Settlement server, settlement method, and program

Abstract

To provide a settlement server, a settlement method, and a program configured to make multiple electronic settlements using electronic vouchers, while determining units of the electronic vouchers to be consumed, the vouchers being defined with a predetermined amount for each unit and purchasable in multiple units.SOLUTION: A settlement server which provides an electronic settlement service includes: a voucher management unit which manages information on 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 settlement processing unit which executes electronic settlement while determining units of the vouchers to be consumed, when a request for the electronic settlement using the vouchers is made from a user terminal device or a first store terminal device.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Description

Technical Field

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

Background Art

[0002] Conventionally, in electronic payment services, there is an electronic payment service that issues an electronic voucher and performs electronic payment using the voucher at stores where the voucher can be used.

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 performing an electronic payment using a voucher, the entire available amount of the voucher is consumed at once, resulting in a decrease in user convenience.

[0005] In view of such circumstances, the present invention is made, and a settlement server, a settlement method, and a program are provided that can perform multiple electronic payments using a voucher by determining how many units of an electronic voucher with a predetermined amount per unit and purchasable in multiple units are consumed per unit and then performing the electronic payment. This is one of the objectives.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0006] One aspect of the present invention is a settlement server that provides an electronic payment service in cooperation with a payment application operating on a user terminal device, the settlement server including: 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; and a settlement processing unit that determines how many units of the voucher are to be consumed and executes the electronic payment when an electronic payment using the voucher is requested from the user terminal device or the first store terminal device.

Advantages of the Invention

[0007] According to one aspect of the present invention, it is possible to provide a settlement server, a settlement method, and a program that can determine how many units of an electronic voucher, for which a predetermined amount per unit is determined and multiple units can be purchased, are to be consumed and execute an electronic payment.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0008]

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MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

[0009] Hereinafter, with reference to the drawings, embodiments of the settlement server, settlement method, and program of the present invention will be described. Various devices such as "servers", "management devices", and "information providing devices" 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 settlement server cooperate to provide an electronic settlement service. In the following description, the application program is referred to as a settlement application. The electronic settlement service is a service that supports the settlement related to the purchase of goods and services in a store. 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 settlement service. In that case, when making a purchase settlement in the virtual store, it is controlled to transition to the interface screen of the electronic settlement service. In the electronic settlement service, a store is, for example, treated as belonging to a franchise (brand), and processes such as settlement when a purchase action is performed in the store are mainly carried out between the user and the franchise. Instead of this, processes such as settlement may be carried out between the user and the store.

[0010] [Electronic Settlement Service] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of a configuration for realizing an electronic settlement service. The electronic settlement service is realized centering around a settlement server 100. The settlement server 100 communicates with, for example, each of 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 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 payment application 20 is activated decodes the store code image 60 by means of an optical reading function (S1). The store code image 60 contains information on the store URL (Uniform Resource Locator). This store URL is obtained by adding information capable of identifying the store to the domain of the electronic payment service, and is associated with a franchise store ID, a store ID, etc. in the payment server 100 (described later). The payment application 20 transmits first payment information including the store URL and the account ID to the payment server 100 (S2). The payment server 100 searches for store information (described later) from the franchise store ID and the store ID corresponding to the store URL, acquires information on the franchise store name and the store name (S3), and transmits it to the payment application 20 (S4). The user inputs the payment amount into the user terminal device 10 on the screen where the franchise store name and the store name are displayed (S5). Then, the user terminal device 10 generates second payment information including at least the payment amount and transmits it to the payment server 100 (S6). The payment server 100 performs an electronic payment based on the received second payment information (S7). Then, the payment server 100 transmits a payment completion notification (information for displaying a payment completion screen) to the payment application 20 (S8), and the payment application 20 displays a payment 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 payment amount information. In this case, the procedure for the user to input the payment amount is omitted, and the payment amount information is included in the first payment information and transmitted to the payment server 100. Information on the franchise store name and the store name may be included and displayed on the payment 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 to the first store terminal device 50, and the first store terminal device 50 decodes the code image by means of an optical reading function and acquires a one-time code or the like (S15). Then, the first store terminal device 50 generates payment information including a one-time code, a payment amount, a franchise ID, a store ID, etc., and sends it to the payment server 100 (S16). The information on the payment amount has been acquired in advance by barcode reading, manual input, or the like. The payment server 100 identifies the user corresponding to the one-time code based on the received information and performs an electronic payment (S17). Then, the payment server 100 sends a payment completion notification to the payment application 20 (S18), and the payment application 20 displays a payment completion screen (S19).

[0018] Note that the electronic payment may be performed in only one of the above patterns. Also, the "account ID" described in FIG. 2 may be other information (for example, a telephone number) that can be used as 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 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.

[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 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.

[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, and other information that are associated. The user URL is used for money transfer processing between users. When newly registering for the electronic payment service, registration of a phone number and password is required. The account ID is issued to the user by the payment server 100, and the user ID is an ID that the user can optionally set (it is not necessary to set it). Similarly, the email address, and name, address, and date of birth are also information that the user can optionally set (it is not necessary to set it). The registration date is the date when the user registered for the electronic payment service (the date when the account was created). Hereinafter, an instance of the user (electronic payment account) in which these pieces of information are associated is referred to as an account.

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

[0026] A voucher ID is identification information that can identify a voucher. The voucher ID stored in the user information 172 is linked to the voucher ID stored in the voucher information 178 described later. Multiple voucher IDs may be linked to one user. The voucher automatic application setting includes content indicating whether to automatically apply the voucher and perform electronic payment when the user has a voucher available 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 charge balance is less than a certain amount, the payment processing unit 130 may execute auto - charge. The user sets in advance on the payment app 20 whether to execute auto - charge when the remaining charge balance is less than a certain amount. For example, it is a setting to execute auto - charge of 5000 yen when it is less than 1000 yen. If the auto - charge setting in the user information 172 is valid, auto - charge becomes executable, and if it is invalid, auto - charge is not executed. The payment processing unit 130 performs electronic payment and compares the remaining charge balance with a certain amount every time the remaining charge balance is updated. When it is determined that the remaining charge balance is less than a certain amount, the payment processing unit 130 executes auto - charge. When the payment processing unit 130 executes auto - charge, it updates the user information 172 with the latest remaining charge balance obtained by adding the amount of auto - charge and the remaining charge balance.

[0029] Figure 6 is a diagram showing an example of the content of the affiliated store / store information 176. The affiliated store / store information 176 includes, for example, a first table 176A in which an affiliated store ID and a store ID are associated with a store URL, a second table 176B in which an affiliated store name and sales amount (described above) are associated with the affiliated store ID, and a third table 176C in which a store name and the local government that is the issuer of available vouchers are associated with the store ID. In addition to these information, the affiliated store / store information 176 may include information such as the category of the affiliated store or store, the location of the store, and the payment pattern.

[0030] Based on the information acquired from the user terminal device 10 and the second store terminal device 70, the information management unit 140 manages the user information 172 and the affiliated store / store information 176. The information management unit 140 performs operations such as adding, editing, and deleting 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. 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 where electronic payment services can be used. 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 refer to the stores where the voucher can be used. The available autonomous entity is information corresponding to the available stores when the issuer of the voucher is an autonomous entity. The autonomous entity may be at the prefecture level, at the city, town, or village 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. When the "settlement method setting" is set to "charge balance" for a user, the settlement processing unit 130 performs electronic settlement as follows. For example, the settlement processing unit 130 performs electronic settlement by reducing the charge balance managed in association with the user ID and increasing the item value of the sales amount of the franchise store. The item value of the sales amount of the franchise store is not used as electronic money itself, and the amount corresponding to the item value of the sales amount is transferred to the bank account in a cycle according to the agreement between the franchise store and the electronic settlement service.

[0035] When the "setting information" is set to "post-payment" for a user, the settlement processing unit 130 performs electronic settlement as follows. Post-payment is set separately from "credit payment" through cooperation with a credit card company, which is a separate entity from the operator of the electronic settlement service. The operator of the electronic settlement service acts as the creditor and allows electronic settlement that does not depend on the charge balance within the scope of the post-payment framework. 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 a 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. On the closing date, it performs the process of debiting the settlement for the current month on the payment date of the following month as described above, or requests the operator of the credit card company to perform the process. If the settlement amount exceeds the available post-payment amount at the time of provisional settlement, an error notification is returned to the settlement application 20.

[0036] FIG. 8 is a sequence diagram showing an example of the general flow of electronic payment 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 payment application 20 is activated decodes the store code image 60 by means of an optical reading function (S20). The payment application 20 transmits first payment information including the store URL and the account ID to the payment server 100 (S21).

[0037] Next, the payment 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 payment 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 payment 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 payment amount into the user terminal device 10 (S24). The user terminal device 10 transmits the information on the selected voucher and the input payment amount to the payment server 100 (S25). The payment server 100 causes the payment application 20 to display usage information indicating the usage amount and number of vouchers used, etc. (S26). Then, the user terminal device 10 generates second payment information including at least the payment amount and approval information, and transmits it to the payment server 100 (S27). The payment server 100 performs an electronic payment based on the received second payment information (S28). The payment server 100 performs an electronic payment, for example, by subtracting the payment amount from the amount available for use with the voucher. Then, the payment server 100 transmits a payment completion notification (information for displaying a payment completion screen) to the payment application 20 (S29), and the payment application 20 displays a payment completion screen (S30).

[0039] When the user selects a voucher or enters the settlement amount (purchase amount), the settlement processing unit 130 determines how many units of the voucher to consume. The criteria for determining how many units to consume are the unit price, maximum number of useable vouchers, remaining number of vouchers obtained by the voucher management unit 150 from the voucher information 178, and the purchase amount, etc.

[0040] More specifically, the settlement processing unit 130 calculates such that the amount obtained by multiplying the number of vouchers (k) within the range owned by the user by the unit price is close to the purchase amount and does not exceed the purchase amount. The settlement processing unit 130 sets the number of vouchers (k) within the range from 1 to n (n is a natural number). When the purchase amount in electronic settlement is equal to or more than n times the unit price (predetermined amount) of the voucher, the settlement processing unit 130 performs electronic settlement by combining one of the settlement methods set by the user in advance, either the remaining balance of the charge in the electronic settlement service or the deferred payment settlement using a credit card. At this time, the combined settlement method is referred to as the combined settlement method. The settlement processing unit 130 adopts the smaller value between the maximum number of useable vouchers and the remaining number of vouchers as n.

[0041] For example, in the case of electronic settlement with a purchase amount of 1000 yen, if the user selects to use a voucher with a unit price of 500 yen per voucher, a maximum number of useable vouchers of 2, and a remaining number of vouchers of 4, the settlement processing unit 130 determines to perform 1000 yen of electronic settlement by using 2 vouchers. Since the maximum number of useable vouchers of the voucher is 2 and the remaining number of vouchers is 4, the settlement processing unit 130 adopts the "2", which is the smaller value of the maximum number of useable vouchers of the voucher, as n.

[0042] For example, in the case of electronic settlement with a purchase amount of 1000 yen, if the user selects to use a voucher with a unit price of 500 yen per voucher, a maximum number of useable vouchers of 2, and a remaining number of vouchers of 1, the settlement processing unit 130 uses 500 yen of the voucher and performs electronic settlement for the remaining 500 yen using another settlement method. Since the maximum number of useable vouchers of the voucher is 2 and the remaining number of vouchers is 1, the settlement processing unit 130 adopts the "1", which is the smaller value of the remaining number of vouchers of the voucher, as n.

[0043] When the total of the usage amount of the voucher and the available amount of the combined payment method is less than the purchase amount, the settlement processing unit 130 may further combine another combined payment method or increase the recharge amount by auto - recharge, and execute electronic settlement.

[0044] When the voucher management unit 150 obtains settlement information including store identification information from the user terminal device 10 that has read a store code image including the store identification information displayed in the set store when performing electronic settlement by user scan, via the communication unit 110, it refers to the user information 172 of the user to determine whether the user owns a voucher. If the user owns a voucher, the unit amount of using the voucher, the number of vouchers to be used, and the usage amount of the voucher obtained by multiplying the unit amount by the number of vouchers to be used are displayed on the settlement app 20.

[0045] Figures 9 and 10 are diagrams showing an example of the display of the settlement app 20 when performing electronic settlement by user scan. When the user reads the store code image 60 including the store identification information presented in the store using the user terminal device 10, the settlement server 100 displays the interface screen IM1 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 is displayed in the area AR1 is performed, the interface screen IM2 is displayed.

[0046] The interface screen IM2 is a screen on which the payment method can be selected. When the user performs an operation of selecting the location displayed as "gift certificate" in the area AR2 when the user wants to use a voucher, the settlement server 100 displays the interface screen IM3 on the settlement app 20.

[0047] The interface screen IM3 is a screen where the user can select the gift vouchers to be used. The voucher management unit 150 displays the information of the gift vouchers owned by the user obtained from the voucher information 178 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.

[0048] The interface screen IM4 in FIG. 10 is a screen that can display the unit amount for using the voucher, the number of vouchers to be used, and the usage amount of the 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 "Usage Amount of Gift Vouchers". These pieces of information are displayed based on the calculation by the settlement processing unit 130 for the information of the purchase amount input by the user. When the user checks 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.

[0049] 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 application 20. The interface screen IM6 is a screen where the details of the payment content can be confirmed. Since the user has performed an electronic payment using the gift voucher, the area AR5 displays "Gift Voucher of ○○ County, △△ Town, 1000 Yen", indicating that the user has used 1000 yen worth of the selected gift voucher. The area AR6 displays "Gift Voucher of ○○ County, △△ Town", indicating that an electronic payment using the gift voucher has been executed.

[0050] When performing electronic settlement by store scanning, the voucher management unit 150 determines whether the user owns a voucher by referring to the user information 172 of the user identified from the code image when the first store terminal device 50 reads a code image including information capable of identifying the user displayed on the user terminal device 10 and acquires it from the first store terminal device 50 via the communication unit 110. When the user owns a voucher, the unit price and the number of vouchers to be used are displayed on the settlement application 20.

[0051] When the user has previously set to preferentially use the voucher, when sending a request for electronic settlement from the user terminal device 10 or the first store terminal device 50, the voucher is automatically applied without the 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.

[0052] In addition, when automatically applying the voucher, if there are multiple vouchers available at the store where electronic settlement is to be performed, the settlement processing unit 130 preferentially applies the voucher with an amount (purchase amount > voucher usage amount) that can be processed for electronic settlement only by using the voucher. When there are multiple vouchers with an amount (purchase amount > voucher usage amount) that can be processed for electronic settlement only by using the voucher, the settlement processing unit 130 preferentially applies the voucher with an expiration date close to the use date. Further, when there are multiple vouchers with the same expiration date, the settlement processing unit 130 automatically applies them to be used starting from the voucher with an earlier date given to the user.

[0053] The settlement processing unit 130 may preferentially apply vouchers with a short number of days until the expiration date to perform electronic settlement. For example, when the user owns a voucher with a validity period of 3 months and a voucher with a validity period of 6 months, the settlement processing unit 130 applies the voucher with a validity period of 3 months to perform electronic settlement. The settlement processing unit 130 may target vouchers whose number of days until the expiration date is less than a certain number of days. The certain number of days may be arbitrarily determined.

[0054] The settlement processing unit 130 may perform automatic application of vouchers 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 settlement processing unit 130 does not own a voucher with a short number of days until the expiration date, it performs electronic settlement using a settlement method other than the settlement method using vouchers.

[0055] FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing an example of the processing of the settlement server 100 when a user who has set automatic application of vouchers performs electronic settlement. 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 settlement that the user wants to perform, including store identification information.

[0056] 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, it performs electronic settlement using the remaining charge or the like (S120).

[0057] In the process of S110, when it is determined that the store where electronic settlement is to be performed can use vouchers, the settlement processing unit 130 determines whether the user owns a valid voucher (S130). When the settlement processing unit 130 determines that the user does not own a valid voucher, it performs electronic settlement using the remaining charge or the like (S120).

[0058] When 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 calculates the voucher usage amount to be used in the electronic settlement to be performed (S140). This process will be described with reference to FIG. 12.

[0059] The settlement processing unit 130 determines whether the purchase amount exceeds the calculated voucher usage amount (S150). When the purchase amount is the same as the voucher usage amount, the settlement processing unit 130 performs an electronic settlement using the voucher (S160). When the purchase amount exceeds the voucher usage amount, the settlement processing unit 130 performs an electronic settlement using the voucher in combination with another settlement method (S170). This process will be described with reference to FIG. 13.

[0060] FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing an example of the operation of the settlement server 100 for the process of calculating the usage amount of a voucher. The settlement processing unit 130 calculates the number k (k is within the range of vouchers owned by the user) that is less than or equal to the purchase amount and closest to the purchase amount (S200).

[0061] The settlement processing unit 130 determines whether k exceeds the maximum number of uses of the voucher (S210). When k exceeds the maximum number of uses of the voucher, the settlement processing unit 130 sets the maximum number of uses of the voucher to n (S220).

[0062] When k is less than the maximum number of uses of the voucher, k is set to n (S230). After the process of S220 or S230, the process returns to the flowchart process of FIG. 11.

[0063] FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing an example of the operation of the settlement server 100 when performing electronic settlement by using a voucher in combination with other settlement methods. Note that the processing of this flowchart illustrates 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. 13, 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 has set the combined settlement method to settlement by the charge balance, set the priority order of the payment methods to the charge balance and deferred payment in that order, and enabled the auto-charge setting.

[0064] 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) (S300).

[0065] If the total amount of the voucher usage amount and the 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 (S310). If the total amount of the voucher usage amount and the charge balance is less than the purchase amount, the settlement processing unit 130 determines whether the total amount of the voucher usage amount, the charge balance, and the available amount for deferred payment is equal to or greater than the purchase amount (VUA + CB + DP ≧ PA) (S320).

[0066] When the total amount of the voucher usage amount, the charge balance, and the available postpaid amount is equal to or greater than the purchase amount, the settlement processing unit 130 performs an electronic settlement using the total amount of the voucher usage amount, the charge balance, and the available postpaid amount (S330). When the total amount of the voucher usage amount, the charge balance, and the available postpaid amount is less than the purchase amount, the settlement processing unit 130 executes an auto-charge and determines whether the total amount of the voucher usage amount, the charge balance, the available postpaid amount, and the auto-charge amount is equal to or greater than the purchase amount (VUA + CB + DP + AC ≧ PA) (S340).

[0067] When the total amount of the voucher usage amount, the charge balance, the available postpaid amount, and the auto-charge amount is equal to or greater than the purchase amount, the settlement processing unit 130 performs an electronic settlement using the total amount of the voucher usage amount, the charge balance, the available postpaid amount, and the auto-charge amount (S350). When the total amount of the voucher usage amount, the charge balance, the available postpaid amount, and the 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 (S360). After the process of S350 or the process of S360, the process of this flowchart ends and returns to the flowchart of FIG. 11.

[0068] FIG. 14 is a flowchart showing an example of the process 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.

[0069] In the process of S110, when it is determined that the store where the electronic settlement is to be made can use a voucher, the settlement processing unit 130 determines whether the user owns a voucher with a short number of days until the expiration date (S130A). When the settlement processing unit 130 determines that the user owns a voucher with a short number of days until the expiration date, it proceeds to the process of S140 that calculates the usage amount of the voucher. The process of S140 in FIG. 14 will be described with reference to FIG. 15. When the settlement 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 settlement using a settlement method other than the voucher (S120).

[0070] FIG. 15 is a flowchart showing an example of the processing of the settlement server 100 for the process of calculating the usage amount of vouchers when owning vouchers with a short number of days until the expiration date. The differences from the flowchart of FIG. 12 will be described.

[0071] The settlement processing unit 130 calculates the number of sheets k that is less than or equal to the purchase amount and closest to the purchase amount (k is within the range of vouchers owned by the user and has a short number of days until the expiration date) (S200A). By calculating the number of sheets of vouchers with a short number of days until the expiration date under this condition, it is possible to use vouchers with a short number of days until the expiration date for an appropriate amount.

[0072] According to the embodiment described above, a predetermined amount for each unit is determined, and by determining how many units of electronic vouchers that can be purchased in multiple units are consumed and executing electronic settlement, multiple electronic settlements using vouchers can be performed. By being able to perform multiple electronic settlements, the convenience of the user is improved. In addition, the number of visits to the user's store increases in order to use the vouchers multiple times, and in particular, the opportunities to go out, such as for the elderly, can be increased.

[0073] As described above, the embodiments for implementing the present invention have been described using the embodiments, but the present invention is not limited to such embodiments, and various modifications and substitutions can be made without departing from the gist of the present invention.

Explanation of Signs

[0074] 10 User terminal device 20 Settlement application 100, 100A Settlement server 120, 120A Settlement content providing unit 122A Display control unit 130 Settlement processing unit 140 Information management unit

Claims

1. A payment server that provides an electronic payment service in cooperation with a payment application operating on a user terminal device, a communication unit that communicates with each of the user terminal device and a first store terminal device, a voucher management unit that manages information of an electronic voucher that has an expiration date and 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 payment processing unit that, when an electronic payment using the voucher is requested from the user terminal device or the first store terminal device, determines how many units of the voucher to consume and executes the electronic payment, A payment server comprising the above.

2. When the purchase amount in the electronic payment is equal to or more than n times the predetermined amount (n is a natural number), the payment processing unit uses, in combination with either the payment method set in advance by the user, i.e., either the remaining recharge balance in the electronic payment service or the post-payment method using a credit card, to execute the electronic payment. The payment server according to Claim 1.

3. The voucher management unit acquires the smaller of the number of vouchers held by the user and the maximum number of uses of the voucher set in advance. The payment server according to Claim 2.

4. When the user has set to preferentially use the voucher in advance, the payment processing unit executes the electronic payment using a voucher with an amount smaller than and close to the purchase amount in the electronic payment. The payment server according to Claim 1.

5. When there are multiple vouchers with amounts smaller than and close to the purchase amount in the electronic payment, the payment processing unit executes the electronic payment using the voucher with an expiration date closer to the use date. The payment server according to Claim 4.

6. When the voucher management unit acquires, via the communication unit, settlement information including the store identification information from the user terminal device that has read a store code image including the store identification information displayed at the preset store, the voucher management unit determines whether the user owns the voucher by referring to the user information of the user. When the user owns the voucher, the voucher management unit causes the payment application to display the amount per unit for using the voucher, the number of units to be used, and the usage amount of the voucher obtained by multiplying the amount per unit and the number of units to be used. The settlement server according to claim 1.

7. When the voucher management unit reads a code image including information capable of identifying the user displayed on the user terminal device from the first store terminal device and acquires the code image from the first store terminal device via the communication unit, it refers to the user information of the user specified from the code image to determine whether the user owns a voucher. When the user owns the voucher, the settlement application is caused to display the unit amount for using the voucher, the number of vouchers to be used, the unit amount, and the usage amount of the voucher obtained by multiplying the unit amount by the number of vouchers to be used. The settlement server according to claim 1.

8. The settlement processing unit preferentially applies the voucher with a short number of days until the expiration date to perform the electronic settlement. The settlement server according to claim 1.

9. A processor of a settlement server that provides an electronic settlement service in cooperation with a settlement 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 has an expiration date, is available at a preset store among stores where the electronic settlement service can be used, has a predetermined amount per unit, and can be purchased in multiple units, when an electronic settlement using the voucher is requested from the user terminal device or the first store terminal device, determines how many units of the voucher to consume and executes the electronic settlement. Settlement method.

10. In a processor of a settlement server that provides an electronic settlement service in cooperation with a settlement 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 has an expiration date, is available at a preset store among stores where the electronic settlement service can be used, has a predetermined amount per unit, and can be purchased in multiple units, and a process of determining how many units of the voucher to consume and executing the electronic settlement when an electronic settlement using the voucher is requested from the user terminal device or the first store terminal device. A program for causing the above to be executed.

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