Settlement management device, settlement management method and program

Abstract

To provide a device, method and program capable of further appropriately distinguishing electronic money of different types from each other and managing it in a management method of electronic money balance in an electronic settlement service.SOLUTION: A settlement management device for providing an electronic settlement service to a user in cooperation with an application program running on the user's terminal device includes: a settlement processing unit for implementing the electronic settlement service, the settlement processing unit having a settlement function using type 1 electronic money and / or type 2 electronic money; and a balance management unit that manages balances of the type 1 electronic money and the type 2 electronic money, where the balance management unit changes an upper limit of the balance of the type 1 electronic money that the user can hold in the electronic settlement service, according to a setting state regarding availability of the type 2 electronic money.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

Technical Field

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

Background Art

[0002] In recent years, in the electronic payment services provided by money transfer operators, due to the institutionalization of so-called "digital salary" (salary digital payment) in which funds derived from salaries are transferred as electronic money between a company's account and an employee's account in the form of electronic money, various studies have been conducted on the service provision method of digital salary (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] Conventionally, in an electronic payment service corresponding to salary digital payment, in the method of managing the electronic money balance, the distinction between electronic money derived from salary and other electronic money is not appropriate, which may reduce the convenience of electronic money. Further, not only in the service of salary digital payment, but also when starting a new type of electronic money service, the same problem may occur.

[0005] The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and one of the objects is to provide a settlement management device, a settlement management method, and a program that can more appropriately distinguish and manage different types of electronic money in the method of managing the electronic money balance in an electronic payment service.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0006] One aspect of the present invention is a settlement management device that provides an electronic payment service to a user in cooperation with an application program operating on the user's terminal device. The settlement management device includes a settlement processing unit that realizes the electronic payment service, the settlement processing unit having a settlement function using first-type electronic money and / or second-type electronic money, and a balance management unit that manages the balances of the first-type electronic money and the second-type electronic money. The balance management unit changes the upper limit amount of the balance of the first-type electronic money that the user can hold in the electronic payment service according to the state of settings regarding the availability of the second-type electronic money.

Effect of the Invention

[0007] According to one aspect of the present invention, it is possible to provide a settlement management device, a settlement management method, and a program that can more appropriately distinguish and manage salary-derived electronic money and other electronic money in a method for managing the balance of electronic money in an electronic payment service corresponding to salary digital payment.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0008]

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Embodiments for Carrying Out the Invention

[0009] Hereinafter, with reference to the drawings, embodiments of the settlement management device, settlement management method, and program of the present invention will be described. Various devices for providing services to users or performing internal analysis, such as "servers", "management devices", and "information providing devices" that appear below, 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 performs the operation 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 app. The electronic settlement service is a service that supports the settlement related to the purchase of goods and services in a store. A 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 party different from the operator of the electronic settlement service. In that case, when settling a purchase in the virtual store, it is controlled to transition to the interface screen of the electronic settlement service. In the electronic settlement service, a store is, for example, treated as belonging to a franchise (brand), and processing such as settlement when a purchase action is performed in the store is mainly carried out between the user and the franchise. Instead of this, processing such as settlement may be carried out between the user and the store.

[0010] [Electronic Payment Service] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of a configuration for realizing an electronic payment service. The electronic payment service is realized centering around a payment server 100. The payment 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, and the like.

[0011] The user terminal device 10 is, for example, a portable terminal device such as a smartphone or a tablet terminal. The user terminal device 10 is a computer device having at least an optical reading function, a communication function, a display function, an input reception function, and a program execution function. In the following description, the configurations for realizing these functions are respectively referred to as a camera, a communication device, a touch panel, a CPU (Central Processing Unit), and the like. In the user terminal device 10, the payment app 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 payment app 20 is installed in the user terminal device 10 from, for example, an application store, and controls a camera, a communication device, a touch panel, and the like.

[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 the franchise store operates. The interface 72 for the franchise store may be an application for the franchise store or a browser. The interface 72 for the franchise store 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 the franchise store.

[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, without particularly distinguishing this, 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, in 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 that can identify the store to the domain of the electronic payment service, and is associated with the franchise store ID, 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 store ID corresponding to the store URL, acquires information on the franchise store name and store name (S3), and transmits it 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 store name are displayed (S5). Then, the user terminal device 10 generates second settlement information including at least the settlement amount and transmits it to the settlement server 100 (S6). The settlement server 100 performs an electronic settlement based on the received second settlement information (S7). Then, the settlement server 100 transmits a settlement completion notice (information for displaying a settlement completion screen) to the settlement application 20 (S8), and the settlement application 20 displays a settlement completion screen (S9). 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 settlement amount information. In this case, the procedure for the user to input the settlement amount is omitted, and the settlement amount information is included in the first settlement information and transmitted to the settlement server 100. Information on the franchise store name and 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 one-time code issuance request 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 against 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 the one-time code, the payment amount, the franchise ID, the 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 the 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] [Digital Salary Service] In addition to the basic functions of the electronic payment service described above, the payment server 100 has a function of providing a digital salary service to users. The digital salary service is a service that enables users to receive part or all of their salary as electronic money that can be used in the electronic payment service based on the so-called "digital salary (salary digital payment)" system. The payment server 100 manages the electronic money received as salary (hereinafter referred to as "salary-derived electronic money") separately from other electronic money for users who have registered for the digital salary service. For example, in this embodiment, the payment server 100 manages the balance of salary-derived electronic money with a dedicated wallet different from the wallet for managing the balance of other electronic money. Hereinafter, the dedicated wallet for managing the balance of salary-derived electronic money is referred to as a "salary wallet", and the wallet for managing the balance of other electronic money with different origins is referred to as a "normal wallet".

[0020] For example, other electronic money may include multiple types of electronic money that can be classified according to relevant laws and regulations, deposit routes, usage purposes, purposes, etc. For example, other electronic money may be charged by the user through bank account withdrawals, credit card payments, etc., or may be transferred between users of the electronic payment service. Also, other electronic money may be classified based on the presence or absence of usage restrictions and the type of restrictions. For example, other electronic money may be classified into electronic money that can be transferred to an external financial institution account and electronic money that cannot be transferred to an external financial institution account. Also, other electronic money may include values such as points that can be used in the same way as electronic money. When other electronic money includes multiple types of electronic money, the balance of each type of electronic money may be managed with a different wallet for each type, or may be managed with a common wallet for some or all types.

[0021] As described above, the "other electronic money" in the present embodiment is a concept that includes any type of electronic money that should be managed separately from the electronic money derived from salary. However, for simplicity in the following description, it is assumed that the electronic money charged to the electronic payment account by the user through withdrawals from the bank account, credit card payments, etc. is the "other electronic money". Further, in the following description, the electronic money derived from salary may be referred to as "salary money", and the electronic money charged as other electronic money may be referred to as "ordinary money".

[0022] The partner bank server 200 is a computer system of a bank (hereinafter referred to as the "partner bank") that lends a virtual account for the digital salary service to the settlement server 100. The virtual account is a plurality of virtual accounts linked to the same bank account (hereinafter referred to as the settlement operator account) owned by the operator of the electronic payment service in the partner bank. The virtual account does not have the function of a normal bank account, but is unique number information for specifying the transfer destination, and functions as a dedicated account for receiving various transfers. The partner bank may be operated by an operator of a business entity different from the operator of the electronic payment service, or may be operated by an operator of the same business entity as the operator of the electronic payment service. The partner bank server 200 is composed of one or more computers and can communicate with the settlement server 100 and the payer server 300 via the network NW. The partner bank server 200 may have only the function of providing virtual accounts, or may have, in addition to this function, functions for providing general banking services such as deposits, withdrawals, transfers, and remittances.

[0023] More specifically, the virtual account provided by the partner bank server 200 to the settlement server 100 is used as a dedicated account for transfer deposits for each user of the digital salary service. The settlement server 100 registers and manages the account information of the dedicated account lent from the partner bank server 200 in association with the identification information of the user for the users of the digital salary service. The partner bank server 200 accepts the salary transfer from the payment source server 300 to the dedicated account for the target user. Actually, the user's salary is transferred to the settlement operator account, and the transferred amount is managed by the dedicated account of the user. The settlement server 100 deposits the electronic money of the amount set in advance by the user into the user's electronic settlement account from the salary transferred to the user's dedicated account. The settlement server 100 manages the electronic money deposited from the user's dedicated account as salary money separately from ordinary money as salary money.

[0024] In this way, in this embodiment, the case of separately managing the salary money deposited via the virtual account and the ordinary money deposited via other deposit routes will be described. However, it is also assumed that the business operator who pays the salary to the user has an account for the electronic payment service, and the transfer of salary money is directly performed between the electronic settlement accounts. In this case, when the settlement server 100 transfers money from the account of the business operator to the account of the user, the type of electronic money to be transferred (for example, salary money, ordinary money, etc.) may be selected, and the management of the electronic money may be configured to be separated for each type specified at the time of transfer.

[0025] The payment source server 300 is a computer system of a bank that has an account for managing the funds for the business operator who pays the salary to the user. The payment source server 300 is composed of one or more computers and can communicate with the partner bank server 200 via the network NW. The bank operating the payment source server 300 may be a partner bank or a bank other than the partner bank.

[0026] [Settlement 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, 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 an LSI (Large Scale Integration), an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), an FPGA (Field-Programmable Gate Array), or a GPU (Graphics Processing Unit), or may be realized by the cooperation of software and hardware. The program may be stored in advance in a storage device (a storage device having 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.

[0027] 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 balance limit information 178 is stored in the storage unit 170.

[0028] 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.

[0029] 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 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 payment information and the like to the payment server 100.

[0030] 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.

[0031] 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, charge balance, post-payment setting, post-payment limit, post-payment usage amount, post-payment available amount, payment method setting, bank account, credit card number, charge history information, settlement history information, digital salary setting, salary money balance, salary money balance exceeding limit amount, normal money balance exceeding limit amount, and other information 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 a 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 (it is not necessary to set). Similarly, the email address, and name, address, date of birth are also information that the user can optionally set (it is not necessary to 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.

[0032] 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 business operator (bank), remittances from the registered bank account, etc. The post-payment setting is information indicating whether the setting for enabling electronic settlement 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 usage amount is the amount of post-payment already used in the current month, and the available post-payment amount is the amount of post-payment available in the current month obtained by subtracting the post-payment usage 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 settlement method setting is setting information indicating whether the user conducts an electronic settlement using the remaining balance of the charge or a settlement 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 deposits for the electronic settlement service. The charge history information is the history of the user increasing the remaining balance of the charge by remitting money to the electronic settlement 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.

[0033] The digital salary setting is information indicating whether the usage settings for the digital salary service have been completed or not, and is set to either "completed" or "not completed". For example, when the settlement server 100 receives a user's application to use the digital salary service, it adds a salary wallet to the user's electronic settlement account and changes the digital salary setting to "completed". Also, for example, when the settlement server 100 receives a user's application to cancel the digital salary service, it deletes the salary wallet from the user's electronic settlement account and changes the digital salary setting to "not completed". In addition, if the balance of the salary wallet is not zero when the cancellation application is received, the settlement server 100 may transfer (withdraw) the balance of the salary wallet to the financial institution account specified by the user and then delete the salary wallet, or may prompt the user to set the balance of the salary wallet to zero before submitting the application.

[0034] The salary money balance is the remaining balance of the salary money held by the user of the digital salary service (i.e., the user whose digital salary setting is "completed"). That is, the salary money balance is the balance of the salary wallet. The amount exceeding the salary money balance limit is the amount of electronic money among the salary money generated in the user's electronic settlement account that cannot be stored in the salary wallet. More specifically, the amount exceeding the salary money balance limit is the amount exceeding the upper limit amount of the electronic money that can be stored in the salary wallet among the salary money generated in the user's electronic settlement account. Similarly, the amount exceeding the normal money balance limit is the amount of electronic money among the normal money generated in the user's electronic settlement account that cannot be stored in the normal wallet. More specifically, the amount exceeding the normal money balance limit is the amount exceeding the upper limit amount of the electronic money that can be stored in the normal wallet among the normal money generated in the user's electronic settlement account.

[0035] Generally, from the perspectives of relevant laws and regulations, convenience, and safety of services, there may be an upper limit on the amount of electronic money that users can hold in their electronic payment accounts. Due to such restrictions, basically, in electronic payment services, the use of various services is restricted so that the balance of electronic money does not exceed the upper limit amount. For example, a recharge operation that would cause the wallet balance to exceed the upper limit amount after recharge is restricted from being performed. However, even when such service usage restrictions are imposed, depending on the timing of refund reasons such as returns, electronic money exceeding the upper limit amount of the wallet may occur. For example, at the timing of refund, if the difference between the wallet balance and the upper limit amount is smaller than the refund amount, a situation may occur where a part of the refund amount cannot be returned to the wallet. The above-mentioned excess amounts over the upper limit of the salary money balance and the normal money balance are managed in order to appropriately handle the exceptional excess electronic money that may occur in this way.

[0036] As for the handling of the excess electronic money, for example, when the balance of the wallet is less than the upper limit amount, the settlement server 100 may be configured to return part or all of the excess amount to the wallet. More specifically, when the balance of the wallet is less than the upper limit amount, the settlement server 100 calculates the difference between the upper limit amount and the balance (the available space in the wallet balance), subtracts the amount equal to or less than the difference from the excess amount to reduce the amount managed as the excess amount, and may be configured to add (return) the reduced amount to the wallet balance. When the difference exceeds the total amount of the excess amount, the settlement server 100 may be configured to return the entire excess amount to the wallet balance. When the difference does not exceed the total amount of the excess amount, the settlement server 100 may be configured to return the amount equal to or less than the difference to the wallet. When the difference exceeds a predetermined threshold value, the settlement server 100 may be configured to return the amount equal to the threshold value to the wallet.

[0037] Also, for example, the settlement server 100 may be configured to withdraw the excess amount to the financial institution account specified by the user. In this case, the settlement server 100 may be configured to automatically perform the withdrawal based on the user's prior settings, or may request approval from the user for the withdrawal of the excess amount and be configured to perform the withdrawal when an approval operation for the request is input. Also, for example, the settlement server 100 may be configured to notify the user to prompt the withdrawal of the excess amount.

[0038] FIG. 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 the 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 is associated with the store ID. In addition to these pieces of 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 settlement pattern.

[0039] The information management unit 140 manages the user information 172 and the affiliated store / store information 176 based on the information acquired from the user terminal device 10 and the second store terminal device 70. The information management unit 140 adds, edits, deletes, etc. new records for the user information 172 and the affiliated store / store information 176.

[0040] [Electronic Settlement] 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. For users whose "settlement method setting" is set to "charge balance", the settlement processing unit 130 performs electronic settlement as follows. For example, the settlement processing unit 130 performs electronic settlement by decreasing the charge balance managed in association with the user ID and increasing the item value of the sales amount of the affiliated store. The item value of the sales amount of the affiliated 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 affiliated store and the electronic settlement service.

[0041] For users whose "setting information" is set to "post-payment", 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, and at the closing date, performs the process of debiting the settlement for the current month to 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 app 20.

[0042] [Management of Salary Wallet and Normal Wallet] The information management department 140 manages the balance of electronic money for each of the salary wallet and the normal wallet based on the user information 172 and the balance limit information 178. For example, the information management department 140 has a function of depositing (charging) a specified amount into the user's normal wallet in cooperation with the payment application 20. More specifically, the information management department 140 receives the specification of the amount to be charged and the source of funds via the payment application 20, withdraws the specified amount from the specified source of funds, and adds it to the balance (charge balance) of the normal wallet, thereby being able to charge electronic money to the user's electronic payment account. The source of funds may be a bank account or a credit limit of a credit card.

[0043] In addition, when there is a salary transfer to the dedicated account (virtual account) of the user managed by the partner bank server 200 from the payment source server 300 for the user of the digital salary service, the information management department 140 charges (deposits) part or all of the salary as salary money into the salary wallet of the user. Also, when a payment occurs that uses the wallet balance, the information management department 140 reduces the wallet balance by the amount of the payment amount to complete the payment transaction. Note that for the payment, either the balance of the salary wallet or the balance of the normal wallet may be used, or both may be used. Also, settings such as which wallet balance to use and how to use the balances of both wallets may be configured so that the user can specify them at the time of payment, or may be configured to be determined based on pre-registered setting information.

[0044] In addition, the Information Management Department 140 has a function of accepting applications for use and cancellation of the digital salary service. For example, when the Information Management Department 140 accepts an application for use of the digital salary service, it executes a start-of-use process based on the balance limit information 178 to open a salary wallet in the user's electronic payment account. Also, for example, when the Information Management Department 140 accepts an application for cancellation of the digital salary service, it executes a cancellation process based on the balance limit information 178 to close the salary wallet in the user's electronic payment account. Details of the start-of-use process and the cancellation process will be described later.

[0045] Figure 7 is a diagram showing an example of the content of the balance limit information 178. The balance limit information 178 is managed, for example, as a table in which the balance limit amount for each wallet corresponding to the type is associated with each type of digital salary setting ("completed" or "incomplete"). The balance limit information 178 is referred to as a common set value (default value) for all users of the digital salary service. The settlement server 100 can recognize the value of the upper limit amount to be applied to each user by associating the user information 172 with the balance limit information 178 using the value of the digital salary setting. Figure 7 shows, for a user who uses the digital salary service (a user whose digital salary setting is "completed"), the balance limit amount of the salary wallet and the balance limit amount of the normal wallet are set to 200,000 yen and 800,000 yen respectively, and for a user who does not use the digital salary service (a user whose digital salary setting is "incomplete"), the balance limit amount of the normal wallet is set to 1,000,000 yen. This is an example of the setting of the balance limit information 178 in this case.

[0046] Note that in Fig. 7, an example is shown where the total of the upper limit amount of the balance in the salary wallet and the upper limit amount of the balance in the normal wallet when the digital salary setting is "completed" is 1 million yen, and the upper limit amount of the balance in the normal wallet when the digital salary setting is "not yet" is 1 million yen. However, this example is an example when the upper limit amount of the total electronic money balance available in the user's electronic payment account is set to 1 million yen. This amount may be arbitrarily changed at the discretion of the service provider (operation policy, service conditions, etc.) as long as it complies with relevant laws and regulations. Also, the distribution of the upper limit amount of the balance in the salary wallet and the normal wallet (200,000 yen and 800,000 yen in the example of Fig. 7) with respect to the total upper limit amount (1 million yen in the example of Fig. 7) may be arbitrarily changed at the discretion of the service provider as long as it complies with relevant laws and regulations.

[0047] [Processing for Starting Use of Digital Salary Service] Fig. 8 is a diagram showing an overview of the processing for starting use of the digital salary service. In Fig. 8, the left diagram represents the state of the wallet before starting use of the digital salary service, and the right diagram represents the state of the wallet after starting use of the digital salary service. The processing for starting use of the digital salary service is processing for switching the configuration of the wallet in the user's electronic payment account from the configuration before starting use in the left diagram to the configuration after starting use in the right diagram. More specifically, the processing for starting use is to open a salary wallet and set a new upper limit amount individually for each of the opened salary wallet and the existing normal wallet. Even more specifically, the processing for starting use corresponds to initializing the digital salary setting, the balance in the salary wallet, the amount exceeding the upper limit of the balance in the salary wallet, and the amount exceeding the upper limit of the balance in the normal wallet in the user information 172 according to the new upper limit amount. Thereby, it becomes possible to manage the amount exceeding the upper limit individually for the salary wallet and the normal wallet.

[0048] FIG. 9 is a sequence chart showing an example of the flow of the start-up process of the digital salary service. First, in the user terminal device 10, the user operates the payment application 20 to apply for the use of the digital salary service (S101). The payment application 20 transmits a processing request for the application to the payment server 100 (S102). Upon receiving the processing request in S102, the payment server 100 determines whether the user satisfies the application conditions for the digital salary service (S103). Here, for example, regarding the provision or use of the digital salary service, it can be confirmed that the user satisfies the requirements stipulated by the operator of the electronic payment service and the legal requirements. For example, it is confirmed that the user has reached the prescribed age and has undergone identity verification.

[0049] When it is confirmed that the user satisfies the application conditions, subsequently, the payment server 100 refers to the balance of the electronic money held in the normal wallet of the user and determines whether the balance is less than or equal to the new upper limit amount applied after the start of the service provision (S104). If the balance of the normal wallet exceeds the new upper limit amount at this time, the payment server 100 prompts the user to withdraw money so that the balance of the normal wallet becomes less than or equal to the new upper limit amount (S105). If the balance of the normal wallet is less than or equal to the new upper limit amount, the start-up setting of the salary wallet is performed (S106). More specifically, the payment server 100 changes the digital salary setting to "completed" to set new upper limit amounts for the salary wallet and the normal wallet respectively, and initializes the salary wallet balance and the excess amount over the salary wallet balance upper limit to 0.

[0050] In addition, in S105, in addition to prompting the user to withdraw money, the settlement server 100 may explicitly notify that the remaining balance of the current normal wallet exceeds the new upper limit amount applied after the start of service provision. Also, in S105, in addition to prompting the user to withdraw money, the settlement server 100 may notify the amount by which the remaining balance of the current normal wallet exceeds the new upper limit amount (i.e., the minimum amount required for withdrawal). Also, in S105, in addition to prompting the user to withdraw money, the settlement server 100 may notify link information to a withdrawal screen that accepts the withdrawal operation of electronic money. Also, the settlement server 100 may be configured to execute the withdrawal process in S105 on behalf of the user. In this case, for example, in S105, the settlement server 100 may cause the settlement application 20 to display a confirmation screen that requests confirmation of whether to perform a withdrawal to the bank account registered in advance by the user as the withdrawal destination, and may be configured to execute the withdrawal process when the confirmation of the user is obtained. When the user has registered a plurality of bank accounts, the settlement server 100 may accept a selection operation of the bank account to be the transfer destination on the confirmation screen. On the other hand, when the remaining balance of the current normal wallet exceeds the new upper limit amount, the settlement server 100 may be configured to make the digital salary service unavailable, or may be configured to notify the user that the service is unavailable. Also, it may be configured to include that the remaining balance of the normal wallet at the time of application is less than or equal to the new upper limit amount as an application condition, not accept the application when the remaining balance of the normal wallet exceeds the new upper limit amount, and accept the application when the remaining balance of the normal wallet is less than or equal to the new upper limit amount.

[0051] When the setting for starting the use of the salary wallet is completed, the settlement server 100 starts providing settlement content corresponding to the digital salary service to the settlement application 20 (S107). In the user terminal device 10, the settlement application 20 appropriately acquires and displays the settlement content corresponding to the digital salary service from the settlement server 100 (S108), whereby it becomes possible to provide the user with a user interface for the digital salary service.

[0052] Figure 10 is an image diagram of salary wallet opening in the start-of-use process. The upper diagram in Figure 10 represents the image of salary wallet opening when the balance of the normal wallet before the start of using the digital salary service is below the new upper limit amount. In the example of Figure 10, the balance of the normal wallet is 600,000 yen with respect to the upper limit amount of 800,000 yen after the change. In this case, since the balance of the normal wallet is below the new upper limit amount after the change, the upper limit amount of the balance of the normal wallet can be changed without decreasing the balance by withdrawal. In this case, the balance of the normal wallet remains 600,000 yen, and the use of the digital salary service starts with a margin of 200,000 yen with respect to the new upper limit amount of 800,000 yen.

[0053] On the other hand, the lower diagram in Figure 10 represents the image of salary wallet opening when the balance of the normal wallet before the start of using the digital salary service exceeds the new upper limit amount. In the example of Figure 10, the balance of the normal wallet (the upper limit amount is 1,000,000 yen) is 900,000 yen with respect to the upper limit amount of 800,000 yen after the change. In this case, since the balance of the normal wallet exceeds the new upper limit amount after the change, in order to change the upper limit amount of the balance of the normal wallet, it is necessary to decrease the balance by withdrawal of 100,000 yen or more. The example of Figure 10 shows the case where the user withdraws 100,000 yen in order to change the upper limit amount of the balance of the normal wallet. As a result, the balance of the normal wallet decreases to 800,000 yen, so the upper limit amount of the balance of the normal wallet can be changed from 1,000,000 yen to 800,000 yen. In this case, the balance of the normal wallet is 800,000 yen, and the use of the digital salary service starts with the electronic money held up to the new upper limit amount of 800,000 yen.

[0054] [Cancellation Process of Digital Salary Service] FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an outline of the cancellation process of the digital salary service. In FIG. 11, the left diagram represents the state of the wallet before canceling the digital salary service (during service use), and the right diagram represents the state of the wallet after canceling the digital salary service. The cancellation process of the digital salary service is a process for switching the configuration of the wallet in the user's electronic payment account from the configuration during service use in the left diagram to the configuration after cancellation in the right diagram. More specifically, the cancellation process closes the salary wallet and returns the upper limit amount of the balance in the normal wallet to the upper limit amount before the start of using the digital salary service (hereinafter referred to as the "original upper limit amount"). Even more specifically, the cancellation process corresponds to initializing the digital salary setting, the salary wallet balance, the amount exceeding the upper limit of the salary wallet balance, and the amount exceeding the upper limit of the normal wallet balance in the user information 172 according to the new upper limit amount. As a result, it becomes possible to return to the state where only the normal wallet is used with the original upper limit amount.

[0055] FIG. 12 is a sequence chart showing an example of the flow of the cancellation process of the digital salary service. First, on the user terminal device 10, the user operates the payment application 20 to apply for cancellation of the digital salary service (S201). The payment application 20 transmits a processing request for the cancellation application to the payment server 100 (S202). The payment server 100 receives the processing request in S202 and determines whether the user satisfies the cancellation conditions of the digital salary service (S203). Here, for example, regarding the provision or use of the digital salary service, it can be confirmed that the user satisfies the requirements stipulated by the operator of the electronic payment service or the legal requirements. For example, it is confirmed that the user has reached the specified age or has performed identity verification.

[0056] When it is confirmed that the user satisfies the cancellation conditions, subsequently, the payment server 100 refers to the balance of the electronic money held by the user in the salary wallet and determines whether the balance is 0 (S204). Here, if the balance of the salary wallet is greater than 0, the payment server 100 prompts the user to withdraw the entire balance of the salary wallet (S205). If the balance of the salary wallet is 0, the payment server 100 performs the closing setting of the salary wallet (S206). More specifically, the payment server 100 sets the original balance upper limit amount in the normal wallet by changing the digital salary setting to "not set". Here, if there is an amount exceeding the upper limit in the normal wallet before cancellation, the payment server 100 may return part or all of the excess amount to the normal wallet according to the changed upper limit amount, or may withdraw the amount to the financial institution account designated by the user in advance.

[0057] In addition, in S205, in addition to prompting the user to withdraw money, the settlement server 100 may explicitly notify the user that there is a balance in the salary wallet. Also, in S205, in addition to prompting the user to withdraw money, the settlement server 100 may notify the user of the current balance in the salary wallet (i.e., the amount of money that needs to be withdrawn). Further, in S205, in addition to prompting the user to withdraw money, the settlement server 100 may notify the user of link information to a withdrawal screen that accepts the withdrawal operation of electronic money. Also, the settlement server 100 may be configured to execute the withdrawal process in S205 on behalf of the user. In this case, for example, in S205, the settlement server 100 may display on the settlement app 20 a confirmation screen that requests confirmation of whether to perform a withdrawal to the bank account information registered in advance by the user as the withdrawal destination, and may be configured to execute the withdrawal process when the user's confirmation is obtained. When the user has registered multiple bank accounts, the settlement server 100 may accept a selection operation of the bank account to be transferred to on the confirmation screen. On the other hand, when there is a balance in the current salary wallet, the settlement server 100 may be configured to make the digital salary service non-cancellable, or may be configured to notify the user that it is non-cancellable. Also, the condition that the balance in the salary wallet at the time of cancellation application is 0 may be included in the cancellation application conditions, and the cancellation application may not be accepted when the balance in the salary wallet is not 0, and the cancellation application may be accepted when the balance in the salary wallet is 0.

[0058] When the closing setting of the salary wallet is completed, the settlement server 100 starts providing settlement content that does not include the digital salary service to the settlement app 20 (S207). In the user terminal device 10, by appropriately acquiring and displaying, by the settlement app 20, settlement content that does not include the digital salary service from the settlement server 100 (S208), it becomes possible to provide the user with a user interface of an electronic settlement service that does not include the digital salary service.

[0059] FIG. 13 is an image diagram of closing the salary wallet in the cancellation process. FIG. 13 represents an image of closing the salary wallet when the balance in the salary wallet is not zero before canceling the digital salary service. In the example of FIG. 13, electronic money is held in the salary wallet before closing up to the upper limit amount (2,000,000 yen). In this case, in order to close the salary wallet, it is necessary to withdraw the full amount of the balance in the salary wallet (here, 2,000,000 yen) to make it zero. Therefore, the settlement server 100 prompts the user to withdraw the full balance from the salary wallet. For example, the settlement server 100 causes the settlement application 20 to display a message prompting the withdrawal. After the user withdraws the full balance of the salary wallet, the settlement server 100 closes the salary wallet and changes the upper limit amount of the balance in the normal wallet back to the original upper limit amount. In this case, the balance in the normal wallet remains 6,000,000 yen, and there is a surplus of 4,000,000 yen with respect to the original upper limit amount of 10,000,000 yen, and the cancellation of the digital salary service is completed.

[0060] Regarding transactions conducted before canceling the digital salary service, if a refund to the salary wallet occurs after canceling the digital salary service, the settlement server 100 may be configured to return the refund amount that should originally be returned to the salary wallet to the normal wallet.

[0061] According to the embodiment described above, in the electronic payment service corresponding to salary digital payment, it is possible to appropriately distinguish salary money from other electronic money, and the convenience of electronic money can be improved.

[0062] <Modification Example> In the above-described embodiment, in the electronic payment service corresponding to the digital salary service, the case where the upper limit amounts of the balances of the two types of wallets, the salary wallet and the normal wallet, are set and managed independently and individually has been described. On the other hand, as described above, the electronic money managed in the normal wallet may include a plurality of types of electronic money that can be classified according to relevant laws and regulations, deposit routes, usage purposes, purposes, etc. That is, in addition to the salary wallet, a plurality of normal wallets may be provided in the electronic payment account. In this case, the upper limit amounts of the balances of the salary wallet and the plurality of normal wallets may be set so that their total becomes the upper limit amount for the entire electronic payment account.

[0063] Also, as described above, in the above-described embodiment, in the electronic payment service corresponding to the digital salary service, the case where salary money is managed as a different type of electronic money from normal money has been described. However, the electronic money managed separately from normal money is not limited to that derived from salary. The electronic money managed separately from normal money may be any type of electronic money as long as it should be managed separately according to relevant laws and regulations, deposit routes, usage purposes, purposes, etc., and it is considered convenient to manage it separately. The content of the above-described embodiment can be similarly applied to electronic money other than salary money that is managed in a different wallet in the same manner as salary money.

[0064] In the above embodiment, the case where the upper limit amount of the balance applicable to each of the two types of wallets, namely the salary wallet and the normal wallet, is set and registered individually in advance by the operator of the electronic payment service has been described. However, the upper limit amount of the balance of the salary wallet or the upper limit amount of the balance of the normal wallet may be determined by calculation. For example, the operator of the electronic payment service may register the upper limit amount of the balance applicable to the salary wallet in the digital salary service in the settlement server 100. In this case, the settlement server 100 may be configured to subtract the upper limit amount of the balance of the salary wallet from the upper limit amount of the entire electronic payment account to determine the upper limit amount of the balance of the normal wallet. Conversely, the operator of the electronic payment service may register the upper limit amount of the balance applicable to the normal wallet in the digital salary service in the settlement server 100. In this case, the settlement server 100 may be configured to subtract the upper limit amount of the balance of the normal wallet from the upper limit amount of the entire electronic payment account to determine the upper limit amount of the balance of the salary wallet. Further, for example, the operator of the electronic payment service may register the ratio for each upper limit amount of the balance applicable to the salary wallet and the normal wallet in the digital salary service. In this case, the settlement server 100 may be configured to allocate the upper limit amount of the entire electronic payment account according to the ratio to determine the upper limit amounts of the balances of the salary wallet and the normal wallet.

[0065] In the above-described embodiment, the case where the upper limit amount settings of the salary wallet and the normal wallet are changed by changing the digital salary setting has been described. However, the process of changing the upper limit amount of the balance in the normal wallet (first process) and the process of changing the upper limit amount of the balance in the salary wallet (second process) may be configured as independent processes. Also, the execution entity of the first process and the execution entity of the second process in the settlement server 100 may be configured separately. The execution entity may be divided at the functional unit level, or may be divided at the thread level or the process level. In this case, the settlement server 100 may be configured to receive an application for using the digital salary service and execute the second process, and execute the first process in response to the execution of the second process. That is, the information management unit 140 may be configured to change the upper limit amount of the balance in the normal wallet in response to the upper limit amount of the balance in the salary wallet being changed (changed). Similarly, the process of changing the digital salary setting and the process of changing the upper limit amount of the balance in each wallet may be configured as independent processes. That is, the information management unit 140 may be configured to change the upper limit amount of the balance in the salary wallet and / or the upper limit amount of the balance in the normal wallet in response to the digital salary setting being changed. Also, since the digital salary setting can be said to be a setting for changing the usability of salary money, in this sense, the information management unit 140 in this case can be said to change the upper limit amount of the balance in the normal wallet according to the setting state of the digital salary setting.

[0066] As described above, the embodiments for carrying out 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 Reference Numerals

[0067] 10 User terminal device 20 Settlement application 50 First store terminal device 60 Store code image 70 Second store terminal device Interface for 72 franchise stores 100 Payment server 110 Communication department 120 Payment content providing department 130 Payment processing department 140 Information management department 170 Memory department 172 User information 174 Payment content information 176 Franchise / store information 178 Balance limit information 200 Partner bank server 300 Payer server

Claims

1. A settlement management device that provides an electronic payment service to a user in cooperation with an application program operating on the user's terminal device, A settlement processing unit that realizes the electronic payment service, the settlement processing unit having a settlement function using first-type electronic money and / or second-type electronic money, A balance management unit that manages the balances of the first-type electronic money and the second-type electronic money, Comprising, The balance management unit changes the upper limit amount of the balance of the first-type electronic money that the user can hold in the electronic payment service according to the setting status regarding the availability of the second-type electronic money. Settlement management device.

2. The second-type electronic money becomes available upon a user's application for use, When the balance management unit receives the application for use from the terminal device, it changes the content of the setting to a content that enables the use of the second-type electronic money. The settlement management device according to Claim 1.

3. When the balance management unit receives the application for use, if the balance of the first-type electronic money is less than or equal to the changed upper limit amount of the balance, the balance management unit changes the upper limit amount of the balance of the first-type electronic money. The settlement management device according to Claim 2.

4. When the balance management unit receives the application for use, if the balance of the first-type electronic money exceeds the changed upper limit amount of the balance, the balance management unit issues a notice to prompt the user to make a withdrawal so that the balance of the first-type electronic money becomes less than or equal to the changed upper limit amount of the balance. The settlement management device according to Claim 3.

5. When the balance management unit receives the application for use, if the balance of the first-type electronic money exceeds the changed upper limit amount of the balance, the balance management unit performs a process of withdrawing part or all of the balance of the first-type electronic money to a financial institution account designated in advance by the user so that the balance of the first-type electronic money becomes less than or equal to the changed upper limit amount of the balance. The settlement management device according to Claim 3.

6. The second-type electronic money becomes unavailable upon a user's cancellation application, When the balance management unit receives the cancellation application from the terminal device, it changes the content of the setting to a content that makes the second-type electronic money unavailable. The settlement management device according to Claim 1.

7. When the balance management unit receives the cancellation application, if the balance of the second type of electronic money is 0, it changes the upper limit amount of the balance of the first type of electronic money. The settlement management device according to claim 6.

8. When the balance management unit receives the cancellation application, if the balance of the second type of electronic money is greater than 0, it issues a notice to prompt the user to withdraw the entire amount of the balance of the second type of electronic money. The settlement management device according to claim 7.

9. When the balance management unit receives the cancellation application, if the balance of the second type of electronic money is greater than 0, it performs a process of withdrawing the entire amount of the balance of the second type of electronic money to a financial institution account designated in advance by the user. The settlement management device according to claim 7.

10. When the second type of electronic money is available, the sum of the upper limit amount of the balance of the first type of electronic money and the upper limit amount of the balance of the first type of electronic money is equal to the upper limit amount of the balance of the first type of electronic money when the second type of electronic money is not available. The settlement management device according to claim 1.

11. The second type of electronic money is received by the user as electronic money that can be used in the electronic payment service for part or all of the cash paid as salary. The settlement management device according to claim 1.

12. A settlement management device that provides an electronic payment service to a user in cooperation with an application program operating on the user's terminal device. A function for realizing the electronic payment service, a settlement process for enabling settlement using the first type of electronic money or / and the second type of electronic money. A balance management process for managing the balances of the first type of electronic money and the second type of electronic money. A settlement management method for executing: The balance management process changes the upper limit amount of the balance of the first type of electronic money that the user can hold in the electronic payment service according to the setting status regarding the availability of the second type of electronic money. Settlement management method.

13. In cooperation with an application program operating on the user's terminal device, to the settlement management device that provides the user with an electronic payment service. A settlement process for realizing a function for realizing the electronic payment service, the function enabling settlement using first-type electronic money and / or second-type electronic money, A balance management process for managing the balances of the first-type electronic money and the second-type electronic money, A program for causing the above to be executed, wherein the balance management process changes the upper limit amount of the balance of the first-type electronic money that a user can hold in the electronic payment service according to the state of settings regarding the availability of the second-type electronic money. Program.

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