Electronic settlement application and electronic settlement method

Abstract

To provide an electronic settlement application, a settlement server, an electronic settlement method, and a program configured to make electronic settlement that allows a user to specify units of electronic vouchers to be consumed.SOLUTION: An electronic settlement application provides an electronic settlement service in cooperation with a settlement server, the electronic settlement application causing a processor of a user terminal device to perform: a receiving process that receives a selection regarding units of vouchers to be consumed by a user when making electronic settlement using electronic vouchers with expiration date, the vouchers being purchasable in multiple units, defined with a predetermined amount for each unit, and available in a preset set store out of stores that provide the electronic settlement service; and a process that transmits the units of the vouchers to be consumed and the amount to be used for the vouchers obtained by multiplying the units of the vouchers to be consumed by the amount for each unit, to the settlement server, and transmits an electronic settlement request to the settlement server.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to an electronic payment application, a payment server, an electronic payment method, an electronic payment system, and a program.

Background Art

[0002] Conventionally, there has been an electronic payment service that issues an electronic voucher in an electronic payment service and executes electronic payment using the voucher at a store where the voucher can be used (Patent Document 1).

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] In the conventional technology, when executing electronic payment using a voucher, the entire available amount of the voucher is consumed at once, resulting in a decrease in the convenience for users.

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

Means for Solving the Problems

[0006] One aspect of the present invention is an electronic payment application that operates on a user terminal device and provides an electronic payment service in cooperation with a payment server. The processor of the user terminal device performs communication processing for communicating with the payment server, processing for reading a code image including store information, and is available at a preset store among stores where an expiration date is set and the electronic payment service can be used. When performing electronic payment using an electronic voucher that has a predetermined amount per unit and allows multiple units to be purchased, it accepts a selection from the user as to how many units of the voucher to consume. It also performs processing for transmitting to the payment server the number of units of the voucher to be consumed and the amount of voucher usage obtained by multiplying the number of units of the voucher to be consumed by the amount per unit, and transmitting a request for the electronic payment to the payment server. It is an electronic payment application that causes the above processing to be executed.

Advantages of the Invention

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

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0008]

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Mode for Carrying Out the Invention

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

[0010] [Electronic Payment Service] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of a configuration for realizing an electronic payment service. The electronic payment service is realized 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), etc. In the user terminal device 10, the payment application 20 is executed by a processor such as a CPU, and it operates to provide an electronic payment service to the user in cooperation with the payment server 100. The payment application 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, etc.

[0012] The first store terminal device 50 is installed in a store, for example. The first store terminal device 50 is a computer device having at least a product price acquisition function, an optical reading function, a program execution function, and a communication function. The first store terminal device 50 includes a so-called POS (Point of Sale) device, and the product price acquisition function and the optical reading function may be realized by the POS device. The store code image 60 is placed in the store and is a code image such as a QR code (registered trademark) printed on a paper or plastic medium. Note that the store code image 60 may be displayed by a display placed in the store (which may be a display of a terminal device such as a smartphone).

[0013] The second store terminal device 70 is used by the operator of the franchise store. The second store terminal device 70 is a smartphone, a tablet terminal, a personal computer, or the like. In the second store terminal device 70, the 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 of displaying a code image corresponding to the store code image or reading the code image displayed by the user terminal device 10 by executing the 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 the 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 notification (information for displaying a settlement completion screen) to the settlement application 20 (S8), and the settlement application 20 displays the 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 request to issue a one-time code to the payment server 100 (S11). The payment server 100 generates a one-time code (S12) and sends it to the payment application 20 (S13). The payment application 20 displays a code image such as a QR code or a barcode generated based on the one-time code (S14). The user holds (presents) the display surface of the user terminal device 10 in front of 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 phone 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] [Payment Server] FIG. 4 is a configuration diagram of the settlement server 100 according to the first embodiment. The settlement server 100 includes, for example, a communication unit 110, a settlement content providing unit 120, a settlement processing unit 130, an information management unit 140, and a storage unit 170. Components other than the communication unit 110 and the storage unit 170 are realized, for example, by a hardware processor such as a CPU executing a program (software). Some or all of these components may be realized by hardware (including a circuit unit; circuitry) such as LSI (Large Scale Integration), ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), FPGA (Field-Programmable Gate Array), or GPU (Graphics Processing Unit), or may be realized by cooperation between software and hardware. The program may be stored in advance in a storage device (a storage device including a non-transitory storage medium) such as an HDD (Hard Disk Drive) or a flash memory, or may be stored in a removable storage medium (a non-transitory storage medium) such as a DVD or a CD-ROM, and may be installed in the storage device when the storage medium is mounted on a drive device.

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

[0021] The communication unit 110 is a communication interface for connecting to the network NW. The communication unit 110 is, for example, a network interface card.

[0022] The settlement content providing unit 120 has, for example, the function of a web server and provides information (content) for displaying various screens of the electronic payment service to the user terminal device 10. The settlement content providing unit 120 appropriately reads necessary content from the settlement content information 174 and provides it to the user terminal device 10. The user terminal device 10 receives various inputs by the user in a state where the content is reproduced by the payment application 20, and transmits the above-mentioned settlement information and the like to the payment server 100.

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

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

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

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

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

[0028] When the remaining recharge balance is less than a certain amount, the payment processing unit 130 may execute auto - recharge. The user sets in advance on the payment app 20 whether to execute auto - recharge when the remaining recharge balance is less than a certain amount. For example, the setting is to execute auto - recharge of 5000 yen when it is less than 1000 yen. If the auto - recharge setting in the user information 172 is valid, auto - recharge becomes executable, and if it is invalid, auto - recharge is not executed. The payment processing unit 130 performs electronic payment and compares the remaining recharge balance with a certain amount every time the remaining recharge balance is updated. When it is determined that the remaining recharge balance is less than a certain amount, the payment processing unit 130 executes auto - recharge. When the payment processing unit 130 executes auto - recharge, it updates the user information 172 with the latest remaining recharge balance obtained by adding the amount of auto - recharge and the remaining recharge balance.

[0029] 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 a store URL, a second table 176B in which an affiliated store name and sales amount (described above) are associated with the affiliated store ID, and a third table 176C in which a store name is associated with the store ID. In addition to these information, the affiliated store / store information 176 may include information such as the category of the affiliated store or store, the location of the store, and the payment pattern.

[0030] 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.

[0031] The voucher management unit 150 manages information regarding vouchers owned by the user. The information regarding vouchers is stored in the voucher information 178. The voucher management unit 150 acquires information from the voucher information 178 as necessary and updates the information every time an electronic payment using the voucher is made.

[0032] The voucher is available at preset designated stores among the stores with an expiration date set and capable of using the electronic payment service. A predetermined amount is set for each unit, and multiple units can be purchased. For the voucher, the number of units that can be used in one electronic payment and the amount for each unit are predetermined. For example, it is determined that up to 2 vouchers worth 500 yen each can be used in one electronic payment. The predetermined amount and the number of units that can be used vary for each voucher and are determined by the issuing operator.

[0033] FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of voucher information 178. The voucher information 178 is information in which information such as unit price, remaining number of sheets, maximum number of sheets that can be used, expiration date, available stores, and available municipalities is associated with a voucher ID, which is, for example, the identification information of the voucher. The unit price is the amount of the unit price that can be used each time one voucher is used. The remaining number of sheets is the remaining number of vouchers. The maximum number of sheets that can be used is the number of units that can be used in one electronic payment. The expiration date indicates the deadline by which the voucher can be used. The available stores are the stores where the voucher can be used. The available local government is information corresponding to the available stores when the issuer of the voucher is a local government. The local government may be at the prefecture level, at the municipality level, or an autonomous organization such as a shopping street.

[0034] [Electronic Payment] When the settlement processing unit 130 acquires settlement information from the user terminal device 10 or the first store terminal device 50, it refers to the user information 172 to acquire the "settlement method setting" of the user. For users whose "settlement method setting" is set to "charge balance", the settlement processing unit 130 performs electronic payment as follows. The settlement processing unit 130 performs electronic payment, for example, by reducing the charge balance managed in association with the user ID and increasing the item value of the sales amount of the franchise store. The item value of the sales amount of the franchise store is not, for example, itself used as electronic money, and the amount corresponding to the item value of the sales amount is remitted to the bank account in a cycle according to the agreement between the franchise store and the electronic payment service.

[0035] For users for whom the "settings 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 payment service. The operator of the electronic payment service acts as a creditor and permits electronic settlement that does not depend on the remaining recharge amount within the scope of the post-payment limit. Note that in order to receive the post-payment service, it may be required to obtain a credit card provided by the operator of the electronic payment service. The amount used for post-payment is settled collectively for one month on the payment date of the following month, for example, by direct debit from a 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 performs processing to debit the settlement for the current month on the payment date of the following month as described above at the closing date, or requests the operator of the credit card company to perform such processing. If the settlement amount exceeds the available post-payment amount at the time of provisional settlement, an error notification is returned to the settlement application 20.

[0036] FIG. 8 is a sequence diagram showing an example of the general flow of electronic settlement using a voucher. The description will focus on the differences from FIG. 2. In the case of user scanning, 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 (S20). The settlement application 20 transmits first settlement information including the store URL and the account ID to the settlement server 100 (S21).

[0037] Next, the settlement server 100 searches for store information from the affiliated store ID and store ID corresponding to the store URL to obtain information on the affiliated store name and store name (S22). Next, the settlement server 100 identifies vouchers available at the store among the vouchers assigned to the user (S22#), and transmits the information obtained in S22 and S22# above to the settlement application 20 (S23).

[0038] The user selects a voucher on the screen where the affiliated store name, store name, and available vouchers are displayed, and inputs the settlement amount into the user terminal device 10 (S24). The user terminal device 10 transmits the information of the selected voucher and the input settlement amount to the settlement server 100 (S25). The settlement server 100 causes the settlement app 20 to display usage information indicating the usage amount, number of uses, etc. of the voucher (S26). Then, the user terminal device 10 generates second settlement information including at least the settlement amount and commitment information, and transmits it to the settlement server 100 (S27). The settlement server 100 performs an electronic settlement based on the received second settlement information (S28). The settlement server 100 performs an electronic settlement, for example, by subtracting the settlement amount from the amount available for use with the voucher. Then, the settlement server 100 transmits a settlement completion notification (information for displaying a settlement completion screen) to the settlement app 20 (S29), and the settlement app 20 displays a settlement completion screen (S30).

[0039] More specifically, in the process of S26, the user can freely select the number of vouchers (consumption quantity) to be used up to the maximum number of uses. The user selects the quantity while checking the voucher information displayed on the screen of the settlement app 20. The settlement app 20 may calculate and display the voucher usage amount each time the number of vouchers is selected. The user terminal device 10 transmits information related to the electronic settlement including the consumption quantity of the voucher selected by the user and the voucher usage amount to the settlement server 100.

[0040] FIG. 9 and FIG. 10 are diagrams showing an example of the display of the settlement app 20 when performing an electronic settlement by user scanning. When the user reads the store code image 60 including the store identification information presented at the store using the user terminal device 10, the settlement server 100 causes the interface screen IM1 to be displayed on the settlement app 20. The interface screen IM1 is a screen on which the purchase amount can be input. When an operation of selecting the area where the payment method in the area AR1 is displayed is performed, the interface screen IM2 is displayed.

[0041] The interface screen IM2 is a screen where the payment method can be selected. When the user wants to use a voucher and performs an operation of selecting the location displayed as "Gift Voucher" in the area AR2, the settlement server 100 causes the interface screen IM3 to be displayed on the settlement application 20.

[0042] The interface screen IM3 is a screen where the gift voucher to be used can be selected. The voucher management unit 150 causes the information of the gift vouchers owned by the user obtained from the voucher information 178 to be displayed in the area AR3. When the user performs an operation of selecting the location where the gift voucher to be used is displayed, the settlement server 100 causes the interface screen IM4 to be displayed on the settlement application 20.

[0043] The interface screen IM4 in FIG. 10 is a screen that can display the unit amount for using the gift voucher, the number of vouchers to be used, and the amount for using the gift voucher obtained by multiplying the unit amount by the number of vouchers to be used. The area AR4 displays "Amount of One Gift Voucher", "Number of Gift Vouchers Used", and "Amount for Using Gift Vouchers". "Amount of One Gift Voucher" displays the unit price of the gift voucher selected by the user on the interface screen IM3. "Number of Gift Vouchers Used" has, for example, up and down arrows displayed, and the user can operate the arrows to select the number of vouchers. "Amount for Using Gift Vouchers" is calculated by the settlement application 20 multiplying the unit price of the gift voucher according to the "Number of Gift Vouchers Used" operated by the user, and the amount is displayed. When the user confirms the displayed content and performs an operation of selecting "Next", the settlement server 100 causes the interface screen IM5 to be displayed on the settlement application 20.

[0044] The interface screen IM5 is a screen for the store to confirm whether the purchase amount is correct as the amount to be paid. When the user recognizes that the displayed amount is correct as the amount to be paid, the user selects "Pay", and the settlement server 100 causes the interface screen IM6 to be displayed on the settlement app 20. The interface screen IM6 is a screen where the details of the payment can be confirmed. Since the user made an electronic payment using a voucher, in the area AR5, it is displayed as "1000 yen commodity voucher in XX town, XX prefecture", indicating that the user used 1000 yen worth of the selected commodity voucher. In the area AR6, it is displayed as "Commodity voucher in XX town, XX prefecture", indicating that an electronic payment using a voucher was executed.

[0045] When the user has previously set to preferentially use vouchers in advance, when sending a request for electronic payment from the user terminal device 10 or the first store terminal device 50, the voucher is automatically applied without the user having to perform an operation of selecting the voucher. For example, the operations of the interface screens IM1 to IM3 in FIG. 9 are omitted, and the operation starts from the operation of the interface screen IM4 in FIG. 10.

[0046] In the case of electronic payment by store scan, the first store terminal device 50 reads the code image displayed by the settlement app 20, decodes the code image, and obtains a one-time code or the like. The first store terminal device 50 creates settlement information including the one-time code and transmits it to the settlement server 100. The settlement server 100 identifies the user based on the received information, and when the user has set to automatically apply a voucher, transmits the voucher information to the settlement app 20. When the user selects the number of vouchers to be used and agrees to the electronic payment while confirming the voucher information displayed on the settlement app 20, the settlement app 20 transmits the settlement information and the commitment information to the settlement server 100. The settlement server 100 performs an electronic payment based on the received settlement information and commitment information.

[0047] In addition, when the voucher is automatically applied, if there are multiple vouchers available at the store where the electronic payment is to be made, the settlement processing unit 130 preferentially applies the voucher with an amount (purchase amount > voucher usage amount) that can be processed for electronic payment only with voucher usage. When there are multiple vouchers with an amount (purchase amount > voucher usage amount) that can be processed for electronic payment only with voucher usage, the settlement processing unit 130 preferentially applies the voucher with an expiration date closer to the usage date. Furthermore, when there are multiple vouchers with the same expiration date, the settlement processing unit 130 automatically applies them for use starting from the voucher with an earlier date assigned to the user.

[0048] The settlement processing unit 130 may preferentially apply a voucher with a shorter number of days until the expiration date to perform electronic payment. For example, when the user owns a voucher with a 3 - month expiration date and a voucher with a 6 - month expiration date, the settlement processing unit 130 applies the voucher with a 3 - month expiration date to perform electronic payment. The settlement processing unit 130 may target vouchers with a number of days until the expiration date that is less than a certain number of days. The certain number of days may be arbitrarily determined.

[0049] The settlement processing unit 130 may perform automatic application of the voucher only when the user owns a voucher with a short number of days until the expiration date (for example, less than or equal to a certain number of days). When the user does not own a voucher with a short number of days until the expiration date, the settlement processing unit 130 performs electronic payment using a settlement method other than the settlement method using the voucher.

[0050] When the total of the used amount of the voucher and the available amount of the combined settlement method is less than the purchase amount, the settlement processing unit 130 may further combine another combined settlement method or increase the recharge amount by auto - recharge to execute the electronic payment.

[0051] When the purchase amount in the electronic payment is equal to or greater than the voucher usage amount, which is the product of the consumption quantity of the voucher selected by the user and the amount per unit, the settlement processing unit 130 performs the electronic payment by combining one of the settlement methods set by the user in advance, which is either the recharge balance in the electronic payment service or the deferred payment settlement by credit card.

[0052] FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing an example of the processing of the settlement server 100 when a user who has set the automatic application of vouchers performs an electronic payment. The settlement processing unit 130 acquires settlement information from the user terminal device 10 or the first store terminal device 50 (S100). The settlement information is information on the electronic payment that the user wishes to perform, including the store identification information.

[0053] The settlement processing unit 130 determines whether the store can use vouchers based on the acquired store identification information (S110). If the store cannot use vouchers, an electronic payment using the recharge balance or the like is performed (S120).

[0054] In the process of S110, if it is determined that the store where the electronic payment is to be made can use vouchers, the settlement processing unit 130 determines whether the user owns a valid voucher (S130). If the settlement processing unit 130 determines that the user does not own a valid voucher, an electronic payment using the recharge balance or the like is performed (S120).

[0055] If the settlement processing unit 130 determines that the user owns a valid voucher, it acquires information on the valid vouchers owned by the user from the voucher information 178 via the voucher management unit 150 and displays it on the settlement application 20 (S140). The user determines the consumption quantity of the voucher while checking the displayed voucher information.

[0056] When the settlement processing unit 130 obtains the consumption number of vouchers and the voucher usage amount from the settlement application 20 (S150), it determines whether the purchase amount exceeds the obtained voucher usage amount (S160). When the settlement processing unit 130 does not obtain the consumption number of vouchers and the voucher usage amount from the settlement application 20, it performs electronic settlement using a settlement method other than vouchers in the processing of S120.

[0057] In the process of S160, when the purchase amount is the same as the voucher usage amount, the settlement processing unit 130 performs electronic settlement using the voucher (S170). When the purchase amount exceeds the voucher usage amount, the settlement processing unit 130 performs electronic settlement using the voucher and other settlement methods in combination (S180). This process will be described with reference to FIG. 12.

[0058] FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing an example of the operation of the settlement server 100 when performing electronic settlement using a voucher and other settlement methods in combination. Note that the processing of this flowchart exemplifies the processing using the auto-charge setting, but the auto-charge setting may not be used in the electronic settlement using a voucher. In the figures after FIG. 12, the voucher usage amount is expressed as "VUA (Voucher Usage Amount)", the charge balance is expressed as "CB (Charge Balance)", the available amount for deferred payment is expressed as "DP (Deferred Payment)", the auto-charge amount is expressed as "AC (Auto Charge)", and the purchase amount is expressed as "PA (Purchase Amount)". It is assumed that the user sets the combined settlement method to settlement by the charge balance, sets the priority order of the payment methods as the charge balance and deferred payment in that order, and enables the auto-charge setting.

[0059] The settlement processing unit 130 determines whether the total amount of the voucher usage amount and the charge balance exceeds the purchase amount (VUA + CB > PA) (S200).

[0060] When the total amount of voucher usage amount and charge balance exceeds the purchase amount (VUA + CB > PA), the settlement processing unit 130 performs electronic settlement using the voucher usage amount and the charge balance in combination (S210). When the total amount of voucher usage amount and charge balance is less than the purchase amount, the settlement processing unit 130 determines whether the total amount of voucher usage amount, charge balance, and available post-payment amount is greater than or equal to the purchase amount (VUA + CB + DP ≧ PA) (S220).

[0061] When the total amount of voucher usage amount, charge balance, and available post-payment amount is greater than or equal to the purchase amount, the settlement processing unit 130 performs electronic settlement with the total amount of voucher usage amount, charge balance, and available post-payment amount (S230). When the total amount of voucher usage amount, charge balance, and available post-payment amount is less than the purchase amount, the settlement processing unit 130 executes auto-charge and determines whether the total amount of voucher usage amount, charge balance, available post-payment amount, and auto-charge amount is greater than or equal to the purchase amount (VUA + CB + DP + AC ≧ PA) (S240).

[0062] When the total amount of voucher usage amount, charge balance, available post-payment amount, and auto-charge amount is greater than or equal to the purchase amount, the settlement processing unit 130 performs electronic settlement with the total amount of voucher usage amount, charge balance, available post-payment amount, and auto-charge amount (S250). When the total amount of voucher usage amount, charge balance, available post-payment amount, and auto-charge amount is less than the purchase amount, the settlement processing unit 130 determines the settlement as failed and outputs an error notification to the settlement application 20 (S260). After the processing of S250 or the processing of S260, the processing of this flowchart ends and returns to the flowchart of FIG. 11.

[0063] FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing an example of the processing of the settlement server 100 that automatically applies a voucher when the user owns a voucher with a short number of days until the expiration date. The difference from the flowchart of FIG. 11 will be described.

[0064] In the process of S110, when it is determined that the store wishing to perform an electronic payment can use vouchers, the payment processing unit 130 determines whether the user owns a voucher with a short number of days until the expiration date (S130A). If the payment processing unit 130 determines that the user owns a voucher with a short number of days until the expiration date, it causes the payment app 20 to display the voucher information (S140). The user determines the number of vouchers to be consumed while checking the voucher information. If the payment processing unit 130 determines that the user does not own a voucher with a short number of days until the expiration date, it performs an electronic payment using a payment method other than the voucher (S120).

[0065] According to the embodiment described above, by determining the number of units of an electronic voucher for which a predetermined amount per unit is defined and multiple units can be purchased and performing an electronic payment, multiple electronic payments using the voucher can be made. Since multiple electronic payments can be made in units determined by the user, the convenience for the user is improved. In addition, the number of visits by the user to the store increases in order to use the voucher multiple times, and in particular, the number of opportunities to go out, such as for the elderly, can be increased.

[0066] As described above, the embodiments for implementing the present invention have been described using the embodiments. However, the present invention is not limited to such embodiments, and various modifications and substitutions can be made without departing from the gist of the present invention.

Explanation of Reference Numerals

[0067] 10 User terminal device 20 Payment app 100, 100A Payment server 120, 120A Payment content providing unit 122A Display control unit 130 Payment processing unit 140 Information management unit

Claims

1. An electronic payment application that operates on a user terminal device and provides an electronic payment service in cooperation with a payment server, comprising: in the processor of the user terminal device, a communication process for communicating with the payment server, a process for reading a code image including store information, a reception process for receiving a selection by the user of how many units of the voucher to consume when performing electronic payment using an electronic voucher that has an expiration date, is available at a preset store among stores where the electronic payment service can be used, has a predetermined amount per unit, and allows multiple units to be purchased, a process for transmitting to the payment server the number of units of the voucher to be consumed and the voucher usage amount obtained by multiplying the number of units of the voucher to be consumed by the amount per unit, and transmitting a request for the electronic payment to the payment server, an electronic payment application for causing the above to be executed.

2. An electronic payment application that operates on a user terminal device and provides an electronic payment service in cooperation with a payment server, comprising: in the processor of the user terminal device, a communication process for communicating with the payment server, a process for causing the user terminal device to display a code image including information that can identify the user, subsequently, a process for receiving from the payment server information on the voucher, which has an expiration date, is available at a preset store among stores where the electronic payment service can be used, has a predetermined amount per unit, and allows multiple units to be purchased, and can be used at the preset store, a reception process for receiving a selection by the user of how many units of the voucher to consume, a process for transmitting to the payment server the number of units of the voucher to be consumed and the voucher usage amount obtained by multiplying the number of units of the voucher to be consumed by the amount per unit, and transmitting a request for electronic payment to the payment server, an electronic payment application for causing the above to be executed.

3. A payment server that provides an electronic payment service in cooperation with an electronic payment application operating on a user terminal device, comprising: a communication unit that communicates with each of the user terminal device and a first store terminal device, a voucher management unit that manages information on an electronic voucher that has an expiration date, is available at a preset store among stores where the electronic payment service can be used, has a predetermined amount per unit, and allows multiple units to be purchased, When an electronic payment is requested from the user terminal device or the first store terminal device for the unit used by the voucher, a settlement processing unit that executes the electronic payment based on the voucher information transmitted from the electronic payment application; A settlement server comprising the same.

4. When the purchase amount in the electronic payment is equal to or greater than the voucher usage amount, which is the amount obtained by multiplying the number of vouchers consumed by the user by the amount per unit selected by the user, the settlement processing unit uses a settlement method set in advance by the user, and combines one of the settlement methods of the charge balance in the electronic payment service or the post-payment settlement by credit card to execute the electronic payment. The settlement server according to claim 3.

5. When there are a plurality of vouchers of the same amount that can be used, the settlement processing unit executes the electronic payment using the voucher with the expiration date closest to the usage date. The settlement server according to claim 3.

6. The settlement processing unit preferentially applies the voucher with the shorter number of days until the expiration date to perform the electronic payment. The settlement server according to claim 3.

7. An electronic payment method for providing an electronic payment service in cooperation with a settlement server in a user terminal device, comprising: In the processor of the user terminal device, A communication process for communicating with the settlement server; A process for reading a code image including store information; A reception process for accepting a selection by the user of how many units of the voucher to consume when performing an electronic payment using an electronic voucher that has an expiration date set, is available at a preset store among stores that can use the electronic payment service, has a predetermined amount per unit, and allows multiple units to be purchased; A process for transmitting to the settlement server the number of units consumed by the voucher and the voucher usage amount obtained by multiplying the number of units consumed by the voucher by the amount per unit, and transmitting a request for the electronic payment to the settlement server. An electronic payment method for executing the above.

8. An electronic payment method for providing an electronic payment service in cooperation with a settlement server in a user terminal device, comprising: In the processor of the user terminal device, A communication process for communicating with the settlement server; A process for displaying a code image including information that can identify the user on the user terminal device. After that, it is an electronic voucher that can be used at preset stores among the stores where an expiration date is set and the electronic payment service can be used, a predetermined amount is set for each unit, and multiple units can be purchased. The process of receiving information on the voucher that can be used at the preset store from the payment server, a reception process of accepting a selection by the user of how many units of the voucher to consume, a process of transmitting to the payment server the number of units of the voucher to be consumed and the voucher usage amount obtained by multiplying the number of units of the voucher to be consumed by the amount per unit, and transmitting a request for electronic payment to the payment server, An electronic payment method for executing the above.

9. A processor of a payment server that provides an electronic payment service in cooperation with an electronic payment application operating on a user terminal device, communicates with each of the user terminal device and the first store terminal device, manages information on an electronic voucher that can be used at preset stores among the stores where an expiration date is set and the electronic payment service can be used, a predetermined amount is set for each unit, and multiple units can be purchased, When an electronic payment is requested in which the number of units of the voucher to be used is specified by the user from the user terminal device or the first store terminal device, the electronic payment is executed based on the information on the voucher transmitted from the electronic payment application, An electronic payment method.

10. In a processor of a payment server that provides an electronic payment service in cooperation with an electronic payment application operating on a user terminal device, a process of communicating with each of the user terminal device and the first store terminal device, a process of managing information on an electronic voucher that can be used at preset stores among the stores where an expiration date is set and the electronic payment service can be used, a predetermined amount is set for each unit, and multiple units can be purchased, a process of executing the electronic payment based on the information on the voucher transmitted from the electronic payment application when an electronic payment is requested in which the number of units of the voucher to be used is specified by the user from the user terminal device or the first store terminal device, A program for causing the above to be executed.

11. An electronic payment application operating on a user terminal device, a payment server that provides an electronic payment service in cooperation with the electronic payment application, An electronic payment system comprising: The electronic payment application causes the processor of the user terminal device to perform communication processing for communicating with the payment server and processing for reading a code image including store information and, when performing electronic payment using an electronic voucher that has an expiration date, is available at preset designated stores that can use the electronic payment service, has a predetermined amount set for each unit, and allows multiple units to be purchased, accepts a selection by the user of how many units of the voucher to consume and transmits to the payment server the number of units of the voucher to be consumed and the voucher usage amount obtained by multiplying the number of units of the voucher to be consumed by the amount per unit, and transmits a request for the electronic payment to the payment server The payment server includes a communication unit that communicates with each of the user terminal device and the first store terminal device a voucher management unit that manages information on the voucher and a settlement processing unit that executes the electronic payment based on the information on the voucher transmitted from the electronic payment application when an electronic payment requested by the user to use the number of units of the voucher is received from the user terminal device or the first store terminal device An electronic payment system

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