Settlement server, settlement method, and program

Abstract

To provide a settlement server, a settlement method, and a program capable of improving the convenience of a user.SOLUTION: A settlement server provides an electronic settlement service in cooperation with a settlement application that operates in a user terminal device. The settlement server includes a communication unit for communicating with the user terminal device and a first store terminal device, a voucher management unit for managing information of an electronic voucher usable at preset setting stores among stores in which an expiration date is set and the electronic settlement service can be used, and a settlement processing unit for executing electronic settlement when the electronic settlement using the voucher is requested from the user terminal device or the first store terminal device. The settlement processing unit executes the electronic settlement by using both a combined settlement method set in advance by the user and the voucher in the case that the amount of the voucher is less than a purchase amount wen the electronic settlement is executed.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a settlement server, a settlement method, and a program.

Background Art

[0002] Conventionally, there has been an electronic payment service that automatically applies vouchers such as gift certificates held by users to perform electronic payments in the electronic payment service.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] However, when the amount of the voucher is less than the purchase amount, the voucher is not automatically applied, and it may be deducted from the user's remaining recharge balance, or another payment method may be applied and the voucher cannot be used, which may cause inconvenience to the user.

[0005] The present invention has been made in consideration of such circumstances, and one of the objectives is to provide a settlement server, a settlement method, and a program that can improve the convenience for users.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0006] One aspect of the present invention is a settlement server that provides an electronic payment service in cooperation with a payment application operating on a user terminal device, the settlement server comprising: a communication unit that communicates with the user terminal device and a first store terminal device; a voucher management unit that manages information on electronic vouchers that can be used at preset stores among stores for which an expiration date is set and that can use the electronic payment service; and a settlement processing unit that executes an electronic payment when an electronic payment using a voucher is requested from the user terminal device or the first store terminal device, wherein when the amount of the voucher is less than the purchase amount when executing the electronic payment, the settlement processing unit executes the electronic payment by combining the voucher with a combined payment method preset by the user.

Effect of the Invention

[0007] According to one aspect of the present invention, it is possible to provide a settlement server, a settlement method, and a program that can improve the convenience for users.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0008]

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Mode for Carrying Out the Invention

[0009] Hereinafter, with reference to the drawings, embodiments of the settlement server, settlement method, and program of the present invention will be described. Various devices such as "server", "management device", "information providing device", etc. that provide services to users or perform internal analysis may be realized by a decentralized group of devices, and the operators of each device may be different. Also, the holder of the hardware of the device (provider of the cloud server) and the operator who actually operates may be different. The application program and the settlement server cooperate to provide an electronic settlement service. In the following description, the application program is referred to as a settlement application. The electronic settlement service is a service that supports the settlement related to the purchase of goods and services in a store. The store is, for example, a physical store (actual store) existing in the real space, but may include a virtual store for e-commerce. The virtual store may include those provided by a subject different from the operator of the electronic settlement service. In that case, when making a purchase settlement in the virtual store, it is controlled to transition to the interface screen of the electronic settlement service. In the electronic settlement service, the store is, for example, treated as belonging to a franchise (brand), and processes such as settlement when a purchase action is performed in the store are mainly carried out between the user and the franchise. Instead of this, processes such as settlement may be carried out between the user and the store.

[0010] [Electronic Settlement Service] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of a configuration for realizing an electronic settlement service. The electronic settlement service is realized centering around a settlement server 100. The settlement server 100 communicates with each of, 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, etc.

[0011] The user terminal device 10 is 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, the configurations for realizing these functions are respectively referred to as a camera, a communication device, a touch panel, a CPU (Central Processing Unit), etc. In the user terminal device 10, the settlement application 20 is executed by a processor such as a CPU, and operates to provide an electronic payment service to the user in cooperation with the payment server 100. The settlement application 20 is installed in the user terminal device 10 from an application store, for example, and controls a camera, a communication device, a touch panel, etc.

[0012] The first store terminal device 50 is installed in a store, for example. 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. Note that the store code image 60 may be displayed by a display placed in the store (which may be a display of a terminal device such as a smartphone).

[0013] The second store terminal device 70 is used by the operator of the franchise store. The second store terminal device 70 is a smartphone, a tablet terminal, a personal computer, or the like. In the second store terminal device 70, an interface 72 for franchise stores operates. The interface 72 for franchise stores may be an application for franchise stores or a browser. The interface 72 for franchise stores accepts settings of coupons and the like by the operator of the franchise store and transmits them to the payment server 100. The second store terminal device 70, which is a smartphone, has functions such as displaying a code image corresponding to the store code image or reading the code image displayed by the user terminal device 10 by executing an application for franchise stores.

[0014] The payment server 100 realizes electronic payment based on the 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 a franchise store server. In that case, the payment information is transmitted from the POS device to the payment server 100 via the franchise store server. In the following description, this is not particularly distinguished, and it is assumed that the payment information is transmitted from the first store terminal device 50.

[0015] FIG. 2 and FIG. 3 are sequence diagrams illustrating a rough flow of electronic payment. There may be two patterns, pattern 1 and pattern 2, for electronic payment.

[0016] In the case of Pattern 1 shown in FIG. 2 (hereinafter referred to as user scan), the user terminal device 10 in the state where the settlement application 20 is activated decodes the store code image 60 by means of an optical reading function (S1). The store code image 60 contains information on the store URL (Uniform Resource Locator). This store URL is obtained by adding information capable of identifying the store to the domain of the electronic payment service, and is associated with a franchise store ID, a store ID, etc. in the payment server 100 (described later). The settlement application 20 transmits first settlement information including the store URL and the account ID to the settlement server 100 (S2). The settlement server 100 searches for store information (described later) from the franchise store ID and the store ID corresponding to the store URL, acquires information on the franchise store name and the store name (S3), and transmits the information to the settlement application 20 (S4). The user inputs the settlement amount into the user terminal device 10 on the screen where the franchise store name and the store name are displayed (S5). Then, the user terminal device 10 generates second settlement information including at least the settlement amount, and transmits the second settlement information to the settlement server 100 (S6). The settlement server 100 performs an electronic payment based on the received second settlement information (S7). Then, the settlement server 100 transmits a settlement completion notification (information for displaying a settlement completion screen) to the settlement application 20 (S8), and the settlement application 20 displays a settlement completion screen (S9). Note that when the store code image 60 is displayed by a display placed in the store, the store code image 60 may contain not only the store URL but also information on the settlement amount. In this case, the procedure for the user to input the settlement amount is omitted, and the information on the settlement amount is included in the first settlement information and transmitted to the settlement server 100. Information on the franchise store name and the store name may be included and displayed on the settlement completion screen.

[0017] In the case of Pattern 2 shown in FIG. 3 (hereinafter referred to as store scan), when the payment application 20 is launched, when a payment operation is performed in the payment application 20, when the automatic update timing (for example, every minute) is reached, and at other timings, the payment application 20 sends a request to issue a one-time code to the payment server 100 (S11). The payment server 100 generates a one-time code (S12) and sends 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 shields (presents) the display surface of the user terminal device 10 to the first store terminal device 50, and the first store terminal device 50 decodes the code image by means of an optical reading function and acquires a one-time code or the like (S15). Then, the first store terminal device 50 generates payment information including a one-time code, a payment amount, a franchise store ID, a store ID, etc., and sends it to the payment server 100 (S16). The information on the payment amount has been acquired in advance by barcode reading, manual input, or the like. The payment server 100 identifies the user corresponding to the one-time code based on the received information and performs an electronic payment (S17). Then, the payment server 100 sends a payment completion notification to the payment application 20 (S18), and the payment application 20 displays a payment completion screen (S19).

[0018] Note that the electronic payment may be performed in only one of the above patterns. Also, the "account ID" described in FIG. 2 may be other information (for example, a telephone number) that can be used as identification information of the user. Further, in the store scan, the issuance of the one-time code may be omitted, and the payment application 20 may display a code image generated based on the user's account ID. In that case, instead of identifying the user corresponding to the one-time code, the payment server 100 identifies the user corresponding to the account ID.

[0019] [Payment Server] FIG. 4 is a configuration diagram of the settlement server 100 according to the first embodiment. The settlement server 100 includes, for example, a communication unit 110, a settlement content providing unit 120, a settlement processing unit 130, an information management unit 140, a voucher management unit 150, and a storage unit 170. Components other than the communication unit 110 and the storage unit 170 are realized, for example, by a hardware processor such as a CPU executing a program (software). Some or all of these components may be realized by hardware (including a circuit unit; circuitry) such as LSI (Large Scale Integration), ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), FPGA (Field-Programmable Gate Array), or GPU (Graphics Processing Unit), or may be realized by cooperation between software and hardware. The program may be stored in advance in a storage device (a storage device including a non-transitory storage medium) such as an HDD (Hard Disk Drive) or a flash memory, or may be stored in a removable storage medium (a non-transitory storage medium) such as a DVD or a CD-ROM, and may be installed in the storage device when the storage medium is mounted on a drive device.

[0020] The storage unit 170 is an HDD, a flash memory, a RAM (Random Access Memory), or the like. The storage unit 170 may be a NAS (Network Attached Storage) device accessible by the settlement server 100 via a network. Information such as user information 172, settlement content information 174, affiliated store / store information 176, and voucher information 178 is stored in the storage unit 170.

[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 settlement content providing unit 120 has, for example, the 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 settlement content providing unit 120 appropriately reads out necessary content from the settlement content information 174 and provides it to the user terminal device 10. The user terminal device 10 accepts various inputs by the user in a state where the content is reproduced by the payment application 20, and transmits the above-mentioned settlement information and the like to the payment server 100.

[0023] The settlement processing unit 130 performs settlement processing based on the settlement information transmitted by the user terminal device 10 or the first store terminal device 50. The settlement processing unit 130 performs settlement processing while referring to the user information 172.

[0024] FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of the content of the user information 172. The user information 172 is an example of the user's registration information. The user information 172 includes, for example, a user URL, an account ID, a phone number, a password, as well as an email address, a user ID, name, address, date of birth, registration date, remaining recharge amount, post-payment setting, post-payment limit, post-payment usage amount, post-payment available amount, voucher ID, terminal payment method, payment priority setting, priority 1, priority 2, card payment method, affiliated card number, bank account, credit card number, recharge history information, settlement history information, and other information that are associated. The user URL is used for money transfer processing between users. When newly registering for the electronic payment service, registration of a phone number and password is required. The account ID is issued to the user by the payment server 100, and the user ID is an ID that the user can optionally set (not necessarily set). Similarly, the email address, and name, address, and date of birth are also information that the user can optionally set (not necessarily set). The registration date is the date when the user registered for the electronic payment service (the date when the account was created). Hereinafter, an instance of the user (electronic payment account) in which these pieces of information are associated is referred to as an account.

[0025] The remaining balance of the charge indicates the information of the remaining balance of the electronic money set by the user by remitting money to the account in advance. As means of remittance, there are remittances from the ATM (Automatic Teller Machine) of the designated operator (bank), remittances from the registered bank account, etc. The post-payment setting is information indicating whether the setting for enabling electronic payment by post-payment has been completed or not, and is set to either "completed" or "not completed". The post-payment limit is the limit amount of post-payment available per month, the post-payment used amount is the amount of post-payment already used in the current month, and the post-payment available amount is the amount of post-payment available in the current month obtained by subtracting the post-payment used amount from the post-payment limit. Although only one post-payment limit is shown in the figure, in reality, there are further upper limits per day, etc., and the lower of them may be set as the post-payment limit. Further details of the post-payment will be described later. The payment method setting is setting information indicating whether the user makes an electronic payment using the remaining balance of the charge or makes a payment by post-payment at that time. Each of the bank account and the credit card number is information (account number, card number) of the bank account or credit card number that can receive payments for the electronic payment service. The charge history information is the history of the user increasing the remaining balance of the charge by remitting money to the electronic payment service in advance. The settlement history information is information showing the breakdown of the settlements made by the user (date and time, store ID of the store where the purchase action was taken, settlement amount, settlement method, etc.) for each settlement.

[0026] A voucher ID is identification information that can identify a voucher. The voucher ID stored in the user information 172 is linked to the voucher ID stored in the voucher information 178 described later. Multiple voucher IDs may be linked to one user. The voucher automatic application setting includes information indicating whether to automatically apply a voucher and perform an electronic payment when the user makes an electronic payment if there is a voucher available. Further, the voucher automatic application setting includes a payment method (combined payment method) to be used in combination when the amount of the voucher is less than or equal to the purchase amount. The voucher automatic application setting can be set by the user himself / herself. The combined payment method is set to either payment by the remaining charge amount in the electronic payment service or post-payment by credit card.

[0027] The payment priority setting is information indicating whether the user has set the priority of the electronic payment methods. When the payment priority setting is valid, it indicates that the user has set the priority of the electronic payment methods. When the payment priority setting is invalid, it indicates that the user has not set the priority of the electronic payment methods. As the payment priority setting, for example, two payment methods can be set (priority 1, 2). The payment method is set to either payment by the remaining charge amount or payment by post-payment, for example.

[0028] Figure 6 is a diagram showing an example of the content of the 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 the affiliated store ID, and a third table 176C in which a store name and the local government that issued the available voucher are associated with the store ID. In addition to these information, the affiliated store / store information 176 may include information such as the category of the affiliated store or store, the location of the store, and the payment pattern.

[0029] The information management department 140 manages user information 172 and franchise / store information 176 based on the information acquired from the user terminal device 10 and the second store terminal device 70. The information management department 140 adds, edits, deletes, etc. new records for the user information 172 and the franchise / store information 176.

[0030] The voucher management department 150 manages information regarding vouchers owned by the user. Information regarding vouchers is stored in the voucher information 178. The voucher management department 150 acquires information from the voucher information 178 as necessary and updates the information each time an electronic payment using the voucher is made.

[0031] Figure 7 is a diagram showing an example of the voucher information 178. The voucher information 178 is information in which information such as the amount, the used amount, the available amount, the expiration date, the available stores, and the available municipalities is associated with the voucher ID, which is the identification information of the voucher. The amount is the purchased amount for each voucher. The used amount is the amount that has already been used for the voucher. The available amount is the amount obtained by subtracting the used amount from the amount. The expiration date indicates the expiration date on which the voucher can be used. The available stores refer to the stores where the voucher can be used. The available municipalities refer to information corresponding to the available stores when the issuer of the voucher is a municipality. The municipality may be at the prefecture level, at the city, town, or village level, or an autonomous group such as a shopping street.

[0032] [Electronic Payment] When the settlement processing unit 130 acquires settlement information from the user terminal device 10 or the first store terminal device 50, it refers to the user information 172 to acquire the "settlement method setting" of the user. When the "settlement method setting" is set to "charge balance" for a user, the settlement processing unit 130 performs electronic settlement as follows. For example, the settlement processing unit 130 performs electronic settlement by reducing the charge balance managed in association with the user ID and increasing the item value of the sales amount of the franchise store. The item value of the sales amount of the franchise store is not used as electronic money itself, for example, and the amount corresponding to the item value of the sales amount is transferred to the bank account in a cycle according to the agreement between the franchise store and the electronic settlement service.

[0033] When the "setting information" is set to "post-payment" for a user, the settlement processing unit 130 performs electronic settlement as follows. Post-payment is set separately from "credit payment" through cooperation with a credit card company, which is a separate entity from the operator of the electronic settlement service. The operator of the electronic settlement service acts as the creditor and allows electronic settlement that does not depend on the charge balance within the range of the post-payment limit. In order to receive the post-payment service, it may be required to obtain a credit card provided by the operator of the electronic settlement service. The amount used for post-payment is settled in one lump sum on the payment date of the following month, for example, by debit from the bank account. In this case, the settlement processing unit 130 performs provisional settlement by adding the settlement amount to the post-payment usage amount and subtracting the same amount from the available post-payment amount. At the end of the month, it performs the process of debiting the settlement 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 the process. If the settlement amount exceeds the available post-payment amount at the time of provisional settlement, an error notification is returned to the settlement application 20.

[0034] When the remaining recharge amount is less than a certain amount, the payment processing unit 130 may execute auto - recharge. The user sets in advance on the payment app 20 whether to execute auto - recharge when the remaining recharge amount is less than a certain amount. For example, when it is less than 1000 yen, the setting is to auto - recharge 5000 yen. If the auto - recharge setting in the user information 172 is valid, auto - recharge becomes executable, and if it is invalid, auto - recharge is not executed. The payment processing unit 130 performs electronic payment and compares the remaining recharge amount with a certain amount each time the remaining recharge amount is updated. When it is determined that the remaining recharge amount is less than a certain amount, the payment processing unit 130 executes auto - recharge. When the payment processing unit 130 executes auto - recharge, it updates the user information 172 with the latest remaining recharge amount obtained by adding the auto - recharged amount and the remaining recharge amount.

[0035] When an electronic payment using a voucher is requested from the user terminal device 10 or the first store terminal device 50, the payment processing unit 130 performs electronic payment as follows. FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of a screen displayed by the payment app 20 in the scenario of store scanning when the voucher is automatically applied. The interface screen IM1 is a screen that displays a code image in the scenario of store scanning. When the voucher automatic application setting is on, an area AR1 is displayed on the interface screen IM1. In the area AR1, a statement "If there is a usable voucher, pay with the voucher" is displayed, indicating that the voucher is automatically applied. Also, in AR1, a link to the setting screen related to the automatic application, "Change settings", is set. The interface screen IM2 is a screen after the store scanning and the payment is completed. On the interface screen IM2, an area AR2 and an area AR3 are displayed. In the area AR2, the name of the voucher and the amount used are displayed, and in the area AR3, the name of the voucher used as the payment method is displayed, indicating that the electronic payment has been completed by automatically applying the voucher.

[0036] When the settlement processing unit 130 acquires settlement information of electronic payment in a store where vouchers can be used from the user terminal device 10 or the first store terminal device 50, it acquires information regarding the vouchers held by the user from the voucher information 178. When the settlement processing unit 130 acquires information regarding a voucher, it applies the voucher and performs an electronic payment using the voucher.

[0037] When an electronic payment using a voucher is requested, the settlement processing unit 130 reduces the usage amount from the amount, and changes the voucher information 178 with the reduced amount as the available amount (balance).

[0038] When the user has previously turned on the automatic application of vouchers, when transmitting a request for electronic payment from the user terminal device 10 or the first store terminal device 50, the voucher is automatically applied without the operation of selecting a voucher.

[0039] Even when the user has turned off the automatic application setting of vouchers and requests to select a voucher in the selection of the payment method using the user terminal device 10 and perform an electronic payment, the settlement processing unit 130 performs an electronic payment using the voucher based on the request for electronic payment. Even if the automatic application setting of the voucher is off, the voucher can be used, but it is necessary to execute the operation of making a payment using the voucher.

[0040] FIG. 9 is a sequence diagram showing an example of a rough flow of electronic payment using a voucher. It will be described centering on the differences from FIG. 2. In the case of user scanning, the user terminal device 10 in a state where the settlement app 20 is activated decodes the store code image 60 by the optical reading function (S1). The settlement app 20 transmits first settlement information including the store URL and the account ID to the settlement server 100 (S2).

[0041] Next, the payment server 100 searches for store information from the affiliated store ID and store ID corresponding to the store URL, and acquires information on the affiliated store name and store name (S3). Next, the payment server 100 identifies vouchers available at the store among the vouchers assigned to the user (S3#), and transmits the information obtained in S3 and S3# above to the payment app 20 (S4).

[0042] The user selects a voucher on the screen where the affiliated store name, store name, and available vouchers are displayed, and inputs the payment amount into the user terminal device 10 (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 an electronic payment based on the received second payment information (S7). The payment server 100 performs an electronic payment, for example, by subtracting the payment amount from the amount available for use with the voucher. Then, the payment server 100 transmits a payment completion notice (information for displaying a payment completion screen) to the payment app 20 (S8), and the payment app 20 displays a payment completion screen (S9).

[0043] When the user has set the automatic voucher application setting to on, the operation of selecting a voucher in the process of S5 in FIG. 9 is eliminated, and the vouchers that can be used at the store where the electronic payment is to be made are automatically applied.

[0044] When the available amount of the voucher is less than the purchase amount when the payment processing unit 130 performs an electronic payment, the electronic payment is performed by combining the combined payment method preset by the user and the voucher.

[0045] When the user has set the automatic voucher application setting to on, set the combined payment method to the recharge balance, and the available amount of the voucher is less than the purchase amount, the electronic payment is performed by combining the recharge balance and the voucher.

[0046] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of a screen of a settlement application 20 that performs electronic settlement using a voucher in user scanning. The interface screen IM3 is a screen for inputting the settlement amount into the user terminal device 10 on the screen where the franchise name and store name are displayed. An area AR4 and an area AR5 are displayed on the interface screen IM3. The area AR4 displays the name of the gift certificate and the available amount, and the area AR5 displays the statement "The shortage of the gift certificate will be paid with the recharge balance." From these displays, it is shown that when the available amount of the voucher is less than the purchase amount, electronic settlement is performed using the recharge balance and the voucher in combination.

[0047] FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing an example of the processing flow when the settlement server 100 performs electronic settlement. The processing of this flowchart starts when settlement information is acquired from the user terminal device 10 or the first store terminal device 50. In the figures after FIG. 11, the voucher balance is expressed as "VB( Voucher Balance)", the recharge balance is expressed as "CB(Charge Balance)", and the purchase amount is expressed as "PA(Purchase Amount)".

[0048] First, the settlement processing unit 130 determines whether the user related to the settlement information has set the automatic application setting of the voucher to on and set the combined settlement method to the recharge balance (S100).

[0049] In the process of S100, if the automatic application setting of the voucher is not set to on, the settlement processing unit 130 performs normal settlement without using the voucher as described above (S110), and ends the processing of this flowchart.

[0050] In the process of S100, if the user related to the settlement information has set the automatic application setting of the voucher to on and set the combined settlement method to post-payment, the settlement processing unit 130 executes the processing of the flowchart in FIG. 12.

[0051] The settlement processing unit 130 causes the voucher management unit 150 to acquire information regarding the vouchers owned by the user, and determines whether the user owns a voucher that can be used (S120). The criteria for determining whether it can be used are, for example, that the expiration date of the voucher is a date after the date of use, or that the available amount of the voucher is 1 yen or more.

[0052] When the settlement processing unit 130 determines that the user owns a voucher that can be used, the settlement processing unit 130 determines whether the voucher owned by the user can be used at the store where the electronic payment is to be made (S130). The criteria for determining whether the voucher owned by the user can be used are, for example, determined based on criteria such as whether the store where the electronic payment is to be made is registered as an available store for the corresponding voucher in the voucher information 178, or whether the municipality of the store where the electronic payment is to be made is the same as the municipality of the issuer of the voucher.

[0053] When the settlement processing unit 130 determines in the process of S120 that the user does not own a voucher that can be used, or when the settlement processing unit 130 determines in the process of S130 that the voucher owned by the user cannot be used at the store where the electronic payment is to be made, the settlement processing unit 130 executes the electronic payment using the charge balance (S110) and ends the processing of this flowchart.

[0054] When the settlement processing unit 130 determines that the voucher owned by the user can be used at the store where the electronic payment is to be made, the settlement processing unit 130 compares the voucher balance with the purchase amount, and determines whether the voucher balance is greater than or equal to the purchase amount (VB≧PA) (S140).

[0055] When the settlement processing unit 130 determines that the voucher balance is greater than or equal to the purchase amount (VB≧PA), the settlement processing unit 130 makes an electronic payment using the voucher balance (S150).

[0056] When the settlement processing unit 130 determines that the voucher balance is less than the purchase amount (VB < PA), it obtains from the user information 172 and compares the purchase amount with the total amount of the voucher balance and the charge balance, and determines whether the total amount of the voucher balance and the charge balance is greater than or equal to the purchase amount (VB + CB ≥ PA) (S160).

[0057] When the settlement processing unit 130 determines that the total amount of the voucher balance and the charge balance is less than the purchase amount (VB + CB < PA), the settlement fails, and an error notification is output to the settlement application 20 (S170). The settlement processing unit 130 may prompt the selection of another settlement method together with the error notification.

[0058] When the settlement processing unit 130 determines that the total amount of the voucher balance and the charge balance is greater than or equal to the purchase amount (VB + CB ≥ PA), it performs an electronic settlement using the total amount of the voucher balance and the charge balance (VB + CB) (S180). When the electronic settlement is completed, this flowchart ends.

[0059] Even when the voucher owned by the user is automatically applied and the available amount of the voucher is insufficient for the purchase amount, an electronic settlement can be performed by using it in combination with the charge balance, improving the convenience for the user.

[0060] When the user sets the automatic application setting of the voucher to on, sets the combined settlement method to post-payment, and the voucher balance is less than the purchase amount (VB < PA), an electronic settlement is performed by combining post-payment and the voucher.

[0061] FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing an example of the operation of a user who sets the automatic application of the voucher to on and sets the combined settlement method to post-payment to perform an electronic settlement. After FIG. 12, the available amount for post-payment is expressed as "DP (Deferred Payment)". The description will focus on the differences from FIG. 11.

[0062] In the processes of S200 to S240, which are the same as S100 to S150 in the flowchart of FIG. 11, the settlement processing unit 130 acquires settlement information from the user terminal device 10 or the first store terminal device 50. When the settlement processing unit 130 determines that the user does not own a voucher or the store is not a voucher - available store, it performs electronic payment using deferred payment.

[0063] When the remaining voucher balance is less than the purchase amount (VB < PA), the settlement processing unit 130 acquires the user's available deferred - payment amount (DP) from the user information 172, and compares the total amount of the voucher balance and the available deferred - payment amount (VB + DP) with the purchase amount (PA) (S250).

[0064] When the total amount of the voucher balance and the available deferred - payment amount is less than the purchase amount (VB + DP < PA), the settlement fails, and the settlement application 20 is caused to output an error notification (S260).

[0065] When the total amount of the voucher balance and the available deferred - payment amount is greater than or equal to the purchase amount (VB + DP ≧ PA), the settlement processing unit 130 performs electronic payment with the total amount of the voucher balance and the available deferred - payment amount (VB + DP) (S270). When the electronic payment is completed, this flowchart ends.

[0066] The user can select a combined payment method to be used in combination with the voucher, and the settlement server 100 can improve the convenience for the user.

[0067] The settlement processing unit 130 causes the voucher management unit 150 to acquire the voucher information 178. When the user owns multiple vouchers, the vouchers with expiration dates closer to the use date are automatically applied to the electronic payment first. For example, when the user makes an electronic payment and there are multiple vouchers available at the store, one with an expiration date 10 days after the use date and the other with an expiration date 1 year after the use date, the settlement processing unit 130 automatically applies the voucher with an expiration date 10 days after the use date.

[0068] When there are multiple vouchers and the available amount of the voucher with the closest expiration date to the date of electronic payment (usage date) is less than the purchase amount, the settlement processing unit 130 performs electronic payment by using the voucher in combination with another voucher. The other voucher is another voucher issued by the same issuer as the voucher.

[0069] By automatically applying multiple vouchers simultaneously, even if the user owns multiple vouchers with amounts lower than the purchase amount, the user can use multiple vouchers at once, and the settlement server 100 can improve convenience.

[0070] When the total amount of multiple vouchers is less than the purchase amount, the settlement processing unit 130 executes electronic payment by using the combined settlement method and combining multiple vouchers. For users who have set the automatic voucher application setting to on and set the combined settlement method to charge balance or postpaid, they can subtract the total amount of multiple vouchers from the purchase amount and electronically pay the insufficient amount using the combined settlement method.

[0071] Also, when the total amount of the voucher balance and the combined settlement method is less than or equal to the purchase amount, the settlement processing unit 130 combines the settlement method set to the second priority in the payment priority or increases the charge balance by auto - recharge to perform electronic payment.

[0072] When the total amount of the combined settlement method and the voucher is less than or equal to the purchase amount, the settlement processing unit 130 executes electronic payment by filling the shortage amount with a payment method based on the preset payment priority in the electronic payment service.

[0073] In addition, when the total amount of the combined payment method with the voucher and the upper limit amount of the payment method based on the payment priority is less than or equal to the purchase amount, and the user has enabled the auto-charge of the remaining charge amount in the payment application in advance, the payment processing unit 130 may execute the auto-charge and perform the electronic payment by combining the payment method based on the combined payment method with the voucher and the payment priority and the remaining charge amount after executing the auto-charge.

[0074] FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing an example of the operation when performing processing considering auto-charge. In the figures after FIG. 13, the auto-charge amount is expressed as "AC (Auto Charge)". The user owns one voucher, sets the combined payment method as the remaining charge amount, and sets the first priority of payment as post-payment.

[0075] The processes of S400 to S435 are the same as the processes of S100 to S180 in FIG. 10, so the description is omitted. In the process of S430, when it is determined that the total amount of the voucher balance and the remaining charge amount is less than the purchase amount (VB + CB < PA), the payment processing unit 130 adds the available amount of the voucher and the remaining charge amount, and further adds the available amount of the user's post-payment, and determines whether the total amount of the voucher balance, the remaining charge amount, and the available amount of post-payment is greater than or equal to the purchase amount (VB + CB + DP ≧ PA) (S440).

[0076] When the total amount of the voucher balance, the remaining charge amount, and the available amount of post-payment is greater than or equal to the purchase amount (VB + CB + DP ≧ PA), the payment processing unit 130 performs the electronic payment using the voucher balance, the remaining charge amount, and the post-payment (S445).

[0077] In the process of S440, when the total amount of the voucher balance, the charge balance, and the available post-payment amount is less than the purchase amount (VB + CB + DP < PA), the settlement processing unit 130 executes auto-charge and determines whether the total amount of the voucher balance, the charge balance, the available post-payment amount, and the auto-charge amount is greater than or equal to the purchase amount (VC + CB + DP + AC ≧ PA) (S450). If the user has invalidated the auto-charge setting or the auto-charge process itself fails, the electronic settlement fails and this flowchart ends.

[0078] When the total amount of the voucher balance, the charge balance, the available post-payment amount, and the auto-charge amount is greater than or equal to the purchase amount (VC + CB + DP + AC ≧ PA), the settlement processing unit 130 performs electronic settlement using the total amount of the voucher balance, the charge balance, the available post-payment amount, and the auto-charge amount (S455). In the process of S450, when the total amount of the voucher balance, the charge balance, the available post-payment amount, and the auto-charge amount is less than the purchase amount (VC + CB + DP + AC < PA), the settlement processing unit 130 determines the settlement as failed and outputs an error notification to the settlement app 20 (S460).

[0079] According to the embodiment described above, the voucher can be automatically applied, and when the purchase amount cannot be settled with the remaining voucher balance, other settlement methods can be used in combination to complete the electronic settlement, improving the convenience for the user.

[0080] As described above, the embodiments for implementing the present invention have been described using the embodiments. However, the present invention is not limited to such embodiments, and various modifications and substitutions can be made without departing from the gist of the present invention.

Explanation of Signs

[0081] 10 User terminal device 20 Settlement app 100, 100A Settlement server 120, 120A Settlement content providing unit 122A represents the control unit 130 Settlement processing unit 140 Information management unit 150 Voucher management unit 172 User information 178 Voucher information

Claims

1. A settlement server that provides an electronic payment service in cooperation with a payment application operating on a user terminal device, a communication unit that communicates with the user terminal device and a first store terminal device, a voucher management unit that manages information on electronic vouchers available at preset stores among stores where an expiration date is set and the electronic payment service can be used, and a settlement processing unit that executes the electronic payment when an electronic payment using the voucher is requested from the user terminal device or the first store terminal device. When the amount of the voucher is less than the purchase amount when the settlement processing unit executes the electronic payment, the settlement processing unit executes the electronic payment by combining the voucher with a combined payment method preset by the user. Settlement server.

2. The combined payment method is either payment based on the remaining recharge balance in the electronic payment service or post-payment using a credit card. The settlement server according to claim 1.

3. The settlement processing unit obtains information including the expiration date of the voucher owned by the user from the voucher management unit, and when there are a plurality of vouchers, performs an electronic payment using the voucher with the expiration date closest to the date of the electronic payment. The settlement server according to claim 1.

4. The settlement processing unit obtains information on the voucher owned by the user from the voucher management unit, and when there are a plurality of vouchers and the amount of the voucher with the expiration date closest to the date of the electronic payment is less than the purchase amount, executes the electronic payment by combining the voucher with other vouchers. The settlement server according to claim 1.

5. When the total amount of the plurality of vouchers is less than the purchase amount, the settlement processing unit executes the electronic settlement by using the combined settlement method and the plurality of vouchers in combination. The settlement server according to claim 4.

6. When the total amount of the combined settlement method and the voucher is less than the purchase amount, the settlement processing unit replenishes the shortage amount by a payment method based on the preset payment priority in the electronic payment service and executes the electronic payment. The settlement server according to claim 1.

7. When the total amount of the voucher, the combined settlement method, and the upper limit amount of the payment method based on the payment priority is less than the purchase amount, and the user has effectively set the auto - recharge of the charge balance in the settlement application in advance, the settlement processing unit executes the auto - recharge. The settlement processing unit executes the electronic settlement by using the voucher, the combined settlement method, the payment method based on the payment priority, and the charge balance after the auto - recharge in combination. The settlement server according to claim 6.

8. A processor of a settlement server that provides an electronic payment service in cooperation with a settlement application operating on a user terminal device communicates with the user terminal device and a first store terminal device; manages information on electronic vouchers available at preset stores among stores where an expiration date is set and the electronic payment service can be used; executes the electronic settlement when an electronic settlement using the voucher is requested from the user terminal device or the first store terminal device; When the amount of the voucher is less than the purchase amount when executing the electronic settlement, the processor executes the electronic settlement by using the combined settlement method preset by the user and the voucher in combination. Settlement method.

9. A payment server that provides an electronic payment service in cooperation with a payment application operating on a user terminal device, the processor of the payment server including a communication unit that communicates with the user terminal device and a first store terminal device, A process of managing information on an electronic voucher that can be used at a preset store among stores where an expiration date is set and the electronic payment service can be used, A process of executing the electronic payment when an electronic payment using the voucher is requested from the user terminal device or the first store terminal device, When the amount of the voucher is less than the purchase amount when executing the electronic payment, a process of executing the electronic payment in combination with a preset combined payment method and the voucher by the user, A program for causing execution.

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