CONSOLIDATED RETAILER-OPERATED ELECTRONIC PAYMENT SYSTEM

摘要

A consolidated electronic payment system operated by a retailer exclusively for its customers is disclosed. Otherwise independent and limited authentication and payment resources are consolidated within the unified system, facilitating broader access at retail checkout to several payment instruments. System functions are executed jointly by a customer-facing checkout facility and backend network resources comprising an authentication agent and a payment processor. Individual customers registered within the system are assigned a primary customer account, which is recorded within the network's data storage facility. Associated with these accounts are all available payment instruments and certain existing authentication accounts. For retail transactions, personal identification information and payment instructions submitted by the customer are transmitted to the network from checkout, with pertinent authentication and payment signals generated and transmitted back in response thereto.