Block, Inc.
Point of sale (POS) systems and methods for dynamically processing payment data based on payment reader capability

Abstract:

Payment readers can variously have kernels of different generations, capable of performing different (or different suites of) payment processing functions. A payment reader may be designed to obtain raw payment data from a payment device, process that data if appropriate, and transmit the data to a mobile device external to the payment reader, the mobile device having similar, more, or different processing resources than the payment reader. A mobile device is capable of determining the type and source of payment data received, for example on whether the data is processed or raw (processed data). The mobile device may then selectively determine whether and how to process the payment data and to transmit it to a payment server for approval of a payment transaction.