Settlement system, settlement management device, and settlement method

Abstract

To provide a prepaid-type settlement processing technique that can simplify the effort for settlement performed by a customer as a user and reduce operation cost as much as possible.SOLUTION: A storage unit 20 stores a user's biological information as first authentication information and stores the amount of balance linked to the first authentication information. A balance processing unit 32 reduces the amount of balance according to the amount paid by the user. A charging processing unit 42 increases the amount of balance according to the amount charged to the user. A biological information acquisition unit 28 acquires the user's biological information. An authentication unit 26 authenticates the user by collating the acquired biological information with the first authentication information. A display processing unit 34 acquires the amount of balance from the storage unit 20 when the user is authenticated and displays it on a display.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a prepaid payment system, a payment management device, and a payment method. [Background technology]

[0002] With the development and spread of cashless payment technology, the use of cashless payment methods such as credit cards and code payments has increased and become widespread in people's lives. On the other hand, the fees paid to payment service providers are said to be 2% to 5%, putting pressure on the profits of retailers.

[0003] However, cash payments incur costs for handling cash, such as payment, collection, and management, and there is also a need to respond to customers' preference for cashless payments. For this reason, an increasing number of supermarkets and other retail businesses are promoting in-house prepaid payment systems operated independently by their stores.

[0004] Conventional prepaid payment methods have employed cards or smartphone apps, but for customers, carrying a card is a hassle and there is a risk of losing it, and apps require customers to carry a smartphone and be familiar with how to use it.

[0005] Therefore, when building a cashless payment system operated independently by a store, methods are being considered to simplify the payment process for users and increase convenience.Specifically, authentication methods using customer biometric information are being considered.

[0006] Patent Document 1 discloses a house card payment system and a house card payment method that allows customers to make payments without presenting a card by using a store visit confirmation means such as biometric authentication of the customer. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0007] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2012-215918 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0008] The inventor recognized the following problem in realizing Patent Document 1. With the technology disclosed in Patent Document 1, although customers do not need to present a house card when making a payment, a house card must be created and kept at the store, which incurs costs for creating and managing the house card.

[0009] Furthermore, since the payment is made using a credit card linked to the house card, a payment fee must be paid to the credit card company.

[0010] The present invention has been made in consideration of these considerations, and its purpose is to provide a prepaid payment system, payment management device, and payment method that simplifies the payment process for users (customers), increasing convenience and keeping operating costs as low as possible. [Means for solving the problem]

[0011] In order to solve the above problems, the prepaid payment system of the present invention has a memory unit that stores a user's biometric information as first authentication information and stores a balance linked to the first authentication information, a balance processing unit that reduces the balance according to the amount paid by the user, a billing processing unit that increases the balance according to the amount charged by the user, a biometric information acquisition unit that acquires the user's biometric information, an authentication unit that compares the acquired biometric information with the first authentication information to authenticate the user, and a display processing unit that acquires the balance from the memory unit and displays it on a display unit when the user is authenticated.

[0012] In addition, a payment management device used for prepaid payment processing, which is another aspect of the present invention, has a memory unit that stores a user's biometric information as authentication information and stores a remaining balance linked to the authentication information, a balance processing unit that reduces the remaining balance according to the amount paid by the user, a billing processing unit that increases the remaining balance according to the amount charged by the user, and a display processing unit that retrieves the remaining balance from the memory unit and displays it on a display unit when the user is authenticated.

[0013] Another aspect of the present invention is a payment method for a prepaid system, which includes the steps of storing a user's biometric information as first authentication information in a storage unit and storing a balance linked to the first authentication information in the storage unit, reducing the balance according to the amount paid by the user, increasing the balance according to the amount charged to the user, acquiring the user's biometric information, verifying the acquired biometric information against the first authentication information to authenticate the user, and, once the user is authenticated, acquiring the balance from the storage unit and displaying it on a display unit.

[0014] Any combination of the above components, or any expression of the present invention converted between a system, a method, a computer program, a recording medium storing a computer program, etc., is also valid as an aspect of the present invention. [Effects of the Invention]

[0015] According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a prepaid payment system, a payment management device, and a payment method that can simplify the payment process for users (customers), increase convenience, and minimize operating costs. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0016] [Figure 1] 1 is a system conceptual diagram showing a payment system according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] 1 is a block diagram showing the functional configuration of a payment system according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 3] 1 is a diagram showing a biometric authentication device according to an embodiment of the present invention; [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a table configuration of a storage unit according to the present embodiment. [Figure 5] FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating a payment process according to the present embodiment. [Figure 6] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a display unit of the cash register device. [Figure 7] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing the display unit of the cash register device when a product is scanned. [Figure 8] 10 is a diagram showing the display unit of the cash register device when the total amount to be paid exceeds the balance. FIG. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0017] [1] Payment system In this embodiment, the payment system 10 performs house prepaid payment processing using biometric information of the customer, who is the user. This embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings. Note that in the following description of the drawings, the same parts are assigned the same reference numerals.

[0018] Figure 1 is a conceptual diagram of a payment system 10 according to this embodiment. The payment system 10 is a prepaid payment system that enables users to shop and pay for their purchases without having to present a prepaid card or smartphone. The payment system 10 uses biometric information of users who are shoppers at stores such as supermarkets as authentication information, and manages the balances linked to the biometric information to manage the charges for multiple users and perform payment settlement processing.

[0019] The payment system 10 of this embodiment is configured by connecting a store system 104 installed in a store such as a supermarket where a user U shops, and a payment management device 70 consisting of a computer operated on cloud or on-premise, via a network 100. The store system 104 includes a biometric authentication machine 60, a cash register 62, an information terminal 64, and a charging machine 66. The network 100 is a communications network such as the Internet, a LAN, a WAN, or a VPN. The payment system 10 and an external POS system 102 are also connected via the network 100.

[0020] 2 is a block diagram showing the functional configuration of the payment system 10 of this embodiment. The payment system 10 has an authentication information registration unit 50, a storage unit 20, a biometric information acquisition unit 28, an authentication unit 26, a product scanning unit 38, a payment processing unit 44, and a management unit 46. The management unit 46 has a display processing unit 34, a balance processing unit 32, and a billing processing unit 42.

[0021] <Authentication information registration process> FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a biometric authentication device 60 of this embodiment. The biometric authentication device 60 has an authentication information registration unit 50, a biometric information acquisition unit 28, and an authentication unit 26. To enable hands-free shopping, a user U first holds their hand over a predetermined position on the biometric authentication device 60 to read their biometric information. When the user U holds their finger over the biometric authentication device 60, the biometric information acquisition unit 28 acquires finger information such as the fingerprint and shape using a built-in camera. The biometric information acquisition unit 28 includes a light-emitting element and an image sensor, and can acquire information on all four fingers at once by the user U moving their hand in parallel so that it passes through the image capture range. The biometric information acquisition unit 28 provides the acquired biometric information to the authentication information registration unit 50.

[0022] The authentication information registration unit 50 registers the user's biometric information acquired by the biometric information acquisition unit 28 as first authentication information in the storage unit 20. After registering the first authentication information in the storage unit 20, the authentication information registration unit 50 accepts input of second authentication information from the user U through the biometric authentication machine 60. The biometric authentication machine 60 may have a keypad for inputting the second authentication information.

[0023] The memory unit 20 is a database in which information regarding user authentication and information regarding user balances are registered. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the table configuration of the memory unit in this embodiment. The authentication information registration unit 50 registers a customer ID 72, first authentication information 22, second authentication information 24, and a balance amount 96 as one record in the memory unit 20. The customer ID 72 may be an automatically generated primary key. The authentication information registration unit 50 sets the balance amount 96 to 0 in the newly registered record. The customer ID 72 is a value for uniquely identifying each record in the table.

[0024] The first authentication information 22 is finger information of the user registered by the authentication information registration unit 50. It is desirable that the first authentication information 22 include information on two or more fingers to improve the accuracy of authentication. In this embodiment, the authentication information registration unit 50 acquires and registers information on four fingers. The finger information may include a fingerprint and a finger shape. In FIG. 4, the first authentication information 22 is represented by a graphic representation of one fingerprint for ease of understanding, but it may also be registered as one or more two-dimensional or three-dimensional image data, or the image data may be converted using a specific algorithm and registered as a feature.

[0025] The second authentication information 24 may be a four-digit number corresponding to the month and day of the user's birthday. The second authentication information 24 may also be other letters or numbers that are easy for the user to remember. As will be described later, the second authentication information 24 is only used as an auxiliary to the first authentication information 22, so it may be simple letters or numbers. For example, the second authentication information 24 may be part of the customer's own phone number, which the customer does not need to remember.

[0026] <Charging process> When registering the authentication information, the user can charge the card with cash from the charge machine 66, and when the user charges the card, the billing processing unit 42 performs processing to increase the remaining amount 96 by the amount charged.

[0027] <Payment processing> 5 is a flowchart showing the payment process of this embodiment. A user, who is a customer of a store, goes to the cash register with a shopping basket containing items, is authenticated by a biometric authentication device 60, and then has a store clerk scan the items to be purchased with a cash register device 62, and the payment is made from the balance of the prepaid account. The cash register device 62 has a product scanning unit 38 and a payment processing unit 44.

[0028] When the user holds their hand over a predetermined location in the biometric authentication device 60, the biometric information acquisition unit 28 acquires information on the user's four fingers using a built-in camera (S10). The biometric information acquisition unit 28 provides the acquired biometric information to the authentication unit 26.

[0029] The authentication unit 26 searches the storage unit 20 for biometric information identical to the acquired biometric information. The authentication unit 26 compares the acquired biometric information with the first authentication information 22 registered in the storage unit 20, and acquires the customer ID 72 linked to the first authentication information 22 (S12). After the comparison is complete, the authentication unit 26 provides the customer ID 72 to the management unit 46. If the comparison cannot be made, it is determined that the user has not registered biometric information, and the user must therefore perform the above-described authentication information registration process.

[0030] When acquiring biometric information of a user, the biometric information acquisition unit 28 may guide the user U on how to move a body part to acquire the biometric information. For example, the biometric information acquisition unit 28 may support the user U's hand movement by guiding the user U on how to move his or her hand before the user U holds his or her hand over a predetermined location. Furthermore, the biometric information acquisition unit 28 may guide the user U on how to move his or her hand if, as a result of capturing an image of the process in which the user U translates his or her hand, the speed of the translation or the tilt of the palm is inappropriate and the biometric information cannot be successfully acquired. In this case, the biometric information acquisition unit 28 may analyze the reason why the biometric information could not be successfully acquired and cause the biometric authentication device 60 to display guidance such as "Turn your hand to the right" or "Move slowly" or output it as voice.

[0031] Furthermore, the biometric information acquisition unit 28 may determine that a finger is inappropriate if fingerprint feature points cannot be extracted from all or part of the acquired image. The biometric information acquisition unit 28 may also determine that a finger is inappropriate by detecting a characteristic image such as a scar. When the authentication unit 26 cannot properly acquire a fingerprint image of a specific finger, for example, if the finger has a scar, it may perform authentication processing using fingerprint information from two or more fingers other than the specific finger. This can keep the FRR (False Rejection Rate) low.

[0032] The biometric authentication device 60 may be able to set a false acceptance rate (FAR) and a false rejection rate (FRR). The FAR value may be set taking into consideration the store's response burden, the amount of erroneous payments relative to profits, and ensuring that the value is sufficiently lower than the proportion of the out-of-pocket expenses in erroneous credit card payments. The FRR value may be set to a probability lower than the probability of forgetting a card in a typical card-based prepaid payment. The number of store users, the payment amount, and the store's estimated profit margin may also be taken into consideration. Taking these factors into consideration, the FAR may be set to a value of 0.0015% or less, and the FRR to a value of 0.01% or less.

[0033] To achieve this FAR and FRR, in this embodiment, authentication is performed using fingerprint information from four fingers as described above. If the above FAR and FRR can be achieved, fingerprint authentication of two or more fingers, iris authentication, or palm vein authentication may be used, or contact-type single-finger fingerprint authentication may be used to scan different fingers sequentially for authentication.

[0034] The management unit 46 receives the customer ID 72 from the authentication unit 26. In the management unit 46, the display processing unit 34, balance processing unit 32, and billing processing unit 42 each perform their respective processes based on the customer ID 72.

[0035] The display processing unit 34 displays the remaining amount 96 and the like on the display unit 68 of the cash register, which is a display unit, and on the information terminal 64. The display unit 68 of the cash register is located within the display of the cash register and is arranged so that it is not visible to the user. The information terminal 64 is arranged in the cash register corner so that its screen is visible to the user.

[0036] When the display processing unit 34 acquires the customer ID 72 , it acquires the remaining balance 96 and the second authentication information 24 linked to the acquired customer ID 72 from the storage unit 20 .

[0037] FIG. 6 is a diagram showing the display unit 68 of the cash register device. The display processing unit 34 displays the remaining amount 96, the total amount to be paid 94, the planned remaining amount 98, and the second authentication information 24 on the display unit 68 of the cash register device. The display processing unit 34 also displays the remaining amount 96, the total amount to be paid 94, and the planned remaining amount 98 on the information terminal 64 (S16). The display processing unit 34 does not display the second authentication information 24 on the information terminal 64. Therefore, the user cannot see the second authentication information 24. The display processing unit 34 may also display sales information related to past purchase information on the information terminal 64.

[0038] The cashier asks the user for the four-digit number corresponding to the month and day of their birth, which is the second authentication information 24. When the user verbally replies with the month and day of their birth, the cashier checks whether the received date matches the second authentication information 24 displayed on the display unit 68 of the cash register (S18). If they do not match, identity verification has failed, and the payment is not made by the payment system 10.

[0039] If identity verification using the second authentication information 24 is successful, the cashier uses the cash register device 62 to scan the items to be purchased until all the items remain. The cashier checks whether there are any items to scan, and if there are (YES in S44), scans the barcodes of the purchased items with the cash register device 62 (S20). The cash register device 62 causes the item scanning unit 38 to obtain the estimated payment amount of the scanned item and provide this to the display processing unit 34. The estimated payment amount may be provided to the item scanning unit 38 from an external POS system 102 to which the cash register device 62 is connected.

[0040] 7 is a diagram showing the display unit 68 of the cash register when an item is scanned. The display processing unit 34 calculates the total planned payment amount provided each time, and displays the amount obtained by subtracting the total planned payment amount 94 from the remaining amount 96 as the planned remaining amount 98 on the information terminal 64 and the cash register 62 (S22). The display processing unit 34 may also display the total planned payment amount 94 on the information terminal 64 and the cash register 62.

[0041] 8 is a diagram showing the display unit 68 of the cash register when the total planned payment amount 94 exceeds the remaining balance amount 96. When the total planned payment amount 94 exceeds the remaining balance amount 96 and the planned balance amount 98 becomes a negative value (YES in S24), the display processing unit 34 displays a warning 88 on the information terminal 64 and the cash register 62 to indicate that the balance charged to the purchase amount is insufficient (S38). In this case, the display processing unit 34 may output a warning sound. When the planned balance amount 98 is not negative (NO in S24), the display processing unit 34 does not display the warning 88, and the cashier proceeds with processing the next item.

[0042] If the balance is insufficient, the cashier will ask the user if they would like to continue with the purchase and be charged later (S50). If the user indicates their intention to be charged (YES in S50), the cashier will continue scanning the purchased items. If the user does not intend to be charged (NO in S50), the cashier will cancel some of the items and adjust the total amount to be paid 94 so that it is within the remaining amount 96, and the remaining items will be counted as 0 (S54).

[0043] The cashier checks whether there are any products to scan, and if there are not (NO in S44), selects payment through the payment system 10 by operating the cash register 62 (S26). The payment processing unit 44 receives the payment command, obtains the total payment amount from the external POS system 102, and provides the total payment amount to the management unit 46.

[0044] The balance processing unit 32 obtains the remaining balance amount 96 linked to the obtained customer ID 72 from the storage unit 20. The balance processing unit 32 compares the remaining balance amount 96 in the record with the total payment amount obtained from the settlement processing unit 44 (S28).

[0045] If the balance amount 96 is equal to or greater than the total payment amount (YES in S28), the balance processing unit 32 subtracts the total payment amount from the balance amount 96, sets the result as the balance amount 96, and updates the balance amount 96 in the memory unit 20 (S30). The balance processing unit 32 notifies the payment processing unit 44 that the balance amount 96 has been updated, and upon receiving the notification, the payment processing unit 44 notifies the external POS system 102 that the payment has been completed (S32).

[0046] If the remaining amount 96 is smaller than the total payment amount (NO in S28), the balance processing unit 32 suspends processing and waits. The user presses the charge button on the information terminal 64 and then charges an amount equal to or greater than the shortfall at the charge machine 66. The charge machine 66 may be a low-cost device that can only charge bills and cannot charge coins. The charging processing unit 42 performs charging processing through the charge machine 66. The charging processing unit 42 obtains the remaining amount 96 linked to the customer ID 72 from the memory unit 20. The estimated remaining amount 98 is calculated from the obtained remaining amount 96 and the obtained total payment amount, and is displayed on the screen of the charge machine 66. The charging processing unit 42 obtains the amount to be charged through the user's charging operation on the charge machine 66 (S40), adds the amount to the balance amount 96 that has already been obtained, and updates the balance amount 96 of the record previously obtained in the memory unit 20 (S42).

[0047] After updating, the billing processing unit 42 compares the updated remaining amount 96 with the total payment amount, and if the remaining amount 96 is smaller than the total payment amount, displays a message on the screen of the charging machine 66 indicating that the balance is insufficient, and goes into standby mode. If the charging machine 66 is not operated for a certain period of time, the billing processing unit 42 ends standby mode.

[0048] If the billing process causes the remaining amount 96 to exceed the total payment amount (YES in S28), the balance processing unit 32 subtracts the total payment amount from the remaining amount 96, sets this as the remaining amount 96, and updates the remaining amount 96 in the memory unit 20 (S30). The payment processing unit 44 is notified that the remaining amount 96 has been updated, and upon receiving this notification, the payment processing unit 44 notifies the external POS system 102 that the payment has been completed (S32). If no notification is received within a certain period of time, the balance processing unit 32 ends its wait and also ends the process.

[0049] [2] Payment management device The payment management device 70 is a computer operated in the cloud or on-premise, connected to devices in the store system 104 of the payment system 10 via a network 100. In this embodiment, the memory unit 20, the display processing unit 34, the balance processing unit 32, and the billing processing unit 42 constitute the payment management device 70.

[0050] According to this embodiment, there is no need to present a device such as a card or smartphone to make a prepaid payment, which simplifies the payment process for the customer and also eliminates the risk of forgetting the card or device required for authentication and being unable to make a prepaid payment, thereby increasing user convenience.

[0051] According to this embodiment, devices such as cards or smartphones are not required for prepaid payments, and there is no need to issue cards or develop apps for prepaid payments, which reduces system construction and maintenance costs.

[0052] According to this embodiment, there is no need to take out or insert a card or smartphone or start an app when making a payment, so checking the remaining balance 96, registering a new transaction in the system, and other cash register processes go more smoothly, reducing user waiting time and increasing user satisfaction. Smoother cash register processes can reduce the number of operating cash registers, potentially reducing store operating costs.

[0053] According to this embodiment, even if the first authentication information is erroneously recognized, erroneous transactions can be prevented by verifying the second authentication information. The first authentication information is biometric information, which has a high degree of accuracy in identifying a user, but is highly secure, making it difficult for others to identify or misuse an individual without using a device. Therefore, the second authentication information may be less secure, enabling payment processing without imposing a burden on the customer.

[0054] According to this embodiment, the remaining balance to be charged and the amount of the remaining balance that will be reduced by the purchase are clearly displayed, allowing for flexible responses such as canceling the purchase of the product on the spot, which may result in smoother checkout processing.

[0055] According to this embodiment, when the balance is equal to or greater than the total payment amount, the balance processing unit 32 subtracts the total payment amount from the balance and sets this as the balance amount, updating the balance amount in the memory unit 20. This eliminates the need for the store to provide coin change to the user. This allows the store to reduce the cost of installing an automatic coin dispenser and the labor costs of managing coins. Furthermore, by reducing the handling of coins, the store can reduce the time required for cash register operations.

[0056] (Variation) The following describes modified examples. In this embodiment, authentication is performed before the purchased items are scanned at the cash register 62, but authentication may also be performed after the purchased items are scanned and the total payment amount is determined. When using a payment method other than the payment system 10, the user can omit the authentication process.

[0057] In this embodiment, a four-digit number representing the date and month of birth is used as the second authentication information 24, but facial recognition may also be used. Facial recognition is generally considered to have low authentication accuracy and is not suitable for payments alone, but it can be effectively used as supplementary second authentication information 24. All the user has to do is pass in front of the camera, preventing erroneous transactions due to misrecognition of authentication without imposing a burden on the user.

[0058] In this embodiment, a manned register is provided, in which a store clerk verifies the second authentication information 24 with the user (S18), but the configuration may be changed to an unmanned self-checkout. In that case, the user is required to input the second authentication information 24 into an input unit of the self-checkout device, and a configuration is added to verify the input information with the second authentication information 24 registered in the storage unit 20. In that case, the configurations and functions of the register device 62, the information terminal 64, and the charging machine 66 may be included in the self-checkout device.

[0059] In this embodiment, the user is charged the full amount, but if change of less than 1,000 yen is received, that amount is automatically charged to the remaining balance 96, and bills of 1,000 yen or more may be returned to the customer as change. Since stores do not need to give change in coins, they can reduce the cost of installing an automatic change machine that can handle coins, and can also reduce labor costs for managing coins. Furthermore, by reducing the handling of coins, stores can reduce the time required for cash register operations.

[0060] Although each block shown in the block diagrams in this specification can be realized in terms of hardware by elements or mechanical devices such as a computer CPU, and in terms of software by a computer program, etc., the functional blocks shown here are realized by the cooperation of these elements. Therefore, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that these functional blocks can be realized in various ways by combining hardware and software. [Explanation of symbols]

[0061] 10 Payment system, 20 Memory unit, 22 First authentication information, 24 Second authentication information, 26 Authentication unit, 28 Biometric information acquisition unit, 32 Balance processing unit, 42 Billing processing unit, 34 Display processing unit, 42 Billing processing unit, 70 Payment management device, 88 Warning, 94 Total amount to be paid, 96 Balance amount.

Claims

1. A prepaid payment system, a storage unit that stores biometric information of a user as first authentication information and a balance amount linked to the first authentication information; a balance processing unit that reduces the remaining balance in accordance with the amount paid by the user; a billing processing unit that increases the remaining balance in accordance with the amount charged to the user; a biometric information acquisition unit that acquires biometric information of a user; an authentication unit that authenticates the user by comparing the acquired biometric information with the first authentication information; a display processing unit that, when the user is authenticated, retrieves the remaining balance from the storage unit and displays it on a display unit; A payment system having:

2. The payment system according to claim 1, wherein the biometric information is information on two or more fingers.

3. the storage unit further stores second authentication information associated with the first authentication information; 2. The payment system according to claim 1, wherein when the authentication unit authenticates the user, the display processing unit acquires the second authentication information from the storage unit and displays it on the display unit.

4. The payment system described in claim 1, characterized in that the display processing unit obtains the user's planned payment amount, calculates the total planned payment amount, displays the remaining amount and the total planned payment amount on the display unit in a manner that allows them to be compared, and outputs a warning when the total planned payment amount exceeds the remaining amount.

5. The payment system according to claim 1 , wherein the biometric information acquisition unit provides guidance to the user on how to move a body part.

6. A payment management device used for prepaid payment processing, a storage unit that stores the user's biometric information as authentication information and stores the remaining balance linked to the authentication information; a balance processing unit that reduces the remaining balance in accordance with the amount paid by the user; a billing processing unit that increases the remaining balance in accordance with the amount charged to the user; a display processing unit that, when the user is authenticated, retrieves the remaining balance from the storage unit and displays it on a display unit; A payment management device having the same.

7. A prepaid payment method, storing biometric information of the user as first authentication information in a storage unit and a balance amount linked to the first authentication information in the storage unit; reducing the remaining balance in accordance with the amount paid by the user; increasing the remaining balance in accordance with the amount charged to the user; acquiring biometric information of a user; a step of authenticating the user by matching the acquired biometric information with the first authentication information; When the user is authenticated, the remaining balance is acquired from the storage unit and displayed on a display unit; A payment method that has

8. storing second authentication information associated with the first authentication information in the storage unit; When the user is authenticated, the second authentication information is acquired from the storage unit and displayed on a display unit; The payment method of claim 7 further comprising:

Images