Point-of-sale and declining balance system, and method, having a relay server for facilitating communication between front-end devices and back-end account servers

A point-of-sale and declining balance (“POS/DB”) system for use in a campus environment comprising:

• an identification device associated with a user account;
• at least one transaction device for reading said identification device and receiving requests associated with said user account, the transaction device communicating via a first data format;
• an account server having a computer memory medium storing information pertaining to the user account, the account server communicating via a second data format;
• and
• a relay server operably connected to the transaction device and the account manager server, the relay server comprising a converter for converting the first data format into the second data format and vice versa to facilitate communication between the transaction device and the account server.

A method of performing a cashless transaction on a point-of-sale and declining balance (“POS/DB”) system in a campus environment comprising:

• (a) providing a campus system comprising at least one transaction device, the transaction device communicating in a first data format, an account management server storing user account information, the account server communicating via a second data format, and a relay server operably connected to the transaction device and the account server;
• (b) upon the transaction server receiving a request associated with an account stored on the account server, generating a request signal in the first data format with the transaction device;
• (c) transmitting the request signal to the relay server;
• (d) upon the relay server receiving the request signal, converting the request signal to the second data format;
• (e) transmitting the converted request signal to the account server;
• (f) upon the account server receiving the converted request signal, processing the converted request signal and, if necessary, updating the account information;
• (g) the account server generating a response signal in the second data format and transmitting the response signal to the relay server;
• (h) upon the relay server receiving the response signal, the relay server converting the response signal into the first data format and transmitting the converted response signal to the transaction device;
• and
• (i) upon the transaction device receiving the converted response signal, the transaction device either completing or denying the user request.