Wallet Consolidator and Related Methods of Processing A Transaction Using A Wallet Consolidator

Abstract

A wallet consolidator to process a transaction and related methods, are provided. An embodiment of a wallet consolidator can include a controller to control operation of the wallet consolidator, and an input device connected to the controller and positioned to receive a copy of information. The input device, for example, can include a magnetic stripe reader/writer for reading and writing magnetic stripes, a bar code scanner for scanning bar codes, or a keypad, among others, to input user selections and commands. An embodiment of a wallet consolidator can also include a memory for storing information provided to the wallet consolidator, and an output device connected to the controller and positioned to communicate at least a portion of the information stored in the memory device to a computer device, e.g., point-of-sale terminal, dumb terminal, and/or database, located at a point-of-sale, to process a transaction. The output device can include a wireline communications interface, a wireless communications interface, a radio frequency (RF) interface, or an infrared (IR) interface, among others.

1 - 25 . (canceled) 
     
     
         26 . A computer-implemented method for facilitating transactions, comprising:
 receiving, by a wireless communication device, one or more of coupon information, identification information relating to a user of the wireless communication device, and financial account information to enable completion of a financial transaction with a point-of-sale terminal at a merchant location;   saving, by the wireless communication device, the one or more of coupon information, the identification information, and the financial account information;   receiving, by the wireless communication device, a request for information to complete the financial transaction; and   transmitting, by the wireless communication device, at least one of the coupon information, the identification information, and the financial account information to the point-of-sale terminal at the merchant location to complete the financial transaction.   
     
     
         27 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 26 , wherein the point-of-sale terminal is separate from the wireless communication device. 
     
     
         28 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 26 , wherein the financial account information comprises information for one or more of a credit card account, a bank account, a debit account, a gift account, a stored value account, and a loyalty account. 
     
     
         29 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 26 , further comprising receiving, by the wireless communication device, a selection of information, wherein the selected information comprises the at least one of the coupon information, the identification information, and the financial account information to transmit to the point-of-sale terminal at the merchant location to complete the financial transaction, and wherein the selected information is transmitted to the point-of-sale terminal at the merchant location to complete the financial transaction. 
     
     
         30 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 26 , wherein the one or more of coupon information, the identification information, and the financial account information is received by reading information from a magnetic stripe. 
     
     
         31 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 26 , wherein the one or more of coupon information, the identification information, and the financial account information is received by entering the information using a keypad. 
     
     
         32 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 26 , wherein the one or more of coupon information, the identification information, and the financial account information is received using a barcode scanner. 
     
     
         33 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 26 , wherein transmitting the at least one of the coupon information, the identification information, and the financial account information to the point-of-sale terminal at the merchant location to complete the financial transaction comprises displaying information on a display screen to be read by the point-of-sale terminal. 
     
     
         34 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 26 , wherein transmitting the at least one of the coupon information, the identification information, and the financial account information to the point-of-sale terminal at the merchant location to complete the financial transaction comprises transmitting information using a radio frequency transmission. 
     
     
         35 . A wireless communication device, comprising:
 a housing:   a display device supported by the housing;   a wireless telecommunication interface located within the housing and configured to communicate over a wireless telecommunication network with a remote database;   one or more interfaces located within the housing and configured to:
 receive one or more of coupon information, identification information relating to a user of the wireless communication device, and financial account information to enable completion of a financial transaction with a point-of-sale terminal at a merchant location, and 
 transmit to the point-of-sale terminal at least one of the coupon information, the identification information, and the financial account information to complete the financial transaction; 
   a memory located within the housing and configured to store the coupon information, the identification information, and the financial account information; and   a controller located within the housing and configured to display one or more of the coupon information, the identification information, and the financial account information on the display device.   
     
     
         36 . The wireless communication device of  claim 35 , wherein the wireless telecommunication interface is configured to communicate over a wireless telecommunication network with the remote database and to receive therefrom at least one of the identification information and the electronic commerce information. 
     
     
         37 . The wireless communication device of  claim 35 , further comprising an alphanumeric keypad supported by the housing. 
     
     
         38 . The wireless communication device of  claim 37 , wherein the display device is touch sensitive and wherein the alphanumeric keypad comprises an alphanumeric keypad displayed on the touch sensitive display device. 
     
     
         39 . The wireless communication device of  claim 35 , wherein the displayed coupon information is a bar code associated with coupon information. 
     
     
         40 . The wireless communication device of  claim 35 , further comprising an optical device capable of reading a bar code and supported by the housing. 
     
     
         41 . The wireless communication device of  claim 35 , wherein the memory is selected from the group consisting essentially of semiconductor memory, a smart card, flash, RAM, magnetic memory, optical memory, and combinations thereof 
     
     
         42 . A computer program product, comprising:
 a non-transitory computer-readable medium having computer-readable program instructions embodied therein that when executed by a computer cause the computer to facilitate transactions, the computer-readable program instructions comprising:
 computer-readable program instructions for receiving one or more of coupon information, identification information relating to a user, and financial account information to enable completion of a financial transaction with a point-of-sale terminal at a merchant location; 
 computer-readable program instructions for saving the one or more of coupon information, the identification information, and the financial account information; 
 computer-readable program instructions for receiving a request for information to complete the financial transaction; and 
 computer-readable program instructions for transmitting at least one of the coupon information, the identification information, and the financial account information to the point-of-sale terminal at the merchant location to complete the financial transaction. 
   
     
     
         43 . The computer program product of  claim 42 , further comprising computer-readable program instructions for receiving a selection of information, wherein the selected information comprises the at least one of the coupon information, the identification information, and the financial account information to transmit to the point-of-sale terminal at the merchant location to complete the financial transaction, and wherein the selected information is transmitted to the point-of-sale terminal at the merchant location to complete the financial transaction. 
     
     
         44 . The computer program product of  claim 42 , wherein the one or more of coupon information, the identification information, and the financial account information is received by reading information from a magnetic stripe, entering the information using a keypad, or using a barcode scanner. 
     
     
         45 . The computer program product of  claim 42 , wherein transmitting the at least one of the coupon information, the identification information, and the financial account information to the point-of-sale terminal at the merchant location to complete the financial transaction comprises computer-readable program instructions for displaying information on a display screen to be read by the point-of-sale terminal or computer-readable program instructions for transmitting information using a radio frequency transmission.