Effecting payments using optical coupling

Abstract

The present technology relates to secure mobile payment systems for interacting with traditional paper invoices. Generating optical codes in a clearinghouse which, when decoded by a customer device, provides the customer with an anonymous portal for reconciling an invoice through the clearinghouse. Effecting payments by utilizing mobile devices equipped with digital camera, software for decoding optical codes, and an infrastructure of network-based clearinghouses for maintaining the anonymity of a plurality of customers and protecting their private and financial data. The present technology relates to a prescription lifecycle management system using optical coupling.

1 . A method comprising:
 receiving, in a network-based clearinghouse, a merchant receipt memorializing the sale of one or more goods or services and including a unique claim number and a payload with a description and an itemized price for each of the one or more goods or services;   associating, in the clearinghouse, the unique claim number with the merchant receipt;   providing, by the clearinghouse, the unique claim number to the merchant for: encoding into an optical code which, when decoded, provides a connection to an electronic representation of the merchant receipt, and presenting the optical code to one or more customer;   receiving, by the clearinghouse, payment authorization by the one or more customer of at least one of the one or more goods or services through the interface, wherein payment authorization is by way of the one or more customer interacting with the electronic representation of the merchant receipt,   automatically updating, in the clearinghouse, any remaining goods or services from the merchant receipt that still need to be paid; and   sending to the merchant, by the clearinghouse, the description and price for the remaining items that still need to be paid.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 separating, by the clearinghouse, the description and the itemized price for each of the one or more goods or services.   
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the merchant receipt is received in the clearinghouse through a mobile device software application. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein an optical code comprises a Quick Response code. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the electronic representation of the merchant receipt comprises an interactive graphical user interface comprising a listing of the description of each of the one or more goods or services, the itemized price for each of the one or more goods or services, and one or more executable link allowing a customer to indicate a subset of items to authorize payment for. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein receiving payment authorization in the clearinghouse further comprises receiving an indication from an additional clearinghouse, via a secure connection, that the customer authorized payment for one or more of the goods or services in the additional clearinghouse. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 connecting the clearinghouse and at least one promotional content server;   sending, by the clearinghouse, the description for at least one of the goods or services to the promotional content server;   receiving from the promotional content server, in the clearinghouse, promotional content selected based, at least partially, on the description for at least one item from the one or more items; and   serving the promotional content to the customer via the interface.   
     
     
         8 . A method comprising:
 receiving, in a network-based clearinghouse, a prescription generated by a medical professional on a first device, wherein the prescription includes a unique claim number, a description of the prescription, and an identification of a user authorized to receive the prescription;   associating, in the clearinghouse, the unique claim number with the prescription;   providing, by the clearinghouse, the unique claim number to a patient for: encoding into an optical code, which, when decoded, provides a connection to an electronic representation of the prescriptions, and presenting the optical code to a pharmacist;   receiving, in the clearinghouse, a request for the electronic representation of the prescription upon the pharmacist optically capturing the optical code and decoding the unique claim number;   receiving confirmation in the clearinghouse that the pharmacist filled the prescription; and   updating, in the clearinghouse, prescription fulfillment status.   
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 8 , wherein the prescription further comprises additional instructions from the medical professional. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 8 , wherein the prescription comprises re-fill information relating to a frequency and a number of times a prescription should be dispensed. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 10 , further comprising:
 upon fulfilling the prescription, updating re-fill information relating to the prescription in the clearinghouse.   
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 8 , wherein the step of downloading, from the clearinghouse to the prescription based on the unique claim number, further comprises downloading copayment information relating to the user. 
     
     
         13 . A non-transitory computer-readable medium comprising:
 a medium configured to store computer-readable instructions thereon; and   the computer-readable instructions that, when executed by a processing device cause the processing device to perform a method, comprising:
 receiving, in a network-based clearinghouse, a merchant receipt memorializing the sale of one or more goods or services and including a unique claim number and a payload with a description and an itemized price for each of the one or more goods or services; 
 associating, in the clearinghouse, the unique claim number with the merchant receipt; providing, by the clearinghouse, the unique claim number to the merchant for: encoding into an optical code which, when decoded, provides a connection to an electronic representation of the merchant receipt, and presenting the optical code to one or more customer; 
 receiving, by the clearinghouse, payment authorization by a customer of at least one of the one or more goods or services through the interface, 
 automatically updating, in the clearinghouse, any remaining goods or services from the merchant receipt that still need to be paid; and 
 sending to the merchant, by the clearinghouse, the description and price for the remaining items that still need to be paid. 
   
     
     
         14 . The computer-readable medium of  claim 13 , further comprising instructions that, when executed by a processing device cause the processing device to further perform:
 separating, by the clearinghouse, the description and the itemized price for each of the one or more goods or services.   
     
     
         15 . The computer-readable medium of  claim 13 , wherein the merchant receipt is received in the clearinghouse through a mobile device software application. 
     
     
         16 . The computer-readable medium of  claim 13 , wherein the optical code comprises a Quick Response code. 
     
     
         17 . The computer-readable medium of  claim 13 , wherein the electronic representation of the merchant receipt comprises an interactive graphical user interface comprising a listing of the description of each of the one or more goods or services, the itemized price for each of the one or more goods or services, and one or more executable link allowing a customer to indicate a subset of items to authorize payment for. 
     
     
         18 . The computer-readable medium of  claim 13 , further comprising instructions that, when executed by a processing device cause the processing device to further perform:
 receiving an indication from an additional clearinghouse, via a secure connection, that the customer authorized payment for one or more of the goods or services in the additional clearinghouse.   
     
     
         19 . The computer-readable medium of  claim 13 , further comprising instructions that, when executed by a processing device cause the processing device to further perform:
 connecting the clearinghouse and at least one promotional content server;   sending, by the clearinghouse, the description for at least one of the goods or services to the promotional content server;   receiving from the promotional content server, in the clearinghouse, promotional content selected based, at least partially, on the description for at least one item from the one or more items; and   serving the promotional content to the customer via the interface.   
     
     
         20 . A system for effecting payment between a merchant and a customer comprising:
 a network-based platform for effecting transactions relating to sensitive information, the network-based platform comprising one or more clearinghouses;   a merchant device operatively coupled with at least one clearinghouse, the merchant device configured for:
 generating a merchant receipt for a purchase of one or more items, the merchant receipt including a unique claim number and a payload with a description and a price for each of the one or more items; and 
 transmitting the merchant receipt to a clearinghouse; and 
   a customer device operatively coupled with at least one clearinghouse, the customer device comprising a camera and a software application configured for decoding optical codes, the customer device further configured for:
 optically capturing a customer receipt upon receiving an optical code from the merchant and decoding the optical code; 
 determining the unique claim number from the optically captured customer receipt; 
 downloading, from the clearinghouse to the customer device, the merchant receipt based on the unique claim number; 
 displaying on the customer device, the description and price for each of the one or more items; and 
 authorizing, to the clearinghouse, the payment of at least one item from the one or more items; 
   wherein the network-based platform is further configured for informing the merchant that the customer has paid for at least one item from the one or more items.   
     
     
         21 . The system of  claim 20 , wherein the network-based platform is further configured for:
 automatically updating, on the clearinghouse, any remaining items that still need to be paid; and   presenting, on the customer device, the description and price for the remaining items that still need to be paid.   
     
     
         22 . The system of  claim 20 , wherein the network-based platform is further configured for separating the payload into core data comprising the price for each of the one or more items and auxiliary data comprising the description of the one or more items.