IPOS transaction terminal

A system for conducting a transaction, comprising:

• a customer-response unit coupled to the cashier-side unit, the customer-response unit comprising:
• an interface to a content-provider for receiving content for presentation, wherein the content is unrelated to data essential for completion of the transaction;
• a display for presenting the content, wherein the display includes an indication that a customer can immediately respond to the content by interacting with the customer-response unit;
• and
• a customer interface for receiving and recording customer input and customer responses to the content, the customer-response unit determining whether the responses to the content are received, the responses being transmitted to an advertisement server in order to collect information about the customer when the response is received, the customer-response unit generating a non-response and transmitting the non-response to the advertisement server to collect information about the customer when the response is absent;
• and
• the cashier-side unit comprising:
• a cashier interface for entering a monetary amount of the transaction;
• and
• an authentication interface for transmitting the customer input and the monetary amount to an authentication server;
• and
• an electronics receipts service for storing a record of the transaction.

A computer program product for conducting a transaction using a cashier-side unit and a customer-response unit, the customer-response unit including a communications link, the computer program product comprising a computer readable medium encoded with a program module, the program module including instructions for:

• receiving, via the communications link of the customer-response unit, content for presentation at the customer-response unit during the transaction, wherein the content is unrelated to data essential for completion of the transaction;
• displaying the content on a display of the customer-response unit, wherein the display includes an indication that a customer can immediately respond to the content by interacting with the customer-response unit;
• determining whether a customer response to the content is received, the response being transmitted to an advertisement server to collect information about the customer when the response is received, a non-response being generated and transmitted to the advertisement server to collect information about the customer when the response is absent;
• receiving a monetary amount of the transaction from the cashier-side unit;
• receiving customer input at the customer-response unit;
• and
• transmitting the customer input and the monetary amount to a remote service provider for authorization.