System and program

Abstract

To suppress convenience from being worse.SOLUTION: A system comprises an information processing device and a settlement terminal device. If settlement processing using an electronic money medium is incomplete, the settlement terminal device outputs notice of processing incompletion indicating to that effect to the information processing device. The information processing device executes normal settlement completion processing when not receiving the notice of processing incompletion, and executes predetermined processing when receiving the notice of processing incompletion.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 6A

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a system and a program. [Background technology]

[0002] In recent years, self-checkout registers (self-register devices) where customers can register products and make payments have become widespread in stores. Self-checkout registers are sometimes used in stores where there are no store clerks. Stores where there are no store clerks include, for example, stores where the store clerks are absent during specific times such as nighttime, and stores where the store clerks are absent all day. As a related technique, an unmanned store system has been disclosed that authenticates a user based on personal information acquired from a part of the user's body, and allows the user to enter and leave the store and makes payments based on the authentication (see, for example, Patent Document 1). In recent years, electronic money has also become widespread as a payment type. It is possible to make payments using electronic money at self-checkout registers as well. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2019-021283 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] However, with the conventional technology, in a store where there is no store staff or there are not enough staff to attend, if an error occurs when making a payment using electronic money, the store staff cannot respond immediately, which can reduce convenience.

[0005] The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and has an object to provide a technique capable of suppressing a decrease in convenience. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, a system that is one aspect of the present invention is a system comprising an information processing device and a payment terminal device, wherein if a processing incompletion occurs during payment processing using an electronic money medium, the payment terminal device outputs an incompletion notification to the information processing device, and the information processing device executes normal payment completion processing if it does not receive the incompletion notification, and executes a specified processing if it receives the incompletion notification.

[0007] In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, another aspect of the present invention is a program that causes a payment terminal device in a system comprising an information processing device and a payment terminal device to function as a first computer and causes the information processing device to function as a second computer, and is characterized in that the program causes the first computer to perform a process of outputting a processing incompletion notice to the information processing device when a processing incompletion occurs in a payment processing using an electronic money medium, and causes the second computer to perform a normal payment termination process if the processing incompletion notice is not received, and to perform a specified process if the processing incompletion notice is received. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1] 1 is a diagram showing an example of a network configuration of a sales data processing system 1 according to the present embodiment. [Diagram 2] 1 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of installation of a registration settlement device 20 as seen from the customer's side. [Diagram 3] 2 is a block diagram showing an example of a hardware configuration of payment terminal device 30. FIG. [Figure 4] 1 is a block diagram showing an example of a functional configuration of a sales data processing system 1. FIG. [Diagram 5] 1 is a sequence diagram showing the flow of normal processing performed by the sales data processing system 1. FIG. [Figure 6A] 13 is a flowchart showing an example of a settlement process performed by the registered settlement device 20 according to the present embodiment. [Figure 6B] 5 is a flowchart showing an example of a payment process performed by payment terminal device 30 according to the present embodiment. [Figure 7A] 13 is a flowchart showing an example of a settlement process performed by the registration settlement device 20 according to the first modification. [Figure 7B] 13 is a flowchart showing an example of a payment process performed by payment terminal device 30 according to Modification 1. [Figure 8] 8 is a diagram showing an example of a payment database 800 of the electronic money medium 400 managed by the payment management server 10. FIG. [Figure 9] FIG. 11 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of a sales data processing system 1 according to a second modified example. [Figure 10A] 13 is a flowchart showing an example of a settlement process performed by the registration settlement device 20 according to the second modification. [Figure 10B] 13 is a flowchart showing an example of a payment process performed by payment terminal device 30 according to Modification 2. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0009] (Embodiment) FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of a network configuration of a sales data processing system 1 according to this embodiment. The sales data processing system 1 is an example of a system. The sales data processing system 1 is introduced in various stores. The various stores are, for example, supermarkets, home centers, convenience stores, restaurants, gas stations, various supply stores, and the like. In particular, the store according to this embodiment is an unmanned store with no clerks present or a store during the hours when there is a shortage of attendant clerks. The unmanned store may be a store without clerks present all day, or a store without attendant clerks present during a specific time period such as the nighttime. In addition, the store according to this embodiment is an affiliated store that has made a contract for settlement by electronic money with a management company that manages electronic money.

[0010] As shown in Fig. 1, the sales data processing system 1 includes a payment management server 10, a registration settlement device 20, a payment terminal device 30, a store controller 40, and a transaction status management device 50. Each device is connected by wire or wirelessly via a network 60 such as a LAN (Local Area Network) or a WAN (Wide Area Network). Each device is a computer device equipped with a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a ROM (Read Only Memory), a RAM (Random Access Memory), a communication unit, etc.

[0011] The payment management server 10 is an example of a payment management device. The payment management server 10 is, for example, an external server device installed outside a store. The payment management server 10 manages the charge balance of an electronic money medium held by a customer. The electronic money medium is a medium that charges (stores) electronic money, and is, for example, a card medium such as a transportation IC card or a mobile terminal medium such as a smartphone. The electronic money medium may be charged by depositing cash at a predetermined charging terminal, or may be charged from a credit card if the electronic money medium and a credit card are associated with each other. The type of electronic money is, for example, a prepaid type (precharge type). The payment management server 10 is an electronic money payment server, and transmits and receives via a gateway server of a payment agency. In a payment by electronic money, the payment management server 10 updates the charge balance by subtracting the payment amount from the charge balance.

[0012] The registration and settlement device 20 is an example of an information processing device. The registration and settlement device 20 is installed in a store. The registration and settlement device 20 is a fully self-service cash register. The registration and settlement device 20 is capable of registering and settling products through operation by a customer. Specifically, the registration and settlement device 20 includes a registration unit and a settlement unit. The registration unit executes a registration process for registering products. In the registration process, registration information for products purchased by a customer is generated. The settlement unit executes a settlement process for settling based on the registration information generated in the registration process.

[0013] A store may have a plurality of registration and settlement devices 20 or a single device. The registration and settlement device 20 may be a device that operates in one of a plurality of operation modes including a full self-service mode. For example, the registration and settlement device 20 may be a device that operates in the full self-service mode during a time when no store clerk is present, and operates in a mode in which the store clerk registers products during a time when a store clerk is present.

[0014] The payment terminal device 30 is connected to the registered settlement device 20 by wire or wirelessly, and is placed near the registered settlement device 20. The payment terminal device 30 makes payments based on information stored in various media such as various cards and mobile terminals. The various media include electronic money media, credit cards, and point cards. In payments using electronic money media, the payment terminal device 30 inquires of the payment management server 10 about approval of the payment amount (authorization: securing of credit limit), and makes payment according to the approval instructions of the inquiry.

[0015] The store controller 40 is a computer device installed in the back yard of a store or the like. The store controller 40 stores various information necessary for transactions. The various information includes a product master. The product master is a file that stores product information such as product identification information (e.g., JAN (Japanese Article Number) code), product name, and sales price of each product. The product master also includes product identification information of products that need to be weighed (products to be weighed), product name, unit price of the product to be weighed, etc. In addition to the product master, the store controller 40 also stores various information such as inventory status, sales history, and deposit and withdrawal records. The store controller 40 may also store customer membership information.

[0016] The transaction status management device 50 is installed inside or outside a store, and is capable of displaying a monitoring screen showing various operations performed by customers on the registration and settlement device 20, and remotely controlling the registration and settlement device 20. For example, a store clerk is stationed at the transaction status management device 50. The store clerk visually monitors customers in an unmanned store by looking at the monitoring screen. The transaction status management device 50 may be a portable device (such as a smartphone or tablet terminal) that can be carried by the store clerk.

[0017] (Example of configuration of the registration settlement device 20) Next, the configuration of the registration and settlement device 20 will be described with reference to FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of installation of registration and settlement device 20 as seen from the customer side. Registration and settlement device 20 includes a CPU 201, a ROM 202, a RAM 203, a hard disk 204, a customer side display unit 205, a customer side scanner unit 206, a printer unit 207, a change dispenser 209, an audio output unit 210, a communication unit 211, a camera 212, and a sign pole 220. These can communicate with each other via a bus (not shown).

[0018] The CPU 201 is a central processing unit, and controls the operation of the registered settlement device 20 by reading and executing various programs stored in the ROM 202. The various programs include a payment processing program according to this embodiment. The ROM 202 is a read-only memory, and stores various types of information used by the CPU 201, including various programs.

[0019] The RAM 203 is a readable and writable memory, and stores various information. For example, the RAM 203 stores information acquired from the outside (such as product information) and information generated during processing. The generated information includes registration information generated during registration and settlement information generated during settlement.

[0020] Hard disk 204 stores various information. For example, hard disk 204 stores imaging results (for example, video) captured by camera 216. Hard disk 204 may store various programs executed by CPU 201, instead of ROM 202. Hard disk 204 may also store information acquired from the outside and information generated in processing, instead of RAM 203.

[0021] The customer-side display unit 205 is a touch display for customers. The customer-side display unit 205 displays various information to the customer and accepts various inputs from the customer. The customer-side display unit 205 can also display preset keys (buttons for ordering products) corresponding to products, and accept the registration of products by pressing the preset keys.

[0022] The customer-side scanner unit 206 is a scanner unit for customers, and optically reads various information. The customer-side scanner unit 206 optically reads the product code (barcode) attached to the product to accept the registration of the product.

[0023] A printing unit 207 prints and outputs various media (receipts, invoices, etc.).

[0024] The change machine 209 is a cash settlement mechanism. The change machine 209 faces the customer side and accepts various operations and cash insertion from the customer. Specifically, the change machine 209 has an insertion port and an ejection port for bills and coins. The change machine 209 calculates the amount inserted into the insertion port, calculates the change amount, which is the difference between the inserted amount and the purchase amount, and ejects the change from the ejection port. The audio output unit 210 outputs sounds. For example, the audio output unit 210 outputs audio guidance, warning sounds, etc. The audio guidance and warning sounds relate to, for example, product registration and payment. The communication unit 211 is an interface for transmitting and receiving information to and from other devices (such as the payment management server 10 and the payment terminal device 30).

[0025] Camera 212 is attached above customer side display unit 205. Camera 216 is a camera that continuously captures moving or still images. A CCD (charge coupled device) camera or a CMOS (Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor) camera can be used as camera 216. Camera 216 captures product registration and payment operations by a customer as well as images of the products to be registered.

[0026] The sign pole 220 is, for example, a lamp or an LED (light emitting diode) and can be lit in a predetermined color or in a predetermined lighting manner. Depending on the lighting manner of the sign pole 220, it can indicate that it is in use, that there is an error, or that a fraudulent act has been performed by a customer.

[0027] The registration and settlement apparatus 20 may also include devices for the store clerk. Examples of the devices for the store clerk include a store clerk display unit, a key operation unit, and a store clerk scanner unit. The store clerk display unit is a touch display for the store clerk, which displays various information to the store clerk and accepts various inputs from the store clerk. The key operation unit is provided on the store clerk side, has various keys (hardware keys, buttons), and accepts various inputs from the store clerk. The store clerk scanner unit is a scanner unit for the store clerk, which reads product codes (barcodes) and store clerk codes attached to the store clerk's nametags.

[0028] (Hardware configuration of payment terminal device 30) Fig. 3 is a block diagram showing an example of the hardware configuration of payment terminal device 30. As shown in Fig. 3, payment terminal device 30 includes a CPU 301, a memory 302, a reader / writer unit 303, a communication unit 304, and an output unit 305. Each of components 301 to 305 is connected to each other by a bus 310.

[0029] CPU 301 is responsible for the overall control of payment terminal device 30. Memory 302 includes, for example, a ROM, a RAM, and a flash ROM. For example, the flash ROM and ROM store various programs such as the payment processing program according to this embodiment. RAM is used as a work area for CPU 301. The programs stored in memory 302 are loaded into CPU 301, causing CPU 301 to execute the coded processes.

[0030] The reader / writer unit 303 is capable of reading information (charge balance) stored in the electronic money medium and writing information to the electronic money medium. The communication unit 304 is connected to a network 60 such as the Internet through a communication line, and is connected to other devices (e.g., the payment management server 10 and the registration settlement device 20) through the network 60. The communication unit 304 also manages the interface between the network 60 and the inside of its own device, and controls the input and output of data from other devices. The output unit 305 includes a speaker and an LED lamp. The speaker outputs a reading sound when an electronic money medium is read. When the reader / writer unit 303 is started (when reading and writing are possible), the LED lamp emits light in a predetermined color indicating that the reader / writer unit 303 is running, and can prompt the customer to read the electronic money medium.

[0031] The payment terminal device 30 may be included in the registered settlement device 20. In other words, instead of making the payment terminal device 30 and the registered settlement device 20 separate devices, it is also possible to make them into a single device (registered settlement device 20) by providing the functional parts of the payment terminal device 30 in the registered settlement device 20.

[0032] (Functional configuration of sales data processing system 1) Fig. 4 is a block diagram showing an example of a functional configuration of sales data processing system 1. As shown in Fig. 4, payment terminal device 30 includes a communication unit 304 and a payment unit 401. Payment unit 401 is realized by CPU 301. That is, CPU 301 realizes payment unit 401 by executing a payment processing program stored in memory 302. Furthermore, registration settlement device 20 includes communication unit 211 and execution unit 411. Execution unit 411 is realized by CPU 201. That is, CPU 201 realizes execution unit 411 by executing a payment processing program stored in ROM 202.

[0033] Here, the functional configuration of the sales data processing system 1 will be described together with the flow of normal processing performed by the sales data processing system 1. 5 is a sequence diagram showing the flow of normal processing performed by the sales data processing system 1. When the registration of a product is completed, the registration and settlement device 20 accepts the selection of a payment type. Step S501: When "electronic money" is selected in the selection of the payment type, the execution unit 411 issues a payment instruction to the payment terminal device 30 via the communication unit 211. The payment instruction includes the type of electronic money medium 400 and the payment amount.

[0034] Step S502: Then, the execution unit 411 displays a guidance screen related to electronic money payment on the customer side display unit 205. The guidance screen includes, for example, text and images (e.g., illustrations and videos) such as "Please hold the electronic money medium over the payment terminal device 30."

[0035] Step S503: The settlement unit 401 of the settlement terminal device 30 receives the settlement instruction transmitted from the registered settlement device 20 via the communication unit 304. Step S504: The reader / writer unit 303 of the payment terminal device 30 performs a reading process to read the charge balance of the electronic money medium 400. Step S505: The IC chip in the electronic money medium 400 is activated (energized) by the magnetic force of the reader / writer unit 303 activated in the reading process, and the electronic money medium 400 transmits the stored charge balance to the payment terminal device 30. The reader / writer unit 303 of the payment terminal device 30 reads the charge balance.

[0036] Step S506: Payment unit 401 of payment terminal device 30 determines whether the payment amount read by reader / writer unit 303 is equal to or less than the charge balance. If the payment amount exceeds the charge balance, that is, if the balance is insufficient, an insufficient balance error, which will be described later, occurs. Step S507: If the payment amount is less than the charge balance, the payment unit 401 requests approval (authorization) of the payment amount to the payment management server 10. The authorization approval request includes the payment amount, an electronic money ID (Identification) that identifies the electronic money medium 400, a payment terminal ID (member store number + terminal ID) that identifies the payment terminal device 30, and the like. The payment management server 10 updates the charge balance by subtracting the payment amount from the charge balance managed by its own device. Then, after updating the charge balance, the payment management server 10 transmits an authorization approval instruction to the payment terminal device 30.

[0037] Step S508: When the settlement unit 401 receives the approval instruction from the settlement management server 10, it executes a write process. The write process includes a process of calculating a write amount by subtracting the payment amount from the charge balance, and a process of writing the calculated write amount to the electronic money medium 400. Step S509: As a result, the charge balance stored in the electronic money medium 400 is updated to the written amount. Step S510: When writing has been performed, the electronic money medium 400 sends a write response indicating that writing has been performed normally. Note that the write process includes a process of receiving the write response from the electronic money medium 400.

[0038] Step S511: When the settlement unit 401 receives the write response from the electronic money medium 400, it performs an acknowledgement response process. The acknowledgement response process includes sending a response request notice to have the settlement management server 10 perform a sales confirmation process. The response request notice includes information such as the payment amount, electronic money ID, settlement terminal ID, write amount, and settlement date and time.

[0039] Step S512: When the payment management server 10 receives a response request notification from the payment terminal device 30, it performs a sales confirmation process to confirm the sales (payment results) for depositing money to the store, and sends a confirmation response to the payment terminal device 30. In the sales confirmation process, the written amount is confirmed to match the updated charge balance, and the deposit from the management company to the affiliated store is confirmed.

[0040] Step S513: Upon receiving the confirmation response from the payment management server 10, the payment terminal device 30 transmits a payment completion notification to the registered settlement device 20. Step S514: Registered settlement device 20 (execution unit 411) executes a payment completion process upon receiving the payment completion notification from payment terminal device 30. The payment completion process includes, for example, a process of issuing a receipt and a process of displaying a payment completion screen.

[0041] (Regarding errors in payments using electronic money medium 400) Errors may occur during payment using the electronic money medium 400. The types of errors include, for example, the following: (1) Insufficient balance error. (2) Authorization error. (3) Write process error (write abnormality). (4) Acknowledgement processing error. The above errors (1) and (2) are not particularly problematic because the payment process has not yet started and there is no inconsistency between the amount deposited and the amount paid to the affiliated store. The above error (4) is a communication error (incomplete processing) between the payment management server 10 and the payment terminal device 30, and although the payment process has not yet been completed, the writing process has been performed normally, so there is no inconsistency between the amount deposited and the amount paid to the affiliated store. On the other hand, the above error (3) is an error (incomplete processing) that occurs after the start of the payment process, and the payment process has not yet been completed, and there is a risk of inconsistency between the amount deposited and the amount paid to the affiliated store, so this is an error that may cause problems. Each error is described in detail below.

[0042] The above (1) insufficient balance error occurs when the payment amount exceeds the charge balance (insufficient balance). In this case, the payment terminal device 30 notifies the registered settlement device 20 that the charge balance is insufficient, and transmits information indicating this to the registered settlement device 20. This makes it possible to notify the registered settlement device 20 that the charge balance is insufficient. However, even in this case, the sales data processing system 1 is able to complete the settlement. Specifically, the sales data processing system 1 is able to complete the settlement by charging the shortfall to the electronic money medium 400 and making a payment again using the electronic money medium 400, or by making a payment using another payment type selected separately.

[0043] The authorization error (2) above may occur due to a malfunction of the reader / writer unit 303, poor communication with the payment management server 10, etc. In the case of an authorization error, a retry is performed. If the authorization error is resolved by the retry, payment by electronic money becomes possible. On the other hand, if the error is not resolved, payment by electronic money medium 400 cannot be made. In this case, the sales data processing system 1 settles the account using another payment type selected separately. Furthermore, if the authorization error is not resolved, the sales data processing system 1 may continue to restrict the selection of payment by electronic money medium 400.

[0044] The above (3) write processing error is an error in which the write processing (step S508) is performed but a write response (step S510) is not received from the electronic money medium 400. One cause of a write processing error is, for example, when a customer holds the electronic money medium 400 over the reader / writer unit 303 to perform the write processing and write response, the electronic money medium 400 and the reader / writer unit 303 become separated, causing a cutoff in the supply of power from the payment terminal device 30 to the electronic money medium 400 (failed communication). There are the following two modes of write processing errors. (a) Write failure: Writing is not performed properly (payment amount not received). (b) Response failure: A state in which writing is performed normally, but payment terminal device 30 does not receive the write response due to a communication failure at the time of the write response (a state in which the payment amount has already been received).

[0045] The above (4) confirmation response processing error can take the following two forms: A mode in which an acknowledgement response is not received because the acknowledgement response process (step S511) is not performed due to the occurrence of the write process error (a) or (b) above). Although the writing is performed normally and the payment terminal device 30 sends a response request notification (the payment amount has been received), due to poor communication between the payment terminal device 30 and the payment management server 10, the response request notification is not received by the payment management server 10, or the payment terminal device 30 does not receive a confirmation response.

[0046] Here, if a write processing error occurs, i.e., if a write response (step S510) is not received from the electronic money medium 400, the payment terminal device 30 (payment unit 401) transmits a write error notice indicating the write processing error to the registered settlement device 20. The registered settlement device 20 receives the write error notice transmitted from the payment terminal device 30. By receiving the write error notice, the registered settlement device 20 can detect the occurrence of a write processing error, but cannot distinguish between (a) and (b) above, i.e., cannot distinguish whether the payment amount has been received or not. For this reason, there is a risk that the payment amount cannot be collected legitimately.

[0047] Therefore, if the payment process were to be performed again whenever a write error notice was received, the customer would have to pay the payment amount twice if the error occurred in the above-mentioned (b) indicating that the money had already been received. In other words, the customer would suffer a disadvantage. On the other hand, if the payment process was not to be performed again whenever a write error notice was received, the store would not be able to collect the payment amount from the customer if the error occurred in the above-mentioned (a) indicating that the money had not been received. In this case, the management company that manages the electronic money medium 400 would bill the store for the payment amount, and the store would have to pay the payment amount to the management company, which would cause the store to suffer a disadvantage.

[0048] In this way, when the error (3) above occurs, in an unmanned store or a store with a shortage of attendant staff, the staff cannot immediately respond. As a result, not only does it take time to recover from the error, but it may become impossible to make electronic money payments at the registered settlement device 20 afterwards, which may reduce the convenience of electronic money payments. Therefore, in this embodiment, an attempt is made to prevent such a decrease in convenience. The following is a detailed description of the payment of electronic money medium 400 performed by the sales data processing system 1 according to this embodiment.

[0049] In this embodiment, if an incompletion occurs during the payment process, the payment unit 401 (FIG. 4) outputs an incompletion notification to that effect to the registered settlement device 20. The payment process includes a write process (step S508) and an acknowledgement response process (step S511). The write process is a process that includes writing the write amount to the electronic money medium 400 and receiving a write response from the electronic money medium 400. The acknowledgement response process is a process that finalizes the payment between the payment terminal device 30 and the payment management server 10 after the write process has been performed normally.

[0050] When the settlement unit 401 does not receive a write response from the electronic money medium 400 in the write process, it transmits a write error notice indicating an abnormality in the write process to the registration and settlement device 20 as a notice of incomplete processing.

[0051] If execution unit 411 does not receive a write error notification (an example of a processing incomplete notification), it executes normal payment completion processing (hereinafter referred to as "normal processing") to end the payment. The normal processing includes processing to issue a normal receipt and processing to display a payment completion screen. On the other hand, if execution unit 411 receives a write error notification, it executes a predetermined processing. The predetermined processing is, for example, a continuation processing to continue using the device. The continuation processing includes, for example, a processing to check the charge balance.

[0052] The process of checking the charge balance will be described below with reference to a flowchart. FIG. 6A is a flowchart showing an example of a settlement process performed by the registered settlement device 20 according to the present embodiment. Fig. 6B is a flowchart showing an example of payment processing performed by payment terminal device 30 according to this embodiment. Note that the step numbers of each process are denoted as steps S601 to S613 in Fig. 6A, and steps S621 to S631 in Fig. 6B.

[0053] Step S601: In Fig. 6A, when "electronic money" is selected from among the payment types, the execution unit 411 of the registered settlement device 20 transmits a payment instruction to the payment terminal device 30. At this time, the execution unit 411 notifies the customer to read the charge balance as a notification to prompt payment by electronic money medium 400. The notification is performed by the customer side display unit 205 and / or the audio output unit 210.

[0054] Step S621: As shown in FIG. 6B, the payment terminal device 30 (payment unit 401) receives a payment instruction transmitted from the registered settlement device 20. Then, the payment unit 401 performs a write process based on the payment instruction. In the write process, the payment unit 401 issues a presentation notification to the customer to hold the electronic money medium 400 over the reader / writer unit 303. The presentation notification is a notification that the reader / writer unit 303 is in a readable / writable state by lighting up a predetermined light-emitting unit provided in the payment terminal device 30. The presentation notification may be issued by the registered settlement device 20. For example, the registered settlement device 20 may issue a notification such as "Please touch the electronic money medium."

[0055] Step S622: The settlement unit 401 judges whether or not a write processing error has occurred. A write processing error is when the settlement unit 401 does not receive a write response from the electronic money medium 400. To explain the write processing error in detail, the settlement unit 401 may not receive a write response even though the electronic money medium 400 is presented by the customer to the reader / writer unit 303. In this case, the settlement unit 401 issues a presentation notification again. If the settlement unit 401 receives a write response from the electronic money medium 400 after the presentation notification is issued again and the customer has the payment terminal device 30 read the electronic money medium 400 again, the write error processing is resolved. On the other hand, if the settlement unit 401 does not receive a write response from the electronic money medium 400 due to a timeout or the like despite issuing a presentation notification again, the settlement unit 401 judges that a write processing error has occurred.

[0056] Step S623: If the settlement unit 401 determines that no write processing error has occurred (step S622: NO), that is, if a write response has been received from the electronic money medium 400, it performs an acknowledgement response process. Specifically, the settlement unit 401 transmits a response request notice to the settlement management server 10.

[0057] Step S624: The settlement unit 401 judges whether or not a confirmation response has been received from the settlement management server 10 by sending a response request notice to the settlement management server 10. Step S625: If an acknowledgement response is received from the payment management server 10 (step S624: YES), that is, if the payment is completed normally, the payment unit 401 transmits a payment completion notification to the registered settlement device 20 and ends the series of processes.

[0058] Step S626: If no confirmation response is received from the payment management server 10 (step S624: NO), the payment unit 401 judges whether the time is up (whether a predetermined time has passed). If the time is not up, the payment unit 401 returns to the process of step S624 and waits for a confirmation response from the payment management server 10.

[0059] Step S627: On the other hand, if the time is up (Step S626: YES), the settlement unit 401 transmits a communication error notification indicating that the confirmation response cannot be received from the settlement management server 10 (confirmation response processing error) to the registered settlement device 20, and ends the series of processes. The communication error notification is an example of a processing incompletion notification.

[0060] Step S628: If the settlement unit 401 determines in step S622 that there is a write processing error (step S622: YES), i.e., if it does not receive a write response from the electronic money medium 400, it sends a write error notification to the registered settlement device 20 indicating that a write processing error has occurred.

[0061] Step S629: Furthermore, the settlement unit 401 transmits to the settlement management server 10 an error occurrence notification indicating that a write processing error has occurred. Step S630: After that, in response to an instruction from the registered settlement device 20 to read the electronic money medium 400 again, the settlement unit 401 reads again the charge balance of the electronic money medium 400 presented by the customer. Step S631: Then, the settlement unit 401 transmits the re-read balance read again from the electronic money medium 400 and the write amount calculated in the write process to the registration settlement device 20, and ends a series of processes.

[0062] Step S602: In FIG. 6A, registered settlement apparatus 20 (execution unit 411) determines whether or not a payment completion notice has been received from payment terminal apparatus 30 within a predetermined period of time after sending a payment instruction. Step S603: If a payment completion notice is received from payment terminal device 30 within the specified period (step S602: YES), execution unit 411 executes normal payment completion processing and ends the series of processes. The normal payment completion processing includes, for example, processing to issue a normal receipt, processing to store as a normal payment history, and processing to display a payment completion screen.

[0063] Step S604: On the other hand, if a payment completion notice is not received from payment terminal device 30 within the predetermined period of time (step S602: NO), execution unit 411 determines whether a communication error notice is received from payment terminal device 30 or not.

[0064] Step S605: If a communication error notification is not received from payment terminal device 30 (step S604: NO), execution unit 411 determines whether or not a write error notification is received from payment terminal device 30. If a write error notification is not received (step S605: NO), registered settlement device 20 returns to the processing of step S602.

[0065] Step S606: If a write error notification is received (step S605: YES), the execution unit 411 displays a notification that the payment is not complete for a predetermined period of time on the customer side display unit 205. The notification that the payment is not complete is, for example, a notification such as "Payment was not completed." Step S607: The execution unit 411 performs a continuation process by notifying the customer to check the remaining charge on the electronic money medium 400.

[0066] Step S608: Furthermore, as a continuation process, the execution unit 411 instructs the payment terminal device 30 to re-read the electronic money medium 400. As a result, in response to the re-read instruction from the registered settlement device 20, the reader / writer unit 303 re-reads the charge balance of the electronic money medium 400 presented by the customer (step S630).

[0067] Step S609: Then, the execution unit 411 receives the re-read balance read again from the electronic money medium 400 in the payment terminal device 30 and the write amount calculated in the write process.

[0068] Step S610: The execution unit 411 performs a match determination as to whether the re-read balance and the written amount match. If the re-read balance and the written amount match, this indicates that the writing of the charge balance has been completed successfully. On the other hand, if the re-read balance and the written amount do not match, this indicates that the writing of the charge balance has not been completed.

[0069] Step S611: The execution unit 411 judges whether or not the matching judgment results in a match (step S612). If the matching judgment results in a match (step S611: NO), the execution unit 411 returns to step S601 and transmits a payment instruction to the payment terminal device 30 to retry the payment process. If a predetermined condition is met (for example, a predetermined number of retries or a predetermined time has elapsed) after the retry of the payment process and the re-read balance and the written amount do not match, the registered settlement device 20 may proceed to the process of step S613. This makes it possible to continue making payments using the electronic money medium 400 for payments from the next customer onwards. However, in this case, the store will not be able to collect the payment amount, which will be a disadvantage.

[0070] Step 612: If it is determined that there is a match in the match determination (step S611: YES), or if a communication error notice is received from payment terminal device 30 in step S604 (step S604: YES), execution unit 411 instructs payment terminal device 30 to have payment unit 401 perform an acknowledgement response process. This enables payment terminal device 30 to perform the acknowledgement response process. Note that if this acknowledgement response process is performed normally, that is, if payment unit 401 subsequently receives an acknowledgement response from payment management server 10, execution unit 411 may proceed to step S603 without performing the process of step S613, and perform normal payment end processing.

[0071] Step S613: The execution unit 411 executes the incomplete processing and ends the series of processing. The incomplete processing is included in the continuation processing. The incomplete processing includes, for example, a process of issuing a receipt indicating that the processing is incomplete (a confirmation response processing error has occurred) and a process of storing the payment as an incomplete payment history. In the incomplete processing, the execution unit 411 displays a screen similar to a normal payment completion screen, and enables the payment with the electronic money medium 400 in subsequent payments. This allows the registered settlement device 20 to continue the payment with the electronic money medium 400 in the payments of the next customer and after, even if an incomplete payment occurs. Also, a receipt indicating the incomplete processing may be issued by the transaction status management device 50. This allows the store clerk who monitors the transaction to know that an incomplete payment has occurred and to take measures for the incomplete payment.

[0072] As described above, in the sales data processing system 1 according to this embodiment, when a processing incompletion occurs in the payment processing using the electronic money medium 400, the payment terminal device 30 outputs a processing incompletion notice indicating this to the information processing device, and the registered settlement device 20 executes normal payment end processing if it does not receive the processing incompletion notice, and executes a predetermined process if it receives the processing incompletion notice. As a result, even if a writing processing error occurs using the electronic money medium 400 in an unmanned store or a store with a shortage of attending staff, by performing the predetermined process, it is possible to continue making payments using the electronic money medium 400 for the next customer and thereafter. Therefore, according to this embodiment, it is possible to prevent a decrease in convenience regarding payments using the electronic money medium 400.

[0073] Furthermore, in the sales data processing system 1 according to this embodiment, the registered settlement device 20 executes normal settlement termination processing when it does not receive a write error notification from the settlement terminal device 30 in electronic money settlement, and executes continuation processing that enables continued use of its own device when it receives a write error notification. As a result, in an unmanned store or a store with a shortage of attending staff, even if a write processing error occurs with the electronic money medium 400, settlement with the electronic money medium 400 can be continued for the next customer and thereafter. Therefore, according to this embodiment, it is possible to prevent a decrease in convenience regarding settlement with the electronic money medium 400.

[0074] In addition, in this embodiment, as a continuation process, the registered settlement device 20 issues a notification to the customer to check the charge balance of the electronic money medium 400 and instructs the payment terminal device 30 to re-read the electronic money medium 400, and executes a process according to the determination result of whether the re-read balance matches the written amount. This makes it possible to perform optimal processing according to whether the writing process was completed normally. This makes it possible to prevent the customer from paying the payment amount twice and the store from having to bear the payment amount.

[0075] Furthermore, in this embodiment, if the re-read balance and the written amount do not match, the registered settlement device 20 issues a settlement instruction to the settlement unit 401 (retry of settlement processing) as continuation processing. This allows the customer to pay the payment amount. This makes it possible to reduce the store's burden of paying the fee for the payment amount. Also, in this embodiment, if the re-read balance and the written amount match, the registered settlement device 20 causes the settlement unit 401 to perform an acknowledgement response process as continuation processing. This makes it possible to continue settlement using the electronic money medium 400 for payments by the next customer and onwards, even if an acknowledgement response processing error occurs.

[0076] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the payment terminal device 30 transmits a payment completion notification to the registered settlement device 20 when the confirmation response process to finalize the payment with the payment management server 10 is completed. Furthermore, the registered settlement device 20 executes normal payment termination processing when it receives a payment completion notification from the payment terminal device 30, and executes continuation processing when it does not receive a payment completion notification. This allows payments using the electronic money medium 400 to be continued for the next customer and onwards, even if a payment completion notification is not received, i.e., even if an confirmation response processing error occurs. This makes it possible to prevent a decrease in convenience regarding payments using the electronic money medium 400.

[0077] (Modification of the embodiment) Next, modified examples of the embodiment will be described. In each of the following modified examples, the contents described in the above-mentioned embodiment will be omitted as appropriate. In addition, each of the following modified examples and the above-mentioned embodiment can be combined with each other.

[0078] (Variation 1) First, a first modified example of this embodiment will be described. In the above-described embodiment, an example was described in which an instruction to re-read the electronic money medium 400 was issued as the predetermined process (continuation process), and a process was executed according to the result of a match determination between the re-read balance and the written amount. In the first modified example, an example will be described in which the registered settlement device 20 allows continued use of its own device as the predetermined process (continuation process) without performing the match determination.

[0079] The configuration and processing of the sales data processing system 1 according to the first modification will be described below with reference to a flowchart. FIG. 7A is a flowchart showing an example of a settlement process performed by the registered settlement device 20 according to the first modification. Figure 7B is a flowchart showing an example of payment processing performed by payment terminal device 30 according to Modification 1. Note that the step numbers of each process will be described using the reference numbers S701 to S707 in Figure 7A and S721 to S729 in Figure 7B.

[0080] Step S701: In Fig. 7A, when "electronic money" is selected from among the payment types, the registered settlement device 20 (execution unit 411) transmits a payment instruction to the payment terminal device 30. At this time, the execution unit 411 notifies the customer to read the charge balance as a notification to prompt payment by electronic money medium 400. The notification is performed by the customer side display unit 205 and / or the audio output unit 210.

[0081] Step S721: As shown in Fig. 7B, payment terminal device 30 (payment unit 401) receives a payment instruction transmitted from registered settlement device 20. Then, payment unit 401 performs a write process based on the payment instruction.

[0082] Step S722: The settlement unit 401 judges whether or not a write processing error has occurred. Step S723: If the settlement unit 401 determines that no write processing error has occurred (step S722: NO), that is, if a write response has been received from the electronic money medium 400, it performs an acknowledgement process. Step S724: The settlement unit 401 judges whether or not an acknowledgement response has been received from the settlement management server 10. Step S725: If an acknowledgement response is received from the payment management server 10 (step S724: YES), the payment unit 401 transmits a payment completion notification to the registered settlement device 20, and ends a series of processes.

[0083] Step S726: If no confirmation response is received from the payment management server 10 (step S724: NO), the payment unit 401 judges whether the time is up (whether a predetermined time has passed). If the time is not up, the payment unit 401 returns to the process of step S724 and waits for a confirmation response from the payment management server 10.

[0084] Step S727: On the other hand, if the time is up (Step S726: YES), the settlement unit 401 transmits a communication error notification indicating that the confirmation response cannot be received from the settlement management server 10 to the registered settlement device 20, and ends the series of processes.

[0085] Step S728: If the settlement unit 401 determines in step S722 that there is a write processing error (step S722: YES), that is, if it does not receive a write response from the electronic money medium 400, it transmits a write error notification to the registered settlement device 20. Step S729: Furthermore, the settlement unit 401 transmits an error occurrence notification to the settlement management server 10, indicating that a write processing error has occurred, and ends a series of processes.

[0086] Step S702: In FIG. 7A, registered settlement apparatus 20 (execution unit 411) determines whether or not a payment completion notice has been received from payment terminal apparatus 30 within a predetermined period of time after sending a payment instruction. Step S703: If a payment completion notice is received from payment terminal device 30 within a predetermined period of time (step S702: YES), execution unit 411 executes normal payment end processing, and ends the series of processes.

[0087] Step S704: If a payment completion notification is not received from payment terminal device 30 within a predetermined period of time (step S702: NO), execution unit 411 determines whether or not a communication error notification has been received from payment terminal device 30. If a communication error notification has been received from payment terminal device 30 (step S704: YES), registered settlement device 20 proceeds to processing of step S707.

[0088] When a communication error notification is received from payment terminal device 30, execution unit 411 may instruct payment terminal device 30 to have payment unit 401 perform an acknowledgement response process. This enables payment terminal device 30 to perform the acknowledgement response process. When this acknowledgement response process is performed normally, that is, when payment unit 401 subsequently receives an acknowledgement response from payment management server 10, execution unit 411 may proceed to step S703 without performing the process of step S707, and perform normal payment end process.

[0089] Step S705: If a communication error notification is not received from payment terminal device 30 (step S704: NO), execution unit 411 determines whether or not a write error notification is received from payment terminal device 30. If a write error notification is not received (step S705: NO), registered settlement device 20 returns to the processing of step S702.

[0090] Step S706: If a write error notice is received (step S705: YES), the execution unit 411 displays a notice that the settlement is not yet completed on the customer side display unit 205 for a predetermined period of time. Step S707: The execution unit 411 executes the incomplete processing and ends the series of processes. The incomplete processing includes, for example, a process of issuing a receipt indicating that the processing is incomplete (write processing error or acknowledgement processing error) and a process of storing the payment as an incomplete payment history. In the incomplete processing, the execution unit 411 displays a screen similar to a normal payment completion screen, and enables subsequent payments to be made using the electronic money medium 400. This allows the registered settlement device 20 to continue making payments using electronic money for the next customer and onwards, even if an incomplete payment occurs.

[0091] Fig. 8 is a diagram showing an example of a payment database 800 of the electronic money medium 400 managed by the payment management server 10. In Fig. 8, the payment database 800 includes the following items: "electronic money ID", "payment date and time", "payment terminal ID", "store name", "balance before payment", "terminal read balance", "difference", "payment amount", "balance after payment", "processing incomplete flag", and "write error flag". By inputting data into each item, payment information 801 (801a to 801e) is stored as a record.

[0092] The “electronic money ID” is identification information for identifying the electronic money medium 400 . "Payment date and time" is the date and time when payment was made using electronic money, including hours, minutes and seconds. "Payment terminal ID" is information including identification information for identifying payment terminal device 30 (affiliated store) and a terminal ID. "Store name" indicates the store where the payment was made using electronic money. “Pre-payment balance” indicates the charge balance before payment managed by the payment management server 10. "Terminal read balance" indicates the charge balance read by payment terminal device 30 in this payment. The "difference" indicates the difference between the "pre-payment balance" and the "terminal read balance." If no write processing error occurred in the payment prior to the current payment, the "difference" is zero. On the other hand, if a write processing error occurred in the payment prior to the current payment, the "difference" indicates an amount corresponding to the payment amount. Specifically, the "difference" indicates the payment amount that was not received from the customer (the amount that could not be written) due to a write processing error that occurred in the payment prior to the current payment. "Payment amount" indicates the amount to be paid by the customer in this transaction. The "Post-settlement balance" indicates the charge balance obtained by subtracting the "payment amount" from the "pre-settlement balance" upon authorization. If no write processing error occurs, the post-settlement balance and the write amount will match. The "processing incomplete flag" is a flag that is set to ON if an error occurrence notice (step S729 in FIG. 7B) or a response request notice (step S511 in FIG. 5) is not received from payment terminal device 30 due to a communication failure or the like. The "write error flag" is a flag that is set to ON when an error occurrence notification is received from payment terminal device 30 (step S729 in FIG. 7B). Each piece of payment information 801 will be explained below.

[0093] (Regarding payment information 801a) Payment information 801a is a normal payment. Specifically, payment information 801a is for a payment on June 1st, with a "pre-payment balance" of 5,000 yen, a "terminal read balance" of 5,000 yen, and a "difference" of zero. The "payment amount" is 1,000 yen. Therefore, the "post-payment balance" is 4,000 yen, calculated by subtracting the "payment amount" of 1,000 yen from the "pre-payment balance" of 5,000 yen. Additionally, the "processing incomplete flag" and "write error flag" are both OFF.

[0094] (Regarding payment information 801b) Payment information 801b is a payment in which a write processing error occurred. Payment information 801b is the first payment made after the payment indicated by payment information 801a was made. Payment information 801a is a payment made on June 3rd, with a "pre-payment balance" of 4000 yen, a "terminal read balance" of 4000 yen, and a "difference" of zero. The "payment amount" is 500 yen. Therefore, the "post-payment balance" is 3500 yen, which is the "pre-payment balance" of 4000 yen minus the "payment amount" of 500 yen. In addition, the "processing incomplete flag" is ON. In other words, this indicates that a write processing error or an acknowledgement response processing error occurred in the payment. The "write error flag" is OFF. Note that if there is no communication failure or the like and an error occurrence notification (step S728 in FIG. 7B) is received from payment terminal device 30, the "write error flag" will be ON. Therefore, if the write error flag is ON, the payment management server 10 can determine that a write error has occurred, rather than an acknowledgment response processing error.

[0095] (Regarding payment information 801c) Payment information 801c is a normal payment. Payment information 801c is the first payment made after the payment indicated by payment information 801b. Payment information 801c is a payment made on June 4th, with a "pre-payment balance" of 3,500 yen, a "terminal read balance" of 4,000 yen, and a "difference" of 500 yen. In other words, there is a difference of 500 yen between the charge balance managed by payment management server 10 and the charge balance read by payment terminal device 30. This difference (500 yen) indicates that there was a payment due to a write processing error prior to the payment in question, and that this is the payment amount (500 yen) for the payment due to the write processing error.

[0096] (How to determine whether it is a write processing error or an acknowledgment processing error) Here, even if the write error flag is OFF, the payment management server 10 can determine whether it is a write processing error or an acknowledgement response processing error. Specifically, the payment management server 10 can determine whether it is a write processing error or an acknowledgement response processing error for the payment information 801b based on the charge balance read by the payment terminal device 30 in a payment after the payment of the payment information 801b and the charge balance managed by the payment management server 10.

[0097] More specifically, for example, payment information 801b indicates that the "processing incomplete flag" is ON, i.e., it indicates a payment for which no error occurrence notification or response request notification was received. The payment immediately following the payment indicated by payment information 801b is the payment indicated by payment information 801c. The payment management server 10 determines the type of error that occurred (write processing error or acknowledgement response processing error) depending on whether the "difference" in the immediately following payment (the payment indicated by payment information 801c) is zero or not.

[0098] Specifically, if the "difference" in the immediately following payment (payment indicated by payment information 801c) is not zero ("500 yen" in the figure), the payment management server 10 determines that a write processing error occurred in that payment (payment of payment information 801b) (no acknowledgement response processing error has occurred). The "difference" in the immediately following payment can be regarded as the payment amount in the payment in which the write processing error occurred. On the other hand, if the "difference" in the immediately following payment is zero, the payment management server 10 determines that an acknowledgement response processing error occurred in that payment (payment of payment information 801b) (no write processing error has occurred). The payment management server 10 turns off the write error flag and the processing incomplete flag when the detected error is resolved.

[0099] In this way, the payment management server 10 can determine whether a payment (payment information 801b) for which an error occurrence notice or a response request notice was not received is a write processing error. This allows the management company of the electronic money medium 400 to bill the customer for the payment amount shown in the payment information 801b, thereby preventing the store from paying the payment amount (the store being incurring the cost). If there is no communication failure or the like and an error occurrence notice (step S729 in FIG. 7B) is received from the payment terminal device 30, the "write error flag" will be ON in the payment information 801b. Therefore, if the "write error flag" is ON, it can be determined that a write processing error has occurred.

[0100] (Regarding payment information 801d) Payment information 801d is a payment in which an error occurred. Payment information 801d is the first payment made after the payment indicated by payment information 801c. Payment information 801d is a payment made on June 5th, with a "pre-payment balance" of 3200 yen, a "terminal read balance" of 3200 yen, and a "difference" of zero. The "payment amount" is 400 yen. Therefore, the "post-payment balance" is 2800 yen, calculated by subtracting the "payment amount" of 400 yen from the "pre-payment balance" of 3200 yen. In addition, the "processing incomplete flag" is ON. This indicates that a write processing error or an acknowledgment response processing error occurred in the payment.

[0101] (Regarding payment information 801e) Payment information 801e is a normal payment. Payment information 801e is the first payment made after the payment indicated by payment information 801d. Payment information 801e is a payment made on June 6th, with a "pre-payment balance" of 2800 yen, a "terminal read balance" of 2800 yen, and a "difference" of zero. The "payment amount" is 1200 yen. Therefore, the "post-payment balance" is 1600 yen, which is the "pre-payment balance" of 2800 yen minus the "payment amount" of 1200 yen. In addition, the "processing incomplete flag" is OFF. Here, the previous payment is the payment of payment information 801d, which indicates that the "processing incomplete flag" is ON. The "difference" of payment information 801e is zero. Therefore, if the “difference” in the immediately subsequent payment (the payment indicated by payment information 801e) is zero, the payment management server 10 determines that an acknowledgement response processing error occurred in that payment (the payment indicated by payment information 801d) (that a write processing error did not occur).

[0102] The type of error may be determined by an operator. Specifically, by displaying the payment database 800 (payment information 801) on a specific viewing screen, the operator can detect (determine) the type of error by checking the write error flag, the difference, and the incomplete processing flag. The write error flag and the incomplete processing flag may also be turned OFF by receiving an operation input from the operator.

[0103] As described above, the registered settlement device 20 according to the first modification displays, as a predetermined process (continuation process), for a predetermined time that the payment is not completed, and after that display, displays a screen similar to that of the normal payment completion process, thereby enabling payment with the electronic money medium 400 in subsequent payments. As a result, even if an error occurs in payment with the electronic money medium 400 in an unmanned store or a store with a shortage of attending store staff, payment with the electronic money medium 400 can continue to be made for the next customer and thereafter. This makes it possible to prevent a decrease in convenience regarding payments with the electronic money medium 400.

[0104] Furthermore, in the registered settlement device 20 according to the first modification, when the payment management server 10 does not receive an error occurrence notification or a response request notification, it determines whether the payment corresponding to the notification is a write processing error or an acknowledgement response processing error based on the charge balance read by the payment terminal device 30 in a payment subsequent to the payment corresponding to the notification and the charge balance managed by the payment management server 10. As a result, when it is determined that there is a write processing error, it is possible to bill the customer for the payment amount indicated by the payment information 801, thereby preventing the store from paying the payment amount (the store from incurring the costs).

[0105] If a store clerk is present in the store, the transaction status management device 50 can be made to issue a receipt indicating that the transaction is incomplete. When the receipt is issued, the store clerk can visit the customer and ask the customer to inquire about the balance of the electronic money (charge balance). If the payment terminal device 30 then makes a balance inquiry and the charge balance has not been updated before and after the payment, the payment process can be performed again with the agreement of the store clerk and the customer. If the charge balance has been updated in the balance inquiry, the payment process can be performed again without having to be performed.

[0106] (Variation 2) First, a first modified example of this embodiment will be described. In the above embodiment, an example (step S608 in FIG. 6A) has been described in which the registration settlement device 20 issues a re-read instruction when the registration settlement device 20 does not receive a write error notification. In a second modified example, an example will be described in which a management company device where an operator is located is provided, and the management company device issues a re-read instruction when the registration settlement device 20 does not receive a write error notification.

[0107] FIG. 9 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of a sales data processing system 1 according to the second modification. As shown in FIG. 9, the sales data processing system 1 according to the second modification is different from the sales data processing system 1 according to the above-mentioned embodiment in that it includes a management company device 900 and an instruction acquisition unit 402. The management company device 900 is a management company for the electronic money medium 400. The management company device 900 manages the payment management server 10. The management company device 900 is placed in a call center and is operated by an operator. By accepting an operation from the operator, the management company device 900 can rewrite the payment information 801 in the payment database 800 and transmit instructions related to the payment of electronic money to the registration settlement device 20 and the payment terminal device 30.

[0108] The configuration and processing of the sales data processing system 1 according to the second modification will be described below with reference to a flowchart. FIG. 10A is a flowchart showing an example of a settlement process performed by the registered settlement device 20 according to the second modification. Figure 10B is a flowchart showing an example of payment processing performed by payment terminal device 30 according to Modification 2. Note that the step numbers of each process will be described using the reference numbers S1001 to S1011 in Figure 10A and S1021 to S1032 in Figure 10B.

[0109] Step S1001: In Fig. 10A, when "electronic money" is selected from among the payment types, the registered settlement device 20 (execution unit 411) transmits a payment instruction to the payment terminal device 30. At this time, the execution unit 411 notifies the customer to read the charge balance as a notification to prompt payment by electronic money medium 400. The notification is performed by the customer side display unit 205 and / or the audio output unit 210.

[0110] Step S1021: As shown in Fig. 10B, payment terminal device 30 (payment unit 401) receives a payment instruction transmitted from registered settlement device 20. Then, payment unit 401 performs a write process based on the payment instruction.

[0111] Step S1022: The settlement unit 401 judges whether or not a write processing error has occurred. Step S1023: If the settlement unit 401 determines that there is no write processing error (step S1022: NO), that is, if a write response has been received from the electronic money medium 400, it performs an acknowledgement process. Step S1024: The settlement unit 401 judges whether or not an acknowledgement response has been received from the settlement management server 10. Step S1025: If an acknowledgement response is received from the payment management server 10 (step S1024: YES), the payment unit 401 transmits a payment completion notification to the registered settlement device 20, and ends a series of processes.

[0112] Step S1026: If no confirmation response is received from the payment management server 10 (step S1024: NO), the payment unit 401 judges whether the time is up (whether a predetermined time has passed). If the time is not up, the payment unit 401 returns to the process of step S1024 and waits for a confirmation response from the payment management server 10.

[0113] Step S1027: If the time is up (Step S1026: YES), the settlement unit 401 transmits a communication error notification indicating that the confirmation response cannot be received from the settlement management server 10 to the registered settlement device 20, and ends the series of processes.

[0114] Step S1028: If the settlement unit 401 determines in step S1022 that there is a write processing error (step S1022: YES), that is, if it does not receive a write response from the electronic money medium 400, it transmits a write error notification to the registered settlement device 20. Step S1029: Furthermore, the settlement unit 401 transmits an error occurrence notification to the settlement management server 10, indicating that a write processing error has occurred, and ends a series of processes.

[0115] Step S1030: The instruction acquisition unit 402 of the payment terminal device 30 acquires a second read instruction from the management company device 900 in response to an exchange between the customer and the call center operator. The instruction acquisition unit 402 may acquire the read instruction by receiving it directly from the management company device 900, or may acquire the read instruction by receiving it via the registration settlement device 20.

[0116] Step S1031: In response to a read instruction from the management company device 900, the reader / writer unit 303 re-reads the charge balance of the electronic money medium 400 presented by the customer. Step S1032: Then, the settlement unit 401 transmits the re-read balance read again from the electronic money medium 400 and the written amount calculated in the settlement process to the management company device 900, and ends a series of processes.

[0117] Step S1002: In FIG. 10A, registered settlement apparatus 20 (execution unit 411) determines whether or not a payment completion notice has been received from payment terminal apparatus 30 within a predetermined period of time after sending a payment instruction. Step S1003: If a payment completion notice is received from payment terminal device 30 within a predetermined period of time (step S1002: YES), execution unit 411 executes normal payment end processing, and ends the series of processes.

[0118] Step S1004: If a payment completion notice is not received from payment terminal device 30 within a predetermined period of time (step S1002: NO), execution unit 411 determines whether a communication error notice is received from payment terminal device 30 or not.

[0119] When a communication error notification is received from payment terminal device 30, execution unit 411 may instruct payment terminal device 30 to have payment unit 401 perform an acknowledgement response process. This enables payment terminal device 30 to perform the acknowledgement response process. When this acknowledgement response process is performed normally, that is, when payment unit 401 subsequently receives an acknowledgement response from payment management server 10, execution unit 411 may proceed to step S1003 without performing the process of step S1011, and perform normal payment end process.

[0120] Step S1005: If a communication error notification has not been received from payment terminal device 30 (step S1004: NO), execution unit 411 determines whether a write error notification has been received from payment terminal device 30. If a write error notification has not been received (step S1005: NO), registered settlement device 20 returns to the process of step S1002.

[0121] Step S1006: If a write error notice is received (step S1005: YES), the execution unit 411 displays a notice that the settlement is not yet completed on the customer side display unit 205 for a predetermined period of time. Step S1007: The registered settlement device 20 determines whether the payment amount is less than a predetermined amount (for example, 2000 yen).

[0122] Step S1008: If the payment amount is not less than the specified amount (step S1007: NO), the execution unit 411 sends a call request to the management company device 900 as a continuation process, indicating that an error has occurred (the payment process is incomplete). Step S1009: This causes a call to be made to the management company device 900 (call center), enabling a call between the call center operator and the customer. This call may be a voice call only, or may also include an image. This allows the customer to operate according to the operator's instructions.

[0123] In response to an operator's operation, the management company device 900 accepts input of a read start instruction to cause the payment terminal device 30 to re-read the electronic money medium 400. When the management company device 900 accepts input of the read start instruction, it instructs the payment terminal device 30 to re-read the electronic money medium 400. The management company device 900 acquires from the payment terminal device 30 the re-read balance read again from the electronic money medium 400 by the payment terminal device 30 and the write amount calculated in the write process, and displays them.

[0124] The operator of the management company device 900 determines whether the re-read balance and the written amount match. If the re-read balance and the written amount match, the operator can determine that an acknowledgement response processing error has occurred. The operator can operate the management company device 900 to resolve various errors. Step S1010: Once the operator has resolved the various errors, the registered settlement device 20 can proceed to step S1003 and perform normal payment completion processing in response to an instruction indicating completion of the payment processing sent from the management company device 900 (step S1010: NO).

[0125] On the other hand, if the re-read balance and the written amount do not match, the operator determines that there has been a write processing error. If there has been a write processing error, the registered settlement device 20 returns to step S1001 in response to an instruction from the operator to perform the payment processing again (step S1010: YES). As a result, the registered settlement device 20 issues a payment instruction for the electronic money medium 400 to the payment terminal device 30, and causes the payment terminal device 30 to perform the payment processing again. When the payment processing is completed normally, the registered settlement device 20 receives a payment completion notification from the payment terminal device 30 (step S1002: YES). As a result, the registered settlement device 20 proceeds to step S1003, and is able to perform normal payment completion processing.

[0126] Step S1011: In step S1004, if a communication error notice is received from the payment terminal device 30 (step S1004: YES), or in step S1006, if the payment amount is less than the predetermined amount (step S1007: YES), the execution unit 411 executes the incomplete processing (step S1011) and ends the series of processing. The reason why the continuation processing is performed when the payment amount is less than the predetermined amount is that if an operator is called for a small payment, the number of inquiries to the operator increases, and the operator may not be able to handle them all. The predetermined amount can be set in advance for each store. In addition, the predetermined amount can be changed according to the number of operators (time period), etc. In addition, the predetermined amount can be changed according to whether the user is a member / non-member, and can also be changed according to the member rank. The member rank may be, for example, a rank according to the number of visits to the store (for example, the more visits, the higher the rank) or a rank according to the purchase amount (for example, the higher the purchase amount, the higher the rank).

[0127] The incomplete processing in step S1011 includes, for example, a process of issuing a receipt indicating that the processing is incomplete (write processing error or acknowledgement processing error) and a process of storing the payment as an incomplete payment history. In the continuation processing, the execution unit 411 displays a screen similar to the normal payment completion screen, and enables subsequent payments to be made using the electronic money medium 400. This allows the registered settlement device 20 to continue settlement using electronic money on its own device even when an incomplete payment occurs, and also for payments by the next customer and onwards.

[0128] In addition, in the second modification, when the payment amount is a predetermined amount or less, the payment terminal device 30 may send an error occurrence notification to the payment management server 10 in response to an instruction from the registered settlement device 20, as in the first modification. The error occurrence notification may be sent not only from the payment terminal device 30, but also from the registered settlement device 20. This allows the payment management server 10 to turn on the write error flag or the processing incomplete flag. Therefore, it is possible to identify the type of error from the subsequent settlement. This allows the customer to be charged the payment amount shown in the payment information 801, even if the payment amount is a predetermined amount or less. This prevents the store from paying the payment amount (the store from incurring the cost).

[0129] In addition, the management company device 900 is not limited to issuing various instructions by receiving an input of a read start instruction from an operator. For example, when the management company device 900 receives an error occurrence notification, it may automatically issue a notification to prompt the customer to check the charge balance of the electronic money medium 400 and instruct the payment terminal device 30 to read the electronic money medium 400 again. Then, in response to the read instruction, the management company device 900 receives the re-read balance and the written amount from the payment terminal device 30 and determines whether the re-read balance and the written amount match. If the determination result shows that they do not match, the management company device 900 may issue an instruction to perform the payment process again. If the determination result shows that they match, the management company device 900 may issue an instruction to the registered settlement device 20 to execute unfinished processing.

[0130] When the registered settlement device 20 according to the second modification receives a write error notification from the payment terminal device 30, it transmits an error occurrence notification to the management company device 900. The payment terminal device 30 transmits the re-read balance and the write amount read in response to obtaining a re-read instruction from the management company device 900 to the management company device 900. Then, the registered settlement device 20 executes a normal settlement end process in response to receiving an instruction indicating the completion of the settlement process transmitted from the management company device 900. As a result, even if an error occurs in a store without a clerk or a store with a shortage of attending clerks, the registered settlement device 20 can perform settlement using electronic money for the next customer and subsequent payments. Therefore, it is possible to prevent a decrease in convenience in electronic money settlement.

[0131] Furthermore, when the payment amount is equal to or less than a predetermined amount, the registered settlement device 20 according to the second modification does not make a call request, but instead executes a predetermined process (continuation process) in which the fact that the payment is not completed is displayed for a predetermined period of time, and after that display, a screen similar to that of the normal payment completion process is displayed. This allows the registered settlement device 20 to perform payments using the electronic money medium 400 even for payments by the next customer and onwards, even if an acknowledgement response process error occurs. This makes it possible to prevent a decrease in convenience in payments using the electronic money medium 400.

[0132] The embodiments will be summarized below. [Name of invention] System and program [Technical field] The present invention relates to a system and a program. [Background technology] In recent years, self-checkout registers (self-register devices) where customers can register products and make payments have become widespread in stores. Self-checkout registers are sometimes used in stores where there are no store clerks. Stores where there are no store clerks include, for example, stores where the store clerks are absent during specific times such as nighttime, and stores where the store clerks are absent all day. As a related technique, an unmanned store system has been disclosed that authenticates a user based on personal information acquired from a part of the user's body, and allows the user to enter and leave the store and makes payments based on the authentication (see, for example, Patent Document 1). In recent years, electronic money has also become widespread as a payment type. It is possible to make payments using electronic money at self-checkout registers as well. [Prior art document] [Patent documents] [Patent Document 1] JP 2019-021283 A [Summary of the invention] [Problem to be solved by the invention] However, with the conventional technology, in a store where there is no store staff or there are not enough staff to attend, if an error occurs when making a payment using electronic money, the store staff cannot respond immediately, which can reduce convenience. The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and has an object to provide a technique capable of suppressing a decrease in convenience.

[0133] [Means for solving the problem] (1) In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, a system that is one aspect of the present invention is a system comprising an information processing device and a payment terminal device that makes a payment based on the charge balance of an electronic money medium held by a customer and the payment amount indicated in a payment instruction from the information processing device, wherein the payment terminal device performs a payment process including a write process that writes a write amount obtained by subtracting the payment amount from the charge balance into the electronic money medium and receives a write response from the electronic money medium, and if the write response is not received in the payment process, sends a write error notification to the information processing device indicating an abnormality in the write process, and the information processing device comprises an execution means that performs a normal payment termination process if the write error notification is not received from the payment terminal device, and performs a continuation process that enables continued use of the information processing device if the write error notification is received. According to the above configuration, even if a write processing error occurs with the electronic money medium 400 in an unmanned store or a store with a shortage of attending staff, payments by the next customer and thereafter can continue to be made with the electronic money medium 400. Therefore, according to this embodiment, it is possible to prevent a decrease in convenience regarding payments with the electronic money medium 400.

[0134] (2) In the configuration of (1) above, the execution means, as the continuation process, may notify the customer to check the charge balance of the electronic money medium and instruct the payment terminal device to re-read the electronic money medium, and the payment means may transmit the re-read balance re-read from the electronic money medium in response to the read instruction and the written amount to the information processing device, and the execution means may execute processing according to the result of a determination as to whether the re-read balance transmitted from the payment terminal device matches the written amount. According to the above configuration, it is possible to perform optimal processing depending on whether the writing process has been completed normally, and therefore it is possible to prevent the customer from being charged twice for the payment amount and for the store to bear the payment amount.

[0135] (3) In the configuration of (2) above, a payment management device that manages the charge balance of the electronic money medium is provided, and the payment means performs the payment process including an acknowledgement response process that confirms the payment with the payment management device after the write process has been performed normally, and the execution means may, if the re-read balance and the written amount do not match, give the payment instruction to the payment means again as the continuation process, and if the re-read balance and the written amount match, have the payment means perform the acknowledgement response process as the continuation process. According to the above-mentioned configuration, it is possible to prevent the shop from paying the fee for the payment amount. Furthermore, even if an error occurs in the confirmation response process, it is possible for the next customer and thereafter to continue making payments using the electronic money medium 400.

[0136] (4) In the configuration of (1) above, the execution means may execute, as the continuation process, a process of displaying for a predetermined period of time a message indicating that the payment has not been completed, and, after the message, displaying a screen similar to that of a normal payment completion process. According to the above configuration, even if an error occurs in a payment using the electronic money medium 400 in an unmanned store or a store with a shortage of attending staff, the next customer and subsequent customers can continue to make payments using the electronic money medium 400. This makes it possible to prevent a decrease in convenience regarding payments using the electronic money medium 400.

[0137] (5) In the configuration of (4) above, a payment management device is provided which manages the charge balance of the electronic money medium, and the payment means sends an error occurrence notification indicating a write error indicating an abnormality in the write process to the payment management device when an abnormality occurs in the write process, and performs the payment processing including an acknowledgement response process of sending a response request notification to the payment management device to confirm the payment when the write process error is performed normally, and when the error in the write process is an error payment for which the error occurrence notification or the response request notification is not received, the payment management device may determine whether the error payment is a payment indicating an abnormality in the write process or a payment indicating an abnormality in the acknowledgement response process based on the charge balance read by the payment terminal device in a payment after the error payment and the charge balance managed by the payment management device itself. According to the above configuration, if it is determined that there is a write processing error, the customer can be charged the payment amount indicated in the payment information 801, thereby preventing the store from having to pay that payment amount (the store being covered).

[0138] (6) In the configuration of (1) above, a management company device is provided which manages the charge balance of the electronic money medium, and when the execution means receives the write error notification from the payment terminal device, it performs, as the continuation process, a process of making a call request to the management company device indicating that the payment process is incomplete, and the payment terminal device is provided with an instruction acquisition means which acquires a re-read instruction sent from the management company device in response to the call request, and the payment means transmits to the management company device a re-read balance read again from the electronic money medium and the written amount in response to the instruction acquisition means acquiring the read instruction, and the execution means may perform a normal payment completion process in response to receiving an instruction indicating the completion of the payment process sent from the management company device by the payment means transmitting the re-read balance and the written amount to the management company device. According to the above configuration, even if an error occurs in a store without a clerk or in a store with a shortage of attending clerks, payments using electronic money can be made by the registered settlement device 20 for the next customer and onward. This makes it possible to prevent a decrease in convenience in electronic money payments.

[0139] (7) In the configuration of (6) above, when the payment amount is equal to or less than a predetermined amount, the execution means may execute, as the continuation processing, a process of not making the call request, and displaying for a predetermined period of time a message indicating that the payment has not been completed, and after that display, displaying a screen similar to that of a normal payment completion processing. According to the above configuration, even if an acknowledgement response processing error occurs, the registered settlement device 20 can perform settlement using the electronic money medium 400 for the next customer and subsequent payments. Therefore, it is possible to prevent a decrease in convenience in settlement using the electronic money medium 400.

[0140] (8) In any of the configurations (1) to (7) above, a payment management device that manages the charge balance of the electronic money medium is provided, and the payment means performs the payment processing including an acknowledgement response process that confirms the payment with the payment management device after the write process has been performed normally, and when the acknowledgement response process is completed, sends a payment completion notification indicating this to the information processing device, and the execution means performs the normal payment termination process when the payment completion notification is sent from the payment terminal device, and performs the continuation process when the payment completion notification is not received. According to the above configuration, even if a payment completion notice is not received, that is, even if an acknowledgement response processing error occurs, payments by the next customer and thereafter can continue to be made using the electronic money medium 400. This makes it possible to prevent a decrease in convenience regarding payments using the electronic money medium 400.

[0141] (9) In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, another aspect of the present invention is a program for causing a system including an information processing device and a payment terminal device that makes a payment based on the charge balance of an electronic money medium held by a customer and the payment amount indicated by a payment instruction from the information processing device to function as a first computer and for causing the information processing device to function as a second computer, the program causing the first computer to function as a payment means that performs a payment process including a write process of writing a write amount obtained by subtracting the payment amount from the charge balance to the electronic money medium and receiving a write response from the electronic money medium, and if the write response is not received in the payment process, sends a write error notification to the information processing device indicating an abnormality in the write process, and causes the second computer to function as an execution means that performs a normal payment termination process if the write error notification is not received from the payment terminal device, and performs a continuation process that enables continued use of the device if the write error notification is received. According to the above configuration, even if a write processing error occurs with the electronic money medium 400 in an unmanned store or a store with a shortage of attending staff, payments by the next customer and thereafter can continue to be made with the electronic money medium 400. Therefore, according to this embodiment, it is possible to prevent a decrease in convenience regarding payments with the electronic money medium 400.

[0142] In addition, all or part of each function (input / output, memory, processing (including judgment)) in the sales data processing system 1 described above may be realized in a device other than the device described as the entity that executes the function.

[0143] Specifically, in the above description, the registered settlement device 20 is provided with the functional units of the execution unit 411, and the payment terminal device 30 is provided with the functional units of the payment unit 401 and the instruction acquisition unit 402. All or a part of these functional units may be provided in another computer device. For example, all or a part of these functional units may be provided in the store controller 40, an external server device, or a computer device other than these. In addition, the number of computer devices provided with these functional units is not limited to a plurality of units, and may be one unit.

[0144] Specifically, for example, instead of the registered settlement device 20, the store controller 40 or an external server device may execute a continuation process that enables continued use of the registered settlement device 20 when a write error notification is received from the payment terminal device 30 during electronic money payment.

[0145] In relation to the above, registration and settlement device 20 and payment terminal device 30 may function as a so-called thin client specialized for the input / output interface portion. In other words, registration and settlement device 20 and payment terminal device 30 may accept various inputs (operation by an operator, detection by a device such as a scanner), transmit input information (operation information, scan information, etc.) to a cloud server, receive the processing results of the cloud server based on the input information (update screen information, device control information, etc.), and perform various outputs (display on a display unit, control of a device).

[0146] The program for implementing the sales data processing system 1 described above may be recorded in a computer-readable recording medium, and the program may be read into a computer system and executed. The term "computer system" as used herein includes hardware such as an OS and peripheral devices. The term "computer-readable recording medium" refers to a portable medium such as a USB (Universal Serial Bus) flash memory, an SSD (Solid State Drive), a flexible disk, an optical magnetic disk, a ROM, a CD-ROM, and a storage device such as a hard disk built into a computer system. The term "computer-readable recording medium" also refers to a storage device that holds a program for a certain period of time, such as a volatile memory (RAM) inside a computer system that becomes a server or a client when a program is transmitted via a network such as the Internet or a communication line such as a telephone line. The program may be transmitted from a computer system that stores the program in a storage device to another computer system via a transmission medium or by a transmission wave in the transmission medium. The "transmission medium" that transmits the program refers to a medium that has a function of transmitting information, such as a network (communication network) such as the Internet or a communication line (communication line) such as a telephone line. The program may also be for implementing a part of the above-mentioned functions. Furthermore, the above-mentioned functions may be realized in combination with a program already recorded in the computer system, that is, a so-called differential file (differential program). [Explanation of symbols]

[0147] 1...sales data processing system, 10...payment management server, 20...registration settlement device, 30...payment terminal device, 40...store controller, 50...transaction status management device, 401...payment unit, 402...instruction acquisition unit, 411...execution unit, 400...electronic money medium, 800...payment database, 801...payment information, 900...management company device

Claims

1. A system including an information processing device and a payment terminal device, The payment terminal device if a transaction is not completed during a payment transaction using an electronic money medium, a notification of such transaction is output to the information processing device; The information processing device includes: The system executes normal settlement completion processing if the processing incompletion notice is not received, and executes a predetermined processing if the processing incompletion notice is received.

2. the settlement process includes a write process of writing a write amount to the electronic money medium and receiving a write response from the electronic money medium; The incompletion of the process includes a write process error in which the write response is not received in the write process, The information processing device includes: As the predetermined process, a notification is given to the customer to prompt the customer to check the charge balance of the electronic money medium, and an instruction is given to the payment terminal device to read the electronic money medium again. the payment terminal device transmits to the information processing device a re-read balance read from the electronic money medium in response to the read instruction and the written amount; the information processing device executes a process according to a determination result as to whether the re-read balance transmitted from the payment terminal device matches the written amount; 2. The system of claim 1 .

3. a payment management device for managing a charge balance of the electronic money medium, the settlement process includes a confirmation response process for confirming settlement with the settlement management device after the writing process is normally performed, The incomplete processing includes a confirmation response processing error where the settlement is not confirmed, The information processing device includes: If the re-read balance does not match the written amount, the predetermined process is to instruct the payment terminal device to make a payment again, When the re-read balance and the written amount match, the predetermined process is to have the payment terminal device perform the confirmation response process.

3. The system of claim 2.

4. The information processing device executes, as the predetermined process, a process of displaying for a predetermined period of time a message indicating that the payment has not been completed, and displaying a screen similar to that of a normal payment completion process after the message is displayed.

2. The system of claim 1 .

5. a payment management device for managing a charge balance of the electronic money medium, The payment process includes: a write process for writing a write amount to the electronic money medium and receiving a write response from the electronic money medium; a confirmation response process for transmitting an error occurrence notification indicating a write error to the payment management device when an abnormality occurs in the write process, and transmitting a response request notification to the payment management device to confirm the payment when the write process is normally performed; Including, The incompletion of the process includes a write process error in which the write response is not received in the write process, and a confirmation response process error in which the settlement is not confirmed, the payment management device determines whether the incomplete processing in the previous payment is due to the write processing error or the acknowledgement response processing error based on the charge balance read by the payment terminal device in a payment subsequent to the current payment and the charge balance managed by the payment management device itself; 5. The system of claim 4.

6. a management company device for managing a charge balance of the electronic money medium; The information processing device includes: As the predetermined process, a process of making a call request to the management company device indicating that the process has not been completed is performed, The payment terminal device an instruction acquisition means for acquiring an instruction to read again transmitted from the management company device in response to the call request; transmitting a re-read balance read from the electronic money medium and a written amount to the management company device in response to the read instruction being acquired by the instruction acquisition means; The information processing device includes: the re-read balance and the written amount are transmitted to the management company device by the payment terminal device, and in response to receiving an instruction indicating completion of the payment process transmitted from the management company device, a normal payment completion process is executed.

2. The system of claim 1 .

7. The information processing device includes: If the payment amount is equal to or less than a predetermined amount, the call request is not made, and as the predetermined process, a process is executed in which a message is displayed for a predetermined period of time indicating that the payment has not been completed, and after the message is displayed, a screen similar to that of a normal payment completion process is displayed.

7. The system of claim 6.

8. A program for causing a payment terminal device to function as a first computer and causing the information processing device to function as a second computer in a system including an information processing device and a payment terminal device, The first computer, when a transaction is not completed in the settlement process using the electronic money medium, a notification of such transaction being output to the information processing device; The second computer, executes a normal settlement end process when the processing incompletion notice is not received, and executes a predetermined process when the processing incompletion notice is received. A program characterized by:

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