Background communication failover for mobile payments

1. A mobile point-of-sale (POS) terminal for processing a financial transaction between a buyer and a merchant, the POS terminal comprising:

a payment card reader comprising a card interface configured to receive a payment card comprising financial information associated with the buyer; and

a mobile computing device coupled with the payment card reader, the mobile computing device comprising:

a display;

one or more processors; and

a memory storing instructions, which when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to:

run a first application, wherein the first application is configured to receive an input from the merchant indicating a product or a service for purchase by the buyer and receive payment card information from the payment card reader to facilitate a transfer of funds from the buyer to the merchant for the purchase;

perform an automatic communication failover protocol to enable transmission of payment card information from the mobile computing device to a payment card processor in an event that an internet communication channel is unavailable, the performing the automatic communication failover protocol comprising:

determining, by the first application or by a second application executing on the mobile computing device, whether the internet communication channel over which to transmit the payment card information to a payment card processor for processing is available or unavailable;

in response to determining that the internet communication channel is available, automatically transmitting the payment card information to the payment card processor via the internet communication channel;

in response to determining that the internet communication channel is unavailable, determining whether a text messaging service is available or unavailable;

in response to determining that the text messaging service is available, automatically transmitting the payment card information to a telephone interface module of the payment card processor via a text message; and

in response to determining that the text messaging service is unavailable, automatically transmitting the payment card information to the telephone interface module of the payment card processor via a voice call;

receive an approval of the payment card information from the payment card processor; and

present an indication of the approval on the display of the mobile computing device.

2. The mobile POS terminal of claim 1 , wherein to automatically transmit the payment card information to the payment card processor via a text message, the instructions further cause the one or more processors to:

generate a payload including at least the payment card information;

wrap the payload in the message; and

transmit the text message to a telephony endpoint associated with the payment card processor.

3. The mobile POS terminal of claim 1 , wherein to automatically transmit the payment card information to the payment card processor via a voice call, the instructions further cause the one or more processors to:

receive an audio signal from the payment card reader, the audio signal comprising the payment card information;

initiate the voice call to a telephone number associated with the payment card processor; and

transmit the audio signal comprising the payment card information to the payment card processor via the voice call.

4. A mobile point-of-sale (POS) system comprising:

a payment card reader comprising:

a card interface configured to receive a payment card comprising financial information associated with a buyer; and

a connector coupled with the card interface for carrying information read by the payment card reader;

a mobile computing device coupled with the payment card reader, the mobile computing device comprising:

a port coupled with the connector of the payment card reader, the port and the connector creating a data channel for carrying the financial information from the payment card reader to the mobile computing device;

a display;

one or more processors; and

a memory storing instructions, which when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to:

perform an automatic communication failover protocol to enable transmission of payment card information from the mobile computing device to a payment card processor in an event that an internet communication channel is unavailable, the performing the automatic communication protocol comprising:

determining whether the internet communication channel is available or unavailable to transmit payment card information to a payment card processor for processing;

in response to determining that the internet communication channel is available, automatically transmitting the payment card information to the payment card processor via the internet communication channel;

in response to determining that the internet communication channel is unavailable, determining whether a text messaging service is available or unavailable;

in response to determining that the text messaging service is available, automatically transmitting the payment card information to a telephone interface module of the payment card processor via a text message; and

in response to determining that the text messaging service is unavailable, automatically transmitting the payment card information to the telephone interface module of the payment card processor via a voice call;

receive a response from the payment card processor; and

present an indication of the response on the display of the mobile computing device.

5. The system of claim 4 , wherein to transmit the payment card information via a voice call, the instructions further cause the one or more processors to:

receive a signal comprising the payment card information;

initiate the voice call to a telephone number associated with the payment card processor; and

transmit the signal comprising the payment card information to the payment card processor via the voice call.

6. The system of claim 4 , wherein the internet communication channel is unavailable based on financial constraints specified by a user.

7. The system of claim 4 , wherein the instructions cause the one or more processors to run a register application to facilitate a transfer of funds from the buyer to a merchant for a purchase.

8. The system of claim 4 , wherein the response to the payment card information from the payment card processor is an approval of the payment card information.

9. A method comprising:

reading financial information associated with a buyer from a payment card using a card interface of a payment card reader of a mobile point-of-sale (POS) system comprising a mobile computing device having a display, a coupled payment card reader, one or more processors, and a memory storing instructions for the one or more processors execution of:

performing an automatic communication failover protocol to enable transmission of payment card information from the mobile computing device to a payment card processor wherein the failover protocol provisions the automatic determination of internet availability by one or more processors of a mobile computing device of the mobile POS system, the automatic determination of text messaging service availability by one or more processors of a mobile computing device of the mobile POS system, and the automatic transmission of payment card information to a telephone interface module of the payment card processor via a voice call;

wherein when it is determined that the internet communication channel is available, automatically transmitting the payment card information to the payment card processor via the internet communication channel,

wherein when it is determined that the internet communication channel is unavailable,

determining whether a text messaging service is available or unavailable;

in response to determining that the text messaging service is available, automatically transmitting the payment card information to a telephone interface module of the payment card processor via a text message; and

wherein when it is determined that the text messaging service is unavailable, automatically transmitting the payment card information to the telephone interface module of the payment card processor via a voice call; and

receiving an approval of the payment card information from the payment card processor.

10. The method of claim 9 , wherein automatically transmitting the payment card information to the telephone interface module of the payment card processor via the voice call comprises:

receiving, by the one or more processors of the mobile computing device, a signal from the payment card reader, the signal comprising the payment card information;

initiating, by the one or more processors of the mobile computing device, the voice call to a telephone number associated with the payment card processor; and

transmitting the signal comprising the payment card information to the payment card processor via the voice call.

11. The method of claim 9 , wherein the internet communication channel is unavailable based on financial constraints specified by a user.

12. The method of claim 9 , further comprising, running, by the one or more processors of the mobile computing device, a register application to facilitate a transfer of funds from the buyer to a merchant for a purchase.

13. The method of claim 9 , further comprising, receiving a response to the payment card information from the payment card processor.

14. The mobile POS terminal of claim 1 , wherein determining whether the internet communication channel is available or unavailable comprises at least one of monitoring, by the mobile computing device, whether an internet connection is available or pinging, by the mobile computing device, an IP address for the payment card processor.

15. The mobile POS terminal of claim 1 , wherein the determining whether the internet communication channel is available or unavailable comprises determining by the mobile computing device without input from a remote device.

16. The mobile POS terminal of claim 1 , wherein the first application is a register application.

17. The system of claim 4 , wherein the determining whether the internet communication channel is available or unavailable comprises determining by the mobile computing device without input from a remote device.

18. The method of claim 9 , wherein the determining whether the internet communication channel is available or unavailable comprises determining by the mobile computing device without input from a remote device.

19. The system of claim 4 , wherein the connector is an audio connector, wherein the port is an audio port, and the data channel is an audio data channel.

20. The mobile POS terminal of claim 1 , wherein the internet communication channel is unavailable based on financial constraints specified by a user.