System

Abstract

To provide a system capable of managing purchase information regarding commodities or services that a user purchased in multiple stores.SOLUTION: In a system 1, an integrated server 100, store terminals 200 and store servers 300 are connected to each other over a network. Each of the store servers 300 of stores in which a first user purchased commodities or services transmits, to the integrated server 100, settlement information including a store ID, names of the commodities or services that the first user purchased, the amount paid for the purchase, and a user ID for identifying the first user in the integrated server. The integrated server 100 generates, based on the settlement information received from the store servers 300 of the stores, purchase information including the names of the commodities or services that the first user purchased, the amount paid for the purchase, and store IDs of the stores in which the commodities or services were purchased, and stores, in an auxiliary storage unit 104, the user ID of the first user in association with the generated purchase information.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to systems used for payment for goods or services. [Background technology]

[0002] Patent Document 1 discloses a system that collects purchasing information from multiple stores. In the system of Patent Document 1, a purchasing information collection unit of a server device collects purchasing information from store terminals of multiple stores. The purchasing information includes a store ID, a transaction ID, a transaction date and time, PAN mask information (part of a credit card number), a purchase amount, and a purchased item. A first information extraction unit of the server device extracts purchasing information that includes the same PAN mask information. The server device presumes that the extracted purchasing information is purchasing information related to transactions by the same user. The server device then stores the purchasing information related to transactions by the same user in a management table in association with a user ID that identifies the user.

[0003] Patent Document 2 discloses an information providing system. In the system of Patent Document 2, multiple store terminals transmit purchase information including product identification information to a management server. Based on the purchase information received from the store terminal, the management server generates purchase data that associates the product name corresponding to the product identification information, the price of the product indicated by the product name, the number of purchased products, the total amount, and the purchase date and time. Furthermore, an application server creates a predetermined list based on the purchase data generated by the management server, and displays the list on the user terminal.

[0004] Patent Document 3 discloses a transaction settlement system. Patent Document 4 discloses a store system including a server and a store terminal. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0005] [Patent Document 1] JP 2022-120661 A [Patent Document 2] JP 2017-146741 A [Patent Document 3] JP 2001-249969 A [Patent Document 4] Patent Publication No. 2021-092974 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0006] An object of the present disclosure is to provide a technique that enables a user to manage purchase information regarding products or services purchased at multiple stores. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] A system according to a first aspect of the present disclosure includes a server device and a plurality of store devices, the server device is a device that consolidates payment information regarding products or services purchased by a user at each of a plurality of stores; a store device of each store where the first user has purchased a product or service among the plurality of store devices transmits the payment information to the server device, the payment information including a store ID, the name of each product or service purchased by the first user, a purchase amount, and a user ID that can identify the first user in the server device; The server device, generating purchase information including the name of each product or service purchased by the first user, the purchase amount thereof, and the store ID of each store where the product or service was purchased based on the payment information received from the store device of each store; The user ID of the first user and the generated purchase information are associated with each other and stored in a database. Effect of the Invention

[0008] According to the present disclosure, it is possible to manage purchase information regarding products or services purchased by a user at multiple stores. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0009] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of an information management system according to an embodiment. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a functional configuration of each of the integrated server and the store server. [Diagram 3] FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of a table configuration of user information stored in the user information database. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0010] In a cashless payment system using a credit card or the like, when a user purchases products or services at multiple stores, the payment information from each store is integrated in a server device. The payment information is information for requesting payment processing for each product or service purchased by the user. However, generally, the payment information includes information on the store where the user purchased the product or service and the purchase amount at each store, but does not include the name of each product or service purchased by the user. Therefore, in conventional systems, it is difficult to manage purchase information for products or services purchased by a user at multiple stores using the payment information. The present disclosure provides a technique for solving such problems.

[0011] The system according to the first aspect of the present disclosure includes a server device and a plurality of store devices. The server device is a device that consolidates payment information for products or services purchased by users at each of the plurality of stores. Among the plurality of store devices, a store device at each store where a first user purchased a product or service transmits payment information to the server device. The payment information includes a store ID, a code corresponding to each product or service purchased by the first user, a purchase amount, and a user ID that can identify the first user on the server device.

[0012] The server device generates purchase information related to the products or services purchased by the first user based on the payment information received from the in-store devices of each store. The purchase information includes the name of each product or service purchased by the first user, the purchase price thereof, and the store ID of each store where the product or service was purchased. Here, the user ID included in the payment information is information that allows the server device to identify the first user. Therefore, even if payment information related to the first user is received from a plurality of in-store devices, the server device can recognize the payment information received from each in-store device as information related to the first user. Then, the server device associates the user ID of the first user with the generated purchase information and stores them in the database. This updates the database.

[0013] According to the present disclosure, when a user purchases products or services from multiple stores, purchase information related to the user can be aggregated using highly reliable payment information, making it possible to manage purchase information regarding products or services purchased by the user from multiple stores.

[0014] Hereinafter, specific embodiments of the present disclosure will be described with reference to the drawings. The dimensions, materials, shapes, and relative positions of the components described in the present embodiments are not intended to limit the technical scope of the present disclosure unless otherwise specified.

[0015] <Embodiment> (System Configuration) 1 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of an information management system according to the present embodiment. The information management system 1 is a system for managing purchase information relating to each of a plurality of users.

[0016] The information management system 1 includes an integrated server 100, a plurality of store terminals 200, and a plurality of store servers 300. Although FIG. 1 illustrates only the store terminals 200 and store servers 300 of two stores A and B, the information management system 1 may include more store terminals 200 and store servers 300. In the information management system 1, the integrated server 100, each store terminal 200, and each store server 300 are connected to each other via a network. Here, the network may be, for example, a WAN (Wide Area Network), which is a global public communication network such as the Internet, or a telephone communication network such as a mobile phone.

[0017] The store terminal 200 is a terminal used for settlement when a user purchases a product or service at each store. The store server 300 is a server related to each store. The store server 300 stores information about the products or services sold at each store. The store terminal 200 and the store server 300 related to the same store are configured to be able to communicate with each other. For example, the store terminal 200 may be a POS (Point of Sale) terminal, The store server 300 may be a POS server. The store server 300 may be a cloud server.

[0018] The integrated server 100 is a device that integrates payment information for products or services purchased by a user at each of a plurality of stores. The integrated server 100 is a computer having a processor 101, a communication interface (communication I / F) 102, a main memory unit 103, and an auxiliary memory unit 104. Here, the processor 101 is, for example, a CPU (Central Processing Unit) or a DSP (Digital Signal Processor). The communication I / F 102 is, The communication I / F 102 is an interface for performing wireless communication via a network according to a predetermined wireless communication standard. The communication I / F 102 is, for example, a LAN (Local Area Network) interface board, or a wireless communication circuit for wireless communication. The main memory unit 103 is, for example, a RAM (Random Access Memory). The auxiliary memory unit 104 is, for example, a ROM (Read Only Memory), a HDD (Hard Disk Drive), or a flash memory. The removable medium 104 may include a removable medium (portable recording medium), for example, a USB memory, an SD card, or a disk recording medium such as a CD-ROM, a DVD disk, or a Blu-ray disk.

[0019] An operating system (OS), various programs, various information tables, etc. are stored in auxiliary storage unit 104. Processor 101 loads the programs stored in auxiliary storage unit 104 into main storage unit 103 and executes them to realize processing for settlement and database generation, as described below. However, some or all of the functions of integrated server 100 may be realized by hardware circuits such as ASIC and FPGA. Note that integrated server 100 does not necessarily have to be realized by a single physical configuration, and may be composed of multiple computers that cooperate with each other.

[0020] When a user purchases a product or service at each store, the store terminal 200 reads in the purchased product or service. Then, the store server 300 generates payment information based on the information read in by the store terminal 200. This payment information includes the store ID, the name of each product or service purchased by the user, the purchase amount, and the user ID. The user ID is the user ID of the user who purchased the product or service at each store. The user ID is an ID that can identify the user in the integrated server 100. The user ID may be given to each user in advance in order to identify each user in the information management system. Note that in each store, the user may be identified by face authentication, biometric authentication, or the like.

[0021] Each store server 300 transmits the generated payment information to the integrated server 100 via the network. The integrated server 100 integrates payment information for the same user based on the user ID included in the payment information from the store server 300 of each store. The integrated server 100 then manages each user's user ID in association with purchase information including the name of each product or service purchased by each user and the purchase price thereof.

[0022] Integrated server 100 may execute payment processing based on the integrated payment information for one user. If there is a payment server (e.g., a server of a credit card company) that executes payment processing other than integrated server 100, integrated server 100 may transmit information required for payment processing (e.g., user ID, store ID of each store, and purchase amount at each store) to the payment server.

[0023] (Functional configuration) Next, the functional configurations of the integrated server 100 and the store server 300 constituting the information management system 1 will be described with reference to Fig. 2. Fig. 2 is a block diagram showing an example of the functional configurations of the integrated server 100 and the store server 300.

[0024] The store server 300 has a store database 310 as a functional unit. The store database 310 stores product / service information about each product or service sold at the store. The product / service information has a product name / service name field and a code field. The name of each product or service is entered in the product name / service name field. Here, for products or services that have a unique name (product name), the unique name is entered in the product name / service name field, rather than a name that simply indicates the type of product or service. The code field is entered with a code assigned to each product or service by the store.

[0025] The store terminal 200 reads a code attached to a product or service purchased by the user. The store server 300 identifies the product or service purchased by the user by comparing the code read by the store terminal 200 with information stored in the store database 310. The store server 300 then generates payment information including the store ID, the name of each product or service purchased by the user, the purchase amount, and the user ID.

[0026] The integrated server 100 has a communication unit 110, a control unit 120, and a user information database 130 as functional units. The communication unit 110 has a function of connecting the integrated server 100 to a network. The communication unit 110 can be realized by a communication I / F 102. The control unit 120 has a function of performing arithmetic processing for controlling the integrated server 100. The control unit 120 can be realized by a processor 101. The control unit 120 then performs processing to receive payment information transmitted from the store server 300 via the communication unit 110.

[0027] The user information database 130 stores user information about each user. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of a table configuration of user information stored in the user information database 130. As shown in FIG. 3, the user information has a user ID field and a purchase information field. The user ID of each user is input in the user ID field. Purchase information about products or services purchased by each user at each store is input in the purchase information field. The purchase information input in the purchase information field includes the product or service information of each product or service. It includes the name of the service, the purchase amount, and the store ID of the store where the purchase was made.

[0028] When the first user purchases products or services at multiple stores, the integrated server 100 receives payment information from the store server 300 of each store. When the control unit 120 receives payment information related to the first user from each store server 300, the control unit 120 performs a process of updating the user information stored in the user information database 130 based on the payment information. At this time, the control unit 120 identifies the first user based on the user ID included in the payment information. Then, the control unit 120 integrates the names of each product or service purchased by the first user and the purchase amount thereof, which are included in the payment information related to the first user, with the store ID of the purchase store, and stores the purchase information in the user information database 130 in association with the user ID of the first user. In this way, even if the first user purchases products or services at multiple stores, the purchase information related to the first user can be consolidated in the user information database 130.

[0029] As described above, according to this embodiment, purchase information regarding products or services purchased by a user at multiple stores can be managed using payment information. The payment information transmitted from the store server 300 of each store is highly reliable. Therefore, by managing purchase information using payment information, purchase information for each user can be managed with high accuracy.

[0030] The integrated server 100 may publish the purchase information of the first user stored in the user information database 130 to the account of the first user. At this time, the integrated server 100 may transmit the purchase information of the first user to a user terminal related to the first user via a network. The integrated server 100 may also publish the purchase information on a website so that it can be viewed by the user account of the first user.

[0031] <Other embodiments> The above embodiment is merely an example, and the present disclosure may be modified as appropriate without departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure. Furthermore, the processes and means described in the present disclosure may be freely combined and implemented as long as no technical contradiction occurs.

[0032] Furthermore, a process described as being performed by one device may be shared and executed by multiple devices. Alternatively, a process described as being performed by different devices may be executed by one device. In a computer system, the hardware configuration (server configuration) by which each function is realized can be flexibly changed.

[0033] The present disclosure can also be realized by supplying a computer program implementing the functions described in the above embodiments to a computer, and having one or more processors of the computer read and execute the program. Such a computer program may be provided to the computer by a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium connectable to the system bus of the computer, or may be provided to the computer via a network. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium includes any type of medium suitable for storing electronic instructions, such as, for example, a magnetic disk (e.g., a floppy disk, a hard disk drive (HDD), etc.), an optical disk (e.g., a CD-ROM, a DVD disk, a Blu-ray disk, etc.), a read-only memory (ROM), a random access memory (RAM), an EPROM, an EEPROM, a magnetic card, a flash memory, or an optical card. [Explanation of symbols]

[0034] 1. Information Management System 100··Integrated Server 110. Communications Department 120 Control section 130··User information database 200 Store terminal 300 Store Server 310··Store Database

Claims

[Claim 1] A system including a server device and a plurality of store devices, the server device is a device that consolidates payment information regarding products or services purchased by a user at each of a plurality of stores; a store device of each store where the first user has purchased a product or service among the plurality of store devices transmits the payment information to the server device, the payment information including a store ID, the name of each product or service purchased by the first user, a purchase amount, and a user ID that can identify the first user in the server device; The server device, generating purchase information including the name of each product or service purchased by the first user, the purchase amount thereof, and the store ID of each store where the product or service was purchased based on the payment information received from the store device of each store; The user ID of the first user is associated with the generated purchase information and stored in a database. system.

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