Information processing device, information processing method, program and system

Abstract

To provide an information processing device for further effectively promoting spread of an electronic settlement service by granting privileges.SOLUTION: An information processing device includes: an association part for associating accounts of a plurality of users of electronic settlement services for processing settlement of purchases in physical stores, with privileges to be granted by making electronic settlement in the physical stores, in response to operation of a user terminal device by each of the plurality of users; and a privilege granting part for granting the privileges to accounts of a prescribed number or more of users when the prescribed number or more of users out of the plurality of users make electronic settlement in physical stores.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

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

[0002] Conventionally, there is known a technique for providing a reward to the account of a user who uses an electronic payment service. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a technique for providing a coupon equivalent to an amount according to the user's use of an SNS service to the user's electronic payment service account. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2009-169977 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] However, the conventional technology provides benefits to each user of an electronic payment service, and does not treat multiple users of the electronic payment service as a single recipient of the benefit. As a result, the benefits of the conventional electronic payment service may not promote the spread of the electronic payment service.

[0005] The present invention has been made in consideration of the above circumstances, and one of its objectives is to provide an information processing device, an information processing method, a program, and a system that can more effectively promote the spread of electronic payment services by offering special benefits. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] One aspect of the present invention is an information processing device comprising: a payment information acquisition unit that acquires payment information of an electronic payment performed by a user of an electronic payment service that processes payments related to purchases at a physical store from the user's user terminal device; an accompanying determination unit that determines whether another user is accompanying the user when making the electronic payment in accordance with the acquisition of the payment information; and a bonus granting unit that grants a bonus to at least the user's electronic payment service account when it is determined that another user is accompanying the user when making the electronic payment. Effect of the Invention

[0007] According to one aspect of the present invention, it is possible to provide an information processing device, an information processing method, a program, and a system that can more effectively promote the spread of electronic payment services by providing benefits. [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] 1 is a configuration diagram of a payment server 100 according to a first embodiment. [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. 13 is a diagram showing an example of the contents of first coupon information 178. [Figure 8] 13 is a diagram showing an example of the contents of second coupon information 180. FIG. [Figure 9] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a top screen IM of a payment application 20. [Figure 10] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a method for using a first coupon by a user terminal device 10. [Figure 11] FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of a method for using a second coupon by user terminal device 10A. [Figure 12] FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of a method for identifying a companion by sharing position information. [Figure 13] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a method for identifying an accompanying person by reading a code image. [Figure 14] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a method for identifying a companion by using a store terminal device. [Figure 15] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a method for identifying an accompanying person by using a predetermined function of an electronic payment service. [Figure 16] 13 is a diagram showing an example of a method for setting a second coupon by a second store terminal device 70. FIG. [Figure 17] 13 is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of processing executed by the payment server 100. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0009] Hereinafter, with reference to the drawings, an embodiment of an information processing device, an information processing method, a program, and a system of the present invention will be described. Various devices for providing services to users and performing internal analysis, such as a "server", a "management device", and an "information providing device" that will be described below, may be realized by a group of distributed devices, and each device may be operated by a different business operator. Furthermore, the owner of the hardware of the device (the provider of the cloud server) and the business that actually operates the device may also be different. An application program and a payment server work together to provide an electronic payment service. In the following description, the application program is referred to as a payment application. An electronic payment service is a service that supports payments related to the purchase of goods and services at a store. A 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. A virtual store may include a store provided by an entity different from the operator of the electronic payment service. In that case, when making a payment for shopping at a virtual store, the screen is controlled to transition to an interface screen of the electronic payment service. In an electronic payment service, 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 performed 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, and one or more second store terminal devices 70 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] 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.

[0016] 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.

[0017] 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 (e.g., 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 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).

[0018] 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.

[0019] [Payment server] FIG. 4 is a configuration diagram of the payment server 100 according to the first embodiment. 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, and a storage unit 170. The components other than the communication unit 110 and the storage unit 170 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 (storage device having a non-transient storage medium) such as an HDD (Hard Disk Drive) or a flash memory, or may be stored in a removable storage medium (non-transient storage medium) such as a DVD or a CD-ROM, and may be installed in the storage device by mounting the storage medium in a drive device. The information management unit 140 further includes a payment information acquisition unit 140A, an accompanying determination unit 140B, and a benefit granting unit 140C, the functions of which will be described in detail later. The function of the information management unit 140 in the payment server 100 is an example of an "information processing device."

[0020] 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, affiliated store / shop information 176, first coupon information 178, and second coupon information 180.

[0021] 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.

[0022] 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.

[0023] 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.

[0024] 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, for example, a user URL, an account ID, a telephone number, a password, as well as an email address, a user ID, a name, an address, a date of birth, a registration date, a charge balance, a deferred payment setting, a deferred payment limit, a deferred payment usage amount, a deferred payment available amount, a payment method setting, a bank account, a credit card number, a charge history information, a payment history information, a follow-up affiliated store, a first coupon acquired, a second coupon acquired, and owned points, and other information associated with the user. 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 with 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.

[0025] 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.).

[0026] 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 (described above) are associated with an affiliated store ID, and a third table 176C in which a store ID is associated with a store name. 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.

[0027] FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of the contents of the first coupon information 178. The first coupon information 178 is information in which, for example, a first coupon ID, a member store ID, a store ID, a benefit content, a use condition, an expiration date, and other information are associated. As described later, the first coupon is a benefit that is issued to a user by a member store and can be used for electronic payment. In the table shown in FIG. 7, the benefit content is information indicating the content of the benefit provided by the first coupon corresponding to the first coupon ID. For example, the first coupon with the first coupon ID "0001" means that a user can receive a 5% rebate from the payment amount by using the first coupon. The use condition is information indicating the condition under which the coupon can be used at the time of payment. For example, the first coupon with the coupon ID "0001" means that a user can use the first coupon for payments of 300 yen or more. The expiration date is information indicating the deadline by which the first coupon can be used.

[0028] FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of the contents of the second coupon information 180. The second coupon information 180 is information in which, for example, a second coupon ID, a member store ID, a store ID, a designated number of accompanying persons, a privilege content, a privilege recipient, an expiration date, and the like are associated. Like the first coupon, the second coupon is also issued to a user by a member store, but unlike the first coupon which is acquired and used by each user, the second coupon is granted as a privilege when a user who has acquired the second coupon visits a real store with an accompanying person and makes an electronic payment. The privilege associated with the second coupon is an example of a "privilege" in the claims.

[0029] In the second coupon information 180, the designated number of accompanying persons is information indicating the number of accompanying persons to whom the benefit of the second coupon is to be granted. The benefit content is information indicating the content of the benefit provided by the second coupon corresponding to the second coupon ID. The benefit recipient is information indicating the recipient to whom the benefit of the second coupon is to be granted (for example, whether the benefit is to be granted only to the acquirer of the second coupon, or to the acquirer of the second coupon and accompanying persons). The expiration date is information indicating the deadline by which the second coupon can be used. For example, in the case of a coupon with the second coupon ID "D0001", if the acquirer of the coupon, accompanied by two or more accompanying persons, makes an electronic payment within the expiration date at a store identified by the store ID "651874" of the affiliated store identified by the affiliated store ID "13579", points equivalent to 10% of the payment amount will be granted to the "acquired points" of the acquirer and accompanying persons. At this time, like the first coupon, a condition of use (for example, a payment of 500 yen or more is required) may be set.

[0030] In addition, when the beneficiaries are the acquirer of the second coupon and his / her companion, the benefit indicated in the benefit content may be given to each of the acquirer and the companion, or may be divided and given to the acquirer and the companion. For example, in the case of a coupon with the second coupon ID "D0001", points equivalent to 10% of the payment amount may be given to each of the acquirer and the companion, or points equivalent to 5% of the 10% of the payment amount may be given to the acquirer and points equivalent to the remaining 5% may be distributed among the companions.

[0031] The information management unit 140 manages user information 172, payment content information 174, affiliated store / store information 176, first coupon information 178, and second coupon information 180 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, edits, deletes, and so on for the user information 172, affiliated store / store information 176, first coupon information 178, and second coupon information 180.

[0032] [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.

[0033] 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.

[0034] [Top page] FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example of the top screen IM of the payment application 20. The top screen IM displays a code image CD. The code image CD includes, for example, a barcode and a QR code. In addition, together with the code image CD, text (in the figure, "Pay with balance") is displayed indicating whether to perform electronic payment using the charge balance or to perform electronic payment by deferred payment. This text is drawn by the payment application 20 based on information updated by the payment application 20 every time the changeover switch SW is operated. The top screen IM also includes an operation area CA including the changeover switch SW, and a transition button TB. This will be described later. Note that the "switch" and "button" are GUIs (Graphical User Interfaces) realized in cooperation with a touch panel. The changeover switch SW accepts an operation to switch between performing electronic payment using the charge balance or to perform electronic payment by deferred payment. The changeover switch SW is set to perform electronic payment using the charge balance by default, and every time the changeover switch SW is operated by the user, the setting is switched between performing electronic payment using the charge balance and performing electronic payment by deferred payment. In the figure, the explanation "Postpaid" is displayed, which means that the setting is for postpaid electronic payment. The operation area CA has buttons for instructing the main operations in electronic payment, such as a button for scanning (starting a user scan) and a button for charging. When the transition button TB is operated, the screen transitions to a payment screen that displays the code image used for electronic payment and the available balance.

[0035] Below the operation area CA, for example, a group of buttons (switches) M1 to M2 for activating a mini app are further displayed. A mini app is an app that operates using the payment app 20 as a platform and provides some kind of service. A service provider develops a mini app by referring to a Software Development Kit (SDK), which is a program and technical documentation for app development provided by an administrator of the payment app 20. A mini app is an app that operates, for example, while the payment app 20 is activated. For example, a part or all of the mini app may be installed when the payment app 20 is installed, or a part or all of the mini app may be installed from a service server corresponding to the mini app. For example, when the mini app is activated, a service server (not shown) that provides a service corresponding to the mini app is accessed, and the mini app and the service server work together to provide the service to the user. At this time, the service server may be the payment server 100 itself, or may be an external server different from the payment server 100. 7, as an example, a button M1 for a mini-app that provides a coupon function (including a first coupon and a second coupon) described below, and a button M2 for a mini-app that provides a function for asset management of the charge balance are displayed, but buttons for launching various types of mini-apps, such as a payment app for paying public transportation fares, may be displayed. Furthermore, separate buttons may be provided for the first coupon and the second coupon described below.

[0036] [Use of the first coupon] Fig. 10 is a diagram showing an example of how the first coupon is used by the user terminal device 10. The screen on the left side of Fig. 10 represents a screen displayed on the user terminal device 10 when, for example, the user accesses a dedicated page of an affiliated store of the electronic payment service via the payment application 20 of the user terminal device 10. This screen is displayed, for example, when the user clicks the coupon button M1 on the top screen IM of Fig. 9 and searches for a store that offers the first coupon.

[0037] The affiliated store dedicated page includes, for example, an area A1 in which summary information of the affiliated store is displayed, a button B1 for following the affiliated store, and an area A2 in which detailed information of the affiliated store is displayed switchably by tabs. When the user presses the follow button B1, the payment application 20 transmits information indicating that the follow button B1 has been pressed together with the user's identification information (e.g., account ID) to the payment server 100, and the information management unit 140 stores the identification information of the affiliated store (e.g., affiliated store ID) in "followed affiliated store" of the user information 172. As a result, for example, every time the affiliated store updates the content of the affiliated store dedicated page, the payment server 100 notifies the user via the payment application 20 that the content of the affiliated store dedicated page has been updated.

[0038] In FIG. 10, for example, when the user taps on "Coupon," one of the tabs included in area A2, coupons that the user can currently use for electronic payment at the store are displayed. When the user, for example, follows an affiliated store and presses button B2 for acquiring a coupon, the payment application 20 transmits information indicating that the Acquire button B2 has been pressed together with the user's identification information (e.g., account ID) to the payment server 100, and the information management unit 140 stores the identification information (e.g., first coupon ID) of the coupon acquired by the user in "Acquired First Coupon" of the user information 172. This associates the user with the first coupon acquired by the user.

[0039] After the user acquires the first coupon, when the user terminal device 10 executes an electronic payment, the reward granting unit 140C refers to the first coupon information 178 to determine whether the electronic payment matches the usage conditions of the first coupon acquired by the user, and if it is determined that the electronic payment matches the usage conditions of the first coupon, the reward granting unit 140C grants the user a reward according to the coupon content. For example, in the case of the coupon ID "C0001" in the first coupon information 178 shown in FIG. 7, the reward granting unit 140C determines whether the payment amount of the user is 300 yen or more, and if it is determined that the usage conditions are met, the reward granting unit 140C grants points equivalent to 5% of the payment amount.

[0040] Thereafter, the payment application 20 displays, as a payment completion screen, an area A3 displaying the payment store, an area A4 displaying the payment amount, and an area A5 displaying the granted benefit. The right part of FIG. 8 shows, as an example, a case where 25 yen points are granted for a payment of 500 yen in response to the user acquiring a 5% off coupon. In this case, the benefit granting unit 140C stores the 25 yen worth of points in the "owned points" of the user information 172, and the payment processing unit 130 preferentially subtracts the owned points from the payment amount in the user's next electronic payment, and subtracts the remaining amount from the charge balance or the available amount for later payment. In another embodiment, the coupon may be subtracted directly from the payment amount on the day without being added as points available for payment.

[0041] [Use the second coupon] The first coupon described with reference to FIG. 10 is a coupon that an affiliated store provides to each user as a benefit that can be used for electronic payments at a physical store. Generally, an affiliated store expects to promote electronic payments at its store by issuing a coupon, but each user has no incentive to advertise the first coupon, especially to people who are not registered with the electronic payment service, and the first coupon of the conventional technology may not sufficiently promote the use of the electronic payment service. The second coupon described below is a coupon that, when an acquirer of the second coupon makes an electronic payment at a physical store accompanied by a designated number of companions or more, a benefit is given to the account of the acquirer and / or the companion who made the electronic payment. In this way, a user of the electronic payment service can advertise the second coupon to, for example, people (such as family and friends) who are not registered with the electronic payment service in order to use the benefit related to the second coupon, and more effectively promote the spread of the electronic payment service. The second coupon will be described in detail below. Furthermore, in the following description, the user terminal device of the person who has acquired the second coupon may be referred to as user terminal device 10A, and the user terminal device of the accompanying person who has acquired the second coupon may be referred to as user terminal device 10B.

[0042] Fig. 11 is a diagram showing an example of a method for using the second coupon by the user terminal device 10A. As in Fig. 10, the screen on the left side of Fig. 11 represents a screen displayed on the user terminal device 10 when, for example, the user accesses a dedicated page of a member store of the electronic payment service via the payment application 20 of the user terminal device 10. For example, this screen is displayed when the user clicks the coupon button M1 on the top screen IM of Fig. 9 and searches for a store that offers the second coupon.

[0043] In FIG. 11, for example, when the user taps on "Coupon," one of the tabs included in area A2, coupons that the user can currently use for electronic payment at the store are displayed. When the user, for example, follows an affiliated store and presses button B3 for acquiring a coupon, the payment application 20 transmits information indicating that the Acquire button B3 has been pressed together with the user's identification information (e.g., account ID) to the payment server 100, and the information management unit 140 stores the identification information of the coupon acquired by the user (e.g., second coupon ID) in "Acquired second coupon" of the user information 172. This associates the user with the second coupon acquired by the user.

[0044] After the user has acquired the second coupon, when the user terminal device 10 executes an electronic payment, the payment information acquisition unit 140A acquires the payment information of the electronic payment (for example, the payment information in S6 of the user scan shown in FIG. 2 or S16 of the store scan shown in FIG. 3) and determines whether the user who executed the electronic payment has acquired the second coupon of the affiliated store. If it is determined that the user who executed the electronic payment has acquired the second coupon of the affiliated store, as shown in the right part of FIG. 11, the information management unit 140 displays a confirmation screen A6 on the payment completion screen of the user terminal device 10A to identify whether or not a companion is present when the electronic payment is executed. In FIG. 11, as an example, the information management unit 140 displays the following methods for identifying the accompanying person: a method for identifying the accompanying person by sharing location information (button B4); a method for identifying the accompanying person by a code image (button B5); a method for identifying the accompanying person by a store terminal device (first store terminal device 50 or second store terminal device 70) (button B6); and a method for identifying the accompanying person by a split payment function (button B6). Depending on the selection of the person who has acquired the second coupon, the accompanying person determination unit 140B performs the identification of the accompanying person. The details of the identification process of the accompanying person executed by the accompanying person determination unit 140B will be described later. When the accompanying person determination unit 140B determines that the accompanying person exists, the benefit granting unit 140C grants the benefit defined in the second coupon information 180 to the account of the benefit recipient defined in the second coupon information 180. For example, in the case of the coupon ID "D0001" of the second coupon information 180 shown in Figure 8, if the accompanying determination unit 140B determines that two or more accompanying persons are present at the time of electronic payment, the reward granting unit 140C will grant points equivalent to 10% of the payment amount to the "held points" of the accounts of the person who acquired the second coupon and the accompanying person.

[0045] [Judgment of Companions] Thus, unlike the first coupon, which is used by an individual acquirer to receive a special benefit, the second coupon is provided when the acquirer makes an electronic payment accompanied by a companion, and therefore provides a higher special benefit than the first coupon. However, if the existence of a companion is confirmed by the acquirer of the second coupon self-reporting and the special benefit of the second coupon is provided, there is a concern that users may commit fraud in order to obtain a higher special benefit. In light of this situation, the accompaniment determination unit 140B identifies the presence of a companion, for example, by any of the methods described above.

[0046] FIG. 12 is a diagram showing an example of a method for identifying accompanying persons by sharing location information. The screen on the left side of FIG. 12 is displayed, for example, when the person who has acquired the second coupon presses the button B4 on the screen shown on the right side of FIG. 11. The accompanying determination unit 140B first displays, on the user terminal device 10A of the person who has acquired the coupon, an input field for an account ID for specifying accompanying persons equal to the number of accompanying persons designated in the second coupon. For example, in the case of the coupon ID "D0001" of the second coupon information 180 shown in FIG. 8, since two or more people are designated as the designated number of accompanying persons, the accompanying determination unit 140B displays, on the user terminal device 10A, two or more input fields for the account ID (i.e., input fields A7 and A8). The accompanying determination unit 140B may also display, on the user terminal device 10A, an add button B9 for adding an input field for the account ID.

[0047] When the acquirer specifies the accompanying person's account ID on the user terminal device 10A and presses the confirmation button B9, the user terminal device 10A transmits the specified account ID to the payment server 100. When the payment server 100 receives the account ID, the accompanying judgment unit 140B transmits notification information to the user terminal device 10B of the user (accompanying person) of the received account ID, requesting permission to share location information to confirm the accompaniment. The user terminal device 10B displays the notification information, for example, as a pop-up A9, together with a sharing permission button B10 and a sharing non-permission button B11.

[0048] When the user presses the sharing permission button B10, the user terminal device 10B acquires its own location information using, for example, a built-in GNSS positioning function, and transmits the acquired location information to the payment server 100. When the payment server 100 receives the location information, the accompanying determination unit 140B determines whether the received location information and the location information of the acquirer of the second coupon received from the user terminal device 10A at the time of electronic payment are within a predetermined distance (for example, 10 meters). When the accompanying determination unit 140B determines that these location information are within the predetermined distance, it determines that the user of the received account ID is an accompanying person. Alternatively, the accompanying determination unit 140B may compare the received location information with the location information of the actual store where the electronic payment was executed to determine whether the user of the received account ID is an accompanying person. The payment server 100 shares the payment information and location information acquired at this time, as well as attribute information of the user who made the electronic payment and his / her accompanying person, with the terminal device of the operator of the electronic payment service, and the operator of the electronic payment service can use this payment information, location information, and attribute information as marketing data to contribute to the spread of the electronic payment service.

[0049] On the other hand, when the user presses the sharing disallowance button B10, the user terminal device 10B transmits information to the payment server 100 that sharing of location information is not allowed, and the accompanying determination unit 140B does not specify the user of the input account ID as an accompanying person. Even in this case, if a user of another input account ID allows sharing of location information and is determined as an accompanying person, and the designated number of accompanying people is reached, the privilege granting unit 140C may grant a privilege to the account of the privilege recipient.

[0050] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a method for identifying an accompanying person by reading a code image. The screen in FIG. 13 is displayed, for example, when the acquirer of the second coupon presses the button B5 on the screen shown in the right part of FIG. 11. When the button B5 is pressed, the accompanying determination unit 140B displays the code image CD2 to be read by the accompanying person's user terminal device 10B on the acquirer's user terminal device 10A. When the accompanying person reads the code image CD2 using the user terminal device 10B, the user terminal device 10B transmits the code information obtained by reading the code image CD2 together with the user's account ID to the payment server 100. When the payment server 100 receives the code information, the accompanying determination unit 140B determines that the user of the received account ID is an accompanying person. This is because it is assumed that the user holding the user terminal device 10B that reads the code image CD2 displayed on the user terminal device 10A at a physically close distance is an accompanying person of the acquirer of the second coupon. In order to reduce the risk that a person who has acquired the second coupon will take a screenshot of the code image CD2 and illegally send it to another user, the accompaniment determination unit 140B may cause the user terminal device 10A to display a code image CD2 that is valid only for a certain period of time (e.g., 10 seconds) and switch the displayed code image CD2 every time the certain period elapses.

[0051] FIG. 14 is a diagram showing an example of a method for identifying accompanying persons by using a store terminal device. The screen of FIG. 14 is displayed on the second store terminal device 70 (which may be the first store terminal device 50) when, for example, the person who has acquired the second coupon presses the button B6 on the screen shown in the right part of FIG. 11. When the person who has acquired the second coupon presses the button B6, the user terminal device 10A transmits request information to the payment server 100 requesting execution of the method for identifying accompanying persons by using the store terminal device, and when the payment server 100 receives the request information, the accompanying judgment unit 140B causes the second store terminal device 70 to display an input area A10 for inputting the number of accompanying persons and a send button B12. A store clerk at the actual store where the electronic payment has been executed checks the number of accompanying persons, for example, visually, inputs the number of accompanying persons in the input area A10, and presses the send button B12. When the send button B12 is pressed, the second store terminal device 70 sends information indicating the number of accompanying persons to the payment server 100, and the accompanying determination unit 140B can determine that the person who has acquired the second coupon has an accompanying person based on the received number of accompanying persons.

[0052] FIG. 15 is a diagram showing an example of a method for identifying an accompanying person by using a predetermined function of an electronic payment service. The screen in FIG. 15 is displayed on the user terminal device 10A when, for example, the person who has acquired the second coupon presses button B7 on the screen shown on the right side of FIG. 11. In this embodiment, the predetermined function means a function for dividing the payment amount in electronic payment among multiple users who visit a physical store (i.e., a split-bill function). For example, as shown on the screen in FIG. 15, the user terminal device 10A displays areas A11 to A14 for specifying the account ID of a user to be split, an add button B13 for adding the account ID of a user to be split, and a confirm split-bill button B14. When a user inputs an account ID in the areas A11 to A14 and presses the confirm button B14, the user terminal device 10A transmits information including the input account ID and the designated amount to be paid by the user of each account ID to the payment server 100, and the payment processing unit 130 deducts the designated amount from the charge balance or the available amount for later payment of each account ID. Since it is assumed that the other user designated as the destination of the split payment function by the acquirer of the second coupon is accompanying the acquirer, the accompanying judgment unit 140B judges the other user designated as the destination of the split payment function by the acquirer of the second coupon as an accompanying person. In order to prevent unauthorized designation of an accompanying person, the payment processing unit 130 may prohibit remittance between users who have acquired the benefit of the second coupon by using the split payment function for a certain period of time (for example, one month). In addition, in the screen of FIG. 15, for convenience of explanation, a situation in which the split payment amount is equally divided between the acquirer and the accompanying person is shown, but the split payment function may provide a function for setting the split payment amount individually between each acquirer and the accompanying person.

[0053] As another example of a method for identifying an accompanying person, for example, the payment application 20 may display a button on the payment completion screen on the user terminal device 10A for wireless communication with another user terminal device 10B using a predetermined short-range wireless communication standard (e.g., Bluetooth (registered trademark) or the like), and in response to the acquisition of the second coupon pressing the button, the payment application 20 of the user terminal device 10A may attempt wireless communication with the payment application 20 of the user terminal device 10B. When the payment application 20 of the user terminal device 10A succeeds in wireless communication with the payment application 20 of the user terminal device 10B, the payment application 20 of the user terminal device 10A may obtain an account ID of the accompanying person from the payment application 20 of the user terminal device 10B and transmit the obtained account ID to the payment server 100. This allows the accompanying determination unit 140B to determine that the acquisition of the second coupon has an accompanying person.

[0054] Fig. 16 is a diagram showing an example of a second coupon issuing process by the second store terminal device 70. In Fig. 16, the affiliated store interface 72 of the second store terminal device 70 displays an area A15 representing an affiliated store and its account that has logged in to the affiliated store interface 72, an area A16 representing a menu that can be operated via the affiliated store interface 72, and an area A17 displaying information about an item selected from the menu A16. Fig. 14 shows, as an example, a screen that is displayed on the affiliated store interface 72 when the manager of the affiliated store selects the area representing the second coupon from the menu A16.

[0055] As shown in FIG. 16, the payment server 100 transmits an interface screen for setting the issuance of the second coupon to the second store terminal device 70, for example, and displays it on the affiliated store interface 72. The interface screen includes, for example, an area A18 for setting the store to which the second coupon is applicable, an area A19 for setting the number of accompanying persons for the second coupon, an area A20 for setting the benefit of the second coupon, an area A21 for setting the recipient of the benefit of the second coupon, and an area A22 for setting the expiration date of the second coupon. The interface screen may further include, for example, an area for setting the use conditions of the second coupon (for example, a payment of 500 yen or more is required). The interface screen may further include, for example, an area for specifying a method for identifying accompanying persons. When the operator of the affiliated store enters the setting conditions for the second coupon in areas A18-A22 and presses the Issue button B15, the second store terminal device 70 transmits the setting contents of the second coupon to the payment server 100, and the information management unit 140 generates a new second coupon ID, associates it with the received setting contents, and stores it in the second coupon information 180. As a result, when a user accesses the affiliated store's dedicated page shown in FIG. 11, for example, information related to the newly generated second coupon is displayed on the user terminal device 10.

[0056] 16, the operator of the affiliated store may specify attributes of accompanying persons (such as whether it is their first payment, age, and gender) that the affiliated store wishes to attract on the affiliated store interface 72, and issue a second coupon for only accompanying persons who meet the specified attributes. In this case, the accompanying person determination unit 140B can obtain the accompanying person's account ID in the process of executing any one of the following methods: a method of identifying the accompanying person by sharing location information, a method of identifying the accompanying person by reading a code image, a method of identifying the accompanying person by using a predetermined function of the electronic payment service, and a method of identifying the accompanying person by using short-range wireless communication. Therefore, the accompanying person's account ID can be used as a key to refer to the user information 172 and determine whether the accompanying person meets the specified attributes.

[0057] Thus, according to this embodiment, in order to use the second coupon at a physical store, the acquirer of the second coupon needs to visit the physical store accompanied by another user who has a user terminal device 10 on which payment application 20 is installed. In other words, the acquirer of the second coupon has an incentive to encourage people who are not registered for the electronic payment service to install payment application 20, which can more effectively promote the spread of electronic payment services.

[0058] [Processing flow] Hereinafter, the flow of processing executed by the payment server 100 will be described with reference to Fig. 17. Fig. 17 is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of processing executed by the payment server 100. The processing of the flowchart shown in Fig. 17 is executed, for example, at the same timing as S6 of the user scan shown in Fig. 2 or S16 of the store scan shown in Fig. 3.

[0059] First, the information management unit 140 receives payment information from the user terminal device 10 (step S100). Next, the information management unit 140 determines whether the user associated with the received payment information has already acquired the second coupon for the physical store (step S102). If it is determined that the user associated with the received payment information has not already acquired the second coupon for the physical store, the information management unit 140 causes the payment application 20 to display a normal payment completion screen (step S104).

[0060] On the other hand, if it is determined that the user associated with the received payment information has already acquired the second coupon for the brick-and-mortar store, the information management unit 140 causes the payment application 20 to display candidates for a method of identifying the accompanying person together with a payment completion screen (step S106). The information management unit 140 then determines whether or not a method of identifying the accompanying person has been selected from the payment application 20 (step S108). If it is determined that a method of identifying the accompanying person has not been selected, the information management unit 140 ends the process. On the other hand, if it is determined that a method of identifying the accompanying person has been selected, the information management unit 140 identifies the accompanying person by the selected identification method (step S110). Next, the information management unit 140 determines whether or not the accompanying person has been identified by the selected identification method (step S112).

[0061] If it is determined that the accompanying person has not been identified by the selected identification method, the information management unit 140 ends the process. On the other hand, if it is determined that the accompanying person has been identified by the selected identification method, the information management unit 140 grants the benefit of the second coupon (step S114). This ends the process of this flowchart.

[0062] In the above embodiment, as an example, the accompanying person of the second coupon is identified after the user terminal device 10A displays the payment completion screen, but the present invention is not limited to such a configuration, and the accompanying person of the second coupon may be identified before the payment completion screen is displayed. For example, in S5 of the user scan shown in Fig. 2, the payment application 20 may display a confirmation screen A6 for identifying the accompanying person of the second coupon together with the input screen for the payment amount.

[0063] In the above embodiment, as an example, a case where only one pair of the number of accompanying persons and the benefit content is specified in a single second coupon has been described, but the present invention is not limited to such a configuration, and multiple pairs of the number of accompanying persons and the benefit content may be specified in a single second coupon. For example, the reward may be specified so that the reward increases as the number of accompanying persons increases, such as 5% reward for 3 or more accompanying persons, 10% reward for 5 or more accompanying persons, etc.

[0064] According to the present embodiment described above, payment information of an electronic payment made by a user of an electronic payment service that processes payments for purchases at a physical store is obtained from the user's user terminal device, and in response to the obtained payment information, it is determined whether another user is accompanying the user when making the electronic payment, and if it is determined that another user is accompanying the user when making the electronic payment, a bonus is granted to at least the electronic payment service account of the user. In this way, the provision of the bonus can more effectively promote the spread of electronic payment services.

[0065] 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]

[0066] 10 User terminal device 20. Payment App 100 Payment Server 120 Payment Contents Provider 130 Payment processing unit 140 Information Management Department 140A Payment information acquisition section 140B Accompanying Judgment Department 140C Benefits Granting Department 170 Storage section

Claims

1. a payment information acquisition unit that acquires payment information of an electronic payment executed by a user of an electronic payment service that processes payments related to purchases at a physical store from a user terminal device of the user; an accompaniment determination unit that determines whether another user is accompanying the user at the time of the electronic payment in response to acquisition of the payment information; and a reward providing unit that provides a reward to at least the electronic payment service account of the user when it is determined that another user is accompanying the user at the time of the electronic payment. Information processing device.

2. the accompaniment determination unit receives identification information identifying the other user from the user terminal device, requests the user terminal device of the other user associated with the identification information to transmit location information, and determines whether the other user is accompanying the user at the time of the electronic payment based on the location information received from the user terminal device of the other user; The information processing device according to claim 1 .

3. the accompaniment determination unit causes the user terminal device to display a code image at the time of the electronic payment, and determines whether the other user is accompanying the user at the time of the electronic payment based on whether code information obtained by reading the code image is received from the user terminal device of the other user. The information processing device according to claim 1 .

4. the accompaniment determination unit determines whether the other user is accompanying the user at the time of the electronic payment based on whether identification information identifying the presence of the other user is received from a store terminal device of the physical store at the time of the electronic payment; The information processing device according to claim 1 .

5. the accompaniment determination unit determines whether the other user is accompanying the user at the time of the electronic payment based on whether the user terminal device has used a function provided by the electronic payment service at the time of the electronic payment, the function being to divide the payment amount of the electronic payment among multiple users; The information processing device according to claim 1 .

6. the accompaniment determination unit determines whether the other user is accompanying the user at the time of the electronic payment based on whether short-range wireless communication between the user terminal device of the user and the user terminal device of the other user is successful at the time of the electronic payment; The information processing device according to claim 1 .

7. The computer Obtaining payment information of an electronic payment executed by a user of an electronic payment service that processes payments related to purchases at a brick-and-mortar store from a user terminal device of the user; In response to obtaining the payment information, determining whether another user is accompanying the user when making the electronic payment; When it is determined that another user is accompanying the user at the time of making the electronic payment, a benefit is given to at least the electronic payment service account of the user. Information processing methods.

8. On the computer, Obtaining payment information of an electronic payment executed by a user of an electronic payment service that processes payments related to purchases at a brick-and-mortar store from a user terminal device of the user; determining whether another user is accompanying the user at the time of making the electronic payment in response to the acquisition of the payment information; When it is determined that another user is accompanying the user when making the electronic payment, a benefit is given to at least the electronic payment service account of the user. program.

9. A system including a user terminal device of a user of an electronic payment service that processes payments related to purchases at a physical store, and an information processing device, The user terminal device transmits payment information of the electronic payment executed by the user to the information processing device, the information processing device acquires the payment information from the user terminal device, and in response to the acquisition of the payment information, determines whether or not another user is accompanying the user when making the electronic payment, and when it is determined that another user is accompanying the user when making the electronic payment, grants a privilege to at least the electronic payment service account of the user; system.

Images