OA21976A - Smart electronic money payment terminal. - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to an electronic money payment terminal (mobile money), an intelligent tool, a genuine dedicated electronic money wallet (EPSI-PAY). It functions as a secondary interface which can be coupled or not to a main interface (such as the telephone) of a Merchant, which connects to it, by BLUETOOTH, GSM or any other suitable means of communication, and which as a whole communicates via the internet, intranet, USSD, SMS or any other suitable means, with the EPSI BAN electronic money payment technology platform which manages it. Said Terminal is thus created with the aim of allowing the Merchant to carry out at reduced cost, hands-free, with minimal effort and without distinction of the network or type of telephone of his customer, and from a mobile money sub-account created by the platform, his operations of collection or disbursement of electronic money of small amounts, from or to his Customer, without disclosing the personal data of the parties and while protecting the Merchant from the loss of time, the risk of violation of his privacy, the risk of theft of his telephone or his mobile money secret code.

Description

I. INTRODUCTION

The present invention relates to an electronic money payment terminal (mobile money), a smart tool, a genuine dedicated electronic money wallet (EPSI-PAY). It is designed for the Merchant and functions as a proof of payment display or a tool for validating a payment request, initiated by the telephone of an electronic money Client user, requesting a refund or wishing to make a payment to a Merchant who does not wish, for security or practicality reasons, to regularly use his telephone to carry out this type of operation.

The operation of this Terminal is ensured by a technological platform for electronic money payment, including Merchant cashing software (in the case of a purchase for example) or Merchant disbursement software (in the case of a refund for example) in electronic money, with a simplified customer journey, allowing it to play the role, as needed, of a payment verification or payment validation tool. The servers (technological platform) in which said software is installed, communicate via intranet, internet, USSD or SMS or any other means of communication that is suitable, where appropriate, simultaneously or not, with a main interface (the mobile phone for example) and a secondary interface (the EPSI-PAY Terminal), which can be configured on the main interface or directly on the platform, to only receive messages concerning payment confirmation or payment request.

II. STATE OF THE ART

The EPSI-PAY electronic money payment terminal, as a tool for verifying “mobile money” payments or validating a refund.

The mobile money service allows mobile phone users to deposit, withdraw, transfer money, as well as pay for goods and services using their phone.

The company SAFARICOM, which has distinguished itself in KENYA and in certain East African countries through its M-PESA solution, is a good example of these "Fintech" (financial technology companies) which are very often mobile telephone companies whose B2IÏ (Business to business) or B2C (business to customer) approach severely challenges the business model of the traditional financial industry.

These mobile phone companies, major providers of these electronic money services, the best known of which in the CFA zone are "ORANGE MONEY", MTN "MOBILE MONEY" and AIRTEL "MOBILE MONEY", operate either by themselves or in partnership with one or more banks; They recruit external Agents (called call-boxes in Cameroon) responsible for the distribution of their products for opening electronic accounts, depositing fiat money to be transformed into electronic money and withdrawing fiat money from an electronic account ("wallet"), in return for the commissions that these Electronic Money Companies must pay them.

To open an electronic account with an Electronic Money Company, the user must systematically go to an electronic money distribution point with their national identity card. The Enrollment Agent or authorized distributor scans the identity card and inserts it into the electronic money platform; then, using biometric equipment at their disposal, the Agent or distributor collects the user's photo, signature and sometimes fingerprints from the platform. At the end of this process, the user is instantly assigned an electronic account number corresponding to their existing or newly acquired telephone number.

In the case of a deposit transaction, the user of a "wallet" must go to a "mobile money" distribution point, equipped with the cash to be deposited into his "wallet"; the Operation is initiated by the distribution Agent on the electronic money menu of his mobile phone; after following the steps, he enters the telephone number of his Client, then concludes the transaction when the user receives an SMS of the deposit after having given the cash to the Agent. The user therefore receives at the same time as the Agent, SMS in which the details of the transaction are specified as well as the telephone numbers of the counterparty. This operation is carried out at no cost to the Client.

The same process applies to withdrawing fiat money from an electronic account: the Agent, the wallet user or the Customer initiates the transaction, completes the Customer process, and the transaction is concluded when the Customer validates it by entering their secret code; their wallet is then debited with the amount of the transaction for the benefit of the distributing Agent who, upon receipt of the confirmation message containing all their personal data, pays the user an amount of fiat money equivalent to the electronic money they received in their electronic account. The fees relating to this withdrawal are charged to the Customer's mobile money account.

In the context of new invoice payments and Merchant payments, the transaction is initiated by the Customer who enters on his mobile phone the syntax displayed at the Merchant and which includes the Merchant's code; he makes the call, then another menu window appears asking him to enter the amount to be paid to the Merchant; then it is the turn of the window asking to enter the reference, and finally the last window appears indicating the KYC ("Know Your Customer") of the Merchant (in particular the name of the business and/or the telephone number), in which there is a space where he is asked to insert his PIN code (secret code) to validate his payment. When he validates the transaction, the Customer receives at the same time as the Merchant an SMS, which for each, discloses the personal information (name, telephone number and others) of the opposite number. Very often, this transaction is billed to the Customer who initiated it by a service fee.

Very often, the phone that the Merchant is supposed to use to verify the payment is turned off or on standby when the Customer confirms their payment. The Merchant and the Customer must then wait until the Merchant's phone is turned back on, then the Merchant will have to open the SMS space on their phone to check the payment. Many Merchants, especially those whose two hands are constantly busy, dread this exercise, which not only wastes their time, exposes their phone to theft, but also creates a distraction that can lead to work accidents.

When the Merchant has to reimburse his Customer, if he does not have coins or a Merchant account, he is then obliged to make a P2P (Person to Person) or B2C (Business to Customer) mobile money transfer. To do this, he must dial the operator's short code, choose the money transfer option and click on it; a window then appears in which he is asked to choose the operator to which the transfer is addressed. Afterwards, another window appears asking him to enter the phone number to which he wishes to transfer money; then it is the turn of the window telling him to enter the amount; other operators add another window asking to enter the reference. This is when the window appears asking the Merchant to enter his PIN code to validate the transaction. After validation, each party then receives an SMS which discloses the personal information of the opposite party. In this case, the transfer fees are charged to the Merchant who makes the transfer. This operation, which should last a little less than 1 minute, often reaches 4 to 5 minutes for the less attentive.

In this type of transaction, the Merchant and the Customer, who very often do not know each other, are obliged to exchange personal information. The Customer or the Merchant, because of this exchanged data, are thus exposed to all kinds of extortion attempts, harassment of all kinds and blackmail by telephone or surveillance. It may also happen that during the payment or reimbursement from the Merchant to the Customer, his mobile phone receives an incoming call or message which disrupts his transaction. In addition, the Merchant fears this customer journey which he considers long and complex and which obliges him to regularly handle his phone and his PIN code in the presence of unknown Customers, thus exposing him to the risks of theft of his mobile phone, theft of his secret code, harassment, distraction and loss of time in his activities.

According to a recent report (2023) from the GSMA, the global organization that brings together the mobile telephony ecosystem, mobile money accounts worldwide have grown from 800 million five years ago to 1.6 billion at the end of 2022 for a total of 1,260 billion US dollars in transactions, a growth rate of 22% compared to 2021. The same report indicates that the daily transaction volume reached 3.45 billion dollars in 2022 and that transactions relating to bill payments are growing exponentially (36% in 2022 or 78 billion dollars in merchant payments), now ranking third among transaction types after P2P transfers and deposit-withdrawal operations.

From these statistics, it emerges that Sub-Saharan Africa has more than 54% of active accounts, 70% of the global volume of transactions and 66% of the amount of global “mobile money” transactions with respectively East Africa 491.8 billion Dollars, West Africa 277 billion Dollars, Central Africa 57.6 billion Dollars.

Cameroon has not remained on the sidelines of this global movement: according to BEAC figures, its market has experienced growth of 13.7%: out of the 37.381 million accounts registered in the sub-region in 2022; it alone accounts for 57.7%, or 21.6 million accounts for 2.3 billion transactions (6.3 million per day) for a total amount of 23,332.7 billion FCFA.

In view of the above statistics, it should be noted that Sub-Saharan Africa, driven by the low rate of banking of its populations, is the leading region in the development of "mobile money" in the world, unlike Europe and other developed countries which, thanks to the strong financial inclusion of their populations, are experiencing very little development of this solution.

This justifies the fact that most of the innovations, with a view to perfecting payments by "mobile money" should come mainly from sub-Saharan African countries, which have a very high penetration rate of "mobile money", like Kenya and Cameroon. As for developed countries, whose financial systems are more sophisticated, they already have more or less secure innovations as parallel payment tools like bank cards and electronic payment terminals (EPTs).

Several initiatives aim to address the various obstacles to the full development of this “mobile money” ecosystem, particularly those concerning merchant payments in the context of P2P (Person to Person) or B2P (Business to Person) exchanges, in particular:

1) The risks of fraud resulting from the disclosure of users' personal data;

2) Risks relating to user privacy (non-protection of privacy);

3) The risks of theft of Merchants' secret codes exposed to the frequent use of these to validate their multiple payment or reimbursement operations;

4) The physical or financial security risks of certain categories of Merchant (motorcycle taxi drivers, taxi drivers) who, by repeatedly handling their mobile phones, expose themselves to accidents, attacks or financial penalties.

5) The risks of theft of the Merchant's mobile phone, exposed to the repetitive use of this tool to carry out their multiple payment or reimbursement operations (it very often happens that motorcycle taxi drivers wanting to reimburse with their phone have it snatched);

6) The risks of error by the Merchant due to the complexity of the customer journey; the latter fears making a mistake in writing the recipient's code or the amount to be paid;

7) The risk of exposing the Merchant to an additional workload and loss of time due to frequent handling of his mobile phone and a very long customer journey;

8) The limitation of Merchants to reimbursing or paying only Customers sharing the same network as them due to the prohibitive costs of inter-network transfers;

9) The risks of fraud and harassment linked to the use of mobile applications;

lO) The risks of the Merchant's mobile phone not being usable for certain types of transactions, given that incoming calls or messages may disrupt the ongoing refund and payment transaction.

The risk for Merchants to bear transaction costs related to their refund or payment operations.

To solve these problems, some electronic money operators provide merchants with dedicated accounts adapted to their activities and which operate via USSD through a merchant code or via QR code. However, the impact of these solutions seems quite insignificant, given the procedural difficulties which limit access to the merchant code to a privileged few, as well as the low smartphone penetration of the vast majority of customers who, not having this tool, cannot benefit from QR code transactions with the merchants who use it.

Thus, in the absence of technological innovations that would affect the physical and material characteristics of the service, as well as the products or processes, Operators seem to be content with managerial innovations, particularly with regard to readjustments of customer journeys, financial education of consumers, encouragement of standardization, legislation on data protection and cyber security: many electronic money Operators being completely focused on the development of their activities or the development of new products for their Customers, are therefore slow to equip their markets with intelligent tools that can minimize or reduce the above-mentioned risks.

However, the urgency of an appropriate solution puts more pressure on all the players in "mobile money" and more particularly on the Merchants, who also want to benefit greatly from the fallout from the boom in this technology, especially in the context of the FCFA Zone where coins are becoming increasingly rare, preventing them from optimizing their sales.

III- DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

111-1 - BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The EPSI-PAY electronic money payment terminal, the subject of the present invention, is an electronic device, which can be the secondary interface of a Merchant's telephone, connected through it or not, to the EPSI BAN electronic money payment technology platform, capable of automatically generating payments or receipts of sums of money of an amount less than 10,000 FCFA, by "mobile money", initiated by a Customer using a short code which can interact with the "wallets" of several "mobile money" Operators in operation, without an intermediary thanks to a unique customer journey and without disclosure of the personal data of the Merchant and his Customer, the BAN (Digital Purchase Voucher) being understood as the classic electronic money issued by the Operators already in operation, transferred by the Merchant into a sub-account controlled by the EPS] BAN platform and intended for his reimbursement or third-party payment operations and the amount of which is less than 10,000 FCFA.

The objective of the EPSI PAY Terminal is to provide the Merchant and the Customer with a minimized "customer effort score" (level of effort required from the Customer to complete their transaction), which would allow them to save time. In addition, the device provides them with greater security, greater simplicity in operations, greater comfort, network diversity, better ergonomics, greater confidentiality and anonymity when necessary.

The EPSI-PAY Terminal is therefore a device specially designed for the Merchant, exposed to very numerous and frequent cases of reimbursement or receipt of payments per day, whose permanent occupation of the hands for his daily work, does not allow him to constantly manipulate his mobile phone to accept or make, a receipt or payment by "mobile money" and without fees. The fees are borne by the Customer.

The EPSI-PAY Terminal is only designed to perform specific tasks related to transactions prepared or intended for the telephone of a Merchant connected to the EPSI BAN reimbursement or payment platform, in particular:

For Customer payment cases (collection), the device is intended to display the payment confirmation message, thus allowing the Merchant to read and verify hands-free that their payment has been collected in their usual “wallet”;

- For cases of reimbursement or disbursement by the Merchant, the device is intended to display the request message sent by the Customer or the counterparty, thus allowing the Merchant to read the request hands-free, then validate or cancel it if necessary, by pressing the appropriate button.

The EPSI PAY Terminal is designed on the technological principle of "co-working" in which the Merchant prefers that an operation of common interest is initiated and carried out by his Customer, who bears the costs, so that his action is limited, either to reading the result, or to validation by a button on a tool other than his mobile phone, fixed or not in an appropriate place and which Pon can move if necessary.

In reality, the EPSI PAY Terminal is a smart “low cost” tool, a real fixed or mobile wallet, communicating with the Merchant’s mobile phone, kept at a safe distance or not, configured to listen to and display exclusively the messages (SMS or USSD) arriving on this phone and concerning the collection or disbursement operations linked to the EPSI BAN platform or any other connected partner platform.

The marginal use of mobile money by a large majority of small traders for their Merchant operations of collection, reimbursement or other disbursement, stems from the fear of the realization of the risks stated in point II of this report; this is how the EPSI PA Y Terminal appears as a real technological innovation, which is no longer content with modifying a few processes, but constitutes an intelligent tool which, thanks to an oriented and "customized" operational and economic model, allows the Merchant to resolve his fears of "mobile money", in particular:

By protecting it from the risks of fraud by not disclosing its personal data and those of its Customers;

By protecting him from the risk of violation of his moral or physical privacy, thanks to the non-disclosure of his personal data;

By minimizing the risks of accidents or penalties to which frequent handling of a mobile phone during work would expose him;

By minimizing the risks of theft of his “mobile money” secret code, to which he would be exposed if he frequently handled his “mobile money” account with strangers;

By minimizing the risk of your phone being stolen, while replacing it with a tool that can be used almost hands-free and costs much less than the original.

By substantially reducing its workload through simple, easy-to-use, user-friendly ergonomics requiring very little intervention in the payment process;

By allowing him to save time, for himself and for his Client, given that he no longer needs to activate his phone to intervene in any customer journey;

By protecting it from the risk of errors, thanks to its very low intervention in the customer journey during transactions with its Client;

By reducing its transaction costs, given that it is the Client who bears the costs of the transaction;

By eliminating the risk of transaction disruption due to unwanted incoming calls or messages on your mobile phone.

III-2- DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Due to the scarcity of coins and small denominations of banknotes which prevent Merchants from optimizing their sales, the EPSI BAN electronic money payment platform is specially designed to facilitate their disbursement and collection operations for small amounts (from 1 to 9999 FCFA), but this time in digital currency, like the small reimbursements to be made to its Customers.

The platform's socio-economic model is modeled on the practice of physical refunds of coins and small bills (from 5 to 9995 FCFA) that Merchants are accustomed to. In this reality, the Customer, let alone the Merchant, does not need to exchange phone numbers or names. In this usual reality, the Merchant takes the change from his cash register or his pockets, and gives it to his Customer, and the transaction is concluded, without the exchange of data. These Merchants prefer that the exchange of personal data be limited to large amounts.

Thanks to the EPSI BAN platform, the Merchant connected via US SD or by Application, based on a simple and easy-to-use Customer journey, can reimburse small amounts to his Customer enrolled on the EPSI BAN platform or not, by BAN or directly into his classic “wallet”, whatever his usual Electronic Money Operator, whatever the denomination of banknote he presents, without any fees incurred and without them having to exchange personal data.

To do this, EPSI Agents are responsible for enrolling Merchants either through the EPSI BAN Application or through a USSD code. Merchants with a Smartphone have more options: using their Smartphones to carry out their end-to-end collection or disbursement operations via USSD or the Application, or initiating operations on their Smartphone and completing them on the EPSI PAY Terminal.

Even Merchants with simple phones can benefit from the EPSI PAY Terminal; in this case, their EPSI-PAY Terminal is equipped with an electronic chip capable of communicating via GSM or any other type of communication mode that is suitable for interacting with the platform.

The registration of a Merchant by an Agent on the EPSI BAN platform automatically gives them a Merchant code, which corresponds to their EPSI BAN account, which can now interact with their classic “mobile money” account, during collection or disbursement operations.

Regardless of the Merchant's phone type, the EPSI BAN platform allows them to perform the following operations:

- Reading your Merchant code;

Funding of your EPSI BAN account (reimbursement or payment to a third party);

Transferring your EPSI BAN account to your classic “mobile money” account (conversion of BANs into “mobile money”);

Consultation of the balance and history of their EPSI BAN account.

In the EPS! BAN platform, the "modus operandi" consists of leaving it to the Customer to take all the initiatives, given that it is the Customer who requests either the disbursement service (act of payment for a purchase) for the benefit of the Merchant, or the collection service from the Merchant (case of reimbursement). Consequently, it is the Customer's responsibility to bear the costs and to contribute to the faster completion of the desired service ("co-working") with the Merchant.

In the case of a disbursement from the Merchant (refund case), the Customer can agree with the Merchant to receive the payment either in their BAN account or directly in their classic “mobile money” account. If they receive it in their BAN account, the entire refund is guaranteed.

However, its payment is subject to a slight discount as a service charge in the following cases:

The Customer wishes to receive their payment directly into their classic “mobile money” account and without going through a BAN account;

The Customer wishes to transfer electronic money from his BAN account to his classic “mobile money” account;

The Customer wishes to use the electronic money from his BAN account for a purchase from a Merchant other than the one who issued it.

The EPSI PAY Terminal therefore appears as a dedicated hardware tool, intended to improve the performance of existing “mobile money” platforms and more particularly the EPSI BAN platform, with the aim of resolving the Merchant’s concerns listed in point 11, by providing solutions, particularly with regard to:

Non-disclosure of personal data during transactions;

I. absence of handling of the telephone, which is replaced by a tool that can be used hands-free;

The absence of manipulation of his secret code in public;

Saving time and reducing effort, since the Terminal is in read or simple validation;

Non-disruption of transactions, since the Terminal only receives EPSI BAN messages or requests;

Pre-loading of the EPSI BAN account with the amounts to be disbursed, a measure aimed at protecting the main “mobile money” account.

Thanks to the EPS! BAN platform software, also designed on the foundations of the "seifeare System" _f the EPS! PAY Terminal works:

Either in reading mode, for cases of disbursement from the Customer to the Merchant's “mobile money” account (act of payment for a purchase);

Either in read then validation mode, for cases of collection for the benefit of the Customer from the Merchant's "mobile money" account (reimbursement or payment from the Merchant to its Customer or to a third party), depending on the type of request submitted by the Customer or by a third party.

III-2-J- The EPSI PAY Terminal functioning as a disbursement tool from the Merchant to the benefit of its Customer (example: case of reimbursement in electronic money by the Merchant to the Customer)

Due to the scarcity of coins and small denominations of banknotes which prevent Merchants from optimizing their sales, the EPSI BAN platform is specially designed to facilitate disbursement operations for the benefit of the Customer, within the framework of a digital reimbursement or payment for the purchase of a service from another Merchant, without exceeding an amount of 9999 FCFA).

Here, the socio-economic model of the platform is modeled on the practice of physical reimbursements of coins and small denominations (from 5 to 9995 FCFA) to which Merchants are accustomed. Everything happens exactly as in the case where the Customer who has given a note or a coin of large value to the Merchant for a purchase, receives coins from the latter as reimbursement, without the two having to exchange personal data (telephone number, name) to conclude their transaction.

In this case, the Customer who is convinced by the Merchant to be reimbursed by EPSI BAN, initiates the transaction by dialing the EPSI disbursement USSD short code: #237*036*21*Merchant Code* Amount# or any other code to be communicated, displayed in the Merchant's store in a visible place.

This short code to be entered includes, among other things, the Merchant Code, the transaction type code, as well as the amount of the refund concluded with the Merchant. When the call is made, the Merchant's phone, whether kept at a good distance or not from the EPSI PAY Terminal, fixed in an appropriate location, receives at the same time as the Terminal or not, a payment request by "prompt" message (USSD message) or other, which can be worded for example as follows: "Code 930983, refund of an amount of 300 FCFA requested by token 8162. Validate with the green button, cancel with the red button".

Upon receipt of this message on his EPSI PAY Terminal, the Merchant asks the Customer to give him the token number of the request sent:

If it corresponds to the one displayed on his Terminal and the amount is in accordance with that expected by the Merchant, the latter presses the validation bolt (green or any other color to be defined) and his Terminal instantly displays another "prompt" or other message, which can be worded as follows: "refund successfully made": The Customer then instantly receives in his mobile phone, a message confirming his refund, either in BAN, or in classic "mobile money" in his usual "wallet" of his Operator;

If the Customer's token or the amount to be refunded does not correspond to those displayed on the EPSI PAY Terminal, the Merchant presses the cancellation button (red or any other to be defined) to cancel the transaction.

The Customer with a Smartphone who has downloaded the EPSI BAN application can get reimbursed even more easily; Instead of USSD, he simply needs to open the application on the appropriate page for payment by QR code, then bring his phone close to scan the Merchant's QR code displayed in his place of business. He then enters the amount he wishes to be reimbursed and validates. The EPSI PAY Terminal instantly receives the payment request, then a scenario similar to the case of payment by USSD mentioned above follows, until the transaction is completed. In its improved version with an integrated QR code system, the EPSI PAY Terminal can also play the same role as the Phone.

It should be noted that in the event of coupling, the EPSI PAY Terminal can also function as a sounding board for the Merchant's mobile phone: then, the messages it displays are the same ones received in real time by his phone, with the only difference being that those from the Terminal can be synthesized by extracting the key elements of the payment.

To do this, the Terminal, even in standby mode, remains permanently listening via BLUETOOTH, GSM or any other technology, for messages (USSD and/or SMS) that may arrive on the Merchant's phone. Instantly, it sorts them, synthesizes them if necessary, before displaying them on its screen. In this case of coupling to the Merchant's phone, we understand that for the EPS! PAY Terminal to work, the phone, kept at a good distance, must be switched on and its BLUETOOTH activated.

Ultimately, we can therefore assume that at the start of his working day, the Merchant prepares by loading (from his mobile phone for example), his BAN account with the estimated amount for the reimbursement operations of this day. This operation consists of typing the short code #237*036*2# or any other predefined USSD code; then he chooses option 1 from the menu that appears (MOMO TO BAN); he then enters the estimated reimbursement amount of the day, then he is asked to enter the secret code of his usual "wallet"; the amount requested in digital currency from this "ballet" is thus transferred to his EPSI BAN account. He can consult his EPSI BAN account by typing the appropriate code; the money being available in this account in the form of BAN, it is now ready to be used for his reimbursements or for his purchases of less than 10,000 FCFA.

To prevent a third party from making an undue request to fraudulently validate a payment on their EPSI PAY Terminal, the Merchant only has to press the connection/disconnection button on their Terminal (yellow button or other) or use the disconnection functionality in the EPSI BAN menu of the phone. At this point, the Terminal can no longer receive any requests or messages, and any payment through this tool is blocked: because the button cuts off Bluetooth and/or GSM communication. To make it functional again, the Merchant must simply reactivate Bluetooth on their phone (for pairing cases) or validate on their phone the Terminal's reconnection request from the LPSI BAN platform (for cases of direct connection of the Terminal to the platform).

As it is intended to remain switched on during the working day, the EPSI Terminal can be powered by a battery similar to that of mobile phones, by batteries or by a cord system connected to an electrical outlet or the cigarette lighter of a vehicle.

Ultimately, it is clear that for cases of disbursement from the Merchant to the benefit of his Customer (example: case of refund of change by the Merchant to the Customer), the latter no longer needs to handle either his mobile phone or his “mobile money” secret code: his “mobile money” account is thus more protected, the Merchant saves time, his workload is reduced, his transactions are no longer disrupted by calls or other incoming messages, he is less exposed to the risk of fraud, his risk of accident is reduced, his privacy is preserved, his phone is protected, he can reimburse his Customer regardless of his type of phone and regardless of his “mobile money” Operator, and he saves money because it is the Customer who pays.

Furthermore, in the event of theft, the EPS1 PAY Terminal can no longer function since it is configured on a specific Merchant code by GSM connection with the platform and/or Bluetooth, managed by the Merchant's phone. Compared to the cost of a Smartphone, this tool, which is intended to be less expensive, should not exceed 5000 FCFA for its simplified version. It therefore appears as a payment solution for small businesses, which carry the vast majority of transactions in Sub-Saharan Africa.

III-2-2- The EPSI BAN Terminal functioning as a disbursement tool from the Customer to the Merchant (example: case of payment of a purchase in electronic money by the Customer to the Merchant)

The characteristic difference between this mode of operation and that mentioned in the previous point (II1-2-1) lies in the syntax to be typed by the Customer, and the degree of involvement of the Merchant in the transaction whose task is even more reduced.

As in the previous case, the Customer convinced by the Merchant to use EPSI PAY, initiates the transaction by typing the short code #237*036*22*Merchant Code*Amount# or any other code to be communicated, displayed in a place visible to the Merchant.

This short code to be entered includes, among other things, the Merchant Code, the transaction type code, as well as the amount to be paid to the Merchant. When the Customer initiates the call, a "prompted" message (USSD) from their "mobile money" Operator is displayed on their mobile phone screen, asking them to enter their PIN Code to validate their payment. Once validated, at the same time as their phone receives a confirmation SMS, the Merchant's EPSI PAY Terminal also retrieves it at the same time, in full or in summary. The Merchant's phone can also receive the same message in the case of pairing; at the end, the Merchant only has to read the information on the screen of their EPSI PAY Terminal to ensure the effective payment of the Customer identified by their token code or transaction code.

As in point ΙΠ-2-1, the Customer can also choose to pay by QR code if he has a Smartphone in which he has downloaded the EPSI application, or if he has an improved version of the EPSI PAY Terminal, including an integrated electronic input device and a QR code scanning system.

Ultimately, in the case of using the EPSI PAY Terminal as a tool for collecting payments from the Merchant from its Customer (example: case of payment of a purchase in electronic money by the Customer to the Merchant), the Merchant uses the tool completely hands-free, simply to check whether the payment has been made or not.

The Merchant benefits from the same advantages offered by the Terminal in the first use case.

In conclusion, when he has finished his working day, the Merchant (from his mobile phone or the improved version of the Terminal), can, by typing the short code 11237*036*22-11 or any other appropriate code, access the EPSI BAN platform in order to view the accounting of all the collection and disbursement operations carried out by his EPSI PAY Terminal.

III-2-3- Composition and characteristics of the EPSI-PAY electronic money payment terminal (see Plates I figures 1 and 2)

a) Composition of the EPSI PAY Terminal

1. The screen or display

It can be classic or touch (for higher quality); it allows the Merchant to view incoming EPSI BAN payment requests or messages intended for him. For improved versions, it can display an integrated electronic keyboard.

2. The validation key

It can be green or any other color to be defined; it allows the Merchant to validate an incoming payment request or approve a displayed message.

3. The cancel key

It can be red or any other color to be defined; it allows the Merchant to cancel an incoming payment request.

4, The login/logout button

It can be yellow or any other color to be defined; it allows the Merchant to establish or cut Bluetooth communication with his phone and GSM with the platform. Communication is only definitively reestablished following confirmation on the Merchant's phone.

5. - The feed slot

It allows you to insert the Terminal's power supply cord which will connect it to the power source.

6. Space for inserting the power battery and locating the GSM chip

This is the space reserved for inserting the battery or batteries. In this same space is provided the mini space for inserting the GSM chip.

7, Mechanical support

The support at the base of the Terminal allows it to be fixed or removed as needed from the location chosen by the Merchant.

i. The sound notification alarm

It notifies the Merchant of the notification of an incoming payment request or message.

9. The Power Button

It allows the Merchant to turn the Terminal on or off.

10. The integrated communication system

The EPSI PAY Terminal and its EPS1 BAN technological platform have BLUETOOTH and/or GSM communication systems or other to be specified, intended to facilitate pairing with the Merchant's telephone and connection with the platform, with the aim of only receiving EPSI BAN requests and messages or other configured partner messages.

The improved version of the Electronic Money Payment Terminal will be able to integrate a QR code reading system.

b) Terminal characteristics and other forms of presentation bl) Dimensions of the Terminal (may vary depending on the manufacturer, or the impact on the price of the Terminal)

Thickness: 10 mm;

Width: 50 mm;

Length: 100 mm;

Weight: to be defined by the manufacturer b2) Screen or display: The size may vary depending on the manufacturer, or the impact on the price of the Terminal or the weight.

b3) Desired energy consumption level: To be defined with the manufacturer.

b4) Safety devices

The EPSI PAY Terminal is configured with the Merchant code assigned by the EPSI BAN platform so as to render it unusable in the event of theft.

b5) Other forms of presentation: For reasons of practicality or aesthetics, the EPSI PAY Terminal may be presented in the form of an electronic watch or any other suitable form.

Claims (11)

1. Electronic money payment device/terminal (mobile money). smart tool (EPSI-PAY), specially designed for use by a Merchant, which can function as a secondary mobile interface for his/her telephone, connected to it by Bluetooth, GSM or any other suitable means of communication, and which has the capacity to capture, synthesize as needed and display “prompted” messages (USSD), SMS or other, coming from the EPSI BAN electronic money payment technology platform which manages it remotely; and thanks to which, the Merchant can carry out hands-free and without wasting time, electronic money collection or disbursement transactions of small amounts with his/her Customer, without disclosure of the parties’ personal data, without disruption and in complete security. 2. Electronic money payment device/terminal (mobile money), smart tool (EPSI-PAY), according to claim 1, characterized in that it is presented as a real electronic money wallet, mobile or fixed, in a simple or improved version (electronic entry possible and QR code system), usable with or without internet to store or use electronic money and materialized as a dedicated tool, unlike the mobile phone, whose “mobile money” function is incidental to the call and messaging functions. It includes: • A screen or display; • A validation key; • A cancel key; • A connect/disconnect button; • A feed slot; • A space for inserting the power battery and locating the GSM chip; • Mechanical support; • An audible notification alarm; • A power button; • An integrated communication system. 3. Electronic money payment device/terminal (mobile money), smart tool (EPSI-PAY), according to claims let 2, characterized in that, thanks to the EPSI BAN platform, and with the help of the integrated communication system of the Terminal that I manage, the Merchant can now, by means of tokens, pay out to his Customer (in the case of reimbursement for example) or be paid by said Customer enrolled in the EPSI BAN platform or not, regardless of the network of the “mobile money” Operator to which the latter belongs, and also, regardless of the type of telephone that both have (smartphone or not). 4. Electronic money payment device/terminal (mobile money), intelligent tool (EPSI-PAY), according to the preceding claims, characterized in that said screen or display can, thanks to the EPSI BAN platform and with the help of the integrated communication system of the Terminal, capture, synthesize if necessary and display specific messages, coming from the EPSI BAN platform or from other configured Partners, in order to allow the Merchant to complete his transactions, using his hands as little as possible, often occupied by his work. 5. Electronic money payment device/terminal (mobile money), smart tool (EPSI-PAY), according to claim 2 and 4, characterized in that said validation key has the capacity to trigger through the EPSI BAN platform or any other configured partner platform, the disbursement of the Merchant's EPSI BAN account, dedicated to the reimbursement or payment requested by the Customer, and which subsequently causes the reception of a confirmation message on the screen of said Terminal as well as sending at the same time, if necessary, to the mobile phone of said Customer of the same message. 6. Electronic money payment device/terminal (mobile money), intelligent tool (EPSI-PAY), according to claim 2, characterized in that, said validation key, in the context of a disbursement, draws the funds to be disbursed to the Customer's profile from an EPSI BAN account, which is in reality a real "mobile money" sub-account of the Merchant, in which he stores the electronic money intended for his daily activities, and which is previously supplied at the start of the day by the Merchant, by disbursement from his usual "mobile money" account, after having entered the appropriate EPSI BAN short code on his telephone. 7. Electronic money payment device/terminal (mobile money), smart tool (EPSI-PAY), according to claim 2, characterized in that the connection/disconnection key, to avoid fraudulent disbursements on the Terminal, allows the Merchant to cut off Bluetooth and/or GSM communication, without which said Terminal can no longer communicate with the Merchant's telephone and/or the EPSI BAN platform; consequently can no longer carry out transactions, except by reactivation from the Merchant's telephone. 8. Electronic money payment device/Terminal (mobile money), smart tool (EPSI-PAY), according to claims 1 and 4, characterized in that the protection of said Terminal against theft is ensured by the EPSI BAN technological platform, which assigns to each Merchant at the time of their registration by the Agent, a Merchant code which links their Terminal to their telephone from the first transaction. Said code makes it unusable by a third-party telephone number, and the deactivation of this mechanism can only be carried out on the EPSI BAN platform at the request of the known Merchant's telephone number. 9. Electronic money payment device/terminal (mobile money), intelligent tool (EPSI-PAY), according to claim 1, characterized in that the Merchant who has received a payment request or message on his Terminal is warned by a notification alarm which at the same time signals the functional status of his Terminal; and this is to ensure that he only has to consult his Terminal when there is actually an incoming payment request or message. 10. Electronic money payment device/terminal (mobile money), smart tool (EPSI-PAY), according to claim 1, characterized in that all the collection or disbursement operations carried out by the EPSI-PAY Terminal or the Merchant's telephone in the event of coupling, are automatically recorded, and can be consulted by the Merchant for a given period, on his main interface (his telephone for example or his Terminal in its improved version), after he has entered the appropriate short code to extract his desired data from the EPSI BAN platform. This mechanism allows the merchant to have real-time traceability and accounting of his transactions. 11. Electronic money payment device/terminal (mobile money), smart tool (EPSI-PAY), according to claim 2, characterized in that the EPSI ΡΛΥ Electronic Money Payment Terminal can also be presented in the form of an electronic watch or other suitable form, in order to meet the possible aesthetic expectations or greater practicality of a demanding Merchant.