Settlement device, settlement system, settlement method, and program

Abstract

To provide a settlement device, a settlement system, a settlement method, and a program that allow a user to invest a change each time settlement processing is done and feel that their action results in an investment.SOLUTION: A settlement device comprises: a setting unit that sets a calculation method for a change amount in an electronic settlement; an acquisition unit that acquires settlement information including a settlement amount from a shop terminal device installed at a shop or a user terminal device possessed by a user when the user purchases a product in the shop; and a processing unit that calculates the change amount by the calculation method each time when the settlement information is acquired, subtracts a sum of the settlement amount and the change amount from a balance of electronic money of the user, and performs processing for investing the change amount in an investment product designated by the user.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a payment device, a payment system, a payment method, and a program. [Background technology]

[0002] A fund management support system has been proposed that supports users in using the change they receive when they pay in commercial transactions for fund management (Patent Document 1). This fund management support system requests the user to agree to use the change they receive during a certain period for fund management every time that period passes. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2018-97856 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] However, in the fund management support system described in Patent Document 1, since the user cannot invest the change each time a payment process is performed, the user may not fully feel that he or she is investing.

[0005] The present invention has been made in consideration of the above circumstances, and one of its objectives is to provide a payment device, payment system, payment method, and program that allow users to invest the change each time a payment process is performed, giving them a greater sense that their actions are connected to investment. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] One aspect of the present invention is a payment device that includes a setting unit that sets a calculation method for the amount of change in electronic payments; an acquisition unit that acquires payment information including a payment amount from a store terminal device installed in the store or a user terminal device owned by the user when a user purchases an item at a store; and a processing unit that calculates the amount of change based on the calculation method each time the payment information is acquired, subtracts the total of the payment amount and the amount of change from the user's electronic money balance, and performs processing to invest the amount of change in an investment product specified by the user. Effect of the Invention

[0007] According to one aspect of the present invention, a payment device, payment system, payment method, and program can be provided that allow users to invest the change each time a payment process is performed, giving them a greater sense that their actions are connected to investment. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of a configuration for realizing an electronic payment service. [Diagram 2] This is a sequence diagram (part 1) illustrating the general flow of electronic payment. [Diagram 3] This is a sequence diagram (part 2) illustrating the general flow of electronic payment. [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram of a payment server 100. [Diagram 5] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of the contents of user information 172. [Figure 6] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of the contents of affiliated store / store information 176. [Figure 7] FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram of an investment company server 200. [Figure 8] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of the contents of investment information 272. [Figure 9] FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the configuration of a credit card company server 300. [Figure 10] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of the contents of card information 372. [Figure 11] 13 is a diagram showing an example of an investment product setting screen IM1 of the payment application 20. FIG. [Figure 12] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a change calculation method setting screen IM2 of the payment application 20. [Figure 13] FIG. 11 is a sequence diagram showing the flow of a payment process. [Figure 14] 13 is a diagram showing an example of a payment completion screen IM3 of payment application 20. FIG. [Figure 15] 13 is a diagram showing an example of an owned assets confirmation screen IM4 of the payment application 20. FIG. [Figure 16] 13 is a flowchart showing an example of a process performed by the payment server 100. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0009] Hereinafter, with reference to the drawings, an embodiment of the payment device, the payment system, the payment method, and the program of the present invention will be described. Various devices for providing services to users and performing internal analysis, such as the "payment server", "investment company server", and "credit card company server" that will appear below, may be realized by a group of distributed devices, and the business operators who operate each device may be different. Furthermore, the owner of the hardware of the device (the provider of the cloud server) and the business operator who actually operates the device may also be different. The application program and the payment device work together to provide an electronic payment service. In the following description, the application program is referred to as a payment application, and the payment device is referred to as a payment server. In addition, the combination of the payment application and the payment server may be referred to as a payment system. The electronic payment service is a service that supports payments related to the purchase of goods and services at a store. The store is, for example, a physical store (real store) that exists in the real world, but may also include a virtual store for electronic commerce. The virtual store may include one provided by an entity different from the operator of the electronic payment service. In that case, when making a payment for shopping at the virtual store, the screen is controlled to transition to an interface screen of the electronic payment service. In electronic payment services, a store is treated as belonging to, for example, an affiliated store (brand), and processing such as payment when a purchase is made at a store is mainly carried out between the user and the affiliated store. Alternatively, processing such as payment may be carried out between the user and the store.

[0010] [Electronic payment service] Fig. 1 is a diagram showing an example of a configuration for realizing an electronic payment service. The electronic payment service is realized mainly by a payment server 100. The payment server 100 communicates with, for example, one or more user terminal devices 10, one or more first store terminal devices 50, one or more second store terminal devices 70, an investment company server 200, and a credit company server 300 via a network NW. The network NW includes, for example, the Internet, a LAN (Local Area Network), a wireless base station, a provider device, and the like.

[0011] The user terminal device 10 is, for example, a portable terminal device such as a smartphone or a tablet terminal. The user terminal device 10 is a computer device having at least an optical reading function, a communication function, a display function, an input reception function, and a program execution function. In the following description, components for realizing these functions are referred to as a camera, a communication device, a touch panel, a CPU (Central Processing Unit), etc. In the user terminal device 10, a processor such as a CPU executes a payment application 20, thereby operating to provide an electronic payment service to a user in cooperation with a payment server 100. The payment application 20 is installed in the user terminal device 10 from, for example, an application store, and controls the camera, communication device, touch panel, etc.

[0012] The first store terminal device 50 is installed, for example, in a store. The first store terminal device 50 is a computer device having at least a product price acquisition function, an optical reading function, a program execution function, and a communication function. The first store terminal device 50 includes a so-called POS (Point of Sale) device, and the product price acquisition function and the optical reading function may be realized by the POS device. The store code image 60 is placed in the store, and is a code image such as a QR code (registered trademark) printed on a paper or plastic medium. The store code image 60 may be displayed on a display placed in the store (which may be the display of a terminal device such as a smartphone).

[0013] The second store terminal device 70 is used by the operator of the affiliated store. The second store terminal device 70 is a smartphone, a tablet terminal, a personal computer, or the like. An interface 72 for affiliated stores runs on the second store terminal device 70. The interface 72 for affiliated stores may be an app for affiliated stores or a browser. The interface 72 for affiliated stores accepts coupon settings and the like made by the operator of the affiliated store and transmits them to the payment server 100. The second store terminal device 70, which is a smartphone, has the function of displaying a code image corresponding to a store code image and reading a code image displayed by the user terminal device 10 by executing the app for affiliated stores.

[0014] The payment server 100 realizes electronic payment based on payment information received from the user terminal device 10 or the first store terminal device 50. The first store terminal device 50 may include a POS device and an affiliated store server, in which case the payment information is sent from the POS device via the affiliated store server to the payment server 100. In the following explanation, no distinction is made between these two and it is assumed that the payment information is sent from the first store terminal device 50.

[0015] The investment company server 200 is a device operated by an investment company for providing investment services to users. The investment services provided by the investment company server 200 may be, for example, services for trading stocks, investment trusts, ETFs (Exchange Traded Funds), REITs (Real Estate Investment Trusts), government bonds, gold, platinum, foreign exchange, and the like.

[0016] When the user's electronic money balance is insufficient, the payment server 100 cooperates with a preset cooperation destination to execute an auto-charge to automatically charge the electronic money. The cooperation destination may be a credit card company, a bank, etc. In the following description, as an example, the payment server 100 cooperates with a credit card company to execute the auto-charge.

[0017] The credit card company server 300 is a device operated by a credit card company to manage credit card settlement. For example, when the charge balance of electronic money used for electronic settlement becomes low, the settlement server 100 and the credit card company server 300 cooperate to perform an automatic charge of the electronic money. The details of the automatic charge will be described later.

[0018] 2 and 3 are sequence diagrams illustrating the general flow of electronic payment. There may be two patterns of electronic payment: pattern 1 and pattern 2.

[0019] In the case of pattern 1 (hereinafter referred to as user scan) shown in FIG. 2, the user terminal device 10 with the payment application 20 activated decodes the store code image 60 by the optical reading function (S1). The store code image 60 includes store URL (Uniform Resource Locator) information. This store URL is an electronic payment service domain to which store-identifying information is added, and is associated with an affiliated store ID, a store ID, etc. in the payment server 100 (described later). The payment application 20 transmits the first payment information including the store URL and the account ID to the payment server 100 (S2). The payment server 100 searches for store information (described later) from the affiliated store ID and the store ID corresponding to the store URL, acquires the affiliated store name and the store name information (S3), and transmits it to the payment application 20 (S4). The user inputs the payment amount into the user terminal device 10 on the screen on which the affiliated store name and the store name are displayed (S5). Then, the user terminal device 10 generates second payment information including at least the payment amount, and transmits it to the payment server 100 (S6). The payment server 100 performs electronic payment based on the received second payment information (S7). The payment server 100 then transmits a payment completion notice (information for displaying a payment completion screen) to the payment application 20 (S8), and the payment application 20 displays the payment completion screen (S9). Note that when the store code image 60 is displayed on a display installed in the store, the store code image 60 may include not only the store URL but also information on the payment amount. In this case, the step of the user inputting the payment amount is omitted, and the information on the payment amount is included in the first payment information and transmitted to the payment server 100. Information on the affiliated store name and the store name may be included in the payment completion screen and displayed.

[0020] In the case of pattern 2 (hereinafter referred to as store scan) shown in FIG. 3, when the payment application 20 is started, when a payment operation is performed in the payment application 20, when an automatic update timing (for example, every minute) occurs, and at other timings, the payment application 20 transmits a request for issuing a one-time code to the payment server 100 (S11). The payment server 100 generates a one-time code (S12) and transmits it to the payment application 20 (S13). The payment application 20 displays a code image such as a QR code (registered trademark) or a barcode generated based on the one-time code (S14). The user holds (presents) the display surface of the user terminal device 10 over the first store terminal device 50, and the first store terminal device 50 decodes the code image by an optical reading function and obtains the one-time code, etc. (S15). The first store terminal device 50 then generates payment information including the one-time code, payment amount, affiliated store ID, store ID, etc., and transmits it to the payment server 100 (S16). The payment amount information is acquired in advance by reading a barcode or manually entering it. The payment server 100 identifies the user corresponding to the one-time code based on the received information and performs electronic payment (S17). The payment server 100 then transmits a payment completion notice to the payment application 20 (S18), and the payment application 20 displays a payment completion screen (S19).

[0021] Note that electronic payment may be performed using only one of the above patterns. Furthermore, the "account ID" described in FIG. 2 may be other information (e.g., a phone number) that can be used as user identification information. Furthermore, issuance of a one-time code may be omitted in the store scan, and the payment application 20 may display a code image generated based on the user's account ID. In this case, the payment server 100 identifies the user corresponding to the account ID instead of identifying the user corresponding to the one-time code.

[0022] [Payment server] FIG. 4 is a configuration diagram of the payment server 100. The payment server 100 includes, for example, a communication unit 110, a payment content providing unit 120, a payment processing unit 130, an information management unit 140, a setting unit 150, an acquisition unit 160, and a storage unit 170. The payment content providing unit 120, the payment processing unit 130, the information management unit 140, the setting unit 150, and the acquisition unit 160 are realized by, for example, a hardware processor such as a CPU executing a program (software). Some or all of these components may be realized by hardware (including circuitry) such as an LSI (Large Scale Integration), an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), an FPGA (Field-Programmable Gate Array), or a GPU (Graphics Processing Unit), or may be realized by cooperation between software and hardware. The program may be stored in advance in a storage device (a storage device with a non-transient storage medium) such as an HDD (Hard Disk Drive) or flash memory, or may be stored in a removable storage medium (non-transient storage medium) such as a DVD or CD-ROM, and installed in the storage device by inserting the storage medium into a drive device.

[0023] The storage unit 170 is a HDD, a flash memory, a RAM (Random Access Memory), etc. The storage unit 170 may be a NAS (Network Attached Storage) device that the payment server 100 can access via a network. The storage unit 170 stores information such as user information 172, payment content information 174, and affiliated store / shop information 176.

[0024] The communication unit 110 is a communication interface for connecting to the network NW. The communication unit 110 is, for example, a network interface card.

[0025] The payment content providing unit 120 has, for example, a function of a Web server, and provides information (content) for displaying various screens of the electronic payment service to the user terminal device 10. The payment content providing unit 120 appropriately reads necessary content from the payment content information 174 and provides it to the user terminal device 10. The user terminal device 10 accepts various inputs by the user while the content is being played by the payment application 20, and transmits the above-mentioned payment information and the like to the payment server 100.

[0026] The payment processing unit 130 performs payment processing based on the payment information transmitted by the user terminal device 10 or the first store terminal device 50. The payment processing unit 130 performs payment processing while referring to the user information 172.

[0027] FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of the contents of the user information 172. The user information 172 is an example of the registration information of a user. The user information 172 is information associated with, for example, a user URL, an account ID, a telephone number, a password, an email address, a user ID, a name, an address, a date of birth, a registration date, a charge balance, a post-payment setting, a post-payment limit, a post-payment usage amount, a post-payment available amount, a payment method setting, a bank account, a credit card number, charge history information, payment history information, a change calculation method, and a change amount. The user URL is used for a remittance process between users. When registering for the electronic payment service, it is necessary to register a telephone number and a password. The account ID is issued to the user by the payment server 100, and the user ID is an ID that can be set by the user at will (does not have to be set). Similarly, the email address, and the name, address, and date of birth are information that can be set by the user at will (does not have to be set). The registration date is the date on which the user registered for the electronic payment service (the date on which the account was created). Hereinafter, the user's instance (electronic payment account) to which this information is associated will be referred to as an account.

[0028] The charge balance is information indicating the balance of electronic money that is set by a user by transferring money to an account in advance. The means of transfer include transfer from an ATM (Automatic Teller Machine) of a designated company (bank) and transfer from a registered bank account. The deferred payment setting is information indicating whether or not the setting for enabling electronic payment by deferred payment has been completed, and is set to either "completed" or "not completed." The deferred payment limit is the limit of deferred payment that can be used each month, the deferred payment usage amount is the amount of deferred payment that has already been used in the current month, and the deferred payment available amount is the amount of deferred payment that can be used in the current month, which is calculated by subtracting the deferred payment usage amount from the deferred payment limit. Although only one deferred payment limit is shown in the figure, in reality, there is also a daily upper limit, and the lower of these may be set as the deferred payment limit. Further details of deferred payment will be described later. The payment method setting is setting information indicating whether the user will perform electronic payment using the charge balance or payment by deferred payment at that time. The bank account and credit card number are information on a bank account or credit card number (account number, card number) that can be used to deposit funds into an electronic payment service. Charge history information is a history of the user's previous transfers to the electronic payment service to increase the charge balance. Payment history information is information that indicates the details of payments made by the user for each payment (date and time, store ID of the store where the purchase was made, payment amount, payment method, etc.).

[0029] The change calculation method is information indicating a method for calculating the change amount in electronic payment. The change amount is information indicating the amount of change given to a user in electronic payment. In this embodiment, the change amount given in electronic payment is invested in a preset investment destination. The change calculation method and the change amount will be described in detail later.

[0030] 6 is a diagram showing an example of the contents of affiliated store / store information 176. The affiliated store / store information 176 includes, for example, a first table 176A in which an affiliated store ID and a store ID are associated with a store URL, a second table 176B in which an affiliated store name and sales amount are associated with an affiliated store ID, and a third table 176C in which a store name is associated with a store ID. In addition to this information, the affiliated store / store information 176 may also include information such as the category of the affiliated store or store, the location of the store, and payment patterns.

[0031] The information management unit 140 manages user information 172 and affiliated store / store information 176 based on information acquired from the user terminal device 10 and the second store terminal device 70. The information management unit 140 adds new records to, edits, and deletes the user information 172 and affiliated store / store information 176.

[0032] The setting unit 150 sets the calculation method for the change amount in electronic payment. The setting process by the setting unit 150 will be described in detail later. The acquisition unit 160 acquires payment information including the payment amount from the first store terminal device 50 or the user terminal device 10 when a user purchases a product in a store.

[0033] [Electronic payment] When payment information is acquired from the user terminal device 10 or the first store terminal device 50, the payment processing unit 130 refers to the user information 172 to acquire the "payment method setting" of the user. For a user whose "payment method setting" is set to "charge balance", the payment processing unit 130 performs electronic payment as follows. For example, the payment processing unit 130 performs electronic payment by decreasing the charge balance managed in association with the user ID and increasing the item value of the affiliated store's sales. The item value of the affiliated store's sales is not used as electronic money itself, for example, and an amount corresponding to the item value of the sales is transferred to a bank account in a cycle according to an agreement between the affiliated store and the electronic payment service.

[0034] The payment processing unit 130 performs electronic payment for users whose "setting information" is set to "deferred payment" as follows. Deferred payment is set separately from "credit payment" in cooperation with a credit card company, which is a separate entity from the operator of the electronic payment service, and the operator of the electronic payment service acts as a creditor and allows electronic payment that is not dependent on the charge balance within the deferred payment limit. In order to receive the deferred payment service, a credit card provided by the operator of the electronic payment service may be required. The amount used for deferred payment is settled on the payment date of the following month, for example, by debiting from a bank account, for one month. In this case, the payment processing unit 130 performs provisional payment by adding the payment amount to the deferred payment amount and subtracting the same amount from the available deferred payment amount, and when the closing date comes, it performs processing to debit the payment for the current month on the payment date of the following month as described above, or requests the operator of the credit card company to perform such processing. In addition, if the payment amount exceeds the available deferred payment amount at the time of provisional payment, an error notification is returned to the payment application 20.

[0035] [Investment Company Server] FIG. 7 is a configuration diagram of the investment company server 200. The investment company server 200 includes, for example, a communication unit 210, an investment processing unit 220, and a storage unit 270. The investment processing unit 220 is realized by, for example, a hardware processor such as a CPU executing a program (software). Some or all of these components may be realized by hardware (including circuitry) such as an LSI, ASIC, FPGA, or GPU, or may be realized by cooperation between software and hardware. The program may be stored in advance in a storage device such as an HDD or flash memory (a storage device having a non-transient storage medium), or may be stored in a removable storage medium such as a DVD or CD-ROM (a non-transient storage medium), and may be installed in the storage device by mounting the storage medium in a drive device.

[0036] The communication unit 210 is a communication interface for connecting to the network NW. The communication unit 210 is, for example, a network interface card.

[0037] The storage unit 270 is a HDD, a flash memory, a RAM, etc. The storage unit 270 may be a NAS device that can be accessed by the investment company server 200 via a network. The storage unit 270 stores information such as investment information 272.

[0038] FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of the contents of investment information 272. Investment information 272 is information regarding a user's investment, and is information in which, for example, account ID, user name, change amount, investment destination, and owned assets are associated with each other. Account ID is information for identifying the user's account, and may be the same information as the account ID in user information 172. User name is information indicating the user's name. Change is information indicating the amount of change given to the user in electronic payment. Investment destination is information regarding investment products in which the user invests the change. Owned assets is information regarding the user's owned assets for each investment product.

[0039] [Credit card company server] FIG. 9 is a configuration diagram of the credit card company server 300. The credit card company server 300 includes, for example, a communication unit 310, a card processing unit 320, and a storage unit 370. The card processing unit 320 is realized, for example, by a hardware processor such as a CPU executing a program (software). Some or all of these components may be realized by hardware (including circuitry) such as an LSI, ASIC, FPGA, or GPU, or may be realized by a combination of software and hardware. The program may be stored in advance in a storage device such as an HDD or flash memory (a storage device having a non-transient storage medium), or may be stored in a removable storage medium such as a DVD or CD-ROM (a non-transient storage medium), and may be installed in the storage device by mounting the storage medium in a drive device.

[0040] The communication unit 310 is a communication interface for connecting to the network NW. The communication unit 310 is, for example, a network interface card.

[0041] Storage unit 370 is a HDD, flash memory, RAM, etc. Storage unit 370 may be a NAS device that credit card company server 300 can access via a network. Information such as card information 372 is stored in storage unit 370.

[0042] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of the contents of card information 372. Card information 372 is information about a credit card, and for example, information such as a card number, a user name, an expiration date, a security code, and a usage history is associated with the card. The card number is information indicating the credit card number. The user name is information indicating the name of the credit card owner. The expiration date is information indicating the expiration date of the credit card. The security code is information indicating a number printed on the back of the credit card to prevent fraudulent use. The usage history is information about the credit card usage history, and includes, for example, information such as the date and time of use, the payment amount, and the store used.

[0043] [Change Investment Settings] 11 is a diagram showing an example of an investment product setting screen IM1 of the payment application 20. In this embodiment, when change is given during electronic payment, the change is automatically used to purchase an investment product. The investment product may be, for example, stocks, investment trusts, ETFs, REITs, government bonds, gold, platinum, and foreign exchange.

[0044] As shown in FIG. 11, the investment product setting screen IM1 of the payment application 20 includes multiple buttons B11 to B16. Button B11 is a button for selecting investment product A. Button B12 is a button for selecting investment product B. Button B13 is a button for selecting investment product C. Button B14 is a button for selecting investment product D. Button B15 is a button for selecting investment product E. Button B16 is a button for selecting investment product F.

[0045] The user can select an investment product in which to invest the change by selecting one of the multiple buttons B11 to B16. The user terminal device 10 transmits information about the investment product set on the investment product setting screen IM1 of the payment application 20 to the investment company server 200 together with the user's account ID. The communication unit 210 of the investment company server 200 receives the information about the investment product and the user's account ID transmitted from the user terminal device 10. The investment processing unit 220 of the investment company server 200 updates the investment destination information in the investment information 272 based on this information received by the communication unit 210.

[0046] FIG. 12 is a diagram showing an example of the change calculation method setting screen IM2 of the payment application 20. As shown in FIG. 12, the change calculation method setting screen IM2 of the payment application 20 includes a number of buttons B21 to B23. The button B21 is a button for selecting a calculation method (first calculation method) for calculating the difference between a preset reference amount and the payment amount as the change. The button B22 is a button for selecting a calculation method (second calculation method) for calculating a predetermined percentage of the payment amount as the change. The button B23 is a button for selecting a calculation method (third calculation method) for calculating a preset fixed amount as the change. The first to third calculation methods will be described below with specific examples.

[0047] (1st calculation method) The first calculation method is a calculation method in which the difference between a preset base amount and the payment amount is calculated as the change. The first calculation method is set by the user selecting button B21. For example, if 500 yen is set as the base amount for the first calculation method and the user purchases a product that costs 400 yen, the calculated change amount is 500 yen - 400 yen = 100 yen. The calculated change amount of 100 yen is invested in the investment product set on the investment product setting screen IM1.

[0048] If an item that costs more than the set base amount is purchased, the change will be calculated based on an integer multiple of the base amount. The integer multiplied by the base amount is a number that will result in a change that is less than the base amount. For example, if the base amount is set to 500 yen and an item that costs 800 yen is purchased, the change will be calculated as 500 yen x 2 - 800 yen = 200 yen.

[0049] (Second calculation method) The second calculation method is a calculation method in which a predetermined percentage of the payment amount is calculated as the change. The second calculation method is set by the user selecting button B22. For example, if 5% is set as the predetermined percentage for the second calculation method and the user purchases a 2000 yen product, 100 yen, which is 5% of 2000 yen, is calculated as the change. The calculated change of 100 yen is invested in the investment product set on the investment product setting screen IM1.

[0050] (Third calculation method) The third calculation method is a calculation method in which a preset fixed amount is calculated as the change. The third calculation method is set by the user selecting button B23. For example, if 300 yen is set as the fixed amount of the third calculation method, when the user purchases a product, 300 yen is calculated as the change regardless of the payment amount. In addition, the calculated change amount of 300 yen is invested in the investment product set on the investment product setting screen IM1.

[0051] A user can select the change calculation method by selecting one of the buttons B21 to B23. The user terminal device 10 transmits information about the change calculation method set on the change calculation method setting screen IM2 of the payment application 20 to the payment server 100 together with the user's account ID. The communication unit 110 of the payment server 100 receives the information about the change calculation method and the user's account ID transmitted from the user terminal device 10. The setting unit 150 of the payment server 100 updates the change calculation method in the user information 172 based on the information received by the communication unit 110.

[0052] [Sequence diagram] 13 is a sequence diagram showing the flow of payment processing. First, the acquisition unit 160 of the payment server 100 acquires payment information including the payment amount from the first store terminal device 50 or the user terminal device 10 (S20). As described above, the acquisition unit 160 acquires payment information from the user terminal device 10 in the case of user scanning, and acquires payment information from the first store terminal device 50 in the case of store scanning.

[0053] Next, the payment processing unit 130 of the payment server 100 calculates the change amount based on the change calculation method set in the user information 172 stored in the storage unit 170 (S21). The specific change calculation method is as described in the first to third calculation methods.

[0054] Next, the payment processing unit 130 of the payment server 100 performs electronic payment for the product purchase (S22). Specifically, the payment processing unit 130 subtracts the total of the payment amount and the change from the charge balance in the user information 172. In addition, the payment processing unit 130 adds the payment amount to the sales of the affiliated store to which the store where the product purchase was made belongs, and adds the change to the change amount in the user information 172.

[0055] Next, the payment processing unit 130 of the payment server 100 notifies the investment company server 200 of the change amount generated in this payment process (S23). Specifically, the payment processing unit 130 controls the communication unit 110 to notify the investment company server 200 of the change amount via the network NW.

[0056] The investment processing unit 220 of the investment company server 200 judges whether the cumulative change amount exceeds a predetermined amount (S24). Specifically, the investment processing unit 220 adds the change amount received from the settlement server 100 to the change amount in the investment information 272. In this way, the investment processing unit 220 can calculate the cumulative change amount. The investment processing unit 220 judges whether the cumulative change amount in the investment information 272 exceeds a predetermined amount. Here, the predetermined amount is an amount that is preset as the minimum unit of investment amount. For example, if the predetermined amount is set to 100 yen, investment will be made in units of 100 yen. Therefore, if the investment processing unit 220 judges that the cumulative change amount does not exceed the predetermined amount, it does not perform investment processing.

[0057] On the other hand, when the investment processing unit 220 determines that the cumulative change amount exceeds the predetermined amount, it controls the communication unit 210 to transmit payment information regarding the investment to the payment server 100 (S25). Specifically, the investment processing unit 220 calculates the maximum amount that is an integer multiple of the predetermined amount (the smallest unit of investment amount) and does not exceed the cumulative change amount as the payment amount, and transmits payment information including the calculated payment amount to the payment server 100. For example, if the predetermined amount is set to 100 yen and the cumulative change amount is 350 yen, 300 yen is calculated as the payment amount.

[0058] The payment processing unit 130 of the payment server 100 performs electronic payment for the investment (S26). Specifically, the payment processing unit 130 subtracts the payment amount included in the payment information received from the investment company server 200 from the charge balance in the user information 172. The payment processing unit 130 also deposits the payment amount into the account of the investment company that operates the investment company server 200.

[0059] Next, the settlement processing unit 130 of the settlement server 100 transmits a settlement completion notification to the investment company server 200 (S27). Specifically, the settlement processing unit 130 controls the communication unit 110 to transmit the settlement completion notification to the investment company server 200 via the network NW.

[0060] The investment processing unit 220 of the investment company server 200 purchases the investment product in response to the payment completion notice from the payment server 100 (S28). Specifically, the investment processing unit 220 purchases the investment product set as the investment destination in the investment information 272 for the payment amount. When the purchase of the investment product is completed, the investment processing unit 220 updates the change amount and the held assets information in the investment information 272. Specifically, the investment processing unit 220 subtracts the payment amount from the change amount in the investment information 272, and adds the currently purchased investment product to the held assets in the investment information 272.

[0061] Next, the investment processing unit 220 of the investment company server 200 transmits a purchase completion notification to the settlement server 100 (S29). Specifically, the investment processing unit 220 controls the communication unit 210 to transmit the purchase completion notification to the settlement server 100 via the network NW.

[0062] The payment processing unit 130 of the payment server 100 transmits a payment completion notification to the payment application 20 in response to the purchase completion notification from the investment company server 200 (S30). Specifically, the payment processing unit 130 controls the communication unit 110 to transmit the payment completion notification to the user terminal device 10 in which the payment application 20 is installed via the network NW.

[0063] In response to the payment completion notification from the payment server 100, the payment application 20 installed in the user terminal device 10 displays a payment completion screen on the display unit of the user terminal device 10 (S31).

[0064] Fig. 14 is a diagram showing an example of a payment completion screen IM3 of the payment application 20. As shown in Fig. 14, the payment completion screen IM3 of the payment application 20 includes the name of the affiliated store where the payment was made, the store name, the payment amount, the investment amount, and information on the investment destination, etc. In the example shown in Fig. 14, it is shown that the name of the affiliated store where the payment was made is "XX Coffee", the store name is "△△ Store", the payment amount is 400 yen, the investment amount is 100 yen, and the investment destination is stocks of "XX Coffee".

[0065] Furthermore, the payment completion screen IM3 of the payment application 20 further includes a button B31 for confirming owned assets. When the user selects the button B31, an owned assets confirmation screen IM4, which will be described later, is displayed.

[0066] FIG. 15 is a diagram showing an example of the holding assets confirmation screen IM4 of the payment application 20. As shown in FIG. 15, the holding assets confirmation screen IM4 of the payment application 20 includes a graph showing the valuation amount of the holding assets, the ratio of the valuation amount for each investment product, and a list of brands of investment products held by the user. In the example of FIG. 15, a pie chart is displayed, but a graph in another format, such as a bar chart, may be displayed. In this way, the payment processing unit 130 generates a graph showing the ratio of the valuation amount for each investment product in which the user has invested, and transmits the generated graph to the user terminal device 10 for display. This allows the user to easily check information about the investment products he or she owns.

[0067] [flowchart] 16 is a flowchart showing an example of a process performed by the payment server 100. First, the setting unit 150 of the payment server 100 sets a calculation method for the amount of change in electronic payment (S101). Specifically, the setting unit 150 sets, as the calculation method for the amount of change, any one of a first calculation method for calculating the difference between a preset reference amount and the payment amount as the amount of change, a second calculation method for calculating a predetermined percentage of the payment amount as the amount of change, and a third calculation method for calculating a preset fixed amount as the amount of change.

[0068] Next, when a user purchases a product at a store, the acquisition unit 160 of the payment server 100 acquires payment information including the payment amount from the first store terminal device 50 or the user terminal device 10 (S102). In the case of user scanning, the acquisition unit 160 acquires payment information from the user terminal device 10, and in the case of store scanning, the acquisition unit 160 acquires payment information from the first store terminal device 50.

[0069] Next, the payment processing unit 130 of the payment server 100 calculates the change amount based on the change calculation method set by the setting unit 150 each time it acquires payment information (S103), subtracts the total of the payment amount and the change amount from the user's electronic money balance (S104), and performs processing to invest the change amount in an investment product specified by the user (S105). This ends the processing according to this flowchart.

[0070] [Auto Charge] 16, if the user's electronic money balance is less than the total of the payment amount and the change, the payment processing unit 130 cannot perform the payment process. Therefore, if the user's electronic money balance is less than the total of the payment amount and the change, the payment processing unit 130 executes an auto-charge to automatically charge a preset amount of electronic money.

[0071] The payment processing unit 130 executes auto-charge in cooperation with a preset cooperation destination. For example, the cooperation destination is a credit card company or a bank, and the following description will be given of an example in which the payment processing unit 130 executes auto-charge in cooperation with a credit card company. When executing auto-charge, the payment processing unit 130 controls the communication unit 110 to transmit the user's card number and a preset amount (auto-charge amount) to the credit card company server 300. The communication unit 310 of the credit card company server 300 receives the user's card number and the auto-charge amount from the payment server 100. The card processing unit 320 of the credit card company server 300 adds the history of using auto-charge to the usage history in the card information 372 stored in the storage unit 370, and deposits the auto-charge amount into the account of the operating company of the payment server 100. After that, the payment processing unit 130 of the payment server 100 adds the auto-charge amount to the charge balance in the user information 172. This allows a user to both purchase goods and make investments even if the user's electronic money balance is less than the total of the payment amount and the change.

[0072] As described above, the payment server 100 of this embodiment includes the setting unit 150, the acquisition unit 160, and the payment processing unit 130. The setting unit 150 sets the calculation method of the change amount in electronic payment. When the user purchases a product at a store, the acquisition unit 160 acquires payment information including the payment amount from the first store terminal device 50 installed in the store or the user terminal device 10 owned by the user. Each time the payment information is acquired, the payment processing unit 130 calculates the change amount based on the calculation method set by the setting unit 150, subtracts the total amount of the payment amount and the change amount from the balance of the user's electronic money, and performs processing to invest the change amount in an investment product specified by the user. This allows the change amount to be invested each time a payment process is performed, making it possible to more clearly feel that the user's actions are linked to investment.

[0073] In this embodiment, the payment processing unit 130 performs processing to invest the change in the investment product set on the investment product setting screen IM1 (FIG. 11), but this is not limited to this. For example, the payment processing unit 130 may perform processing to invest the change in stocks of the affiliated store to which the store where the user purchased the product belongs. For example, when performing payment processing at XX Coffee △△ store, the payment processing unit 130 may perform processing to invest the change in XX Coffee stocks. This can save the effort of setting the investment product in advance, and can automatically invest in stocks of the affiliated store used by the user.

[0074] The above describes the form for carrying out the present invention using an embodiment, but the present invention is not limited to such an embodiment, and various modifications and substitutions can be made within the scope that does not deviate from the gist of the present invention. [Explanation of symbols]

[0075] 10 User terminal device 20. Payment App 50 First store terminal device 60 Store Code Image 70 Second store terminal device 100 Payment Server 110 Communications Department 120 Payment Contents Provider 130 Payment processing unit 140 Information Management Department 150 Setting section 160 Acquisition Department 170 Storage section 172 User information 174 Payment Content Information 176 Store Information 200 Investment Company Server 210 Communications Department 220 Investment Department 270 Storage section 272 Investment Information 300 Credit card company server 310 Communications Department 320 Card Processing Unit 370 Memory Unit

Claims

1. A setting unit that sets a method for calculating change in electronic payment; an acquisition unit that acquires payment information including a payment amount from a store terminal device installed in the store or a user terminal device owned by the user when the user purchases a product at the store; a processing unit that calculates the change amount based on the calculation method each time the payment information is acquired, subtracts the total amount of the payment amount and the change amount from the user's electronic money balance, and performs processing to invest the change amount in an investment product designated by the user; A payment device comprising:

2. The setting unit sets, as the calculation method, any one of a first calculation method of calculating the difference between a preset reference amount and the payment amount as the change amount, a second calculation method of calculating a predetermined percentage of the payment amount as the change amount, and a third calculation method of calculating a preset fixed amount as the change amount. The payment device according to claim 1.

3. the processing unit executes an auto-charge to automatically charge a preset amount of electronic money when the balance of the electronic money of the user is less than the total amount of the payment amount and the change amount. The payment device according to claim 1.

4. The processing unit performs a process for investing the change in shares of an affiliated store to which the store where the user purchased the product belongs. The payment device according to claim 1.

5. the processing unit generates a graph showing a ratio of an assessed value of each of the investment products invested by the user, and transmits the graph to the user terminal device for display; The payment device according to claim 1.

6. The payment device according to any one of claims 1 to 5; an application program installed in the user terminal device and configured to transmit the payment information to the payment device; A payment system comprising:

7. The payment device, Set the method for calculating change in electronic payments, When a user purchases a product at a store, payment information including a payment amount is obtained from a store terminal device installed at the store or a user terminal device owned by the user; each time the payment information is acquired, the amount of change is calculated based on the calculation method, the total amount of the payment amount and the amount of change is subtracted from the balance of electronic money of the user, and the amount of change is invested in an investment product designated by the user. Payment method.

8. On the computer, Set the method for calculating change in electronic payments, When a user purchases a product at a store, payment information including a payment amount is acquired from a store terminal device installed at the store or a user terminal device owned by the user; each time the payment information is acquired, the change amount is calculated based on the calculation method, the total amount of the payment amount and the change amount is subtracted from the balance of electronic money of the user, and a process is performed to invest the change amount in an investment product designated by the user. program.

Images