Automatic billing payment system

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11222352-B2
Application number	US-201816011421-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jun 18, 2018
Priority date	Oct 28, 2013
Publication date	Jan 11, 2022
Grant date	Jan 11, 2022

Abstract

A payment system can accept an electronic reservation for a merchant restaurant in response to a reservation request received from a user. The payment system can detect that the user is present at a location associated with the merchant restaurant based at least in part on an indication received from a mobile device associated with the user. The payment system can determine a completion of a service associated with the electronic reservation. The payment system can provide an electronic bill for the service to be displayed on the mobile device of the user. Based on receiving an authorization of the electronic bill from the mobile device of the user, the payment system can charge, through a card-less payment transaction, the user for at least an amount disclosed in the electronic bill.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A method for automating processing of a transaction between a first customer and a first merchant based on wireless connectivity between a merchant device associated with the first merchant and a customer device associated with the first customer, the method comprising:
storing, by a payment service system, customer information for a plurality of customers including the first customer, wherein the customer information includes a customer identifier and a payment account identifier corresponding to a payment account associated with each customer of the plurality of customers, wherein the payment service system is in communication with a plurality of merchant devices at a plurality of merchant locations;
detecting, by the merchant device associated with the first merchant and based on one or more wireless communications between the merchant device and the customer device associated with the first customer, that the customer device is within a perimeter of a merchant location associated with the first merchant;
initiating a check-in automatically based on detecting that the customer device is within the perimeter of the merchant location;
receiving, by the payment service system and from the customer device after the check-in, an authorization to automatically pay the first merchant for purchase activity upon a check-out;
transferring information about the first customer from the payment service system to the merchant device associated with the first merchant between the check-in and the check-out, the information about the first customer confirming the authorization;
receiving, by the merchant device, input about the purchase activity based on interactions of the first customer with the first merchant between the check-in and the check-out;
detecting, by the merchant device and based on the merchant device being no longer able to wirelessly communicate with the customer device, that the customer device is no longer within the perimeter of the merchant location;
initiating the check-out automatically based on detecting that the customer device is no longer within the perimeter of the merchant location;
transferring transaction information identifying the purchase activity and a customer identifier of the first customer from the merchant device to the payment service system automatically in response to the check-out;
identifying, by the payment service system, a payment account associated with the customer identifier of the first customer; and
charging, by the payment service system, the payment account associated with the customer identifier of the first customer for the purchase activity based on the authorization.

2. The method of claim 1 , further comprising receiving, by the merchant device, input identifying the customer identifier of the first customer.

3. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
receiving, by the merchant device, input about additional purchase activity based on interactions of a second customer with the first merchant between the check-in and the check-out;
identifying, by the payment service system, a second payment account associated with a customer identifier of a second customer, wherein the transaction information also identifies the additional purchase activity and the customer identifier of the second customer; and
charging, by the payment service system, the second payment account associated with the customer identifier of the second customer for additional purchase activity.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the one or more wireless communications between the merchant device and the customer device include one or more short-range wireless communications.

5. A method for automating processing of a transaction between a first customer and a first merchant, the method comprising:
storing, by a merchant device associated with the first merchant, an identifier corresponding to the first customer;
detecting, by a merchant device associated with the first merchant and based on one or more wireless communications between the merchant device and a customer device associated with the first customer, that the customer device is within a perimeter of a merchant location associated with the first merchant;
initiating a check-in automatically based on detecting that the customer device is within the perimeter of the merchant location;
receiving, from the customer device after the check-in, an authorization to automatically pay the first merchant for purchase activity upon a check-out;
receiving information about the first customer from a payment service system at the merchant device associated with the first merchant between the check-in and the check-out, the information about the first customer confirming the authorization;
receiving, by the merchant device, input about purchase activity based on interactions of the first customer with the first merchant between the check-in and the check-out;
detecting, by the merchant device and based on the merchant device being no longer able to wirelessly communicate with the customer device, that the customer device is no longer within the perimeter of the merchant location;
initiating the check-out automatically based on detecting that the customer device is no longer within the perimeter of the merchant location; and
transferring transaction information from the merchant device to the payment service system automatically in response to the check-out, the transaction information identifying the purchase activity and the identifier corresponding to the first customer based on the authorization.

6. The method of claim 5 , further comprising reading the identifier corresponding to the first customer via a point-of-sale reader associated with the merchant device and from a financial payment card associated with the first customer.

7. The method of claim 5 , wherein the identifier corresponding to the first customer identifies a user account that corresponds to the first customer at the payment service system, wherein the user account is linked to a payment account associated with the first customer.

8. The method of claim 5 , wherein the one or more wireless communications between the merchant device and the customer device include one or more short-range wireless communications.

9. The method of claim 5 , wherein the perimeter of the merchant location corresponds to a range of the one or more wireless communications.

10. The method of claim 5 , further comprising:
storing, by the merchant device associated with the first merchant, a second identifier corresponding to a second customer; and
receiving, by the merchant device, input about additional purchase activity based on interactions of the second customer with the first merchant between the check-in and the check-out, wherein the transaction information also identifies the additional purchase activity and the second identifier corresponding to a second customer.

11. The method of claim 10 , further comprising:
calculating an amount due to the first merchant associated with the purchase activity and the additional purchase activity; and
apportioning the amount due to the first merchant into a first amount corresponding to the purchase activity and a second amount corresponding to the additional purchase activity.

12. The method of claim 5 , wherein the transaction information includes a request that the payment service system transfer an amount corresponding to the purchase activity from a payment account associated with the identifier corresponding to the first customer to a merchant account associated with the first merchant.

13. The method of claim 5 , wherein the one or more wireless communic

Assignees

• Square Inc

Inventors

• Rose Cody

Classifications

• G06Q30/04

  Billing or invoicing · CPC title

• G06Q50/12

  Hotels or restaurants · CPC title

• G06Q20/20

  Point-of-sale [POS] network systems · CPC title

• G06Q20/3223

  Realising banking transactions through M-devices · CPC title

• G06Q20/102

  Bill distribution or payments · CPC title