases, or may be a general use card for a variety of purchases. 
     In accordance with one aspect of the present disclosure, one or more business methods may be provided in which agreements with one or more credit card providers may be reached in which the manufacturer of the device  10  may pre-configure the device  10  such that a particular credit card brand may be initially selected as a default selection. For instance, as shown in  FIG. 5A , the drop-down field  148  may initially display the default credit card brand associated with a particular credit card provider (e.g., American Express®). Thus, if a user continues through the process depicted in  FIGS. 5A and 5B  and completes the steps of adding a credit card type of the default selection to the device  10 , the manufacturer of the device  10  and the credit card provider may enter into an agreement in which the manufacturer of the device  10  receives a commission or fee each time a credit card account maintained by that credit card provider is stored onto a device sold and/or manufactured by the manufacturer. Additionally, the manufacturer of the device  10  may also reach an agreement with the credit card provider such that the manufacturer of the device  10  may receive a percentage of the credit card transaction fee paid to the credit card provider if the credit card transaction is performed using the device  10 . 
     Continuing now with the description of  FIG. 5A , the screen  146  may also further include several text fields, as depicted herein by the reference numerals  156  and  158 . The field  156  may allow the user to enter the account number corresponding to the new credit card account. Additionally, the form field  158  may be provided to allow the user to enter a card verification value (CVV) code corresponding to the selected credit card. As will be appreciated, CVV codes are generally printed on the front or back of a credit card, and may also be encoded on the magnetic stripe on the credit card, and may serve as an additional security feature in credit card transactions, thus providing increased protection against credit card fraud. In an alternate embodiment, the CVV code may not be required when entering a new account and, instead, may be required by the device  10  each time the newly added credit card account is used in a transaction. 
     In order to input data into the fields  156  and  158 , the screen  146  may include a graphical text input keyboard interface  160 . The text input keyboard interface  160  may include a plurality of graphical buttons representing letters of the alphabet, for example, as well as buttons representing the standard “spacebar” and “backspace” functions on a keyboard. Accordingly, the user may use the text keyboard interface  160  to input text data into any text fields that may be displayed on the display  24  of the device  10 . The text input keyboard  160  may also include a graphical button  162  that may allow the user to toggle between the text input keyboard  160  and a numerical keyboard  164 . As shown in  FIG. 5A , the numerical keyboard  164  may include a plurality of buttons representing the numbers 0-9, as well as several commonly used punctuation marks. The numerical keyboard  164  may also include the graphical button  166  by which the user may select to return to the text keyboard  160 . By way of example, the user may switch from the text keyboard  160  to the numerical keyboard  164  in order to input the credit card account number and the CVV code into the form fields  156  and  158 . Additionally, if the need arises to return to the text keyboard  160 , the user may do so by selecting the graphical button  166  on the numerical keyboard  164 . In additional embodiments, the numerical and text input features may be integrated into a single graphical keyboard interface. 
     Once all the credit card information required by the drop-down fields  148 ,  150 ,  152 , and  154 , and the text fields  156  and  158  has been provided by the user, the user may select the graphical button  168  to begin a credit card verification process. This verification process may generally serve the purpose of verifying that the user performing the steps of entering the credit card account into the device  10  is either the credit card account holder or an authorized user. For instance, during the verification process, the credit card information entered in the screen  146  may be transmitted to the corresponding credit card provider. As discussed above, the transmission of the credit card information may be accomplished through one or more of the above-described communication interfaces and be protected by one or more of the above-described encryption and security methods. 
     Referring now to  FIG. 5B , once the credit card provider has verified that the credit card information provided by the device  10  is valid, the credit card provider may confirm the identify of the user by transmitting one or more verification codes to the device  10 . For instance, referring to the screen  170 , a notification message  172  may be displayed informing the user that a verification code for activating the credit card to be used on the device  10  has been provided, such as by e-mail, for example. As will be appreciated, the e-mail address to which the verification code is sent may be the e-mail address associated with the credit card account and contained in records maintained by the credit card provider. Thus, this ensures that only the authorized user or users will receive the verification code. Accordingly, the credit card verification screen  170  may include a graphical button  144 , which may execute an e-mail program through which the user may retrieve e-mail messages to obtain the verification code. 
     Additionally, by selecting the graphical button  178 , the user may return to the screen  120 , which may be updated to include the new credit card account  180  entered by the user via the screen  146 , as discussed above. The screen  120 , at this point in the process, may indicate that the newly entered credit card account  180  may not be used to make payments from the device  10  until an authorization or activation action, such as providing the above-described verification code, is performed. Once the user has obtained the e-mailed verification code discussed above with reference to the screen  170 , the user may proceed to the screen  184  to enter the verification code, and thus activate the credit card account  180  for use on the device  10 . For example, as illustrated in  FIG. 5B , the user may select the location of the new credit card account  180  on the screen  120  to proceed to the screen  184 . 
     As illustrated in the screen  184 , the user may be provided with a text field  186  for entering the e-mail verification code described above. The verification code may be entered using the text input keyboard  160  and/or the numerical keyboard  164 , which may be accessed by selecting the graphical button  162 . Once the e-mail verification code is entered, the user may select the graphical button  188 , thereby completing the verification process and returning the user to the screen  120 . If the verification code provided by the user in the text field  186  matches the verification code provided by the credit card provider, as discussed above, newly entered credit card account  180  will be authorized and ready for use in conjunction with the transaction application  34 , as shown in the final updated screen  120  of  FIG. 5B . 
     In the event that the e-mail verification code is not received for some reason, the user may alternatively provide a phone verification code in the text field  190  to activate the credit card account  180 . For instance, referring back to the screen  170 , a telephone confirmation code  176  is also provided in the notification message  172 . In one embodiment, in order to obtain the phone verification code, the user must provide the telephone confirmation code  176  to the credit card provider, such by way of a telephone call, in order to receive a corresponding telephone verification code which may differ from the e-mail verification code, but will permit the use of the newly entered credit card  180  by the transaction application  34  if correctly entered. Thus, the user may enter the telephone verification code into the text field  190  and select the graphical button  192  as an alternate method for authorizing the newly entered credit card account  180  for use with the transaction application  34 . 
     Continuing now to  FIGS. 6A and 6B , these figures depict, by way of screen images, a method for entering and storing a bank account onto the electronic device  10 . As will be appreciated, several aspects of the process illustrated by  FIGS. 6A and 6B  may be similar, if not identical, to the steps discussed above with reference to  FIGS. 5A and 5B . Beginning with  FIG. 6A , a user may select the graphical button  112  on the screen  110  to access the screen  120  which as discussed above, may display a listing of all accounts presently stored on the device. As illustrated in  FIG. 6A , the credit card account  180  that was entered by the user in  FIGS. 5A and 5B  is included in the listing  122  of stored credit card accounts. 
     Next, the user may select the graphical button  130  on the screen  120  to advance to the screen  134 . As discussed above, the screen  134  may display the graphical buttons  136 ,  138 ,  140 ,  142 , and  144 , each of which may represent categories of various types of accounts which may be stored onto the device  10 . Accordingly, to enter and store a new bank account, the user may select the graphical button  140  to proceed to the screen  198 . As shown in  FIG. 6A , the screen  198  may be similar to the screen  146  discussed above in that a plurality of drop-down fields (e.g.,  200 ,  202 ) and text fields (e.g.,  204 ,  206 ) may be provided. By way of these fields, the user may enter the required bank account information onto the device  10 . For instance, the drop-down fields  200  may allow the user to select the identity of the banking provider associated with the new bank account. The drop-down field  202  may also provide for the selection of the type of banking account being stored which may be, for example, a checking account, a savings account, a money market account, and so forth. Further, the text fields  204  and  206  may allow the user to enter a routing number for the banking provider and the account number associated with the bank account, respectively. The text keyboard  160  may be provided on the screen  198  for entry of data into the fields  204  and  206 . Additionally, as discussed above, a numerical keyboard  164  may be accessed via selection of the graphical button  162  when the input of numerical data, such as the above-mentioned routing and bank account numbers, is required. 
     Once the required bank account information is entered into the drop-down fields  200  and  202  and the text fields  204  and  206 , the user may select the graphical button  208  to initiate the process of verifying and authorizing the entered bank account for use with the transaction application  34  on the device  10 . As can be appreciated, certain aspects of the verification process with respect to the entered bank account may be similar to the credit card verification process described above with respect to  FIG. 5B . For instance, during the verification process, the bank account information entered in the screen  198  may be transmitted to banking provider selected in the drop-down field  200 . As discussed above, the transmission of the bank account information may be accomplished through one or more of the above-described communication interfaces (e.g., the interfaces  58 ,  60 ,  62 ,  64 ,  66 ,  68 , and  70 ) and be protected by one or more of the above-described encryption and security methods. 
     Continuing now to  FIG. 6B , once the banking provider has verified that the bank account information transmitted by the device  10  represents a valid bank account, the banking provider may confirm the identify of the user using any suitable type of authentication technique. For example, in the illustrated embodiment, the banking provider may initiate one or more verification deposits into the bank account. As will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, verification deposits are usually relatively small amounts (e.g., less then $1.00 USD) and may be used to confirm the identity of the account holder. For instance, the banking provider may require that the account holder provide the exact values of the verification deposit amounts before the newly entered bank account may be authorized for use with the transaction application  34 . By way of example, referring now to the screen  210  in  FIG. 6B , once the banking provider has verified the validity of the bank account entered in the screen  198 , the notification message  212  may be displayed. In the illustrated embodiment, the notification message  212  may inform the user that two verification deposits have been credited to the newly entered bank account, although it should be understood that any number of verification deposits may be used in the confirmation process. 
     The user may select the graphical button  214  to return to the screen  120 , in which the listing  124  may be updated to include the newly entered bank account, as indicated by the reference numeral  216 . Like the screen  120  depicted in  FIG. 5B , the screen  120  of  FIG. 6B  may indicate that the new bank account  216  may not be used to make payments using the device  10  until the above-discussed verification deposit amounts have been confirmed with the banking provider. Accordingly, the user may be required to determine the amounts of the verification deposits, such as by viewing a banking statement issued subsequent to deposit of the verification amounts, for example. 
     After determining the verification deposit amounts, the user may access the screen  218  by selecting the location of the new bank account  216  on the screen  120 . As shown in  FIG. 6B , the screen  218  may display the text fields  220  and  222 , by which the user may enter the amounts of the two verification deposits. Additionally, the screen  218  may include the numerical keyboard  164  by which the user may input the verification deposit amounts into the fields  220  and  222 . Once the verification deposit amounts have been entered, the user may complete the confirmation process by selecting the graphical button  224  and returning to the screen  120 . As shown in  FIG. 6B , if the deposit amounts entered by the user in the screen  218  match the verification amounts deposited by the banking provider, then the newly entered bank account  216  will be authorized and ready for use in conjunction with the transaction application  34 , as shown in the final updated screen  120  of  FIG. 6B . As will be discussed in further detail below, a bank account stored on the device  10  (or the device  92 ) may be used as both a crediting account and a payment account depending on whether the device  10  is assuming the role of the payee device or the payor device. 
     Continuing now to  FIGS. 7-10B , the device  10 , as discussed above, may include one or more preference settings, such as those represented by reference numeral  72  in  FIG. 3 , which may either be pre-configured by the manufacturer or later configured by the user. By way of example, the preference settings  72  may include the selection of a default payment account, a default crediting account, as well as additional settings, such as the selection and storing of an authorization PIN number for security purposes. Thus, the screen images illustrated in  FIGS. 7-10B  are intended to illustrate, by way of example, techniques by which the user may operate the device  10  to configure the aforementioned preference settings. 
     Referring first to  FIG. 7 , the selection of a default payment account may initially begin from the screen  110 . There, the user may select the graphical button  116  to access the screen  230 , which may display the present configuration of one or more user preferences on the device  10 . In the illustrated embodiment, the user preference settings displayed on the screen  230  may include a presently selected default payment account  232  and a presently selected default crediting account  234 . The screen  230  may also include the graphical buttons  236  and  238 , which may be displayed next to the default accounts  232  and  234 , respectively, and may allow the user to modify or change the default account settings if selected. 
     As will be discussed in further detail, the screen of  230  may additionally display various other preference settings, such as user-entered e-mail address  240  which may identify the user of the device  10  and which may also be used by the transaction application  34  for receiving payment receipts, for example. As shown in  FIG. 7 , the user may update the e-mail address setting  240  via selecting the graphical button  242 . The screen  230  may further include the graphical button  244 , by which the user may select to input and store an authorization PIN code, as well as indicate a permission status with regard to the transaction application  34 . For instance, as indicated by reference numeral  246 , the transaction application  34  may be in an “unlocked” mode, and may thus be used by the user to perform the transactions generally described above. For security purposes, the user may toggle this permission setting  246  between an unlocked and a locked mode, such as via selecting the graphical button  248 , whereby the transaction application  34  may be disabled when in the locked mode. As will be appreciated, when the transaction application  34  is locked, the user may be unable to send or receive payments using the device  10 . In certain embodiments, the transaction application  34  may only be unlocked upon providing an authorization PIN, as will be explained in further detail below. 
     Referring back to the default payment account  232  setting, the user may update this preference setting by selecting the graphical button  236 , which may advance the user to the screen  258 . The screen  258  may display a listing of all accounts presently stored on the device that may be selected as a payment account. In the illustrated embodiment, the listing of accounts may be organized into the categories designated by reference numerals  260 ,  262 , and  264 . As can be appreciated, this may be similar to the listing of the accounts described on the screen  120  with reference to  5 A. The listing  260  may correspond to a listing of credit card accounts presently stored on the device  10 . As shown in the listing  260 , the credit card account  232  that was displayed on the previous screen  230  may be indicated as being the presently selected default payment account. Here, the user may have the option of selecting one of the other listed accounts as the default payment account. Additionally, the user may select the graphical button  266  if the user does not wish to configure a default payment account setting. For example, by selecting the graphical button  266 , the transaction application  34  may prompt the user to select a payment account each time a payment is being made using the device  10 . 
     In the present embodiment, the user may select the credit card account  180  that was entered in  FIGS. 5A and 5B . For instance, the user may select the credit card account  180  by selecting its general location on the screen  258 . Thereafter, the previously selected default payment account (e.g., credit card account  232 ) may be deselected, and the credit card account  180  may be indicated on the screen  258  as the presently selected default payment account. Next, the user may select the graphical button  118  to return to the screen  230 , which may be updated to display the credit card account  180  as the newly selected default payment account. 
     Continuing now to  FIG. 8 , this figure shows additional screen images in which the user may select a default crediting account. As illustrated, the user may select the graphical button  238  on the screen  230  to access the screen  270 . The screen  270  may display a listing of all accounts presently stored on the device that may be selected as a crediting account. For instance, the screen  270  may display the listing  262  of bank accounts and the listing  264  of non-cash accounts. However, the screen  270  may omit the listing  260  of credit card accounts discussed above with reference to the screen  258  of  FIG. 7 , since credit card accounts are not generally used as a medium to accept payment credits or deposits. 
     As shown in the listing  262 , the bank account  234  that was displayed on the previous screen  230  may be indicated as being the presently selected default crediting account. Accordingly, the user may have the option of selecting one of the other listed accounts on the screen  230  as a default crediting account. By way of example, the user may select the bank account  216  that was entered in  FIGS. 6A and 6B . For instance, the user may select the bank account  216  by selecting its general location on the screen  270 . Thereafter, the previously selected default crediting account  234  may be deselected, and the bank account  216  may be indicated on the screen  270  as being the presently selected default crediting account. Next, the user may select the graphical button  118  to return to the screen  230 , which may be updated to display the bank account  216  as the newly selected default payment account. Additionally, as discussed above, the user may select the graphical button  266  if the user does not wish to configure a default crediting account setting and, instead, prefers to be prompted to select a crediting account each time a payment is received via the device  10 . 
     Once the default payment account (e.g., credit card account  180 ) and the default crediting account (e.g., bank account  216 ) have been configured by the user in the manner described above with reference to  FIGS. 7 and 8 , the user may continue to configure additional preference settings from the screen  230 . For example, referring now to  FIG. 9 , a plurality of screen images depicting a method for selecting an authorization PIN is illustrated. Beginning with the screen  230 , the user may select the graphical button  244  to access the screen  280 . The screen  280  may include an instructional message  282  generally instructing the user to select a desired authorization PIN having a certain number of characters. For instance, in the illustrated embodiment, the device  10  may be configured to store a four digit PIN. However, it should be appreciated that other implementations may utilize authorization PINs of any desired length. 
     As illustrated in the screen  280 , the user may enter the desired PIN  286  into a text field  284  by way of the numerical keyboard  164 . Additionally, in embodiments where the device  10  may support PIN codes having both text and numerical characters, the user may access the text keyboard  160  (not shown in  FIG. 9 ) by selecting the graphical button  166 , as discussed above. Once the desired PIN  286  has been entered, the user may confirm the entered PIN  286  by selecting the graphical button  288 , which may update the screen  280  to display a confirmation message  290  instructing the user to re-enter the selected PIN  286  into the confirmation text field  292 . Thus, the user may re-enter the selected PIN  286  into the text field  292  by way of the numerical keyboard  164 . 
     Once the PIN  286  has been entered into the text field  292 , the user may complete the authorization PIN selection process by selecting the graphical button  294 . As will be understood by those skilled in the art, upon the selection of the graphical button  294 , the device  10  may determine whether the authorization PIN codes entered into the text fields  284  and  292  are identical. If the PINs entered into the text fields  284  and  292  do not match, either due to an erroneous user input or for any other reason, then the user may be notified of the mismatch (not shown in  FIG. 9 ) and may be required to re-enter the PIN  286  into each of the text fields  284  and  292  once again. If the entered PINs are determined to be identical, then the PIN  286  may be stored on the device  10  for use as an authorization PIN code to provide additional security features with regard to various aspects of the transaction application  34 , as will be discussed in further detail below. Thereafter, once the authorization PIN  286  is confirmed and stored into the device  10 , the user may be returned to an updated screen  230  in which the graphical button  244  is replaced with the graphical button  298  corresponding to a function by which the user may edit or modify the presently stored authorization PIN code  286 . 
     In addition to providing the user with the function of selecting and storing the authorization PIN code  286 , the user preference settings for the device  10  may additionally provide a function that locks or disables the transaction application  34 , thus preventing the device from receiving, sending, or processing transaction requests while the transaction application  34  is locked. For example, once locked by the user, the transaction application  34 , in one embodiment, may remain in the locked or disabled state until the authorization PIN  286  that was stored by the user in  FIG. 9 , is entered. These techniques with regard to the locking and subsequent unlocking of the transaction application may be better understood with reference to  FIGS. 10A and 10B . 
     Referring first to  FIG. 10A , the screen  230 , as discussed above, may display an indication of the current status of the permission setting  246  for the transaction application  34 , which may presently indicate the transaction application  34  is in an unlocked state. In order to lock the transaction application  34 , the user may select the graphical button  248  to access the screen  304 . As shown in the screen  304 , a notification message  306  may be displayed generally informing the user that the device  10  will be unable to receive or send transaction requests if the transaction application  34  is locked. If the user chooses to lock the transaction application  34 , the user may do so by selecting the graphical button  308  on the screen  304 . As shown in  FIG. 10A , the selection of the graphical button  308  will lock the transaction application  34  and return the user to the screen  230 , which may be updated to indicate that the permission setting  246  is presently in a locked state. It should be noted that the graphical button  248  may be replaced on the updated screen  230  with the graphical button  312  which, when subsequently selected, may represent a function allowing the user to unlock the transaction application  34 . Additionally, if at the screen  304 , the user decides not to lock the transaction application  34 , the user may select the graphical button  310 , thus returning to the previous screen  230  where the permission setting  246  for the transaction application is indicated as being unlocked. 
     Continuing now to  FIG. 10B , if the user chooses to lock the transaction application  34  in  FIG. 10A , the user may select the graphical button  312  on the screen  230 . Upon the selection of the graphical button  312 , the user may be advanced to the screen  318 , which may display the notification message  320 , the field  322 , and the graphical button  324 . The notification message  320  may instruct the user to enter the authorization PIN  268  selected in  FIG. 9 . As shown here, the numerical keyboard  164  may be provided for entry of the authorization PIN  268  into the text field  322 . Once the authorization PIN  268  has been entered, the user may confirm the unlock request by selecting the graphical button  324 , which may return the user to the screen  230 , wherein the permission setting  246  is updated to reflect that the transaction application  34  is once again in an unlocked state, thus re-enabling the functions of receiving and sending transaction requests using the device  10 . Additionally, it should be noted that the graphical button  312  may be replaced with the graphical button  248 , described above. 
     Having described the configuration of various aspects relating to the transaction application  34  that may be executed on the device  10 ,  FIG. 11A  illustrates a method for initiating and subsequently processing a transaction from the viewpoint of a payee, generally designated by the reference numeral  328 . Similarly,  FIG. 11B  illustrates a method  360  describing the receipt of a transaction request and the subsequent action of making a payment in response to the transaction request from the viewpoint of a payor. It should be understood that the methods  328  and  360 , in some situations, may occur at least partially concurrently. 
     Beginning with  FIG. 11A , the method  328  may begin with the determination of an invoice at step  332 . As will be understood, the term “invoice” may refer to the general terms of a payment request, which may include the amount of the requested payment, the identity of the requesting payee, as well as additional information describing the nature or reasons as to why the payment is being requested. Once the terms of the invoice are determined at step  332 , the invoice information may be transmitted to the payor, as indicated by step  334 . By way of example, the transmission of the invoice information described in the method  328  may be correspond to the communication of the payment request information  94  from the payee device  10  to the payor device  92 , as discussed above with reference to  FIG. 4 . 
     Thereafter, the payee may await the transmission of information representing a payment account from the payor, as indicated by step  336 . As discussed above, the receipt payment information from the payor may indicate an acknowledgement and acceptance of the requested payment from step  334 . Upon receiving the payment information from the payor, the payee, at step  338 , may select a crediting account on the device  10  to which the payee wishes the requested payment to be credited or deposited. For instance, as discussed above, the crediting account may be automatically selected as user-specified default crediting account  216 , as described above with reference to  FIGS. 6A and 6B , and/or may be manually selected by the user. 
     Next, the payment request information determined at step  332 , the payment information received from the payor at step  336 , and the selected crediting account from step  338 , which may altogether be referred as the “transaction information,” may be transmitted to one or more appropriate financial servers  100  for the validation and processing of the requested transaction. For instance, as noted above, the types of financial servers  100  to which the transaction information may be transmitted may depend on the types of payment and crediting accounts selected by the payor and the payee, respectively. 
     The transaction information may be processed at decision step  340  to determine whether the requested transaction may be authorized. If it is determined at step  340  that the financial servers  100  are unable to authorize one or more of the payment account or the crediting account for carrying out the requested transaction, then the method  328  may proceed to the decision step  342 , whereby the payee may be prompted to renegotiate the terms of the present transaction. By way of example, if the payee wishes to renegotiate the terms of the transaction, the payee may either return to step  336  to receive an alternate payment account from the payor, or may return to step  338  to select an alternate crediting account. As will be appreciated, the decision as to whether to return to step  336  or  338  may depend on the reason or reasons as to why the transaction information could not be verified or authorized at the decision step  340 . For instance, if the authorization process failed due to insufficient funds or credit with regard to the payment account received at step  336 , then the payee may request that the payor provide an alternate payment account having the sufficient funds, credit, or otherwise, to satisfy the requested payment amount. In this scenario, the method  328  may proceed from the decision step  342  back to the step  336 . 
     Alternatively, the situation may arise in which the authorization failure at decision step  340  is due to an incompatibility between the payment account and the crediting account. By way of example, this type of transaction failure may occur where the selected payment account is a credit card account and the selected crediting account is a bank account that is not authorized or configured to receive payments made from a credit card account. Thus, the method may either return to step  338  from decision step  342  in which the payee may be prompted to select an alternate crediting account that is authorized to accept payments from the selected payment account, or return to step  336  whereby the payee may request that the payor select an alternate payment account, such as a bank account, that is compatible with the payee&#39;s selected crediting account. Alternatively, the payee may choose to not to renegotiate the terms of the transaction at step  342 , and thus cancel the present transaction at step  344 . 
     Returning now to decision step  340 , if it is determined that the requested transaction may be authorized with respect to the payment and crediting accounts, then, at step  346 , a payment corresponding to the requested payment amount may be credited or deposited to the crediting account selected at step  338 , as indicated by reference numeral. Once the payment has been received by the payee at step  346 , the transaction may be completed at step  348 . Thereafter, at step  350 , a payment receipt may be transmitted to the payor by the payee, either directly via the payor device  10 , or indirectly via one of the financial servers  100  under the payee&#39;s authorization. For example, the payee may authorize that an electronic receipt, such as the receipt  104  of  FIG. 4 , is transmitted from one or more financial servers  100  to the payor&#39;s device  92  upon successful completion of the transaction. 
     Continuing now to  FIG. 11B , the transaction generally described in  FIG. 11A  from the payee&#39;s point of view is now described form the payor&#39;s point of view by way of the method  360 . Beginning with step  364 , the payor may receive a payment request from the payee. For example, the receipt of the payment request at step  364  may correspond to the transmission of the invoice information at step  334  of the method  328 . Upon receipt of the payment request, the method  360  may proceed to step  366 , wherein the payor may select a payment account from one or more of the available payment accounts stored on the payor device  92 . As with the description of the selection of a default payment account  180  on the device  10  in  FIGS. 5A and 5B , the payor device may incorporate similar features. Once the payment account is selected, the method may continue to step  366  in which the selected payment account is transmitted to the payee. As discussed above, in one embodiment, the transmission of the payment request and payment account information may be accomplished by way of an NFC connection between a payee device  10  and a payor device  92 . Once the payee receives the information representing the payor&#39;s selected payment account, the payee may select a crediting account (e.g., step  338  of the method  328 ) and provide the transaction information to the one or more financial servers  100  for processing. 
     At decision step  368 , a determination is made as to whether the transaction is successfully completed. If the transaction did not complete, such as for one or more of the above-discussed reasons, the payor&#39;s account will not be charged, as indicated at step  370 . Alternatively, if it is determined at decision step  368  that the transaction is authorized by the financial servers and successfully completed, then the crediting account specified by the payor will be debited or charged for the requested payment amount at step  372 . Thereafter, the payor may receive a receipt as shown by step  374 , indicating that a payment has been made from the crediting account to the payee. For example, the receipt received at step  374  of the method  360  may correspond to the receipt transmitted at step  350  of the method  328 , described above. 
     Continuing now with the present discussion,  FIGS. 12A-12C  illustrate schematic diagrams representing various transactions that may be performed between a payee device  10  and payor device  92  in accordance with the presently described techniques. In general, the embodiments illustrated by  FIGS. 12A-C , depict several scenarios in which a transaction may be initiated between two NFC-enabled devices by way of an NFC tap operation, as will be explained in further detail below. For instance,  FIG. 12A  illustrates an in which a payment is made by way of a credit card account stored on the payor device  92  in response to a payment request provided by a payee device  10 .  FIGS. 12B and 12C  illustrate additional embodiments in which a bank account is selected by the payor as the payment account. Specifically,  FIG. 12B  illustrates a scenario in which the selected payment and crediting accounts are maintained by different banking providers, and  FIG. 12C  illustrates a scenario in which the selected payment and crediting accounts are maintained by the same banking provider. 
     Beginning with  FIG. 12A , the transaction  375  may include the payee device  10 , the payor device  92 , as well as the one or more financial servers  100  which, in the present embodiment, may include a bank server  380  and a credit card verification server  382 . To initiate the transaction  375 , the payee device  10  may first transmit a payment request  384  to the payor device  92 . As discussed above, the payment request  384  may include the amount of the requested payment, the identity of the payee, as well as additional information with regard to the nature or reason for the payment request. As noted above, the payee device  10  and they payor device  92  may both be NFC-enabled devices. Accordingly, the payment request information  384  may be transmitted from the payee device  10  to the payor device  92  through the establishment of an NFC connection  388  by way of “tapping” the devices, or performing a “tap operation,” as depicted by reference numeral  386 . 
     As used herein, the term “tap” and “tap operation,” or the like shall be understood to mean the action of placing one NFC-enabled device within the proximity of one or more additional NFC-enabled devices such that an NFC-based connection may be established between the devices. As discussed above, one technique for establishing an NFC-based connection may be through magnetic field induction, whereby a first NFC-enabled device acting as a host device generates an RF field, which in turn induces an NFC device located within a second device to transition from a passive state to an active state, thus establishing an NFC connection. Once established, information may be exchanged between the devices by way of the NFC connection. 
     Referring briefly to  FIG. 13 , a schematic diagram of the NFC tap operation  386  is illustrated. For instance, prior to the initiation of the NFC connection  388 , the payor device  92  may be in a passive or a “wake on NFC” mode, as denoted by reference numeral  390 . While in the passive state, an NFC device  46  and an NFC interface  60  that may be included in the device  92  may remain inactive until the NFC interface  60  detects an NFC transmission from an external device, such as the payee device  10 . By way of example, once the payee device  10  is operated to transmit the payment request  384 , the NFC interface  60  and corresponding NFC device  46  located within the payee device  10  may transition to an active or host mode, as denoted by reference numeral  392 . While in the host mode  392 , the NFC device  46  of the payee device  10  may periodically emit NFC communication signals to seek out other NFC-enabled devices having their own respective NFC interfaces  60  and NFC devices  46  that are within the appropriate range to facilitate an NFC connection. 
     For instance, when the payee device  10  and the payor device  92  are placed within an appropriate range (e.g., the tap operation  386 ) for establishing an NFC connection, the establishment of the connection may begin with an initiation handshake, referred to herein by reference numeral  396 . It should be understood, that in tapping the devices, it is important that the NFC devices  46  within each respective device are positioned in such a way that the distance between the respective NFC devices  46  is suitable for establishing an NFC-based connection. For example, if the payor device  92  is a relatively large non-portable device, the payee would be required to position the payee device  10  such that the NFC device  46  within the payee device  10  is within the appropriate distance of any corresponding NFC circuitry within the payor device  92  in order to establish the NFC connection  388 . 
     While the NFC interface  60  and the NFC device  46  of the payee device  10  are operating in the host mode, the payee device  10  may periodically emit ping messages  400 . The corresponding NFC interface  60  of the payor device  92  may receive the ping messages  400 , thus causing the NFC device  46  located within the payor device  92  to awake upon the detection of the NFC transmission (e.g., wake on NFC), thereby transitioning from a passive mode to an active mode, as indicated by reference numeral  398 . Thus, once powered on and active, the NFC device  46  of the payor device  92  may reply in response to the ping message  400  by sending an acknowledgement message  402  which may be received via the NFC interface  60  of the payee device  10 , thus completing the initiation handshake  396 . 
     Following this initiation handshake  396 , the payee device  10  and the payor device  92  may exchange device profiles as indicated by the reference numeral  404 . The device profiles  404  may include a variety of information regarding the functions available on the payee device  10  and the payor device  92 . For example, the device profiles  404  may be represented by data messages of any suitable form, including extensible markup language (XML), which may denote the device name, serial number, owner name, device type, as well as any other type of identifying information. For example, additional identifying information may include, for example, the name of a service provider, such as a network or cellular telephone service provider that may be associated with each of the devices  10  and  92 . The device profiles  404  may additionally include information with regard to the capabilities of the payee device  10  or the payor device  92  by indicating which applications, drivers, or services may be installed on each device. 
     Additionally, the payee device  10  and the payor device  92  may also exchange information with regard to the encryption capabilities available on each device, as represented by reference numeral  406 . As discussed above, because the various transactions discussed herein may invariably involve the transfer of sensitive information, such as information relating to credit card accounts and bank accounts, the use of one or more encryption measures for protecting the transaction information being transferred between a payee device  10  and a payor device  92 , as well as to the one or more financial servers  100 , may be implemented. Accordingly, once the NFC connection  388  is established and the device profiles  404  and encryption capabilities  406  are exchanged, information may be exchanged between the devices  10  and  92 , as indicated by reference numeral  408 . 
     Returning now to  FIG. 12A , the data transfer  408  may include the transfer of the payment request information  384  from the payee device  10  to the payor device  92  by way of the established NFC connection  388 . Next, upon receiving the payment request information  384 , the payor respond may continue the transaction process by selecting a payment account stored on the payor device  92 . In the illustrated embodiment, the selected payment account may be a credit card account. The payor device  92  may transmit the credit card information  410  corresponding to the selected credit card account to the payee device  10  via the NFC connection  388  by way of a second tap operation  412 . As can be appreciated, he tap operation  412  may be carried out in a manner identical to the tap operation  386  described above with reference to  FIG. 13 , except that the payor device  92  may act as the host device, while the payee device may operate in a “wake on NFC” mode. It should also be noted, that in some embodiments, the exchange of the payment request information  384  and the payment account information  410  may occur via a single tap operation (e.g.,  386 ) if distance between the devices  10  and  92  is maintained, thus keeping the NFC connection  388  active for the duration of the data transfer. 
     After receiving the credit card information  410  on the payee device  10 , the payee may select a crediting account to which the requested payment is to be credited, as discussed above with reference to the method  328  (e.g., step  338 ). Once the crediting account is selected, the payor&#39;s credit card account information  410 , the payee&#39;s crediting account information, and the payment request information  384 , collectively represented by the transaction information  414 , may be transmitted to the financial server  380  by way of a network connection depicted herein by reference numeral  416 . By way of example, if the selected crediting account is a bank account, the financial server  380  may correspond to a banking provider that maintains the crediting account. Additionally, the network  416  by which the transaction information  414  is transmitted may be include any suitable network that may be provided by one communication interfaces  56  (e.g., WAN, LAN, WLAN, etc.) available on the payee device  10 . For instance, the network  416  may be a wireless internet connection established by way of the WLAN interface  58 , a local area network connection established through the LAN interface  66 , or a wide area network connection established by way of the WAN interface  68 , which may include one of various WAN mobile communication protocols, such as a General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) connection, an EDGE connection (Enhanced Data rates for GSM Evolution connection), or a 3G connection, such as in accordance with the IMT-2000 standard discussed above. 
     Upon receipt the transaction information  414 , the financial server  380  may perform several actions to further the authorization of the requested transaction  375 . For example, the financial server  380  may first assess the accounts provided by the transaction information  414  to determine whether the specified payment account and crediting account are compatible. As discussed above, the financial server  380  may be unable to process the requested transaction  375  if the specified crediting account is not authorized to accept payments from a credit card account. Next, if the crediting account and the payment account are determined by the financial server  380  to be compatible, the financial server  380  may further transmit the payor&#39;s credit card account information, represented by reference numeral  418 , to the credit card verification server  382  by way of a network  420 . The network  420  may be any type of suitable network for facilitating the transmission of data, including one or more of the network types described above with regard to the network  416  by which the transaction information  414  is initially transmitted to the financial server  380 . 
     Once the payor&#39;s credit card account information  418  is received by the credit card verification server  382 , additional verification and authorization steps, represented by reference numeral  422 , may be performed in order to verify that the provided credit card account is valid and has the sufficient line of credit to fulfill the requested payment. Thus, if the credit card verification server  382  determines that the provided credit card information  418  corresponds to a valid credit card account having the sufficient credit to carry out the requested payment  384 , the credit card verification server  382  may authorize the requested payment by sending an authorization message to the financial server  380  by way of the network  420 . The financial server  380  may then complete the processing of the requested transaction  375 , as illustrated by reference numeral  424 , in which an amount corresponding to the requested payment is charged to the payor&#39;s credit card account, and where the charged is deposited to the payee&#39;s selected crediting account. 
     Thereafter, once the transaction has been successfully processed and completed at step  424 , a transaction confirmation message  426  may be transmitted to the payee device  10  by way of the network  416 . The transaction confirmation message  426  may generally indicate to the payee that the requested payment  384  has been completed. Additionally, a payment receipt  428  may also be transmitted to the payor device  92 . The payment receipt  428  may be transmitted to the payor device  92  by any of the connection types described above. For example, the transmission of the payment receipt  428  may occur via a network  430 , which may be any type of network connection established by way of a common networking interface available on the payee device  10  and the payor device  92 , such as a LAN connection (e.g., interface  66 ), a WLAN connection (e.g., interface  58 ), or a WAN connection (e.g., interface  68 ). Additionally, the payment receipt  428  may also be transmitted by tapping the payee device  10  to the payor device  92 . This tap operation, illustrated by reference numeral  432 , may establish a further NFC connection  434 , thus providing a channel by which the payment receipt  428  may be transmitted to the payor device  92 . 
     The payment receipt  428  may include information, such as the total payment amount for the transaction  375 , the method of payment (e.g., the credit card account  410 ), and the time of the transaction  375  was processed. Additionally, in certain embodiments, the payment receipt  428  may indicate additional charges of fees associated with the transaction processing services collectively provided by the devices  10  and  92  and the financial servers  100  (e.g., including the bank server  380  and credit card server  382 ) in carrying out the transaction  375 . Thus, it should be noted that in accordance with a further aspect of the present disclosure, various business methods may be provided in which a transaction fee is charged to one or both of the payee and payor. The fee may be charged each time a transaction request is processed, or may be a flat fee based on a monthly subscription service, for example. Additionally, an agreement may be reached in which the transaction fees may be apportioned among one or more of the entities providing the transaction services, including the banking provider (e.g., associated with the financial server  380 ), the credit card provider (e.g., associated with the credit card server  382 ), or the device manufacturer(s) (e.g., manufacturer of the devices  10  and  92 ) for instance. In accordance with one embodiment, the transaction fees may initially be collected by a single entity (e.g., the banking provider), and later apportioned in an agreed manner amongst the remaining entities (e.g., the credit card provider and device manufacturer(s)). 
     Continuing now to  FIG. 12B , a schematic diagram representing an alternate embodiment a transaction in accordance with the presently described techniques is illustrated and generally referred to by reference numeral  376 . As discussed above, the transaction  376  may be similar to the transaction  375  described in  FIG. 12A , except that the payment account selected by the payor may be a bank account rather than a credit card account. As discussed above, the payee device  10  may initially transmit a payment request  384  to the payor device  92  by way of the NFC connection  388 , which may be established as a result of the tap operation  386 . Upon receiving the payment request  384 , the payor may select a bank account stored on the payor device  82  as the payment account and transmit the bank account information  440  to the payee device  10  using the NFC connection  388 . 
     After receiving the bank account information  440  on the payee device  10 , the payee may select a crediting account, as discussed above, and then transmit the transaction information  442 , which may include the selected payment account (e.g.,  440 ), crediting account, and payment request information  384  to the financial server  380  by way of the network  416 . As discussed above, the financial server  380 , which may correspond to a banking provider that maintains the payee&#39;s selected crediting account, may initiate one or more authorization steps, such as determining whether the specified payment account and crediting account are compatible. The financial server  380  may then transmit the payor&#39;s bank account information, represented by reference  444  to a second financial server  418  that is associated with the payor&#39;s banking provider. In other words, the present transaction  376  illustrates a scenario in which the bank accounts selected by the payee and payor are maintained by two different banking providers (e.g., different financial institutions). 
     The transmission of the bank account information  444  to the financial server  418  may be accomplished by way the network  420 . Once the bank account information  444  is received, the financial server  418  may determine whether the account is a valid account, and whether the account contains the sufficient funds to satisfy the requested payment  384 . If the financial server  418  determines payment request  384  may be authorized with regard to the bank account  444 , an authorization message may be transmitted to the financial server  380  via the network  420 . As discussed above, the financial server  380  may then complete the processing of the requested transaction  376 , as illustrated by reference numeral  448 , in which an amount corresponding to the requested payment is debited from the payor&#39;s bank account and subsequently deposited to the payee&#39;s crediting account. 
     Thereafter, once the transaction has been successfully processed, a transaction confirmation message  450  may be transmitted to the payee device  10  by way of the network  416 . The transaction confirmation message  450  may generally indicate to the payee that the requested payment  384  has been applied to the crediting account, thus completing the transaction  376 . Additionally, a payment receipt  428  may also be transmitted to the payor device  92  using one or the various available networking connections, as discussed above. 
     Referring now with  FIG. 12C , another schematic diagram of a transaction in accordance with a further embodiment is illustrated and generally referred to by reference numeral  378 . Specifically,  FIG. 12C  illustrates a transaction process that may be similar to the transaction  376  described with reference to  FIG. 12B , but in which the payment account and the crediting account are bank accounts maintained by the same bank provider. As will be described in detail below, in the present embodiment, the one or more financial servers denoted by reference numeral  100  in  FIG. 4 , may only require a single financial server  380 . 
     To initiate the transaction process  378 , the payee device  10  may transmit a payment request  384  to a payor device  92  in a manner similar to that described above with regard to  FIGS. 12A and 12B . For example, the transmission of the payment request  384  may be accomplished by tapping  386  the payee device  10  to the payor device  92 , thus establishing an NFC connection  388  for the transfer of data. Once the payment request  384  is received, the payor may select a bank account as the payment account. Thereafter, the payor device  92  may transmit banking information  458  related to the selected bank account to the payee device  10  by way of the NFC connection  388 . 
     Upon receiving the banking information  458  from the payor device  92 , the payee may select a crediting account to which the requested payment  384  is to be credited. As noted above, in the presently illustrated scenario the selected crediting account and the provided payment account  458 , collectively referred to herein as the transaction information  460 , may both be accounts held by the same banking provider. Thus, the transaction information  460  may then be transmitted by way of the network  416  to the financial server  380  which may be associated with the common banking provider for both the payment and crediting accounts. 
     The financial server  380  may then perform the steps of verifying the validity of the provided accounts, as well as determining whether the payment account contains the sufficient funds to fulfill the payment request  384 . It should be noted that unlike the embodiments described in  FIGS. 12A and 12B , the financial server  380  is not required to transmit account information to a second external server, such as the credit card verification server  382  of  FIG. 12A  or the second financial server  418  of  FIG. 12B  due to the fact that a common banking provider maintains these accounts. Accordingly, the information pertaining to the crediting account and the selected payment account  458  is stored and accessible by the financial server  380 . Accordingly, once the financial server  380 , has verified that both the crediting and payment accounts are valid, and that the payment account contains the sufficient funds to fulfill the requested payment  384 , the financial server  380  may process the transaction, as indicated by reference numeral  464  such that the requested payment is debited from the payor&#39;s bank account and subsequently deposited to the payee&#39;s crediting account, as discussed above. Upon completion of the transaction  378 , a transaction confirmation message  466  may be transmitted from the financial server  380  to the payee device  10  by way of the network  416 . Additionally, a payment receipt  428  may be transmitted to the payor device  92  using the available networking connections mentioned above. 
     Having described the various embodiments depicting device-to-device transactions (e.g., between a payor device  92  and a payee device  10 ) with respect to the transactions  375 ,  376 , and  378  depicted in  FIGS. 12A, 12B, and 12C , respectively, various techniques for operating the payee device  10  and the payor device  92  to accomplish the foregoing transactions  375 ,  376 , and  378  are further illustrated in  FIGS. 14A-14J  by way of various screen images that may be displayed on either the payee device  10  or the payor device  92 , as well as via schematic illustrations. Additionally, it should be noted that in the presently illustrated embodiment, the payee device  10  and the payor device  92  are both NFC-enabled devices. 
     Referring first to  FIG. 14A , a process by which the payee may operate the device  10  to transmit a payment request is illustrated. The actions depicted by these screen images may generally correspond to the step  332  of the method  328  illustrated in  FIG. 11A , as well as the transmission of the payment request information  384  to the payor device  92 , as discussed above. Additionally, the actions depicted herein may be performed from the point of view of the payee and thus, the actions depicted in these screens will be described as being performed by the payee. 
     As shown in the present figure, the process may begin from the screen  110  which, as discussed above, may represent a “home screen” for the transaction application  34 . From the screen  110 , the payee may select the graphical button  114 , which may then advance the payee to the screen  476 . The screen  476  may display a plurality of graphical buttons  478 ,  480 , and  482 . Each of these graphical buttons may represent a particular function that may be performed when selected by the payee. For instance, in the illustrated embodiment, the graphical button  478  may represent a function by which the user may initiate a payment request. The graphical button  480  may represent a function by which the user may send a payment to another device. Additionally, the graphical button  482  may allow the user to initiate a transaction between two or more other parties. The functions represented by the latter two graphical buttons  480  and  482  will be described in further detail below. 
     To initiate a payment request, the payee may select the graphical button  478 , which may further advance the payee to the screen  484 . Like the screen  476 , the screen  484  may also display a plurality of graphical buttons  486 ,  488 , and  490 , each of which may represent specific functions. As shown here, the graphical button  486  may represent a function by which the payee may initiate a payment request using the NFC device  46 . This function may generally correspond to the techniques described above with respect to the transactions  375 ,  376 , and  378 . Additionally, the graphical buttons  488  and  490  may represent additional functions available on the device  10  through which transactions may be initiated and will be described in further detail below. 
     By selecting graphical button  486 , the payee may proceed to the screen  492 . As shown in  FIG. 14A , the screen  492  may include the text fields  496 ,  498 , and  500  by which the payee may enter information relating to the payment request. For instance, the text field  496  may be used to enter the identify of the payee, the text field  498  may be used to specify the amount of the payment being requested, and the text field  500  may allow the payee to include a descriptive message regarding the nature or reason for the requested payment. As shown in the screen  492 , the required information may be entered into the text fields  496 ,  498 , and  500 , by way of the text keyboard  160  or the numerical keyboard  164  (e.g., via selection of the graphical button  162 ). Once the required information is entered into the text fields  496 ,  498 , and  500 , the payee may transmit the entered information in the form of a payment request (e.g.,  384 ) to a payor device  92  by selecting the graphical button  504 . 
     The function represented by the graphical button  504  may correspond to executing an instruction to power on the NFC device  46  of the payee device  10 , thus placing the device  10  into an NFC active mode and enabling the NFC interface  60 , as described above. For example, referring now to  FIG. 14B , upon the selection of the graphical button  504 , the screen  508  may be displayed on the payee device  10 . The screen  508  may include a notification message  510  indicating that the NFC interface  60  of the payee device  10  is presently active and capable of establishing an NFC connection with an external device for the transmission of the payment request information entered in the screen  492 . Accordingly, the notification message  510  may further instruct the payee to tap (e.g.,  386 ) the payee device  10  to a second device, such as a payor device  92 , in order to establish the NFC connection. 
     Referring briefly to  FIG. 14C , the establishment of an NFC connection  388  between two devices, namely the payee device  10  and the payor device  92 , by way of the tap operation  386  is illustrated. As discussed above, the NFC device  46  of the payee device  10  may be powered on upon the selection of the graphical button  504  illustrated in  FIG. 14A , thus placing the device  10  into a host mode or active mode, as indicated by reference numeral  392 , in which the active device  10  may periodically emit NFC transmission ping messages  400 , as discussed above with reference to  FIG. 13 . As the active device  10  is placed within an acceptable distance  514  (e.g., 2-4 cm) from the payor device  92 , which may presently be in a passive or wake on NFC mode, as illustrated by reference numeral  390 , the payor device  92  may transition from the passive to an active mode in which the NFC device  46  within the payor device  92  is powered on, thus enabling the payor device&#39;s  92  corresponding NFC interface  60  and providing the establishment of the NFC connection  388  between the payee device  10  and the payor device  92  through which the payment request may be transmitted. 
     Although the payor device  92  illustrated in  FIG. 14C  is depicted as being a portable device similar to the payee device  10 , it should be understood that in alternate embodiments, the payee device  92  may also include non-portable devices, such as a personal computer, a computing workstation, a payment terminal, or the like. For instance, referring now to  FIG. 14D , the establishment of the NFC connection is depicted in which the payee device  10  is tapped to a non-portable desktop computer, illustrated here by reference numeral  515 . Thus, it should be understood that embodiments of the present disclosure are intended to provide for the initiation and processing of transactions between any suitable types of electronic devices, whether portable or non-portable. 
     Returning to  FIG. 14B , once the payee device  92  is tapped  386  to the payor device  92 , the payor device  92  may detect the NFC transmissions (e.g., ping messages  400 ) being emitted from the payee device  10 , and transition from a passive to an active mode, whereby the corresponding NFC device  46  of the payor device  92  is powered on. As shown in  FIG. 14B , once the devices  10  and  92  have been tapped and NFC transmissions being emitted from the payee device  10  are detected, the screen  516  may be displayed on the payor device  92 . The screen  516  may include a notification message  518  informing the payor that an NFC transmission has been detected and that in response, the corresponding NFC device  46  of the payor device  92  is being powered on and the corresponding NFC interface  60  enabled. The notification screen  516  may further provide a graphical button  520  by which the payor may cancel the NFC connection process if selected. 
     If the establishment of the NFC connection  388  is permitted on the payor device  92 , then the screen  508  displayed on the payee device  10  may be updated to display the notification message  522 . The notification message  522  may indicate that an NFC connection (e.g.,  388 ) has been established between the payee device  10  and the payor device  92  and that through the NFC connection  388 , the payment request information specified by the payee on the screen  492  of  FIG. 14A  is being transmitted to the payor device  92 . The screen  508  may also include the graphical button  512  by which the payee has the option of canceling the payment request either prior to or during the transmission of the payment request information. 
     Meanwhile, the notification screen  516  displayed on the payor device  92  may similarly be updated to display the notification message  524 . The notification message  524  may indicate to the payor that the NFC connection  388  has been established between the payor device  92  and the payee device  10 , and that payment request information is presently being transmitted from the payee device  10  and received by way of the corresponding NFC interface  60  in the payor device  92 . 
     As can be appreciated, the interactions between the payee device  10  and the payor device  92  described in  FIG. 14B  may generally correspond to one or more of the steps depicted in the methods  328  and  360  illustrated in  FIGS. 11A and 11B , respectively. For instance, the actions illustrated in the screen  508  may represent the step  334  of transmitting an invoice to the payor. Referring briefly to  FIG. 15A , which depicts various steps of the method  328  in greater detail in accordance with the present embodiment, the step of transmitting of payment request information to a payor (e.g., step  334 ) may include establishing an NFC connection, such as by way of the tap operating  386 , as indicated by step  530 . Additionally, the performance of the step  334  may further include transmitting the payment request information entered in the screen  492  to a payor device  92  using the established NFC connection, as represented by the step  532 . Further, the screen  516  which may be displayed on the payor device  92  upon the detection of an NFC transmission from the payee device  10  may represent the step  364  of receiving a payment request in the method  360 . For instance, referring now to  FIG. 15B , the step  364  may be described in further detail in accordance with the presently illustrated embodiment. For example, the step  364  of receiving the payment request may, in accordance with the present embodiment, may include the act of joining an NFC connection by way of a tap operation, as illustrated by step  534 . Additionally, once the NFC connection is established the payor device  92  may receive the payment request information transmitted from the payee device  10  using the NFC connection, as illustrated by step  536 . 
     As described above, specifically with reference to  FIGS. 12A-C , the payor, in response to a payment request  384  received from the payee device  10 , may select an appropriate payment method on the payor device  92 . For example, the selected payment account may include a credit card account (e.g.,  410 ), a bank account (e.g.,  440 ) provided by a different banking provider with respect to the bank provider associated with the payee&#39;s crediting account (e.g.,  440 ), or a bank account (e.g.,  458 ) in which the banking provider also manages the payee&#39;s crediting account. The selection of these various types of payment accounts may be illustrated by various screen images that may be displayed on the payor device  92 , as depicted by  FIGS. 14E-14G . 
     Referring first to  FIG. 14E , once the payment request information has been received by the payor device, the screen  516  may be updated to display the details  540  of the payment request, which may generally reflect information entered by the payee into the fields  496 ,  498 , and  500  on the screen  492  of  FIG. 14A . Additionally the screen  516  may include the graphical buttons  542  and  544 , by which the user may either accept or decline the payment request, respectively. As shown in  FIG. 14E , if the payor selects the graphical button  542 , the payor may be advanced to the screen  546 . The screen  546  may list the some or part of the received payment request information. For instance, the screen  546  display the identity of the payee  550  and the requested payment amount  552 . The screen  546  may also display information pertaining to the identity of the payor, as indicated by reference numeral  548 . In the illustrated figure, the payor identify information  548  may include the name of the payor, as well as an associated e-mail address identifying the payor. Accordingly, the displayed e-mail address may be transmitted to the payee device  10  and utilized by the transaction process, such as for the sending of the payment receipt  428  described above. 
     The screen  546  may further display the presently selected payment account  554 . As shown here, the current selected payment method  554  may be the default or preferred payment method which may have been selected by the payor, such as by using one or more of the techniques described above with reference to  FIG. 7 . Additionally, the screen  546  may include the graphical buttons  558 ,  560 , and  562 . The graphical button  558  may represent a function by which the payor may initiate the transmission of the payment information using the default payment account  554 . The graphical button  560  may represent a further function by which the user may select an alternate method of payment. Thus, if the payor prefers to use an account other than the account  554  as the payment account in the present transaction, the payor may do by selecting the graphical button  560 . Additionally, the payor may have the option of canceling the transaction through the selection of the graphical button  562 . 
     If the payor chooses to select a payment account other than the currently selected default payment account  554 , the payor may select the graphical button  560  to access the screen  566 . The screen  566  may display a plurality of graphical buttons  570 ,  572 ,  574 ,  576 , and  578  representing account categories. In certain embodiments, such as the presently illustrated embodiment, each of the categories represented by the buttons  570 ,  572 ,  574 ,  576 , or  578 , may be further subdivided into additional sub-categories. By way of example, the selection of the credit card account category, represented by the graphical button  570 , may advance the payor to the screen  580 , which may display the graphical buttons  584 ,  586 ,  588 ,  590 , and  592  representing various sub-categories of credit card account types that may be selected by the payor. Referring back to the screen  146  of  FIG. 5A , the credit card account sub-categories for the credit card accounts represented by the graphical buttons  584 ,  586 ,  588 ,  590 , and  592  may correspond to one or more of the credit card categories provided in the drop-down field  154 . Additionally, the payor may also have the option of viewing all available credit card accounts presently stored on the payor device  92  by selecting the graphical button  594 . 
     The payor may also choose to view all available payment accounts (e.g., not limited to just credit card accounts) before making a payment account selection. For example, by selecting the graphical button  118  on the screen  580 , the payor may be returned to the previous screen  566 . Here, the payor may select the graphical button  578  to access a listing of all selectable payment accounts stored on the payor device  92 , which may be provided by the screen  598 . In the illustrated embodiment, the screen  598  may display a listing of all the currently stored and available payment accounts by categories. For example, the available payment accounts may be grouped according to credit card accounts  600 , bank accounts  602 , as well as additional accounts  604 , including a non-cash iTunes® account, as generally described above. 
     As shown in the listing of the stored credit card accounts  600  on the screen  598 , the available credit card accounts may include the presently selected default payment account  554 , as well as an alternate credit card account  602 . Thus, as illustrated on the screen  598 , if the payor does not wish to use the default payment account  554  to provide the requested payment  384 , the payor may select the alternate credit card account  602  as the payment account. Upon selecting the alternate credit card account  602 , the payor may be returned to the screen  546 , which may be updated to indicate the selection of the credit card account  602  as being the payment account for the present transaction. Additionally, the updated screen  546  may display the graphical button  606 , which may replace the previously displayed graphical button  558 . The graphical button  606  may represent a function by which the payor may initiate the sending of the credit card account information  602  to the payee device  10 . 
     Alternatively, if the payor may choose accounts other than the listed credit card accounts  600  as the selected payment account. For instance, the user may select a bank account from the listing  603  or a non-cash account from the listing  604 . Referring now to the screen images depicted in  FIGS. 14F and 14G , these images illustrate a method by which the payor may select a bank account as the payment account. Specifically,  FIG. 14F  illustrates the selection of a bank account, in which the selected bank account and the payee&#39;s crediting account are maintained by different banking providers, such as described in the transaction  376  in  FIG. 12B .  FIG. 14G  illustrates the payor&#39;s selection of a bank account and may correspond to the transaction  378  depicted by  FIG. 12C , in which the selected payment account and the payee&#39;s crediting account are maintained by the same banking provider. 
     As shown in  FIG. 14F , the payor may navigate to the screen  566  by first selecting the graphical button  542  on the screen  516  and then selecting the graphical button  560  on the screen  546  as discussed above. At the screen  546 , rather than selecting the graphical button  570  or  578 , as described above, the payor may select the graphical button  572  to access the screen  610 , which may display the listing  603  of bank accounts stored on the payor device  92  that may be used as a payment account. As illustrated in the present embodiment, the payor may select the bank account  612 . Thereafter, the payor may be returned to the updated screen  546  which may reflect the selection of the bank account  612  as the payment account for the present transaction. It should be noted that the bank account  612  is associated with a banking provider (e.g., Wells Fargo®) that may be different from the banking provider (e.g., Wachovia®) associated with the default crediting account  216  selected by the payee, as discussed above with reference to the screen  270  in  FIG. 8 . Thus, as explained above with reference to  FIG. 12B , the authorization and processing of a transaction in accordance with the actions depicted by the screens of  FIG. 14F  may require a communication to occur between separate financial servers (e.g., the financial servers  380  and  418 ) associated with each respective banking provider. 
       FIG. 14G  similarly illustrates the selection of a bank account by the payor that may share a common banking provider with the payee&#39;s crediting account, such as depicted by the transaction  378  in  FIG. 12C . Beginning with the screen  516 , the payor may select, in the following order: the graphical button  542  to navigate to the screen  546 , the graphical button  56   b  to navigate to the screen  566 , and the graphical button  572  to access the listing  603  of bank accounts on the screen  610 . Here, rather than selecting the bank account  612 , the payor may select the bank account  614 . It should be noted that bank account  614  and the payee&#39;s default crediting account  216  are associated with the same banking provider (e.g., Wachovia®). Accordingly, upon selection of the bank account  614  the payor may be returned to the screen  546 , which may be updated to reflect the selection of the bank account  614  as the payment account for the present transaction. Additionally, as discussed above with reference to  FIG. 12C , a transaction in accordance with the actions depicted by the screens of  FIG. 14G  may be authorized and processed by a single financial server (e.g.,  380 ). 
     As discussed above, a device, such as the payee device  10  or the payor device  92 , may include one or more security features, such as the use of an authorization PIN code, such as the PIN  286  described above in  FIG. 9 . As will be appreciated, the use of an authorization PIN code may prevent unauthorized payments from being made from the payor device  92  or the payee device  10 . By way of example, the payor may configure the device (e.g., through one or more user preference settings) such that an authorization PIN code must be provided in order to authorize the sending and transmission of payment information from the payor device  92 . 
     Continuing now to  FIG. 14H , once a payment method, such as the alternate credit card account  602  has been selected, as indicated on the screen  546 , the payor may proceed with the payment by selecting the graphical button  606 . Thereafter, the screen  620  may be displayed on the payor device  92  and may include an instructional message  622  instructing the user that the authorization PIN code must be entered in order to complete the transaction. Accordingly, the payor may input the proper authorization PIN code  624  into the text field  626  by way of the numerical keyboard  164 . As discussed above, it should be appreciated that the device may support the use of alphanumeric authorization pin codes. In such embodiments, the user may toggle between a numerical keyboard  164  and the text input keyboard  160  (not shown in  FIG. 14H ) by selecting the graphical button  166 . Additionally, while the use of the authorization PIN code  624  has been illustrated in  FIG. 14H  with regard to the selection of the credit card account  602  in  FIG. 14E , it should be appreciated that the authorization PIN code  624  may also be implemented with regard to the embodiments illustrated by  FIGS. 14F and 14G  as well, where the selected payment method is a bank account, as well as with any other type of payment method that may be selected on the payor device  92 . 
     Once the proper authorization PIN code  624  has been entered, the user may authorize and send the payment information to the payee device  10  by selecting the graphical button  628 . Upon selection of the graphical button  628 , the screen  630  may be displayed on the payor device  92  and may indicate, as represented by the reference numeral  632 , that the NFC device  46  of the payor device  92  has been powered on, thus enabling the corresponding NFC interface  60  and placing the payor device  92  into an active or host mode, as discussed above. The notification message  632  may further instruct the payor to perform a tap operation to the receiving device, in this case, the payee device  10 . Additionally, the screen  630  may include the graphical button  634 , by which the payor may select in order to cancel the sending of the payment information if necessary. 
     Continuing now to  FIG. 14I , this figure generally depicts a tap operation and subsequent establishment of an NFC connection between the payor device  92  and the payee device  10 . As discussed above in  FIG. 14H , the screen  630  which may be displayed on the payor device  92  may include the instructional message  632  indicating to the payor that the payor device  92  is currently in an active mode, and further instruct the payor to perform a tap operation, such as the tap operation  412  depicted in  FIG. 12A , to the payee device  10 . Thus, once the payor device  92  and the payee device  10  are placed within proximity of each other, such that the distance between the two devices is sufficient for the establishment of an NFC connection, the payee device  10  may detect the NFC transmissions being emitted from the payor device  92 , such as the ping messages  400  as described above. 
     Upon detection of the NFC transmissions from the payor device  92 , the payee device may activate its own corresponding NFC device  46 . Further, the screen  638  may be displayed on the payee device  10  including the notification message  640  indicating to the payee that an NFC transmission has been detected and that the NFC device  46  of the payee device  10  is being powered on. The notification screen  638  may also further include the graphical button  642 , which provides the payee with an option to cancel the establishment of an NFC connection if so desired. Thus, if the payee permits the establishment of the NFC connection, the screen  630  displayed on the payor device  92  and the screen  638  displayed on the payee device  10  may each be updated to display the notification messages  644  and  646 , respectively. The notification message  644  displayed on the send payment information screen  630  may indicate to the payor that an NFC connection has been established and that the payment information  410  which may include, for example, the credit card account  602  selected in  FIG. 14E , is being transmitted to the payee device  10 . At the same time, the notification message  646  displayed on the screen  638  of the payee device  10  may indicate to the payee that the NFC connection has been established, and that the payment information  410  is being received on the NFC interface  60  of the payee device  10 . 
     The actions depicted by the screens shown in  FIGS. 14E-14I , may generally represent the step of providing payment information to the payee, as indicated by step  336  of the method  360  depicted and described above in  FIG. 11B . Referring again to  FIG. 15B , the step  366  of providing the payment information to the payee is illustrated in further detail. For instance, upon receiving the invoice information (step  536 ), a determination may be made on the payor device  92  as to whether or not to accept the received payment information, as illustrated by step  650 . This step may correspond to the selection of the graphical button  542  on the screen  516 , as discussed above. 
     Once the payment request information is accepted, the payor, at step  652 , may further proceed with the step of selecting a payment account from which the payment request is to be debited or charged. This step may generally be represented by the selection of the alternate credit card account  602  depicted in  FIG. 14E , or the selection of the bank accounts  612  or  614  depicted in  FIG. 14F  and  FIG. 14G , respectively. Thereafter, once an appropriate payment account is selected, an NFC connection may be established by a tapping operation, as indicated at step  654 , thereby establishing an NFC connection between the payor device  92  and the payee device  10 , as discussed above, at step  654 . Next, at step  656 , the selected payment account information from step  652  may be transmitted to the payor device  10  by way of the established NFC connection. Referring to  FIG. 14I , the transmission of the payment information at step  656  may correspond to the transmission of the payment information  410  from the payor device  92  to the payee device  10 . 
     Additionally, from the point of view of the payee, the steps of establishing the NFC connection by way of the tap operation  412 , as well as the receipt of the payment information  410 , may correspond to the step  336  of the method  328 , which represents the acquisition of the payment information  410  from the payor device  92 . This step is further described  FIG. 15A , in which the step  336  is illustrated in additional detail in accordance with the presently illustrated transaction. Referring to  FIG. 15A , step  336  may include the step of first joining an NFC connection established through a tap operation, such as the tap operation  412 , represented here by reference numeral  660 . Following the establishment of the NFC connection, the payee may, at step  662 , receive the payment account information (e.g.,  410 ) corresponding to the selected payment account (e.g., step  652 ). Once the payment information is received by the payee device  10 , the step of selecting a crediting account, as depicted by step  338  in  FIG. 15A , may be performed on the payee device  10 . 
     Referring now to  FIG. 14J , the selection of the crediting account by the payee is illustrated by the screens  638  and  674  in accordance with one embodiment of the disclosure. Referring first to the screen  638 , once the payment information  410  is received by the payee device  10 , the screen  638  may be updated to display the notification message  668 . The notification message  668  may include information pertaining to the identity of the payor, as well as the amount of the requested payment. In response to the notification message  668 , the payee may either accept the offered payment by selecting the graphical button  670  or, alternatively, may choose to cancel the payment process by selecting the graphical button  672 . If the payee chooses to accept the payment by selecting the button  670 , the payee may be navigated to the screen  674 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 14J , the screen  674  may display the payee identity information  676  and the payor identity information  678 . The payee identity information  678  may display both the name of the payor as well as one or more additional identifying attributes, such as an e-mail address, for example. As described in detail above, upon the successful completion of the transaction, a payment receipt, such as the payment receipt  428 , may be sent to the payor&#39;s e-mail address specified in the payor identity information  678 . 
     The screen  674  may further include the payment amount information  680 , the payment method information specified by the payor, represented by reference numeral  682 , as well as a crediting account to which the requested payment is to be credited. As shown on the screen  674 , a crediting account may be initially selected as a default crediting account  216  specified by the payee during the configuration of device preferences, as discussed above with reference to  FIG. 8 . Additionally, the screen  674  may include the graphical button  686  by which the user may initiate the process of crediting the requested payment to the default crediting account  216 , the graphical button  688  by which the user may select an alternate crediting account, as well as the graphical button  690  by which the user may cancel the pending transaction. 
     If the payee chooses to credit the payment to the default crediting account  216 , as illustrated by the selection of the graphical button  686 , the authorization and verification steps depicted by the decision block  340  in  FIG. 11A , may be performed. The decision logic and determination steps that may take place in the decision block  340  are illustrated in further detail in  FIG. 15A . As shown in  FIG. 15 , once the payee has selected the crediting account at step  338  and initiated the processing of the transaction information, such as by selecting the graphical button  686  on the screen  674 , both the payment account (e.g.,  602 ) selected by the payor and the crediting account (e.g.,  216 ) specified by the payee may be transmitted, as indicated by step  694 , to one or more financial servers (e.g.,  100 ) for verification of the account information and authorization of the requested transaction. For example, as discussed above, specifically with reference to  FIGS. 12A-12C , the one or more financial servers  100  may include a bank server, a credit card server, or some combination thereof, depending on the types of accounts provided by the payee and the payor. 
     Continuing now to step  696 , a determination may be made by the financial servers as to whether the selected payment and crediting accounts are compatible. As discussed above, the case may arise in which the crediting account specified by the payee may not be authorized or configured to accept payments from the payment account selected by the payor. To provide one example, the payment and crediting account may not be compatible if the crediting account is a bank account that is not authorized to receive payments directly from a credit card account. For instance, referring back to  FIG. 14J  the screen  700  showing the notification message  702  may be displayed if it is determined by the financial servers  100  that the selected payment and crediting accounts are not compatible. 
     The method depicted in  FIG. 15A  may then proceed to the decision step  342  in which the payee has the option of renegotiating the payment terms by selecting an alternate crediting account, thus returning the method back to step  338 . For example, the renegotiation of payment terms may be performed by selecting the graphical button  704  on the screen  700  of  FIG. 14J . Alternatively, the payee may renegotiate the selection of a different payment account by the payor, thereby returning the method to step  662 . Further, if at decision step  342  the payee chooses not to renegotiate the payment terms, then the payee may cancel the transaction, as indicated by step  344 , such as by selecting the graphical button  706  on the screen  700 . 
     Returning to the decision step  696 , if it is determined that the payment and crediting account specified by the payor and the payee are compatible, then the method may proceed to the decision step  698 , in which a determination may be made by the one or more financial servers  100  as to whether the payment account is valid and contains the sufficient funds to satisfy the requested payment. If it is determined that the specified payment is either invalid or does not contain sufficient funds to satisfy the requested payment, the method may return to decision step  342 , in which the payee has the options either canceling the transaction at step  344 , or renegotiating the terms of the transaction, such as by requesting that the payor provide another payment account that does contain the sufficient funds. As will be appreciated, this action may return the method back to step  662 . Referring again to  FIG. 14J , the notification message  708  may be displayed on the screen  700  if it is determined at step  698  that the payment account selected by the payor lacks the sufficient funds to satisfy the requested payment. Accordingly, the screen  700  may include the graphical button  710  by which the user may select in order to return to the payment request screen  484  discussed above in  FIG. 14A . Additionally, as discussed above, the payee may also cancel the transaction by selecting the graphical button  706 . 
     If it is determined at step  698  that the specified payment and crediting accounts are both valid and that the payment account has the sufficient funds, then the transaction may be authorized by the financial servers and processed, wherein the amount specified in the payment request may be debited from the payment account and credited to the crediting account. For instance, as discussed above with reference to  FIG. 12A , once the selected payment credit card account (e.g.,  602 ) is verified, the credit card server  382  may send an authorization message to the financial server  380  indicating that the transaction has been approved for processing, as represented by block  424 . Thereafter, once the transaction is processed, the payee may receive a payment, as indicated at step  346  of the method  328  in  FIG. 11A . Additionally, from the viewpoint of the payor, a determination may made at step  368  of the method  360  in  FIG. 11B  as to whether the transaction was processed and completed successfully. If it is determined that the transaction failed for any reason, such as those depicted by the notification messages  702  and  708  in  FIG. 14J , then the payor&#39;s account is not charged at step  370 . 
     Similarly, if it is determined that the transaction was processed successfully, then the payor&#39;s account may be debited for the amount specified in the payment request at step  372 , as discussed above. For example, referring again to  FIG. 14J , upon the successful completion of a transaction, the screen  712  may be displayed on the payee device  10 . The screen  712  may include the notification message  714  informing the payee that the requested payment amount  680  has been credited to the selected crediting account  216 . The notification message  714  may further indicate to the payee that a payment receipt (e.g.,  428 ) for the present transaction has been sent or transmitted to the payor. As discussed above, a payment receipt in an electronic form may be e-mailed to the payor using the e-mail address provided in the payor identification information  678  on the screen  674 . The transaction notification screen  712  may further include the graphical buttons  716  and  718 . The graphical button  716  may be selected in order to initiate a subsequent transaction. For example, by selecting the graphical button  716 , the payee may be returned to the transaction initiation screen  476  described above in  FIG. 14A . Additionally, the user may exit the transaction application  34  by selecting the graphical button  718 , thereby returning to the home screen  29  of the payee device  10 , for example. 
     While the techniques and screen images associated with the transactions described above with regard to the embodiments illustrated in  FIGS. 12A-C  and  FIGS. 14A-J  specifically rely on the initiation of a transaction by a payee, such as via sending a payment request (e.g.,  384 ) from the device  10 , it should be appreciated that in additional embodiments, the payor may initiate the transaction as well. For instance continuing now to  FIGS. 16A and 16B , these figures collectively illustrate methods from the viewpoints of the payor and the payee, respectively, in which a transaction may be initiated by a payor and subsequently processed by a payee using the techniques generally discussed above. 
     Referring first to  FIG. 16A , a method  730  for initiating a transaction from the viewpoint of the payor is illustrated. The method  730  begins with a selection of a payment method at step  732 . As described above, the selection of the payment method may include selecting a payment account from one or more payment accounts stored upon a device, such as the payor device  92 . Once a payment account is selected, the payment information corresponding to the selected payment account may be transmitted or sent to a payee, as indicated by step  734 . As discussed above, the transmission of the payment information may occur through a communication channel established between a payor device  92  and a device belonging to the payee, such as the device  10 . In the above-discussed embodiments, this communication channel may include an NFC connection, but may also include additional communication channels established via other communication interfaces that may be available on the payee device  10  and the payor device  92 , such as those illustrated in  FIG. 3  by the communication interface  56  (e.g., WAN, LAN, WLAN, PAN, etc.). Next, at decision step  736 , a determination is made as to whether the transaction initiated by the payor is successfully completed. For example, as discussed above, the successful completion of a transaction may result in the payee&#39;s selected crediting account being credited with a payment from the payment account selected at step  732 . If it is determined that the transaction did not complete successfully, then the payor&#39;s payment account will not be charged, as indicated at step  738 . 
     Returning to step  736 , if it is determined that the transaction initiated by the payor is completed successfully, then the method may proceed to step  740 , where the payor&#39;s selected payment account is charged for an amount that may be specified in the payment information sent at step  734 , as discussed above. Finally, after the payor&#39;s account is charged at step  740 , the payor may receive a receipt from the payee, as indicated at step  742 , which may serve as an acknowledgement that the payment sent by the payor has been received. As discussed above, in some embodiments, the receipt may be in electronic form and received by the payor through an e-mail address. 
     Referring now to  FIG. 16B , a method for responding to the transaction initiated by the payor in the method  730  of  FIG. 16A  and subsequently processing the transaction is illustrated and generally referred to by reference numeral  746 . The method  746  may begin at step  748  wherein payment information is received by the payee. By way of example, the payment information received by the payee at step  748  may correspond to the payment information sent by the payor at step  734  of the method  730 . The payment information may include, for example, information with regard to a payment account selected by the payor, the identity of the payor, as well as the amount of the payment being sent by the payor. The payment information may be received using a device, such as the device  10  described above, using an NFC connection, for example. 
     Thereafter, at step  750 , the payee may select a crediting account to which the received payment is to be credited. For example, the crediting account may be selected by the payee from one or more crediting accounts stored on the payee device  10 . Once the appropriate crediting account is selected, the payee may initiate the account verification process by transmitting the account information, which may include both the payment account information sent by the payor, as well as the selected crediting account information from step  750 , to one or more financial servers configured to verify these accounts and to authorize a payment from the payment account to the selected crediting account. This account verification and payment authorization process is represented in  FIG. 16B  by decision step  752 , in which a determination is made as to whether both the payment account and the crediting account as specified in the present transaction are valid, and whether a payment account is authorized and has the sufficient funds to perform the requested payment. If it is determined at step  752  that the transaction cannot be processed, such as for one or more of the reasons described above with regard to  FIG. 14J , for example, then the method  746  may proceed to decision step  754 . 
     At decision step  754 , the payee may have the option of renegotiating the terms of the transaction. As described above, this may include one or more of either selecting an alternate crediting account, or requesting that the payor provide an alternate payment account. Accordingly, if the payee decides to select an alternate crediting account, the method may return back to step  750 . Alternatively, if the payee chooses to request that the payor provide an alternate payment account, the method may return to step  748 , whereby the payee may then receive payment information relating to, for example, a newly selected alternate payment account. Additionally, the payee may also have the option of canceling the transaction, as indicated by step  756 , if a decision is made not to renegotiate the terms of the transaction at decision step  754 . 
     Returning to the decision step  752 , if it is determined that the payment account and the crediting account are both verified and that the payment from the payment account to the crediting account may be authorized, then the payee may receive the payment sent by the payor at step  758 . For example, the receipt of the payment at step  758  may include debiting the amount of the payment, such as specified in the payment information received at step  748 , from the payor&#39;s selected payment account, and thereafter crediting the same amount to the payee&#39;s selected crediting account, thus completing the transaction at step  760 . Additionally, the method  746  may further include sending a receipt acknowledging that the payment sent by the payor has been received by the payee, as indicated by step  762 . The transmission of the receipt at step  762  may correspond to the receipt received by the payor at step  742  of the method  730  illustrated by  FIG. 16A . 
     Continuing now to  FIG. 17A , a plurality of screen images depicting the initiation of the transaction on the payor device  92  is illustrated in accordance with the transaction described by  FIGS. 16A and 16B . The payor device  92  may include a transaction application similar to the transaction application represented by the icon  34  and described above with reference to the payee device  10 . Upon execution of the transaction application, the transaction screen  110  discussed above in  FIG. 5A , may be displayed on the payor device  92 . From the transaction home screen  110 , a transaction may be initiated via selection of the graphical button  114 . 
     Upon selection of the graphical button  114 , the payor may be advanced to the screen  476 . The screen  476  may display the graphical buttons  478 ,  480 , and  482 , as discussed above. As illustrated the payor may initiate the sending of a payment by selecting the graphical button  480 . Thereafter, the payor may be advanced to the screen  770 . The screen  770  may include a plurality of text fields, generally represented by the reference numeral  772 , in which the payor may input information by way of the text keyboard  160 . For instance, as illustrated on the screen  770 , the payor may input the identity of the payee  774 , the amount of the payment being sent to the payee  776 , as well as a brief description with regard to the purpose or nature of the payment  778 . The screen  770  may further include the graphical buttons  780  and  782 . Once the information  774 ,  776 , and  778 , have been entered into the form fields  772 , the user may proceed to the screen  786  in order to select an appropriate payment method by selecting the graphical button  780 . Alternatively, the user has the option of canceling the transaction, and therefore, not sending a payment by selecting the graphical button  782 . 
     As shown on the screen  786 , the information pertaining to the payee&#39;s identity  774 , the amount of the payment being sent  776 , as well as the description regarding the payment  778 , may be displayed. Additionally, the screen  786  may further display the information pertaining to the identity of the payor, as depicted by reference numeral  788 . As discussed above, the payor identity information may include both the name of the payor, as well as an additional identifying attribute, such as an e-mail address. Also displayed on the screen  786  may be the selection of a payment method. As shown in  FIG. 17A , the selected payment method be initially selected as the default payment method  554 , discussed above with reference to  FIG. 14E . 
     The screen  786  may further include the graphical buttons  790 ,  792 , and  794 . As discussed above, these buttons may correspond to specific functions that may be performed on the payor device  92  upon the selection of these buttons. For instance, the graphical button  790  may represent a function by which the payor may initiate the transaction using the default payment account  554  as the selected payment method. The graphical button  792  may represent a function by which the payor may be directed to one or more screens for the selection of an alternate payment method, such as those described above with reference to the screen  566  of  FIG. 14E . The payor may also have the option of canceling the payment by selecting the graphical button  794 . 
     The payee device  10  and the payor device  92  may each have configured thereon one or more security features. For instance, as described above with a reference to  FIG. 14H , the payor device  92  may require the entry of a previously stored authorization PIN code before the sending of a payment may be authorized. By way of example, as illustrated in  FIG. 17A , upon selection of the graphical button  790 , the payor may be advanced to the screen  620  discussed above in  FIG. 14H . The screen  620  includes a prompt  622  instructing the user to enter the authorization PIN code  624  into the text field  626  using the numerical keyboard interface  164 . Additionally, as discussed above the user may select the graphical button  166  to toggle between the numeric keyboard interface  164  and a text input keyboard interface  162  (not shown in  FIG. 17A ). For instance, this feature may be implemented in embodiments where the device  92  supports alpha-numeric PIN codes including both text and number characters. 
     Once the authorization PIN code  624  has been entered, the payor may proceed to send the entered payment information from the screen  786  to the payee. For example, as discussed above with reference to  FIG. 14I , the sending of the payment information may be accomplished by way of an NFC connection established between the payor device  92  and the payee device  10  through a tap operation  412 . Accordingly, once the payor device  92  and the payee device  10  have been tapped and placed within a distance that is capable of supporting an NFC connection (e.g., 2-4 cm) between these devices, the payment information displayed on the screen  786  may be transmitted to the payee device  10  by way of the established NFC connection. 
     Continuing now to  FIG. 17B , once the payment information is received by the payee device  10 , the screen  800  may be displayed on the payee device  10 . The screen  800  may include the notification message  802  informing the payee that an offer for payment in the amount specified by the payor in the screen  770  of  FIG. 17A  has been received. The screen  800  may further include the graphical buttons  804  and  806 . By selecting the graphical button  804 , the payee may be advanced to the screen  674 , as previously discussed above in  FIG. 14J . The screen  674  may display the information that was entered by the payor in the screen  770 , such as the identity of the payee  774 , the amount of the payment being sent  776 , as well as the method of payment selected by the payor, in this case, the default payment account  554 . The screen  674  may further include the payor&#39;s identification information  788 , which may include the payor&#39;s e-mail, and may be used to send a receipt to the payor if the transaction is successfully completed. The screen  674  may further display the presently selected crediting account to which the payment is to be credited. As shown here, the selected crediting account is initially the default account  216  that was configured in  FIG. 8 . To process the transaction based on these settings, the payee may select the graphical button  686 . As discussed above, the selection of the graphical button  686  may initiate a process by which the payment account  554  selected by the payor is debited for the amount  776 , which is then credited to the selected crediting account  216 . This process may involve verification and authorization of the transaction by one or more financial servers  100 , such as those described above in  FIGS. 12A-C . 
     Depending on whether the processing of the transaction is successful, the screens  700  or  712  discussed above in  FIG. 14J  may be displayed on the payee device  10 . For instance, if the transaction failed for one or more reasons, the screen  700  may be displayed. The screen  700  may include a notification message  708  informing the payee as to the reason or reasons that the transaction failed. Additionally, the screen  700  may provide the payee with an option to either return to the screen  484 , such as by way of the graphical button  710 , as well as an option to cancel the transaction through the selection of graphical button  706 . If the transaction is successfully completed, the screen  712  may be displayed on the payee device  10 , displaying the notification message  714  informing the payee that the transaction has successfully completed and that the payment amount specified by the payor  776  has been credited to the selected crediting account  216 . The notification message  714  may further inform the payee that a receipt has been sent to the payor. 
     While the above-described embodiments all illustrate transactions involving the use of monetary instruments, such as credit card and bank accounts, it should be understood that the techniques set forth in the present disclosure may be applicable to other types of accounts representing a holding of some sort of medium of exchange, including the non-monetary and non-cash accounts described above (e.g.,  126 ,  604 ). For example, a non-cash account may be an account associated with an online music vendor service, such as an iTunes® account, available through the iTunes® online digital media store/service operated and managed by Apple Inc. 
     An iTunes® account may operate on the basis of credits which may be exchanged or redeemed from an internet-based online virtual store for the purchase of music files (e.g., .mp3, .m4a) as well as other related types of media, such as podcasts, music videos, audio books, game applications, movies, or the like. Upon purchase, these media products may be stored on the device  10 , such as in the long term storage device  54  for later viewing or listening by the user. While the credits associated with an iTunes® account may not have monetary value in the real world, these credits may nevertheless be used as a non-cash medium of exchange with regard to products and services offered through the iTunes® service. Further, in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure, credits held by iTunes® accounts may be exchanged between account holders by way of the transaction techniques described above. 
     Before continuing the present discussion, it should be understood that the use of the iTunes® services offered by Apple Inc. are described herein merely by way of example and, that in accordance with the present disclosure, the techniques described here may be applicable to non-cash accounts provided by a number of online vendors, in which a non-cash medium of exchange (e.g., “credits”) may be stored in these accounts and exchanged for products or services offered by the respective online vendor. 
     Referring now to  FIG. 18 , the transaction techniques illustrated by  FIGS. 17A and 17B  are described now with reference to iTunes® accounts held by the payee and payor. Specifically,  FIG. 18  illustrates a schematic representation of a transaction  808  in which a payment is initially sent from a payor device  92  to a payee device  10 , and wherein the payment information  810  sent to the payee specifies the an iTunes® account belonging to the payor as being the selected payment account. The payment information  810  may further indicate amount or number of credits which the payor wishes to transfer to the payee as a payment. In order to transmit the iTunes® account information to the payee device  10 , a tap operation  814  between the payee device  10  and the payor device  92  may be performed, thus establishing an NFC connection  812  through which the payment information  810  may be transferred. 
     After receiving the payment information  810  on the payee device  10 , the payee may select the appropriate crediting account to which the payee wishes for the payment indicated by the payment information  810  to be credited. For example, in the illustrated scenario, the selected crediting account may be a respective iTunes® account belonging to the payee. Thus, the payee&#39;s and the payor&#39;s iTunes® account information, as well as the payment amount (e.g., in credits) specified in the payment information  810 , may be collectively represented by the transaction information block  816 . Thereafter, the transaction information  816  may be transmitted by the payee device  10  to the one or more financial servers  100 , described above, for further processing of the transaction  808 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 18 , the one or more financial servers  100  in the present embodiment may be represented by an iTunes® server  818  configured to maintain the respective iTunes® accounts belonging to the payor and the payee. As discussed above, specifically with reference to the transaction  378  depicted in  FIG. 12C , when both a payment account and a crediting account are held by the same entity or financial institution, it may not be necessary to communicate with an additional external server (e.g., belonging to a different entity or financial institution) for authorization and processing of the transaction. 
     The transmission of the transaction information  816  to the iTunes® server  818  may occur by way of a network  820 , which may be provided by any suitable networking interface available on payee device  10 , such as those specified by the communication interface block  56  in  FIG. 3 . Upon receiving the transaction information  816 , the iTunes® server  818  may perform one or more verification actions, as indicated by reference numeral  822 , to verify that both of the iTunes® accounts are valid, and that the payor&#39;s iTunes® account has at least a sufficient number of credits in order to satisfy the payment amount specified in the payment information  810 . If it is determined that both iTunes® accounts are valid and that the payor&#39;s iTunes® account has sufficient credits, then the transaction may be processed, as indicated by reference numeral  824 . Thereafter, the iTunes® server  818  may transmit, by way of the network  820 , a confirmation message to the payee device  10  notifying the payee that the payee&#39;s iTunes® account has been credited with a payment. Additionally, as represented by reference numeral  826 , upon receiving the confirmation, the payee device  10  (or the iTunes® server  818 ) may further be configured to transmit a receipt to the payor device  92 , such as an electronic receipt using the payor&#39;s e-mail address, acknowledging that payor&#39;s iTunes® account has been debited or charged for the amount specified by the payment information  810 , thereby concluding the transaction  808 . The above-described transaction  808  may be better understood with reference to  FIGS. 19A-19D , in which a plurality of screen images depicting the transaction  808  illustrated by  FIG. 18A  is illustrated. 
     Beginning first with  FIG. 19A , it should be noted that these screens are generally identical to those described above with reference to  FIG. 17A . For instance, beginning from the screen  110 , the payor may initiate the transaction process by selecting the graphical button  114 . Thereafter, the screen  476  may be displayed, and the payor may further select the graphical button  480  to specify that the transaction is to be initiated directly via the sending of the payment (e.g., without first awaiting for a request form the payee, as discussed above in  FIGS. 12A-12C ). Upon selection of the graphical button  480 , the payor may be advanced to the screen  770 , whereby the form fields  772  may be completed using the text keyboard interface  160 . Thereafter, by selection of the graphical button  780 , the user may be further advanced to the screen  786 , which may display the payee identity information  774 , the payment amount  776 , as well as a brief description regarding the nature of the payment  778 . Additionally, the screen  786  may further include identity information pertaining to the payor  788 , as well as display the presently selected payment method. As shown here, the payment method may initially be selected as the default payment account  554 . Next, rather than selecting the graphical button  790  to initiate the payment using the default payment account  554 , as described above in  FIG. 17A , the payor may select the graphical button  792  in order to select the iTunes® account described in  FIG. 18  as the selected payment method. 
     It should be noted that specified reason  778  for the present payment may represent a cash or monetary sum of a debt owed to payee by the payor, and may not necessarily be related to one or more of the services offered through the iTunes® service. Nevertheless, the present figures illustrate how an agreement may be reached between the payor and the payee to satisfy the debt using a non-cash asset, in this case, iTunes® credits. 
     Continuing to  FIG. 19B , upon selection of the graphical button  792 , the payor may be advanced to the screen  566  previously described above with reference to  FIG. 14E . As discussed above, the screen  566  may display a plurality of graphical buttons  570 ,  572 ,  574 ,  576 , and  578 , each corresponding to a payment category which may be selected by the payor. As shown in  FIG. 19B , the payor may select the graphical button  574  in order to proceed to the screen  828 . The screen  828  may display a listing  604  of all iTunes® accounts presently stored on the payor device  92 . Accordingly, the payor may select the desired iTunes® account  830  for use as a payment account in the present transaction  808 . 
     Upon selection of the iTunes® account  830 , the payor may be returned to the screen  786  in  FIG. 19B , which may be updated to reflect the selected iTunes® account  830  as the payment method. Thereafter, the payor may select the graphical button  832  in order to proceed to the screen  620 . As discussed above, the payor device  92  may include one or more security features requiring that an authorization PIN code is first provided before transmitting payment information from the payor device  92 . For example, as shown in the screen  620 , the payor may be required to input the authorization PIN  624  into the text field  626 . Once the authorization pin code  624  is entered (e.g., via the numeric keyboard interface  164 ), the payor may authorize the sending of the iTunes® account information  830  by selecting the graphical button  628 . 
     Continuing now to  FIG. 19C , the screens illustrated herein depict screen images that may be displayed on the payee device  10  upon receiving the iTunes® payment account information  830 . As discussed above, the receipt of the payment information  830  may be performed by establishing an NFC connection through a tap operation  814 , as depicted in  FIG. 18 . Upon receiving the payment information  830 , the notification screen  800  may be displayed on the payee device  10 . The screen  800  may include a notification message  802  informing the payee that a payment in the amount indicated by the reference numeral  776  has been received from the payor  788 . The screen  800  may further display the graphical buttons  804  by which the user may proceed with additional steps to complete the processing of the transaction, and the graphical button  806 , by which the user may choose to cancel the present transaction. 
     For example, by selecting the graphical button  804 , the user may be advanced to the screen  674 , as described above in  FIG. 14J . The screen  674  may display the identity of the payee  774 , the identity of the payor  788 , the amount of the requested payment  776 , as well as the selected payment method, the iTunes® account  830 . As will be understood, the requested payment amount may in terms of “credits” stored in the payor&#39;s iTunes® account  830 . As shown in the screen  674  of  FIG. 19C , the crediting account may initially be selected as the default crediting account  216 . Here, rather than selecting the graphical button  686  to credit the payment to the default crediting account  216 , the payee may select the graphical button  688  in order to select an alternate crediting account. 
     Upon selection of the graphical button  688 , the payee may be navigated to the screen  836 , which may be similar to the screen  566  described above in  FIG. 19B , except that the functions provided by the screen  836  relate to the selection of the crediting account rather than the payment account. The screen  836  may include the prompt  838  instructing the payee to select from one of the following crediting account categories represented by the graphical buttons  840 ,  842 ,  844 ,  846 , and  848 . In order to select a compatible account (in this case an iTunes® account) for receiving a payment sent by the payor, the user may select the graphical button  844 , thus advancing the user to the screen  850 . The screen  850  may include a listing of all the iTunes® accounts stored on the payee device  10 . Accordingly, the payee may select the iTunes® account  852  as the crediting account in the present transaction  808 . 
     Following the selection of the iTunes® account  852 , the payee may be returned to the screen  674 . As shown in  FIG. 19D , the updated screen  674  may display the iTunes® account  852  as the selected crediting account. Additionally, the graphical button  686  may be replaced on the updated screen  674  with the graphical button  854 . Upon selection of the graphical button  854 , the process of transmitting the transaction information  816  which, as discussed above, may include information pertaining to the selected payment account  830  as well as the selected crediting account  852 , may be transmitted to the iTunes® server  818  for processing of the payment initiated by the payer in  FIGS. 19A and 19B . If the transaction fails to complete for one or more reasons, the screen  700  may be displayed on the payee device  10 . The screen  700  may notify the payee the reason or reasons as to why the transaction failed. For instance, in the illustrated embodiment, the notification message  708  may inform the payee that there were insufficient credits in the payor&#39;s iTunes® account  830  to satisfy the payment amount  776 . Alternatively, if the transaction is successfully completed, the screen  712  may be displayed on the payee device  10 . The screen  712  may include a notification message  714  notifying the payee that credits from the payor&#39;s iTunes® account  830  have been credited to the payee&#39;s iTunes® account  852 . The notification message  714  may also inform the payee that a receipt with regard to the completed transaction has been provided to the payor. 
     In a further implementation of the present technique, the payment amount could be directly credited to an iTunes® gift card. For instance, an account number associated with a gift card may be maintained by the iTunes® server  818 . Upon receipt and authorization of the transaction information  816 , the iTunes® server  818  may credit the payment amount which, may be in the form of iTune® credits, to the payee&#39;s iTune&#39;s gift card account. Thus, the payee may use the gift card to add additional gift credits to the payee&#39;s iTunes® account and/or redeem credits stored on the gift card for downloadable media content, such as music files, movie files, audio books, podcasts, etc. 
     While the above embodiments have been described with regard to the processing of transactions between two electronic devices, such as the payee device  10  and the payor device  92 , additional implementations of the presently described techniques may further include transactions in which the payee device  10  receives payment information from sources other than a portable or non-portable electronic device of the type generally represented by the payor device  92 . For instance, referring now to  FIG. 20  a schematic diagram of a transaction  860  in which a payment is made by way of a smart card, illustrated here by reference numeral  862 , to a payee device  10  is illustrated. The smart card  862  may be similar to a conventional credit card, but may further include a storage apparatus, such as a secured storage chip  864 . The storage chip  864  may be configured to store information pertaining to a credit card account or a banking account (e.g., if the smart card  862  is a debit card) represented by the information printed on the smart card  862 . For example, the storage chip  864  may include the account number corresponding to the smart card, the name of the account holder, as well as an expiration date associated with the smart card account, as well as any other relevant information pertaining to the payor&#39;s smart card account. 
     In the illustrated embodiment, the storage chip  864  may communicate with an external device, such as the payee device  10 , by way of an NFC connection established via magnetic field induction using, for example, an RF signal. As will be understood by those skilled in the art, smart cards may be differentiated from the electronic devices (e.g., payee device  10 , payor device  92 ) described above in that although the smart card  862  includes an electronic component, namely the storage chip  864 , the smart card  862  does not include a power source or a processing device that may generally be associated with electronic devices. Instead, the smart card  862  may rely on a built-in inductor to capture an RF signal that may be transmitted from the payee device  10 , such as by way of the NFC device  46 , and thereby use the RF signal to temporarily provide power to the electronic components of storage chip  864  such that the data stored thereon may be transmitted to a receiving device. As will appreciated by those skilled in the art, the transmission of information from a smart card may be in conformance with the NFC techniques discussed above, as well as other known standards, such as ISO/IEC 14443 and ISO 15693, for example. 
     As shown in  FIG. 20 , the transaction  860  may be initiated by the payment request  384 . In initiating the payment request  384 , the NFC device  46  of the payee device  10  may be powered on, activating the NFC interface  60  and providing an RF signal. Accordingly, an NFC connection  388  may be established by tapping the active payee device  10  to the smart card  862 . The smart card  862 , upon detecting the RF signal being emitted from the payee device  10 , may use a portion of the signal to induce the storage chip  864  to transmit information, such as the smart card information represented by the reference numeral  866 , to the payee device by way of the NFC connection  388  established via the tap operation  386 . In some embodiments, the RF signal may be rectified by the smart card  862   
     The payee device  10 , upon receiving the smart card information  866 , may further require that the account holder, the payor, provide additional verification information, such as providing an amount to be charged to the smart card  862  and, in some embodiments, providing one or more security verification actions. By way of example, one such security verification action may require that the payor provide a card verification valuation (CVV) corresponding to the smart card  862 . The CVV value may be printed on the smart card  862 , but may be either not transmitted from the storage chip  864 , or not stored on the storage chip  864  itself. Thus, as will be understood, these additional security verification procedures may prevent the unauthorized initiation of payment from a smart card  862 . 
     In addition to the smart card account information, the payment amount, and the above-described security information (e.g., the CVV code), the payee may select an appropriate crediting account on the payee device  10 , as generally described above. Thereafter, this information, collectively referred to as the transaction information and represented by block  868 , may be transmitted to the one or more financial servers  100 . Specifically, the transaction information  868  may be transmitted to the financial server  380  by way of the network  870 . The financial server  380  may correspond to a financial institution holding or maintaining the crediting account selected by the payee. The network  870  by which the transaction information is transmitted, may include one of any suitable networks described above, such as those provided by the communication interfaces  56  of the payee device  10 . 
     Upon receiving the transaction information  868 , the financial server  380  may further transmit the payor&#39;s smart card account information, represented here by the block  872 , to the smart card server  874  by way of the network  876 , which again may be provided by any suitable network such as a LAN, a WAN, or a WLAN. The smart card server  874  may be associated with a credit card provider, which maintains the account corresponding to the smart card  862 . The smart card server  874  may perform a one or more verification and/or authorization processes, as represented by the reference numeral  878 , wherein the payor&#39;s smart card account  872  is verified for validity and sufficiency of funds, for example. Accordingly, if the payor&#39;s smart card account  872  is determined to be both valid and having the sufficient funds to complete the requested payment  384 , the smart card server  874  may send an authorization message to the financial server  380  by way of the network  876 . 
     Upon receiving the authorization message, the financial server  380  may complete the transaction, whereby the payor&#39;s smart card account  872  is charged for an amount corresponding to the requested payment  384 , and wherein the payee&#39;s selected crediting account is credited for that amount. Once the transaction  860  is successfully processed, a confirmation message  882  may be sent to the payee device  10  from the financial server  380 . Additionally, as also depicted by the reference number  882 , one of the one or more financial servers  100 , such as the financial server  380  or the smart card server  874 , may transmit a receipt to the payor acknowledging that the smart card account  872  has been charged. In one embodiment, one of the one or more financial servers  100  may transmit an electronic receipt to an e-mail associated with the smart card account  872 . 
     The processing of a transaction  860  between the payee device  10  and the smart card  862 , when applied to the method  328  depicted by  FIG. 11A , may be further understood with reference to  FIG. 21A . Specifically,  FIG. 21A  depicts certain steps of the method  328  in additional detail as applied to the present embodiment. For instance, the step  334  of transmitting an invoice to the payor may include, in the present embodiment, providing a physical or verbal request for a payment, as depicted by step  888 . For instance, the payee and payor may mutually agree upon the terms of the payment before the smart card information  866  is transmitted to the payee device. Once the terms of the payment have been agreed upon, the step of acquiring payment information from the payor may include initiating an NFC connection between the payee device  10  and the smart card  682 , through which the smart card account information  866  stored on the storage chip  864  may be transmitted to the payee device  10 , as indicated by step  890 . For example, this step may correspond to the establishment of the NFC connection  388  by way of the tap operation  386 , as illustrated above in  FIG. 20 . 
     Once the smart card information  866  has been transmitted from the storage chip  864  of the smart card  862 , it may be received by the payee device  10  using the NFC connection  388 , as indicated by step  892 . Upon receiving the smart card information  866 , a crediting account may be selected on the payee device  10  at step  338 . Thereafter, at decision step  340 , the smart card account information  866  as well as the selected crediting account information, may be transmitted to the one or more financial servers  100  for verification and processing, as depicted by step  894 . The process of verifying the smart card account  872  and the crediting account may include the decision steps  896  and  898 . For example, decision step  896  may include making a determination as to whether the smart card account and the selected crediting account are compatible. As discussed above, in the present context, the term “compatible” refers to whether or not the crediting account is configured to receive a credit card payment from the smart card account. If it is determined at step  896 , that the smart card account the selected crediting account are compatible, then the method  328  may proceed to the decision step  898 , in which it is further determined as to whether the smart card account  872  provided by the payor is valid and has the sufficient funds (e.g., line of credit) to satisfy the requested payment  384 . If it is determined that the smart card account is valid and has sufficient funds, then the transaction may be processed, in which the payee receives the payment at step  346  of the method  328 , thereafter completing the transaction  860  at step  348 . 
     Returning to the decision steps  896  and  898 , if it is determined that either accounts are incompatible, or that the smart card account is either invalid or lacks the sufficient funds to fulfill the requested payment, then the method may proceed to decision step  342  in which the payee may determine whether or not to renegotiate the terms of the payment. If the payee does not wish to renegotiate the terms of the payment, then the transaction may be canceled at step  344 . Alternatively, should the payee choose to revise the payment terms, the payee may either acquire information from another smart card belonging to the payor, thus returning the method back to step  892 , or the payee may select an alternate crediting account at step  338 . As will be appreciated, the renegotiation of the payment terms may depend on the outcome of the decisions made at steps  896  and  898 . Further, although not illustrated in  FIG. 21A , the renegotiation of payment terms at step  342  may also include pursuing a transaction in which the payment information is stored on an electronic device, such as the payor device  92  described above in  FIGS. 12A-C , and transmitted to the payee device  10 . 
     Continuing now to  FIG. 21B , certain steps of the method  360  are described in further detail from the view point of the payor in accordance with the transaction  860  described above in  FIG. 20 . Specifically,  FIG. 21B  depicts, in further detail, the step  364  of receiving a payment request from the payee, and the step  366  of providing payment information to the payee. The step  364  of receiving a payment request may include receiving a physical request for a payment, as indicated by step  900 . As discussed above, a physical request may include a mutual agreement between the payee and the payor with regard to the terms of the payment to be made using the smart card  862 . Thereafter, if the payment terms are satisfactory, the payor may accept these terms at step  902 . At step  904 , the payor may position the smart card  862  within range of the payee device, which may include and NFC device  46 . Thus, when the payee device powers on the NFC device  46 , thus entering an active mode, the information stored on the storage chip  864 , which may include the smart card account information  866 , may be transmitted from the smart card  862  to the payee device  10  by way of an NFC connection  388  established via the tap operation  386 . Thereafter, the method  360  may proceed to the decision step  368 , as well as the remaining steps of the method fully depicted in  FIG. 11B . 
     Continuing now to  FIGS. 22A-C , a plurality of screen images depicting the operation of the payee device  10  in performing the transaction described in  FIG. 20  is illustrated. Referring first to  FIG. 22A , the process of initiating the transaction may begin with the selection the graphical button  114  displayed on the screen  110 . As discussed above, the screen  110  may represent a home screen for the transaction application (e.g., represented by the icon  34  on the home screen  29  of the payee device  10 ). By selecting the graphical button  114 , the payee may be advanced to the screen  476 , as described above in  FIG. 14A , which may display the graphical buttons  478 ,  480 , and  482 . In order to initiate a payment request, the user may select the graphical button  478 , thus advancing the user to the screen  484 . As discussed above in  FIG. 14A , the screen  484  may display a plurality of graphical buttons,  486 ,  488 , and  490 , each representing different techniques and functionalities of the payee device  10  for initiating the request of a payment. For example, the graphical button  486 , as described above, may represent the function for requesting a payment in accordance with the transactions described above in  FIGS. 12A-C . Here, rather than selecting the graphical button  486 , the payee may select the graphical button  488  in order to indicate that the payment request is to be directed towards a transaction involving at least one smart card  862 . 
     Upon selection of the graphical button  488 , the payee may be advanced to the screen  910 . The screen  910  may include a notification message  912  instructing the payee that in order to complete the transaction, the owner of the smart card  862  (e.g., the payor) must perform at least one security verification action, such as the providing of a CVV code, as discussed above. The screen  910  may further display the graphical buttons  914  and  916 . The graphical button  914  may represent a function by which the payment request is initiated by powering on the NFC device  46 . Additionally, the payee also has the option of canceling the payment request by selecting the graphical button  916 . Upon selection of the graphical button  914 , the NFC device  46  of the payee device  10  may be powered on, thus enabling the NFC interface  60 . Accordingly, the screen  910  may be updated to display the notification message  918 , generally informing the user that the NFC interface is currently active and further instructing the user to tap the payee device  10  to the payor&#39;s smart card  862 . 
     Referring now to  FIG. 22B , the establishment of an NFC connection between the payee device  10  and the smart card  862  by way of the tap operation  386  depicted in  FIG. 20 , is illustrated. As discussed above, the powering on of the NFC device  46  may place the payee device into a host or active mode  392 . As the active device  10  is place within an acceptable distance, represented by the distance  514 , from the smart card  862 , which may be in a passive mode  390 , an NFC connection  388  may be established between the payee device  10  and the smart card  862 . Accordingly, by magnetic field induction, the storage chip  864 , which may store the smart card account information, may temporarily be powered to transmit the smart card information to the payee device  10  by way of the established. NFC connection  388 . Returning now to  FIG. 22A , the transmission of the smart card account information  866  from the storage chip  864  may be depicted in the screen  910 , which includes the updated notification message  920 , generally indicating to the payee that the smart card information is being received by the payee device  10 . 
     Once the smart card account information  866  has been transmitted to the payee device  10 , the screen  924  may be displayed. The screen  924  may display the smart card account information  866 , including the identity of the account holder  928 , the account number  930 , as well as an expiration date associated with the account  932 , for example. The screen  924  may further display the presently selected crediting account, which may initially display the default crediting account  216 , as described above with reference to  FIG. 8 . Additionally, the screen  924  may include the graphical buttons  686 ,  688 , and  690 , described above with reference to  FIG. 14J . By selecting the graphical button  686 , the payee may be advanced to the screen  936 , which may represent one or more of the security verification actions required by the payor, as discussed above. 
     As illustrated in the screen  936 , the text fields  938 ,  940 , and  942  are provided through which the payor may be required to enter the requested data. For instance, the payor may be required to enter the payment amount in the text field  938 . As discussed above, the payment amount may be mutually agreed upon between the payee and the payor at step  888  in  FIG. 21A . The payor may be further required to enter the CVV code on the smart card into the text field  940 . As discussed above, this step may constitute an additional measure of security, thus preventing the unauthorized of initiation of payments from the smart card  862 , such as in instances where the smart card account information  866  stored on the storage chip  864  was obtained without the payor&#39;s consent. The payor may further be provided the option of entering an e-mail address into the text field  942 . For instance, the e-mail address may be transmitted to one or more financial servers  100 , and subsequently used to provide the payor with an electronic receipt if the transaction  860  is successfully completed. As displayed on the screen  936 , the payor may enter the above-discussed data into the text fields  938 ,  940 , and  942  by way of the text keyboard  160 . Additionally, for fields in which numerical inputs are required, the payor may access the numerical keyboard  164  (not shown in  FIG. 22C ) by selecting the graphical button  162 , as discussed above. 
     Once the information is entered into the text fields  938 ,  940 , and  942 , the payee may initiate the processing of the transaction by selecting the graphical button  944 . Alternatively, the payee may have the option of canceling the transaction by selecting the graphical button  946 . Thereafter, if the transaction fails to be processed successfully for one or more reasons, the screen  700  may be displayed on the payee device  10 . The screen  700  may display a notification message  948  informing the payee as to the reason or reasons as to why the transaction failed. As illustrated in  FIG. 22C , the notification message  948  may indicate that the CVV code provided in the text field  940  of the screen  936  was incorrect and, accordingly, the requested payment could not be authorized. If the transaction is processed successfully, the screen  712  may be displayed on the payee device  10 . As discussed above in  FIG. 14J , the screen  712  may display the notification message  714  generally informing the user that a payment in the amount specified in the text field  938  has been applied to the selected crediting account  216 . The notification message  714  may further inform the payee a receipt has been provided to payor, such as via the e-mail address specified in the text field  942  of the screen  936 . 
     Continuing now to  FIGS. 23 and 24 , the transactions  952  and  970  are illustrated, respectively, in accordance with a further aspect of the present disclosure. Specifically, the transactions  952  and  970  may represent the functionality provided by the graphical button  490  displayed on the screen  484 , as discussed above with reference to  FIG. 14A . For instance, as will be described in further detail below, the transactions depicted in  FIGS. 23 and 24  may rely on the use of the camera  48  on the payee device  10  to acquire an image of a payment instrument, such as a payor&#39;s magnetic credit card, or a check. 
     Referring now to  FIG. 23 , the transaction  952  may be initiated via the acquisition of an image of a payor&#39;s credit card  954 . For example, the payment request may originate by agreement between the payee and payor, in which the payor agrees to fulfill the requested payment using the credit card  954 . Accordingly, the payee may power on or activate the camera device  48  on the payee device and acquire an image  956  of the payor&#39;s credit card  954 . Upon receiving the image  958 , the payee device  10  may process the image  956 , such as by using an optical character recognition (OCR) technique, as mentioned above, to extract the credit card account information corresponding to the credit card  954 , as indicated by reference numeral  958 . 
     Once the credit card account information corresponding to the credit card  954  has been determined, such as by an imaging application adapted to execute the OCR process, the payee may select an appropriate crediting account. Thereafter, the crediting account information, the extracted credit card account information  958 , as well as additional data, such as the amount of the requested payment, collectively referred to here by reference numeral  960 , may be transmitted to the financial server  380  discussed above by way of the network  416 . As discussed above, the financial server  380  may correspond to the banking provider maintaining the payee&#39;s selected crediting account. The financial server  380  may initiate one or more of the authorization actions described above, such as with reference to  FIG. 12A , which may include transmitting the payor&#39;s credit card account information, illustrated here by reference numeral  962 , to an external credit card server  382  by way of the network  420 . The credit card server  382  may correspond to a credit card provider that maintains the payor&#39;s credit card account  962 . The credit card server  382  may process the credit card account information  962  to determine whether the provided credit card account is a valid account having a sufficient line of credit to fulfill the requested payment, as indicated by the reference numeral  964 . 
     If the credit card server  382  determines that a charge in the amount corresponding to the requested payment to the specified credit card account  962  may be authorized, then the credit card server  382  may transmit an authorization message to the financial server  380  by way of the network  420 . Upon receiving the authorization from the credit card server  382 , the financial server may process the transaction  952 , as generally indicated by the reference number  966 . As discussed above, the processing of the transaction  952  may include charging the credit card account  962  for the amount specified in the payment request, and depositing or crediting a corresponding amount to the payee&#39;s selected crediting account. Once the transaction  952  has been completed, a confirmation message may be transmitted to the payee device  10  by way of the network  416 . Additionally, if the payor&#39;s e-mail address is known or provided, an electronic receipt acknowledging the payment may also be transmitted to the payor. 
     The transaction techniques described above with regard to the acquisition of the image  956  representing the payor&#39;s credit card  954 , may also be applicable to other types of payment instruments, such as a check corresponding to a checking account held by the payor. For instance, continuing to  FIG. 24 , a transaction  970  is illustrated in which payment information in response to a payment request is acquired using the camera device  48  to obtain an image  974  of a check  972  provided by the payor. Once the image  974  is received by the payee device  10 , the check image  974  may be processed, as described above, to extract certain information from the check image  974 , such as the name or identity of the payor, a routing number corresponding to the payor&#39;s banking provider, the account number corresponding to the payor&#39;s bank account, as well as an identification number corresponding to the payor&#39;s check  972 . Once the above-discussed information has been extracted from the check image,  974 , the payee may select an appropriate crediting account for receiving the requested payment. Thereafter, the information extracted from the check image  974 , the selected crediting account, as well as the amount of the requested payment, collectively referred to here by the reference numeral  980 , may be transmitted to the financial server  380  by way of the network  416 , as discussed above. 
     The financial server  380  may initiate one or more of the authorization actions discussed above, which may include transmitting the payor&#39;s check information, such as the check information extracted during the image processing step  976 , to a check verification service, depicted here by the reference numeral  984 , by way of the network  420 . As will be appreciated, a check verification service may perform one or more of various functions relating to the validation or verification of checks. For example, a check verification service may offer this service to banking providers, vendors, and retailers, by way of a subscription based service, which may be accessed by either using a telephone, or by one or more of the networks generally described above. In some instances, the check verification services described herein may be offered or provided by the banking provider itself. In general, check verification services, such as the check verification service  984 , may perform several functions, which may include verifying a payor&#39;s identity, as well as determining whether the payor has a history of providing bounced checks. Based on these records, the check verification service  984 , may determine whether or not the check information  982  provided may be verified and thus authorized to satisfy the requested payment. This verification process is represented here by the reference numeral  986 . 
     If the check verification service  984  determines that the requested payment may be carried out using the check information  982 , the check verification service  984  may transmit an authorization message to the financial server  380  by way of the network  420 . Upon receiving the authorization message, the financial server  380  may process the transaction, as indicated by the reference numeral  988 , whereby the bank account corresponding to the payor&#39;s check  972 , is debited for the amount of the requested payment, and whereby the debited amount is further credited to the payee&#39;s crediting account. Once the transaction has been completed, a confirmation message may be transmitted from the financial server  380  to the payee device  10  by way of the network  416 , as indicated here by the reference numeral  990 . Additionally, if the payor had provided an e-mail address, an electronic receipt may be transmitted to the payor, as described above. 
     Various steps of the transactions  952  and  970  depicted in  FIGS. 23 and 24 , respectively, may correspond to one or more of the steps described in the method  328  and  360  in  FIGS. 11A and 11B , respectively. For instance, the acquisition of the image  956  and the image  974  may correspond to the step  336  of acquiring payment information from the payor. Additionally, the acceptance of a payment request and the act of providing either the credit card  954  or the check  972  may correspond to the step  366  of providing payment information to a payee, as depicted in the method  360 . Referring now to  FIGS. 25A and 25B , the above-emphasized steps  336  and  366 , are depicted in further detail in accordance with the presently illustrated embodiment. 
     Referring to  FIG. 25A , the step  334  of transmitting or providing an invoice, which may represent a payment request, to the payor may include the step  888  of providing a physical request for a payment. For example, as discussed above with reference to  FIG. 21A , the step  888  may include a mutual agreement between the payee and payor with regard to the terms of the payment before either the credit card  954  or the check  972  is provided by the payor for image acquisition. Next, the step  336  of the method  328 , when performed in accordance with the presently illustrated embodiment, may include the steps  994  and  996 . As shown in the present figure, the step  994  may correspond to the step of initiating the camera device  48  for the acquisition of an image. 
     Next, at step  996 , an image may be acquired using the initiated camera device  48 , and may reflect an image of either the credit card  958  illustrated in  FIG. 23 , the check  972  illustrated in  FIG. 24 , or any other type of payment instrument from which payment information may be extracted from an image thereof. Once the image has been acquired at step  776 , payment information may be extracted from the acquired image, as illustrated by the step  998 . Thereafter, the payee may select an appropriate crediting account at step  338  and proceed to the decision step  340  for the authorization of the requested transaction. As shown in the present figure, the decision step  340 , when performed in accordance with the presently illustrated embodiments, may include the steps  694 ,  696 , and  698 , as discussed above with reference to  FIG. 21A . Thus, it should be understood that the transaction authorization steps that may be performed with reference to the transactions  952  and  970  may generally be substantially identical to the authorization steps described in the above-discussed embodiments. 
     Referring now to  FIG. 25B , the steps  364  and  366  of the method  360 , when performed in accordance with the presently illustrated embodiment from the viewpoint of the payor, are illustrated in further detail. For example the step of receiving a payment request from the payee, as represented by reference numeral  364 , may include the step  900  of receiving a physical request for a payment. As discussed above, the physical request may include a mutual agreement between the payee and the payor with regard to the terms of the payment to be made from either the credit card  954  or the check  972 . Next, the step of providing payment information to the payee, as represented by the reference numeral  366 , may include the steps  902 ,  999 , and  1000 . For instance, as discussed above, if the terms of the requested payment are agreed upon, the payor may accept the payment request at step  902 . Thereafter, the payor may select a payment method at step  999 , which may include the credit card  954 , the check  972 , or any other type of suitable payment instrument. Once the desired payment method has been selected, the payor may provide the selected payment method to the payee device  10  for image acquisition by the camera  48 . 
     The transactions generally depicted by  FIGS. 23 and 24 , may now be explained in further detail with reference to  FIGS. 26A-26D  and  FIGS. 27A-27G , which may illustrate various screen images depicting a technique for operating the payee device  10  in order to carry out the transactions  952  or  970 , as depicted in  FIGS. 23 and 24 , respectively. Specifically, the screen images depicted in  FIGS. 26A-26D  may illustrate the acquisition of an image corresponding to the credit  954  of  FIG. 23 , and the subsequent processing of a transaction using the acquired image.  FIGS. 27A-27G  may generally depict the acquisition of an image corresponding to the check  972  of  FIG. 24 , and the subsequent processing of the transaction  970  from the viewpoint of the payee device  10 . 
     Referring now to  FIG. 26A , the initiation of the transaction  952  described in  FIG. 23  may include navigating through the screens  110 ,  476 , and  484 , previously discussed above. For instance, beginning with the screen  110 , the payee may navigate to the screen  476  by selecting the graphical button  114 . Next, the payee may further navigate to the screen  484  by selecting the graphical button  478  from the screen  476 . The screen  484  may include the above-described graphical buttons  486 ,  488 , and  490 . As discussed above, each of these graphical buttons may represent various functionalities provided by the device  10  for initiating the request of a payment. For instance, the graphical button  486  may represent a function for initiating a payment request in accordance with the techniques described above with reference to  FIGS. 12A-12C . The graphical button  488  may represent the functionality of initiating a payment request in accordance with the transaction techniques described above with reference to  FIG. 20 . Here, the payee may initiate a transaction in accordance with the techniques described above with reference to  FIGS. 23 and 24  by selecting the graphical button  490 . Upon selection of the graphical button  490 , the payee may be advanced to the screen  1002 , which may provide the payee with one or more options, depicted by the graphical buttons  1004  and  1006 , for acquiring payment information using the above-described image recognition techniques. As shown here, the graphical button  1004  may represent a function by which the payee may acquire an image of a credit or debit card, such as illustrated in the transaction  952 . Additionally, the graphical button  1006  may correspond to the function of acquiring an image of a check, such as the check  972 , and will be described in further detail below with reference to  FIGS. 27A-27G . 
     Upon selection of the graphical button  1004 , the camera device  48  of the payee device  10  may be powered on and initiated for image acquisition purposes. Additionally, the payee may be advanced to the screen  1008 , which as shown in  FIG. 26A , may function as a viewfinder, represented by the reference numeral  1009 , displaying in real time, images being detected by the camera  48 . The viewfinder  1009  may include the acquisition frames  1010 , which may serve to provide the payee with a means for centering an acquired image. As discussed above, once the terms of a payment request have been agreed upon, the payor may provide a credit card (e.g.,  954 ) to the payee device  10  for acquisition of an image by the camera device  48 . For instance, as shown in the present figure, the payee may position the payee device  10  such that when viewed by the camera device  48 , the credit card  954  is aligned with the image acquisition frame  1010 . Once the credit card  954  is aligned, the payee may acquire an image of the credit card  1018  by selecting the graphical button  1014 . Additionally, the payee may have the option of canceling the image acquisition process by selecting the graphical button  1016 . 
     Once an image of the credit card  952  has been acquired, the screen  1008  may be updated to display the acquired image, referred to here by the reference numeral  1018 . Accordingly, the payee may review the acquired image  1018  to determine whether the quality of the acquired image generally meets the standards required for effective image processing. For example, the payee may determine whether the acquired image  1018  is properly aligned with the acquisition from  1010 , whether the image  1018  is properly focused, or whether the image  1018  was acquired under sufficient lighting conditions. If the payee determines that the acquired image  1018  is suitable for image processing to extract the payment information from the card  954 , the user may initiate the credit card information extraction process by selecting the graphical button  1020 . If the payee determines that the acquired image.  1018  is not of sufficient quality for image processing, the payee may select the graphical button  1022  to return to the viewfinder  1009  for the acquisition of a subsequent image of the credit card  954 . 
     The processing of the credit card image  1018  may be briefly explained with reference now to  FIG. 26B . As discussed above, the processing of images acquired by the camera device  48  of the payee device  10  may utilize one or more optical character recognition techniques for the extraction of text data from the acquired image. Additionally, in some embodiments, the image recognition techniques may further provide for the recognition of certain images or graphics in the resulting acquired image. For instance, such image processing application may provide for the recognition of brand logos or symbols that may identify a corresponding credit card provider or bank provider, for example. 
     As shown in  FIG. 26B , an image recognition application, in accordance with the presently described embodiment, may analyze the image  1018  to determine one or more regions of interest. For example, based on the analysis of the image  1018 , the image processing application may identify the regions  1030 ,  1032 ,  1034 , and  1036 , as being regions of interest that may contain account information pertaining to the credit card  954 . For instance, the region  1030  may correspond to the identity of the credit card provider. The region  1032  may provide for a credit card account number associated with the selected credit card  954 . Further, the region  1034  may correspond to an expiration date associated with the provided credit card  954 , and the region  1036  may correspond to the identity of the payor and/or the holder of the credit card  954 . 
     As will be appreciated, the accuracy of image processing and recognition application may generally depend on the quality of the image being processed, such as the image  1018 . As illustrated in  FIG. 26B , the reference numeral  1038  may represent a portion of the image  1018  in the region  1032  that may be distorted or incomplete. For instance, this may be due to artifacts in the resulting image  1018  acquired using the camera device  48 , as described in  FIG. 26A , or may be due to physical damage or defect on the physical credit card  954  itself. For instance, through natural wear, one or more of the numbers or characters printed on the credit card  954  may be partially or entirely obscured or distorted. By way of example, the character represented by the reference numeral  1038 , which may have originally represented the number “8”, may appear distorted in the account number region  1032  of the acquired image  1018 . Due to these distortions, the image recognition application may be unable to identify the character  1038  as being the number “8.” As will be explained in detail below, the present techniques may provide the payee (or the payor) with the ability to review and correct the extracted payment information prior to submitting the transaction information for authorization and processing. 
     Continuing now to  FIG. 26C , once the image processing steps described in  FIG. 26B  have been completed, the screen  1042  may be displayed on the payee device  10 . As shown here, the screen  1042  may display the information extracted from the credit card image  1018 . For instance, the screen  1042  may display the identity of the credit card provider  1030 , the credit card account number  1032 , an expiration date associated with the payor&#39;s credit card  1034 , and the identity of the payor  1036 , as discussed above. Additionally, the screen  1042  may display the graphical buttons  1044 ,  1046 , and  1048 , each of which may correspond to specific functions that may be performed on the device  10 . 
     Referring specifically to the credit card account number  1032  extracted from the image  1018 , it should be noted that the presently displayed extracted account number  1032  is not accurate when compared to the actual account number printed on the credit card  952  due to the distorted character  1038 . Accordingly, the payee may edit the displayed extracted credit card information by selecting the graphical button  1044 . Upon selection of the graphical button  1044 , the user may access the screen  1043 , which may display a dropdown selection field  1050 , as well as the text fields  1052 ,  1054 , and  1056 . These fields may initially be populated with the corresponding extracted credit card information  1030 ,  1032 ,  1034 , and  1036  from the previous screen  1042  and may be individually selected and edited by the payee or the payor using the displayed text keyboard  160  or the numerical keyboard  164  if necessary. 
     For instance, as shown in the present embodiment, the payee may use the numerical keyboard  164  to edit the credit card account information displayed in the text field  1054  in order to correct for the inaccuracy that may have resulted from the distorted character  1038  that in the acquired credit card image  1018 . Accordingly, if the payee confirms that the edited credit card information is now accurate, the payee may select the graphical button  1058  to return to the screen  1042 , in which the credit card account number  1032  may be updated to reflect the corrections made by the payee on the screen  1043 . Thereafter, the payee may proceed with the transaction process by selecting the graphical button  1046 , thus navigating to the screen  1060  in  FIG. 26D . 
     As shown in the screen  1060 , the credit card information extracted from the image  1018  and later edited by the payee, such as described in  FIG. 26C , is displayed and generally designated by the reference number  1062 . Additionally, the screen  1060  may display a crediting account, which in the present embodiment, may be the default crediting account  216 , as discussed above. The screen  1060  may further display the graphical buttons  686 ,  688 , and  690 , which may represent the functions previously described with reference to the screen  674  depicted in  FIG. 14J . Accordingly, in order to initiate the process of crediting a payment to the crediting account based on the extracted card information  1062 , the payee may select the graphical button  686  to navigate to the screen  1066 . 
     As can be appreciated, the screen  1066  may essentially provide additional security measures that must be addressed prior to transmitting the transaction information, such as to the financial servers  100 . For example, in the illustrated embodiment, the screen  1066  may include the text fields  1068 ,  1070 , and  1072 , as well as the graphical buttons  1074  and  1076 . Accordingly, the screen  1066  may require that the payor provide the requested information to the fields  1068 ,  1070 , and  1072  prior to initiating the processing of the present transaction. For instance, the field  1068  may be used to enter a payment amount corresponding to the request payment. The field  1070  may require that the payor provide a CVV number corresponding to the credit card  952 . As discussed above, the use of these additional authorization measures may aid to prevent the occurrence of unauthorized charges, such as those that may have been initiated based on the unauthorized acquisition of credit card images. 
     Additionally, an e-mail address belonging to the payor may be provided in the text field  1072 . As discussed above, the provided e-mail may be used to transmit a receipt or acknowledgement to the payor once the transaction is complete. As discussed above, the entry of data into the text fields  1068 ,  1070 , and  1072  may be accomplished by way of the text keyboard interface  160 , or the numerical keyboard interface  164  (not shown in  FIG. 26D ). Once the information required by the text fields  1068 ,  1070 , and  1072  have been entered, the transaction authorization process may be initiated by selecting the graphical button  1074 . Additionally, the payor or payee may have the option of canceling the present transaction by selecting the graphical button  1076 . If the transaction is authorized and successfully processed, the screen  712  may be displayed on the payee device  10 . As discussed above, the screen  712  may display a notification message  714  indicating to the payee the requested payment amount has been deposited to the specified crediting account  216 , and that a receipt has been provided to the payor, such as via the e-mail address provided in the text field  1072  of the screen  1066 . 
     Continuing now to  FIGS. 27A-27G , one or more techniques for operating the payee device  10  in accordance with the transaction  970  described above with reference to  FIG. 24  is explained by way of a plurality of screen images. As shown in  FIG. 27A , the initiation of the camera device  48  for the acquisition of a check image, such as an image corresponding to check  972 , may require that the payee navigate through the above discussed screens  110 ,  476 , and  484 . For example, beginning with the screen  110 , the user may select the graphical button  114  to proceed to the screen  476 . There, the user may further navigate to the screen  484 , by selecting the graphical button  478 . From the screen  484 , the user may select the graphical button  490  to navigate to the screen  1002 , as discussed above in  FIG. 26A . Here, rather than selecting the graphical button  1004  to initiate the process for requiring a credit card image, the user may instead select the graphical button  1006  to begin the process for acquiring an image of a check. 
     As shown in  FIG. 27A , the selection of the graphical button  1006  may navigate the payee to the screen  1080 . The screen  1080  may display the graphical buttons  1082  and  1084 . Each of these graphical buttons corresponding to a respective technique for processing a check image acquired in accordance with the presently described techniques. Specifically, the graphical button  1082  may represent a function for processing a full check image. As will be understood, in order to initiate the processing of a full check image, an image of an entire check must be first acquired. As will be explained in further detail below, the use of the full check image processing function represented by the graphical button  1082  may be selected in circumstances where the check provided by the payor has the payment amount indicated on the check, and is signed by the payor and made out to the payee. Thus, it may be necessary to process the full check image in order to extract the information relating to the amount of the payment indicated by the payor on the check. 
     For example, referring now to  FIG. 27B , upon selection of the graphical button  1082 , the screen  1086  may be displayed on the payee device, and the camera device  48  may be initiated for image acquisition, as discussed above. As shown in screen  1086 , the view finder  1009  associated with the camera device  48  may be displayed. The viewfinder may include the acquisition frame  1010 . Accordingly, the payee may position the payee device  10 , such that the entirety of the check  972  is aligned with the acquisition frame  1010 . Once the check  972  is aligned with the image frame  1010 , the payee may select the graphical button  1090  to acquire an image using the camera  48 . Additionally, the section of the graphical button  1092  on the screen  1086  may allow for the payee to cancel the image acquisition process if necessary. 
     Once the image of the check  972  has been acquired, the acquired image, represented here by the reference numeral  1096 , may be displayed on the screen  1086 . As discussed above, the payee may evaluate the acquired image  1086  to determine whether the image is suitable for use by the image processing application, as discussed above. If the payee determines that the acquired image  1096  fails to conform to one or more quality standards required by the image processing application, as discussed above, the payee may select the graphical button  1100  in order to return to the viewfinder  1009  and acquire a subsequent image. If the payee determined that the acquired image  1096  is suitable for processing by the image recognition application, the user may begin the image processing steps by selecting the graphical button  1098 . 
     The processing of the check image  1096  may be further explained with reference to  FIG. 27C . As illustrated, the image processing application may process the acquired image  1096  to determine various regions of interest, such as the regions designated by the reference numerals  1104 ,  1106 ,  1108 , and  1110 . This process may be similar to the process described above with regard to the processing of the credit card image  1018  in  FIG. 26B . Additionally, the image processing application may also designate the region  1112 , which may correspond to a payment amount written on the check  972  by the payor, as a region of interest. As shown in  FIG. 27C , the region  1104  may correspond to the identity of the payor, and the region  1106  may correspond to a routing number that may be used to identify the banking provider associated with the payor&#39;s bank account number, which may be represented in the region  1108 . Further, the image processing application may also designate the region  1110  as corresponding to the check number associated with the provided check  972 . Accordingly, as explained above, once the regions are recognized by the image processing application, the information contained within the regions  1104 ,  1106 ,  1108 ,  1110 , and  1112 , may be extracted and displayed on the screen  1116 , as illustrated in  FIG. 27D . 
     As shown in the screen  1116 , in addition to the check information extracted from the image  1096 , the screen  1116  may also display the graphical button  1118 , as well as the graphical buttons  1046  and  1048 , which were previously described above with reference to  FIG. 26C . Thereafter, in a manner similar to the editing process described above with reference to  FIG. 26C , the user may select the graphical button  1118  to edit the extracted information from the check image  1096  if any portion of the information is determined to be inaccurate. If the extracted information is determined to be correct, as indicated in  FIG. 27D , the user may select the graphical button  1046  to access the screen  1124 . 
     As shown on the screen  1124 , the information extracted from the check image, such as the information represented by the reference numerals  1104 ,  1106 ,  1108 ,  1110 , and  1112 , is displayed and generally designated by the reference numeral  1126 . The screen  1124  may also display the section of a crediting account, which as discussed above, may initially be selected as the payee&#39;s default crediting account  216 . Further, the screen  1124  may also display the graphical buttons  686 ,  688 , and  690 , as discussed above with reference to the screen  674  in  FIG. 14J . Accordingly, to initiate the transaction authorization steps by which the payment account represented by the check information  1126  is charged or debited for the payment amount  1112 , the payee may select the graphical button  686 . It should be noted, that in the presently illustrated embodiment, that the security measures depicted above with reference to the screen  1066  of  FIG. 26D , may not be required because the check  972  provided to the payee in the present embodiment has been specifically made out to the payee, thus indicating that the payor had previously acquiesced to the payment request. Thereafter, if the transaction is authorized and successfully processed, such as by the one or more financial servers  100 , the screen  712  may be displayed on the payee device  10 . As discussed above, the screen  712  may include the notification message  714  indicating that the requested payment amount has been credited to the selected crediting account  216 . 
     Referring briefly back to  FIG. 27A  and, specifically to the screen  1080 , the graphical button  1084  may represent an additional function provided on the payee device  10 , in which the transaction  970  depicted above in  FIG. 24 , may be initiated by obtaining only a partial image of a check (e.g., as opposed to a full image). As will be explained in further detail below, the functions provided by the graphical button  1084  may be used in circumstances in which the check provided by the payor is blank, whereby the transaction  970  may only be initiated upon receiving some sort of additional authorization from the payor, such as the providing of a bank account PIN number, for instance. 
     Continuing now to  FIG. 27E , upon selecting the graphical button  1084 , the screen  1080  may be updated to display the notification message  1132 , and the graphical buttons  1134  and  1136 . The notification message  1132  may generally inform the payee that the present transaction may further require the providing of a banking account PIN number by the payor. In order to proceed with the acquisition of the partial check image, the payee may select the graphical button  1134 . Additionally, the payee may have the option of canceling the check image acquisition process by selecting the graphical button  1136 . Upon selection of the graphical button  1134 , the user may be navigated to the above discussed screen  1086 , which may include the viewfinder  1009  associated with the camera device  48 . As shown in the screen  1086 , the viewfinder  1009  may include the image acquisition frame  1010 . Thus, the payee may position the device  10  such that the desired portion of the check  972  to be imaged is contained in the region defined by the acquisition frame  1010 . Once the desired portion of the check  972  is properly aligned, the payee may acquire an image of this portion of the check  972  by selecting the graphical button  1090  on the screen  1086 . Additionally, the payee may have the option of canceling the image acquisition step by selecting the graphical button  1092 . 
     Upon selection of the graphical button  1090 , an image of the aligned portion of the check  972  may be acquired and displayed on the screen  1086 , as indicated by the reference numeral  1140 . Here, in the manner similar to the screens  1086  described above with reference to  FIG. 27B , the payee may evaluate the image  114  to determine if the quality of the acquired image is sufficient for processing by the image processing application. For example, if the image  1140  fails to meet one or more quality standards discussed above, the payee may select the graphical button  1100  to reacquire a subsequent image of the check  972 . If it is determined that the acquired image  1140  is suitable for processing by the image processing application, the payee may initiate the payment information extraction process by selecting the graphical button  1098 . For example, referring now to  FIG. 27F , the processing of the partial check image  1140  may generally be similar to the processing of the full check image  1096 , as described above with reference to  FIG. 27C , except that the partial check image  1140  does not contain the region  1112  corresponding to the payment amount printed on the check  972  by the payor. Thus, in the present embodiment, the image processing application may process the partial check image  1140  to extract only the identity of the payor  1104 , the routing number corresponding to the payor&#39;s banking provider  1106 , the payor&#39;s bank account number  1108 , as well as the check number  1110 . 
     Once the partial check image  1140  is processed by the image recognition application, the payee may be advanced to the screen  1116  illustrated in  FIG. 27G . As shown in the screen  1116 , the extracted check information, including the payor&#39;s identity  1004 , the routing number of the banking provider associated with the selected payment account  1106 , as well as the bank account number  1108  and the check identification number  1110  associated with the provided check  972 , may be displayed. Additionally, the screen  1116  may also provide the graphical button  1118 , which may represent the same functionality described above with reference to  FIG. 27D , as well as the graphical buttons  1046  and  1048 . Thus, if the check image information extracted from the image  1140  is determined by the payee to be accurate, the payee may proceed to the selection of the crediting account by selecting the graphical button  1046 . For instance, the selection of the graphical button  1046  may navigate the payee to the screen  1124 , which may display the extracted check information provided on the previous screen  116 , generally referred to here by the reference numeral  1144 , as well as the section of a crediting account, which may initially be selected as the default crediting account  216 . Additionally, the screen  1124  may further include the graphical buttons  686 ,  688 , and  690 , each of which may correspond to the functions described above with reference to screen  674  in  FIG. 14J . Accordingly, to initiate the authorization and processing of the present transaction, in which a payment is credited to the payee&#39;s default crediting account  216 , the graphical button  686  may be selected, thereby advancing the payee to the screen  1148 . 
     The screen  1148  may be similar to the screen  1066  discussed above in  FIG. 26D , in that one or more additional authorization steps may be completed by the payor before the transaction may be processed. For instance, the illustrated screen  1148  may include the text fields  1150 ,  1152 , and  1154 . Using either the keyboard interface  160  or the numerical keyboard interface  164  (not shown in  FIG. 27G ), the payor may enter the amount of the requested payment into the text field  1150 , as well as a PIN number associated with the bank account corresponding to the provided check  972  into the text field  1152 . Optionally, if the payor wishes to receive an electronic receipt upon completion of the transaction, such as in the form of an e-mail, the payor may provide a valid e-mail address in the text field  1154 . The screen  1148  may further include the graphical buttons  1156  and  1158 . Accordingly, once the required information is entered into the text fields  1150 ,  1152 , and  1154 , the graphical button  1156  may be selected in order to initiate the authorization and processing of the present transaction. Additionally, the transaction may be cancelled at this point by selecting the graphical button  1158 . 
     As discussed above, if the transaction is completed successfully, the screen  712  may be displayed on the payee device  10 . The screen  712  may include the notification message  714  notifying the payee that the requested payment has been credited to the selected crediting account  216 , and that a receipt regarding the present payment has been transmitted to the e-mail address provided by the payor in the text field  1154  of the screen  1148 . Alternatively, if the transaction fails for one or more reasons, the screen  700  may be displayed on the payee device instead. In the present figure, the screen  700  may include the notification message  1160 , which may indicate that the pin number provided by the payor in the text field  1152  in the previous screen  1148  does not match the pin number contained within the records maintained by the banking provider. Accordingly, the payee may be instructed to request that the payor either reenter or verify the pin number entered on the screen  148 . It should be understood that the notification message  1160  is meant to illustrate one example of why the present transaction may fail. Indeed, any of the reasons discussed above may contribute to a transaction failing to process successfully (e.g., lack of sufficient funds on payment account, etc.). 
     Continuing now to the remaining figures, additional aspects of the presently described techniques are illustrated. As discussed above, the electronic device  10  may include one or more functions adapted to carry out a group transaction involving one or more payors. For example, as discussed above with reference to  FIG. 14A , the graphical button  482  may be selected from the screen  476  to carry out a group transaction. Referring now to  FIG. 28 , a schematic representation of the system for performing a group transaction in accordance with one aspect of the present disclosure is illustrated and generally referred to by the reference number  1170 . As illustrated in the present figure, the group transaction  1170  may include a primary transaction, designated by the reference numeral  1172 , as well as one or more secondary transactions, as designated by the reference numeral  1174 . 
     In the primary transaction  1172 , the electronic device  10  which may act as the initiating device for the group transaction  1170 , and may assume the role of a payor in making a payment to the vendor device  1176 . Thereafter, the initiating device  10  may act as a payee and receive additional payments from the holders of the payor device  92 , the smart card  862 , and the magnetic credit card  954 . For the purpose of the present discussion, and to more clearly differentiate between the holders of each of these payment instruments, the holder of the magnetic credit card  954  shall be referred to herein as the credit card payor. Similarly, the holder of the smart card  862  shall be referred to herein as the smart card payor, and the holder of the payor device, which may be an NFC enabled device in accordance with the embodiments discussed above, shall be referred to herein as the NFC payor. As will be explained in further detail below, the payments made to the initiator device  10  by the credit card payor, the smart card payor, and the NFC payor, may be in response to a payment owed to the vendor. For example, the presently illustrated transaction  1170  may occur in the context in which one party (e.g., the initiator) initially pays for a group invoice containing amounts owed by each of the illustrated parties, and in which the remaining parties later provide a payment to the initiating party. 
     By way of example, the present technique may be utilized in a setting where the parties illustrated in  FIG. 28  wish to split a bill or invoice at a restaurant. In the primary transaction  1172 , the initiator device  10  may act as the payor with respect to the vendor device  1176 , which may be a device operated by personnel associated with the restaurant. As discussed above, the initiator device and the vendor device  1176  may establish an NFC connection  1178  by which a group invoice  1180  may be transmitted from the vendor device  1176  to the initiator device  10 . Thereafter, the initiator may select an appropriate payment account on the initiator device, which may be the default payment account  180 , as described above with reference to  FIG. 7 . Once selected, the payment account information  1182  may be transmitted to the vendor device  1176  by way of the NFC connection  1178 . 
     Upon receiving the payment information  1182 , the vendor device  1176 , which may act as the payee device in the primary transaction  1172 , may select a crediting account and then transmit the crediting account information, the payment account information  1182 , as well as the requested payment amount correspond to the group invoice  1180 , collectively referred to here by the reference number  1184 , to one or more financial servers  100 , as discussed above. As shown in the present figure, the transmission of the transaction information  1184  may occur by way of a network designated by the reference number  1186 . The network  1186  may include any of the suitable networks mentioned above, such as a LAN or a WLAN network connection, for example. 
     Once the transaction information  1184  is received, the financial servers  100  may process and authorize the requested transaction and, if the transaction is authorized, a payment  1188  may be provided to the vendor. For example, once the primary transaction  1172  is authorized by the financial servers  100 , the amount requested in the group invoice  1180  may be charged from the payment account  1182  specified by the initiator device  10  and credited to a crediting account specified on the vendor device  1176 . Accordingly, the primary transaction  1172  may be completed at this point, and the initiator device  10  may have the option of proceeding with the secondary transactions  1174 . As discussed above, the secondary transactions  1174  may include transactions involving the NFC device  92 , the smart card  862 , and the magnetic credit card  954 . It should be appreciated, however, that additional devices or payment instruments may also be included in the secondary transaction  1174  in other embodiments, and need not necessarily be limited to the examples provided herein. 
     As shown in  FIG. 28 , once the primary transaction  1172  has been completed, the initiator device  10  may transmit the current invoice  1192  to the NFC payor device  92  by way of an ad-hoc network, designated by the reference numeral  1194 . Initially, the current invoice  1192  may be identical to the group invoice  1180 . Before requesting the payment from the group transaction members (e.g., the credit card payor, the smart card payor, and the NFC payor), the initiator may apportion the group invoice  1180  in accordance with the amounts owed by each transaction member. As will be illustrated below, the apportioning of the invoice items may be updated in real time and viewed on the current invoice  1192 , which may be displayed on the NFC payor device  92 . Additionally, the current invoice  1192  may also be updated in real time to reflect payments received by the initiator device  10 . 
     Once the group invoice  1180  has been apportioned by the initiator on the initiator device  10 , the amounts owed by each of the credit card payor, the smart card payor, and the NFC payor, may be communicated to these parties as a partial invoice. By way of example, the initiator device may begin the process of receiving payments by establishing an NFC connection  1196  with the NFC payor device  92  to transmit the partial invoice  1198  to the NFC payor. As will be appreciated, the partial invoice  1198  may reflect the portion of the group invoice  1180  owed to the initiator by the NFC payor. Thus, in accordance with the techniques generally described above with respect to the embodiments depict in  FIGS. 12A-12C , a payment account may be selected on the NFC payor device  92  and, thereafter, be transmitted to the initiator device  10 , as illustrated by the reference numeral  1200 . 
     Upon receiving the payment information  1200  from the NFC payor device  92 , the initiator device  10  may select a crediting account and transmit the payment information  1200 , the crediting account information, as well as the amount reflected in the partial invoice  1198 , collectively referred to here as the transaction request information  1202 , to the financial servers  100  by way of the network  1204 . As will be understood, the network  1204  may be provided by way of one or more of the communication interfaces available on the device  10 , as discussed above. Thereafter, if the financial servers  100  determine that the transaction request represented by the transaction information  1202  may be authorized, then a payment  1206  may be credited to the crediting account selected by the initiator device  10 . Additionally, as discussed above, the payments made by any of the payors in the secondary transaction may be updated in real time on the current invoice  1192  being viewed by the NFC payor. For example, each payment  1206  received by the initiator device may also be reflected on the current invoice  1192 , as indicated by the arrow  1208 . 
     Once the initiator device  10  has received the first payment from the NFC payor device  92 , the initiator device  10  may continue to receive the remaining payments from the smart card payor and the credit card payor. For example, in accordance with the techniques described above with reference to the transaction  860  depicted in  FIG. 20 , the initiator device may receive the smart card information  1210  corresponding to the smart card  862  by way of the NFC connection  1196  through a tap operation. Additionally, the initiator device  10  may acquire an image  1212  of the magnetic credit card  954  in accordance with the techniques described above with reference to the transaction  952  depicted in  FIG. 23 . Accordingly, the initiator device  10  may then transmit the smart card information  1210 , as well as the payment information that may be extracted from the image  1212 , to the financial servers  100  by way of a network  1204  for authorization of these additional secondary transactions. Accordingly, if these transactions are authorized by the financial servers  100 , respective payments from the credit card payor and the smart card payor, also referenced here by the numeral  1206 , may be credited to a crediting account selected by the initiator device  10 . Additionally, the current invoice  1192  being viewed by the NFC payor  92  may be updated to reflect the processing of these additional payments from the credit card payor and the smart card payor, as indicated by the reference numeral  1208 . 
     Continuing now to  FIG. 29 , a method  1220 , which may depict a technique for operating the initiator device  10  to carry out the group transaction  1170  discussed in  FIG. 28 , is illustrated. As shown in step  1222 , a group transaction may be initiated by the initiator device  10 . Thereafter, at step  1224 , the initiator may receive and pay a group invoice, such as the group invoice  1180 . As discussed above, in accordance with one embodiment, the receipt and payment of the group invoice by the initiator device  10  may occur by way of the NFC connection  1178 . Once the group invoice has been paid by the initiator device  10 , the method  1220  may proceed to step  1226 , whereby the initiator may identify and interface with the additional group transaction members, which may include the credit card payor, the smart card payor, and the NFC payor, as discussed above. Next, the initiator may proceed to apportion the items listed on the group invoice to the appropriate group transaction member. For instance, the initiator may select a first invoice item at step  1228 , and apportion the selected item to the appropriate group transaction member at step  1230 . As shown by the subsequent decision block  1232 , the initiator may continue the apportioning process until all the invoice items listed on the group invoice  1180  have been properly apportioned to the correct group transaction member. 
     Thereafter, the initiator may begin the process of collecting payments from each of the group transaction members. For example, the initiator may select a first group transaction member at step  1234 . Next, at step  1236 , a partial invoice corresponding to the selected member from step  1234  may be communicated. For example, the partial invoice may be communicated to the NFC payor device  92  by way of the NFC connection  1196  discussed above. Additionally, the partial invoices may also be communicated verbally, for example, to the credit card payor and the smart card payor. Upon receiving the partial invoice, the respective payor may select a payment account and provide the payment account information to the initiator. For instance, as illustrated by step  1238 , the initiator may collect the payment information from the selected group transaction member and then process the transaction, such as by transmitting the transaction request to the financial servers  100 . As discussed above, if the requested transaction is authorized by the financial servers  100 , a corresponding payment may be made to a crediting account specified by the initiator. 
     Thereafter, as shown by the decision step  1240 , the initiator device may continue to collect payments until a payment has been received from each of the group transaction members. Accordingly, once all payments have been received, the group transaction may be completed at step  1242 . It should be noted, that the steps  1222  and  1224  discussed above may correspond to the primary transaction  1172 , and that the remaining steps  1126 - 1242  may correspond to the secondary transaction  1174  as indicated above in  FIG. 28 . 
     The above-described group transaction  1170  may be better understood with reference to  FIGS. 30A-30L , which may generally depict various screen images that may be displayed on either the initiator device  10  or the NFC payor device  92  during the course of the group transaction  1170 . For example, referring first to  FIG. 30A , the primary transaction  1172  may be initiated on the initiator device  10  beginning with the screen  110 . Next, the initiator may select the graphical button  114  to navigate to the screen  476 , which may display the graphical button  482 , as discussed above. Accordingly, the initiator may access the group transaction functions provided by the device  10  by selecting the graphical button  482 , thus advancing to the screen  1270 . The screen  1270  may display the graphical buttons  1272 ,  1274 , and  1276 . Each of these graphical buttons may represent specific functions, as discussed above. For instance, the graphical button  1272  may represent a function by which the initiator may initiate the group transaction  1170 . Similarly, the graphical button  1274  may allow the initiator to join an existing group transaction, such as a group transaction that may have been previously initiated by another member. Additionally, the initiator may cancel the group transaction by selecting the graphical button  1276 . 
     As shown in the present figure, the selection of the graphical button  1272  may navigate the initiator to the screen  1278 . The screen  1278  may provide for the selection of various options with respect to the group transaction. For example, a first option may be provided in which the initiator may pay a group invoice, such as the group invoice  1180 , as a primary transaction (e.g.,  1172 ), and thereafter apportion of the invoice among additional transaction members and collect payments from each of these transaction members as a series of secondary transactions (e.g.,  1174 ). This may be the scenario generally described by the group transaction  1170  in  FIG. 28 . 
     As shown in the screen  1278 , an additional group transaction option in which the initiator may directly split an invoice among one or more other transaction members may be provided. This situation will be further explained with reference to  FIG. 32  below. The options depicted on the screen  1278  may be represented by the graphical elements  1280  and  1282 , which may represent check box graphic icons, by which the initiator may select the appropriate option. For instance, as illustrated in the present figure, the initiator may select the check box  1280  to indicate that the present transaction is to be performed in accordance with the techniques discussed above in  FIG. 28 . Once the option  1280  is selected, the initiator may select a graphical button  1284  in order to begin the group transaction  1170 . 
     Upon selection of the graphical button  1284 , the user may be advanced to the screen  1288 , by where the primary transaction discussed above, and referred to the reference numeral  1172 , may begin. For instance, the screen  1288  may represent the initiation of the NFC connection  1178 . The screen  1288  may also include the notification message  1290 , which may indicate to the initiator that the NFC device  46  of the initiator device  10  is being powered on, thus activating the NFC interface  60 , as discussed above. The screen  1288  may also include the graphical button  1292  by which the initiator may select to cancel the establishment of the NFC connection  1178  if necessary. 
     Upon establishment of the NFC connection  1178 , the initiator device  10  may receive the group invoice  1180  from the vendor device  1176  with which the NFC connection  1178  has been established. For example, once the group invoice  1180  has been received by the initiator device  10 , the screen  1288  may be updated, as depicted in  FIG. 30B , to display the notification message  1296 . As shown here, the notification message  1296  may inform the initiator that the group invoice  1180  has been received. Accordingly, by way of the graphical buttons  1298  and  1300 , the initiator may either accept or decline the received group invoice  1180 . To accept the group invoice, the initiator may select the graphical button  1298  to navigate to the screen  1304 . The screen  1304  may display the identity of the initiator  1306 , the identity of the vendor  1308 , as well as the amount requested by the group invoice, referred to here by the reference number  1310 . As will be explained below, the amount  1310  may reflect a subtotal prior to the addition of a gratuity amount. For example, the present embodiment may be reflected in a scenario where the vendor is a restaurant and the invoice reflects a restaurant bill. Accordingly, the graphical buttons  1312  and  1314  are also provided on the screen  1304  by which the initiator may choose to specify a gratuity amount, or view the invoice details, respectively. 
     The screen  1308  may further display the presently selected payment account, which may be initially selected as the default payment account  180  specified by the initiator, as discussed above in  FIG. 7 . Accordingly, the graphical buttons  1318 ,  1320 , and  1322  may be provided wherein the graphical button  1318  represents the function by which the initiator may pay the invoice using the presently selected default payment account  180 , wherein the graphical button  1320  represents a function by which the initiator may select an alternate payment account, and wherein the graphical button  1322  may allow the initiator to cancel the present transaction. 
     As shown in  FIG. 30B , the initiator may view the group invoice  180  by selecting the graphical button  1314 , thus navigating to the screen  1326 . The screen  1326  may include a section that generally lists all the group invoice items, referred to here by the reference numeral  1330 . Additionally, the scroll bar function  1332  may be provided on the screen  1326  such that the initiator may navigate through the listing of the invoice items  1330  if the listing cannot be viewed in its entirety in the provided display section. In addition to the listing of the invoice items  1330 , the screen  1326  may also list any applicable tax amount  1328 . As will be appreciated, the sum of the invoice items  1330  and the tax amount  1328  may be summed to obtain the subtotal  1310  discussed above. The screen  1326  may additionally display a gratuity amount  1334 , which may initially be zero prior to the addition of a gratuity amount by the initiator. Accordingly, the subtotal for the group invoice  1310  and any gratuity amount  1334  may be summed to determine the total amount of the group invoice  1336 . Further, the graphical buttons  1338  and  1340  may also be provided on the screen  1326 , in which the graphical button  1338  may provide the initiator with the function of proceeding to pay the displayed invoice based on its current status. Additionally, the graphical button  1340  may be selected if the initiator chooses to specify the gratuity amount  1334 . 
     For example, if the graphical button  1340  is selected, the initiator may be navigated to the screen  1350  for the addition and selection of a gratuity amount. The screen  1350  may display the current subtotal of the group invoice  1310 , and provide the initiator with the text field  1352  by which the initiator may enter a desired gratuity amount. For instance, the initiator may choose to enter the gratuity amount using the numerical keyboard  164 , or may select a pre-calculated gratuity amount, as provided by the graphical buttons referred to here by the reference numeral  1354 . As shown here, the pre-calculated gratuity amounts represented by the graphical buttons  1354  may correspond to certain percentages of the current subtotal amount  1310 . By way of example, in the present figure, the initiator may select the graphical button which corresponds to a gratuity that is 20% of the current subtotal  1310 . As illustrated here, upon selection of the above-discussed gratuity amount  1334 , the text field  1352  may be populated to reflect the selection. Additionally, the total amount  1336  for the group invoice  1080  may be updated to reflect the addition of the gratuity amount  1334 . For example, the current group invoice total  1336  may be computed by summing the above-discussed subtotal amount  1310  and the presently selected gratuity amount  1334 . Thereafter, the initiator may select the graphical button  1356  to accept the selected gratuity amount and the corresponding updated group invoice total amount  1336 , or may cancel the present transaction by selecting the graphical button  1358 . As illustrated in the present figure, the selection of the graphical button  1356  may return the user to the screen  1326 , which may be updated to display the selected gratuity amount  1334  and the updated total amount for the group invoice  1336 . If the initiator is satisfied with the current group invoice total amount  1336 , the initiator may select the graphical button  1338  to proceed with the payment of the group invoice amount  1336 . 
     Referring to  FIG. 30C , the selection of the graphical button  1338  may return the initiator to the screen  1304 , which may be updated to reflect that the group invoice amount  1336  has been updated to include the addition of the gratuity amount  1334  specified from the screen  1350 . Accordingly, the initiator may initiate the payment of the group invoice total  1336  using the default payment account  180  by selecting the graphical button  1318 . As discussed above, the selection of the graphical button  1318  may transmit the payment account information  1182  to the vendor device  1176  by way of the NFC interface  1178 . Accordingly, the vendor device  1176  may transmit the present transaction request  1184  to the financial servers  100  in order to process and authorize the requested payment. 
     As shown in  FIG. 30C , if the primary transaction  1172  is authorized by the financial servers  100 , the screen  1362  may be displayed on the initiator device  10 . The screen  1362  may display the notification message  1364  indicating to the initiator that the group invoice  180  has been paid using the selected default payment account  180 . Additionally, the screen  1362  may include the graphical buttons  1366  and  1368 . The graphical button  1368  may represent the function by which the user may end or cancel the transaction. The graphical button  1366  may allow the user to apportion the group invoice  1180 , and thus initiate the secondary transactions  1174  discussed above with reference to  FIG. 28 . As shown in  FIG. 30C , upon selection of the graphical button  1366 , the screen  1370  may be displayed. The screen  1370  illustrates the establishment of an ad-hoc network, such as the network  1194 . As discussed above, capable devices, such as the NFC payor device  92  may join the established ad-hoc network in order to view the current invoice  1192 , as well as updates that may be made to the current invoice  1192  during the various steps performed during in the secondary transactions  1174 . 
     The screen  1370  may display the identity of the initiator  1306 , as well as apply an identification name to the present group transaction, as indicated here by the reference numeral  1372 . As shown here, the transaction identifier  1372  may be identical to the recipient  1308  (“ABC Restaurant”) of the payment in the primary transaction illustrated by  FIGS. 30A and 30B . Additionally, the screen  1370  may include the graphical buttons  1376  and  1378 . The graphical button  1378  may allow the initiator to cancel the establishment of the ad-hoc network, for example, if none of the other transaction members, such as the credit card payor and the smart card payor, are using devices capable of connecting to an ad-hoc network. If the group transaction  1170  does include at least one device capable of joining the ad-hoc network, such as the presently illustrated device  92 , the initiator may wait for the device  92  to join the network before selecting the graphical button  1376  to begin the process of apportioning the group invoice  1180 . 
     The process of connection to the ad-hoc network  1194  with respect to the viewpoint of the NFC payor device  92  may be illustrated with reference to  FIG. 30D . For example, in order to join the ad-hoc network established by the initiator device  10 , as described in  FIG. 30 , the NFC payor may select the graphical button  114  from the screen  110 . It should be noted that the screens depicted in  FIG. 30D  may be similar to one or more of the screens discussed above with reference to the initiator device  10 . Thus, it should be understood that the transaction application provided on the initiator device, such as the application  34 , may also be provided on the payor device  92  in the present embodiment. Upon selection of the graphical button  114 , the payor may be advanced to the screen  476 . To access a group transaction function provided on the NFC payor device  92 , the payor may then select the graphical button  482  thus navigating to the screen  1270 . Here, the payor may operate the NFC payor device to join the ad-hoc network discussed above by selecting the graphical button  1274 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 30D , the selection of the graphical button  1274  may navigate the NFC payor to the screen  1380 . The screen  1380  may display the identity of the payor  1382 , as well as display a listing of available ad-hoc networks, which may represent ongoing group transactions. For example, the network established by the initiator and described in  FIG. 30C , is listed here and referred to by the reference numeral  1384 . Thus, the payor may select the listed network  1384 , such as by way of the check box selection graphic  1385 , and join the selected network by selecting the graphical button  1386 . Additionally, the NFC payor may also have the option of declining to join the ad-hoc network by selecting the graphical button  1388 . As will be understood, if the latter is selected, the NFC payor may still participate in the group transaction  1170 , but may be unable to view any real time updates to the current invoice  1192 . 
     Once all capable devices have joined the ad-hoc network  1194  established by the initiator device  10 , the apportioning of the group invoice items may begin. For example, referring now to  FIG. 30E , the screen  1370  discussed in  FIG. 30C  may be updated to indicate that the NFC payor, represented here by the reference numeral  1382 , has joined the established ad-hoc network. Accordingly, because no other payor devices are participating in the present transaction, the initiator may select the graphical button  1376  to navigate to the screen  1400  to begin apportioning the group invoice items  1330 . 
     As illustrated in the screen  1400 , a listing of the group transaction members may be displayed. As shown here, the listing  1402  may initially only include the initiator and the NFC payor, who is presently connected to the initiator device  10  by way of the ad-hoc network  1194 . The screen  1400  may also display a listing of the group invoice items  1330 . As discussed above, a scroll bar function, represented by the graphic  1404 , may be provided on the screen  1400  if the listing of the group invoice items  1330  may not be displayed in its entirety due to screen size limitations. Next, in order to add the remaining transaction members to the present group transaction, the initiator may select the graphical button  1406 . Upon selection of the graphical button  1406 , the initiator may be navigated to the screen  1410  which may display the text field  1412  and the graphical button  1414 , as well as the text keyboard  160 . Thus, the initiator, by way of the text keyboard  160 , may enter the identity of the credit card payor into the text field  1412 . Once the identity of the credit card payor has been entered, the initiator may add the credit card payor to the present transaction by selecting the graphical button  1414 . As shown in  FIG. 30E , the selection of the graphical button  1414  may cause a pop-up window  1420  to be displayed on the screen  1410 . The pop-up window  1420  may notify the initiator that the credit card payor has been added to the present transaction and may further provide the initiator with the graphical buttons  1422  and  1424 . For example, as illustrated here, the selection of the graphical button  1422  may close the pop-up window  1420  and allow the initiator to re-access the screen  1410  to add an additional member, such as the smart card payor. Thus, the initiator may repeat the steps discussed above and enter the identity of the smart card payor into the text field  1412 . By selecting the graphical button  1414  again, the pop-up window  1426  may be displayed on the screen  1410  notifying the initiator that the smart card payor has also been added to the present transaction  1170 . Accordingly, because all of the group transaction members illustrated in the secondary transaction  1174  of  FIG. 28  have now been added, the initiator may return to the screen  1400  by selecting the graphical button  1424 . 
     Continuing now to  FIG. 30F , the apportioning of one of the group invoice items  1330  by the initiator is illustrated. As shown in the present figure, the screen  1400  may display an updated listing of the transaction members  1402 , which may include the credit card payor and the smart card payor added using the techniques described in  FIG. 30E . Next, the initiator may apportion the group invoice item  1430  by selecting the location of the item  1430  on the screen  1400 , such as by using a finger or other object, such as a stylus, and, while maintaining contact with the display  24  of the initiator device  10 , move the selected invoice item  1430  to the location on the screen  1400  corresponding to the appropriate transaction member. As will be understood, this operation may commonly be referred to in the context of graphical user interfaces as a “drag and drop” operation. Additionally, as shown on the screen  1400 , the initiator may select the graphical button  1428  if the initiator chooses to split the entire group invoice  1080  equally among the transaction members  1402 . For example, the selection of the graphical button  1428  may divide the group invoice total  1336  equally among the initiator, the NFC payor, the credit card payor, and the smart card payor. Further, while the drag and drop illustration depicted in the present figure represents one implementation that may be provided on a device in accordance with the presently described techniques, it should be understood that any type of suitable interfacing technique for apportioning the group invoice items  1330  may be used in the present transaction. 
     Continuing to  FIG. 30G , the screen  1400  may be updated to indicate that the invoice item  1430  has been apportioned to the initiator. As illustrated in the present figure, the apportioning of the group invoice items  1330  may also include the automatic apportioning of the tax and gratuity amount represented here by the reference numerals  1328  and  1334 , respectively, based on the proportional amount of the cost of the apportioned invoice item  1430  compared to the total invoice amount  1336 . It should be appreciated, however, that alternate techniques for apportioning the tax amount  1328  and the gratuity amount  1334 , including alternate schemes for an automatically apportioning these amounts, as well as techniques for manual apportionment of these amounts by the initiator, are also within the scope of the present disclosure. Next, the initiator may continue to apportion the remaining group invoice items  1330 . For example,  FIG. 30G  further illustrates the apportioning of the invoice item  1432  to the initiator on the listing  1402 , as well as the subsequent automatic apportionment of any additional tax and gratuity amount in accordance with the techniques discussed above. 
     As will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, the need may arise to apportion a particular invoice item amongst two or more of the transaction members  1402 . By way of example, a particular invoice item may have been shared by each of the transaction members  1402 . Accordingly, a shared invoice item may be apportioned by selecting the graphical button  1436 . The selection of the graphical button  1436  may navigate the initiator to the screen  1438 . The screen  1438  may generally display a listing of the group invoice items  1330 , and may also indicate which invoice items  1330  have already been apportioned, such as the invoice items  1430  and  1432 . As will be appreciated, the already-apportioned invoice items  1430  and  1432  may not be selectable on the screen  1438 . As illustrated in the present figure, the initiator may select a shared invoice item  1440  in order to apportion this item amongst multiple group transaction members. For example, upon selecting the invoice item  1440 , the pop-up window  1442  may be displayed on the screen  1438 . 
     The pop-up window  1442  may display a listing of the present group transaction members  1402 . As shown here, a check box graphic may be provided with each group transaction member. Accordingly, the initiator may specify how the invoice item  1440  is to be apportioned by selecting the appropriate group transaction members using the check box graphics associated with each respective member. Additionally, as illustrated in the present figure, the initiator may apportion the shared invoice item  1440  equally amongst all the group transaction members  1402  by selecting the check box graphic represented here by the reference number  1444 . Once the appropriate selection is made, the initiator may select the graphical button  1446  to apportion the shared invoice item  1440  in accordance with the selection reflected in the pop-up window  1442 . Additionally, the initiator may cancel this apportionment process by selecting the graphical button  1448 . Upon selection of the graphical button  1446 , the invoice item  1440  may be apportioned equally amongst all of the group transaction members  1402  and the initiator may be returned to the screen  1400 . As shown in the listing of the group invoice items  1330  on the updated screen  1400 , the listing of the invoice item  1440  may be updated to indicate that that this item has already been apportioned, as discussed above. 
     Continuing now to  FIG. 30H , after apportioning the shared invoice item  1440 , the initiator may continue to apportion additional invoice items. For example,  FIG. 30H  illustrates the apportionment of the invoice items  1452  and  1454  that may correspond to amounts owed by the NFC payor. As illustrated in the present figure, once the invoice items  1452  and  1454  are properly apportioned, their respective listings may be updated on the screen  1400 , as discussed above. As will be appreciated, during the apportioning of the invoice items  1330 , the initiator may select one or more of the group transaction members displayed in the listing  1402  to view the current status of a partial invoice. For example, by selecting the NFC payor, the initiator may view the screen  1456 , which may display a partial invoice corresponding to the amount owed by the NFC payor. As shown here, the screen  1456  may display the NFC payor&#39;s portion of the shared invoice item  1440 , as well as the additional invoice items  1452  and  1454 . Further, as discussed above, based on the total cost of the apportioned invoice items, any applicable tax and gratuity amount may be automatically computed, as indicated here by the reference numeral  1458 . Thus, by summing the above items, tax, and gratuity amounts, a total amount for the partial invoice, referred to here by the reference numeral  1460 , may be displayed. Additionally, the screen  1456  may also provide the graphical button  1462  by which the initiator may remove apportioned items from the present group transaction member, such as items that may have been erroneously apportioned. To continue with the apportioning of the remaining group invoice items  1130 , the initiator may select the graphical button  1464  to return to the screen  1400 . 
     Once all of the group invoice items  1330  have been properly apportioned, as depicted in the updated screen  1400 , the initiator may begin the process of collecting payments from each of the group transaction members, as discussed above with reference to the steps  1234 - 1240  in the method  1220  of  FIG. 29 , by selecting the graphical button  1466 . As illustrated in the present figure, the selection of the graphical button  1466  may display the screen  1470  on the initiator device. The screen  1400  may display graphical buttons, such as the graphical buttons  1472 ,  1474 , and  1476 , each of which may correspond to a respective one of the group transaction members  1402 . For instance, the graphical button  1472  may correspond to the NFC payor, the graphical button  1474  may correspond to the credit card payor, and the graphical button  1476  may correspond to the smart card payor, as discussed above. As will be understood, the screen  1470  may not include a graphical button corresponding to the initiator, because in paying the group invoice  1180  in the primary transaction.  1172 , the initiator has already satisfied the initiator&#39;s respective portion of the group invoice  1080 . 
     The collection of payments from each of the remaining group transaction members depicted by the graphical buttons  1472 ,  1474 , and  1476 , may be carried out in accordance with one or more of the transaction techniques discussed above. For example, by selecting the graphical button  1472 , the initiator may be advanced to the screen  1480 , which may display a plurality of graphical buttons  1482 ,  1484 ,  1486 , and  1488 . Each of these graphical buttons may represent different methods in which a payment may be obtained from the corresponding from the group transaction member. For instance, the graphical button  1482  may represent the techniques depicted by the transactions  375 ,  376  or  378  in  FIGS. 12A, 12B, and 12C , respectively. Additionally, the graphical button  1484  may represent the transaction techniques described above with reference to the transaction  860  described in  FIG. 20 . Further, the graphical button  1486  may represent the function described in the transactions  952  and  970  and depicted in  FIGS. 23 and 24 , respectively. As shown here, the initiator may also have the option of receiving a cash payment form the corresponding group transaction member by selecting the graphical button  1488 . Although not explained in detail here, the selection of the graphical button  1488  may simply display a confirmation screen by which the initiator may confirm receipt of the payment once a cash payment corresponding to the partial invoice amount has been transferred from the group transaction member to the initiator. Lastly, the graphical button  1490  may allow the initiator to cancel the present transaction or to return to the screen  1470 , if necessary. 
     As discussed above, the NFC payor may be in possession of the NFC payor device  92 . Accordingly, the initiator may choose to acquire a payment from the NFC payor by selecting the graphical button  1482  to initiate a payment by establishing an NFC connection (e.g.,  1196 ) between the NFC interfaces  60  of each respective device  10  and  92  in order to exchange information pertaining to the partial invoice and a corresponding payment account that may be selected by the NFC payor. For instance, as illustrated in the present figure, the selection of the graphical button  1482  may display the screen  1494  on the initiator device  10 . The screen  1494  may display the notification message  1496 , which may generally inform the initiator that the NFC connection  1194  is being established and that a tap operation to the NFC payor device  92  may be required. The screen  1494  may also include the graphical button  1498 , thus allowing the initiator to cancel the establishment of the NFC connection  1196  if necessary. 
     Once the partial invoice  1198  and the payment information  1200  have been exchanged between the initiator device  10  and the payor device  92 , as depicted in  FIG. 28 , the screen  1500  may be displayed on the initiator device. The screen  1500  may display the identity of the initiator  1502 , the identity of the NFC payor  1504 , as well as the payment amount, which may correspond to the partial invoice amount  1460  depicted on the screen  1456  in  FIG. 30H . The screen  1500  may also display the payment account selected by the NFC payor in accordance with the techniques discussed above, which may be the NFC payor&#39;s default payment account  554 , as illustrated in  FIG. 14E . The screen  1500  may also display the presently selected crediting account, which may be the default crediting account  216 . Thus, as discussed above, in order to accept the payment amount  1460  being offered by the NFC payor, the initiator may select the graphical button  686  to credit the requested payment to the default crediting account  216 . Thereafter, if the transaction is successfully completed, the screen  1510  may be displayed on the initiator device. The screen  1510  may include the notification message  1512  which may generally indicate to the initiator that the amount  1460  owed by the NFC payor has been credited to the initiator&#39;s crediting account  216 . Additionally, the notification message  1512  may also indicate that an acknowledgment or receipt has been provided to the NFC payor. Thereafter, the initiator may return to the screen  1400  by selecting the graphical button  1514  to collect the remaining payments from the smart card payor and the credit card payor, or cancel or end the transaction by selecting the graphical button  1516 . 
     Continuing now to  FIG. 30J , once the payment has been received by the NFC payor, the listing  1402  on the screen  1400  may be updated, as indicated by the reference number  1518 , to indicate that a transaction between the initiator and the NFC payor has been completed. Next, the initiator may continue to collect the remaining outstanding partial invoices from the credit card payor and the smart card payor by selecting the graphical button  1466  again. Upon selection of the graphical button  1466  in  FIG. 30J , the initiator may be navigated to the screen  1470 . As illustrated in the present figure, the screen  1470  may be updated to reflect that the amount owed by the NFC payor has been received by the initiator. For instance, the presently illustrated screen  1470  may be updated wherein the previously displayed graphical button  1472  is removed, and only the remaining graphical buttons  1474  and  1476  are displayed, each of which may represent the outstanding payments owed by the credit card payor and the smart card payor. 
     Here, by selecting the graphical button  1476 , the initiator may return to the screen  1480 , as discussed above in  FIG. 30I , by which the initiator may select an appropriate method for receiving a payment from the smart card payor. For example, in the present figure, the initiator may select the graphical button  1484  to initiate the receipt of a payment using the techniques discussed above with reference to  FIG. 20 . For example, upon selection of the graphical button  1484 , the screen  1520  may be displayed on the device  10  and display the notification message  1522  indicating to the initiator that the NFC interface on the device  10  is presently active, and that an NFC connection  1196  may be initiated by tapping the smart card  862  and the initiator device  10 , as illustrated in  FIG. 28 . Next, once the information stored on the storage chip  864  of the smart card  862  has been received by the initiator device, such as by way of the NFC connection  1196 , the screen  1500  may be displayed. As discussed above, the screen  1500  may display the identity of the initiator, as well as the identity of the smart card payor, referred to here by the reference number  1526 . The screen  1500  may also display a payment amount  1528  that may correspond to the partial invoice owed by the credit card payor. Thus, the initiator may select the graphical button  686  to initiate the transaction authorization actions discussed above, such as transmitting the present information to the financial servers  100 , in order to credit the payment amount  1528  to the crediting account  216 . As shown in the screen  1510 , the notification message  1512  may be displayed if the present transaction is successfully processed, and the smart card  862  is charged for the amount  1528 . Thereafter, in order to complete the group transaction, the initiator may then select the graphical button  1514  to return to the screen  1400  and to collect the final outstanding payment from the credit card payor. 
     Continuing now to  FIG. 30K , upon selection of the graphical button  1514 , the screen  1400  may be updated and displayed on the initiator device  10 . As shown in the present figure, the listing  1402  on the updated screen  1400  may indicate that the partial invoice owed by the smart card payor has been received by the initiator, as referred to here by the reference numeral  1532 . Accordingly, to collect the remaining payment owed by the credit card payor, the initiator may select the graphical button  1466  to access the updated screen  1470 . As shown here, the updated screen  1470  may now only display the graphical button  1474 , which reflects the only remaining payment owed to the initiator. By selecting the graphical button  1474 , the initiator may proceed to the screen  1480 , and select the graphical button  1486  in order to obtain a payment from the credit card payor&#39;s magnetic credit card  954  using the image processing and information extraction techniques referred to here by the reference number  1540  and generally described above with reference to the transactions  952  and  970 , as depicted by  FIGS. 23 and 24 , respectively. For example, the initiator device  10  may acquire an image  1212  of the magnetic credit card  954  using the camera  48  discussed above. Once the image  1212  has been acquired by the initiator device  10 , one or more image processing techniques, such as the OCR techniques mentioned above, may be utilized to extract information from the image  1212  corresponding to the credit card account represented by the credit card  954 . 
     Continuing to  FIG. 30L , once the required credit card information has been extracted from the image  1212 , the screen  1060  discussed above with reference to  FIG. 26D  may be displayed. Though not illustrated here, it should be understood that the various techniques discussed above for editing the extracted card information for any inaccuracies that may have occurred during the image processing and extraction steps  1540  may also be provided. In order to credit the partial invoice owed by the credit card payor to the crediting account  216 , the initiator may select the graphical button  686 . The selection of the graphical button  686  may navigate the initiator to the screen  1066  which, as discussed above, may represent one or more additional authorization actions that must be performed by the credit card payor before the transaction may be processed. For example, the screen  1066  may require that the credit card payor enter the invoice amount in the text field  1068 , as well as provide a CVV code corresponding to the credit card  954  in the text field  1070 . Additionally, the credit card payor may have the option of providing an e-mail address in the text field  1072 , which may be used to transmit a payment receipt to the credit card payor once the transaction has been completed. 
     Once the information required by the field is displayed on screen  1066  has been provided by the credit card payor, the remaining transaction may be processed by selecting the graphical button  1074 . If the transaction is successfully processed, the screen  1510  may be displayed on the initiator device  10 , including the notification message  1512  indicating to the initiator that the final payment owed by the credit card payor has been received and credited to the crediting account  216 . The initiator may then exit the transaction by selecting the graphical button  1516 . Alternatively, if the initiator chooses to return to the invoice screen  1400 , the pop-up window  1542  may be displayed, as illustrated in the present figure. The pop-up window  1542  may indicate to the initiator that all outstanding payments have been received from the group transaction members. The pop-up window may also include the graphical button  1544  by which the user may select to initiate a subsequent group transaction and the graphical button  1546  by which the initiator may accept to exit the completed group transaction, and thus return to the home screen  29  of the device  10 , for example. 
     While the determination of each partial invoice in the above-described group transaction is provided by way of the apportioning of specific group invoice items, as illustrated in  FIGS. 30F-30H , it should be understood that this technique is merely intended to provide an example of one possible implementation. Indeed, in additional implementations, the transaction application  34  executed on the devices  10  or  92  may allow the initiator or the group transaction members themselves to specify a partial payment amount to satisfy their respective portions of the group invoice. 
     Continuing now to  FIG. 31 , an alternate implementation of a system configured to conduct the group transaction discussed above with reference to  FIG. 28 , is illustrated and generally designated here by the reference number  1560 . The illustrated transaction  1560  may differ from the transaction  1170  discussed above in that the vendor device  1176  may act as the initiating device for the presently illustrated transaction. Additionally, the device  10  in the present transaction  1560  may act as a payor making a payment with regard to a partial invoice to the vendor. As will be appreciated, the presently illustrated transaction may not include the primary transaction step  1172  and the secondary transaction step  1174  discussed in  FIG. 28 , but rather may be completed in a single group of transactions in which a payment is received from each of the credit card payor, the smart card payor, the NFC payor associated with the NFC payor device  92 , as well as the NFC payor associated with the NFC payor device  10 . For the purposes of differentiating between the users of the device  10  and the device  92 , the respective users of these devices shall be referred to as the first NFC payor (corresponding to the NFC payor device  10 ) and the second NFC payor (corresponding to the NFC payor device  92 ). As discussed above, the vendor device  1176  may establish an ad-hoc network by which all capable devices participating in the present transaction  1560  may join. For example, as illustrated here, the device  10  and the device  92  may join the ad-hoc network  1562  to receive the current invoice  1564 , which may reflect a group invoice collectively representing a total amount owed by each of the presently illustrated transaction members. Also, as discussed above, the first and second NFC payors may view the current invoice  1564 , which may be updated in real time during the course of the transaction  1560 , such as to reflect the apportioning of invoice items to corresponding transaction members, as well as to reflect the receipt of payments by the vendor from the group transaction members. 
     Once all the invoice items have been properly apportioned on the vendor device, partial invoices may be communicated to each of the payors participating in the transaction  1560 . For example, a partial invoice corresponding to the amount owed by the first NFC payor, represented here by the reference number  1568 , may be transmitted from the vendor device  1176  to the NFC payor device  10  by way of an established NFC connection  1566 . As discussed above, the establishment of the NFC connection  1566  may require a tap operation between each of the payor device  10  and the vendor device  176 . Upon receiving the partial invoice  1568 , the first NFC payor may select a payment account on the device  10 , and transmit the payment account information, represented here by reference number  1570 , to the vendor device  1176  by way of the NFC connection  166 . As discussed above, the vendor device  1176  may then transmit the transaction information  1572 , which may also include a selected crediting account, to the financial servers  100  by way of the network  1574 , which may be provided by any of the suitable networks discussed above. If the requested transaction  1572  is authorized by the financial servers, a payment, represented by the reference number  1576 , may be credited to the vendor&#39;s selected crediting account. Additionally, any payments received by the vendor device during the course of the present transaction  1560 , may be indicated on the current invoice  1564  being viewed by the first and second NFC payors by way of the ad-hoc network  1562 . As will be understood, the current invoice  1562  may be updated to reflect outstanding payments that have already been received. 
     Next, the vendor device may further transmit the partial invoice  1582  corresponding to the second NFC payor. For example, as illustrated in the present figure, the partial invoice  1582  may be transmitted to the payor device  92  by way of the NFC connection  166 . Thus, as discussed above, the second NFC payor may select a payment account, represented by the reference number  1584 , and transmit the corresponding information with regard to the selected payment account to the vendor device, which may then further transmit the information  1572  to the financial servers for authorization and processing. Additionally, the vendor device may also receive payment information from the smart card  862 , by way of the NFC network  1566 . For example, as discussed above, using an NFC tap operation, information stored on a storage chip contained within the smart card  862 , represented here by the reference number  1588 , may be transmitted to the vendor device  1176 . 
     The vendor device  1176  may also include a camera, such as the camera  48  discussed above, that may be used to obtain an image of the magnetic credit card  954 . Once obtained, the image, referred to here by the reference number  1590 , may be processed using one or more of the techniques discussed above for extracting account information corresponding to the credit card  954 . As will be understood, the payment information received from each of the payors participating in the group transaction  1560  may be transmitted to the financial servers  100  for processing. Thus, if the requested payments are authorized by the financial servers, a corresponding payment, represented here by the reference number  1576 , will be applied to the vendor&#39;s selected crediting account, as discussed above. 
     Referring now to  FIGS. 32A-32D , a series of screen images depicting the operation of the vendor device  1176  in carrying out the transaction  1560  is illustrated in accordance with a further implementation of the presently described techniques. It should be understood that the vendor device  1176  may include a transaction application similar to the transaction application  34  discussed above with reference to the electronic device  10 . For example, as shown in  FIG. 32A , the screen  110  may be displayed on the vendor device  1176 . By selecting the graphical button  114 , the vendor may navigate to the screen  476 , and further select the graphical button  482  to access the graphical buttons  1272 ,  1274 , and  1276  on the screen  1270 . Here, the vendor may initiate the group transaction  1560  by selecting the graphical button  1272 , thus advancing to the screen  1278 . 
     As discussed above, the screen  1278  may display several options for performing a group transaction. Here, instead of selecting the graphical button  1280 , as discussed above with reference to the transaction  1170  of  FIG. 28 , the option represented by the check box  1282  may be selected instead. Once selected, the vendor may further select the graphical button  1284  to proceed with the present transaction  1560 . For instance, the selection of the graphical button  1284  may navigate the vendor to the screen  1594  depicted in  FIG. 32B . 
     As discussed above, the present transaction may occur in the context of a restaurant bill in which a listing of tables at the restaurant location, referred to here by the reference numeral  1596 , is displayed. Each of the displayed tables may include an indicator with regard to the status of the members seated at each table. For instance, a table may be indicated as “ready,” meaning that the customers have finished the meal and are ready to pay the bill. Additionally, empty tables may be designated as “empty,” and tables in which the customers are still eating may be designated as “pending.” For example, the table  1598  in the listing  1596  may indicate that the customers are ready to pay the invoice. As illustrated, by selecting the table  1594 , the vendor may navigate to the screen  1600 . The screen  1600  may be similar to the screen  1370  discussed above with reference to  FIG. 30C , in that the presently illustrated screen may establish an ad-hoc network, by which other capable devices, such as the devices  10  and  92 , may join. The screen  1600  may display the identity of the vendor  1602 , as well as an identifier for the present transaction  1604 . Once all capable devices, such as the devices  10  and  92 , have joined the ad-hoc network  1194 , as indicated here by the reference numbers  1608  and  1610 , the vendor may select the graphical button  1606  to continue to the screen  1614  depicted in  FIG. 32C . 
     As shown in the screen  1614 , a listing of the transaction members  1616 , which may initially include the first and second NFC payors, may be displayed. The screen  1614  may also display a listing of the group invoice items  1330 . By selecting the graphical button  1406 , the vendor may perform the functions generally depicted by the screen images in  FIG. 30E  to add the credit card payor and the smart card payor to the present transaction, thus updating the listing of group transaction members  1616 . Next, once all the group transaction members have been added to the present transaction, the vendor may proceed with the apportionment of the group invoice items to the corresponding transaction members. For instance, as discussed above, the various invoice items, such as the invoice item  1430 , may be apportioned to the respective group transaction member using a drag/drop operation. 
     Continuing now to  FIG. 32D , the vendor may continue to apportion all the remaining group invoice items  1330 , as illustrated in the updated screen  1614  of the present figure. Additionally, it should be noted that the amount owed by each of the group transaction members  1616  may be updated during the apportionment process. As discussed above, once the amounts of each partial invoice have been determined, the vendor may select the graphical button  1466  in order to proceed to the screen  1620 , in which the vendor may initiate the process of collecting the corresponding payments from each of the group transaction members. For instance, the illustrated screen  1620  may display the graphical buttons  1622 ,  1624 ,  1626 , and  1628 . As discussed above, each of these graphical buttons may correspond to an amount owed by a respective one of the group transaction members  1616 . Thus, in a manner similar to the steps depicted by the screens illustrated in  FIGS. 30I-30K , the vendor may collect a payment from each of the group transaction members by selecting one of the graphical buttons  1622 ,  1624 ,  1626 , and  1628 . 
     Upon selection of one of the displayed graphical buttons  1622 ,  1624 ,  1626 , and  1628 , payment information may be received from the selected group transaction member. Thereafter, a corresponding technique for processing each transaction in accordance with the method by which the payment information is obtained may be carried out, as indicated by the reference number  1630 . For example, as will be understood, the selection of the graphical button  1622  may initiate an NFC payment request, such as by way of the NFC connection  1566  depicted in  FIG. 31 , to the first NFC payor on the device  10 . Accordingly, the first NFC payor may provide payment information, as represented by the reference number  1570  in  FIG. 31 , to the vendor device  1176  by way of the NFC connection  1566 . As will be understood, the vendor may proceed to collect a payment from each of the group transaction members until all outstanding payments have been received. Additionally, though not illustrated in the present figure, it should be understood that each of group transaction members may have the option of specifying gratuity amounts, if necessary, prior to transmitting the payment information to the vendor device  1176 . 
     Once all outstanding payments are received by the vendor, a popup window  1632  may be displayed on the screen  1614 . As shown in  FIG. 32D , the pop-up window may indicate to the vendor that all outstanding payments have been received from the group transaction members  1616 . Additionally, the pop-up window  1632  may display the graphical button  1634  by which the vendor may initiate a subsequent group transaction, and the graphical button  1636  by which the vendor may select to exit the group transaction application. Although the present group transaction techniques have been described in the embodiments illustrated in  FIG. 28  and  FIG. 31  specifically in the context of apportioning a restaurant bill, it should be understood that the present techniques may be applicable to any group transaction settings in which multiple payors are included. 
     As shown in the presently illustrated figures, the various functionalities discussed herein may be provided by way of the transaction application (e.g., represented by the icon  34 ) stored on a device incorporating one or more aspects of the present disclosure. Indeed, the transaction application may include encoded instructions stored on one or more machine readable media, such as the storage device  54 , and configured to be executed by the processor  50  to provide for one or more of the functionalities of the device  10  discussed above. Additionally, it should be appreciated that the transaction application may also include encoded instructions defining the various graphical screen images and user interface functions discussed throughout the present disclosure. However, it should also be understood that the functionalities set forth and described in the above figures may be achieved using a wide variety graphical elements and visual schemes, and that the present disclosure is not intended to be limited to the precise user interface conventions depicted above. 
     While the present invention may be susceptible to various modifications and alternative forms, specific embodiments have been shown by way of example in the drawings and will be described in detail herein. However, it should be understood that the techniques set forth in the present disclosure are not intended to be limited to the particular forms disclosed. Rather, the invention is to cover all modifications, equivalents and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of the disclosure as defined by the following appended claims.

Metadata:
Filing Date: 20080930
Publication Date: 20190813
Grant Date: 20190813
Priority Date: 20080930
Inventors: LIN, GLORIA
MIKHAK, AMIR MAHMOOD
NAKAJIMA, TAIDO LANTZ
MAYO, SEAN ANTHONY
ROSENBLATT, MICHAEL
Assignee: APPLE INC
CPC Classifications: [{"code": "G06Q40/00", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04L63/0492", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G06Q20/105", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G06Q20/322", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G06Q20/32", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G06Q20/3278", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04L63/0853", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G06Q20/223", "inventive": true, "first": true, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G06Q20/042", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G06Q20/40", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G06Q20/326", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G06Q20/32", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G06Q20/326", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G06Q20/32", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G06Q20/223", "inventive": true, "first": true, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G06Q20/042", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04L63/0853", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04L63/0492", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G06Q20/105", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G06Q20/105", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G06Q40/00", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G06Q20/40", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G06Q20/3278", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G06Q20/322", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G06Q20/223", "inventive": true, "first": true, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04L63/0492", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G06Q40/00", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G06Q20/042", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04L63/0853", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G06Q20/40", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G06Q20/3278", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G06Q20/322", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}]
Family ID: 42058500