Various embodiments are described herein that relate to network-connected data cables (i.e., “smart” data cables) that are connected to a merchant's point of sale system and a receipt printer. When a transaction is initiated at the point of sale system, transaction data is created by the point of sale system and passed to the smart data cable for transmission downstream to the receipt printer. The smart data cable can parse the transaction data, copy certain elements from the transaction data, and transmit the copied elements to a cloud-based platform that processes the transaction. For example, the cloud-based platform may compare the copied elements to information supplied by the customer through a messaging application executing on the customer's user device. The information may be provided by the customer to a chat bot that is supported by the cloud-based platform.

A point-of-sale system with a mobile payment feature includes an electronic display, one or more processors, and storage media storing a payment plugin to the point-of-sale system. The payment plugin sends ticket data representing a guest ticket over one or more data networks to an online service provider computer system; receives instruction from the service provider computer system to mark the guest ticket as designated for mobile payment; and causes user interface feedback on the electronic display that the guest ticket is to be paid via mobile payment. By doing so, the merchant is informed through their point-of-sale system that payment of the guest ticket will be facilitated by the online service provider. This alleviates the merchant from collecting payment from the guest before the guest leaves the merchant's premises and allows the guest to leave the premises as soon as the guest ticket is ready for mobile payment.

An image printing system includes a plurality of image printing apparatuses each configured to accept a print order and print the image data, a payment machine performing a billing process, and a ticketing machine. If payment at the payment machine is selected, the image printing apparatus issues a first ticket and transmits order details to the payment machine. If payment at a counter is selected, the image printing apparatus 1 transmits second key information to the ticketing machine. After performing a billing process, the payment machine issues a third ticket on which first key information is printed and transmits the first key information to the image printing apparatus. The ticketing machine issues a fourth ticket including the second key information. The image printing apparatus prints the image data if accepting input of the key information printed on the third ticket or the fourth ticket.

A method and system are described that provide responses to natural language queries regarding the performance of a business. The method and system processes data from multiple data sources including information generated by the business and analyzes the data to provide actionable suggestions as to how to determine how to improve the performance of the business. The use of natural language queries allows for a merchant without a business intelligence background obtain these insights easily.

A proof-of-payment system that allows smart connected devices to confirm a payment information. In one example, a smart connected device that comprises a computing device and program instructions. The program instructions, when executed by the processor, cause the computing device to at least retrieve an encrypted proof-of-payment (PoP) payload from a blockchain and decrypt the encrypted PoP payload to retrieve a first identifier from the encrypted PoP payload. The first identifier from the decrypted PoP payload is matched to a second identifier presented at the smart connected device. An action is triggered in response to the first identifier from the encrypted PoP payload matching the second identifier presented at the smart connected device.

A point of sale application may initially process a transaction between a customer and a merchant. While the point of sale application processes the transaction, an add-on application may monitor a current state of a user interface of the point of sale application. Upon recognizing a triggering event associated with the current state of the user interface, the add-on application may take over the processing of the transaction from the point of sale application. Upon completion of the processing of the transaction, the add-on application may return a result of the transaction to the point of sale application by emulating user actions on the user interface of the point of sale application.

A wireless checkout system includes peripheral stations, a server that stores location information indicating a position coordinate of each of the peripheral stations, one or more base stations, and a mobile point-of-sale (POS) terminal. The mobile POS terminal includes a wireless communication interface configured to receive a wireless signal from the base stations, a display, and a processor. The processor designates one of the peripheral stations as an associated peripheral station, determines a position coordinate of the mobile POS terminal based on the wireless signal, selects, based on the determined position coordinate of the mobile POS terminal and the location information, another of peripheral stations that is closest to the mobile POS terminal to be an alternative peripheral station to be recommended for the checkout, when the associated peripheral station is not available, and then controls the display to display a screen indicating the alternative peripheral station.

A system for transacting in an environment with intermittent connectivity via a network backbone to a blockchain. A merchant device transmits a set of credentials for an ad hoc network to a buyer device and establishes a private peer-to-peer ad hoc network connection with the buyer device. It then conducts a transaction with the buyer device via the private peer-to-peer ad hoc network. If no network connection is available to a transaction blockchain, the merchant device stores a record of the transaction until such network becomes available and later sends the record of the transaction to the transaction blockchain.

This application relates to systems, methods, devices, and other techniques for dynamic and real-time updated receipts in an autonomous store

A notarization system for use in notarizing a document, the system comprising: a handheld notarization device having a printer; and a notarization application configured to be accessible only by a primary user and to operate on a mobile device having a camera, the notarization application being programmed to digitally read identification information from an identification card of a secondary user received via the camera, such that to verify the identity of the secondary user and authenticate the identification card, digitally scan and generate a digital line drawing of a fingerprint of the secondary user received via the camera, digitally generate a notarization endorsement and cause a printing of the notarization endorsement onto a tamper-resistant sticker via the printer, wherein, when the notarization application is being accessed by the primary user, and upon signing of the document by the secondary user, the notarization application causes a printing of the notarization endorsement.