Methods and device for touchless payment processing

Abstract

A transaction is maintained in a shopping cart and processed by a transaction manager in cooperation with a transaction application of a user device. The status device displays a code that when obtained by user device and provided to the transaction manager links the cart to the status device, Acquisition of the code is an indication that the customer associated with the cart is ready to checkout and pay for the items in the cart. The entire payment processing between the application, the transaction manager, and a payment service is monitored by transaction manager. Payment processing statuses for the payment as it processes in real time are sent from the transaction manager to the status device. Status device displays payment status messages on a display of that device and/or illuminates colored lights and/or plays specialized audible sounds indicative of the statuses as the payment processing continues in real time.

1 . A method, comprising:
 configuring, by a server, a touchless payment status device for communicating payment status in real time for a transaction of a customer by providing an initial code to the touchless payment device for touchless payment verification for the customer during a payment for a transaction of the customer who is at the touchless payment status device and operating a mobile device;   receiving, by the server and from the mobile device operated by the customer, a code obtained from the touchless payment status device, wherein the code comprises a portion of the initial code and an Internet Protocol (IP) address of the touchless payment status device;   sending, by the server, a first status message to the touchless payment status device indicating that the customer has initiated a payment for the transaction;   interacting, by the server, with the mobile device and a payment service to process the payment on behalf of the customer; and   providing, by the server, second status messages to the touchless payment status device representing changes in the payment statuses for the payment based on the interacting.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein configuring further includes providing the touchless payment status device with a link or an address for receiving the payment statuses. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein configuring further includes obtaining a touchless payment status device identifier from the touchless payment status device. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 3 , wherein obtaining further includes generating the code comprising the link or the address and the touchless payment status device identifier. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 4 , wherein generating further includes providing the code to the touchless payment status device for displaying on a display of the touchless payment status device. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 5 , wherein providing the code further includes providing the code to the touchless payment status device as a Quick Response (QR) code. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein receiving further includes identifying from the mobile device that the customer has requested to provide the payment for the transaction. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein receiving further includes validating that the code is a valid code. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein receiving further includes checking items associated with the transaction for restricted items requiring customer identity validation by an attendant. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 9 , wherein receiving further includes checking the items associated with the transaction for particular items that require rescanning or re-entry for validation. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein providing further includes providing the second status messages to a management terminal that is in proximity to the touchless payment status device, wherein the management terminal operated by an attendant. 
     
     
         12 . A method, comprising:
 obtaining, by a server, an Internet Protocol (IP) address from a touchless payment status device to register the touchless payment status device as a frictionless payment status device;   generating, by the server, a code comprising a link to the server and the IP address;   sending, by the server, the code to the touchless payment device;   maintaining, by the server, a transaction for items of a customer in a virtual cart;   obtaining, by the server, a second code comprising a portion of the code and received from a mobile device linked to a customer;   associating, by the server, the touchless payment device to the virtual cart based on the second code; and   sending, by the server, payment messages to the touchless payment device for displaying to the customer on a display associated with the touchless payment device using the IP address and items of the virtual cart based on interactions received from the customer through the mobile device.   
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 12  further comprising, processing, by the server, payment details received during the interactions from the customer through the mobile device using transaction details associated with the items of the virtual cart. 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 13  further comprising, sending, by the server, a transaction receipt to the touchless payment device for presentation on the display to the customer. 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 14  further comprising, sending, by the server, an instruction to reset the second code for presentation on the display for a next transaction at the touchless payment status device. 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 12  further comprising, sending, by the server, finalized totals for the items of the virtual cart to the mobile device for confirmation by the customer on the mobile device through a user-facing interface of an application processing on the mobile device. 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 17  further comprising, sending, by the server, a payment in progress message to the touchless payment status device for presentation on the display to the customer while the customer continues interacting with the server through the user-facing interface of the application on the mobile device. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 17  further comprising, sending, by the server, a transaction receipt for the items of the virtual cart to the user-facing interface of the application. 
     
     
         19 . A system, comprising:
 at least one server comprising at least one processor and a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium;   the non-transitory computer-readable storage medium comprises executable instructions; and   the executable instructions executed by the at least one processor from the non-transitory computer-readable storage medium causing the at least one processor to perform operations comprising:
 registering a touchless payment status device for touchless payment transactions performed on mobile devices of customers without touching the touchless payment status device; 
 decoding a code received from a particular mobile device that was captured by the particular mobile device off a display of the touchless payment status device and identifying the touchless payment status device and the particular mobile device; 
 linking a virtual cart associated with a particular touchless payment transaction of a particular customer to the touchless payment status device based on device identifier associated with the particular mobile device; 
 sending a payment in progress message to the touchless payment status device to present on the display; 
 sending finalized totals for items of the virtual cart to a user-facing interface of the particular mobile device; 
 interacting with the particular customer through the user-facing interface of the particular mobile device to obtain payment details for a payment of the particular customer for the particular touchless payment transaction; 
 processing the payment details with a payment service and confirming the payment was received; 
 sending a payment completed message to the touchless payment status device to present on the display and to cause the touchless payment status device to illuminate a light a certain color or play a distinctive audible sound on the touchless payment status device; and 
 sending a transaction receipt for the particular touchless payment transaction to the user-facing interface of the mobile device for viewing by the particular customer. 
   
     
     
         20 . The system of  claim 19 , wherein the at least one server is one of multiple servers configured to cooperate as a cloud processing environment.