In one aspect of specific embodiments, methods are provided for monitoring a supply chain, including detection of the gray market, stolen, or counterfeit goods. In another aspect of specific embodiments, methods are provided for determining an authenticity of goods during a payment process, and reporting authenticity results to an actor in the payment process to allow that actor to determine whether to complete or cancel the process. In some embodiments, at least one of an open key, hidden key, authentication request counter, and optionally, authentication request timer are associated in an authentication database with an item in an authentication server.

Methods, apparatuses, computer program products, devices and systems are described that carry out accepting at least one request for personal information from a party to a transaction; evaluating the transaction; and negotiating presentation of at least one persona to the party to the transaction at least partly based on an evaluation of the transaction.

The disclosed embodiments include methods, systems, system terminals, and point-of-sale terminals for authenticating a user. The disclosed embodiments include, for example, a method for receiving, by one or more processors, authentication data from an authentication network, the authentication data including an authentication code identifying an authentication transaction associated with an authenticating partner system. The method may also include validating, by the one or more processors, the authentication data, the validating comprising comparing the authentication data with validation data corresponding to a prior authentication event associated with the user. The method may also include generating, by the one or more processors, validation information based on the validating, the validation information comprising a determination whether to validate the user for the authentication transaction. The method may also include providing, by the one or more processors, the validation information to the authentication network.

Conducting hands-free transactions comprises a server at a payment processing system, a user computing device, and a merchant computing device. The payment processing system registers a merchant system as a hands-free payment participant and provides a beacon identifier. The payment processing system receives a communication from a hands-free payment application on a user computing device, the communication comprising a transaction token, an identification of a user account, and the beacon identifier received by the user computing device via a wireless communication from a device associated with the merchant system and transmits the transaction token to the merchant system computing device. The payment processing system receives from the merchant system computing device, a transaction request, the transaction request comprising the token and transaction data associated with the transaction request and conducts the transaction between the user account and the merchant system based on the received token and transaction request.

A service provider receives, from a merchant device, a geotagged image of a payment instrument, such as a credit card, provided to the merchant by a buyer for payment. It first determines the validity of the payment instrument using the captured image and then assesses the validity of the claimed purchase transaction by comparing the GPS data in the geotagged image, representing the geotagging location, with a separately transmitted GPS data, representing the location of transmitting the geotagged image. For further assessment, it may further compare the time of geotagging the image with the time of transmitting the image. The service provider then determines on the overall validity of the claimed purchase transaction based on the determination on the validity of the payment instrument and the assessment results, and if it determines the purchase transaction is valid, processes requested payment to the merchant's account.

A computer system is operated to prevent fraud in a money transfer receive transaction. A send transaction request is received from a sender for a money transfer including a send amount. The sender is prompted to select one or more security inputs to be supplied by a receiver for redemption of the money transfer. A send transaction record is stored with the selected one or more security inputs in a server. A receive transaction request is then received from the receiver. The receiver is prompted for the one or more security inputs set for redemption of the money transfer, and the provided one or more security inputs from the receiver are received. The received one or more security inputs are authenticated, and release of funds in the send amount is authorized if the received one or more security inputs are authenticated.

A near field communication (NFC) mobile device may obtain location information from a NFC terminal device that is communicating with the NFC mobile device. A data transfer link may be established between the NFC mobile device and a mobile telecommunication network. The mobile telecommunication network may prompt the NFC mobile device to obtain location information from the NFC terminal device. The mobile telecommunication network may then receive the location information from the NFC mobile device via the data transfer link, and may subsequently determine a location of the NFC mobile device using the location information.

A portable consumer device that is used to conduct a transaction at a merchant is authenticated. Information provided to a server computer includes locations of a merchant and a mobile communication device possessed by a consumer. If the location of the mobile communication device corresponds to the location of the merchant, the portable consumer device that is used to conduct the transaction is authenticated.

Within EMV payment specification, use of an unattended terminal to accept a payment is allowed. Creating a device that has both EMV level 1 (L1) and level 2 (L2) payment components combined with a virtual merchant creates a card present transaction for an on-line or e-commerce merchant. This device can be called a personal Point of Sale (pPOS). This specification discloses card present payments from a customer's vehicle with a pPOS device in or on the vehicle. This allows for card present payments from a customer's vehicle for drive by or drive through payments. The specification further discloses systems and methods to authenticate the merchant or an unattended terminal of a merchant to pPOS in the customer's vehicle.

A backend architecture method includes: acquiring transaction information from a client, wherein the transaction information includes location information of the client; assigning, based on the location information, the transaction information to a transaction node that has jurisdiction over the location information, wherein the transaction node is a transaction center within a specified region in a distributed transaction system; matching, according to the transaction node, a channel gateway in a channel docking layer that pre-establishes a connection relationship with the transaction node, and sending a transaction request in the transaction information to a transaction object over the matched channel gateway such that the transaction object processes the transaction request; and acquiring a processing result from the transaction object, and transmitting information of the processing result to the client.