Payment management device and method for managing payment

Abstract

To desirably deal with bills.SOLUTION: An acquisition unit acquires values of items related to an invoice from invoice data concerning the invoice issued by a claimant to a payer. A determination unit determines whether or not to set a default method for payment, as a method for payment for making a payment to an agent who makes a payment to the claimant for a payer, in association with the invoice data, when the value of an item satisfies a predetermined condition. The setting unit sets the method for payment of the invoice data in association with the invoice data.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

[Technical field]

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

[0002] In the past, the sending dates of invoices, etc. from each billing company were different from each other, which made management troublesome. To solve this problem, there was a technology that made it possible to send invoices, etc. together in one go, reducing the expenses that each billing company had to pay for sending them (for example, see Patent Document 1). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2003-30569 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] According to the technology described above, a proxy delivery of invoices etc. to a specified bank account is accepted, information to be transferred from the accepted information is tallied, and a consolidated billing document is created. In other words, by using the technology described above, invoices issued over a specified period of time are sent as a consolidated invoice, rather than as individual invoices as in the past. This technology is carried out by a company that performs a delivery agent business, which did not exist before. However, even if this technology is used, there is still a possibility that individual invoices will arrive from companies that are not included in the scheme, and it has not been sufficient to reduce the complexity of processing individual invoices.

[0005] The present invention has been made in consideration of the above circumstances, and has an object to provide a payment management device and a payment management method that are capable of appropriately processing multiple invoices. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] According to the first aspect, the payment management device includes an acquisition unit that acquires values ​​of items related to a bill from billing data regarding a bill issued by a biller to a payer, a determination unit that, when the value of the item satisfies a set condition, determines whether to set a default payment method as a payment method for payment to an agent who makes payment to the biller on behalf of the payer for the billing data, and a setting unit that sets the payment method for the billing data in association with the billing data.

[0007] According to a second aspect, in the payment management device relating to the first aspect, the acquisition unit may acquire identification information of the biller from the billing data, and the determination unit may determine whether or not to set the default payment method as the payment method for the billing data based on the identification information of the biller.

[0008] According to a third aspect, the payment management device relating to the first or second aspect may be provided with an output unit that outputs information regarding one or more billing data, the output unit outputs, for each billing data, whether or not a payment method for the billing data has been determined, and the judgment unit may judge whether or not to automatically determine a payment method for the billing data.

[0009] According to a fourth aspect, the payment management device relating to the third aspect may be provided with an input unit that accepts input of information related to a payment method for the billing data, and the payment method may be determined by inputting the information related to the payment method into the input unit.

[0010] According to a fifth aspect, a payment management device relating to any of the first to fourth aspects may include an output unit that outputs information related to billing data and an input unit that accepts input of information related to a payment method for the billing data, and when the output unit accepts input of the information related to the payment method, it may output an input screen for the payment method for the billing data, and when it is determined that the default payment method is to be set as the payment method for the billing data, the default payment method may be set on the input screen so that it can be changed.

[0011] According to a sixth aspect, in a payment management device relating to the fourth or fifth aspect, the input unit may be configured to, when receiving input of information related to a payment method for the billing data, receive input of whether or not to set the inputted payment method as the default payment method.

[0012] According to the seventh aspect, in a payment management device relating to any of the fourth to sixth aspects, the input unit may be configured to, when receiving input of information relating to a payment method for the billing data, receive input of whether or not to automatically determine a payment method for other billing data that satisfies the set conditions.

[0013] According to the eighth aspect, the payment management device relating to the fourth aspect may be provided with a payment processing unit that performs payment processing in accordance with the determined payment method when the payment method has been determined for the billing data.

[0014] A payment management method according to a ninth aspect includes an acquisition step of acquiring values ​​of items related to a bill from billing data relating to a bill issued by a biller to a payer, a determination step of determining whether to set a default payment method as the payment method for the billing data if the value of the item satisfies a set condition, and a setting step of setting the payment method for the billing data in association with the billing data. Effect of the Invention

[0015] According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a payment management device and a payment management method that are capable of processing invoices appropriately. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0016] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a diagram for explaining an overview of a payment system according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 2] FIG. 13 is a diagram for explaining an example of a case where a payer requests payment agency for some invoices in the payment system according to the present embodiment. [Diagram 3] FIG. 2 is a functional configuration diagram for explaining an example of the functional configuration of each device included in the payment system according to the present embodiment. [Figure 4] 5 is a diagram showing an example of information stored in a billing information table according to the embodiment; FIG. [Diagram 5] 11 is a diagram showing an example of information stored in an account information table according to the embodiment; FIG. [Figure 6] 6 is a diagram showing an example of information recorded in an automatic setting table according to the embodiment; FIG. [Figure 7] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of an unpaid list screen according to the embodiment. [Figure 8] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a screen configuration of an application screen for normal payment according to the embodiment; [Figure 9] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a screen configuration of an application screen for advance payment according to the present embodiment. [Figure 10] FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a setting screen according to the embodiment; [Figure 11] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a payment history screen according to the present embodiment. [Figure 12] FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of a confirmation screen for automatic setting according to the embodiment. [Figure 13] 10 is a flowchart showing the processing of the payment management device according to the present embodiment. [Figure 14] 11 is a flowchart showing the process from when the payment management device according to this embodiment acquires billing data to when it completes payment processing. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0017] [Embodiment] The following describes in detail preferred embodiments of the payment management device and the advance payment method according to the present invention, with reference to the accompanying drawings. The present invention is not limited to these embodiments, and includes various modifications and improvements. In other words, the components described below include those that a person skilled in the art can easily imagine, and those that are substantially the same, and the components described below can be combined as appropriate. Furthermore, various omissions, substitutions, or modifications of the components can be made without departing from the gist of the present invention. Furthermore, in the following drawings, the scale and number of each structure may be different from the scale and number of the actual structure in order to make each structure easier to understand.

[0018] [Payment System Overview] FIG. 1 is a diagram for explaining an overview of the payment system according to this embodiment. First, an overview of the payment system 1 will be explained with reference to the figure. The payment system 1 is used by multiple claimants C, payer P, and agent A. The figure shows claimants C1, C2, and C3 as examples of multiple claimants C. The payment system 1 may also include multiple payers P. The figure shows, as an example, a case where the payment system 1 includes only payer P.

[0019] A biller C issues an invoice to a payer P. Multiple billers C each issue an invoice to a payer P at any time and in any format. In the illustrated example, a biller C1 issues an invoice B1 to a payer P, a biller C2 issues an invoice B2 to a payer P, and a biller C3 issues an invoice B3 to a payer P.

[0020] The payer P receives an invoice from the biller C. The payer P receives invoices issued by each of the multiple billers C. In the illustrated example, the payer P receives invoice B1 from the biller C1, invoice B2 from the biller C2, and invoice B3 from the biller C3. The payer P decides whether or not to request a payment agency for each received invoice. Here, a payment agency is a method in which an agent A makes a payment to the biller C on behalf of the payer P. The illustrated example shows an example of a case in which a payment agency is requested for all received invoices (i.e., invoice B1, invoice B2, and invoice B3). The payer P transmits information about the invoices for which payment agency is requested to the agent A. The payer P may transmit information about all received invoices to the agent A, together with information about which invoices are to be paid by the payment agency.

[0021] Agent A obtains from payer P information regarding the invoices for which it makes payment on behalf of payer P. In the example shown, agent A obtains information regarding invoices B1, B2, and B3 from payer P as information regarding the invoices for which it makes payment on behalf of payer P. Agent A makes payment to biller C based on the obtained invoice information. Specifically, in the example shown, agent A makes payment to biller C1 who issued invoice B1 based on invoice B1, makes payment to biller C2 who issued invoice B2 based on invoice B2, and makes payment to biller C3 who issued invoice B3 based on invoice B3.

[0022] The agent A issues an invoice to the payer P for the total amount of the invoices for which it has acted as a payment agent (invoice B1, invoice B2, and invoice B3 in the illustrated example). The payer P may add a fee when making the payment to the agent A. The payer P pays the agent A the total amount of the invoices for which it has requested the agent A to act as a payment agent (invoice B1, invoice B2, and invoice B3 in the illustrated example), and the necessary fee. By adopting such a configuration, the payer P can make a lump-sum payment to the agent A, instead of paying each of the multiple billers C individually. Therefore, according to this embodiment, the payer P can reduce the conventional hassle of processing each invoice separately.

[0023] FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining an example of a case where a payer requests a payment agent for some of the invoices in the payment system according to this embodiment. This figure is a modified example of the example shown in FIG. 1. In the example shown in FIG. 2, an example of a case where payer P requests a payment agent for some of the invoices he has received is shown. In the specifically illustrated example, payer P receives invoice B1 from biller C1, invoice B2 from biller C2, and invoice B3 from biller C3. Of these received invoices, payer P pays invoice B3 to biller C3 himself (independent payment), and acts as a payment agent for the remaining invoices B1 and B2.

[0024] In this case, payer P sends information about invoice B1 and invoice B2 to agent A. Alternatively, payer P sends information about invoice B1, invoice B2, and invoice B3, and information indicating that invoices B1 and B2 are to be paid on behalf of agent A. Agent A makes payment to invoice C1 who issued invoice B1 based on invoice B1, and makes payment to invoice C2 who issued invoice B2 based on invoice B2. Agent A issues an invoice to payer P for the total amount of invoices for which it has acted as a payment agent (invoice B1 and invoice B2 in the illustrated example). Payer P pays agent A the total amount of invoices for which it has acted as a payment agent (invoice B1 and invoice B2 in the illustrated example), and the necessary fee.

[0025] Here, the payer P can select either regular payment or advance payment as the payment method by the agent A. Regular payment is a payment method in which the payer P deposits the payment amount to the agent A, and then the agent A makes payment to the biller C. Advance payment is a payment method in which the payer P deposits the amount to the agent A after the agent A makes payment to the biller C. Advance payment may have a higher fee set than regular payment, since it is necessary for the agent A to prepare the payment amount in advance.

[0026] [Function configuration] FIG. 3 is a functional configuration diagram for explaining an example of the functional configuration of each device included in the payment system according to the present embodiment. With reference to the same figure, an example of the functional configuration of each device included in the payment system 1 will be explained. The payment system 1 includes a payment management device 10 and a user terminal 20. Each functional unit included in the payment management device 10 and the user terminal 20 is realized, for example, by using an electronic circuit. Furthermore, each functional unit may have a storage means such as a semiconductor memory or a magnetic hard disk device inside as necessary. Furthermore, each function may be realized by a computer having a CPU (Central Processing Unit) and software. Furthermore, all or a part of each functional unit may be realized by using hardware such as an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), a PLD (Programmable Logic Device), or an FPGA (Field-Programmable Gate Array). Furthermore, all or a part of each functional unit may be realized by a combination of software and hardware. All or a part of the functions of the payment management device 10 and the user terminal 20 may exist on a cloud server, for example. Furthermore, each of the payment management apparatus 10 and the user terminal 20 may be composed of multiple devices (computers), and each functional block may be distributed across multiple devices.

[0027] The payment management apparatus 10 includes a memory unit 11. The memory unit 11 includes a hard disk drive, a solid state drive, a flash memory, a ROM, etc. The memory unit 11 may exist in a server device connected via a network, or may exist as a hardware configuration included in the payment management apparatus 10, for example.

[0028] The memory unit 11 stores a billing information table 111, an account information table 112, and an automatic setting table 113. The billing information table 111 stores information on billing data BI, which is information on a bill issued by a biller C to a payer P. The account information table 112 stores account information of the biller C. The automatic setting table 113 stores information on automatic setting of a bill.

[0029] [Billing Information] 4 is a diagram showing an example of information stored in billing information table 111 according to this embodiment. In the example shown, billing information table 111 stores, for each bill, a "biller", a "payer", a "billing amount", a "payment due date", a "biller account", a "payment method", a "decision flag", an "automatic setting flag", a "status", and a "payment date" in association with each other.

[0030] The "Biller" field indicates information (e.g., name, ID, etc.) that identifies the biller C who issued the billing data BI. The "Payer" field indicates information that identifies the payer P to whom the billing data BI is issued. "Billing amount" indicates the billing amount of the billing data BI. "Payment due date" indicates the due date for payment of the billing data BI to the biller C. "Biller account" indicates the account information of the biller C to which the payment should be made. "Biller", "Payer", "Billing amount", "Payment date", and "Biller account" are information contained in the billing data BI, which will be described later.

[0031] "Payment method" indicates the method of payment from payer P to agent A for the fee related to the billing data BI. The payment method is specified by the contract type and payment means. The contract type is selected from normal payment, advance payment, and independent payment. Regular payment is a payment contract in which payer P deposits the payment amount to agent A, and then agent A makes payment to biller C. Advance payment is a payment contract in which agent A makes payment to biller C, and then payer P deposits the payment amount to agent A. Independent payment is when payer P makes payment to biller C without going through agent A. The payment method is selected from direct debit, credit card payment, bank transfer, and bond offset. Credit card payment includes, for example, a payment method in which the BPSP company pays the amount by credit card settlement and the BPSP company transfers the amount to the bank account of agent A. Bond offset is a payment method in which the amount is offset by a credit where payer P is the creditor and agent A is the debtor. For example, bond offset is a method in which the proceeds from sales of other services provided by agent A, such as a cash register, that have not been paid to payer P, are used to pay an invoice, and includes payments by credit where payer P is the recipient and agent A is the payer. For this reason, a payment method in which the contract type is normal payment and the payment method is bank transfer requires the amount to be transferred to agent A's bank account before agent A makes payment, but other payment methods do not require work such as transferring the amount to a bank account before agent A makes payment.

[0032] The "Decision Flag" is data that indicates whether or not the payment method has been determined. When the value of the "Decision Flag" is TRUE, it indicates that the payment method has been determined. When the value of the "Decision Flag" is TRUE, it indicates that the payment method has been determined. When the value of the "Decision Flag" is FALSE, it indicates that the payment method has not been determined. Note that even after the payment method has been determined, it is possible to change the payment method.

[0033] The "automatic setting flag" is data indicating whether the payment method was automatically determined. When the value of the "automatic setting flag" is TRUE, it indicates that the payment method was automatically determined. In this case, when the billing data BI is acquired, the value of the "payment method" is recorded, and the value of the "determination flag" is set to TRUE. When the value of the "automatic setting flag" is FALSE, it indicates that the payment method is manually set by the payer P.

[0034] "Status" is information indicating the status of the billing data BI. Specific examples of the value of "status" may include the following: ·Unpaid: Payment to Biller C has not been made. · Applied: The payment method has been decided by payer P, and agent A is determining whether or not to act as payment agent. Waiting for execution: After the payer P selects the payment method and the agent A determines that payment can be made on behalf of the payer, the agent A is in a state of waiting to execute the payment on behalf of the payer. · Executed: This is the state after the payer P selects the payment method, the agent A determines that payment can be made on behalf of the payer, and the payment has been executed on behalf of the payer. · Unpaid: The payment from Payer P to Agent A has not been made. ·Checking: Agent A is checking the payment status of Payer P. · Paid: The status after payment has been made from Payer P to Agent A.

[0035] In addition, the above-mentioned "status" may include an error-related status. An error-related status may include a case where processing is interrupted for some reason, or where the information in the billing data BI is incomplete. In addition, the above-mentioned "status" may include a pattern in which insurance / guarantee has been fulfilled. In addition, the above-mentioned "status" may broadly include statuses regarding the processing status of other billing data BIs.

[0036] "Payment Date" indicates the date on which the agent A made the payment. If the agent A has not completed the payment, the value of "Payment Date" may be empty.

[0037] [Account Information] FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of information stored in the account information table 112 according to this embodiment. In the example shown, the account information table 112 stores an "account ID", a "payer", a "biller", and a "biller account" in association with each other. A biller C may have multiple bank accounts. Furthermore, the payment system 1 does not need to present to a payer P all of the multiple bank accounts held by the biller C, and the accounts to be presented may differ depending on the payer P. Therefore, the account information table 112 stores, for each payer P, information on the accounts to be presented to the payer P.

[0038] [Automatic setting information] 6 is a diagram showing an example of information recorded in the automatic setting table 113 according to this embodiment. The automatic setting table stores conditions for automatically setting a payment method and the content to be automatically set. In the example shown, the automatic setting table 113 stores a "payer", an "account ID", an "automatic determination flag", and a "default payment method" in association with each other. The combination of "payer" and "account ID" indicates the condition for automatic setting. Note that in other embodiments, the biller name may be used as the condition for automatic setting instead of the "account ID".

[0039] The "automatic determination flag" indicates whether or not to automatically determine the payment method when billing data BI that satisfies the conditions is acquired. If the "automatic determination flag" is TRUE, when billing data BI that satisfies the conditions is acquired, the payment management device 10 sets the "default payment method" associated with the billing data BI as the payment method for that billing data BI, and sets the "determination flag" to TRUE. This allows the payment management device 10 to automatically determine the payment method. If the "automatic determination flag" is FALSE, when billing data BI that satisfies the conditions is acquired, the payment management device 10 sets the "default payment method" as the payment method for that billing data BI, while leaving the "determination flag" as FALSE. This puts the billing data BI in a state in which the payment method is preset.

[0040] [Software configuration] As shown in FIG. 3, the payment management apparatus 10 comprises an acquisition unit 12, a judgment unit 13, a setting unit 14, an input unit 15, an output unit 16, a billing processing unit 17 and a payment processing unit 18.

[0041] The acquisition unit 12 acquires billing data BI, which is information regarding a bill issued by a biller C to a payer P. The acquisition unit 12 acquires multiple billing data BI. The multiple billing data BI may be issued respectively by multiple billers C, or may be issued by a specific biller C. The billing data BI includes at least the biller who is the creditor, the payer who is the debtor, the billing amount, the payment due date, and the biller's account information. The acquisition unit 12 extracts values ​​of these items from the billing data BI and records them in the billing information table 111.

[0042] In addition, there may be at least two types of forms of the billing data BI acquired by the acquisition unit 12. That is, the acquisition unit 12 may be configured to acquire billing data BI in a plurality of forms. The plurality of forms includes, first, as a first form, billing data BI provided by the biller C as electronic data. The billing data BI as electronic data may be, for example, information obtained by performing optical character recognition (OCR) on a paper bill. In addition, as a second form, billing data BI inputted into the payment management device 10 by the payer P operating an input device (which may be, for example, the user terminal 20). In addition, the form of the billing data BI may include forms other than those exemplified above.

[0043] The acquisition unit 12 is thus configured to be able to acquire billing data BI in a plurality of different types, thereby making it possible to handle billing from a plurality of billers C who issue bills in different formats. The acquisition unit 12 may acquire the billing data BI directly from the biller C, or may acquire the billing data BI indirectly from the payer P after the biller C issues the bill to the payer P. Acquisition of the billing data BI may include acquiring an invoice stored in a predetermined database. The invoice stored in the predetermined database may be, for example, invoice information stored by an existing platform provider. That is, the payment management device 10 may also perform a payment agent process by cooperating with an existing platform. The billing data BI stored in a predetermined database in an existing platform may be arranged in, for example, a unified format.

[0044] The link with the system of the other platform may be performed, for example, through an API (Application Programming Interface). Also, in order to link with the system of the other platform, agent A may provide an SDK (Software Development Kit) to the existing system of the other platform, or the SDK may be provided on an OEM basis. As a linking method, the service according to the present embodiment may be embedded in the system of the other platform as a partner, or information may be linked from the system of the other platform as a partner to the payment management device 10 according to the present embodiment.

[0045] In addition, the acquisition of the billing data BI is not limited to the examples of acquisition from a system such as another platform or of information being directly input into the payment management device 10, and it can also be acquired by other methods.

[0046] The acquisition unit 12 judges whether or not the combination of payer P, biller C, and biller account of the acquired billing data BI has already been recorded in the account information table 112. If the combination of payer P, biller C, and biller account of the acquired billing data BI has not been recorded in the account information table 112, the acquisition unit 12 newly records account information relating to the combination in the account information table 112. As a result, the account information table 112 records, for each payer P, the combination of a biller C and an account from which the payer P has received billing data BI.

[0047] The determination unit 13 determines whether or not to automatically set the payment method related to the billing data BI in the billing information table 111 based on the billing data BI acquired by the acquisition unit 12. Specifically, the determination unit 13 refers to the automatic setting table 113 in the storage unit 11, and determines whether or not the combination of the biller, payer, and biller account included in the billing data BI is recorded in the automatic setting table 113. If the combination of the biller, payer, and biller account is recorded in the automatic setting table 113, the determination unit 13 rewrites the value of the payment method of the billing data BI recorded in the automatic setting table 113 to the specified payment method recorded in the automatic setting table 113. At this time, if the value of the automatic determination flag is TRUE, the determination unit 13 further rewrites the values ​​of the determination flag and the automatic setting flag of the billing data BI recorded in the automatic setting table 113 to TRUE.

[0048] The setting unit 14 edits the automatic setting information of the payment method in accordance with the operation of the payer P via the user terminal 20. The setting unit 14 may automatically set the payment method by specifying the payer P, or may set the payment method of the payer P related to individual billing data BI automatically when the payment method is specified for the individual billing data BI.

[0049] The input unit 15 accepts data input from the payer P via the user terminal 20. The output unit 16 outputs display data for displaying information on the display of the user terminal 20. The display data may be, for example, HTML data.

[0050] The billing processor 17 performs billing processing to the payer P based on the information stored in the billing information table 111. In addition, the billing processor 17 determines whether or not the payer P has made a payment. The payment processing unit 18 performs a payment process to the biller C based on the information stored in the billing information table 111. The payment process may be performed, for example, on the payment due date of the billing data BI, or may be performed in response to an execution instruction from the user terminal 20.

[0051] [Automatic payment method setting] Next, the automatic setting of the payment method will be described. Automatic setting of the payment method means that the payment method is determined without the operation of the payer P. Whether or not to automatically set the payment method may be set, for example, for each biller C. Whether or not to automatically set the payment method is determined by the payer P.

[0052] It should be noted that the automatic setting of the payment method according to this embodiment is different from the registration of a transfer destination in Internet banking etc. in the prior art. For example, in Internet banking etc., the registration of a transfer destination is performed after a transfer is executed, but the automatic setting of the payment method according to this embodiment can also be set for billing data BI relating to biller C, to whom a transfer has never been executed.

[0053] By automatically setting the payment method, the payer P can perform the transfer process without accessing the payment management device 10 (i.e., without the payer P having to perform the operation of determining the payment method for each billing data BI).

[0054] [Payer Actions] Below, we will explain how the payer P accesses the payment management apparatus 10 using the user terminal 20. When the payer P accesses the payment management apparatus 10 using the user terminal 20, the output unit 16 of the payment management apparatus 10 causes the payment management apparatus 10 to display a login screen. The login screen may be, for example, an input screen for an ID and password. The payment management apparatus 10 authenticates the payer P by determining, for example, whether or not the input ID and password match an ID and password previously associated with the payer P.

[0055] When the payer P logs in, the output unit 16 of the payment management apparatus 10 generates display data for displaying a list screen of unpaid billing data BI, and outputs this to the user terminal 20.

[0056] [Unpaid List Screen Layout] FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of the unpaid bills list screen according to this embodiment. The billing data BI list screen displays a list of billing data BI recorded in the billing information table 111 for which the logged-in payer P is the debtor. Specifically, the list screen displays a normal list D11 of billing data BI scheduled for normal payment, and an advance payment list D14 of billing data BI related to advance payment. Billing data BI for which the payment method has not been determined and billing data BI for which the payment method has been determined to be normal payment are displayed in the normal list D11. Billing data BI for which the payment method has been determined to be advance payment are displayed in the advance payment list D14.

[0057] The normal list D11 displays the items "Customer", "Billing amount", "Scheduled payment date", "Status", and "Advance payment selection". The value of "Customer" is the name of the biller C in the billing data BI. The value of "Billing amount" is the billing amount in the billing data BI. The value of "Scheduled payment date" is the payment due date in the billing data BI. The value of "Status" is the status stored in the billing information table 111 in association with the billing data BI. A check box is displayed in the "Advance payment selection" field. The check box indicates that a prescribed payment method related to advance payment is preset as a payment method. The "Advance payment selection" check box in the normal list D11 is ON when a payment method related to advance payment is stored in the billing information table 111 and the "Decision flag" is FALSE. Note that if a payment method related to normal payment is stored in the billing information table 111, the check box is OFF. When a payment method related to an advance payment is stored in the billing information table 111 and the "decision flag" is TRUE, the billing data BI is displayed in the advance payment list D14 and is not displayed in the normal list D11.

[0058] The unpaid list screen also displays an unpaid amount D12 and a total payment amount D13 in association with the normal list D11. The unpaid amount D12 is the total of the billing amount and fees for billing data BI displayed in the normal list D11 that has a status of unpaid. The total payment amount D13 is the total of the billing amount and fees for billing data BI displayed in the normal list D11.

[0059] The advance payment list D14 displays the following items: "Business Partner," "Billing Amount," "Payment Due Date to Business Partner," "Payment Due Date to Agent," "Status," and "Automatic Setting." The value of "Business Partner" is the name of the biller C in the billing data BI. The value of "Billing Amount" is the billing amount in the billing data BI. The value of "Payment Due Date to Business Partner" is the payment due date in the billing data BI. The value of "Payment Due Date to Agent" is a date determined in advance by agent A. The value of "Status" is the status stored in the billing information table 111 in association with the billing data BI. A toggle switch is displayed in the "Automatic Setting" column. The toggle switch indicates that the payment method has been automatically determined. The "Automatic Setting" toggle switch in the advance payment list D14 is ON when the payment method related to the advance payment is stored in the billing information table 111, the "Determination Flag" is TRUE, and the "Automatic Setting Flag" is TRUE. Additionally, a cancel button D16 is displayed for each billing data in the advance payment list D14. The cancel button D16 is a button for canceling the advance payment contract when pressed. However, there is a predetermined period during which cancellation is possible (for example, three days before the payment due date), and after this period the advance payment cannot be canceled. When an advance payment is canceled, the "decision flag" and "automatic setting flag" in the billing information table 111 become FALSE.

[0060] The unpaid list screen also displays a total payment amount D15 in association with the advance payment list D14. The total payment amount D15 is the sum of the billing amount and the fee in the billing data BI displayed in the advance payment list D14.

[0061] The payer P can input the billing method of the billing data BI by selecting the billing data BI included in the normal list D11 and the advance payment list D14. Specifically, when the payer P turns off the check box of "Advance payment selection" in the normal list D11 and selects the billing data BI, an application screen for deciding the payment method for the normal payment is displayed as shown in FIG. 8. FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of the screen configuration of the application screen for the normal payment according to this embodiment. The application screen displays options D51 of the payment means for the normal payment and a decision button D52. The options D51 include bank transfer and account transfer. Account transfer for the normal payment is a process of debiting the billing amount and the fee from the account of the payer P to the reserve account of the agent A immediately before the payment of the billing amount by the agent A. The payer P decides the payment method by selecting one of the options D51 and pressing the decision button D52.

[0062] When the payer P selects the billing data BI by checking the check box for "Select Advance Payment" in the normal list D11, an application screen for determining the payment method for advance payment is displayed as shown in FIG. 9. FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example of the screen configuration of the application screen for advance payment according to this embodiment. The application screen displays a selection D61 of payment means for advance payment and a decision button D62. The selection D61 includes bank transfer, account transfer, credit card payment, and bond offset. Here, when account transfer is selected as an option, a further selection of whether to transfer the account immediately or on a specified date is presented. When immediate is selected, the billing amount and the fee are debited from the payer P's account to the reserve account of the agent A immediately after the agent A pays the billing amount. When due date is selected, the billing amount and the fee are debited from the payer P's account to the reserve account of the agent A on a specified date after the agent A pays the billing amount. The payer P decides on the payment method by selecting one of the options D61 and pressing the decision button D62.

[0063] The input unit 15 accepts the input of information via the application screen shown in Fig. 8 or 9, and updates the billing information table 111. Specifically, it rewrites the payment method associated with the selected billing data BI in the billing information table 111 to the input payment method, and sets the determination flag to TRUE.

[0064] According to FIG. 7, an unpaid list tab D1, a payment history tab D2, and a settings tab D3 are displayed at the top of the unpaid list screen. The unpaid list tab is a tab for displaying the unpaid list screen. The payment history tab D2 is a tab for displaying the payment history screen. The settings tab is a tab for displaying the settings screen. On the unpaid list screen, the unpaid list tab D1 is active.

[0065] [Settings screen layout] When the payer P presses the settings tab D3, the payment management apparatus 10 displays a settings screen on the user terminal 20. Figure 10 is a diagram showing an example of the settings screen according to this embodiment. The setting screen displays a number of billers C from whom the payer P has received billing data BI. The automatic setting condition editing screen displays a radio button D31, an on-behalf switch D32, and a payment method box D33 for each biller C. The setting screen also displays a batch setting switch D34. The radio button D31 accepts the selection of whether to automatically determine the payment method for the biller C associated with the radio button D31, to preset the value of the payment method, or to input the payment method each time. The on-behalf switch D32 is a button for specifying whether the payment contract type is to be on-behalf payment. The payment method box D33 is a drop-down list for accepting the selection of the payment method. Details of the payment method, such as a credit card number or an account number of the payer P, may be set separately, or may be input when the value of the payment method box D33 is determined. If inputting the payment method each time is selected, the on-behalf switch D32 and the payment method box D33 are grayed out.

[0066] Here, when the payer P changes the value of the radio button D31 indicating automatic determination among the automatic setting conditions to a value other than automatic determination, the setting unit 14 of the payment management device 10 may update the automatic setting conditions and change all of the determination flags of the billing data BI for which the payment method has been automatically determined in accordance with the automatic setting conditions to FALSE.

[0067] When the collective setting switch D34 is turned ON, the same payment method can be selected for all billing data BI at once. By providing the collective setting switch D34, the payer P can reduce the trouble of selecting a payment method for each biller.

[0068] [Payment History Screen Layout] When the payer P presses the payment history tab D2, the payment management apparatus 10 displays a payment history screen on the user terminal 20. Figure 11 is a diagram showing an example of the payment history screen according to this embodiment. The payment history screen displays information on billing data BI for which payer P is the debtor and for which payment has already been completed, among billing data BI recorded in billing information table 111. If payment has been completed, the date is recorded as the payment date in billing information table 111.

[0069] The payment history screen displays the following items for each billing data BI for which payment has been completed: "Business Partner," "Billing Amount," "Payment Date," and "Automatic Setting." The "Business Partner" value is the name of the biller C of the billing data BI. The "Billing Amount" value is the billing amount of the billing data BI. The "Payment Date" value is the payment date of the billing data BI. The "Automatic Setting" column displays the automatic setting button D21. The automatic setting button D21 is a button that, when pressed, sets the billing method for the billing data BI in question as the billing method for future billing data BIs from the same biller C.

[0070] When the automatic setting button D21 is pressed, the output unit 16 of the payment management device 10 displays a confirmation screen shown in FIG. 12. FIG. 12 is a diagram showing an example of a confirmation screen for automatic setting according to this embodiment. The confirmation screen displays the name of the biller C, the account information of the biller C, and the payment method (payment contract type and payment means) related to the selected billing data BI. The payer P checks whether there are any problems with the setting contents. The confirmation screen displays the change account button D22, the decision button D23, and the cancel button D24. When the change account button D22 is pressed, the account information associated with the logged-in payer P and the biller C related to the billing data BI is read from the account information table 112, and candidates for the account are presented. The payer P can specify any account from the presented candidates. This is for the case where the account related to the billing data BI is not a normal account but an emergency account for delayed payment, and automatic setting of the normal account is realized using the billing data BI related to the emergency account. The decision button D23 is a button for reflecting the automatic setting by pressing it. When the enter button D23 is pressed, the setting unit 14 updates the automatic setting table 113. The cancel button D24 is a button for not reflecting the automatic setting when pressed.

[0071] [A series of processes performed by the payment management device] Next, the flow of a series of processes performed by the payment management apparatus 10 according to this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.

[0072] 13 is a flowchart showing the process performed when the billing data BI is acquired by the payment management apparatus 10 according to this embodiment. First, the flow of a series of processes performed when the billing data BI is acquired will be described with reference to the same figure.

[0073] The acquisition unit 12 of the payment management apparatus 10 acquires the billing data BI and identifies values ​​related to each of a plurality of items (step S11). Next, the determination unit 13 determines whether or not the automatic setting table 113 contains automatic setting information associated with the combination of payer P, biller C, and biller C's account in the acquired billing data BI (step S12). If there is automatic setting information corresponding to the billing data BI (step S12: YES), the acquisition unit 12 sets the value of the payment method related to the billing data BI acquired in step S11 to the default payment method related to the automatic setting information (step S13).

[0074] The determination unit 13 determines whether the automatic determination flag related to the automatic setting information is TRUE (step S14). If the automatic determination flag is TRUE (step S14: YES), the acquisition unit 12 sets the values ​​of the determination flag and the automatic setting flag related to the billing data BI acquired in step S11 to TRUE (step S15). As a result, the payment method of the billing data BI acquired in step S11 is automatically determined. At this time, the output unit 16 notifies the payer P related to the billing data BI acquired in step S11 that the payment method of the billing data BI has been automatically set (step S16). For example, the output unit 16 identifies the email address of the payer P from the account data of the payer P and sends an email to the email address. The notification may include URL data for sending an instruction to cancel the automatic setting to the payment management device 10. When the input unit 15 accepts the instruction by the URL data, it rewrites the determination flag related to the billing data BI to FALSE.

[0075] If the automatic determination flag is FALSE (step S14: NO), the acquisition unit 12 sets the values ​​of the determination flag and the automatic setting flag related to the billing data BI acquired in step S11 to FALSE (step S17). As a result, the payment method of the billing data BI acquired in step S11 is preset in an undetermined state.

[0076] If there is no automatic setting information corresponding to the billing data BI (step S12: NO), the acquisition unit 12 provisionally sets the value of the payment method related to the billing data BI acquired in step S11 to bank transfer, which is a normal payment (step S18). In addition, the acquisition unit 12 sets the values ​​of the determination flag and the automatic setting flag related to the billing data BI acquired in step S11 to FALSE (step S19).

[0077] As a result, if automatic setting information related to the billing data BI exists, the payment management apparatus 10 can automatically determine or preset the payment method when acquiring the billing data BI.

[0078] The following describes the process from when the payment management apparatus 10 acquires one piece of billing data BI (hereinafter referred to as billing data BIa) to when it completes payment processing. Figure 14 is a flowchart showing the process from when the payment management apparatus 10 acquires billing data BI to when it completes payment processing.

[0079] When the payment management apparatus 10 acquires the billing data BIa, it records information about the billing data BIa in the billing information table 111 shown in FIG. 4 in the procedure shown in FIG. 13 (step S21).

[0080] If the decision flag for the billing data BIA is FALSE (step S22: NO), the payment management device 10 displays information about the billing data BIA in the normal list D11 of the unpaid list screen (step S23). At this time, if the payment method for the billing data BIA is recorded in the billing information table 111, the "Select advance payment" checkbox is turned ON. On the other hand, if the payment method for the billing data BIA is not recorded in the billing information table 111, the "Select advance payment" checkbox is turned OFF.

[0081] When the payment management device 10 receives the selection of billing data BIA from the payer P, it displays the application screen shown in Figure 8 or Figure 9, and receives input of the billing method for the billing data BIA (step S24). When the billing method is input, the payment management device 10 sets the determination flag of the billing data BIA to TRUE, and updates the billing information table 111.

[0082] When the determination flag is automatically set to TRUE in step S1 due to the automatic setting of the billing data BIA, or when the determination flag is set to TRUE in step S5, payment processing is executed on the payment due date related to the billing data BIA. In other words, when the payment method for the billing data BIA is automatically determined (step S22: YES), the payer P can have the payment management device 10 execute the payment processing without performing any setting processing on the unpaid list screen.

[0083] If the determination flag is automatically set to TRUE in step S1 by the automatic setting (step S22: YES), the output unit 16 judges whether it is a predetermined number of days before the payment date or the execution of payment (step S25). If it is a predetermined number of days before (step S25: YES), the output unit 16 displays the automatically set payment information of the invoice as notification information (step S26). A cancel button is displayed in the notification information. The setting unit 14 judges whether the cancel button has been pressed (step S27). If the cancel button has been pressed (step S27: YES), the payment management device 10 changes the determination flag of the billing data BIa to FALSE. This cancels the automatic setting of the billing data BIa, and the billing data BIa is displayed in the normal list D11 (step S23). The automatic payment based on the automatic settings can be canceled by clicking the cancel button in the notification information, or by the payer P changing the settings.

[0084] If the automatic setting of the billing data BIa is not canceled by the payment date (step S27: NO) or the decision flag is set to TRUE in step S5, the payment management device 10 determines whether the payment method of the billing data BIa is advance payment or regular payment (step S28).

[0085] If the payment method is advance payment (step S28: advance payment), the payment processing unit 18 of the payment management device 10 executes payment processing of the billing amount to the biller account related to the billing data BIa (step S29). After that, the billing processing unit 17 executes billing processing of the billing amount to the payer P (step S30).

[0086] If the payment method is normal payment (step S28: normal payment), the billing processing unit 17 of the payment management device 10 judges whether or not the billing amount has been deposited by the payer P (step S31). If the deposit has been received (step S31: YES), the payment processing unit 18 executes payment processing of the billing amount to the biller account related to the billing data BIa (step S32). On the other hand, if the deposit has not been received (step S31: NO), the payment processing unit 18 does not execute payment processing and waits for the deposit. At this time, the payment management device 10 may issue a warning to the payer P that the deposit has not been received, or may issue a message recommending that the payment method be changed to advance payment.

[0087] After the payment process is completed in step S29 or step S32, the payment management apparatus 10 displays the payment history screen shown in FIG. 11 in response to a request from the payer P. The payment history screen displays information on the billing data BIa. The payment management apparatus 10 accepts an automatic setting instruction from the payer P by pressing the automatic setting button D21 on the payment history screen. The payment management apparatus 10 determines whether or not an automatic setting instruction has been given (step S33). If an automatic setting instruction has been given (step S33: YES), the payment management apparatus 10 updates the automatic setting information for the biller C related to the billing data BIa in the automatic setting table 113 (step S34). If there is no automatic setting instruction (step S33: NO), the payment management apparatus 10 does not update the automatic setting information for the biller C related to the billing data BIa.

[0088] Thus, according to this embodiment, the payment management apparatus 10 includes an acquisition unit 12, a determination unit 13, and a setting unit 14. The acquisition unit 12 acquires values ​​of items related to a claim from billing data related to a claim issued from the biller C to the payer P. When the value of the item satisfies a setting condition, the determination unit 13 determines whether or not to set a default payment method as a payment method related to the payment to the agent A for the billing data BI. The setting unit 14 sets the payment method of the billing data in association with the billing data BI. This allows the payment management apparatus 10 to set the payment method without any operation by the payer P when the billing data BI is acquired. This reduces the work of the payer P for payment.

[0089] Furthermore, according to this embodiment, the acquisition unit 12 acquires the identification information of the claimant C from the billing data BI, and the determination unit 13 determines whether or not to set the default payment method as the payment method for the billing data BI based on the identification information of the claimant C. This allows the payer P to vary the automatically set content of the payment method depending on the claimant C. Note that in other embodiments, the payment management device 10 may determine whether or not to set the default payment method based on values ​​of other items, such as the billing amount and billing items, regardless of the identification information of the claimant C.

[0090] Furthermore, according to this embodiment, the determination unit 13 of the payment management apparatus 10 determines whether or not to automatically determine the payment method for the billing data BI, and the output unit 16 outputs, for each billing data BI, whether or not the payment method for the billing data BI has been determined, as shown in Fig. 7, for example. When the payment method is automatically determined, the payer P can have the agent A execute the payment without performing any processing on the billing data BI. This reduces the workload of the payer P for payment.

[0091] Furthermore, according to this embodiment, the output unit 16 of the payment management device 10 outputs an input screen for the payment method for the billing data BI when accepting input of information related to the payment method, for example, as shown in Figures 8 and 9. At this time, if the determination unit 13 has determined that the billing data BI requires a default payment method to be set, the default payment method is set in a changeable manner on the input screen shown in Figures 8 and 9. This allows the payer P to determine the payment method simply by pressing the decision button after checking the preset value.

[0092] Furthermore, according to this embodiment, when the payment management device 10 receives input of information related to the payment method for individual billing data BI, it receives input of whether or not to set the input payment method as the default payment method and whether or not to automatically determine the payment method, for example, on the screens shown in Figures 11 and 12. This makes it possible to divert a payment method previously determined for individual billing data BI to a payment method related to other billing data BI.

[0093] Furthermore, according to this embodiment, the payment management apparatus 10 comprises an acquisition unit 12 and an input unit 15. The acquisition unit 12 acquires values ​​of items related to a bill from billing data BI relating to a bill issued by the biller C to the payer P. The input unit 15 accepts input of a payment method related to the payment to the agent A for the billing data BI. At this time, the input unit accepts selection of a payment method from a plurality of payment method candidates including account transfer. In other words, the payment management apparatus 10 can select account transfer as a payment method. By using account transfer as a payment method, the payer P can omit the task of transferring money to the account of the agent A.

[0094] Furthermore, the multiple candidate payment methods according to this embodiment include normal payment and advance payment. The multiple candidate payment methods according to this embodiment also include at least one of bank transfer and credit card payment. The multiple candidate payment methods according to this embodiment also include offsetting against claims where payer P is the creditor and agent A is the debtor. In this way, according to this embodiment, a payment method that suits payer P's needs can be selected from a variety of candidate payment methods.

[0095] Other Embodiments Although one embodiment has been described in detail above with reference to the drawings, the specific configuration is not limited to the above, and various design changes are possible. That is, in other embodiments, the order of the above-mentioned processes may be changed as appropriate. Also, some of the processes may be executed in parallel. The payment management apparatus 10 according to the above-described embodiment may be configured as a single computer, or the configuration of the payment management apparatus 10 may be distributed across multiple computers that cooperate with each other to function as the payment management apparatus 10. For example, the payment management apparatus 10 may be realized by cloud computing.

[0096] For example, the acquisition unit 12 of the payment management apparatus 10 according to another embodiment can detect that the billing data BI relating to a re-billing has been acquired. For example, the acquisition unit 12 detects that the billing data BI contains a character string such as "re-billing". At this time, the output unit 16 may output to the payer P an alert that the billing data BI relating to a re-billing has been acquired, and may also output a message recommending that the payment method be automatically determined to be advance payment. The message may include link information for outputting an instruction to automatically determine the payment method to be advance payment.

[0097] Furthermore, the payment management apparatus 10 according to another embodiment does not preset a payment method for billing data BI that does not have conditions matching the automatic setting table 113. In this case, the output unit 16 of the payment management apparatus 10 may present, as a hint, the payment method that was set in past billing data BI relating to the same biller C on the application screen shown in Figures 8 and 9. [Explanation of symbols]

[0098] 1... Payment system 10... Payment management device 11... Storage unit 111... Billing information table 112... Account information table 113... Automatic setting table 12... Acquisition unit 13... Determination unit 14... Setting unit 15... Input unit 16... Output unit 17... Billing processing unit 18... Payment processing unit 20... User terminal A... Agent B... Invoice BI... Billing data C... Biller P... Payer

Claims

1. an acquisition unit for acquiring values ​​of items related to a claim from claim data related to the claim issued by a claimant to a payer; a determination unit that, when the value of the item satisfies a setting condition, determines whether or not to set a default payment method as a payment method for the billing data to an agent that makes a payment to the biller on behalf of the payer; a setting unit for setting a payment method for the billing data in association with the billing data; A payment management device comprising:

2. The acquisition unit acquires identification information of the claimant from the claim data, The determination unit determines whether or not to set the default payment method as a payment method for the billing data based on the biller's identification information. The payment management device of claim 1 .

3. An output unit that outputs information regarding one or more billing data, The output unit outputs, for each billing data, whether or not a payment method for the billing data has been determined; The determination unit determines whether or not to automatically determine a payment method for the billing data. The payment management device of claim 1 .

4. an input unit for receiving input of information related to a payment method for the billing data, The payment method is determined by inputting information related to the payment method into the input unit. The payment management device of claim 3.

5. an output unit for outputting information related to the billing data; an input unit that accepts input of information related to a payment method for the billing data; Equipped with the output unit outputs an input screen for a payment method for the billing data when accepting input of the information related to the payment method; When it is determined that the default payment method is to be set as the payment method for the billing data, the default payment method is set on the input screen so as to be changeable. The payment management device of claim 1 .

6. The input unit accepts an input of information related to a payment method for the billing data, and then accepts an input of whether or not to set the inputted payment method as the default payment method. A payment management device according to claim 4 or claim 5.

7. The input unit, when receiving an input of information related to a payment method for the billing data, receives an input of whether or not to automatically determine a payment method for other billing data that satisfies the set condition. The payment management device of claim 4.

8. a payment processing unit that, when the default payment method is determined for the billing data, processes a payment according to the determined default payment method; The payment management device of claim 4.

9. When the default payment method has been determined for the billing data, the output unit outputs notification information regarding the payment a predetermined number of days before the payment process is performed. The payment management device of claim 8.

10. The notification information output to the output unit displays a cancel button for the default payment method.

10. The payment management apparatus of claim 9.

11. an acquisition step of acquiring values ​​of items related to a claim from billing data relating to a claim issued by a biller to a payer; a determination step of determining whether or not to set a default payment method as a payment method for the billing data when the value of the item satisfies a set condition; a setting step of setting a payment method for the billing data in association with the billing data; A payment management method comprising:

Images