Granted Patent B1

US 12,555,095 · App. 18/481,128 · Granted Feb 17, 2026

Inventors: Leopoldo Luera, III (San Antonio, TX); Charles Bear (San Antonio, TX)

Assignee: United Services Automobile Association (USAA)

G06Q20/367G06Q20/327

Abstract

Claims (71)

1 . A method comprising:

receiving, by at least one merchant computer system, vehicle-identifying information for a vehicle associated with a user and a pre-payment from a mobile wallet associated with the user in the vehicle based on the vehicle being within a proximity of a merchant location,

wherein the pre-payment corresponds to one or more items available for purchase,

wherein the pre-payment uses at least one payment instrument from the mobile wallet, and

wherein the pre-payment identifies the at least one payment instrument to the at least one merchant computer system;

sending, by the at least one merchant computer system, confirmation that the pre-payment was received for the one or more items, and

a parking location or checkout location at the merchant location for the vehicle;

receiving, by the at least one merchant computer system, a pre-payment token that identifies the vehicle, the pre-payment, and the one or more items; and

in response to receiving the pre-payment token, completing the purchase by verifying the pre-payment corresponding to the one or more items.

2 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

determining items available for purchase at a payment location associated with the at least one merchant computer system;

providing the user with a list of two or more of the items available for purchase at the payment location;

receiving a selection of the one or more items available for purchase at the payment location; and

providing a total cost associated with the selection of the one or more items available for purchase at the payment location.

3 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

sending the user one or more discounts based on a payment location associated with the one or more items available for purchase.

4 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the mobile wallet is at least one of:

on a mobile device that is docked to the vehicle, or

linked to the vehicle from the mobile device via near-field communication.

5 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the mobile wallet contains personal information from the user, wherein the personal information is usable by the user for identifying the user to a payment location, wherein a provider of the mobile wallet is a membership organization, and wherein the user is a member of the membership organization.

6 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the mobile wallet is usable with respect to the vehicle, wherein the vehicle is linked using dedicated short-range communications to a payment location associated with the one or more items available for purchase.

7 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the pre-payment token changes on a per-transaction basis, and wherein the pre-payment token includes a membership number associated with the user.

8 . A system comprising:

one or more processors; and

one or more memories storing instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the system to perform a process comprising:

receiving, by at least one merchant computer system, vehicle-identifying information for a vehicle associated with a user and a pre-payment from a mobile wallet associated with the user in the vehicle based on the vehicle being within a proximity of a merchant location,

wherein the pre-payment corresponds to one or more items available for purchase,

wherein the pre-payment uses at least one payment instrument from the mobile wallet, and

wherein the pre-payment identifies the at least one payment instrument to the at least one merchant computer system;

sending, by the at least one merchant computer system, confirmation that the pre-payment was received for the one or more items, and

a parking location or checkout location at the merchant location for the vehicle;

receiving, by the at least one merchant computer system, a pre-payment token that identifies the vehicle, the pre-payment, and the one or more items; and

in response to receiving the pre-payment token, completing the purchase by verifying the pre-payment corresponding to the one or more items.

9 . The system according to claim 8 , wherein the process further comprises:

determining items available for purchase at a payment location associated with the at least one merchant computer system;

providing the user with a list of two or more of the items available for purchase at the payment location;

receiving a selection of the one or more items available for purchase at the payment location; and

providing a total cost associated with the selection of the one or more items available for purchase at the payment location.

10 . The system according to claim 8 , wherein the process further comprises:

sending the user one or more discounts based on a payment location associated with the one or more items available for purchase.

11 . The system according to claim 8 , wherein the mobile wallet is at least one of:

on a mobile device that is docked to the vehicle, or

linked to the vehicle from the mobile device via near-field communication.

12 . The system according to claim 8 , wherein the mobile wallet contains personal information from the user, wherein the personal information is usable by the user for identifying the user to a payment location, wherein a provider of the mobile wallet is a membership organization, and wherein the user is a member of the membership organization.

13 . The system according to claim 8 , wherein the mobile wallet is usable with respect to the vehicle, wherein the vehicle is linked using dedicated short-range communications to a payment location associated with the one or more items available for purchase.

14 . The system according to claim 8 , wherein the pre-payment token changes on a per-transaction basis, and wherein the pre-payment token includes a membership number associated with the user.

15 . A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing instructions that, when executed by a computing system, cause the computing system to perform operations comprising:

receiving, by at least one merchant computer system, vehicle-identifying information for a vehicle associated with a user and a pre-payment from a mobile wallet associated with the user in the vehicle based on the vehicle being within a proximity of a merchant location,

wherein the pre-payment corresponds to one or more items available for purchase,

wherein the pre-payment uses at least one payment instrument from the mobile wallet, and

wherein the pre-payment identifies the at least one payment instrument to the at least one merchant computer system;

sending, by the at least one merchant computer system, confirmation that the pre-payment was received for the one or more items, and

a parking location or checkout location at the merchant location for the vehicle;

receiving, by the at least one merchant computer system, a pre-payment token that identifies the vehicle, the pre-payment, and the one or more items; and

in response to receiving the pre-payment token, completing the purchase by verifying the pre-payment corresponding to the one or more items.

16 . The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 15 , wherein the operations further comprise:

determining items available for purchase at a payment location associated with the at least one merchant computer system;

providing the user with a list of two or more of the items available for purchase at the payment location;

receiving a selection of the one or more items available for purchase at the payment location; and

providing a total cost associated with the selection of the one or more items available for purchase at the payment location.

17 . The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 15 , wherein the operations further comprise:

sending the user one or more discounts based on a payment location associated with the one or more items available for purchase.

18 . The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 15 , wherein the mobile wallet is at least one of:

on a mobile device that is docked to the vehicle, or

linked to the vehicle from the mobile device via near-field communication.

19 . The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 15 , wherein the mobile wallet contains personal information from the user, wherein the personal information is usable by the user for identifying the user to a payment location, wherein a provider of the mobile wallet is a membership organization, and wherein the user is a member of the membership organization.

20 . The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 15 ,

wherein the mobile wallet is usable with respect to the vehicle,

wherein the vehicle is linked using dedicated short-range communications to a payment location associated with the one or more items available for purchase,

wherein the pre-payment token changes on a per-transaction basis, and

wherein the pre-payment token includes a membership number associated with the user.

Assignments (1)

Continuity (6)

References Cited (66)