Nfc-based options selection

Abstract

A mobile electronic device corresponding to the present invention communicates with a point-of-sale terminal using near field data communications when making a purchase, prompting an offer regarding a warranty on an item purchased before the purchase is complete.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method for providing contactless communication based options, the method comprising:
 initiating a purchase transaction of at least one item over a contactless communication interface of a mobile device, wherein the purchase transaction is initiated at a point-of-sale (POS) terminal;   retrieving a plurality of options associated with the at least one item, the plurality of options retrieved over a communication network from a network server;   receiving a code indicative of a selection of at least one of the options associated with the item, the code received from the mobile device;   validating the code as corresponding to the at least one option available for the item; and   modifying the initiated purchase transaction in accordance with the at least one option associated with the validated code, wherein the modified purchase transaction includes at least one additional item corresponding to the at least one option associated with the validated code.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein validating the code comprises:
 extracting the code from a communication sent by the mobile device to the POS terminal;   sending the extracted code from the POS terminal to the network server; and   receiving information regarding the at least one option sent by the network server to the POS terminal in response to the extracted code, wherein modifying the purchase transaction is based on the received information.   
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein retrieving the options includes querying the network server for the options associated with the at least one item. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 3 , wherein the network server queries a third party for the options associated with the at least one item. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising providing the plurality of options associated with the at least one item for display at the mobile device. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising displaying the plurality of options associated with the at least one item on a screen of the POS terminal. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising storing the plurality of options in a database. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 7 , wherein the database further stores at least one of identification of the mobile device, identification of the POS terminal, identification of the purchase transaction, a price of one of the options, a provider of one of the options, details of one of the options, and the selection of the at least one option. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the code indicative of the selection of at least one of the options associated with the item is generated at the mobile device. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising transmitting information associated with the at least one item from the POS terminal to the network server. 
     
     
         11 . An apparatus for providing contactless communication based options, the apparatus comprising:
 a contactless interface that initiates a purchase transaction of at least one item with a contactless communication interface of a mobile device;   a communication interface that communicates over a communication network, wherein the communication interface retrieves a plurality of options associated with the at least one item over a communication network from a network server, and receives a code indicative of a selection of at least one of the options associated with the item, the code received from the mobile device; and   a processor that executes instructions stored in memory, wherein the execution of the instructions by the processor:
 validates the code as corresponding to the at least one option available for the item; and 
 modifies the initiated purchase transaction in accordance with the at least one option associated with the validated code, wherein the modified purchase transaction includes at least one additional item corresponding to the at least one option associated with the validated code. 
   
     
     
         12 . The apparatus of  claim 11 , wherein the processor executes further instructions to validate the code by:
 extracting the code from a communication sent by the mobile device to the POS terminal;   sending the extracted code from the POS terminal to the network server; and   receiving information regarding the at least one option sent by the network server to the POS terminal in response to the extracted code, wherein modifying the purchase transaction is based on the received information.   
     
     
         13 . The apparatus of  claim 11 , wherein the communication interface queries the network server for the options associated with the at least one item. 
     
     
         14 . The apparatus of  claim 11 , wherein the network server queries a third party for the options associated with the at least one item. 
     
     
         15 . The apparatus of  claim 11 , wherein the mobile device displays the plurality of options associated with the at least one item for display. 
     
     
         16 . The apparatus of  claim 11 , further comprising a POS terminal screen that displays the plurality of options associated with the at least one item. 
     
     
         17 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , further comprising a database in memory that stores the plurality of options. 
     
     
         18 . The apparatus of  claim 17 , wherein the database further stores at least one of identification of the mobile device, identification of the POS terminal, identification of the purchase transaction, a price of one of the options, a provider of one of the options, details of one of the options, and the selection of the at least one option. 
     
     
         19 . The apparatus of  claim 11 , wherein the mobile device generates the code indicative of the selection of at least one of the options associated with the item. 
     
     
         20 . The apparatus of  claim 11 , wherein the communication interface transmits information associated with the at least one item to the network server. 
     
     
         21 . A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium, having embodied thereon a program executable by a processor to perform a method for providing contactless communication based options, the method comprising:
 initiating a purchase transaction of at least one item over a contactless communication interface of a mobile device, wherein the purchase transaction is initiated at a point-of-sale (POS) terminal;   retrieving a plurality of options associated with the at least one item, the plurality of options retrieved over a communication network from a network server;   receiving a code indicative of a selection of at least one of the options associated with the item, the code received from the mobile device;   validating the code as corresponding to the at least one option available for the item; and   modifying the initiated purchase transaction in accordance with the at least one option associated with the validated code, wherein the modified purchase transaction includes at least one additional item corresponding to the at least one option associated with the validated code.