Apparatus and method for POS processing

1. An apparatus, comprising:

a portable housing;

a non-volatile memory within the housing; and

an interface on the portable housing for communication between the non-volatile memory and a point-of-sale device;

wherein the non-volatile memory includes instructions stored thereon that, in response to execution by a processing device, cause the processing device to perform operations comprising:

supporting the point-of-sale device in processing a transaction;

downloading a merchant-specific configuration from the point-of-sale device; and

restoring the merchant-specific configuration onto another point-of-sale device.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the portable housing comprises at least one of a mobile telephone housing, a personal digital assistant housing, and a USB flash memory device housing.

3. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the operations further comprise:

upon the availability of a network connection, instructing the point-of-sale device to transmit a record of the transaction via the network connection to a remote server computer.

4. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein processing the transaction comprises charging an account.

5. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the operations further comprise transmitting to the point-of-sale device at least one of coupon data or product inventory data.

6. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the operations further comprise supporting the point-of-sale device in processing the transaction without the processing requiring a network connection between the point-of-sale device and a remote server computer during the transaction.

7. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the operations further comprise functioning as a key to unlock the point-of-sale device when connected and lock the point-of-sale device when unconnected.

8. A method, comprising:

electronically coupling a portable memory device to a point-of-sale device, wherein responsive to the coupling the point-of-sale device operates as a host to the portable memory device and the portable memory device operates as a peripheral of the host; and

responsive to the coupling, supporting the point-of-sale device in processing a transaction;

wherein supporting the point-of-sale device in processing the transaction further comprises:

receiving, at the portable memory device from the point-of-sale device, a request for an account identifier, the request associated with the transaction;

retrieving, by the portable memory device, the account identifier for use with the transaction from a non-volatile memory of the portable memory device;

transmitting, by the portable memory device to the point-of-sale device, the account identifier for use with the transaction; and

receiving, at the portable memory device, a confirmation that the transaction has been completed.

9. The method of claim 8 , further comprising, upon the availability of a network connection, transmitting a record of the transaction via the network connection to a remote server computer.

10. The method of claim 8 , wherein the portable memory device comprises at least one of a mobile telephone or a personal digital assistant.

11. The method of claim 8 , wherein the confirmation is received at the portable memory device from at least one of the point-of-sale device or a remote server computer.

12. The method of claim 8 , wherein the account identifier is associated with at least one of a credit card account, a debit card account, or a gift card account.

13. The method of claim 8 , further comprising:

transmitting, by the portable memory device to the point-of-sale device, at least one of coupon data or product inventory data.

14. The method of claim 8 , further comprising:

downloading a merchant-specific configuration from the point-of-sale device; and

restoring the merchant-specific configuration onto another point-of-sale device.

15. An apparatus, comprising:

means for persistently storing data;

means for removably attaching a data interface of the persistent storage means to a data interface of a point-of-sale device, wherein the data interface of the persistent storage means comprises a Universal Serial Bus (USB) interface;

means for determining whether the point-of-sale device is processing a transaction; and

means for supporting the point-of-sale device in processing the transaction using communications transmitted over the data interfaces.

16. The apparatus of claim 15 , wherein processing the transaction includes charging an account.

17. The apparatus of claim 15 , further comprising:

means for downloading a merchant-specific configuration from the point-of-sale device; and

means for restoring the merchant-specific configuration onto another point-of-sale device.

18. An apparatus, comprising:

a portable housing;

an electronic device comprising a non-volatile memory within the portable housing; and

an interface on the portable housing for communication between the non-volatile memory and a point-of-sale device;

wherein the non-volatile memory includes instructions stored thereon that, in response to execution by a processing device, cause the processing device to perform operations comprising:

electronically coupling the interface to the point-of-sale device, wherein responsive to the coupling the point-of-sale device operates as a host to the electronic device and the electronic device operates as a peripheral of the host; and

responsive to the coupling, supporting the point-of-sale device in processing a transaction.

19. The apparatus of claim 18 , wherein the portable housing comprises at least one of a mobile telephone housing, a personal digital assistant housing, and a USB flash memory device housing.

20. The apparatus of claim 18 , wherein the operations further comprise:

upon the availability of a network connection, instructing the point-of-sale device to transmit a record of the transaction via the network connection to a remote server computer.

21. The apparatus of claim 18 , wherein processing the transaction comprises charging an account.

22. The apparatus of claim 18 , wherein the operations further comprise transmitting to the point-of-sale device at least one of coupon data or product inventory data.

23. The apparatus of claim 18 , wherein the operations further comprise supporting the point-of-sale device in processing the transaction without the processing requiring a network connection between the point-of-sale device and a remote server computer during the transaction.