WO2014112944A1

WO2014112944A1 - Mobile payment and digital transaction information management

Info

Publication number: WO2014112944A1
Application number: PCT/SG2013/000022
Authority: WO
Inventors: Ake Ohlsson
Original assignee: Ake Ohlsson
Priority date: 2013-01-17
Filing date: 2013-01-17
Publication date: 2014-07-24

Abstract

According to an aspect of an embodiment, a method of facilitating a transaction between a buyer and a seller may include intercepting transaction data associated with a transaction between a buyer and a seller. The transaction data may be intended for a printer configured to print the transaction data. The method may further include converting the intercepted transaction data into a text file in response to intercepting the transaction data. Additionally, the method may include approving the transaction based on the text file.

Description

MOBILE PAYMENT AND DIGITAL TRANSACTION INFORMATION

MANAGEMENT

FIELD

[0001] The present disclosure relates to mobile payment and digital transaction information management.

BACKGROUND

[0002] A conventional point-of-sale system may include a computer running a commercially available operating system (such as Microsoft Windows), a cash drawer, one or more credit or debit card readers, a point-of-sale software product for recording legally required proof-of-sale data, as well as a printer to print detailed transaction information documents (e.g., receipts or invoices). Conventional point-of-sales environments may include problems and/or inefficiencies related to the generation of buyer retrievable digital transaction information. Additionally, conventional point-of-sales environments may include problems and/or inefficiencies related to non-cash payments such as credit, charge, or debit card transactions.

[0003] Some attempts have been made to remedy these inefficiencies through the use of creating buyer retrievable digital transaction information and also mobile payments through the use of a mobile device, such as a smartphone, to perform credit, charge, or debit transactions instead of using a credit, charge, or debit card. However, many of these "remedies" include other problems and/or inefficiencies.

[0004] The subject matter claimed herein is not limited to embodiments that solve any disadvantages or that operate only in environments such as those described above. Rather, this background is only provided to illustrate one example technology area where some embodiments described herein may be practiced.

SUMMARY

[0005] According to an aspect of an embodiment, a method of facilitating a transaction between a buyer and a seller may include intercepting transaction data associated with a transaction between a buyer and a seller. The transaction data may be intended for a printer configured to print the transaction data. The method may further include converting the intercepted transaction data into a text file in response to intercepting the transaction data. Additionally, the method may include approving the transaction based on the text file.

[0006] The object and advantages of the embodiments will be realized and achieved at least by the elements, features, and combinations particularly pointed out in the claims.

[0007] It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory and are not restrictive of the present disclosure, as claimed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0008] Example embodiments will be described and explained with additional specificity and detail through the use of the accompanying drawings in which:

[0009] Figure 1 illustrates an example system configured to facilitate mobile payments and/or digital storing or recording of transactions;

[0010] Figure 2 illustrates an example receipt that may be printed based on transaction data combined with an optically-readable code; and [0011] Figure 3 is a flow chart of an example method of facilitating a transaction between a buyer and a seller.-

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

[0012] According to some embodiments, making a non-cash payment may be facilitated by bypassing traditional transaction requests and paths that use existing credit, debit, or charge card networks (referred to hereinafter as "card networks"). As discussed in further detail below, a seller associated with a transaction may issue a command at a point-of-sale module to print transaction data indicating information associated with the transaction (e.g., invoice data, receipt data, or other similar data). The point-of-sale module may communicate a command including the transaction data toward a printer, and an intercepting module may intercept the command and the transaction data. In response to intercepting the transaction data, the intercepting module may request a transaction identifier from a transaction module. The transaction module may communicate the transaction identifier to the intercepting module, and the intercepting module may convert the transaction identifier into an optically- readable code (e.g., a two-dimensional bar code, a Quick Response (QR) code, etc.). The intercepting module may combine the optically-readable code with the transaction data and may issue a command to print the combined transaction data with the optically-readable code. Accordingly, the associated printer may print the original transaction data (e.g., as an invoice or receipt) with the optically-readable code included with it. The result may therefore be a paper proof-of-sale transaction document with a bar code on it.

[0013] Additionally, in some embodiments, the intercepting module may generate a text file containing an ascii representation of the transaction data. The intercepting module may associate the text file with the transaction identifier and may communicate the text file to the transaction module. In some embodiments, the transaction module may determine a total amount payable from the text file and, in response to the buyer scanning the optically- readable code using a mobile device, the transaction module may approve or deny the transaction based on the total amount payable and funds available in one or more financial accounts associated with the buyer.

[0014] Further, in these or other embodiments the intercepting module may convert the combined transaction data and optically-readable code into an image file representing the printed transaction document. In some embodiments, the image file may be stored in an account associated with the buyer in response to the buyer scanning the optically-readable code. Therefore, the buyer may have a digital copy of the receipt stored in an account accessible by the buyer.

[0015] Therefore, payments made using a mobile device (referred to hereinafter as "mobile payments") may be facilitated in accordance with the present disclosure with little to no modification to the point-of-sale software, hardware, or operating system, thereby enabling existing point-of-sale systems to support mobile payments without substantially altering the existing systems. Further, proof of the transactions may be digitally recorded and stored with little to no modification to the point-of-sale software, hardware, or operating system.

[0016] Figure 1 illustrates an example system 100 configured to facilitate mobile payments and/or digital storing or recording of transactions, arranged in accordance with at least some embodiments described herein. The system 100 may include a point-of-sale system 101, a mobile application 108, a network 1 10 and a transaction module 112. [0017] The point-of-sale system 101 may include a point-of-sale module 102, an intercepting module 104 and a printer 106. The point-of-sale module 102 may include any suitable system, apparatus, or device implemented in hardware, software, or a combination of both, that may be configured to generate transaction data (e.g., invoice data, receipt data, etc.) associated with a transaction between a buyer and a seller. The point-of-sale module 102 may be configured to communicate a print command including the transaction data toward the printer 106 of the point-of-sale system 101. However, the print command may be intercepted by the intercepting module 104.

[0018] The intercepting module 104 may be any suitable system, apparatus, or device, implemented in hardware, software or a combination of both and that may be configured to intercept the print command communicated to the printer 106 by the point-of-sale module 102. For example, in some embodiments, the intercepting module 104 may be a printer intercepting driver configured to intercept the print command before the print command reaches an operating system print spooler and/or printer driver (neither being expressly illustrated in Figure 1) of the point-of-sale system 101. The intercepting module 104 may be configured to extract the transaction data from the print command and generate a text file associated with the transaction data in response to intercepting the transaction data.

[0019] Additionally, the intercepting module 104 may be configured to communicate a request for a transaction identifier to the transaction module 112 in response to intercepting the transaction data. In some embodiments, the intercepting module 104 may be communicatively coupled to the transaction module 112 via the network 110, such that the intercepting module 104 may communicate the request for the transaction identifier via the network 110. In some embodiments, the intercepting module 104 may communicate the request using any suitable authentication or encryption scheme to improve security. For example, the intercepting module 104 may communicate the request via an encrypted transmission where the intercepting module 104 may communicate the request using a private key signed request that may include a globally unique serial number associated with the intercepting module 104. Therefore, the transaction module 112 may verify that the request is from the intercepting module 104 (and consequently the point-of-sale system 101), which may be known by the transaction module 112 as a legitimate source.

[0020] The intercepting module 104 and/or the transaction module 112 may be communicatively coupled to the network 110 via any suitable connection, such as for example, but not limited to, a wireless connection, a wired connection, a fiber optic connection, or any suitable combination thereof.

[0021] The network 110 may be any suitable network configured to facilitate communication between the intercepting module 104 and the transaction module 112. For example, the network 110 may include a direct connection (wired or wireless) between the intercepting module 104 and the transaction module 112, one or more customer networks maintained by an enterprise, local area networks (LANs), wide area networks (WANs), cellular networks, WiFi networks, the Internet, or a combination thereof.

[0022] The transaction module 112 may be any suitable system, apparatus, or device that may be implemented in hardware, software, or any combination thereof. In some embodiments, the transaction module 112 may be, or may be included with or be a server. The transaction module 112 may be configured to receive the transaction identifier request from the intercepting module and may generate the transaction identifier in response to the request. The transaction identifier may be unique to the specific transaction data intercepted to increase security. Further, the transaction module 1 12 may associate the transaction identifier with the intercepting module 104 (and in some instances, the seller of which the intercepting module 104 may be associated) based on receiving the request for the transaction identifier from the intercepting module 104. Additionally, in some embodiments, the transaction identifier may be valid for only a specific amount of time (e.g., between one and ten minutes) to help reduce fraud. In some embodiments, the transaction module 112 may generate the transaction identifier only after authenticating the intercepting module 104 using any suitable authentication scheme.

[0023] After generating the transaction identifier, the transaction module 112 may communicate (e.g., via the network 1 10) the transaction identifier to the intercepting module 104. In some embodiments, the transaction module 112 may communicate the transaction identifier via any suitable authentication scheme, similar to the communication of the request by the intercepting module 104.

[0024] In some embodiments, the transaction module 112 may be configured to generate multiple transaction identifiers at a time and may communicate the multiple transaction identifiers to the intercepting module 104. The intercepting module 104 may store the multiple transaction identifiers in a queue and may extract one of the stored transaction identifiers from the queue in response to intercepting the print command and associated transaction data.

[0025] In these and other embodiments, the transaction module 1 12 may be configured to communicate a first set of transaction identifiers to the intercepting module 104 upon registration of the intercepting module 104 with the transaction module 112, or upon receiving a request for a transaction identifier from the intercepting module 104. In some embodiments, the transaction module 1 12 may be configured to periodically query the intercepting module 104 for the number of transaction identifiers included in the queue. The transaction module 1 12 may communicate more transaction identifiers to the intercepting module 104 when the number of transaction identifiers included in the queue is below a certain number (e.g., less than ten).

[0026] The intercepting module 104 may be configured to associate the transaction identifier with the text file generated based on the intercepted transaction data. For example, in some embodiments, the transaction identifier may be used as the name of the text file. In other embodiments, the transaction identifier may be included in the text file. After linking the text file with the transaction identifier, the intercepting module 104 may communicate the text file to the transaction module 112.

[0027] The intercepting module 104 may also be configured to generate an optically- readable code (e.g., QR code, one-dimensional barcode, two-dimensional barcode, etc.) including the transaction identifier in response to receiving the transaction identifier. In some embodiments, the intercepting module 104 may be configured to combine the optically-readable code with the transaction data and may communicate a print command including the combined transaction data and optically-readable code to the printer spooler and driver. The printer spooler and driver may accordingly direct the printer to print the combined transaction data and optically-readable code as a printed transaction document (e.g., a paper receipt, invoice, etc.).

[0028] Figure 2 illustrates an example receipt 200 that may be printed based on the combined transaction data and optically-readable code, in accordance with some embodiments. The receipt 200 may include transaction data 202 including information about the transaction and may also include an optically-readable code 204 that may include the transaction identifier.

[0029] Returning to Figure 1, the intercepting module 104 may also be configured to generate an image file of the combined transaction data and optically-readable code in some embodiments. For example, the intercepting module 104 may generate an image file of the receipt 200 of Figure 2. The intercepting module 104 may also link the image file of the combined transaction data and optically-readable code with the transaction, identifier. For example, the intercepting module 104 may use the transaction identifier as the name of the image file similar to using the transaction identifier as the name of the text file. The intercepting module 104 may communicate the image file to the transaction module 1 12 similar to communicating the text file to the transaction module 1 12.

[0030] The transaction module 112 may store the text file in response to receiving the text file and may store the image file in response to receiving the image file. In some embodiments, the transaction module 112 may store the text file and the image file in a temporary storage location associated with the transaction module 112. Additionally, in some embodiments, the transaction module 112 may apply a text pattern analysis to the text file to determine a total amount payable associated with the transaction. In other embodiments, the intercepting module 104 may apply the text pattern analysis to determine the total amount payable, and may communicate the total amount payable to the transaction module 112.

[0031] The buyer associated with the transaction may receive the printed transaction document and may use the mobile application 108 to scan the optically-readable code with a mobile device. The mobile device may include any suitable electronic device that may run the mobile application 108 and that may scan the optically-readable code. For example, the mobile device may be a smart phone, a tablet, or similar device that may include a camera or some other device that may read the optically-readable code. The mobile application 108 may be a software application associated with the mobile device that is configured such that the camera, or similar component of the mobile device, may be used to scan the optically- readable code. Using the mobile application 108, the buyer may scan (e.g., take a picture of) the optically-readable code. The mobile application 108 may be configured to extract the transaction identifier from the optically-readable code. In response to extracting the transaction identifier, the mobile application 108 may communicate the transaction identifier along with a mobile application identifier to the transaction module 1 12.

[0032] In some embodiments, in response to scanning the optically-readable code, the mobile application 108 may prompt the buyer to indicate whether the buyer has already paid for the transaction, wants to effectuate the payment associated with the transaction using the mobile application 108, and/or whether the buyer wants to store the transaction information in an account associated with the buyer. In these embodiments, the communication of the transaction identifier may also include an indication of the buyer's selection.

[0033] In other embodiments, before issuing the command to print the transaction data, the intercepting module 104 may direct the point-of-sale system 101 to prompt the buyer to indicate whether the buyer wants to effectuate the payment associated with the transaction using the mobile application 108 or by another manner (e.g., cash, check, card, etc.). In some of these embodiments, the intercepting module 104 may include information indicating the buyer's selection in the optically-readable code. In some embodiments, if the buyer indicates that payment may not be made using the mobile application 108, the information included in the optically-readable code may indicate that the transaction information is to be stored in an account associated with the buyer. Therefore, the mobile application 108 may communicate such information to the transaction module 1 12 in response to the optically-readable code being scanned.

[0034] In some embodiments, the mobile application 108 may communicate the transaction identifier to the transaction module 1 12 via the network 1 10. In some of these embodiments, the mobile application 108 may also communicate an identifier associated with the mobile device (referred to as a "mobile device identifier") on which the mobile application 108 may be running., The mobile application 108 may communicate the transaction identifier and/or mobile device identifier to the transaction module using any appropriate authentication scheme to increase security. Additionally, in some embodiments, prior to communicating the transaction identifier to the transaction module 112, the mobile application 108 may prompt the buyer to enter credentials (e.g., a username and password) to verify that the buyer is authorized to use the mobile application 108 to make payments.

[0035] In embodiments where the buyer wants to effectuate the payment via the mobile application 108, the transaction module 1 12 may be configured to approve or deny the transaction in response to receiving the transaction identifier from the mobile application 108. For example, the transaction module 112 may have access to and/or control an account associated with the buyer (referred to hereinafter as "the buyer's account") that may be linked to the mobile application identifier. In some embodiments, the buyer's account may include financial information related to the buyer such as checking, savings, and/or credit account balances. In these or other embodiments, the buyer's account may include financial institution information of financial institutions with which the buyer may have accounts. [0036] Therefore, the transaction module 1 12 may access the buyer's account in response to receiving the transaction identifier and based on the buyer's account balances and the total amount payable, or based on an inquiry to the financial institutions with which the buyer has accounts and the total amount payable, the transaction module 1 12 may either approve or deny the transaction. If the transaction has been approved, the transaction module 1 12 may adjust the balance of the applicable account accordingly. In some embodiments, the transaction module 1 12 may communicate a status to the intercepting module 104 and/or the mobile application 108 while the approval process is taking place.

[0037] The transaction module 1 12 may accordingly communicate a notification to the intercepting module 104 and/or the mobile application 108 indicating whether the transaction has been approved or denied. Additionally, if the transaction has been approved, the transaction module 1 12 may store the image file and/or text file associated with the transaction in the buyer's account such that the buyer may access the image file and/or text file at any later time and may have a stored record of the transaction. In some embodiments, the seller may also have an account of which the transaction module 1 12 may have access or may control. As mentioned above, in some embodiments, the transaction identifier may be linked with the seller. Therefore, in some of these embodiments, the transaction module 1 12 may also store a copy of the image file and/or text file associated with the transaction in the seller's account in response to receiving the transaction identifier and approving the transaction. Accordingly, the seller may also access the image and/or text file at any later time and may also have a stored record of the transaction.

[0038] In embodiments where the buyer has already paid for the transaction, which may be indicated by the information communicated to the transaction module 112 by the mobile application 108 along with the transaction identifier, the transaction module 1 12 may store the image file associated with the transaction in the buyer's account such that the buyer may access the image file at any later time and may have a stored record of the transaction. In these or other embodiments, if the seller also has an account with the transaction module 112, the transaction module 112 may also store a copy of the image file associated with the transaction in the seller's account. In some embodiments, the transaction module 112 may store the image file in response to receiving the transaction identifier from the mobile application 108. In these or other embodiments, the transaction module 1 12 may store the image file in response to a command generated by the intercepting module 104.

[0039] Therefore, the system 100 may be used to facilitate mobile payments between a buyer and a seller. Additionally, the system 100 may be used to keep digital records of the transactions to help improve record keeping. Further, the system 100 may be implemented with little to no modification to the point-of-sale software, hardware, or operating system, thereby enabling existing point-of-sale systems to support mobile payments without substantially altering the existing systems. Further, proof of the transactions may be digitally recorded and stored with little to no modification to the point-of-sale software, hardware, or operating system.

[0040] FIG. 3 is a flow chart of an example method 300 of facilitating a transaction between a buyer and a seller, arranged in accordance with at least some embodiments described herein. The method 300 may be implemented, in some embodiments, by a mobile payment system, such as the system 100 described above with, respect to Figure 1. For instance, the intercepting module 104 and/or transaction module 1 12 of Figure 1 may be configured to execute computer instructions to perform operations as represented by one or more of the blocks of the method 300. Although illustrated as discrete blocks, various blocks may be divided into additional blocks, combined into fewer blocks, or eliminated, depending on the desired implementation.

[0041] The method 300 may begin at block 302, where transaction data intended for a printer may be intercepted (e.g., intercepted by an intercepting module). At block 304, a transaction identifier may be generated in response to the transaction data being intercepted. For example, the intercepting module may request that a transaction module generate the transaction identifier in response to the intercepting module intercepting the transaction data.

[0042] At block 306, an optically-readable code may be generated (e.g., by the intercepting module). The optically-readable code may include the transaction identifier generated at block 304. At block 308, the transaction data may be combined with the optically-readable code and at block 310, the combined transaction data and optically- readable code may be printed.

[0043] At block 312, a text file may be generated based on the transaction data. At block 314 the transaction may be approved based on the text file and a scan of the optically- readable code by a mobile application.

[0044] One skilled in the art will appreciate that, for this and other processes and methods disclosed herein, the functions performed in the processes and methods may be implemented in differing order. Furthermore, the outlined steps and operations are only provided as examples, and some of the steps and operations may be optional, combined into fewer steps and operations, or expanded into additional steps and operations without detracting from the essence of the disclosed embodiments. [0045] For instance, the method 300 may further include steps associated with determining a total amount payable from the text file and approving the transaction based on the total amount payable. Further, the method 300 may include steps related to storing the combined transaction data and optically-readable code as an image file and storing the image file in an account associated with the buyer and/or an account associated with the seller.

[0046] The embodiments described herein may include the use of a special purpose or general-purpose computer including various computer hardware or software modules, as discussed in greater detail below.

[0047] Embodiments described herein may be implemented using computer-readable media for carrying or having computer-executable instructions or data structures stored thereon. Such computer-readable media may be any available media that may be accessed by a general puipose or special purpose computer. By way of example, and not limitation, such computer-readable media may comprise tangible computer-readable storage media including RAM, ROM, EEPROM, CD-ROM or other optical disk storage, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other storage medium which may be used to carry or store desired program code in the form of computer-executable instructions or data structures and which may be accessed by a general purpose or special purpose computer. Combinations of the above may also be included within the scope of computer- readable media.

[0048] Computer-executable instructions comprise, for example, instructions and data which cause a general purpose computer, special purpose computer, or special purpose processing device to perform a certain function or group of functions. Although the subject matter has been described in language specific to structural features and/or methodological acts, it is to be understood that the subject matter defined in the appended claims is not necessarily limited to the specific features or acts described above. Rather, the specific features and acts described above are disclosed as example forms of implementing the claims.

[0049] As used herein, the term "module" or "component" may refer to software objects or routines that execute on the computing system. The different components, modules, engines, and services described herein may be implemented as objects or processes that execute on the computing system (e.g., as separate threads). While the system and methods described herein are preferably implemented in software, implementations in hardware or a combination of software and hardware are also possible and contemplated. In this description, a "computing entity" may be any computing system as previously defined herein, or any module or combination of modulates running on a computing system.

[0050] All examples and conditional language recited herein are intended for pedagogical objects to aid the reader in understanding the present disclosure and the concepts contributed by the inventor to furthering the art, and are to be construed as being without limitation to such specifically recited examples and conditions. Although embodiments of the present disclosure have been described in detail, it should be understood that the various changes, substitutions, and alterations could be made hereto without departing from the spirit and scope of the disclosure.

Claims

CLAIMS What is claimed is:

1. A method of facilitating a transaction between a buyer and a seller, the method comprising:

intercepting transaction data associated with a transaction between a buyer and a seller, the transaction data being intended for a printer configured to print the transaction data;

requesting a transaction identifier from a transaction module in response to intercepting the transaction data;

receiving the transaction identifier from the transaction module in response to the request;

generating an optically-readable code that includes the transaction identifier; and instructing the printer to print the optically-readable code.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the transaction identifier is associated with initiating a request for approval of the transaction.

3. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

combining the transaction data with the optically-readable code;

generating an image file of the combined transaction data and optically-readable code; and

communicating the image file to the transaction module.

4. The method of claim 3, further comprising instructing the printer to print the combined transaction data and optically-readable code.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

converting the intercepted transaction data into a text file;

associating the transaction identifier with the text file; and

communicating the text file to the transaction module.

6. The method of claim 5, further comprising determining a total amount payable from the text file, the total amount payable associated with approving the transaction.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the transaction identifier indicates the seller associated with the transaction.

8. A method of facilitating a transaction between a buyer and a seller, the method comprising:

receiving a request for a transaction identifier from an intercepting module in response to the intercepting module intercepting transaction data associated with a transaction between a buyer and a seller, the transaction data being intended for a printer configured to print the transaction data;

generating the transaction identifier in response to receiving the request for the transaction identifier; communicating the transaction identifier to the intercepting module; receiving a text file from the intercepting module, the text file associated with the transaction identifier and including the intercepted transaction data; and

approving the transaction based on the text file.

9. The method of claim 8, further comprising:

receiving an image file including the transaction data and an optically-readable code, the optically-readable code including the transaction identifier; and

associating at least one of the image file and the text file with at least one of the buyer and the seller based on a scan of the optically-readable code by a mobile application.

10. The method of claim 8, further comprising:

determining a total amount payable from the text file; and

approving the transaction based on the total amount payable and a scan of an optically-readable code including the transaction identifier.

11. The method of claim 8, wherein the transaction identifier indicates the seller associated with the transaction.

12. The method of claim 8, further comprising associating the transaction with the buyer based on a scan of an optically-readable code including the transaction identifier.

13. A method of facilitating a transaction between a buyer and a seller, the method comprising:

converting the intercepted transaction data into a text file in response to intercepting the transaction data; and

approving the transaction based on the text file.

14. The method of claim 13, further comprising:

generating a transaction identifier in response to intercepting the transaction data; generating an optically-readable code that includes the transaction identifier; and instructing the printer to print the optically-readable code.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the transaction identifier is associated with initiating a request for approval of the transaction.

16. The method of claim 14, further comprising:

combining the transaction data with the optically-readable code; and

generating an image file of the combined transaction data and optically-readable code.

17. The method of claim 16, further comprising instructing the printer to print the combined transaction data and optically-readable code.

18. The method of claim 16, further comprising associating the image file with at least one of the buyer and the seller.

19. The method of claim 13, further comprising:

determining a total amount payable from the text file; and

approving the transaction based on the total amount payable.

20. A system for facilitating a transaction between a buyer and a seller, the system comprising:

an intercepting module configured to:

intercept transaction data associated with a transaction between a buyer and a seller, the transaction data being intended for a printer configured to print the transaction data;

generate a text file based on the transaction data;

generate an optically-readable code that includes a transaction identifier; and instruct the printer to print the optically-readable code; and

a transaction module communicatively coupled to the intercepting module and configured to approve the transaction based on the text file and a scan of the optically- readable code by a mobile application.

21. The system of claim 20, wherein the transaction module is further configured to:

determine a total amount payable based on the text file; and

approve the transaction based on the total amount payable.

22. The system of claim 20, wherein:

the intercepting module is configured to request the transaction identifier from the transaction module in response to intercepting the transaction data; and

the transaction module is configured to generate the transaction identifier in response to receiving the request.

23. The system of claim 20, wherein the intercepting module is further configured to:

combine the transaction data with the optically-readable code;

instruct the printer to print the combined transaction data and optically-readable code;

generate an image file of the combined transaction data and optically-readable code; and

communicate the image file to the transaction module.

24. The system of claim 23, wherein the transaction module is configured to associate at least one of the image file and the text file with at least one of the buyer and the seller based on the transaction identifier.