Balance management device, balance management method, and program

Abstract

To suitably perform processing corresponding to a temporary collection event for a seller. [Solution] A balance management device comprising: a management unit that manages temporary balances calculated by aggregating sales amounts settled through electronic payment services for each seller; and a block processing unit that, when a temporary collection event occurs for the seller, blocks the seller from withdrawing funds from the electronic payment service, and after the management unit enters the blocked state, calculates a withdrawable balance by deducting specified costs including usage fees for the electronic payment service from the temporary balance, and deducts the amount related to the collection event from the withdrawable balance and transfers the result to an external account.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a balance management device, a balance management method, and a program. [Background technology]

[0002] Conventionally, electronic payment services via networks have become widespread. In this regard, Patent Document 1 describes a system in which a corporate account is assigned to each seller of a product or service (service user), sales are managed, and a provider of an electronic payment service collects a predetermined service fee from the service user. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2023-152766 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] The "collection of service fees" described in Patent Document 1 is carried out repeatedly in normal times, and is not designed to accommodate temporary collection events from sellers of goods or services, such as the collection of delinquent taxes or unpaid specified fees (which are due to predetermined reasons and are different from the "prescribed service fees" described in Patent Document 1). For this reason, conventional technologies have sometimes been unable to appropriately process temporary collection events.

[0005] The present invention has been made in consideration of these circumstances, and one of its objectives is to provide a balance management device, a balance management method, and a program that can appropriately perform processing in response to temporary collection events from sellers. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] One aspect of the present invention is a balance management device that includes a management unit that manages temporary balances calculated by aggregating sales amounts settled through electronic payment services for each seller, and a block processing unit that, when a temporary collection event occurs for the seller, blocks the seller from making withdrawals from the electronic payment service, and after the management unit enters the blocked state, further includes a collection processing unit that calculates a withdrawable balance by deducting a predetermined cost including a usage fee for the electronic payment service from the temporary balance, and deducts the amount related to the collection event from the withdrawable balance and transfers the result to an external account. [Effects of the Invention]

[0007] According to one aspect of the present invention, processing corresponding to a temporary collection event for a seller can be suitably performed. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 illustrates basic aspects of brick-and-mortar electronic payment. [Figure 2] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a configuration for performing electronic payment (terminal payment) using a payment application. [Figure 3] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of the contents of user information 172. [Figure 4] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of the contents of affiliated store / shop information 174. [Figure 5] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an outline of a processing flow when a user scan is performed. [Figure 6] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an outline of the processing flow when a store scan is performed. [Figure 7] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of a configuration for performing electronic payment (card payment) using a payment card. [Figure 8] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of changes in affiliated store balance detailed information 176 before and after normal closing processing is performed. [Figure 9] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of changes in affiliated store balance details information 176 when a collection event occurs. [Figure 10]FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of changes in the affiliated store balance details information 176 when the normal closing date arrives after a collection event. [Figure 11] 10 is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of a process executed by the balance management device. [Figure 12] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of an interface screen IM1 displayed by an interface 55 for affiliated stores. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0009] [overview] Hereinafter, with reference to the drawings, embodiments of a balance management device, a balance management method, and a program according to the present invention will be described. The balance management device supports an electronic payment service conducted over a network. The electronic payment service is realized, for example, through cooperation between an application program and a payment server. In the following description, the application program will be referred to as a payment app. The combination of the payment server and the credit card server may also be referred to as a payment management system. An electronic payment service is a service that supports payments for the purchase of goods and services at a store. A store is, for example, a physical store (real-world store) existing in real space, but may also include a virtual store for e-commerce transactions. A virtual store may also include a store operated by an entity other than the operator of the electronic payment service. In such a case, when making a payment for a purchase at the virtual store, the user is controlled to transition to an interface screen for the electronic payment service. In an electronic payment service, a store is treated as belonging to, for example, an affiliated store (brand), and when a purchase is made at a store, processing such as payment is primarily conducted between the user and the affiliated store. Alternatively, processing such as payment may be conducted between the user and the store. An affiliated store is an example of a "seller" in the claims, and "seller" may be referred to by other names. A "seller" is an entity to which sales in electronic payment services are recorded and balances are managed.

[0010] [Electronic payment methods at brick-and-mortar stores] FIG. 1 illustrates the basic aspects of brick-and-mortar electronic payments. Electronic payments are generally carried out by three parties: a medium M held by a user U, store equipment E, and a payment system S. The medium M may be a portable computer device such as a smartphone or a credit card. The store equipment E resides in a physical store (hereinafter simply referred to as the store) in real space and may include a POS device, a wireless communication device, a credit card reader, a printed code image such as a QR Code (registered trademark), or a display device displaying the code image. In brick-and-mortar electronic payments, information that can identify the user and information about the payment amount are first shared unidirectionally or bidirectionally between the medium M and the store equipment E. At this time, either the medium M or the store equipment E optically reads various information from a code image displayed by the other, provides information via near-field communication (NFC), or reads the PAN (primary account number) using a credit card reader. Then, either the medium M or the store equipment E (the party that obtains information from the other) transmits the payment information required for the payment to the payment system S via a network NW. Both the medium M and the store equipment E may send some information to the payment system S. The payment system S manages various information about the user U and performs electronic payments between the store and the user U in various ways. Electronic payments are performed using either or both of a prepaid system and a postpaid system, or by other methods. In addition, electronic payments may also include so-called online shopping, which is performed between the user's terminal device and the payment system. The network NW includes, for example, the Internet, a LAN (Local Area Network), a wireless base station, a provider device, etc. The various devices that communicate via the network NW, which will be described below, are assumed to have communication devices such as network cards and wireless communication modules.

[0011] [Configuration (Terminal Payment)] FIG. 2 shows an example of the configuration for electronic payment (terminal payment) using a payment app. In this diagram, the balance management device is assumed to be an internal function of the payment server 100, but this is not limiting. The balance management device may be a device separate from the payment server 100, such as a general-purpose PC connected to the payment server 100 with a program (tool) installed to function as the balance management device. Electronic payment is executed mainly by a payment app 20 running on a user terminal device 10, which is one of the media M; one or more store payment terminals 30 and one or more store code images 40, which are one of the store facilities E; and the payment server 100, which is part of the payment system S. The payment server 100 communicates with the user terminal device 10, the store payment terminal 30, and one or more information terminals 50 via a network NW.

[0012] The user terminal device 10 is, for example, a portable terminal device such as a smartphone or tablet terminal. The user terminal device 10 is a computer device having at least an optical reading function, a communication function, a display function, an input acceptance function, and a program execution function. In the following description, components for realizing these functions are referred to as a camera, a communication device, a touch panel, a CPU (Central Processing Unit), etc. In the user terminal device 10, a processor such as a CPU executes a payment application 20, which operates in cooperation with the payment server 100 to provide electronic payment services to users. The payment application 20 is installed in the user terminal device 10 from, for example, an application distribution server (not shown), and controls the camera, communication device, touch panel, etc. of the user terminal device 10.

[0013] The store payment terminal 30 is installed, for example, in a store. The store payment terminal 30 is a computer device (or a collection of these) that has at least a product price acquisition function, an optical reading function, a program execution function, and a communication function. The store payment terminal 30 includes a so-called POS (Point of Sale) device, and the POS device may have a product price acquisition function and an optical reading function.

[0014] The store code image 40 is placed in a store and is a code image such as a QR code (registered trademark) printed on a paper or plastic medium. The store code image 40 may be displayed on a display placed in the store (or on a display of a terminal device such as a smartphone or tablet terminal).

[0015] The information terminal 50 is used by the operator of the affiliated store who oversees the stores. In electronic payment services, customers who provide goods or services are treated as affiliated stores (brands), and one or more stores exist under the affiliated store. An affiliated store may operate only one store. The information terminal 50 is a smartphone, tablet terminal, personal computer, etc. An affiliated store interface 55 runs on the information terminal 50. The affiliated store interface 55 may be an affiliated store app or a web page displayed by a general-purpose browser. The affiliated store interface 55 accepts coupon settings and the like from the affiliated store operator and transmits them to the payment server 100. By executing the affiliated store interface 55, the information terminal 50 may have the function of displaying a code image corresponding to the store code image 40 or reading a code image displayed by the user terminal device 10 (in the latter case, an optical reading function is required).

[0016] The payment server 100 communicates with the credit card server 200 via a network NW. The payment server 100 has, for example, a content provider 110, an information management unit 120, a payment processing unit 130, an affiliated store balance management unit 140, a block processing unit 150, a collection processing unit 160, and a memory unit 170. The components other than the memory unit 170 are realized by, for example, a hardware processor such as a CPU executing a program (software). Some or all of these components may be implemented using a large scale integration (LSI), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmable gate array (FPGA), or the like. The program may be realized by hardware (including circuitry) such as a Gate Array (GPU) or a Graphics Processing Unit (GPU), or may be realized by a combination of software and hardware. The program may be stored in advance in a storage device (a storage device with a non-transitory storage medium) such as a hard disk drive (HDD) or flash memory, or may be stored in a removable storage medium (a non-transitory storage medium) such as a DVD or CD-ROM, and installed in the storage device by inserting the storage medium into a drive device.

[0017] The storage unit 170 is a hard disk drive (HDD), flash memory, RAM (Random Access Memory), etc. The storage unit 170 may also be a NAS (Network Attached Storage) device that the payment server 100 can access via a network. The storage unit 170 stores information such as user information 172, affiliated store / shop information 174, affiliated store balance details 176, and event reservation table 178. The affiliated store balance management unit 140, block processing unit 150, collection processing unit 160, affiliated store balance details 176, and event reservation table 178 are collectively an example of a balance management device.

[0018] The content providing unit 110 has, for example, a function of a web server, and provides information (content) for displaying various screens of the electronic payment service to the user terminal device 10. The content providing unit 110 provides the content to the user terminal device 10 in the form of a web page, and provides the user terminal device 10 with parameters required for the payment application 20 to render an image.

[0019] The information management unit 120 edits, adds, deletes, etc., user information 172 and affiliated store / shop information 174, and manages them.

[0020] 3 is a diagram showing an example of the contents of user information 172. User information 172 is information in which, for example, user URL, account ID, phone number, password, registration date, charge balance, electronic money type, terminal payment method, card payment method, various history information, identity verification flag, name, address, date of birth, email address, bank account, deferred payment settings, deferred payment condition information, etc. are associated with each other. Hereinafter, a user instance (electronic payment account) in which this information is associated may be referred to as an account. In the figure, items marked with "-" indicate that they are not set.

[0021] The user URL is used for remittance processing between users. When registering for the electronic payment service, registration of a phone number and password is required. The account ID is issued to the user by the payment server 100. The registration date is the date on which the user registered for the electronic payment service (the date on which the account was created). The charge balance is information indicating the balance of electronic money that the user has set by transferring money to the account in advance. Remittance methods include depositing money into an ATM (Automatic Teller Machine) of a designated service provider (bank) or transferring money from a registered bank account. The type of electronic money is information indicating, for example, whether the electronic money can be withdrawn or can only be used for electronic payments. The terminal payment method is setting information indicating whether the user will make electronic payment using the charge balance (balance payment) or by deferred payment in terminal payment. The card payment method is setting information indicating whether the user will make electronic payment using the charge balance (balance payment) or by deferred payment in card payment. The various historical information includes charge history, which is a record of the user transferring money to the electronic payment service in advance to increase the charge balance, and payment history, which shows the details of the payments made by the user for each payment (date and time, store ID of the store where the purchase was made, payment amount, payment method, etc.).

[0022] The identity verification flag is information indicating whether or not the user has completed identity verification using an ID document. Deferred payment can be selected if identity verification has been completed, and the user with account ID "002" in the figure has not completed identity verification and can only select balance payment as the terminal payment method. The bank account is the account number of a bank account that can be used to deposit funds into the electronic payment service. Deferred payment settings is information indicating whether or not the settings have been completed to make deferred payment selectable. Deferred payment condition information is information indicating various conditions such as the deferred payment limit and the amount used for the current month.

[0023] 4 is a diagram showing an example of the contents of affiliated store / store information 174. The affiliated store / store information 174 includes, for example, a first table 174A in which an affiliated store ID and a store ID are associated with a store URL, a second table 174B in which an affiliated store ID is associated with an affiliated store name and sales amount (described above), and a third table 174C in which a store ID is associated with a store ID. In addition to this information, the affiliated store / store information 174 may also include information such as the category of the affiliated store or store, the store's location, and payment patterns.

[0024] The payment processing unit 130 performs various processes for electronic payment. There are two methods for terminal payment: a first method (user scan) and a second method (store scan), which will be explained below.

[0025] FIG. 5 shows an overview of the process flow when a user scan is performed. First, the user terminal device 10, with the payment application 20 running, reads and decodes the store code image 40 using its optical reading function (S1). The store code image 40 contains store URL information. The payment application 20 sends first payment information, including the store URL and the user's account ID, to the payment server 100 (S2). The payment server 100 searches the affiliated store / store information 174 using the affiliated store ID and store ID corresponding to the store URL, acquires information about the affiliated store name and store name (S3), and sends this to the payment application 20 (S4). The user enters the payment amount into the payment application 20 on the screen displaying the affiliated store name and store name (S5). The payment application 20 then generates second payment information including at least the payment amount and sends it to the payment server 100 (S6).

[0026] If the "Terminal Payment Method" in the user information 172 of the user is set to "Balance Payment," the payment processing unit 130 of the payment server 100 performs electronic payment based on the received second payment information (S7-1). At this time, the payment processing unit 130 performs electronic payment by, for example, decreasing the charge balance managed in association with the user ID and increasing the item value of the affiliated store's sales proceeds. The item value of the affiliated store's sales proceeds is not used as electronic money itself, for example, but rather the amount corresponding to the item value of the sales proceeds is transferred to a bank account in a cycle determined by an agreement between the affiliated store and the electronic payment service. On the other hand, if the "Terminal Payment Method" is set to "Deferred Payment," the payment processing unit 130 transmits the first payment information and the second payment information to the credit card server 200 to request electronic payment (S7-2). The credit card server 200 performs electronic payment by adding the payment amount to the user's monthly usage amount based on the received information and deducting the monthly usage amount from the user's bank account after the closing date (S7-3).

[0027] Then, the payment processing unit 130 sends a payment completion notice (information for displaying a payment completion screen) to the payment app 20 via the content providing unit 110 (S8), and the payment app 20 displays the payment completion screen (S9). When the store code image 40 is displayed on a display installed in the store, the store code image 40 may include information on the payment amount in addition to the store URL. In this case, the procedure for the user to input the payment amount is omitted, and the information on the payment amount is included in the first payment information and sent to the payment server 100. Information on the affiliated store name and store name may be included and displayed on the payment completion screen.

[0028] FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an overview of the processing flow when a store scan is performed. First, when the payment app 20 is launched, when a payment operation is performed using the payment app 20, when an automatic update timing (e.g., every minute) occurs, and at other timings, the payment app 20 sends a request to issue a one-time code to the payment server 100 (S11). The payment processing unit 130 of the payment server 100 generates a one-time code (S12) and sends it to the payment app 20 (S13). The payment app 20 displays a code image, such as a QR code or barcode, generated based on the one-time code (S14). The user holds (presents) the display surface of the user terminal device 10 over the store payment terminal 30, and the store payment terminal 30 reads and decodes the code image using its optical reading function to obtain the one-time code, etc. (S15). The store payment terminal 30 then generates payment information including the one-time code, payment amount, affiliated store ID, store ID, etc., and sends it to the payment server 100 (S16). The payment amount information is acquired in advance by reading a barcode or manually entering it.

[0029] The payment processing unit 130 of the payment server 100 identifies the user corresponding to the one-time code based on the received information, and if the "terminal payment method" in the user information 172 of the user is set to "balance payment," it performs electronic payment based on the received second payment information (S17-1). The processing content at this time is the same as the processing of S7-1 in FIG. 5. On the other hand, if the "terminal payment method" is set to "post-payment," the payment server 100 transmits the first payment information and the second payment information to the credit card server 200 to request electronic payment (S17-2). The credit card server 200 adds the payment amount to the user's monthly usage amount based on the received information, and performs electronic payment by deducting the monthly usage amount from the user's bank account after the closing date (S17-3).

[0030] Then, the payment processing unit 130 transmits a payment completion notification to the payment application 20 via the content providing unit 110 (S18), and the payment application 20 displays a payment completion screen (S19).

[0031] Note that electronic payment may be performed using only one of the above patterns. Furthermore, the "account ID" described in FIG. 2 may be other information (e.g., a phone number) that can be used as user identification information. Furthermore, issuing a one-time code may be omitted in store scanning, and the payment application 20 may display a code image generated based on the user's account ID. In this case, the payment server 100 identifies the user corresponding to the account ID instead of identifying the user corresponding to the one-time code.

[0032] It should be noted that the "post-payment" settlement may be performed within the settlement server 100, rather than being managed by the credit card server 200. In this case, the components such as the settlement card 60 and the credit card server 200 may be omitted.

[0033] [Configuration (Card Payment)] 7 is a diagram showing an example of a configuration for performing electronic payment (card payment) using a payment card. This electronic payment is performed mainly using a payment card 60, which is one of the media M, a credit card processing terminal 70, which is one of the store facilities E, a payment server 100, which constitutes part of a payment system S, and a credit card server 200. The credit card server 200 communicates with the credit card processing terminal 70 via a network NW.

[0034] The credit processing terminal 70 is installed in the store, similar to the in-store payment terminal 30. The credit processing terminal 70 includes, for example, a credit card reader and a POS device. The credit card terminal reads a personal identification number (PIN) from an inserted or held-up credit card and compares it with the PIN entered by the user. It also transmits a primary account number (PAN) read from the credit card to the credit card server 200 via the POS device. The POS device cooperates with the credit card terminal to transmit information such as the payment amount to the credit card server 200. A payment agent (acquirer) server may be interposed between the credit card processing terminal 70 and the credit card server 200; however, for simplicity, the following description omits the server. The payment card 60 is, for example, similar to a commonly used credit card, with a communication chip embedded in the card substrate. The communication chip incorporates a storage medium storing the PIN and communicates with an external device via a contactor (or a wireless antenna). Alternatively, the payment card 60 may be a magnetic card. The information (messages) sent and received when using a credit card include an authorization message for authentication and a sales message for conveying the payment amount, but detailed explanations distinguishing between these will be omitted below.

[0035] The credit card server 200 communicates with the payment server 100 via a network NW. The credit card server 200 includes, for example, an information management unit 210, a credit interface 220, a payment allocation unit 230, a credit payment processing unit 240, and a memory unit 270. The components other than the memory unit 270 are implemented by, for example, a hardware processor such as a CPU executing a program (software). Some or all of these components may be implemented by hardware (including circuitry) such as an LSI, ASIC, FPGA, or GPU, or may be implemented by a combination of software and hardware. The program may be stored in advance in a storage device such as an HDD or flash memory (a storage device with a non-transitory storage medium), or may be stored in a removable storage medium (a non-transitory storage medium) such as a DVD or CD-ROM, and installed in the storage device by inserting the storage medium into a drive device. The memory unit 270 stores information such as card user information 272.

[0036] The information management unit 210 edits, adds, deletes, etc., and manages the card user information 272. The card user information 272 is information in which, for example, information unique to a user (e.g., PAN), a card payment method, and the user's account ID (used by the payment server 100) are associated with one another. The card payment method is setting information that indicates whether the user will make electronic payment using the charged balance (balance payment) or deferred payment when making a card payment.

[0037] The credit interface 220 determines whether the BIN (Bank Identification Number) in the PAN included in the message received from the credit processing terminal 70 is a code for the company, and if it is a code for the company, passes the message received from the credit processing terminal 70 to the payment allocation unit 230, and if it is not a code for the company, discards the received message.

[0038] The payment allocating unit 230 refers to the card user information 272 of the user corresponding to the message obtained from the credit interface 220, and determines whether the "card payment method" is set to "post-payment." If the "card payment method" is set to "post-payment," the payment allocating unit 230 notifies the credit interface 220 of this and passes the message obtained from the credit interface 220 to the credit payment processing unit 240. On the other hand, if the "card payment method" is set to "balance payment," the payment allocating unit 230 adds the user's account ID to the message obtained from the credit interface 220 and sends it to the payment server 100, requesting electronic payment. When requested to make electronic payment, the payment server 100 performs the same processes as S7-1 in Figure 5 and S17-1 in Figure 6.

[0039] The credit interface 220 checks the PAN and expiration date, and verifies whether the cumulative payment amount exceeds the current month's upper limit, etc. The credit payment processing unit 240 adds the payment amount to the user's monthly usage amount based on the information contained in the message obtained from the payment allocation unit 230, and performs electronic payment by deducting the monthly usage amount from the user's bank account after the closing date.

[0040] [Processing when a collection event occurs] The following describes the processing executed by the balance management device when a collection event occurs. As mentioned above, a collection event is a temporary and compulsory collection event, such as the collection of delinquent taxes or unpaid specific fees (e.g., MyStore registration fees), that is carried out by the operator of the electronic payment service against a member store.

[0041] The affiliated store balance management unit 140 manages affiliated store balance details 176, including temporary balances calculated by tallying sales amounts settled through electronic payment services for each affiliated store. The affiliated store balance management unit 140 calculates the withdrawable balance by deducting predetermined costs, including the usage fee for the electronic payment service, from the temporary balance. Some of the functions of the affiliated store balance management unit 140 may be shared with the information management unit 120. When a collection event occurs, the block processing unit 150 places the affiliated store in a blocked state, prohibiting at least withdrawals from the electronic payment service. The block processing unit 150 may notify the payment processing unit 130 to also prohibit deposits to the temporary balance in the blocked state. In this case, electronic payments related to the affiliated store are suspended until the blocked state is lifted. After the blocked state is entered, the collection processing unit 160 deducts the amount related to the collection event from the withdrawable balance and transfers it to an external account. The predetermined costs may further include taxes on the usage fee for the electronic payment service.

[0042] The processing of each of the above units will be explained with reference to changes in the affiliated store balance detailed information 176. Figure 8 is a diagram showing an example of changes in the affiliated store balance detailed information 176 before and after normal closing processing. In this example, the affiliated store's sales up to the closing date are 1,000,000 yen, and this amount is stored in the temporary balance 176A. The closing date occurs, for example, once a month. For example, the affiliated store balance management unit 140 obtains payment information (including the affiliated store and payment amount) from the payment processing unit 130 each time the payment processing unit 130 makes a payment, tallies sales for each affiliated store, and stores the tallied results in the temporary balance 176A. In addition to the temporary balance 176A, the affiliated store balance detailed information 176 includes information on the withdrawable balance 176B and the event collection amount 176C.

[0043] The affiliated store balance management unit 140 calculates the electronic payment service usage fee and tax amount to be paid by the affiliated store to the operator of the electronic payment service from the temporary balance 176A. Here, it is assumed that the electronic payment service usage fee is 9% and the tax amount is 1% (this is just an example). The affiliated store balance management unit 140 deducts the electronic payment service usage fee of 90,000 yen and the tax amount of 10,000 yen from the 1,000,000 yen in the temporary balance 176A, transfers the resulting amounts to the respective accounts, and stores the remaining 900,000 yen in the withdrawable balance 176B. The amount stored in the withdrawable balance 176B is then transferred to the affiliated store's account (e.g., a bank account) according to a predetermined schedule.

[0044] FIG. 9 shows an example of how the affiliated store balance detail information 176 changes when a collection event occurs. In this example, the affiliated store's sales up until the collection event occurrence date are 1,000,000 yen, and this amount is stored in the temporary balance 176A. In addition, a command is given to collect 800,000 yen as the amount to be collected. The block processing unit 150 prohibits deposits to the temporary balance 176A and withdrawals from the withdrawable balance 176B. The prohibition of deposits to the temporary balance 176A is communicated to the payment processing unit 130, which then temporarily suspends electronic payments for the affiliated store involved in the collection event. This prohibits deposits to the temporary balance 176A.

[0045] As in FIG. 8 , the affiliated store balance management unit 140 calculates the electronic payment service fee (90,000 yen) and tax amount (10,000 yen) from the temporary balance 176A, subtracts them from the temporary balance 176A, transfers them to the respective accounts, and stores the remaining amount, 900,000 yen, in the withdrawable balance 176B. The collection processing unit 160 rewrites the withdrawable balance 176B by subtracting the amount to be collected, 800,000 yen, from the withdrawable balance 176B and stores the amount to be collected, 800,000 yen, in the event collection amount 176C. The collection processing unit 160 then transfers the amount to be collected, 800,000 yen, to the account (external account) from which the money was collected. The block processing unit 150 then lifts the prohibition on deposits to the temporary balance 176A and withdrawals from the withdrawable balance 176B. This ends the collection event.

[0046] FIG. 10 shows an example of how the affiliated store balance detailed information 176 changes when the regular closing date arrives after a collection event. In this example, the affiliated store's sales from the end of the collection event to the closing date are 4,000,000 yen, and this amount is stored in the temporary balance 176A. The affiliated store balance management unit 140 calculates the electronic payment service usage fee and tax amount to be paid by the affiliated store to the operator of the electronic payment service from the temporary balance 176A. The affiliated store balance management unit 140 subtracts the electronic payment service usage fee of 360,000 yen and the tax amount of 4,000 yen from the 4,000,000 yen in the temporary balance 176A, transfers the resulting amounts to the respective accounts, and adds the remaining 360,000 yen to the withdrawable balance 176B. Because 100,000 yen remained in the withdrawable balance 176B at the end of the collection event, the withdrawable balance 176B becomes 370,000 yen. Thereafter, the amount stored in the withdrawable balance 176B is transferred to the affiliated store's account (e.g., bank account) according to a predetermined schedule.

[0047] FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing an example of the processing flow executed by the balance management device. The processing of this flowchart is initiated each time an event instruction related to a collection event is received. First, the member store balance management unit 140 of the balance management device, for example, executes the processing of S20 to S26 in real time during the day or at a frequency equivalent thereto. The member store balance management unit 140 determines whether an event reservation or an event reservation cancellation has been received (S20). An event reservation is instruction information for executing a collection event, such as information specifying the member store, the amount to be collected, and the date. When an event reservation is received, the member store balance management unit 140 determines whether an overlapping event reservation for the same day already exists for the member store (S21). If an overlapping event reservation for the same day already exists for the member store, the member store balance management unit 140 displays a reservation error on a monitor (not shown) of the balance management device (S22). If there is no overlapping event reservation for the affiliated store on the same day, the affiliated store balance management unit 140 registers the event processing reservation in the event reservation table 178 (S23).

[0048] On the other hand, when an event reservation cancellation is received, the member store balance management unit 140 determines whether or not a reservation for an overlapping event for the same day already exists for the member store (S24). If a reservation for an overlapping event for the same day already exists for the member store, the member store balance management unit 140 displays a cancellation error on a monitor (not shown) of the balance management device (S26). If a reservation for an overlapping event for the same day already exists for the member store, the member store balance management unit 140 performs processing to cancel the corresponding event processing reservation from the event reservation table 178 (S25).

[0049] When the batch processing start time (which is set, for example, late at night when transaction volume is low) arrives, the balance management unit performs steps S30 to S37 for each affiliated store whose event processing reservation has been registered in the event reservation table 178. First, the block processing unit 150 performs the block processing for that affiliated store as described above (S30), and displays the blocked status on a monitor (not shown) of the balance management unit (S31). Next, the affiliated store balance management unit 140 performs various calculations as described above (S32). Next, the collection processing unit 160 remits the amount stored in the event collection amount 176C to the collection source (S33). Next, the block processing unit 150 unblocks that affiliated store (S34).

[0050] The balance management device then displays a report screen on the affiliated store interface 55 (S35), notifies the affiliated store of the amount available for withdrawal, for example by email (S36), and performs post-processing such as reflecting the amount in various management tools (S37).

[0051] FIG. 12 is a diagram showing an example of an interface screen IM1 displayed by the affiliated store interface 55. The interface screen IM1 is provided to the information terminal 50, for example, from the balance management device via the payment server 100. The interface screen IM1 displays detailed calculation results for each day on which a remittance to the affiliated store occurred. The interface screen IM1 also displays the results of regular closing processing for each affiliated store, including calculation results related to collection events. In the illustrated example, the calculation results shown in FIGS. 8 to 10 are displayed as sales of 5,000,000 yen (total of FIGS. 8 and 10), usage fees of 450,000 yen (same), taxes of 50,000 yen (same), transfer fees of 220 yen, and adjustments of 800,000 yen (FIG. 9), and the total of these amounts, a deposit amount of 3,699,780 yen, is displayed.

[0052] According to the embodiment described above, it is possible to suitably carry out processing corresponding to a temporary collection event for a seller.

[0053] The above describes the form for carrying out the present invention using an embodiment, but the present invention is not limited to such an embodiment, and various modifications and substitutions can be made within the scope that does not deviate from the gist of the present invention. [Explanation of symbols]

[0054] E. Store Facilities M medium S payment system 10 User terminal device 20. Payment App 30 Store payment terminal device 40 Store code image 60 Payment Cards 70 Credit card processing terminal 100 Payment Server 130 Payment processing unit 140 Merchant Balance Management Department 150 Block Processing Unit 160 Collection Department 176 Merchant Balance Details 178 Event Reserved Tables 200 Credit Card Server

Claims

1. a management unit that manages temporary balances of sales amounts settled through electronic payment services, which are aggregated for each seller; a block processing unit that, when a temporary collection event occurs for the seller, puts the seller into a blocked state in which withdrawals from the electronic payment service by at least the seller are prohibited; After the blocked state is reached, the management unit calculates a withdrawable balance by subtracting predetermined costs, including a usage fee for the electronic payment service, from the temporary balance, a collection processing unit that deducts an amount related to the collection event from the withdrawable balance and transfers the amount to an external account; Balance management device.

2. The block processing unit also prohibits deposits to the temporary balance in the blocked state. The balance management device according to claim 1.

3. The predetermined cost further includes a tax amount related to the usage fee of the electronic payment service. The balance management device according to claim 1.

4. Displaying the results of the normal closing process for each seller, including the calculation results related to the collection event, on the interface for the seller. The balance management device according to claim 1.

5. The computer Manage temporary balances of sales settled through electronic payment services, which are aggregated for each seller. When a temporary collection event occurs for the merchant, a blocking state is established in which at least the merchant is prohibited from withdrawing funds from the electronic payment service; After the blocked state is reached, a withdrawable balance is calculated by subtracting predetermined costs, including a usage fee for the electronic payment service, from the temporary balance; deducting the amount related to the collection event from the withdrawable balance and transferring the result to an external account; Balance management method.

6. On the computer, A process for managing temporary balances of sales amounts settled through electronic payment services, which are aggregated for each seller; When a temporary collection event occurs for the merchant, a process of blocking the merchant in such a way that withdrawals from the electronic payment service by the merchant are prohibited; After the blocked state is reached, a process of calculating a withdrawable balance by subtracting predetermined costs, including a usage fee for the electronic payment service, from the temporary balance; a process of deducting the amount related to the collection event from the withdrawable balance and transferring the result to an external account; A program that executes the following.

Images