In-home display for a smart meetering system

摘要

An in-home display (IHD) (30) for a smart metering system comprises a display (33), a user interface (33) and a first communications interface (32) for communicating with an in-home network connecting the smart metering system. The IHD (30) comprises a payment card reader module (34), such as a contactless card reader module. The IHD is configured to perform a payment transaction with a payment card using the payment card reader (34). The payment transaction can be for usage of a utility which is metered by the smart metering system (post-payment or pre-payment). The payment transaction can be for a purchase which is independent of the utilities being metered by the smart metering system, such as an internet purchase. The IHD may also have a second communications interface for communicating with an internet gateway. The first communications interface (32) could be a Zigbee(RTM) transceiver and the second communications interface (35) could be a WiFi(RTM) transceiver or Ethernet interface. The transaction may involve communication using both communications interfaces, with a request for a payment being received, the transaction details being displayed and the payment card reader performing a payment transaction with a payment card.