Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
CA 02244074 2002-02-22
CARD TRANSACTION SETTLEMENT METHOD IN POINT OF SALE SYSTEMS
Background of the Invention
The present invention relates to a card transaction settlement method in a
point
of sale system, afterward referred as POS system, which is capable of using a
credit
card or a debit card, and more particularly, to the card transaction
settlement method
in which an actual transaction is made after authorizing an Approval Before a
Card
Transaction, hereinafter referred to ABCT, for a Virtual Transaction Amount,
hereinafter
referred to VTA, is given, and in which when the actual transaction is
completed, an
1 o Approval After a Card Transaction, hereinafter referred to AACT, for an
Actual
Transaction Amount, hereinafter referred to ATA, is requested for the
transaction
settlement whereby the settlement with the card can be conveniently
accomplished
since any conflict between the merchant and the consumer, caused by the
difference
between the transaction amount and the debited amount against the card and so
on,
can be eliminated, and whereby the merchant has less of the financial risk for
refund,
and whereby the signature is not necessary in the signature form, resulting
that true
non-cashier self-service sales can be introduced to the sales management
system.
Herein, the VTA may also be a maximum-available amount, a user-entered anount,
or a system-established available amount which is already stored in the POS
system
2 o at different values, the maximum allowed amount values.
The present invention is not restricted to any particular kind of machine,
although
it is described below, by way of example, with reference to a self service
lubricator in
the gas station.
Description of the Prior Art
1
'' CA 02244074 1998-09-09
In general, the conventional sales management system is made to settle the
transaction payment with either the card or cash, and particularly in
expensive sales
management system, the merchant installs the self-service POS system
integrally
including the sales management system for controlling the operation of the
sales
machines according to the result of the approval condition from the card
terminal
connected through the communication cable either to card issuing institutions
or to the
value-added network communication enterprise so as to increase the sales. But
in such
a system, the operator who is able to manipulate the card terminal and sales
management machine should stay in the place with the system. U.S. Patent No.
l0 5,652,786 on May 16, filed by Rogers, 1996 discloses an automated
interactive bill
payment system for processing payment transactions using debit card numbers
without
the requirement of a personal identification number.
As an example, FIG. 1 illustrates a schematic view of a self-service gas
supplying method with the credit card/debit card settlement when the self
service sales
system is applied to the general type lubricator. Referring to FIG. 1, the
card holder
requests to set the payment amount for the gas to be supplied by giving the
credit card
or the debit card, the sales clerk asks the consumer to sign in a signature
form and sets
the payment amount for the gas purchase into the lubricator with the use of
the POS
system after an acquirement of the card approval for the transaction amount
for the
current gas purchase settlement with the use of the card terminal. Therefore,
the
consumer who moved to the lubricator begins to feeding the car with the gas
using a
nozzle gun 5.
FIG. 2 is a schematic view of the self-service supplying gas method making
settlement with either the credit card or the debit card using the self-
service POS
2
CA 02244074 2002-02-22
system in which the card terminal and the POS system are
integrated together. Referring now to FIc~. 2, the consumer
passes the card to be read through the credit card
recognition unit c:>r thc: debit card recognition. unit 2 (or
the cash verifier 3) which are installed on an outdoor
terminal placed near t'ze lubricator, and then sets either
the desired payment amount or the desired gas amount with a
plurality of setting keys 1. Then the outdoor terminal
automatically acquires the card approval through the serial
communication, anti prints the payment approval slip with
the use of the receipt print-er 4, and then sets the
approved payment amount onto the lubricator. Thereafter,
the consumer move; to the lubricator to feed the car with
t=r~e ga:~ us ing the no ~ z 1w gun .'~ by hialsel f .
FIG. 3 is a schematic view of the self-service gas supply method making a
payment with either the credit card or the debit card with the use of the self-
service gas
supply system comprising a credit card recognition unit, a debit card
recognition unit,
a cash verifier, a receipt issuer, and setting keys. Referring to FIG. 3, the
consumer
~ ~ sets either the desired payment amount or the desired gas amount With the
use of the
setting keys 1 after making the card to be read by the credit card recognition
unit or the
debit card recognition unit 2 arranged on the lubricator. Herein, the self-
service gas
supply system acquires the approval code for the card either via the POS
system
installed in the office near from the lubricator, or with a serial
communication in the self-
service gas supply system itself, and then sets either the approved payment
amount or
the approved gas amount. Therefore, the consumer begins to feed the car with
the gas
3 C)
with the use of the nozzle gun 5 by himself. When the consumer completed
filling up
the gas, the self-service gas supplying system prints the receipt with the
receipt printer
4. After the consumer receives the receipt, the self-service gas supply
process is
CA 02244074 1998-09-09
completed.
With the system described with the FIGs. 1-3, a consumer, who wants to
purchase the gas with card payment, should receive the card approval for the
transaction before feeding the car with the gas (since the card approval
obtained after
gas purchase can cause the quarrel between the consumer and the gas station
merchant, it is not appropriate for the self-service gas supply). Moreover the
consumer
should set the payment amount for the gas so as to get the card approval for
the
amount, but the consumer does not know exactly how much gas can be supplied to
the
gas tank of his or her vehicle resulting in that the consumer request the card
approval
for the transaction for the purchase of the gas corresponding to the
approximate
amount.
It can actually take place that the gas tank of a vehicle is already full when
a gas
amount for the purchase is not fully supplied to the gas tank, resulting in
that the
consumer may ask a refund corresponding to the difference between the card
transaction amount and the payment amount of a gas amount actually served.
Furthermore, if the consumer wishes to cancel the gas purchase after the card
approval for the transaction is already received, it becomes more difficult to
handle.
To solve problems described above, the card approval can be obtained after gas
purchase. But that would be a big quarrel between the consumer and gas station
2 o merchant when the card approval is rejected because of the card
invalidity. In a non-
cashier self-service gas station in particular, if the gas is filled up before
receiving the
card approval, there can be some disadvantages described above.
4
CA 02244074 2002-02-22
Objects of the Invention
The present invention has been made to overcome the above described
disadvantages of the prior art. The object of the present invention is to
provide a card
transaction settlement method in a POS system enabling acceptance of credit
card
payment and debit card payment, and more particularly to provide the card
transaction
settlement method in which the payment by either the credit card or the debit
card is
made after an approval before a card transaction ABCT is given, and in which
when the
transaction is completed, an approval after a card transaction AACT is
requested for
the transaction settlement whereby the settlement with the card can be
conveniently
accomplished since a conflict between the merchant and the consumer, causing
from
such as the difference between the transaction amount and the debited amount
against
the card, can be eliminated, whereby the merchant has less of the financial
risk for a
difference amount refund, and whereby the signature is not necessary in the
signature
form, resulting in that true non-cashier self service sales can be introduced
to the sales
management system.
20 According to the present invention, there is
provided a card trarusaction ;settlement method in POS
systems for sett~:ing transaction payments wit-h use of a
credit card and a dE:bit card comprising the steps of
requesting an approval. before the card transaction ABCT for
a virtual transaction amount VTA after the card is inserted
and the virtual tran~~action amount is set; getting an
authorization of t he AE3CT for the VTA with checking a card
validity after inqu~..ring a card _i_nform~ntion data;
controlling goods sale, after getting the authorization of
30 the ABCT for the VTA, the controlling step including a
permission of goods sales, an indication of the permission
CA 02244074 2002-02-22
status, and a determination of completing goods sales;
requesting an approval after the card transaction AACT for
an actual transaction amount ATA after completing the
controlling ste~~, the requesting step including a
prohikzition of subsequent goods sales and an indication of
the prohibition st.atu:~; gett:inc~ an authorization of the
AACT for the ATA; and resetting to an initial stage of the
POS systems after getting the authorization of the AACT,
the resetting step including a generation of ~~ recei.pt for
the ATA and the c<~rd return.
According tc> a preferred embodiment of the
present invention, the step of requesting the ABCT for the
VTA i.s executed under a condition that personal
identification numbers of the card are entered after the
card is .inserted.
According to a preferred embodiment of the
present invention, the card transaction settlement method
further comprises a step of cancelling the V'TA, which is
executed immediat~a_Ly ai ter the step of controlling goods
sales.
According to a preferred embodiment of the
present invention, the card transaction settlement method
further comprises a step of cancelling the V't'A, which is
executed after the= st:e~~ of get:t.ing the aut:horizrat.ion of the
AACT for the ATA.
According tc a preferred embodiment of the
present. inventions the card transaction settlement method
further comprises a st:ep of evaluating the ATA which is
compared with the VTA after t:he step of controlling goods
sales, the evaluating step including a prohibition of
subsequent goods tsales when the ATA is the same or
6
CA 02244074 1998-09-09
exceeds to the VTA and an indication of the prohibition status.
Brief Description of the Drawings
The above object and other advantages of the present invention will become
more apparent by describing in detail the preferred embodiment thereof with
reference
to the attached drawings, in which:
FIGs. 1-3 are schematic views for explaining the self-service gas supply
method
with either a credit card or a debit card in the prior art;
FIG. 4 is a block diagram of the internal configuration of the self-service
1 o lubricator for explaining the card transaction settlement method in the
POS systems
according to an embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 5 illustrates one embodiment of the self-service lubricator shown in FIG.
4;
FIG. 6 is a flowchart for explaining the card transaction settlement method
performed in the self-service lubricator shown in FIG. 4;
FIG. 7 is a flowchart for explaining the card transaction settlement method in
the
POS systems according to another embodiment of the present invention;
FIGs. 8a-8c illustrate routes for requesting and receiving an approval before
a
card transaction for a virtual card transaction amount according to the
present invention;
and
2 o FIGs. 9a-9c illustrate routes for requesting and receiving an approval
after a card
transaction for an actual card transaction amount according to the present
invention.
Description of the Preferred Embodiment
Hereinafter, a preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described
CA 02244074 1998-09-09
in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. Furthermore, the
present
invention will be described with application of the self-service lubricator.
FIG. 4 is a block diagram of an internal configuration of the self-service
lubricator
for explaining the card transaction settlement method in the POS system
according to
the present invention. Referring to the FIG. 4, the self-service lubricator
can be
composed of a lubricator 100 and a transaction settlement terminal 200. The
lubricator
100 comprises at least one lubricating hole, a lubricator control unit 110
connected
through a communication cable(RS-485) for receiving the commands from an
external
control terminal so as to determine whether the gas can be supplied through
the
l0 lubricator hole, for indicating total payment amount and unit price per
liter after
calculation of how much gas is supplied to the consumer when the command
instructing
to supply the gas is received, wherein the gas is controlled to be supplied by
closing/opening states of nozzle switches and nozzle latches whose number is
corresponding to the number of the lubricator holes, and for simultaneously
transmitting
the calculated payment amount externally via the communication cable(RS-485).
The
transaction settlement terminal 200 comprises a cash verifier for scanning
cash, a card
recognition unit for reading an information stored in the various cards, and a
transaction
settlement control unit 210 connected to the lubricator control unit 110
through the
communication cable(RS-485) for the purpose of communicating to each other for
giving a permission to supply the gas if the information read from the card is
determined
to be valid after enquiry of the inputted information, for controlling overall
automated
payment operation of setting the transaction according to the settlement type
and its
manner of settling the transaction.
The transaction settlement terminal 200 also comprises a setting unit 255 for
8
CA 02244074 1998-09-09
selecting the settlement type(cash or card) and gas supplying type(fixed
amount of gas
type, and fixed amount of money type) determined by the consumer. The
transaction
settlement terminal 200 further comprises a LCD indicator 256 for indicating a
service-
related information determined by the setting unit in graphics or characters,
a status
indicator 257 for displaying status visually with use of light emitting diode
LED or lamp,
and a voice outputting unit 258 for outputting service-related message
displayed in the
LCD indicator and in the status indicator with recorded voice. The cash
verifier 251
comprises a banknote slot for inserting banknotes, and cash scanner for
determining
as to whether the banknote inserted and placed inside of the banknote slot is
l0 counterfeit. The card recognition unit 252, 253, and 254 comprise a card
slot for
inserting the card thereinto, a card fluoroscopy window for sensing the radio-
frequency
card within a certain distance, a radio frequency card recognition unit for
reading the
card information, a magnetic card recognition unit for reading the information
stored in
the magnetic stripe of the card, and an IC card recognition unit for reading
the card
information stored in the IC chip coated in the card, wherein those above
mentioned
card recognition unit read cards either when the card is inserted into the
slot or when
the card is passing by the card fluoroscopy window. The transaction settlement
terminal
200 further comprises a security access module SAM 230 for off-line accessing
validity
of the information read from the card recognition unit upon a receipt of the
information
2 o transmitted from the lubricator controller through the communication
cable, and a
communication interface circuit, modem, 240 for supporting data communication
between the system and the card issuing institution/value-added network
enterprise in
order to access on-line the validity of the information read from the card
recognition
unit. The transaction settlement terminal 200 further comprises a power source
unit 220
9
CA 02244074 1998-09-09
for providing the power to every unit arranged in the system and a receipt
issuer 259
for issuing the receipt including payment amounts of transaction under the
control of the
transaction settlement unit.
The SAM 230 is connected to the transaction settlement control unit 210 via
the
communication cable(RS-232) and can be used to determine the card validity
after the
card is read either in the radio-frequency card recognition unit 253, or in
the IC card
recognition unit 254. The transaction settlement control unit 210 is connected
to the
power source 220 and is supplied with the power from the power source 220. The
transaction settlement control unit 210 is connected to the transaction
settlement unit
including the magnetic card recognition unit 252, the radio-frequency card
recognition
unit 253, the IC card recognition unit 254, and the cash verifier. The
transaction
settlement control unit 210 is further connected to the receipt issuer 259,
the LCD
indicator 256 for displaying the instruction required to complete the
transaction, the
status indicator 257 for indicating the operating status of the system, the
voice
outputting unit 258 for providing the voice message, and the setting unit 255
for
manipulating the selection of the manipulation keys.
At this time, the card recognition unit of course can be installed with all or
any of
the magnetic card recognition unit module, the radio-frequency card
recognition unit,
and the IC card recognition unit as required, and can be further adjusted
according to
the desired service to provided.
The lubricator 100 which is controlled by the lubricator controller supplied
with
the power from the power source unit 120, is used to supply the gas through
the nozzle
by pulling the gas stored in the tank under the ground to a pump/flowmeter 138
with the
use of opening/closing the nozzle switches 136 and the nozzle latches(not
shown in
CA 02244074 1998-09-09
figures), and whose supply amount is determined by a setting unit 133 of the
lubricator,
and at this time the calculated transaction amount of money corresponding to
the
supplied gas is displayed in a display 132. Herein, the detection signal is
transmitted
to the lubricator controller 110 with the use of the pulse generation unit 134
and the
position detector 131 which are arranged in the pump/flowmeter 138, then the
lubricator
controller differentially compares the received detection signal with the set
value for gas
supply by the predetermined logical operation(program) and then accordingly
transmits
the respective control signal. The solenoid valve 137 is controlled upon the
receipt of
the control signal so that the gas supplying amount is controlled. At this
time, the
l0 lubricator controller 110 communicates with the control unit 210 of the
transaction
settlement terminal 200 with use of the communication cable(RS-485) such that
the gas
whose amount is determined by the setting unit 255, is supplied in the same
manner
as above, and herein the setting unit of the lubricator 100 is enabled.
FIG. 5 illustrates one embodiment of the self-service lubricator shown in FIG.
4.
The self-service lubricator in FIGS has only one lubricator slot. Referring to
the figure,
the self-service lubricator comprises a LCD indicator 256 for indicating the
information
required to do any key manipulation in graphics and characters, a setting unit
255
including a credit card setting key, an RF/IC card setting key, a cash setting
key, a
plurality of functional selection keys for setting gas supplying types such as
a fixed
payment amount type and a fixed gas amount type, a plurality of numerical
keys, a
correction key, and a reject key for selecting the appropriate menu, a receipt
issuer 259
for issuing the receipt for the transaction amount with the use of either cash
or various
cards such as a credit card, a debit card, and a prepaid card, a card
fluoroscopy
window 253a for reading the radio-frequency card, a cash inserting slot 251a
for
11
CA 02244074 1998-09-09
insertinglextracting the cash, and a card inserting slot 252a for
inserting/extracting the
magnetic card and the IC card. Those elements described above are arranged in
the
front side. The self-service lubricator can further comprise a nozzle 14a and
a nozzle
gun 14 for pumping up the gas from the gas tank under the ground, and a
display 132
for indicating the calculated payment amount and its unit price.
FIG. 6 is a flowchart for explaining the card transaction settlement performed
by
the self-service lubricator shown in FIGs. 4 and 5. Referring to the figure,
the card
transaction settlement method of one embodiment of the present invention
comprises
a step 611-616 of requesting an approval before the card transaction ABCT for
a virtual
l0 transaction amount VTA, a step 617, 618 of getting an authorization of the
ABCT for
the VTA, a step 619-622 of controlling goods sales, a step 623 of requesting
an
approval after the card transaction AACT for an actual transaction amount ATA,
a step
624 of getting an authorization of the AACT for the ATA and a step 625, 626 of
resetting to an initial status of the self-service lubricator. The step of
requesting the
ABCT for the VTA is executed under a condition that personal identification
numbers
of the card are entered after the card is inserted and the virtual transaction
amount is
set.
Subsequent to the step 611-616 of requesting the ABCT for the VTA, the step
617, 618 of getting the authorization of the ABCT for the VTA is executed by
checking
a card validity after inquiring a card information data. If the ABCT for the
VTA is not
authorized, the card is directly returned after indicating a respective error
message. On
the contrary, if the ABCT for the VTA is authorized, another step 619-622 of
controlling
goods sales is executed. The step 619-622 includes a permission of a goods
sales, an
indication of the permission status and a determination of completing goods
sales by
12
CA 02244074 1998-09-09
checking and indicating the actual transaction amount which is changing as the
gas is
supplied. Another step 623 of requesting the AACT for ATA is continued to
execute,
which includes a prohibition of subsequent supply of the gas and an indication
of the
prohibition status. Subsequently, the step 624 of getting the authorization of
the AACT
for the ATA is executed. Finally, the step 625, 626 of resetting to an initial
stage of the
self-service lubricator is executed. The step 625, 626 includes an issuing of
a receipt
for the actual transaction amount and a returning of the card.
Though not shown in the figure, the step of requesting the ABCT for the VTA
can
be executed in a condition that the personal identification numbers are not
entered for
l0 the sake of the convenience by avoiding cumbersome key manipulation after
the card
is inserted.
The described card transaction settlement method in the self-service
lubricator
further comprises a step of canceling the ABCT for the VTA. The step of
canceling the
ABCT for the VTA can be executed immediately after the step 617, 618 of
getting the
authorization of the ABCT for the VTA, or be executed after the step 619-622
of
controlling goods sales, or else, be executed after the step 624 of getting
the
authorization of the AACT for the ATA. As described above, the operation
process of
the method can be adjusted so as to increase the efficiency of the system.
FIG. 7 is a flowchart for explaining a second embodiment of the card
transaction
settlement of the present invention. Referring to the figure, the second
embodiment of
the card transaction settlement comprises a step 711-716 of requesting an
approval
before the card transaction ABCT for the virtual transaction amount VTA, a
step 717,
718 of getting an authorization of the ABCT for a VTA, a step 719 of canceling
the
ABCT for the VTA, a step 720, 721 of controlling goods sales, a step 722-724
of
13
CA 02244074 1998-09-09
evaluating an actual transaction amount ATA compared with the VTA, a step 725
of
requesting an approval after the card transaction AACT for the ATA, a step 726
of
getting an authorization of the AACT for the ATA and a step 727, 728 of
resetting to an
initial status of the POS system.
The step 711-706 of requesting the ABCT for the VTA is executed under a
condition that personal identification numbers of the card are entered after
the card is
inserted and the virtual transaction amount is set as a customer desires.
Subsequent to the step 711-716 of requesting the ABCT for the VTA, the step
717, 718 of getting the authorization of the ABCT for the VTA is executed by
checking
the card validity after inquiring the card information data. If the ABCT for
the VTA is not
authorized, the card is directly returned after indicating a respective error
message. On
the contrary, if the ABCT for the VTA is authorized, the step 719 of canceling
the ABCT
for the VTA is executed immediately. And then the step 720, 721 of controlling
goods
sales is executed. The step 720, 721 includes a permission of goods sales, an
indication of the permission status and a determination of completing goods
sales by
checking and indicating the ATA which is changing as the goods are supplied.
Then the
step 722-724 of evaluating the ATA compared with the VTA is executed. The step
722-
724 includes a prohibition of subsequent goods sales when the ATA is the same
or
exceeds to the VTA and an indication of the prohibition status. The step 725
of
requesting the AACT for the ATA and the step 726 of getting the authorization
of the
AACT for the ATA are executed. Finally, the step 727, 728 of resetting to an
initial
status of the POS system is executed. The step 727, 728 includes the issuing
of a
receipt for the ATA and the returning of the card. Herein the ABCT for the VTA
can also
be requested without the receival of the personal identification number in
order that the
14
CA 02244074 1998-09-09
inconvenience of manipulating the keys are to be avoided. Furthermore, the
step 719
of canceling the ABCT for the VTA can be executed after the step 720, 721 of
controlling goods sales or be executed after the step 726 of getting the
authorization
of the AACT for the ATA.
As described above, there are many variations in the process of each step in
the
card transaction settlement method.
Herein, the ABCT for the VTA can also be requested without the receival of the
personal identification number in order that the inconvenience of manipulating
the keys
are to be avoided. The authorization of the ABCT for the VTA obtained in the
step 711-
716 of requesting the ABCT for the VTA can be automatically requested so to be
canceled out just before requesting the AACT for the ATA while preventing the
sales
of goods from processing with displaying that status when goods sales are
completed
in the step of controlling to make goods sales. Furthermore, the acquired ABCT
for the
VTA can also be requested so to be canceled out when the authorization of the
AACT
is given in the step 725 of requesting the AACT for the ATA. As described
above, there
is flexibility in the process of each step in the card transaction settlement
method.
FIGs. 8a-8c illustrate routes for requesting and authorizating the ABCT for
the
VTA between the self-service lubricator and the card issuers according to the
present
invention, and FIGs. 9a-9c illustrate routes for requesting and authorizating
the AACT
for the ATA between the self-service lubricator and the card issuers according
to the
present invention.
FIG. 8a and FIG. 9a show the route in the case when the card authorization
center and the card purchase company ( such as value-added network enterprise,
or
the computer system of the oil refining company) are intermediate stations of
the route,
CA 02244074 1998-09-09
FIG. 8b and FIG. 9b show the route in the case when the card purchase company
such as value-added network enterprise, or the computer system of the oil
refining
company) is intermediate station of the route, and FIG. 8c and FIG. 9c show
the route
when the self-service lubricator directly communicates with the credit card
issuing
institution(or bank).
Referring to those figures, the card transaction settlement method in the self-
service lubricator is as follows. First of all, the consumer makes the card
read in the
card recognizing unit 252-254 arranged on the lubricator. Upon the
determination
whether the personal identification number and the virtual transaction amount
are
inputted in the event that the card is inserted or immediately after the card
is inserted,
the self-service lubricator requests the ABCT for the VTA to the card issuing
institution
or the bank through the routes via the card authorization center and other
communication network as in FIG. 8a, or through the route via a card purchase
company as in FIG. 8b, or else by directly communicating as in FIG. 8c. If the
card
approval is authorized by either the card issuing institution or the bank, the
lubricator
is controlled to supply the gas, and the information that the lubricator can
supply the gas
is displayed to inform the consumer. Therefore, the gas can be supplied to the
consumer after entry of either the personal identification number or the gas
amount/payment amount. However, the gas can also be supplied to the consumer
with
the operation of reading the card, even without the key inputting.
Therefore, the consumer recognizes that the gas supply is possible with the
use
of the display so that the consumer starts to feed the vehicle with the gas
using the
lubricator. Then the system reads the amount changing with supplied gas
amounts.
Upon the detection of either the fact that gas supply is completed or the fact
that the
16
CA 02244074 1998-09-09
supplied gas amount is exceeded the virtual gas amount set previously, the
self-service
lubricator enters into the standby state for awaiting for an authorization of
the AACT for
the ATA after requesting the AACT for the ATA to the card issuing institution
or the
bank. The ABCT for the VTA can be canceled out immediately when the requested
AACT for the ATA is authorized. Otherwise, for requesting the AACT for the
ATA, the
already obtained ABCT for the VTA can be automatically canceled out first of
all, and
then the AACT for the ATA can be requested, or vice versa. Upon the receival
of the
AACT for the ATA in the standby state, the receipt for the actual transaction
amount
can be issued with the use of the receipt issuer and the card is returned.
1 o It is apparent that the card transaction settlement method in the self-
service POS
system according to the present invention can be applied not only to the gas
station but
also to the tollgate system in the highway, the express bus ticket sales
system, as well
as other POS system which is capable of settling the card transaction with a
small
modification. It will be apparent that various changes may be made in the form
and
steps thereof without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention or
sacrificing
all of its advantages.
With the present invention, there are many advantages that a customer can
purchase goods simply and quickly in self-service POS system with the ABCT for
the
VTA using credit card or debit card, that merchants need not ask a signature
of a
customer by automatically controlling any refunding problem caused from
difference
between the virtual transaction amount and the real transaction amount because
he or
she can obtain the AACT for the ATA even if the customer cannot estimate the
actual
transaction amount, that there is no change problem since the system operates
with
high precision, and that financial risk by any fraudulent card can be
prevented since the
m
CA 02244074 1998-09-09
ABCT for the VTA is requested before the transaction is taken place.
18
