An omni-channel coupon system may link electronic coupons across several couponing channels by storing the electronic coupons in association with a user profile or loyalty account. A user may clip electronic coupons from several couponing channels, such as a mobile application, retail web page, social networking web page, email, short message service (SMS) message, a physical coupon, a manufacturer/third-party web page or other affiliated web page, a manufacturer/third-party application, etc. Each clipped electronic coupon may be stored with a user profile for the user. When the user purchases products or items at an online or retail store, the electronic coupons may be retrieved from the user profile and redeemed.

An apparatus for effecting a commercial transaction with a remote transaction server using a payment device via a communication device is provided. The apparatus includes a transaction device coupled with the communication device for capturing information stored on said payment device and a controller for converting the captured information into encrypted information and for transmitting the encrypted information to the communication device. The communication device delivers the encrypted information to the remote transaction server for processing the commercial transaction.

A detection activity of a card may be sensitive to capacitance changes in one or more pads on the card, where a capacitance change detected in a pad during a first time period does not affect a capacitance change detected in the pad during subsequent time period(s). Accordingly, the detection activity may remain sensitive to a faster-moving device with greater accuracy in a determination of position, velocity and/or acceleration of the faster-moving device in relation to the card. A second detection activity may follow a first detection activity, which may increase a probability of a successful communication sequence subsequent to the first detection activity.

A mobile card reader can be configured to connect to an input module of a mobile device. The mobile card reader can scan a magnetic stripe card from a structure exposed to lightning strikes in order to output a lightning-indicator signal to the input module. The lightning-indicator signal can be analyzed to determine a magnitude of a lightning strike to which the magnetic stripe card and the structure have been exposed.

A magnetic recording medium processing apparatus may include a coil structured to generate a magnetic field, a magnetic field generation control part which controls generation of the magnetic field in the coil, a sensor structured to execute acquisition of predetermined information, and a sensor control part which controls execution of the acquisition of the information in the sensor. The sensor control part may request the magnetic field generation control part to stop magnetic field generation from the coil at a timing earlier by a predetermined time period than a start timing when the sensor starts the acquisition of the information, and the magnetic field generation control part may stop the generation of the magnetic field from the coil when stop of the magnetic field generation is requested by the sensor control part.

An apparatus for effecting a commercial transaction with a remote transaction server using a payment device via a communication device is provided. The apparatus includes a transaction device coupled with the communication device for capturing information stored on said payment device and a controller for converting the captured information into encrypted information and for transmitting the encrypted information to the communication device. The communication device delivers the encrypted information to the remote transaction server for processing the commercial transaction.

An apparatus for effecting a commercial transaction with a remote transaction server using a payment device via a communication device is provided. The apparatus includes a transaction device coupled with the communication device for capturing information stored on said payment device and a controller for converting the captured information into encrypted information and for transmitting the encrypted information to the communication device. The communication device delivers the encrypted information to the remote transaction server for processing the commercial transaction.

A control method of a card issue device may include a card direction determination step including taking the card into the card reader before the card is issued and determining a direction of the card; and a card issue step comprising issuing the card is executed based on the card direction determined in the card direction determination step.

An apparatus for effecting a commercial transaction with a remote transaction server using a payment device via a communication device is provided. The apparatus includes a transaction device coupled with the communication device for capturing information stored on said payment device and a controller for converting the captured information into encrypted information and for transmitting the encrypted information to the communication device. The communication device delivers the encrypted information to the remote transaction server for processing the commercial transaction.

A detection activity of a card may be sensitive to capacitance changes in one or more pads on the card, where a capacitance change detected in a pad during a first time period does not affect a capacitance change detected in the pad during subsequent time period(s). Accordingly, the detection activity may remain sensitive to a faster-moving device with greater accuracy in a determination of position, velocity and/or acceleration of the faster-moving device in relation to the card. A second detection activity may follow a first detection activity, which may increase a probability of a successful communication sequence subsequent to the first detection activity.