Information processing apparatus, information processing method, and program

Abstract

To provide a mechanism capable of settling a burden amount of a company and a burden amount of an individual in real time when paying a cost.SOLUTION: An information processing device 300 is an electronic wallet that acquires information on an amount of money to be paid by an employee to a store and a use purpose of the payment, and makes a payment with electronic money of the employee and points given by a company to which the employee belongs. Determining a part to be paid with the points and a part to be paid with the electronic money with respect to the acquired amount based on the acquired information on the purpose of use, storing identification information of the electronic wallet, a balance of the electronic money, and a balance of the points in association with each other in an electronic wallet information storage unit, and performing management to subtract the balance of the electronic money and the balance of the points stored in the electronic wallet information storage unit based on information on the determined part to be paid with the points and the determined part to be paid with the electronic money with respect to the amount to be paid by the employee to the store.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an information processing device, an information processing method, and a program. [Background technology]

[0002] It is common for companies to provide employees with various non-monetary rewards and benefits in addition to their regular salary, in the hope of securing and retaining a workforce and improving work motivation. Benefits may be provided not only to employees but also to their spouses and families (hereinafter, in this specification, "employees" refers to those who are eligible for company benefits, including their spouses and families). Systems that support operations related to these benefits have been known (see, for example, Patent Documents 1 to 3).

[0003] The system described in Patent Document 1 provides a mechanism for a company to cover employee meal costs in a tax-safe manner. In the system described in Patent Document 1, if a first maximum company burden amount, which is a predetermined percentage of the total purchase price within a predetermined period, is equal to or less than a second maximum company burden amount, which is the upper limit of lunch costs that a company can cover under tax law, the first maximum company burden amount is determined as the amount to be covered by the company; otherwise, the second maximum company burden amount is determined as the amount to be covered by the company. Patent Document 1 also discloses that a ticket image showing the amount is displayed on an employee terminal device, and when a store clerk operates the ticket image on the screen with a finger or the like, the store charges the company an amount corresponding to the ticket image.

[0004] The system described in Patent Document 2 has a welfare information storage unit that stores one or more welfare information items having service identification information that identifies two or more types of services, including use of leisure facilities, use of entertainment facilities, training or educational services for employees, external educational services for students, studying abroad, and online lesson or educational services provided over the Internet, and organizational burden specification information that specifies the organizational burden for the service identified by the service identification information.When the system receives service application information from a terminal device, by which an employee identified by the employee identification information applies for the service identified by the service identification information, it obtains organizational burden information that indicates the organizational burden using the organizational burden specification information corresponding to the service identification information.

[0005] The system described in Patent Document 3 provides a meal subsidy scheme that can only be used at affiliated stores designated by a company. Specifically, the system described in Patent Document 3 generates settlement data based on a received card payment message, displaying either a first indicator indicating that the meal is eligible for subsidy or a second indicator indicating that the meal is not eligible for subsidy. The first and second indicators are set based on a pair of a company identifier and an affiliated store identifier included in the settlement data. Then, based on the settlement data that displays the first indicator, the system calculates the amount of meal subsidy to be paid to the cardholder, and generates billing data for the company based on the calculated amount of meal subsidy. Patent Document 3 also discloses an embodiment that provides a meal subsidy scheme using a prepaid card. However, the system does not involve the company performing a prepayment process to charge the prepaid card in advance, but rather calculates the subsidy amount after the fact. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0006] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2018-72956 [Patent Document 2] Patent No. 6499403 [Patent Document 3] Patent No. 6188908 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0007] The systems described in Patent Documents 1 to 3 above provide a mechanism for calculating and settling the employee and company burdens for the fees for using various services. In contrast, the present invention aims to provide a new mechanism different from those described in Patent Documents 1 to 3, which is a mechanism for settling the company's burden and the individual's burden in real time (instantaneously) when paying expenses. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the information processing device of the present invention comprises an acquisition unit that acquires information regarding the amount to be paid by an employee to a store and the purpose of the payment; a determination unit that, in an electronic wallet for making payments with the employee's electronic money and points awarded by the company to which the employee belongs, determines the portion of the amount acquired by the acquisition unit to be paid in points and the portion to be paid in electronic money based on the information regarding the purpose of use acquired by the acquisition unit; an electronic wallet information storage unit that stores identification information of the electronic wallet, the balance of the electronic money, and the balance of the points in association with each other; and an electronic wallet information management unit that manages by deducting the balance of the electronic money and the balance of the points stored in the electronic wallet information storage unit based on the information regarding the portion to be paid in points and the portion to be paid in electronic money regarding the amount to be paid by the employee to a store determined by the determination unit. [Effects of the Invention]

[0009] According to the present invention configured as described above, by storing an individual's electronic money and points awarded by a company in advance in an electronic wallet of an electronic wallet storage medium, when an individual pays the cost (payment amount) of using a service from a store, the amount borne by the company is consumed in points, and the difference between the payment amount and the amount borne by the company is consumed in electronic money, so that the amount borne by the company and the amount borne by the individual can be settled in real time in the electronic wallet storage medium. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0010] [Figure 1] 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of the overall configuration of a welfare service processing system according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of a store terminal according to the present embodiment. [Figure 3] FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a functional configuration of a server according to the present embodiment. [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of electronic wallet information stored in an electronic wallet information storage unit. [Figure 5] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of welfare information stored in a welfare information storage unit. [Figure 6] FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram for explaining a consumption rate determined for a payment amount. [Figure 7] FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram illustrating a case where payment cannot be made. [Figure 8] 10 is a flowchart illustrating an example of the operation of the server according to the present embodiment. [Figure 9] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing another example of the overall configuration of the welfare service processing system according to the present embodiment. [Figure 10] FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of an employee terminal according to the present embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0011] An embodiment of the present invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of the overall configuration of a benefit processing system according to this embodiment. The benefit processing system of this embodiment includes a prepaid card 100 used by employees for payment, a store terminal 200 used by stores offering meals and other services, a server 300 that processes benefit programs, and a company terminal 400 used by companies that provide benefit programs. The store terminal 200 and the server 300, and the company terminal 400 and the server 300, are connected via a communication network 500 such as the Internet or a telephone network. The server 300 is operated by a third party separate from the company that provides the benefit programs. While FIG. 1 illustrates only one server 300, this is for the sake of simplicity; a server cluster comprising multiple servers may also be used.

[0012] The employee benefit processing system of this embodiment is a system that calculates and settles the employee and company contributions for expenses incurred when an employee uses various services covered by employee benefits. Prepaid card 100, one component of this employee benefit processing system, corresponds to the electronic wallet storage medium in the claims, and stores personal electronic money charged by employees and points provided by server 300 for company employee benefits as electronic wallets. Server 300 also corresponds to the information processing device in the claims, and performs processes related to employee benefits as described below.

[0013] The prepaid card 100 is a rechargeable card that can be used repeatedly by recharging (depositing) new funds even when the balance runs out. Electronic money can be recharged to the prepaid card 100, for example, by paying cash using a recharge terminal (not shown, for example, a convenience store cash register or a bank ATM). Recharging can also be done by bank transfer or credit card payment. As an example, the following describes a case where an employee recharges the prepaid card 100 with a desired amount by credit card payment. Payment using the recharged electronic money can only be made at stores that have contracts with credit card companies (credit card member stores).

[0014] Furthermore, points are recorded on the prepaid card 100 using, for example, the company terminal 400 connected to a reader / writer. As an example, points to be awarded to employees are notified from the server 300 to the company terminal 400, and the points are recorded on the prepaid card 100 by the reader / writer. For example, a company may award a specified amount of points (e.g., 3,500 to 10,000 points) to employees periodically every month as employee benefits. That is, the server 300 notifies the company terminal 400 of the specified amount of points every month, and the employee records the points on the prepaid card 100 using the reader / writer. Note that the method of recording points on the prepaid card 100 shown here is an example and is not limited to this. Also, periodically awarding a specified amount of points every month is merely an example. That is, points may also be awarded irregularly. Also, the number of points awarded being 3,500 to 10,000 is merely an example.

[0015] Here, an upper limit may be set for each or the total amount of electronic money and points stored in the electronic wallet of the prepaid card 100. For example, when the total balance of electronic money and points reaches a first upper limit, or when the balance of points alone reaches a second upper limit, the server 300 can notify the company terminal 400 that the number of points to be awarded to that employee for the next month will be zero.

[0016] When an employee pays a store for the costs incurred when using various services, the store terminal 200 reads information from the prepaid card 100 that can identify the employee (for example, card identification information linked to the prepaid card 100) and transmits payment-related information including the card identification information, the payment amount, and store information that can identify the store to the server 300. The server 300 calculates the employee's share and the company's share of the notified payment amount, determines the consumption ratio between electronic money and points to be consumed from the electronic wallet of the prepaid card 100, and notifies the store terminal 200 of the determination result. The store terminal 200 performs processing related to payment using the prepaid card 100 in accordance with the consumption ratio notified by the server 300.

[0017] In this way, in this embodiment, payments are made using a combination of personal electronic money that employees themselves charge to prepaid card 100 and points provided by server 300 for corporate employee benefits. The amount equivalent to the points that the company will grant to employees as employee benefits is paid in advance by the company to the operator of server 300, for example. The operator of server 300 pays the amount equivalent to the points to each store where the employee has used the points on prepaid card 100 to pay a service fee. By establishing such a system, the company does not need to pay the amount equivalent to the points to each store, but can simply pay the amount equivalent to the points to the operator of server 300 in advance.

[0018] Fig. 2 is a block diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of the store terminal 200. Fig. 3 is a block diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of the server 300. As shown in Fig. 2, the store terminal 200 of this embodiment is functionally configured to include a payment amount acquisition unit 21, a card information acquisition unit 22, a payment-related information transmission unit 23, a decision result acquisition unit 24, a payment processing unit 25, and a message display unit 26. The store terminal 200 also includes a store information storage unit 20 as a storage medium.

[0019] 3, the server 300 of this embodiment has, as its functional configuration, a charge information acquisition unit 31, a point granting unit 32, an electronic wallet information management unit 33, a payment-related information acquisition unit 34, a consumption rate determination unit 35, and a determination result notification unit 36. The server 300 also has, as storage media, an electronic wallet information storage unit 30A and a welfare information storage unit 30B.

[0020] The functional blocks 21-26 of the store terminal 200 and the functional blocks 31-36 of the server 300 can be configured using any of hardware, a DSP (Digital Signal Processor), and software. For example, when configured using software, the functional blocks 21-26 and 31-36 are actually configured with a computer's CPU, RAM, ROM, etc., and are realized by the operation of a program stored in a recording medium such as RAM, ROM, a hard disk, or a semiconductor memory. In particular, the functional blocks 31-36 of the server 300 are realized by the operation of a welfare service processing program.

[0021] In the configuration of the store terminal 200 shown in FIG. 2, the store information storage unit 20 stores store information about stores that provide services. The store information includes information such as the store name, store ID, and business code. The business code is a code assigned to various businesses such as restaurants, lodging, medical care, and sports gyms. As will be described later, the store name and store ID are used to determine whether the service used by an employee is a service that the company recognizes as an employee benefit. The business code is used to calculate the amount that the company will bear as an employee benefit expense for the settlement amount that should be paid to the store when the employee uses the store's service.

[0022] The payment amount acquisition unit 21 acquires information on the payment amount to be paid to the store when an employee uses a store service. For example, the payment amount acquisition unit 21 acquires information on the payment amount from a POS (Point of Sale) terminal (not shown) connected to the store terminal 200. If the store terminal 200 has a POS function, the payment amount acquisition unit 21 acquires information on the payment amount calculated using the POS function.

[0023] The card information acquisition unit 22 acquires card identification information recorded on the prepaid card 100. The card identification information is identification information assigned to the prepaid card 100 held by the employee and is information that can uniquely identify the employee. For example, a contract number issued by a credit card company can be used as the card identification information. For example, the card information acquisition unit 22 acquires card identification information read from the prepaid card 100 by a reader / writer (not shown) connected to the store terminal 200. If the store terminal 200 has a card reading function, the card information acquisition unit 22 acquires the card identification information read using the card reading function.

[0024] The payment-related information transmission unit 23 transmits payment-related information to the server 300, including the payment amount acquired by the payment amount acquisition unit 21, the card identification information acquired by the card information acquisition unit 22, and the store information stored in the store information storage unit 20. As will be described in detail later using Figure 3, the server 300 calculates the employee's share and the company's share of the payment amount based on the payment-related information, determines the consumption ratio between electronic money and points to be consumed from the electronic wallet of the prepaid card 100, and notifies the store terminal 200 of the determination result.

[0025] The determination result acquisition unit 24 acquires information on the determination result regarding the consumption ratio of electronic money and points from the server 300. If the payment cannot be made with the remaining balance of electronic money and points stored in the electronic wallet of the prepaid card 100, a predetermined message regarding the impossibility of payment is notified from the server 300 as information on the determination result, and this message is acquired by the determination result acquisition unit 24. The predetermined message is, for example, an error message informing the customer that payment cannot be made. Alternatively, it may be a message urging the employee to make an additional charge.

[0026] The payment processing unit 25 performs processing related to the payment of the settlement amount using the electronic money and points stored in the electronic wallet of the prepaid card 100, in accordance with the consumption rate indicated in the information on the determination result acquired by the determination result acquisition unit 24. That is, the payment processing unit 25 executes processing to consume the electronic money and points from the electronic wallet of the prepaid card 100 attached to the reader / writer, in accordance with the consumption rate indicated in the information on the determination result acquired by the determination result acquisition unit 24.

[0027] When a predetermined message regarding impossibility of payment is acquired by the determination result acquisition unit 24, the message display unit 26 displays this message on the display of the store terminal 200. Note that although a predetermined message is displayed here when payment is not possible, a message indicating the consumption ratio of electronic money and points may also be displayed on the display when payment is possible.

[0028] In the configuration of the server 300 shown in Fig. 3, the electronic wallet information storage unit 30A stores, for each employee, the balance of electronic money and points stored in the electronic wallet of each employee's prepaid card 100, as well as information related to the electronic wallet. Fig. 4 is a diagram showing an example of electronic wallet information stored in the electronic wallet information storage unit 30A. As shown in Fig. 4, the electronic wallet information storage unit 30A stores, for each employee, information on the electronic wallet ID, the employee's user ID, the company ID of the company to which the employee belongs, card identification information, the point balance, the charge balance, the tax-free balance for meals, the monthly total point usage amount, the monthly total charge usage amount, and the monthly total tax amount.

[0029] The welfare benefit information storage unit 30B stores welfare benefit information that is used as reference information when determining the consumption ratio between electronic money and points for the payment amount. Figure 5 is a diagram showing an example of welfare benefit information stored in the welfare benefit information storage unit 30B. As shown in Figure 5, the welfare benefit information storage unit 30B stores information such as a welfare benefit ID, a company ID, and the store name, store ID, and business code of a store (credit card affiliated store) that the company recognizes as a welfare benefit service provider.

[0030] The charge information acquisition unit 31 acquires charge information indicating the amount of electronic money charged to the prepaid card 100. For example, when the prepaid card 100 is charged by credit card payment, the charge information acquisition unit 31 acquires the charge information from a server (not shown) operated by a credit card company. The charge information acquisition unit 31 notifies the electronic wallet information management unit 33 of the acquired charge information.

[0031] The point allocating unit 32 executes a process of allocating points to employees. For example, the point allocating unit 32 stores in advance the points designated by the company to be allocated to employees as monthly employee benefits, and periodically notifies the electronic wallet information managing unit 33 of the points every month, as well as the company terminal 400. If an upper limit is set for the electronic money and points stored in the electronic wallet, the point allocating unit 32 checks the point balance and charge balance stored in the electronic wallet information storage unit 30A, and executes the process of allocating points if the upper limit is not exceeded.

[0032] The electronic wallet information management unit 33 manages information related to the electronic wallet of the prepaid card 100 stored in the electronic wallet information storage unit 30A (electronic wallet information shown in FIG. 4 ). Specifically, the electronic wallet information management unit 33 adds the point balance or charge balance of the electronic wallet information based on the charge information notified from the charge information acquisition unit 31 and the point information notified from the point allocating unit 32. Furthermore, based on the consumption rate of electronic money and points determined by the consumption rate determination unit 35, the electronic wallet information management unit 33 subtracts the corresponding points balance, charge balance, and tax-free allowance balance for meal use from the electronic wallet information, and adds the corresponding monthly total point usage amount, monthly total charge usage amount, and monthly total tax amount information. Furthermore, the electronic wallet information management unit 33 performs processing to reset the tax-free allowance balance for meal use, monthly total point usage amount, monthly total charge usage amount, and monthly total tax amount to their initial values ​​at a predetermined time each month. The initial value of the tax-free balance for meals is an amount that can be set within the range stipulated by tax law, for example, 3,500 yen. The initial values ​​of the total monthly point usage amount, total monthly charge usage amount, and total monthly tax amount are 0 yen.

[0033] The payment-related information acquisition unit 34 acquires payment-related information (including payment amount, card identification information, and store information) transmitted by the payment-related information transmission unit 23 of the store terminal 200. As described above, the store name and store ID included in the store information are determination information used to determine whether the service used by the employee is a service recognized by the company as a benefit (i.e., whether the employee's use of the service falls within the scope of use of benefit programs), and the payment-related information acquisition unit 34 corresponds to the determination information acquisition unit in the claims. Furthermore, the business type code included in the store information is information indicating the content of the service used by the employee (i.e., information regarding the use of various services), and the payment-related information acquisition unit 34 also corresponds to the use information acquisition unit in the claims.

[0034] The consumption ratio determination unit 35 calculates the maximum amount of company burden permitted under tax law as employee welfare expenses for the payment amount included in the payment-related information acquired by the payment-related information acquisition unit 34 (the payment amount to be paid to the store when the employee uses various services at the store), and determines the consumption ratio of electronic money and points for the payment amount so that the maximum amount of company burden is consumed in points and the difference between the payment amount and the maximum amount of company burden (the employee's amount of burden) is consumed in electronic money.

[0035] At this time, the consumption ratio determination unit 35 refers to the electronic wallet information stored in the electronic wallet information storage unit 30A, and outputs a predetermined message regarding impossibility of payment if the total amount of electronic money and points stored in the electronic wallet of the prepaid card 100 (total of the charge balance and point balance) is lower than the payment amount, and if the amount of electronic money stored in the electronic wallet (charge balance) is lower than the difference between the payment amount and the maximum company burden.

[0036] Furthermore, the consumption ratio determination unit 35 determines whether or not the employee's use of the service falls within the scope of welfare benefits based on the determination information (store name and store ID) included in the payment-related information acquired by the payment-related information acquisition unit 34, and if it does not fall within the scope of welfare benefits, determines the consumption ratio of electronic money and points relative to the payment amount so that the point consumption amount is set to zero without calculating the maximum company burden and the payment amount is consumed in electronic money.

[0037] That is, the consumption ratio determination unit 35 acquires a company ID by referring to the electronic wallet information stored in the electronic wallet information storage unit 30A based on the card identification information included in the payment-related information acquired by the payment-related information acquisition unit 34. Then, based on the acquired company ID, it acquires the store name and store ID of a store that the company has approved for use as a use for employee benefits by referring to the employee benefit information stored in the employee benefit information storage unit 30B.

[0038] The consumption ratio determination unit 35 compares the store name and store ID thus acquired with the store name and store ID included in the payment-related information acquired by the payment-related information acquisition unit 34, and if they match, determines that the employee's use of the service falls within the scope of use of employee benefits. If it determines that the use does not fall within the scope of use of employee benefits, it determines the consumption ratio of electronic money and points for the payment amount so that the amount of points consumed is zero and the payment amount is consumed in electronic money.

[0039] On the other hand, if the consumption ratio determination unit 35 determines that the transaction falls within the scope of welfare benefits, it determines the consumption ratio of electronic money and points relative to the payment amount so that the maximum amount of welfare benefits permitted by tax law that the company must pay is consumed in points, and the difference between the payment amount and the maximum amount of welfare benefits that the company must pay is consumed in electronic money. At this time, the consumption ratio determination unit 35 calculates the maximum amount of welfare benefits that the company must pay in accordance with the industry code (information on the purpose of use) included in the payment-related information acquired by the payment-related information acquisition unit 34.

[0040] For example, when the information regarding the intended use indicates that it is a meal subsidy, i.e., when the industry code is the code for "restaurant," the consumption ratio determination unit 35 determines whether the timing when the payment-related information acquisition unit 34 acquired the payment-related information (the timing when the employee made a payment request for use of the service to the store terminal 200) was within the company's working hours, and if it was not within working hours, determines the consumption ratio of electronic money and points for the payment amount so that the point consumption amount is zero and the payment amount is consumed in electronic money without calculating the maximum amount of burden to the company.

[0041] Furthermore, if the business code is a "restaurant" code, the consumption ratio determination unit 35 determines the consumption ratio of electronic money and points for the payment amount, taking into consideration the tax-exempt balance for meals stored in the electronic wallet information storage unit 30A. That is, the consumption ratio determination unit 35 calculates the maximum company burden that does not exceed the tax-exempt balance for meals, and determines the consumption ratio of electronic money and points for the payment amount so that the maximum company burden is consumed in points and the difference between the payment amount and the maximum company burden is consumed in electronic money.

[0042] On the other hand, if the business code is not a "restaurant" code, the consumption ratio determination unit 35 calculates the maximum amount of the company's burden without considering the timing of payment or the remaining tax-free allowance for meals, and determines the consumption ratio of electronic money and points to the payment amount so that the maximum amount of the company's burden is consumed in points and the difference between the payment amount and the maximum amount of the company's burden is consumed in electronic money.

[0043] The determination result notification unit 36 ​​notifies the store terminal 200 of information relating to the content determined by the consumption ratio determination unit 35. This information relating to the determination includes information indicating the consumption ratio of electronic money and points relative to the payment amount, as well as a predetermined message indicating that the decision cannot be made based on the remaining balance of electronic money and points stored in the electronic wallet of the prepaid card 100.

[0044] Figure 6 is a schematic diagram for explaining the consumption ratio determined for the payment amount. This figure shows an example of determining the consumption ratio of electronic money and points for the payment amount, without taking into consideration the remaining tax-exempt limit for meals, so that the maximum amount of points allowed by tax law as employee welfare expenses is consumed as points, and the difference between the payment amount and the maximum amount of company contribution is consumed as electronic money as the employee contribution.

[0045] FIG. 6(a) shows the payment amount in a bar graph. The maximum amount of tax-exempt employee benefit expenses (hereinafter referred to as "exempt employee benefit expenses") permitted under tax law is half of the payment amount. FIG. 6(b) shows the balance of electronic money 10A and points 10B stored in the electronic wallet 10 in a bar graph. In FIG. 6(b), both the balance of electronic money 10A and the balance of points 10B are equal to or greater than half of the payment amount. In this case, the consumption ratio determination unit 35 determines the consumption ratio of electronic money 10A and points 10B relative to the payment amount, as shown by the shaded area, so that half of the payment amount is consumed in points 10B and the remaining half is consumed in electronic money 10A.

[0046] 6(c) shows a case where the balance of electronic money 10A is equal to or greater than half of the payment amount, but the balance of points 10B is less than half of the payment amount. In this case, the consumption ratio determination unit 35 determines the consumption ratio of electronic money 10A and points 10B relative to the payment amount so that the entire balance of points 10B is consumed as the maximum amount of tax-exempt employee welfare expenses permitted under tax law, and the difference between the payment amount and the balance of points 10B (amount borne by the company) is consumed in electronic money 10A as the employee's amount, as shown by the shaded area.

[0047] As shown in FIG. 7(a), even if the balance of electronic money 10A is more than half the payment amount, if the sum of the balance of electronic money 10A and the balance of points 10B is less than the payment amount (if the balance of electronic money 10A is less than the difference between the payment amount and the balance of points 10B), the consumption ratio determination unit 35 outputs a predetermined message regarding the impossibility of payment. Also, as shown in FIG. 7(b), even if the balance of points 10B is more than half the payment amount, if the sum of the balance of electronic money 10A and the balance of points 10B is less than the payment amount, the consumption ratio determination unit 35 also outputs a predetermined message regarding the impossibility of payment. Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 7(c), even if the balance of points 10B is more than half the payment amount and the sum of the balance of electronic money 10A and the balance of points 10B is more than the payment amount, the consumption ratio determination unit 35 also outputs a predetermined message regarding the impossibility of payment.

[0048] The consumption rate determination unit 35 notifies the electronic wallet information management unit 33 of the determined consumption rate of electronic money and points relative to the payment amount (excluding a predetermined message related to non-payment). As described above, based on the determined consumption rate notified by the consumption rate determination unit 35, the electronic wallet information management unit 33 updates the relevant information among the point balance, charge balance, tax-free balance for meals, monthly total point usage amount, monthly total charge usage amount, and monthly total tax amount stored in the electronic wallet information storage unit 30A.

[0049] The consumption rate determination unit 35 also notifies the determination result notification unit 36 ​​of the determined consumption rate of electronic money and points relative to the payment amount (including a predetermined message regarding the impossibility of payment). The determination result notification unit 36 ​​notifies the store terminal 200 of the determination made by the consumption rate determination unit 35.

[0050] Fig. 8 is a flowchart showing an example of the operation of the server 300 according to this embodiment configured as described above. Fig. 8 shows an example of the operation of the payment-related information acquisition unit 34, the consumption rate determination unit 35, and the determination result notification unit 36, and does not illustrate the operation of the charge information acquisition unit 31, the point granting unit 32, and the electronic wallet information management unit 33.

[0051] First, when the payment-related information acquisition unit 34 acquires the payment-related information sent from the store terminal 200 (step S1), the consumption ratio determination unit 35 refers to the electronic wallet information stored in the electronic wallet information storage unit 30A and determines whether the total amount of electronic money and points stored in the electronic wallet of the prepaid card 100 (total balance in the electronic wallet) is equal to or greater than the payment amount (step S2).

[0052] If it is determined that the total balance of the electronic wallet is less than the payment amount, the consumption ratio determination unit 35 generates a predetermined message regarding the inability to pay and outputs it to the determination result notification unit 36 ​​(step S3).On the other hand, if it is determined that the total balance of the electronic wallet is equal to or greater than the payment amount, the consumption ratio determination unit 35 determines whether the employee's use of the service falls within the scope of use of employee benefits, based on the store name and store ID included in the payment-related information (step S4).

[0053] If it is determined that the employee's use of the service does not fall within the scope of employee benefit use, the consumption ratio determination unit 35 references the electronic wallet information stored in the electronic wallet information storage unit 30A and determines whether the balance of electronic money (charge balance) stored in the electronic wallet of the prepaid card 100 is equal to or greater than the payment amount (step S5). If it is determined that the charge balance is less than the payment amount, the process proceeds to step S3. On the other hand, if it is determined that the charge balance is equal to or greater than the payment amount, the consumption ratio determination unit 35 determines the consumption ratio of electronic money and points relative to the payment amount so that the point consumption amount is set to zero and the payment amount is consumed in electronic money, and outputs the determined content to the determination result notification unit 36 ​​(step S6).

[0054] If it is determined in step S4 above that the employee's use of the service falls within the scope of employee benefits, the consumption ratio determination unit 35 refers to the electronic wallet information stored in the electronic wallet information storage unit 30A and determines whether the balance of electronic money (charge balance) stored in the electronic wallet of the prepaid card 100 is equal to or greater than half of the payment amount (step S7).

[0055] If it is determined that the charge balance is less than half of the payment amount, the process proceeds to step S3. On the other hand, if it is determined that the charge balance is equal to or greater than half of the payment amount, the consumption ratio determination unit 35 calculates the maximum amount of payment that the company is permitted to pay as tax-exempt employee welfare expenses under tax law based on the industry code and payment timing included in the payment-related information acquired by the payment-related information acquisition unit 34, determines the consumption ratio of electronic money and points for the payment amount so that the maximum amount of payment is paid in points and the difference between the payment amount and the maximum amount of payment is paid in electronic money, and outputs the determined ratio to the determination result notification unit 36 ​​(step S8).

[0056] When the consumption ratio of electronic money and points relative to the payment amount is determined in step S3, step S6, or step S8, the determination result notification unit 36 ​​notifies the store terminal 200 of information related to the content determined by the consumption ratio determination unit 35 (step S9). This ends the processing of the flowchart shown in FIG.

[0057] As described above in detail, the employee benefit processing system of this embodiment includes a prepaid card 100 that stores personal electronic money charged by employees and points provided from a server for corporate employee benefits as electronic wallets, a store terminal 200 used by stores that provide various services, and a server 300 that processes employee benefits. The server 300 calculates the maximum corporate burden permitted by tax law as tax-exempt employee benefit expenses for the payment amount to be paid to the store when the employee uses various services, determines the consumption ratio of electronic money and points relative to the payment amount so that the maximum corporate burden is consumed in points and the difference between the payment amount and the maximum corporate burden is consumed in electronic money, and the store terminal 200 performs processing related to payment of the payment amount using the electronic money and points stored in the electronic wallet of the prepaid card 100 in accordance with the determined consumption ratio.

[0058] According to this embodiment configured as described above, personal electronic money charged by employees and points provided for corporate employee benefits are stored in advance in the electronic wallet of the prepaid card 100. When the employee pays for the costs (payment amount) of using various services, the maximum amount of the company's share permitted under tax law as tax-exempt employee benefits is consumed in points, and the difference between the payment amount and the maximum amount of the company's share is consumed in electronic money, so that the company's share amount and the employee's share amount can be paid in real time using the prepaid card 100.

[0059] Furthermore, according to this embodiment, when an employee attempts to use the prepaid card 100 to make a payment at a store, if the employee's balance of electronic money and / or points is insufficient to make the payment, the employee is notified that the payment is not possible. Furthermore, if the service at the store for which the employee is attempting to pay using the prepaid card 100 is not within the scope of use of employee benefits, payment is automatically made using only the electronic money. This allows the employee to use the prepaid card 100 without worrying about the balance of electronic money and points, and without being particularly conscious of whether the service is eligible for employee benefits subsidies.

[0060] In the above embodiment, the prepaid card 100 is used as an example of an electronic wallet storage medium, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, as shown in FIG. 9, a storage medium built into a mobile terminal 100' (corresponding to the employee terminal in the claims), such as a smartphone or tablet, carried by an employee may be used as the electronic wallet storage medium. The mobile terminal (employee terminal) 100' and the store terminal 200 are wirelessly connected by wireless communication means such as Bluetooth (registered trademark) or wireless LAN. The employee terminal 100' and the server 300 are also connected via a communication network 500.

[0061] When the employee terminal 100' is used as an electronic wallet storage medium, the employee terminal 100' may be equipped with the functions of the server 300 shown in FIG. 3 (excluding the point granting unit 32). In this case, the employee terminal 100' with the built-in electronic wallet storage medium corresponds to the information processing device in the claims. Also, in this case, the store terminal 200 and server 300 in FIG. 9 are replaced with a store terminal 200' and a server 300'. The store terminal 200' communicates with the employee terminal 100', not with the server 300'. The server 300' is only required to be equipped with at least the point granting unit 32.

[0062] Fig. 10 is a block diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of the employee terminal 100' when the employee terminal 100' is configured to have the functions (excluding the point granting unit 32) of the server 300 shown in Fig. 3. In Fig. 10, components with the same reference numerals as those shown in Fig. 3 have the same functions, and therefore redundant explanations will be omitted here.

[0063] As shown in FIG. 10, the employee terminal 100′ includes, as its functional components, a charge information acquisition unit 31′, a point information acquisition unit 32′, an electronic wallet information management unit 33′, a payment-related information acquisition unit 34′, a consumption rate determination unit 35, a determination result notification unit 36, a payment processing unit 37, and a message display unit 38. The employee terminal 100′ also includes, as storage media, an electronic wallet information storage unit 30A′ and a welfare program information storage unit 30B′. The electronic wallet information storage unit 30A′ corresponds to the electronic wallet storage medium. A welfare program processing program (hereinafter sometimes referred to as a welfare program app) for performing processing related to the functional components shown in FIG. 10 is installed on the employee terminal 100′.

[0064] The employee terminal 100' can be used to charge electronic money using the employee benefit program app. For example, electronic money can be charged by cash payment using a charging terminal (not shown) (for example, a convenience store cash register or a bank ATM). Alternatively, by registering cash card or credit card information in the employee benefit program app, charging can also be done by bank transfer or credit card payment. The charge information acquisition unit 31' acquires charge information indicating the amount of charged electronic money and notifies the acquired charge information to the electronic wallet information management unit 33'.

[0065] The point information acquisition unit 32' acquires point information indicating the number of points awarded by the point awarding unit 32 of the server 300' via the communication network 500, and notifies the acquired point information to the electronic wallet information management unit 33'.

[0066] The electronic wallet information management unit 33' manages information related to the electronic wallet stored in the electronic wallet information storage unit 30A' based on the charge information notified from the charge information acquisition unit 31', the point information notified from the point information acquisition unit 32', and the consumption rate information notified from the payment processing unit 37. The electronic wallet information storage unit 30A' stores only electronic wallet information related to one employee who uses the employee terminal 100', and the electronic wallet information management unit 33' only needs to manage the electronic wallet information of that one employee.

[0067] Of the information shown in Fig. 4, the electronic wallet information management unit 33' does not necessarily need to store card identification information. The employee benefit information storage unit 30B' is only required to store information about services that are recognized as benefits by the company to which the employee using the employee terminal 100' belongs. The employee benefit information in the employee benefit information storage unit 30B' is, for example, downloaded from the server 300' to the employee terminal 100' and stored in advance.

[0068] The payment-related information acquisition unit 34' acquires payment-related information (including the payment amount and store information) sent by the payment-related information transmission unit 23 of the store terminal 200'. The consumption ratio determination unit 35 determines the consumption ratio of electronic money and points for the payment amount included in the payment-related information acquired by the payment-related information acquisition unit 34' in the same manner as in the above-mentioned embodiment. If payment is not possible, a predetermined message regarding the impossibility of payment is generated and output to the message display unit 38, which then displays it on the display of the employee terminal 100'.

[0069] The payment processing unit 37 controls the electronic wallet information management unit 33' in accordance with the consumption rate determined by the consumption rate determination unit 35, and performs processing related to payment of the settlement amount to the store terminal 200' using the electronic money and points stored in the electronic wallet in the electronic wallet information storage unit 30A'. That is, the payment processing unit 37 notifies the electronic wallet information management unit 33' and the store terminal 200' of information related to the details determined by the consumption rate determination unit 35, and the electronic wallet information management unit 33' and the payment processing unit 25 perform processing in accordance with this to consume the electronic money and points from the electronic wallet of the employee terminal 100' according to the determined consumption rate, respectively, to make a payment.

[0070] As described above, even when the employee terminal 100' is configured as shown in Figure 10, by storing personal electronic money charged by employees and points provided for corporate employee benefits in the electronic wallet of the employee terminal 100' in advance, when the employee pays the cost (payment amount) of using various services, the maximum amount of corporate burden permitted by tax law as tax-exempt employee benefits expenses can be consumed in points, and the difference between the payment amount and the maximum amount of corporate burden can be consumed in electronic money, allowing the amount of corporate burden and the amount of employee burden to be settled in real time on the employee terminal 100'.

[0071] 10, employee electronic wallet information can be managed within the employee terminal 100', and payments can be made between the employee terminal 100' and the store terminal 200' without going through the server 300'. Also, with the configuration as shown in FIG. 10, electronic money can be used at stores other than credit card member stores, and it is possible to calculate the consumption ratio between electronic money and points and make payments only when making payments at credit card member stores.

[0072] In the configuration shown in FIG. 10, the employee terminal 100 ′ may notify the server 300 ′ of the point consumption status, and the server 300 ′ may provide this information to the company terminal 400 .

[0073] Furthermore, in the above embodiment, the electronic wallet information for each employee managed by the electronic wallet information management unit 33 of the server 300 may be configured to be transmitted to the company terminal 400 or to be viewable from the company terminal 400. This allows the company to grasp the usage status of employee benefits by each employee. A predetermined aggregation process may be performed on the electronic wallet information for each employee, and the aggregation results may be provided to the company terminal 400.

[0074] In the above embodiment, the consumption ratio determination unit 35 calculates the maximum company contribution amount that does not exceed the tax-exempt balance for meals, thereby consuming points within the tax-exempt balance. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, even if the amount exceeds the tax-exempt balance for meals, if the employee contribution amount is equal to or greater than half of the payment amount, the unit may determine that points will be consumed in excess of the tax-exempt balance. However, in this case, points consumed in excess of the tax-exempt balance for meals will be treated as taxable employee benefits expenses (or taxable salary allowances) and will be taxed. Therefore, information indicating the taxation details is provided from the server 300 to the company terminal 400.

[0075] Furthermore, in the above embodiment, an example was described in which the maximum amount permitted by tax law as tax-exempt employee benefits expenses (up to half of the payment amount) was consumed with company points, and the difference between the company's share and the payment amount was consumed with the employee's electronic money. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, each company may be able to set whether or not to consume points beyond the tax-exempt limit (whether or not to consume taxable employee benefits expenses permitted by tax law as taxable employee benefits expenses with points). Furthermore, if point consumption beyond the tax-exempt limit is permitted, the percentage of point consumption relative to the settlement amount (between 50% and 100%) may be set for each company. Since point consumption exceeding the tax-exempt limit is subject to tax, information indicating the tax details is provided from server 300 to company terminal 400.

[0076] When it is set that points are to be consumed as taxable welfare expenses, the consumption ratio determination unit 35 determines the consumption ratio of electronic money and points to the settlement amount so that the total amount of tax-exempt welfare expenses and taxable welfare expenses is consumed in points and the difference between the total amount and the settlement amount is consumed in electronic money.

[0077] In the above embodiment, the consumption ratio determination unit 35 calculates the maximum company burden without considering the timing of payment or the remaining tax-free allowance for meal use when the business type code is not a "restaurant" code. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, when the business type code is a "lodging" code (when the information regarding the use acquired by the payment-related information acquisition unit 34 indicates that the payment is a lodging subsidy), an amount equivalent to the accommodation tax levied on the payment amount (lodging fee) may be consumed as the employee burden in electronic money, and the difference between the employee burden and the payment amount may be consumed in company points. This is because the accommodation tax is not subject to consumption tax, and if it were included in the company's employee benefits expenses, it would result in a burden on the accounting staff.

[0078] In this case, if the business code is "accommodation," the consumption ratio determination unit 35 calculates the amount obtained by subtracting the amount equivalent to the accommodation tax from the payment amount as the maximum amount of employee welfare expenses permitted by tax law, and determines the consumption ratio of electronic money and points relative to the payment amount so that the maximum amount of the company's burden is consumed in points and the amount equivalent to the accommodation tax is consumed in electronic money. Note that, since the accommodation tax varies depending on the location, a predetermined percentage of the payment amount (for example, any of 5 to 10%) may be consumed in electronic money to ensure that the amount equivalent to the accommodation tax is consumed in electronic money as the employee's burden.

[0079] In the above embodiment, an example has been described in which electronic money and points are recorded on the prepaid card 100, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, electronic money and points may not be recorded on the prepaid card 100, and may be managed only by the electronic wallet information storage unit 30A of the server 300. In this case, the electronic wallet information storage unit 30A corresponds to the electronic wallet storage medium in the claims. Also, the prepaid card 100 may record charged electronic money, and points awarded by the server 300 may be managed only by the electronic wallet information storage unit 30A of the server 300. In this case, the prepaid card 100 and the electronic wallet information storage unit 30A correspond to the electronic wallet storage medium in the claims.

[0080] Furthermore, the above-described embodiments are merely examples of specific embodiments for carrying out the present invention, and the technical scope of the present invention should not be construed as being limited thereby. In other words, the present invention can be carried out in various forms without departing from the gist or main characteristics thereof. [Explanation of symbols]

[0081] 31,31' Charge information acquisition section 32 Point Awarding Department 32' Point information acquisition section 33,33' Electronic Wallet Information Management Department 34,34' Payment-related information acquisition section 35 Consumption ratio determination unit 36 Decision result notification department 37 Payment Processing Unit 100 Prepaid Card (Electronic Wallet Storage Medium) 100' Employee terminal (information processing device) 200,200' Store terminal 300, 300' Server (information processing device)

Claims

1. an acquisition unit that acquires information regarding the amount paid by the employee to the store and the purpose of the payment; In an electronic wallet for making payments using the employee's electronic money and points granted by the company to which the employee belongs, a determination unit that determines, based on information regarding the purpose of use acquired by the acquisition unit, the portion to be paid in the points and the portion to be paid in the electronic money with respect to the amount acquired by the acquisition unit; an electronic wallet information storage unit that stores the identification information of the electronic wallet, the balance of the electronic money, and the balance of the points in association with each other; an electronic wallet information management unit that manages by subtracting the balance of the electronic money and the balance of the points stored in the electronic wallet information storage unit based on information on the portion to be paid with the points and the portion to be paid with the electronic money regarding the amount to be paid by the employee to the store determined by the determination unit; An information processing device comprising:

2. The information regarding the intended use is information regarding the business type. The information processing device according to claim 1 .

3. The information about the business type is information about meals or accommodations. The information processing device according to claim 2 .

4. When the information regarding the purpose of use acquired by the acquisition unit relates to meals, the determination unit determines the portion to be paid in points and the portion to be paid in electronic money with respect to the amount to be paid by the employee to the store acquired by the acquisition unit, based on the maximum amount of tax-exempt employee benefit expenses that a company must bear under tax law as non-taxable benefits on the employee's salary.

4. The information processing device according to claim 1.

5. When the information regarding the purpose of use acquired by the acquisition unit relates to accommodation, the determination unit determines that the amount equivalent to the accommodation tax out of the amount acquired by the acquisition unit to be paid by the employee to the store is the portion to be paid by the electronic money, and determines that the amount obtained by subtracting the amount equivalent to the accommodation tax from the amount acquired by the acquisition unit to be the portion to be paid by the points. The information processing device according to any one of claims 1 to 4.

6. a setting unit for setting whether or not to pay taxable welfare expenses under the tax law as taxable welfare expenses on the salary of the employee in addition to welfare expenses not taxable under the tax law as welfare expenses not taxable on the salary of the employee with the points; When the setting unit has set that taxable welfare expenses under tax law are to be paid with the points as taxable welfare expenses on the employee's salary, the determination unit determines that the total amount of the non-taxable welfare expenses and the taxable welfare expenses is to be paid with the points with respect to the amount paid by the employee to the store acquired by the acquisition unit. The information processing device according to any one of claims 1 to 5.

7. Obtain information regarding the amount of payment made by employees to the store and the purpose of such payment, In an electronic wallet for making payments using the employee's electronic money and points granted by the company to which the employee belongs, determining the portion of the acquired amount to be paid using the points and the portion to be paid using the electronic money based on the acquired information regarding the purpose of use; storing the identification information of the electronic wallet, the balance of the electronic money, and the balance of the points in an electronic wallet information storage unit in association with each other; Based on information on the portion of the amount to be paid by the employee to the store that is determined to be paid by the points and the portion of the amount to be paid by the electronic money, the balance of the electronic money and the balance of the points stored in the electronic wallet information storage unit are deducted. An information processing method in which processing is performed by a computer.

8. Obtain information regarding the amount of payment made by employees to the store and the purpose of such payment, In an electronic wallet for making payments using the employee's electronic money and points granted by the company to which the employee belongs, determining the portion of the acquired amount to be paid using the points and the portion to be paid using the electronic money based on the acquired information regarding the purpose of use; storing the identification information of the electronic wallet, the balance of the electronic money, and the balance of the points in an electronic wallet information storage unit in association with each other; Based on information on the portion of the amount to be paid by the employee to the store that is determined to be paid by the points and the portion of the amount to be paid by the electronic money, the balance of the electronic money and the balance of the points stored in the electronic wallet information storage unit are deducted. A program that causes a computer to perform a process.

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