To provide a transportation expense payment system and a transportation expense payment method.

Abstract

To provide a technology for efficiently supporting transportation expense payment business of a prescribed amount to an unspecified number of payment object persons.SOLUTION: A transportation expense payment system includes a user computer, a company computer of a company that prompts a user to use a public transportation network in which a destination is designated, a payment computer of a person in charge of payment of transportation expenses to an account designated by the user in the company, and a transportation expense payment device including a processing unit and a storage unit. The processing part stores a financial institution name, an account number, and an account name inputted by the user in a storage part, accepts an application of prescribed transportation expenses based on a departure place and an arrival place inputted by the user, accepts an input of an error in the application as a result of checking the application from a computer in charge of payment, and transmits e-mail for urging the user to apply again.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a transportation expense payment system and a transportation expense payment method. [Background technology]

[0002] When companies interview prospective students, they often pay the students' travel expenses either in cash on the day of the interview in exchange for a receipt, or by the students applying online at a later date.

[0003] Patent document 1 describes a technology that allows the person in charge of payment to easily determine whether the name of the financial institution, account number, etc. have been entered correctly, and that recognizes the user using a user ID converted from the company code and user email address when the user logs in to the URL of a transportation expense payment site, thereby assisting the company in paying the specified amount of transportation expenses. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2014-203438 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] The technology described in Patent Document 1 is a technology that supports companies in paying a set amount of travel expenses, but if an inappropriate application is made, the company representative or payment officer must check and exclude it, and there is room for improvement in administrative efficiency.

[0006] The present invention has been made in consideration of the above points, and aims to provide a technology that efficiently supports the payment of travel expenses of a specified amount to an unspecified number of payment recipients. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] The present application includes a number of means for solving the above problems, examples of which are as follows.

[0008] In order to solve the above problem, one embodiment of the present invention provides a transportation expense payment system comprising: a user computer operated by a user; a company computer of a company that encourages the user to use a public transportation network with a specified destination; a payment computer of a payment officer at the company who is responsible for paying transportation expenses to a designated account at a financial institution specified by the user; and a transportation expense payment device connected to the payment officer computer via a network and comprising a processing unit and a memory unit, wherein the user computer is operated by a user who is claiming transportation expenses using a public transportation network from a departure point to the destination, and the transportation expense payment device assists in the task of transferring transportation expenses from the departure point to the destination to a designated account at the financial institution specified by the user, and the processing unit stores in the memory unit the name of the financial institution, the account number at the financial institution, and the account name entered by the user using the user computer, accepts an application for payment of the standard transportation expenses based on the departure point and destination entered by the user, and when the payment officer computer checks the application and finds that there is an error in the application, it sends an email to the user urging them to resubmit the application.

[0009] In addition, the above-mentioned transportation expense payment system may be characterized in that, when the user computer receives one or more applications for payment of the specified transportation expenses based on the departure point, destination point, and date and time of use of the public transportation network input by the user, it stops accepting inputs from the user that overlap with the dates and times.

[0010] In addition, the above-mentioned transportation expense payment system may be characterized in that, when the processing unit of the transportation expense payment device receives a notification that there was an error in the transfer process to a specified financial institution in response to an application for payment of the specified transportation expenses, it sends an email to the user urging them to reapply.

[0011] In addition, the above-mentioned transportation expense payment system may be characterized in that the processing unit accepts an application for payment of the specified transportation expenses, and when it receives input from the payment computer indicating that there is a duplication in the application after checking the application against past applications, it sends an email to the user urging them to reapply.

[0012] Furthermore, in the above-mentioned transportation expense payment system, the processing unit may be characterized in that even when it receives input indicating that there is a duplication in the application, if the previous application that the application overlaps with resulted in an error because the account had been closed or the account name had been changed, it does not send an email to the user urging them to reapply.

[0013] In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, a transportation expense payment method according to another aspect of the present invention is a transportation expense payment method used in a transportation expense payment system comprising a user computer operated by a user, a company computer of a company that encourages the user to use a public transportation network with a designated destination, a payment computer of a payment officer at the company who is responsible for paying transportation expenses to a designated account at a financial institution designated by the user, and a transportation expense payment device that is connected to the payment officer computer via a network and comprises a processing unit and a memory unit, wherein the user computer is operated by a user who is claiming transportation expenses using a public transportation network from a departure point to the destination. The transportation expense payment device assists in the task of transferring transportation expenses from the departure point to the destination point to a designated account of a financial institution designated by the user, and the processing unit performs the steps of storing in the memory unit the name of the financial institution, the account number of the financial institution, and the account holder name entered by the user operating the user computer; accepting an application for payment of the specified transportation expenses based on the departure point and destination point entered by the user; accepting an input from the payment computer that there is an error in the application after checking the application; and sending an email to the user urging them to resubmit the application. [Effects of the Invention]

[0014] According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a technology that efficiently supports the payment of travel expenses of a specified amount to an unspecified number of payment recipients.

[0015] Problems, configurations, and effects other than those described above will become apparent from the following description of the embodiments. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0016] [Figure 1] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of functional blocks of a transportation expense payment system. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a data structure of a company master. [Figure 3] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a list of data structures of a transportation expense master. [Figure 4] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of a data structure of a business establishment master. [Figure 5] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of the data structure of a venue master. [Figure 6] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of a data structure of a user master. [Figure 7] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of a data structure of a person in charge master. [Figure 8] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of the data structure of a transfer information DB. [Figure 9] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration of a transportation expense payment device. [Figure 10] 10 is a flowchart showing an example of a transportation expense payment process. [Figure 11] 10 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a return notification process. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0017] DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a diagram showing an example of functional blocks of a transportation expense payment system;

[0018] As shown in Figure 1, in the transportation expense payment system 1 according to this embodiment, transportation expense payment operations are carried out using a transportation expense payment device 100, a computer of a student who is a prospective employee such as a new graduate, a company device 200 which is a computer of a company representative that conducts company interviews when hiring students and training after a job offer, and a payment processing device 400 which is a computer of a payment representative that is responsible for paying the specified amount of transportation expenses to prospective employees at the company.

[0019] The transportation expense payment system 1 is connected via a network 90 such as the Internet to a financial processing device 300, which is a device of a financial institution that transfers transportation expenses to a designated account at a financial institution designated by a student, in response to instructions from a payment processing device 400, which is a computer in charge of paying transportation expenses. The transportation expense payment system 1 transfers the specified transportation expenses from the location requested by the student (for example, the location of the prefectural capital or the location of the school) to the location of the interview venue or training venue designated by the company to the designated account at the financial institution designated by the student.

[0020] In this embodiment, the transportation expenses are not actual expenses, but a set amount that takes into account the approximate cost of regular public transportation to the location applied for by the student and the location designated by the company (for example, an amount determined by company regulations such as 1,000 yen round trip for travel within the same prefecture, 2,000 yen round trip for travel within an adjacent prefecture, or 50,000 yen for travel from Hokkaido to Tokyo).

[0021] Travel expense payment device 100 according to this embodiment includes processing unit 110 that performs various processes, storage unit 130 that includes multiple masters and databases referenced by each processing unit, input unit 150 that accepts input, output unit 160 that creates a screen to display an output screen, and communication unit 170 that connects to other devices via network 90 such as the Internet so that communication is possible. Travel expense payment device 100 also includes a web function unit (not shown) that provides a travel expense payment site (web page) via the Internet to the computers of students, company representatives, and payment representatives, and control means (not shown) that controls these.

[0022] The processing unit 110 includes multiple processing units. Specifically, the processing unit 110 includes an email sending / receiving unit 112 that sends and receives emails to and from students via the network 90, a user application unit 111 that processes the acceptance of travel expense applications submitted by students using a travel expense payment site (webpage) described below, an approval unit 114 that processes the travel expense applications to obtain approval from the company representative, a payer transfer unit 115 that notifies the payment processing device 400, which is the company's computer in charge of payment, of the travel expense payment approved by the approval unit 114, a management data creation unit 113 that creates management data for travel expense payments, a transfer data creation unit 116 that creates transfer data related to transfers, and a workflow management unit 117 that manages business processes related to travel expense payments on a computer system.

[0023] The email sending / receiving unit 112 is used to send and receive emails, such as when a company representative sends a notification of the result to a student when a student's application is returned due to insufficient approval or application, when receiving and receiving inquiry emails from students, when a student has forgotten their password or login key, when a return is made because an account check result is NG due to a duplicate billing, and when a return is made because a financial institution has notified them of an error in the transfer process, such as when the designated account at the financial institution has already been closed or the name has been changed. When a student has forgotten their password, the student applies via user application unit 111, including the company code, user ID, and login key, and the email sending / receiving unit 112 sends an email notification. When a student has forgotten their login key, the student applies via user application unit 111, including the company code, user ID, and password, and the email sending / receiving unit 112 sends an email notification.

[0024] The memory unit 130 includes a company master 131 that stores the company name corresponding to the company code, the payment method for the specified amount of transportation and accommodation expenses, etc.; a transportation expense master 132 that stores the transportation expense category and specified transportation expenses for the departure point (departure) and arrival point (arrival) corresponding to the company code; a business establishment master 133 that stores the business establishment code and business establishment name of the company corresponding to the company code; a venue master 134 that stores the venue code, venue name, and location code of the interview or training location corresponding to the company code; a user master 135 that stores the user ID (email address in principle) and password of students who are users who will be interviewing with companies, etc.; a person in charge master 136 that stores information on the person in charge corresponding to the company code for each person in charge at the company; an application information database (hereinafter, database may be abbreviated to DB) 137 that stores application information regarding transportation expenses from users (students); and a transfer information DB 138 that stores transfer information such as payment dates and transfer amounts for past corporate transactions.

[0025] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of the data structure of the company master. The company master 131 is configured to store information for each item, including the company code, the company name, the payment category for distinguishing whether the company has its own payment function (system) and whether it is an agent payment, the payment company code representing the agent company's company code, the login category for distinguishing whether the ID is registered or not, the initial password representing the password used at the first login, the login display category for distinguishing the initial screen at login, the login display data for distinguishing the screen at login, the transportation expense payment method representing the type of master (prefecture, business establishment, route specification, flat rate) that specifies the transportation expense payment method, the fixed payment amount representing the amount to be paid when the transportation expense payment method is a flat rate, the accommodation expense payment method representing the type of accommodation expense payment method (no payment, actual cost payment, flat rate payment), the fixed accommodation expense representing the amount to be paid when the accommodation expense payment method is a flat rate payment, the registration deadline category representing whether there is a deadline for registration in this company master, the registration due date representing the number of days when the registration deadline has a deadline, the fee representing the payment fee, other reserves 01 to 10, and the update date and time of each item.

[0026] 3 is a diagram showing an example of the data structure of the transportation expense master. The transportation expense master 132 stores company codes, transportation expense categories, and standard transportation expenses, and is configured to classify the transportation expense categories into transportation expenses between the prefecture and business establishment that is the user's (student's) departure point (departure) and the prefecture and business establishment that is the destination (arrival), transportation expenses between the prefecture and business establishment that is the departure point and the prefecture that is the destination, transportation expenses between the prefecture and business establishment that is the departure point and the prefecture and business establishment that is the destination, and transportation expenses between the prefecture of the departure point and the prefecture of the destination, and to store standard amounts of transportation expenses corresponding to the categories.

[0027] For example, transportation expense category "1" is a category that designates transportation expenses between the departure point and the destination as transportation expenses between the two business locations of the relevant company, transportation expense category "2" is a category that designates transportation expenses between the departure point only as a business location and the destination as transportation expenses between prefectures, transportation expense category "3" is the opposite of category "2," and transportation expense category "4" is a category that designates transportation expenses between the departure point and the destination as transportation expenses between prefectures where the relevant company is located. These categories are set in advance by each company.

[0028] 4 is a diagram showing an example of the data structure of the establishment master. The establishment master 133 is configured to store information about each item, such as the company code, the establishment code of the company, the name of the establishment where interviews and the like are conducted at the company, other spares 01 to 03, the original input date and time of each item, and the update date and time when the item is updated.

[0029] 5 is a diagram showing an example of the data structure of the venue master. The venue master 134 is configured to store information about each item, such as a company code, a venue code of the venue where the company conducts interviews, etc., a venue name, a location code indicating the location of the venue, spares 01 to 03, the original input date and time of the item, and the update date and time when the item is updated.

[0030] 6 is a diagram showing an example of the data structure of the user master. The user master 135 stores the user ID (essay, email address) and password of a student who is a user who is interviewing a company, etc., and is configured to store, according to the company code, information on each item including the user ID, the password used to log in using the user ID, the user's name (first name, last name), the name of the school to which the student belongs, the location code of the school, the user's email address, the home telephone number, the mobile phone number, the transfer bank code indicating the bank to which the transportation fee is to be transferred, the transfer bank name, the transfer branch code, the transfer branch name, the account type, the account number, the account name, the account name in kana, the account file indicating the file name of the account file, the login key using the selection number uniquely assigned at the time of the interview, the login flag indicating whether the user has already logged in, other spares 01 to 03, the input date and time, and the update date and time.

[0031] 7 is a diagram showing an example of the data structure of the person in charge master. The person in charge master 136 stores information about the person in charge corresponding to the company code of each person in charge of a company, and is configured to store information about each item including the company code to which the person in charge belongs, the establishment code to which the person in charge belongs, the person in charge's user ID, the password used by the person in charge to log in to the system, the person in charge's name, the person in charge's name in kana, the person in charge's authority, the person in charge's email address, a login flag, other spares 01 to 03, the input date and time, and the update date and time.

[0032] FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of the data structure of the transfer information DB. The transfer information DB138 stores transfer information such as payment dates and transfer amounts for past corporate transactions, and is configured to store, corresponding to a company code, the payment date of transportation expenses, the scheduled transfer amount, the number of scheduled transfers, the transfer amount that has been transferred, the number of transfers, the number of account errors where transfers were not made due to account number discrepancies, the confirmed transfer amount indicating the confirmed transfer amount, the number of transfer errors where transfers were not made due to factors other than account number discrepancies (differences in name, bank name, branch name, account type, etc.), the status indicating the state from the creation of the transfer information to the completion of payment (transfer data created, downloaded, account uploaded, account checked, payment uploaded, paid), the payment file name when creating the transfer information, account check completion detail data indicating the details of the checked account, the financial institution's fees required for the transfer, other spares 01 to 05, input date and time, and each item information of the update date and time.

[0033] The above is the configuration of transportation expense payment device 100. Like a general computer system, transportation expense payment device 100 configured in this way includes a CPU as a control means, memory as a temporary storage means, basic software (operating system), various software for executing the various functions of the system, browser software, data storage means such as a magnetic disk drive for storing data, a display unit, input / output devices such as a keyboard, and various interface devices, and the same is true for the computers of the student, company representative, payment representative, and financial institution.

[0034] The travel expense payment system 1 also includes a company device 200, which is a company's computer that conducts company interviews when hiring students and training after a job offer is made, a payment processing device 400, which is a payment computer that is responsible for paying the specified amount of travel expenses to prospective employees at the company, and a financial processing device 300 of a financial institution that receives firm banking instructions for processing from the payment processing device 400 and actually transfers the travel expenses.

[0035] Corporate device 200 includes processing unit 210, input unit 240, output unit 250, and communication unit 260. Processing unit 210 includes application processing unit 211. Application processing unit 211 has a function as a web browser, accesses the web page of transportation expense payment device 100 via communication unit 260, outputs a list of transportation expenses requested by students for reference via output unit 250, and accepts separate input of approval or rejection of each application via input unit 240. In this transportation expense payment system 1, when corporate device 200 accepts input of whether to approve payment of transportation expenses requested by students, it passes the input to approval unit 114 of transportation expense payment device 100. Communication unit 260 is connected to other devices so that they can communicate with each other via network 90 such as the Internet.

[0036] The payment processing device 400 includes a processing unit 410, a memory unit 430, an input unit 440, an output unit 450, and a communication unit 460. The processing unit 410 includes a transfer request processing unit 411 and an FB data generation unit 412. The transfer request processing unit 411 has a function as a web browser, accesses the web page of the travel expense payment device 100 via the communication unit 460, and outputs a screen created by the payer transfer unit 115 for reference via the output unit 450. If there is a discrepancy with the account information for each application, it is accepted from the payment person via the input unit 440 (account check). In the present travel expense payment system 1, when the payment processing device 400 accepts input indicating that there is no discrepancy between the content of the requested travel expense transfer process and the account information registered in advance by the user application unit 111, it passes the input to the transfer data creation unit 116 of the travel expense payment device 100.

[0037] The FB data generation unit 412 accesses the transportation expense payment device 100 via the communication unit 460, generates FB data (data for transfers in a firm banking service that allows balance inquiries and transfer requests via the Internet) in a specified format from the transfer data created by the transfer data creation unit 116, stores the data in the firm banking information 431 in the memory unit 430, and delivers it to the financial processing device 300 via the network 90 on a specified date.

[0038] The storage unit 430 includes firm banking information 431. The firm banking information 431 stores FB data in a predetermined format generated by the FB data generation unit 412. The communication unit 460 is connected to other devices so as to be able to communicate with them via a network 90 such as the Internet.

[0039] Financial processing device 300 includes a processing unit 310, a memory unit 330, and a communication unit 350. Processing unit 310 includes a firm banking reception unit 311 and an account transfer unit 312. Firm banking reception unit 311 receives FB data delivered from payment processing device 400 and stores it in firm banking information 331 in memory unit 330. Account transfer unit 312 reads the FB data received by firm banking reception unit 311 and performs account transfer processing (fund transfer processing between accounts) according to the transfer details included in the FB data.

[0040] The storage unit 330 includes firm banking information 331. The firm banking information 331 stores FB data in a predetermined format generated by the FB data generation unit 412. The communication unit 350 is connected to other devices so as to be able to communicate with them via a network 90 such as the Internet.

[0041] In Figure 1, one corporate device 200, one financial processing device 300, and one payment processing device 400 are connected to one transportation expense payment device 100, but the number of devices that the transportation expense payment system 1 has is not limited to the example shown in Figure 1.

[0042] Travel expense payment device 100 is an information processing device such as a server computer or a PC (Personal Computer), and is operated, for example, by a travel expense payment service provider that uses travel expense payment system 1. As an example, the provider positions travel expense payment device 100 as a cloud server accessible via network 90, and offers a travel expense payment service as a cloud service.

[0043] The corporate device 200, the financial processing device 300, and the payment processing device 400 are each an information processing device such as a PC, a smartphone, a PDA (Personal Digital Assistant), a notebook computer, or a tablet terminal. Furthermore, the payment processing device 400 may be operated by, for example, a travel expense payment service provider that uses the travel expense payment system 1, or may be operated by another outsourcing service provider.

[0044] 9 is a diagram showing an example of the hardware configuration of travel expense payment device 100. Travel expense payment device 100 includes a calculation device 11, a memory 12, an external storage device 13, an input IF (Interface) 14, an output IF 15, a communication IF 16, and a storage medium drive device 17, and each component is connected by a bus.

[0045] Arithmetic device 11 is a calculation device such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit), and executes processing in accordance with a program recorded in memory 12 or external storage device 13. In transportation expense payment device 100, processing is performed by arithmetic device 11 that operates in accordance with a program read onto memory 12 or external storage device 13. Processing unit 110 realizes each function by arithmetic device 11 executing the program.

[0046] The memory 12 is a storage device such as RAM (Random Access Memory) or flash memory, and functions as a storage area from which programs and data are temporarily read. The external storage device 13 is, for example, a writable and readable storage medium and storage media drive such as an HDD (Hard Disk Drive), CD-R (Compact Disc-Recordable), or DVD-RAM (Digital Versatile Disk-Random Access Memory). The functions of the storage unit 130 are realized by the memory 12 or the external storage device 13. Note that the functions of the storage unit 130 may also be realized by a storage device connected via the communication IF 16.

[0047] The input IF 14 is an interface for receiving input operations from an operator, and is connected to input devices such as a touch panel, keyboard, mouse, microphone, etc. The output IF 15 is an interface for outputting information to an output device such as an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) built into the transportation expense payment device 100.

[0048] The communication IF 16 is an interface for connecting the travel expense payment device 100 to other devices via the network 90, and is connected to a communication device such as a LAN (Local Area Network) card. The storage medium drive device 17 is a device for inputting and outputting information from a portable medium 18 such as a CD (Compact Disk) or a DVD (Digital Versatile Disk).

[0049] The processing of each component of travel expense payment device 100 may be executed by one piece of hardware or by multiple pieces of hardware. Furthermore, the processing of each component of travel expense payment device 100 may be realized by one program or by multiple programs.

[0050] The hardware configurations of the company device 200, the financial processing device 300, and the payment processing device 400 are the same as those of the travel expense payment device 100, and therefore will not be described here.

[0051] [Operation] Now, the transportation expense payment system 1 according to this embodiment receives a transportation expense application from a student via the Internet at the transportation expense payment site, the user application unit 111 performs an acceptance process, the accepted transportation expense application is approved by the company representative using the approval unit 114, and the approved transportation expense payment is notified to the company's payment representative's computer by the payer transfer unit 115, thereby supporting the transportation expense transfer process requested by the payment representative to a financial institution. The details of this operation are explained next.

[0052] In this embodiment, when students apply for travel expenses, the company publishes a web page for travel expense applications in advance on the company's computer's travel expense payment site, and this published travel expense payment site has a function that allows students to input the departure and arrival points for their desired interview venue (company office or a venue designated by the company) in designated fields, and a function to take a photo or use a camera to input image data of the relevant page of the student's bankbook to confirm the account name and account number at the student's financial institution.The travel expense payment site is also provided via the Internet to the computers of the company's representative and payment representative.

[0053] [Login Process] The process of a student logging in to the transportation expense payment system 1 is based on the premise that the student has already applied for an interview or the like with a company and the interview or the like has been completed at the venue, and the company registers the user's user ID in the system after the interview, and the student logs in for the first time. This will be described as the process of logging in using the first method.

[0054] The login process according to the first method is performed by the processing unit of the transportation fee payment device 100 by performing steps 1 to 6 described below. After step 6, the student's personal information can be registered after changing the password.

[0055] The first step in the login process using the first method is for the company representative to register the student information (selection number, name, email address, telephone number, address, name of school, etc.) previously obtained from the student in the user master 135 of the transportation fee payment device 100.

[0056] The second step of the login process using the first method is to register the student information and the user ID converted from the student's email address received in the first step in the user master 135.

[0057] The third step of the login process using the first method is for the company to notify the student of the URL of the travel expense payment device 100, the company code, the user ID (the student's email address), the selection number, and instructions on how to log in at the interview venue, etc., by means of an information sheet or the like.

[0058] The fourth step of the login process using the first method is when the student returns home or elsewhere, accesses the notified URL using their own computer, and enters the company code, user ID (student's email address), and selection number to access the transportation fee payment system 1.

[0059] The fifth step in the login process using the first method is to send a unique password to the student who has accessed the system in the fourth step.

[0060] The sixth step of the login process using the first method is a step in which the student logs in and accesses the transportation expense payment site of the transportation expense payment system 1 using the password and other information (company code, user ID, password, selection number) received in the fifth step.

[0061] In other words, the first method of logging in to the transportation fee payment system 1 when a student registers a user ID involves registering the student's user ID in the transportation fee payment system 1 using an email address based on the selection information and student information including the email address obtained from the student by the company representative, and authenticating the student using a combination of the company code, user ID, and selection number on the transportation fee payment site (web page) of the student-oriented website accessed based on the URL from the student, and then sending a password to the email address of the student whose authentication has been obtained that allows them to log in to the transportation fee payment site, thereby allowing only regular students to log in to the transportation fee payment system 1 and be registered.

[0062] On the other hand, another method of logging in to the transportation expense payment system 1 is also possible in which a student has already applied for an interview or the like with a company and registers a user ID after the interview or the like is completed. In this case, the processing unit of the transportation expense payment device 100 performs steps 1 to 5 described below. This is referred to as logging in by the second method.

[0063] The first step of the login process using the second method is for the company to notify the student at the interview venue or the like of the URL of the travel expense payment system 1, the company code, the password, and login instructions by means of an instruction sheet.

[0064] The second step of the login process using the second method is when the student returns home or elsewhere, accesses the notified URL using their own computer, and enters the company code, user ID (student's email address), and password to access the transportation fee payment system 1.

[0065] The third step of the login process using the second method is a step in which the transportation fee payment system 1 accessed in the second step sets a user ID based on the student's email address and issues a login key (e.g., a six-digit random number) for logging in to the system and sends it to the student's email address.

[0066] The fourth step in the login process using the second method is a step in which the student receives the login key sent in the third step.

[0067] The fifth step of the login process using the second method is when the student who received the login key in the fourth step accesses the URL using their own computer and logs in using the company code, user ID (email address), password, and login key.

[0068] In other words, the second method of logging in to the transportation fee payment system 1 when a student registers a user ID is as follows: the company notifies the student of the URL of the transportation fee payment site (web page), the company code, and a password, and the student accesses the URL using the notified company code and password and their own address as a user ID, and the accessed transportation fee payment system 1 emails a login key to the email address of the received user ID, and authenticates the student using the combination of the login key, company code, user ID (email address), and password received by email, thereby allowing only regular students to log in to the transportation fee payment system 1 and register.

[0069] [Transportation Expense Payment Processing] Next, the transportation expense payment system 1 according to this embodiment executes a transportation expense payment processing based on the transportation expense application from the student.

[0070] 10 is a flowchart showing an example of a transportation fee payment process, which is initiated from a student's computer.

[0071] First, the website of the transportation expense payment system 1 accepts access from the student's own computer, accepts input of personal information, and registers it in the user master 135 (step S101). Then, the website of the transportation expense payment system 1 accepts input of transportation expense application information (locations and prefecture addresses of departure and arrival locations, and image information of bankbook) (step S102). Note that during this input, the user application unit 111 may reject the input of transportation expenses for the same day and time period, i.e., double input, as an error and prompt the user to re-enter. Alternatively, during input into the student's own computer, if one or more applications for payment of the specified transportation expenses based on the input departure and arrival locations and date and time of use of the public transportation network are accepted, the system may stop accepting inputs from the student that have overlapping dates and times.

[0072] Then, the user application unit 111 stores the travel expense application information in the application information DB 137 (step S103).

[0073] Then, the approval unit 114 receives approval input of the travel expense application information from the company representative via the company device 200 (step S104).

[0074] Then, the management data creation unit 113 creates transfer target data on a specified date (for example, the 10th or 25th of each month) for the travel expense application information stored in step S103 that was approved in step S104, and notifies the payment person using the payment processing device 400 by email (step S105).

[0075] The payer transfer unit 115 then executes an account check (step S106). Specifically, the payer transfer unit 115 causes the transfer request processing unit 411 of the payment processing device 400 to input the check results of the travel expense application information. This check of the travel expense application information includes, for example, checking the student's name, address, financial institution name, branch name, savings type, and account number. In particular, in this embodiment, the travel expense payment system 1 provides an account check screen via the Internet on the travel expense payment website. On this account check screen, the person in charge of payment determines whether the input information displayed in the input information field is correct by comparing it with the image information of the passbook displayed in the image information field. If the information is correct, the person in charge of payment clicks the check result "OK" button. If the input information is incorrect, the person in charge of payment clicks the check result "NG" button to update and input the check result.

[0076] This account check can be configured, for example, to take advantage of the fact that financial institution passbooks have a standardized format for each financial institution, and determine whether the bank name, branch name, account number, savings type, and account holder name recognized from the passbook image information using an optical character recognition (OCR) function match the bank / name, branch name, account number, and student name (account holder name) entered by the student, and if it is determined that any of them do not match, a warning or error message is displayed on the account check screen.

[0077] The travel expense payment device 100 in this embodiment is equipped with a storage means (temporary memory) for temporarily storing input information and image information, and when the person in charge of payment checks the account for payment of the specified travel expense based on the departure and arrival points entered by the user, it operates to display an account check screen on the display of the computer in charge of payment, which includes an input information field displaying the user's name, financial institution name, account number at the financial institution, and account name entered by the user, read from the temporary memory, and an image information field displaying image information of the passbook on which the name of the financial institution, branch name of the financial institution, account number, and account name, read from the temporary memory, are printed.

[0078] For applications for which the account check result is "NG" (applications for which the result is "NG" in step S106), the transfer data creation unit 116 collects the applications that are "NG", performs the return notification process described below, returns the processing status of the workflow, and returns control to step S102 (step S107).

[0079] For applications for which the account check result is "OK" (applications for which the result is "OK" in step S106), the transfer data creation unit 116 compiles the OK applications to create transfer data, stores the data in the transfer information DB 138, and also transmits the data to the FB data generation unit 412 of the payment processing device 400. The FB data generation unit 412 stores this data in a temporary area of ​​the storage unit 430.

[0080] Then, the FB data generation unit 412 starts payment processing on a predetermined day (for example, the 10th or 25th of each month) and creates FB data from the transfer data (step S108). Specifically, the FB data generation unit 412 reads the transfer data, generates FB data in a predetermined format, and stores it in the firm banking information 431.

[0081] Then, the FB data generation unit 412 delivers the FB data to the financial processing device 300 (step S109). The FB data generation unit 412 may exclude any unauthorized duplicate applications. For example, the FB data generation unit 412 may compare the application with past (previous) FB data, and if there is an application from the same person for the same amount on the same day and at the same time, treat the application as a duplicate application and reject the account check, exclude the application from the FB data, and return control to step S107. However, as an exception to duplicate payments, if the application overlaps with FB data in which the transfer result is "account closed" or "name changed," it will not be treated as a duplicate application.

[0082] In the financial processing device 300, the firm banking reception unit 311 receives the FB data and stores it in the firm banking information 331. The account transfer unit 312 then performs a transfer process to transfer funds between accounts in accordance with the FB data (step S110). Specifically, the account transfer unit 312 transfers the specified amount (total amount of transportation expenses) to a specified account (such as an account for transferring transportation expenses) in accordance with the FB data, and notifies the person in charge of payment of the transfer result.

[0083] The transfer request processing unit 411 stores the notified transfer result in the memory unit 430 of the payment processing device 400, and uploads the transfer data including the transfer result to the transportation expense payment device 100. The transfer data creation unit 116 stores the uploaded transfer data in the transfer information DB 138, and determines whether the transfer result is "NG", that is, whether it failed, for each transportation expense application (step S111). If the transfer result is unsuccessful, the information indicating the cause is likely to be "account closed" or "name changed", and therefore, even if a retry is made, the cause will not be resolved, and the transfer will not be successful unless the error in the application information is corrected.

[0084] Then, for applications for which the transfer result is unsuccessful (applications for which the result is "NG" in step S111), the transfer data creation unit 116 collects the failed applications and returns control to step S107.

[0085] For applications for which the transfer result is successful (applications for which the result is "OK" in step S111), the transfer request processing unit 411 of the payment processing device 400 causes the person in charge of payment to issue an invoice to the person in charge at the company (step S112).

[0086] This completes the process of paying travel expenses. This process supports companies in paying the specified amount of travel expenses to students.

[0087] 11 is a flowchart showing an example of the return notification process, which is executed in step S107 of the transportation expense payment process.

[0088] First, the payer transfer unit 115 notifies the applicant by email via the email sending / receiving unit 112 (step S201). Specifically, for applications for which the account check was rejected or the transfer result was unsuccessful, the payer transfer unit 115 sends an automatically created email using a specified form to the user who submitted the application. This email contains at least information identifying the rejected or failed application and a URL for correcting the application.

[0089] Then, the workflow management unit 117 changes the status of the target application in the workflow to "returned," making it possible to correct the application and resubmit it (step S202).

[0090] This is the flow of the return notification process. According to the return notification process, the processing status of the workflow for an application where the transfer does not work properly can be returned, allowing the application to be resubmitted.

[0091] The above is the transportation expense payment system according to the first embodiment. The transportation expense payment system according to the first embodiment can provide a transportation expense payment system and transportation expense payment method that is cashless, reduces the workload at the venue, and reduces the amount of pre-application work by supporting the payment of a specified amount of transportation expenses to an unspecified number of payment recipients.

[0092] In the above embodiment, the work of paying travel expenses to students who have interviews with companies has been described, but the present invention is not limited to paying travel expenses to students, and can also be applied to work formats in which travel expenses are paid on an ad hoc basis to participants in seminars, temporary contract employees, temporary part-time workers, etc. Furthermore, in the above embodiment, an example of paying a set amount of travel expenses according to company regulations has been described, but the present invention is not limited to paying a set amount, and for example, it is possible to link with a website such as Hyperdia (registered trademark) that calculates the optimal (shortest time, least expensive) travel expenses based on conditions such as the departure point (station), arrival point (station), and time, and pay travel expenses equivalent to the actual cost.

[0093] For example, the above-described exemplary embodiment has been described in detail to facilitate understanding of the present invention, and the present invention is not limited to an embodiment having all of the configurations described herein. Furthermore, part of the configuration of one exemplary embodiment can be replaced with the configuration of another exemplary embodiment. Furthermore, the configuration of another exemplary embodiment can be added to the configuration of one exemplary embodiment. Furthermore, part of the configuration of each exemplary embodiment can be added, deleted, or replaced with other configurations. Furthermore, part or all of the above-described configurations, functions, processing units, processing means, etc. may be realized in hardware, for example, by designing them as integrated circuits. Furthermore, the control lines and information lines in the figures are those considered necessary for explanation, and are not necessarily all shown. It can be assumed that almost all of the configurations are interconnected.

[0094] Furthermore, the functional configurations of the above-described travel expense payment device 100, company device 200, financial processing device 300, and payment processing device 400 are categorized according to the main processing content for ease of understanding. The classification method and names of the components do not limit the present invention. As described above, the configurations of the travel expense payment device 100, company device 200, financial processing device 300, and payment processing device 400 can be categorized into more components depending on the processing content. Furthermore, a single component can be categorized to perform even more processes. [Explanation of symbols]

[0095] 1: Travel expense payment system, 90: Network, 100: Travel expense payment device, 110: Processing unit, 111: User application unit, 112: Email sending / receiving unit, 113: Management data creation unit, 114: Approval unit, 115: Payer transfer unit, 116: Transfer data creation unit, 117: Workflow management unit, 130: Memory unit, 131: Company master, 132: Travel expense master, 133: Business establishment master, 134: Venue master, 135: User master, 136: Person in charge master, 137: Application information DB, 138: Transfer information DB, 150: Input unit, 160: Output input unit, 170: communication unit, 200: company device, 210: processing unit, 211: application processing unit, 240: input unit, 250: output unit, 260: communication unit, 300: financial processing device, 310: processing unit, 311: firm banking reception unit, 312: account transfer unit, 330: storage unit, 331: firm banking information, 350: communication unit, 400: payment processing device, 410: processing unit, 411: transfer request processing unit, 412: FB data generation unit, 430: storage unit, 431: firm banking information, 440: input unit, 450: output unit, 460: communication unit

Claims

1. a user computer operated by a user; a company computer that encourages the user to use a public transportation network with a specified destination; a payment computer of a payment clerk in charge of paying travel expenses to a designated account at a financial institution designated by a user at the company; a transportation fee payment device connected to the payment computer via a network and including a processing unit and a storage unit; A transportation fee payment system comprising: the user computer is operated by a user who claims transportation expenses using a public transportation network from a departure point to the destination, the transportation fee payment device supports a task of transferring the transportation fee from the departure point to the destination point to a designated account of a financial institution designated by the user, The processing unit stores in the memory unit the name of the financial institution, the account number at the financial institution, and the account holder name entered by the user using the user computer, accepts an application for payment of the standard transportation expenses based on the departure point and destination entered by the user, and, if it receives input from the payment computer that, after checking the application, there is an error in the application, it sends an email to the user urging them to resubmit the application.

2. The transportation expense payment system according to claim 1, When the user computer receives one or more applications for payment of the prescribed transportation fee based on the departure point, the arrival point, and the date and time of use of the public transportation network input by the user, the user computer stops receiving inputs from the user that overlap with the date and time. A transportation expense payment system.

3. 3. The transportation expense payment system according to claim 1, A transportation expense payment system in which, when the processing unit of the transportation expense payment device receives a notification that there was an error in the transfer process to a specified financial institution in response to the application for payment of the specified transportation expense, it sends an email to the user urging them to reapply.

4. The transportation expense payment system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, The processing unit accepts an application for payment of the specified transportation expenses, and when it receives input from the payment computer indicating that the application is duplicated after checking it against past applications, it sends an email to the user urging them to reapply.

5. 5. The transportation expense payment system according to claim 4, In this transportation expense payment system, even when the processing unit receives input indicating that the application is duplicated, if the previous application that is the duplicate application resulted in an error because the account had been closed or the account name had been changed, the processing unit does not send an email urging the user to resubmit the application.

6. a user computer operated by a user; a company computer that encourages the user to use a public transportation network with a specified destination; a payment computer of a payment clerk in charge of paying travel expenses to a designated account at a financial institution designated by a user at the company; a transportation fee payment device connected to the payment computer via a network and including a processing unit and a storage unit; A transportation expense payment method used in a transportation expense payment system comprising: the user computer is operated by a user who claims transportation expenses using a public transportation network from a departure point to the destination, the transportation fee payment device supports a task of transferring the transportation fee from the departure point to the destination point to a designated account of a financial institution designated by the user, The processing unit stores in the memory unit the name of the financial institution, the account number of the financial institution, and the account holder name entered by the user through the user computer; accepts an application for payment of the standard transportation expenses based on the departure point and destination point entered by the user; accepts input from the payment computer that there is an error in the application after checking the application; and sends an email to the user urging them to resubmit the application.

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