Systems and methods for ordering and payment

Abstract

Systems and methods for product ordering and payment are disclosed. Via use of the system, ordering and payment for items and services is simplified, secured, and made more convenient. Exemplary systems suggest orders, for example based on the location of the user, health information, and the like, and may automatically place orders with merchants. Payment may be made directly to the merchant from a user device, or indirectly through a payment issuer.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A system configured for location-based ordering of store items, the system comprising:
 a user device comprising a processor, a memory, a display, a graphical user interface (GUI) configured to permit input by a user, a transmitter, a user application, and a global positioning system (GPS), the user device being configured to communicate with a payment issuer server that is in communication with a monetary account of the user;   a merchant server in communication the user device and in communication with a products database that contains information, including price, about products provided by the merchant, wherein the merchant server is configured to receive an order from the user device;   a merchant payment device in communication with the merchant server;   wherein the user device is configured to communicate with the payment issuer server after receiving a price from the merchant server, and the payment issuer server verifies that the monetary account has sufficient funds to pay the price, and a payment is transferred to the merchant payment device without transferring an account number of the user.   
     
     
         2 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein neither the merchant server nor the merchant server communicates with the payment issuer server. 
     
     
         3 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the user device is configured to determine by the GPS and user application, a proximity of the user device to a physical location of the merchant. 
     
     
         4 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the products database includes nutritional information of one or more food items and the nutritional information is transmitted by the merchant server to the user device, and the display of the user device displays the nutritional information. 
     
     
         5 . The system of  claim 4 , wherein the memory of the user device includes dietary restrictions of the user, and the products database selects the one or more food items based on the dietary restrictions and transmits the nutrition information of the selected one or more food items to the user device. 
     
     
         6 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the user device further transmits to the payment issuer server a user account number and a user account expiration date. 
     
     
         7 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein either the user device or the payment issuer server transmits the payment. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising storing, in the memory, at least two of (a) the merchant's name, (b) one or more items previously purchased or ordered from the merchant, (c) price information for the one or more items previously ordered or purchased, (d) the location of the merchant, and (e) offers by the merchant for the sale of items. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the storage is configured to store information regarding previous visits by the user to the merchant and the products purchased during the previous visits. 
     
     
         10 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the item ordered, its price, and the name of the merchant are stored in the memory. 
     
     
         11 . The system of  claim 1 , further comprising transmitting, by the merchant server and to the user device, price information for the item. 
     
     
         12 . The system of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 transmitting, by the merchant server and to the user device, a signal with the time the order will be ready; and   displaying, on the display of the user device, the time the order will be ready.   
     
     
         13 . The system of  claim 5 , further comprising:
 determining, by the processor and the GPS, merchants within a given distance from the user device that have food items compatible with the user's dietary constraints.   
     
     
         14 . The system of  claim 1 , further comprising transmitting, to the merchant server and responsive to the user selecting a function of the user application, authorization for payment for an order at the merchant belonging to someone other than the user. 
     
     
         15 . The system of  claim 5 , wherein the user device memory further includes at least one of the user's: weight, age, measured blood sugar level, measured blood pressure, heart condition, diabetic status, and pregnancy status. 
     
     
         16 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the nutrition information of the food item comprises at least one of: an ingredient list, amount by weight of an ingredient, calorie information, carbohydrate information, vitamin information, fat information, or sugar information. 
     
     
         17 . The system of  claim 1 , further comprising transmitting, from the user device and to the merchant server, an instruction to place the user in an order queue maintained on the merchant server. 
     
     
         18 . The system of  claim 15 , wherein the user application is configured to place an alert on the display if a selected food item is deemed incompatible with the user's dietary constraints. 
     
     
         19 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the merchant server is configured to suggest products to the user device based on one or more of (a) sales items, (b) the user's past purchases, and (c) the location of the user device. 
     
     
         20 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the monetary account is one of a credit account or debit account.