Square, Inc.

Invensense, Inc.

Jianliang Zhao

Michael Wells White

Christopher Lang Mocko

Rodion Steshenko

Zhimin Ren

Timothy Kordas

Paul Abraham Botros

A payment service system may include a server that manages firmware updates for payment devices such as payment readers. A payment reader may access a firmware manifest including a listing of current firmware assets stored at the payment reader, and send the firmware manifest to the server. The server may compare the firmware manifest to available firmware bundles, which are ordered combinations of firmware assets that have been released for usage by payment readers. Some of the bundles may be blocking bundles, while some are non-blocking. If a payment reader is to be updated with a blocking bundle, it cannot process payments during the update. If the update is not a blocking bundle, the payment reader may continue to process payments.

Blocking and non-blocking firmware update

Techniques and arrangements for capturing payments in cases involving a failed authorization. In some instances, a point-of-sale (POS) device may process a transaction while operating in an offline mode, and then send information regarding the transaction to a remote service after transitioning to an online mode. The remote service may attempt to authorize a payment instrument tendered to satisfy a cost of the transaction. In instances in which the payment instrument is declined, one or multiple payment-capture techniques may be utilized to capture a payment that satisfies at least a portion of the cost of the transaction.

Intelligent payment capture in failed authorization requests

Methods and apparatuses related to linking a monetary value card with a payment card. In some embodiments, a payer uses a gift card to pay for a purchase. The gift card is swiped by a point of sale (POS) system, and a computer system processes a payment. The computer system causes the POS system to display a message prompting the payer to provide an email address for an electronic receipt. The payer provides the email address, which the computer system uses to determine that the payer has a payment card. The computer system sends a message to the payer asking if he would like to link the gift card with the payment card, to which the payer responds affirmatively. The payer later uses the payment card to initiate a payment, and the computer system processes the payment based on the gift card that is linked with the payment card.

Associating a monetary value card with a payment object

It may be determined that a payment reader requires a firmware update, which may be transmitted to the payment reader as compressed firmware update blocks. The payment reader may receive a first portion of set of the compressed firmware update blocks. The payment reader may decompress the first portion and determine a partial firmware offset associated with the first portion. If the firmware update is incomplete, the payment reader may transmit that partial firmware offset to a second device. Based on this partial of firmware offset and an offset table that associates compressed firmware offsets with decompressed firmware offsets, the payment reader receive a second portion of compressed firmware update blocks to send to the payment reader. The payment reader may determine that entire update has been received and update its firmware.

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Palo Alto, CA, United States of America

Jianliang Zhao