A seller device executing a seller module captures an image of an item available for purchase and uploads the image to a host machine. The host machine receives the image of the item and provides the image and a seller address to a buyer device. The buyer device executing a buyer module presents the image and the seller address to a user. The seller address is usable to initiate a communication with the seller of the item. The host machine may provide the seller module to the seller device, and the host machine may provide the buyer module to the buyer device. The host machine may also communicate the image to an advertisement server configured to publish the image as a listing of the item.

Disclosed are methods and systems for downloading map data. A database of layers of map data is maintained. The map data may be representative of at least one map image of a geographic area. Each layer may provide progressively more detailed display information. Map data is downloaded to a client computer, and the may data may be sufficient to allow a user to navigate within a geographic area without requiring new map data to be downloaded.

A method for updating a computer generated may including providing tools for a user to draw building outlines on the map, and move icons that are associated with the building to points near on inside the new outline. Thereafter, the update map and icon location are distributed for display on a plurality of computer displays.

Existing infrastructure for processing credit card transactions at point-of-sale (POS) devices is leveraged to provide secure and convenient payment with a mobile device. A mobile transaction infrastructure that is integrated with the credit card interchange network receives information from the mobile device and passes this information to a gateway provider or a payment processor. By combining information from both the mobile device and the POS device, this backend infrastructure can uniquely identify a transaction and appropriately charge an account associated with the user of the mobile device. The transaction may be matched with the mobile device be based on location, time, transaction charge, and/or other factors.

Systems, device and techniques are disclosed for dynamically retrieving and monitoring geo-fence activity. A meta geo-fence may be identified based on a user device geolocation. The meta geo-fence having a radius that is dynamically generated to include previously defined geo-fences within or touching the meta geo-fence. User device geolocation may be monitored in relation to the defined geo-fences included in the radius of the meta geo-fence. A communication may be sent to the user device when the user device reports that the user device has entered or exited one of the previously defined geo-fences within or touching the radius of the meta geo-fence.

Systems, apparatus, methods, and articles of manufacture provide for modular vending systems utilizing reloadable product dispensing modules, including, but not limited to, vertical product dispensing modules comprising a vertical conveyor and a mounting structure for releasably engaging with module holder structures of modular vending machines, and a central controller device for communicating with a plurality of modular vending machines.

A method is provided for alerting the establishment of new merchants to a user. The method generally includes parsing transactions processed over at least one payment device network, using a computing processing unit, to extract financial transaction data. By evaluating the extracted financial transaction data and comparing the extracted data with data stored in one or more databases, candidate new merchants may be determined. For an identified candidate new merchant, user-defined preferences are compared with details of the new merchant database to determine if a match exists. In response to determining a match in the new merchant database, an alert notification is generated and sent to the user using user contact information.

Techniques to verify a participant's visit to a specific location are described. An embodiment may provide a system that generates a pattern that is unique to the location, and that may further be unique to a date or time, a transaction, or other criteria. Participants may capture the pattern, for example, using a mobile device, and transmit the pattern to a verification system. The verification system may decode, translate, decrypt or otherwise obtain information from the pattern. The information obtained from the pattern may be used to verify that the pattern came from the location. The participant may then receive credit for the visit. Other embodiments are described and claimed.

A method for transmitting a beacon message, the method generating, with a beacon generating device at least one beacon message, wherein the at least one beacon message is defined by a beacon message format, wherein the beacon message format comprises a preamble field, an access address field, a protocol data unit (PDU) field and a cyclic redundancy check (CRC) field, wherein the PDU field comprises at least one electronic product code (EPC) encoded EPC-PDU field, and transmitting, with the beacon generating device, the at least one beacon message using a Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) wireless communication protocol to a transmission area within a transmission range of the beacon generating device for reception by one or more beacon receiving devices located in the transmission area.

Exemplary systems and methods are provided for directing offer content to consumers at communication devices, while the consumers are at merchants. An exemplary method includes detecting an application identifier associated with a communication device at or near a merchant, and receiving signal strength records from the communication device indicative of signal strengths for wireless networking devices at a given time and associated with the application identifier. The method also includes accessing a zone map for the merchant that includes different zones each defining a position of at least one product, and plotting a path of the communication device, per given time, relative to the zone map. The method further includes displaying an offer for a product to the communication device, based on the path of the consumer through the merchant, along with other factors such as historical behavior patterns of the consumer, similar patterns from other consumers, etc.