Settlement device

Abstract

To provide a settlement device that supports a user to take a balance between payment and asset building.SOLUTION: In a settlement system 1, a settlement device 10 performs processing for allowing a payer related to a commercial transaction to purchase a financial product when a transaction amount related to the commercial transaction is settled, and performs processing for charging a user with a total amount of a purchase amount of the financial product and the transaction amount.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a settlement device.

Background Art

[0002] In online transactions such as online shopping, the settlement is also carried out online. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a technology related to a service that substitutes for the settlement between a trading business operator and a trading user using a settlement processing device.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] By the way, the importance of asset formation such as savings is known for household finances. However, while it is easy to make payments for shopping and the like, it is often difficult to plan asset formation.

[0005] The present invention has been made in view of such a background, and an object thereof is to provide a settlement device capable of assisting in achieving a balance between a user's payment and asset formation.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0006] The main invention of the present invention for solving the above problems is a settlement device that settles a transaction amount related to a commercial transaction, comprising: a financial product purchase processing unit that performs a process of a payer related to the commercial transaction purchasing a financial product; and a settlement processing unit that performs a process of charging a user the total amount of the purchase amount of the financial product and the transaction amount.

[0007] Regarding other problems disclosed in this application and solutions therefor, they will be clarified by the embodiments of the invention and the drawings.

Advantages of the Invention

[0008] According to the present invention, it is possible to assist in achieving a balance between user payments and asset formation.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0009]

Figure 1

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Embodiments for Carrying Out the Invention

[0010] A settlement device 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described. The settlement device 10 according to this embodiment receives a request from a server that conducts commercial transactions such as online shopping and provides a settlement agency service that substitutes for processing related to the settlement of the commercial transaction.

[0011] When performing settlement processing for the transaction amount related to a transaction, the settlement device 10 of the present embodiment automatically performs a purchase process for purchasing a financial product and settles the transaction amount and the purchase amount of the financial product. In the present embodiment, the financial product is, for example, a product that increases some assets of the user, such as a cash deposit, a promissory note, stocks, corporate bonds, national bonds, various securities, an investment in a fund, a claim related to a derivative transaction, etc. The financial product shall include those not sold by financial institutions, such as points, gift certificates, virtual currencies, etc.

[0012] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an overall configuration example of a settlement system 1 including a settlement device 10 according to the present embodiment. The settlement device 10 is communicably connected to the user terminal 20 and the transaction device 30 via a network 40. The network 40 is, for example, the Internet and is constructed by Ethernet (registered trademark), an optical communication line, a public telephone line network, a dedicated telephone line network, a wireless communication path, etc. The settlement device 10 is also communicably connected to a financial server 40. The settlement device 10 and the financial server 40 may be connected by a dedicated line or may be connected via the network 40.

[0013] The transaction device 30 is a computer that provides services related to commercial transactions such as online shopping. In the present embodiment, an online shopping service is assumed, but the service provided by the transaction device 30 may be any service that performs various commercial transactions for which a consideration is paid for the provision of goods or services. The transaction device 30 requests the settlement device 10 to settle the selling amount during the transaction.

[0014] The user terminal 20 is a computer operated by a user (transaction user) of online shopping. The user terminal 20 is, for example, a personal computer, a smartphone, a tablet computer, etc. The user operates the user terminal 20 to access the transaction device 30, view product information, or request the purchase of a product.

[0015] The financial server 40 is a computer that sells financial products. The financial server 40 conducts various transactions such as stocks, corporate bonds, national bonds, and financial transactions. The financial server 40 is operated by a financial institution such as a bank or a securities company, for example. Note that the financial server 40 may be operated by a general company that issues points.

[0016] The settlement device 10 is a computer that substitutes for the settlement process between the transaction user and the transaction business operator (the operator of the transaction device 30). The settlement device 10 performs a deposit process for the transaction amount from the financial institution designated by the transaction user, and performs a settlement process of subtracting a settlement agency fee including the handling fee of the financial institution from such a transaction amount and transferring it to the bank account of the transaction business operator or the like. As for the settlement process, a well-known method related to an online shopping service or the like is used, and detailed description is omitted. When performing the settlement process, the settlement device 10 of the present embodiment accesses the financial server 40 to perform a purchase process of a financial product, and adds the purchase amount of the financial product to the transaction amount to perform the settlement process.

[0017] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of the hardware configuration of the settlement device 10 according to the present embodiment. The settlement device 10 includes a CPU 101, a memory 102, a storage device 103, a communication interface 104, an input device 105, and an output device 106. The storage device 103 stores various data and programs, such as a hard disk drive, a solid state drive, or a flash memory. The communication interface 104 is an interface for connecting to the communication network 30, and is, for example, an adapter for connecting to Ethernet (registered trademark), a modem for connecting to a public telephone line network, a wireless communication device for performing wireless communication, a USB (Universal Serial Bus) connector for serial communication, or an RS232C connector. The input device 105 inputs data, such as a keyboard, a mouse, a touch panel, a button, or a microphone. The output device 106 outputs data, such as a display, a printer, or a speaker. Note that the settlement device 10 may omit the input device 105 and the output device 106.

[0018] FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of the software configuration of the settlement device 10 according to the present embodiment. The settlement device 10 includes a settlement request receiving unit 111, a settlement amount approval unit 112, a financial product purchase processing unit 113, a settlement processing unit 114, a settlement result transmission unit 115, and a setting database 131.

[0019] The settlement request receiving unit 111, the settlement amount approval unit 112, the financial product purchase processing unit 113, the settlement processing unit 114, and the settlement result transmission unit 115 are realized by the CPU 101 provided in the settlement device 10 reading out and executing a program stored in the storage device 103 into the memory 102, and the setting database 131 is realized as a part of the storage area provided by the memory 102 and the storage device 103.

[0020] The settlement request receiving unit 111 receives a request (hereinafter referred to as a "settlement request") for commissioning the settlement related to the transaction in the transaction device 30. The settlement request includes transaction merchant information for identifying the transaction merchant who is the subject of charging, transaction user information for identifying the transaction user who makes the payment, and the settlement amount. The settlement amount may match the transaction amount, or may be different from the transaction amount when the transaction merchant charges an amount lower than the transaction amount by using points or the like.

[0021] The setting database 131 stores information (hereinafter referred to as "setting information") for determining the amount of the financial product (hereinafter referred to as "financial amount") to be purchased at the time of settlement. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of the setting database 131.

[0022] The setting database 131 stores a default value 1311 which is default setting information, and user setting values 1312 which are setting information stored for each user. The default value 1311 includes a determination method and a setting value. The determination method indicates a means for determining a financial amount. In this embodiment, the determination method is either "ratio" which indicates determining the financial amount based on a ratio to the settlement amount, or "amount" which indicates setting a fixed amount regardless of the settlement amount. The setting value is information for determining the financial amount according to the determination method. When the determination method is "ratio", that ratio is registered as the setting value. When the determination method is "amount", that amount is registered as the setting value.

[0023] The user setting values 1312 store the determination method and the setting value in association with the transaction user information (user ID).

[0024] Note that the method for determining the financial amount is not limited to these. For example, it may be a ratio to the transaction amount, or a ratio to the cumulative amount of the settlement amount over a predetermined period (e.g., one month or one year), or an amount that increases stepwise according to the transaction amount or the settlement amount, or the user may be prompted to input an amount each time, and the determination method and value may be set according to these methods.

[0025] The settlement amount approval unit 112 determines the financial amount based on the setting information, and checks with the user whether it is possible to make a payment of an amount (hereinafter referred to as the "processing target amount") obtained by adding the financial amount to the settlement amount included in the settlement request. The settlement amount approval unit 112 can determine the financial amount by adding the amount of the financial product and the fee for purchasing the financial product. The settlement amount approval unit 112 shall calculate the purchase fee of the financial product by totaling the fee to be paid to the seller of the financial product and the profit of this settlement agency service. When confirming the processing target amount, the settlement amount approval unit 112 may accept a modification of the financial amount from the user. In this case, the settlement amount approval unit 112 calculates the fee to be paid to the seller of the financial product and the profit amount of this settlement service according to the modified financial amount, subtracts the fee and the profit amount from the financial amount, and can calculate the financial amount of the financial product to be purchased.

[0026] The financial product purchase processing unit 113 purchases a financial product for an amount obtained by subtracting the fee from the financial amount. The financial product purchase processing unit 113 accesses, for example, the financial server 50 to purchase a financial product. For the purchase processing related to the financial product, for example, well-known methods such as deposit processing with a bank, bill issuance and acceptance processing, purchase processing of stocks, corporate bonds, national bonds, securities, etc., transaction processing related to derivative transactions, point issuance processing, commodity voucher purchase processing, virtual currency issuance processing, etc. are used, and the description is omitted here. Note that the financial product purchase processing unit 113 may purchase a financial product for the full amount of the financial amount and charge the transaction user by adding the fee thereto.

[0027] The settlement processing unit 114 performs settlement processing on the processing target amount. Well-known methods can be used for the settlement processing. The settlement processing unit 114 can perform settlement processing by instructing the host computer (not shown) of the financial institution to pay the amount obtained by subtracting the fee of the financial institution from the settlement amount to the account of the trading business operator and pay the financial amount to the account of the operator of this settlement agency service.

[0028] The settlement result transmission unit 115 transmits the result of the settlement process to the transaction device 30. The settlement result transmission unit 115 may also transmit the result of the settlement process to the user terminal 20.

[0029] FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the flow of the process executed by the settlement device 10.

[0030] The settlement request receiving unit 111 receives a settlement request from the transaction device 30 (S211). In the present embodiment, the settlement request is assumed to include transaction merchant information for identifying the transaction merchant who is the entity to be charged, transaction user information for identifying the transaction user who makes the payment, the name of the product or service that is the subject of the transaction (product name), the transaction date and time, and the settlement amount. The settlement amount approval unit 112 reads the setting information (user setting value 1312) corresponding to the user ID set in the settlement request from the setting database 131 (S212). If the setting information corresponding to the user ID set in the settlement request is not registered in the setting database 131 (or if no user ID is set in the settlement request) (S213: NO), the default setting information (default value 1311) is read from the setting database 131 (S214).

[0031] The settlement amount approval unit 112 determines the financial amount based on the setting information (S215). When the settlement method in the setting information is "percentage", the settlement amount approval unit 112 adds the fee to the amount obtained by multiplying the settlement amount by the set value in the setting information to determine the financial amount. For example, when the determination method is "percentage", the set value is "10%", the settlement amount is "100,000 yen", the purchase fee of the financial product is "2%", and the profit rate of this settlement agency service is "1%", the settlement amount approval unit 112 can calculate the financial amount as 100,000 yen × 10% × (100% + 2% + 1%) = 10,300 yen. Also, when the settlement method in the setting information is "amount", the settlement amount approval unit 112 subtracts the fee from the set value in the setting information to determine the financial amount. For example, when the determination method in the setting information is "amount", the set value is "1,000 yen", the purchase fee of the financial product is "2%", and the profit rate of this settlement agency service is "1%", the settlement amount approval unit 112 can calculate the financial amount as 1,000 yen ÷ (100% + 2% + 1%) = 971 yen (rounded up to the nearest whole number).

[0032] The settlement amount approval unit 112 adds the determined financial amount to the settlement amount set in the settlement request to calculate the processing target amount (S216), and confirms with the transaction user (the user of the user terminal 20) whether to pay this processing target amount (S217). The settlement amount approval unit 112 may confirm the payment with the user by showing the settlement amount, the financial amount, and the fee. The settlement amount approval unit 112 transmits, for example, information for displaying a screen 300 as shown in FIG. 6 (hereinafter referred to as "screen information") to the user terminal 20. The screen information is described, for example, in HTML (HyperText Markup Language). In this case, the transaction device 30 returns a response to redirect to the settlement device 10 for the HTTP (HyperText Transfer Protocol) from the user terminal 20, the user terminal 20 accesses the settlement device 10 to receive the screen information, and can display the screen 300 based on the received screen information.

[0033] On the screen 300, for example, the trading business operator information 301, the product name 302, and the transaction date and time 303 are displayed. At the same time, the settlement amount 304, the financial amount (the financial product purchase amount 305 and the fee 306) are displayed, and further, the total amount of these (that is, the amount to be processed 307) is displayed. When the savings amount change button 308 is pressed, the user terminal 20 permits the modification of the financial product purchase amount 305. When the financial product purchase amount 305 is modified, the user terminal 20 may send the financial product purchase amount 305 to the settlement device 10 so that the settlement amount approval unit 112 of the settlement device 10 recalculates the fee, or the user terminal 20 may recalculate the fee by including the fee rate, etc. in the screen information. When the confirmation button 309 is pressed, the user terminal 20 sends a message (which can be realized, for example, as an HTTP request) indicating that the payment of the amount to be processed has been confirmed to the transaction device 30, assuming that the user has permitted the payment of the amount to be processed. When the financial product purchase amount 305 is modified, the user terminal 20 may send the modified financial product purchase amount 305 and the settlement amount 304 to the settlement device 10, or when the user terminal 20 recalculates the fee, the user terminal 20 may send the modified financial product purchase amount 305, the settlement amount 304, and the recalculated fee to the settlement device 10.

[0034] Returning to FIG. 5, when the settlement amount approval unit 112 receives a message indicating that the user has permitted the payment from the user terminal 20 (S218: YES), if the financial amount has been changed in the user terminal 20 (the financial product purchase amount 305 on the screen 300 has been modified) (S219: YES), the settlement amount approval unit 112 modifies the amount to be processed according to the modified financial product purchase amount (S220). That is, the settlement amount approval unit 112 adds the modified financial amount (the total of the financial product purchase amount 305 and the fee recalculated according to the financial product purchase amount 305) to the settlement amount to obtain the amount to be processed.

[0035] The financial product purchase processing unit 113 performs the purchase processing of financial products for the financial product purchase amount 305 (S221). Here, the description is omitted as well-known methods are used for the processing related to the purchase of financial products. The settlement processing unit 114 processes so that the payment of the processing target amount is made from the account of the transaction user (S222). For example, the settlement processing unit 114 pays the amount obtained by subtracting the fee of the financial institution from the settlement amount to the account of the transaction business operator, and at the same time, pays the financial amount to the account of the operator of the present settlement agency service. The settlement processing can be performed by instructing the host computer (not shown) of the financial institution. Also, the settlement processing unit 114 may perform processing so that the purchase fee of the financial product is paid from the account of the operator of the present settlement agency service to the account of the seller of the financial product.

[0036] The settlement result transmission unit 115 notifies the transaction device 30 and the user terminal 20 of the result of the above settlement processing (S223). When the payment of the processing target amount is not approved (S218: NO), the settlement result transmission unit 115 transmits a message to that effect to the user terminal 20 and the transaction device 30. When the payment is approved (S218: YES), the settlement result transmission unit 115 transmits the settlement amount and the amount credited to the transaction business operator (the amount obtained by subtracting the fee from the settlement amount) to the transaction device 30, and at the same time, transmits the amount paid by the transaction user (processing target amount), the purchase amount of the financial product, the fee, etc. to the user terminal 20. Note that the settlement result transmission unit 115 may include information related to the financial product, such as the name and interest rate of the purchased financial product, in the result and transmit it.

[0037] As described above, according to the settlement device 10 of the present embodiment, the user can purchase financial products simultaneously with the settlement of transactions such as shopping. Thereby, it becomes possible to increase the financial assets of the user, and it is possible to support the asset formation of the user. Also, generally when a user makes an expense such as shopping, since the psychological hurdle for spending money is lowered, it is expected that the orientation towards increasing financial assets will increase compared to the case of newly performing asset formation such as saving. Thereby, the sale of financial products is also promoted.

[0038] Further, according to the settlement device 10 of the present embodiment, the sales commission of financial products can be used as a source to fill the commission related to settlement. Therefore, the settlement processing unit 114 of the settlement device 10 can reduce the commission amount to be subtracted from the settlement amount in the settlement process. Thus, the profit of the trading business operator is improved.

[0039] As described above, the present embodiment has been explained. However, the above embodiment is for facilitating the understanding of the present invention and is not for limiting and interpreting the present invention. The present invention can be changed and improved without departing from its gist, and equivalents thereof are also included in the present invention.

[0040] For example, in the present embodiment, the settlement device 10 is assumed to be a single computer. However, it is not limited to this, and a virtual computer may be formed by a plurality of computers, and the settlement device 10 may be realized by the virtual computer, or a part of the functional units of the settlement device 10 may be provided in another computer.

[0041] Also, in the present embodiment, the settlement processing unit 114 pays the amount obtained by subtracting the commission of the financial institution from the settlement amount to the account of the trading business operator. However, the processing may be performed to pay the full amount of the settlement amount to the trading business operator. In this case, the settlement processing unit 114 can perform the payment process to pay the commission of the financial institution related to the payment of the above settlement amount from the account of the operator of the present settlement agency service. Since the operator of the present settlement agency service can bear the commission of the financial institution using the sales commission of financial products as a source, the commission burden of the trading business operator can be reduced, and profit can also be recorded in the present settlement agency service.

[0042] Further, the settlement processing unit 114 may perform the payment process so that the commission of the financial institution related to the settlement amount is paid from the account of the seller of the financial product. Also in this case, since the seller of the financial product can pay the commission related to the above settlement using the sales commission as a source, the commission burden of the trading business operator can be reduced, and the sale of the financial product can be promoted.

[0043] Also, in this embodiment, it is assumed that the types of financial products to be purchased at the time of settlement are determined in advance. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the settlement amount approval unit 112 may allow the user to select the financial products to be purchased. In this case, the settlement amount approval unit 112 may present the interest rate and the risk of asset amount reduction for each selectable financial product.

[0044] In addition, the settlement amount approval unit 112 may identify the financial products that can be purchased for each transaction user, for example, depending on whether a credit investigation has been conducted or not, and automatically select the financial product with the highest expected interest rate according to the interest rate and risk among the financial products that can be purchased. In this case, the settlement device 10 may be provided with an interest rate storage unit that stores the interest rate and risk (for example, the ratio representing the possibility of principal loss, etc.) for each financial product, and the settlement amount approval unit 112 can calculate the expected value by multiplying the interest rate and risk by the amount of money for purchasing the financial product.

Explanation of Signs

[0045] 10 Settlement device 20 User terminal 30 Transaction device 40 Network 50 Financial server 111 Settlement request receiving unit 112 Settlement amount approval unit 113 Financial product purchase processing unit 114 Settlement processing unit 115 Settlement result sending unit 131 Setting database

Claims

[Claim 1] A payment device for settling a transaction amount relating to a commercial transaction, a financial product purchase processing unit which processes a process for a payer involved in the commercial transaction to purchase a financial product; a payment processing unit that performs processing to charge a user the total amount of the purchase amount of the financial product and the transaction amount; A payment device comprising:

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