Cash register and ticket vending with minimal infrastructure

A payment routing system that enables a merchant to accept payer-centric electronic payment from a customer's mobile device, the system comprising:

• a server connected to a computer network having stored thereon computer program instructions configured to implement a merchant directory, wherein the merchant directory is configured to provide each merchant listed in the merchant directory with a unique identifier (merchant ID) for unambiguous identification within the payment routing system, the merchant directory comprising:
• a list of merchant records, wherein a merchant record comprises at least the merchant's merchant ID, the merchant's authentication credentials for accessing the payment system, and the identity of a financial account for receiving funds from payments made by customers to the merchant;
• and
• identification generation logic configured to assign a distinctive identifier based on predetermined criteria to each merchant listed in the directory;
• a server connected to the computer network having stored thereon computer program instructions configured to implement a payment record repository, wherein the payment record repository is configured to provide each payment record stored in the payment record repository with a unique identifier (payment record ID) for unambiguous identification within the payment routing system, wherein a payment record comprises:
• a payment request created by a merchant listed in the merchant directory to request payment from a customer for a transaction between the merchant and the customer and includes the merchant's merchant ID as payee of the payment request;
• or
• a payment transaction record created by a customer in response to payment of a payment request, wherein the payment transaction record comprises:
• a payment record ID of the payment request;
• and
• a confirmation statement received from an online payment gateway, wherein the confirmation statement confirms that the online payment gateway has successfully remitted, on behalf of the customer, a payment to a merchant whose merchant ID is specified as payee of the payment request;
• and
• an online payment bus implemented using one or more servers connected to the computer network and non-transitory computer-readable media storing program instructions which when executed by a processor cause the processor to perform a message routing method comprising:
• upon receiving a payment request from a merchant via a network connection authenticated with the merchant's authentication credentials as provided by the merchant directory:
• storing the payment request in the payment record repository;
• and
• upon receiving a payment transaction record from a customer's mobile device:
• storing the payment transaction record in the payment record repository;
• and
• sending the payment transaction record to a merchant, via a network connection authenticated with the merchant's credentials as provided by the merchant directory, whose merchant ID is specified as payee of the payment request referred to in the payment transaction record.