Information processing device, information processing method, and program

Abstract

To assist a user in discovering and utilizing a benefit that is useful to the user in an electronic payment service that provides various types of benefits. [Solution] An information processing device comprising: an acquisition unit that acquires user information regarding a user of an electronic payment service; a determination unit that determines, based on the acquired user information, information to be provided to the user's user terminal device, which information is information regarding one or more types of benefits of the electronic payment service; and a provision unit that provides the determined provision information to the user terminal device.

Description

[Technical Field]

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

[0002] Conventionally, there are known techniques for providing useful information to consumers of goods and services. For example, Patent Document 1 describes a technique for receiving purchase information indicating purchased absorbent articles from a user's terminal device and providing the user with information determined based on the received purchase information. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Publication No. 2020-144706 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] The technology described in Patent Document 1 provides suggested information according to purchase information, but is limited in the sense that it is premised on the user purchasing a product. Furthermore, with the conventional technology, when using an electronic payment service that offers various types of benefits, users may have difficulty in discovering and utilizing benefits that are useful to them.

[0005] The present invention has been made in consideration of these circumstances, and one of its objectives is to provide an information processing device, an information processing method, and a program that can assist users in discovering and utilizing benefits that will be useful to them when using electronic payment services that offer various types of benefits. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] One aspect of the present invention is an information processing device that includes an acquisition unit that acquires user information regarding a user of an electronic payment service, a determination unit that determines provision information to be provided to the user's user terminal device based on the acquired user information, which information is information regarding one or more types of benefits of the electronic payment service, and a provision unit that provides the determined provision information to the user terminal device. [Effects of the Invention]

[0007] According to one aspect of the present invention, in an electronic payment service that provides various types of benefits, it is possible to assist users in discovering and utilizing benefits that will be useful to them. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a configuration for realizing an electronic payment service. [Figure 2] This is a sequence diagram (part 1) illustrating the general flow of electronic payment. [Figure 3] This is a sequence diagram (part 2) illustrating the general flow of electronic payment. [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram of a payment server 100 according to the first embodiment. [Figure 5] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of the contents of user information 172. [Figure 6] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of the contents of affiliated store / store information 176. [Figure 7] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of a top screen of the payment application 20. [Figure 8] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of a method for obtaining and using a coupon by the user terminal device 10. [Figure 9] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of the content of benefit information 178. [Figure 10] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of an offer screen that is displayed when the "Search" widget is selected. [Figure 11] FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of a lower display of the offer screen of FIG. 10. [Figure 12]11 is a diagram showing another example of the lower display of the offer screen of FIG. 10. FIG. [Figure 13] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing another example of an offer screen that is displayed when the "Search" widget is selected. [Figure 14] FIG. 14 is a diagram showing an example of a lower display of the offer screen of FIG. 13. [Figure 15] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of an offer screen that is displayed when the "Your Deals" widget is selected. [Figure 16] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing another example of an offer screen that is displayed when the "Your Deals" widget is selected. [Figure 17] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing another example of an offer screen that is displayed when the "Your Deals" widget is selected. [Figure 18] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of a details screen of a calendar display CD. [Figure 19] 1 is a sequence diagram showing an example of the flow of processing executed by the user terminal device 10 and the payment server 100 in cooperation with each other. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0009] Hereinafter, with reference to the drawings, embodiments of an information processing device, an information processing method, and a program according to the present invention will be described. Various devices, such as a "server," a "management device," and an "information providing device," that provide services to users and perform internal analysis, may be implemented as a group of distributed devices, and each device may be operated by a different business. Furthermore, the hardware owner (the cloud server provider) and the business that actually operates the device may also be different. An application program and a payment server work together to provide an electronic payment service. In the following description, the application program is referred to as a "payment app." An electronic payment service is a service that supports payments for the purchase of goods and services at a store. A store may be, for example, a physical store (real-world store) existing in the real world, but may also include a virtual store for e-commerce transactions. A virtual store may also be provided 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 the interface screen of 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 carried out between the user and the store.

[0010] [Electronic payment service] Figure 1 shows an example of a configuration for realizing an electronic payment service. The electronic payment service is realized mainly by a payment server 100. The payment server 100 communicates with, for example, one or more user terminal devices 10, one or more first store terminal devices 50, and one or more second store terminal devices 70 via a network NW. The network NW includes, for example, the Internet, a LAN (Local Area Network), a wireless base station, a provider device, etc.

[0011] 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 app 20, which operates in cooperation with the payment server 100 to provide electronic payment services to users. The payment app 20 is installed on the user terminal device 10 from, for example, an application store, and controls the camera, communication device, touch panel, etc.

[0012] The first store terminal device 50 is installed, for example, in a store. The first store terminal device 50 is a computer device having at least a product price acquisition function, an optical reading function, a program execution function, and a communication function. The first store terminal device 50 includes a so-called POS (Point of Sale) device, and the product price acquisition function and the optical reading function may be realized by the POS device. The store code image 60 is placed in the store and is a code image such as a QR code (registered trademark) printed on a paper or plastic medium. The store code image 60 may be displayed on a display placed in the store (which may be the display of a terminal device such as a smartphone).

[0013] The second store terminal device 70 is used by the operator of the affiliated store. The second store terminal device 70 is a smartphone, tablet terminal, personal computer, etc. An interface for affiliated stores 72 runs on the second store terminal device 70. The interface for affiliated stores 72 may be an app for affiliated stores or a browser. The interface for affiliated stores 72 accepts coupon settings and the like from the operator of the affiliated store and transmits them to the payment server 100. The second store terminal device 70, which is a smartphone, has the function of displaying a code image corresponding to a store code image and reading the code image displayed by the user terminal device 10 by executing the app for affiliated stores.

[0014] The payment server 100 realizes electronic payment based on payment information received from the user terminal device 10 or the first store terminal device 50. The first store terminal device 50 may include a POS device and an affiliated store server, in which case payment information is sent from the POS device via the affiliated store server to the payment server 100. In the following explanation, this distinction will not be made and it is assumed that payment information is sent from the first store terminal device 50.

[0015] 2 and 3 are sequence diagrams illustrating the general flow of electronic payment. There may be two patterns for electronic payment: Pattern 1 and Pattern 2.

[0016] In the case of pattern 1 (hereinafter referred to as user scan) shown in FIG. 2, the user terminal device 10, with the payment application 20 running, decodes the store code image 60 using its optical reading function (S1). The store code image 60 includes store URL (Uniform Resource Locator) information. This store URL is the domain of the electronic payment service to which store identification information has been added, and is associated with an affiliated store ID, store ID, etc. in the payment server 100 (described below). The payment application 20 sends first payment information including the store URL and account ID to the payment server 100 (S2). The payment server 100 searches for store information (described below) using the affiliated store ID and store ID corresponding to the store URL, acquires the affiliated store name and store name information (S3), and sends this to the payment application 20 (S4). The user enters the payment amount into the user terminal device 10 on the screen displaying the affiliated store name and store name (S5). Then, the user terminal device 10 generates second payment information including at least the payment amount and sends it to the payment server 100 (S6). The payment server 100 makes the electronic payment based on the received second payment information (S7). The payment server 100 then sends a payment completion notice (information for displaying a payment completion screen) to the payment app 20 (S8), and the payment app 20 displays the payment completion screen (S9). Note that when the store code image 60 is displayed on a display installed in the store, the store code image 60 may include information on the payment amount in addition to the store URL. In this case, the step of the user inputting the payment amount is omitted, and the payment amount information 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.

[0017] In the case of pattern 2 (hereinafter referred to as store scan) shown in FIG. 3, the payment app 20 sends a request to issue a one-time code to the payment server 100 when the payment app 20 is launched, when a payment operation is performed in the payment app 20, at the automatic update timing (e.g., every minute), and at other timings (S11). 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 first in-store terminal device 50, and the first in-store terminal device 50 decodes the code image using its optical reading function and obtains the one-time code, etc. (S15). The first in-store terminal device 50 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, manually entering it, etc. Based on the received information, the payment server 100 identifies the user corresponding to the one-time code and performs electronic payment (S17). Then, the payment server 100 sends a payment completion notice to the payment application 20 (S18), and the payment application 20 displays a payment completion screen (S19).

[0018] 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.

[0019] [Payment server] FIG. 4 is a configuration diagram of the payment server 100 according to the first embodiment. The payment server 100 includes, for example, a communication unit 110, a payment content providing unit 120, a payment processing unit 130, an information management unit 140, and a storage unit 170. The components other than the communication unit 110 and the storage unit 170 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 a large-scale integration (LSI), an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field-programmable gate array (FPGA), or a graphics processing unit (GPU), or may be implemented 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. The information management unit 140 further includes an acquisition unit 142, a determination unit 144, and a provision unit 146, and details of these functional units will be described later. The information management unit 140 is an example of an "information processing device" in the claims.

[0020] The storage unit 170 is a hard disk drive (HDD), a flash memory, a random access memory (RAM), etc. The storage unit 170 may be a network attached storage (NAS) device that the payment server 100 can access via a network. The storage unit 170 stores information such as user information 172, payment content information 174, affiliated store / shop information 176, and benefit information 178.

[0021] The communication unit 110 is a communication interface for connecting to the network NW, and is, for example, a network interface card.

[0022] The payment content providing unit 120 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 payment content providing unit 120 reads out necessary content from the payment content information 174 as appropriate and provides it to the user terminal device 10. The user terminal device 10 accepts various inputs from the user while content is being played by the payment application 20, and transmits the above-mentioned payment information and the like to the payment server 100.

[0023] The payment processing unit 130 performs payment processing based on the payment information transmitted by the user terminal device 10 or the first store terminal device 50. The payment processing unit 130 performs payment processing while referring to the user information 172.

[0024] FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of the contents of user information 172. User information 172 is an example of user registration information. User information 172 includes, for example, a user URL, account ID, telephone number, and password, as well as associated information such as email address, user ID, name, address, date of birth, registration date, charge balance, credit card payment settings, credit card limit, credit card payment amount, available credit card payment amount, payment method settings, bank account, credit card number, charge history information, payment history information, followed affiliated stores, earned coupons, earned points, participating stamp cards, participating campaigns, and bookmarks. The user URL is used for remittance processing between users. Registration of a phone number and password is required when registering for an electronic payment service. The account ID is issued to the user by the payment server 100, and the user ID can be set by the user (or does not have to be set). Similarly, the email address, name, address, and date of birth can be set by the user (or do not have to be set). The registration date is the date on which the user registered for the electronic payment service (the date on which the account was created). Hereinafter, the user's instance (electronic payment account) to which this information is associated will be referred to as an account.

[0025] The charge balance indicates the balance of electronic money set by the user by transferring funds to the account in advance. Transfer methods include transfers from a designated bank's ATM (Automatic Teller Machine) or from a registered bank account. The credit payment setting indicates whether the settings for electronic credit payment have been completed and is set to either "Completed" or "Not Completed." The credit payment limit is the monthly credit payment limit. The credit payment amount is the amount of credit payment already used in the current month. The available credit payment amount is the amount of credit payment available in the current month, calculated by subtracting the credit payment amount from the credit payment limit. While the figure shows only one credit payment limit, in reality, there may also be daily limits, and the lower of these may be set as the credit payment limit. Further details on credit payments will be discussed later. The payment method setting indicates whether the user will currently make electronic payments using the charge balance or by credit payment. The bank account and credit card number are the bank account or credit card number information (account number, card number) that can be used to deposit funds into the electronic payment service. The charge history information is a history of the user transferring funds to the electronic payment service in advance to increase the charge balance. The payment history information is information that shows the breakdown of 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.). Details of followed affiliated stores, earned coupons, earned points, participating stamp cards, participating campaigns, and bookmarks will be provided later.

[0026] 6 is a diagram showing an example of the contents of affiliated store / store information 176. The affiliated store / store information 176 includes, for example, a first table 176A in which an affiliated store ID and a store ID are associated with a store URL, a second table 176B in which an affiliated store ID is associated with an affiliated store name and sales amount (described above), and a third table 176C in which a store ID is associated with a store name. In addition to this information, the affiliated store / store information 176 may also include information such as the category of the affiliated store or store, the store's location, and payment patterns.

[0027] The information management unit 140 manages user information 172 and affiliated store / store information 176 based on information acquired from the user terminal device 10 and the second store terminal device 70. The information management unit 140 adds new records, edits, deletes, etc. for the user information 172, affiliated store / store information 176, and benefit information 178.

[0028] [Electronic Payment] When payment information is acquired from the user terminal device 10 or the first store terminal device 50, the payment processing unit 130 references the user information 172 to acquire the "payment method setting" of the user. For users whose "payment method setting" is set to "charge balance," the payment processing unit 130 performs electronic payment as follows: For example, the payment processing unit 130 performs electronic payment by 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 itself used as electronic money, for example, but rather the amount corresponding to the item value of the sales proceeds is transferred to a bank account in a cycle according to an agreement between the affiliated store and the electronic payment service.

[0029] The payment processing unit 130 performs electronic payments for users whose "setting information" is set to "credit card payment" as follows. Credit card payment is a payment method in cooperation with a credit card company, which is a separate entity from the operator of the electronic payment service. The operator of the electronic payment service acts as the creditor, allowing electronic payments within the credit card payment limit and independent of the remaining balance. To receive the credit card payment service, a user may be required to obtain a credit card provided by the operator of the electronic payment service. The monthly amount used for credit card payment is settled on the following month's payment date, for example, by debit from a bank account. In this case, the payment processing unit 130 makes a provisional settlement by adding the settlement amount to the credit card payment amount and subtracting the same amount from the available credit card balance. On the closing date, the payment processing unit 130 performs the process described above to debit the current month's payment on the following month's payment date, or requests the credit card company operator to perform this process. If the settlement amount exceeds the available credit card balance at the time of provisional settlement, an error notification is returned to the payment app 20.

[0030] [Top screen] FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of the top screen of the payment application 20. A code image CI is displayed on the top screen. The code image CI includes, for example, a barcode and a QR code. A selector switch SW is displayed next to the code image CI, allowing the user to select whether to make an electronic payment using the remaining balance or a credit card payment. The "switch" and "button" refer to a graphical user interface (GUI) implemented in cooperation with a touch panel. In FIG. 7, "credit" is displayed, indicating that the electronic payment is set to be made using a credit card. For example, a user can swipe the selector switch SW to select whether to make an electronic payment using the remaining balance or a credit card payment. The top screen also includes an operation area OA, a transition button TB1, and a transition button TB2. The operation area OA includes buttons for instructing key operations in electronic payment, such as a button for instructing scanning (starting a user scan), a button for transferring the remaining balance to another user, a button for displaying the points earned by the user, and a button for displaying the history of electronic payments made by the user. When transition button TB1 is pressed, the screen transitions to a payment screen that displays the code image used for electronic payment and the available balance. When transition button TB2 is pressed, the screen transitions to a screen that displays the available balance for balance payment or credit payment. In Figure 7, electronic payment using the charge balance is set, so when transition button TB2 is pressed, the available balance for balance payment is displayed.

[0031] Below the operation area OA, a group of buttons (switches) M1 to M2 for launching mini apps are displayed. A mini app is, for example, an app that uses the payment app 20 as a platform. A mini app is, for example, an application program developed by a service provider that provides the service of the service server 200 to run within the payment app 20. The service provider develops the mini app by referring to an SDK (Software Development Kit), which is a program and technical documentation for app development provided by an administrator of the payment app 20. A mini app is, for example, an app that runs while the payment app 20 is running. For example, some or all of the mini apps may be installed when the payment app 20 is installed, or some or all of the mini apps may be installed from a service server corresponding to the mini app. For example, when a mini app is launched, the mini app (payment app 20) accesses a service server (not shown) that provides a service corresponding to the mini app, and the mini app and the service server work together to provide the service to the user. As an example, Figure 7 displays a mini-app button M1 that provides the function of viewing or obtaining information about coupons offered by affiliated stores, and a mini-app button M2 that provides the function of viewing or obtaining information about stamp cards. However, buttons for launching various types of mini-apps may be displayed, such as an investment app for managing a charge balance or a payment app for paying public transportation fares.

[0032] FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of a method for obtaining and using a coupon through the user terminal device 10. The screen on the left side of FIG. 8 represents a screen displayed on the user terminal device 10 when, for example, a user clicks button M1 on the top screen of FIG. 7 to access a dedicated page of an affiliated store that offers coupons. The affiliated store dedicated page includes, for example, an area A1 displaying overview information of the affiliated store, a button B1 for following the affiliated store, and an area A2 displaying detailed information of the affiliated store in a switchable manner using tabs. When the user presses the follow button B1, the payment app 20 transmits information indicating that the follow button B1 has been pressed to the payment server 100 together with the user's identification information (e.g., account ID), and the information management unit 140 stores the identification information of the affiliated store (e.g., affiliated store ID) in the "followed affiliated store" field of the user information 172. As a result, for example, every time the affiliated store updates the content of its affiliated store dedicated page, the payment server 100 notifies the user via the payment app 20 that the content of the affiliated store dedicated page has been updated. In other words, when a user follows a member store, it indicates that the user has a high level of interest in the member store.

[0033] 8, for example, if the user taps "Coupon," which is one of the tabs included in area A6, coupons that the user can currently use for electronic payment at the store are displayed. When the user, for example, follows a member store and presses button B2 to acquire a coupon, payment application 20 transmits information indicating that acquire button B2 has been pressed together with the user's identification information (e.g., account ID) to payment server 100, and information management unit 140 stores the identification information of the member store (e.g., member store ID) in "Followed Member Store" of user information 172, and stores the identification information of the coupon acquired by the user (e.g., coupon number) in "Acquired Coupon."

[0034] After a user acquires a coupon, when the user terminal device 10 executes the electronic payment described above, the payment processing unit 130 determines whether the electronic payment satisfies the application conditions of the coupon acquired by the user. If it is determined that the electronic payment satisfies the application conditions of the coupon, the payment app 20 grants the user a benefit according to the coupon content. The payment app 20 then displays a payment completion screen, which includes an area A3 displaying the payment store, an area A4 displaying the payment amount, and an area A5 displaying the granted benefit. Figure 8 shows, as an example, a case in which a user acquires a 5% off coupon and is awarded 25 yen in points for a 500 yen payment. In this case, the information management unit 140 adds the 25 yen worth of points to the "acquired points" in the user information 172. If the acquired points have a positive value, the payment processing unit 130 prioritizes subtracting the acquired points from the payment amount at the user's next electronic payment, and subtracts the remaining amount from the charge balance or the available balance for deferred payment. In another embodiment, the coupon may be deducted directly from the payment amount for that day without being added as points that can be used for payment. "Earned points" is an example of "value" in the claims.

[0035] For example, when a user clicks button M2 on the top screen of FIG. 7, the payment application 20 transitions to a screen for viewing stamp cards provided by each affiliated store. Here, a stamp card refers to a benefit (e.g., a predetermined number of points) provided to a user in response to a predetermined number (e.g., five) of electronic payments that satisfy a predetermined condition set by the affiliated store (e.g., payments of 500 yen or more). Unlike coupons, stamp cards are automatically counted by the payment server 100 and automatically provided to a user in response to the predetermined number of electronic payments. When a user makes an electronic payment that satisfies the predetermined condition for the first time, the payment server 100 stores the stamp card's identification information as a "participating stamp card" in the user information 172. Although not illustrated in FIG. 5, the user information 172 may also store the number of electronic payments that satisfy the predetermined condition. When a user acquires a stamp card, the user can receive points by making an electronic payment at the affiliated store where the stamp card was acquired, or can receive merchandise by presenting the acquired stamp card at the affiliated store.

[0036] In this embodiment, in addition to coupons and stamp cards, campaigns are also offered as benefits. Here, a campaign refers to a benefit in which points that can be used for the next payment are awarded to a user who has made an electronic payment that meets certain conditions set by the electronic payment service or the affiliated store (or by both). A campaign has a set upper limit, and the user can repeatedly use the points within the limit. When a user makes an electronic payment that meets the certain conditions for the first time, the payment server 100 stores the campaign's identification information as a "participating campaign" in the user information 172. Although not illustrated in FIG. 5, the user information 172 may also store the surplus amount obtained by subtracting the payment amount in which the user used the campaign from the upper limit. Campaigns do not necessarily award points to users who have made electronic payments that meet certain conditions, but may award points probabilistically (e.g., with a 50% probability). Furthermore, for example, the points awarded in a campaign may include multiple options (e.g., 10%, 5%, 3%, 0%), and the points awarded to a user who has made an electronic payment that meets the certain conditions may be determined probabilistically from these options. If a campaign is provided jointly by an electronic payment service and a merchant, the funds may be provided solely by the electronic payment service, solely by the merchant, or jointly by the electronic payment service and the merchant.

[0037] FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example of the content of the benefit information 178. The benefit information 178 associates information such as a benefit ID, a benefit type, a member store ID, a target store, terms of use, and a benefit expiration date. The benefit ID is identification information of a benefit provided by a benefit issuer (e.g., a member store or a local government). The benefit type is information indicating the type of benefit identified by the benefit ID (i.e., coupon, stamp, campaign, etc.). The member store ID is identification information identifying a benefit issuer. If the benefit is a campaign, the member store ID may be set to blank, or may contain identification information of an entity (e.g., a local government) that provides funds for the campaign. The application conditions are information indicating the conditions for electronic payment for applying the benefit and the content of the benefit to be granted. The benefit expiration date is information indicating the expiration date until which the application conditions of the issued benefit become valid. The issuer of the benefit, for example, inputs the conditions for issuing the benefit on the member store interface 72 of the second store terminal device, and the information management unit 140 accepts the input conditions for issuing the benefit and stores them in the benefit information 178, thereby issuing the benefit.

[0038] [Offer Submission] In this manner, in this embodiment, the electronic payment service provides multiple types of benefits, such as coupons, stamp cards, campaigns, etc. However, when such a wide variety of benefits are provided on a single service, in conventional technology, users may have difficulty in finding and utilizing benefits that are useful to them when using an electronic payment service that provides multiple types of benefits.

[0039] In light of this situation, in this embodiment, for example, as shown in FIG. 7 , an offer button TB3 is provided on the top screen of the payment app 20, and when the offer button TB3 is pressed, the payment app 20 transitions to an offer screen that displays information about a benefit appropriate to the user. More specifically, when the offer button TB3 is pressed, the payment app 20 transmits information indicating that the button has been pressed together with the user's identification information to the payment server 100, and the acquisition unit 142 of the payment server 100 acquires the user information 172 of the user. Next, the determination unit 144 determines, based on the user information 172, information to be provided to the payment app 20, which is information about one or more types of benefits, and the provision unit 146 transmits the determined information to be provided to the payment app 20. The payment app 20 displays the received information to be provided as an offer screen on the user terminal device 10. This allows the user to find and use a benefit that will be useful to them from among multiple types of benefits. In the following description, some or all of the functions of the acquisition unit 142, the determination unit 144, and the provision unit 146 may be implemented by the payment app 20, or conversely, some or all of the functions of the payment app 20 may be implemented by the acquisition unit 142, the determination unit 144, and the provision unit 146, and the payment app 20 may only be responsible for the display function on the user terminal device 10. Details of the offer screen will be described below.

[0040] [Search widget] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of an offer screen displayed when the “Search” widget is selected. The offer screen includes a tab TAB1 for switching between a “Search” widget for searching for offers offered near the user's current location and a “Your Deals” widget for providing information about offers for which the user has performed a predetermined operation on the user terminal device 10. FIG. 10 illustrates, as an example, an offer screen displayed when the “Search” widget is selected from tab TAB1. The offer screen displayed when the “Search” widget is selected is an example of “first benefit information” in the claims, and the offer screen displayed when the “Your Deals” widget is selected is an example of “second benefit information” in the claims. Note that the following description illustrates a case in which the offer screen displayed when the “Search” widget is selected from tab TAB1 and the offer screen displayed when the “Your Deals” widget is selected can be switched by operating the tabs, but the present invention is not limited to such a format. For example, the user terminal device 10 may display the information contained in these two offer screens together on a single screen, or may allow the user to select either of the information contained in the two offer screens for display using any format other than tabs (buttons, accordions, carousels, etc.).

[0041] When the "Search" widget is selected from tab TAB1, the determination unit 144 determines to display, for example, a map area MP including a reference position RP that is the user's current location, a filtering area FL1, and a store information area SA on the user terminal device 10, as shown in FIG. 10. The user's current location is measured, for example, by the payment application 20 using a positioning device (such as a GPS receiver) included in the user terminal device 10, and shared with the payment server 100. The map area MP displays, based on the reference position RP, the locations of nearby stores (two nearby stores S1-S2 in FIG. 10 as an example) that offer special benefits related to electronic payment services. The payment application 20 receives, for example, affiliated store / store information 176 and special benefit information 178 related to a predetermined number of stores located within a predetermined range based on the reference position RP from the payment server 100, and displays them.

[0042] The payment application 20 displays a filtering area FL1 for filtering store cards SC displayed below the map area MP. More specifically, for example, the payment application 20 displays an "All Offers" filter F1, a "Coupon" filter F2, a "Stamp Card" filter F3, a "Campaign" filter F4, etc., in the filtering area FL1. Note that, for convenience of explanation, in FIG. 10 , the payment application 20 displays various filters in two columns on the same screen, but the payment application 20 may display various filters in a single column on the same screen, and filters that do not fit within the display size of the user terminal device 10 may be placed outside the screen in a manner that allows scrolling in the horizontal direction.

[0043] The "all offers" filter F1 is a filter that is set by default when the map search function is executed, and when this filter F1 is applied, the determination unit 144 determines that nearby stores that offer at least one type of benefit from among all types of benefits such as coupons, stamp cards, campaigns, etc. should be displayed in order as the store information area SA. In this case, the determination unit 144 determines, for example, a priority for determining the display order of each of the target nearby stores, and determines to display the store information area SA of each nearby store in order of highest priority.

[0044] More specifically, the determination unit 144 determines the priority based on indicators such as the distance between the reference position RP and the surrounding store, the redemption rate of the benefit offered by the surrounding store, the similarity between the payment history included in the user's user information 172 and the affiliated store of the surrounding store, whether the user follows the affiliated store of the surrounding store, and the benefit expiration date of the benefit. For example, the determination unit 144 determines the priority higher the shorter the distance between the reference position RP and the surrounding store. Also, for example, the determination unit 144 determines the priority higher the redemption rate of the benefit. Also, for example, the determination unit 144 determines the priority higher the more frequently the user pays at stores in the category to which the affiliated store of the surrounding store belongs, based on the user's payment history. Also, for example, the determination unit 144 determines the priority higher when the user follows the affiliated store of the surrounding store compared to when the user does not follow the affiliated store. Also, for example, the determination unit 144 determines the priority higher the closer the benefit expiration date is.

[0045] Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 10 , the store information area SA displays, for each store, information about the store (for example, in FIG. 10 , information about the affiliated store's logo, store name, and distance from the reference position RP is included), as well as information about benefits offered by each store. For example, in FIG. 10 , the store information area SA1 for "AA Convenience Store BB" includes a display area SA1_1 indicating that the store is offering a 5% rebate coupon and an operation area SA1_2 for obtaining the coupon. When a user presses operation area SA1_2, the payment application 20 executes processing according to the coupon, i.e., processing for obtaining the coupon. Similarly, the store information area SA2 for "CC Drug Store DD" includes a display area SA2_1 indicating that the store is offering a stamp card offering 100 points rebate, and an operation area SA2_2 for confirming details of the stamp card. When a user presses operation area SA2_2, the payment application 20 executes processing according to the stamp card, i.e., processing for transitioning to a screen for confirming details of the stamp card. Similarly, when the benefit is a campaign, the operation area SA2_2 becomes an operation area for transitioning to a screen for checking the details of the campaign.

[0046] In Figure 10, for the sake of simplicity, the store information area SA is displayed as if each store were offering a single benefit, but if a store were offering multiple types of benefits, the determination unit 144 would arrange the display area and operation area for each benefit, for example, from left to right in order of the highest redemption rate, and benefits that do not fit within the display size of the user terminal device 10 may be placed outside the screen in a manner that allows them to be scrolled left and right.

[0047] FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of the lower display of the offer screen of FIG. 10. The screen shown in FIG. 11 is displayed, for example, by a user scrolling the offer screen of FIG. 10. The lower screen of the offer screen includes, for example, a tab TAB2 for switching between a "Campaign" widget for selecting a campaign and a "Coupon" widget for selecting a coupon, a filtering area FL2 for selecting a date and time, and a detailed information display area DA for displaying detailed information corresponding to the widget selected from the tab TAB2. FIG. 11 shows, as an example, the lower part of the offer screen that is displayed when the "Campaign" widget is selected from the tab TAB2 and "Today" is selected from the filtering area FL2.

[0048] When the "Campaign" widget is selected from tab TAB2 and "Today" is selected from filtering area FL2, the determination unit 144 determines to display detailed information DA about campaigns that are valid today and that can be participated in within a predetermined distance from the reference position RP, which is the user's current location. The campaigns displayed at this time may be campaigns in which the user is not currently participating (i.e., campaigns in which the initial payment that meets the campaign conditions has not been made). The detailed information DA includes detailed information DA1, DA2, ... about each campaign, and the detailed information includes the campaign name, upper limit, benefit expiration date, a "Details" button for transitioning to a further details page, etc. Furthermore, when a date representing a future time is selected from filtering area FL2, the displayed campaign does not have to be currently running (in other words, it may be scheduled to be held).

[0049] In this embodiment, the detailed information DA1, DA2, etc. about each campaign includes bookmark buttons BM1, BM2, etc., which allow the user to bookmark the campaign. When the user presses one of the bookmark buttons BM, the payment application 20 transmits information indicating that the bookmark button BM was pressed to the payment server 100, and the information management unit 140 stores identification information of the campaign bookmarked by the user in the "Bookmarks" section of the user information 172. The bookmarked campaign information is displayed by operating the "Your Deals" widget, as described below. As described above, unlike coupons, campaigns are applied in response to a user's electronic payment without requiring prior acquisition. Therefore, providing a bookmark function prevents users from forgetting about campaigns in which they are interested. This bookmark function is not limited to being provided in the lower display of the offer screen shown in FIG. 11 . For example, it may be provided when the "Campaign" filter F4 is applied from the filtering area FL1 on the offer screen shown in FIG. 10 . The bookmark function may also be provided for stamp cards. In particular, if a campaign or stamp card is not currently being held but is scheduled to be held in the future, providing such a bookmark function can prevent users from forgetting about the campaign or stamp card they wish to use.

[0050] Fig. 12 is a diagram showing another example of the display of the lower part of the offer screen of Fig. 10. As with Fig. 11, the screen shown in Fig. 12 is displayed, for example, by a user scrolling the offer screen shown in Fig. 10, and Fig. 12 shows, as an example, the lower part of the offer screen that is displayed when the "Coupon" widget is selected from tab TAB2 and "Today" is selected from filtering area FL2.

[0051] When the "Coupon" widget is selected from tab TAB2 and "Today" is selected from filtering area FL2, the determination unit 144 determines to display detailed information DA about stores that offer coupons that are valid today and can be used within a predetermined distance from a reference position RP that is the user's current location. At this time, the determination unit 144 may determine which coupons to display in the detailed information DA based on the payment history included in the user information 172 of the user. For example, the determination unit 144 may identify a category to which the affiliated store at which the user makes payments most frequently belongs, based on the user's payment history, and display detailed information DA about coupons offered by affiliated stores that belong to the identified category.

[0052] As described with reference to FIG. 10 , when the “Search” widget is selected, information about benefits offered by stores near the reference position RP, which is the user's current location, is displayed. Therefore, the condition “within a predetermined distance from the reference position RP” may be omitted from the display at the bottom of the offer screen shown in FIGS. 11 and 12 . Thus, when the “Search” widget is selected on the offer screen, the user can first see benefits available near the current location, and below that, information about campaigns or coupons that are likely to be useful to the user, regardless of the distance from the current location. Furthermore, by using the bookmark function, the user can prevent forgetting about campaigns that interest them. In other words, this embodiment can help users discover and utilize benefits that are useful to them in an electronic payment service that offers a variety of benefits.

[0053] 13 is a diagram showing another example of an offer screen that is displayed when the "Search" widget is selected. When the "Search" widget is selected from tab TAB1, the determination unit 144 determines that, for example, a map area MP, a button area BA for performing a more detailed search for benefits, and a store information area SA are to be displayed together on the user terminal device 10, as shown in FIG. 13. The map area MP and the store information area SA are the same as those in FIG. 10, and therefore their description will be omitted.

[0054] The payment application 20 displays a button area BA for performing a more detailed search for benefits. More specifically, the payment application 20 displays, for example, an "Offline Payment" button BA3, an "Online Payment" button BA4, a "Task-Based" button B5, and a "User Only" button B6 on the button area BA. Here, offline payment refers to electronic payment for purchasing goods or services at a physical store using the above-mentioned user scan or store scan, while online payment refers to electronic payment for purchasing goods or services by deducting the payment amount from the charge balance or available credit balance of an electronic payment service via the web screen of a shopping site provided by a member store, for example.

[0055] For example, when the "Offline Payment" button BA3 is pressed, the payment app 20 displays a list of affiliated stores that offer benefits and that support offline payment. For example, when the "Online Payment" button BA4 is pressed, the payment app 20 displays a list of affiliated stores that offer benefits and that support online payment. For example, when the "Task-Based" button BA5 is pressed, the payment app 20 displays a list of affiliated stores that offer benefits in response to the completion of a task (such as opening a securities account or introducing a non-user). For example, when the "User-Only" button BA6 is pressed, the payment app 20 displays a list of affiliated stores that offer benefits exclusively to users. Here, "user-only" means, for example, that the benefits are only available to users of services (such as telecommunications carrier services or information distribution services) affiliated with the electronic payment service.

[0056] FIG. 14 is a diagram showing an example of the lower display of the offer screen of FIG. 13. The screen shown in FIG. 14 is displayed, for example, by a user scrolling the offer screen of FIG. 13. The lower display of the offer screen includes, for example, an information area IA for providing top charts (i.e., recommendation information based on popularity among all users) and a category area CA for selecting a category. More specifically, for example, the payment app 20 displays selection items such as "Popular Affiliated Stores," "Popular Online Payments," and "Near You" in the information area IA. For example, when "Popular Affiliated Stores" is selected, the payment app 20 displays a list of benefits that are frequently used by all users of the electronic payment service in order. Alternatively, the payment app 20 may display a list of benefits that are frequently used by all users of the electronic payment service in order of the amount of electronic payment made by all users of the electronic payment service. Furthermore, for example, when "Popular Online Payments" is selected, the payment app 20 displays a list of affiliated stores that are frequently used by all users of the electronic payment service in order of the amount of electronic payment made by all users of the electronic payment service. Also, for example, when "Near you" is selected, the payment application 20 displays a list of affiliated stores that have a high number of uses (or payment amounts) among all users of the electronic payment service and are located within a specified range from the user's current location.

[0057] Furthermore, for example, the payment application 20 displays selection items such as "coupon," "stamp card," "campaign," and "gift voucher" in the category area CA. More specifically, for example, when one of these selection items is selected, the payment application 20 displays a list of information related to benefits in the selected category. When a category is selected, the payment application 20 may evaluate the benefits based on any index (or a combination thereof) such as a high return rate, a close expiration date, or a high number of uses, and display a list of benefits in descending order of the evaluation.

[0058] [Your Savings Widget] Fig. 15 is a diagram showing an example of an offer screen that is displayed when the "Your Deals" widget is selected. The offer screen shown in Fig. 15 includes, for example, a tab TAB1, a filtering area FL3 for selecting display content, a detailed information display area DA for displaying detailed information corresponding to the content selected from the filtering area FL3, and a selection area DM for selecting the display mode of the "Your Deals" widget. Fig. 15 shows, as an example, the offer screen that is displayed when the "Your Deals" widget is selected from the tab TAB1 and the list display LD is selected from the display mode selection area DM.

[0059] The "Your Deals" widget is a widget for aggregating and displaying one or more benefits for which a user has performed a predetermined operation (such as an acquisition operation, a bookmark operation, or an electronic payment that satisfies the conditions for the benefit), such as coupons acquired by the user, campaigns bookmarked or in which the user is participating, and stamp cards in which the user is participating. More specifically, for example, when the "Your Deals" widget is selected from tab TAB1 and "Expiration Soon" is selected from filtering area FL3, the determination unit 144 aggregates and displays the coupons acquired by the user, campaigns bookmarked or in which the user is participating, and stamp cards in which the user is participating, in order of the closest benefit expiration date. FIG. 15 illustrates, as an example, a case in which the detailed information display area DA aggregates and displays detailed information DA1 about coupons acquired by the user, detailed information DA2 about campaigns bookmarked by the user, and detailed information DA3 about stamp cards in which the user is participating, in order of the closest benefit expiration date.

[0060] Because the detailed information DA1 is information about a coupon acquired by the user, unlike the information in FIG. 12 , it includes a “Details” button instead of a “Get” button. The payment application 20 may transition the screen to a coupon details page (e.g., a page dedicated to the affiliated store) in response to the user's click. Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 15 , when a user bookmarks a campaign, the payment application 20 may display in the detailed information DA2 a message indicating that the bookmark BM1 has been bookmarked. Furthermore, when a user is participating in a campaign, the payment application 20 may display in the detailed information DA2 the amount of the campaign limit already used by the user. Similarly, the payment application 20 may display in the detailed information DA3 the user's progress (i.e., the number of electronic payments the user has made out of the predetermined number of electronic payments required to receive the benefit) for a stamp card in which the user is participating. In this way, by utilizing the “Your Benefits” widget to display information about the benefit for which the user has performed a predetermined operation, the user can grasp the benefits that interest or are relevant to the user. In other words, according to this embodiment, it is possible to assist users in discovering and utilizing useful benefits in an electronic payment service that offers various types of benefits.

[0061] Fig. 16 is a diagram showing another example of the offer screen that is displayed when the "Your Deals" widget is selected. Fig. 16 shows, as an example, the offer screen that is displayed when the "Your Deals" widget is selected from tab TAB1 and map display MD is selected from selection area DM.

[0062] When map display MD is selected from display mode selection area DM, the determination unit 144 determines to display on map MP the location information of stores S1 and S2 corresponding to each of the detailed information DA1, DA2, ... displayed in the detailed information display area DA. For example, in the case of FIG. 16 , the determination unit 144 determines to display on map MP location information S1 of a store that offers a coupon corresponding to detailed information DA1 and location information S3 of a store that offers a stamp card corresponding to detailed information DA3, and the payment application 20 displays the location information of these stores on map MP. This improves the convenience for users in understanding benefits that they are interested in or involved in.

[0063] Fig. 17 is a diagram showing another example of the offer screen that is displayed when the "Your Deals" widget is selected. Fig. 17 shows, as an example, the offer screen that is displayed when the "Your Deals" widget is selected from tab TAB1 and calendar display MD is selected from selection area DM. The calendar display CD displays the benefit expiration dates of the benefits corresponding to each of the detailed information DA1, DA2, etc., in association with the calendar dates.

[0064] For example, in the case of Fig. 17, the determination unit 144 determines to display on the calendar the benefit expiration date of July 15th for the coupon corresponding to the detailed information DA1 and the benefit expiration date of July 31st for the stamp card corresponding to the detailed information DA2, and the payment application 20 displays these dates on the calendar. In particular, as shown in Fig. 17, when a user selects a date from the calendar, the payment application 20 may focus FC on the selected date and highlight the benefit whose benefit expires on the selected date (for example, in the case of Fig. 17, the bold frame of the detailed information DA1 may be highlighted). In another aspect, when a user selects a date from the calendar, the payment application 20 may display only the detailed information DA related to the benefit whose benefit expires on the selected date.

[0065] FIG. 18 is a diagram illustrating an example of a details screen of the calendar display CD. As shown in FIG. 18, the payment application 20 may display, on each calendar date, an overview of the benefits (e.g., affiliated store, store name, municipality name, type of benefit, and return rate) corresponding to each detailed information DA1, DA2, etc. As another example, the payment application 20 may also display, on each calendar date, an overview of benefits for coupons that the user has not acquired, bookmarks, campaigns in which the user is not participating, and stamp cards in which the user is not participating. In this case, when a calendar date is selected, the payment application 20 may display an acquire button for acquiring the coupon, a details confirmation button for checking details of the campaign or stamp card, and a bookmark BM button at the bottom of the calendar display CD. This allows the user to visually grasp the expiration dates of various types of benefits offered by electronic payment services. In other words, this embodiment can help users discover and utilize useful benefits from electronic payment services that offer various types of benefits.

[0066] [Processing flow] Next, a flow of processing executed by cooperation between the user terminal device 10 and the payment server 100 will be described with reference to Fig. 19. Fig. 19 is a sequence diagram showing an example of a flow of processing executed by cooperation between the user terminal device 10 and the payment server 100.

[0067] First, the payment application 20 accepts pressing of the offer button TB3 and selection of a widget on the user terminal device 10, and transmits the pressing information to the payment server 100 (S11). Next, upon receiving the pressing information from the user terminal device 10, the acquisition unit 142 of the payment server 100 acquires the user information of the user indicated by the pressing information (S12).

[0068] Next, the determination unit 144 determines, based on the acquired user information, information to be provided to the payment application 20, which information is information related to one or more types of benefits of the electronic payment service (S13). Next, the provision unit 146 provides the determined information to be provided to the payment application 20 (S14). The payment application 20 displays an offer screen including the provided information to be provided (S15). This ends the processing of this sequence diagram.

[0069] In the processing of the above sequence diagram, payment application 20 may execute the processing of S12 and S13. In other words, payment application 20 may implement all of the processing of the sequence diagram of FIG.

[0070] According to the embodiment described above, user information about a user of an electronic payment service is acquired, and based on the acquired user information, provision information to be provided to the user's user terminal device, which information is information about one or more types of benefits of the electronic payment service, is determined, and the determined provision information is provided to the user terminal device. This helps users discover and utilize benefits that will be useful to them when using electronic payment services that offer various types of benefits.

[0071] 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]

[0072] 10 User terminal device 20. Payment App 100 Payment Server 120 Payment Contents Department 130 Payment processing unit 140 Information Management Department 142 Acquisition Department 144 Decision Section 146 Provision Department 170 Storage section

Claims

1. an acquisition unit that acquires user information relating to users of the electronic payment service; a determination unit that determines, based on the acquired user information, benefit information relating to one or more types of benefits of the electronic payment service, to be provided to the user terminal device of the user; a providing unit that provides the determined benefit information to the user terminal device, Information processing device.

2. the user information includes location information of the user and operation information by the user regarding the one or more types of benefits; the determination unit determines, as the bonus information, first bonus information based on the position information and second bonus information based on the operation information; The information processing device according to claim 1 .

3. the providing unit provides the first benefit information and the second benefit information to the user terminal device in a format that allows the first benefit information and the second benefit information to be switched or selected on the same screen. The information processing device according to claim 2 .

4. the determination unit determines to aggregate benefit information relating to a benefit for which a predetermined operation has been performed among the one or more types of benefits displayed on the user terminal device, and to provide the aggregated benefit information to the user terminal device. The information processing device according to claim 1 .

5. the predetermined operation is an operation of bookmarking a campaign among the one or more types of benefits, the determination unit determines to aggregate benefit information related to the bookmarked campaign and provide the aggregated benefit information to the user terminal device; The campaign is one in which value is added to the user's electronic payment service account by making an electronic payment that satisfies predetermined conditions without the user having to perform any prior acquisition operation. The information processing device according to claim 4 .

6. the predetermined operation is an operation for acquiring a coupon from the one or more types of benefits, the determination unit determines to aggregate benefit information related to the acquired coupons and provide the aggregated benefit information to the user terminal device; The coupon is added to the user's electronic payment service account when the user performs a pre-acquisition operation and makes an electronic payment that satisfies a predetermined condition. The information processing device according to claim 4 .

7. the predetermined operation is an operation of participating in a stamp card among the one or more types of benefits by executing an electronic payment; The determination unit determines to aggregate benefit information related to the participating stamp cards and provide the aggregated benefit information to the user terminal device; The stamp card is a card that adds value to the user's electronic payment service account by making multiple electronic payments that satisfy predetermined conditions without the user having to perform any prior acquisition operation. The information processing device according to claim 4 .

8. the providing unit associates the aggregated benefit information with a benefit expiration date linked to the benefit information and provides the aggregated benefit information to the user terminal device in a calendar format. The information processing device according to claim 4 .

9. The computer Acquire user information about users of electronic payment services, determining, based on the acquired user information, benefit information relating to one or more types of benefits of the electronic payment service, to be provided to the user terminal device of the user; providing the determined benefit information to the user terminal device; Information processing methods.

10. On the computer, Obtain user information about users of electronic payment services, determining, based on the acquired user information, benefit information relating to one or more types of benefits of the electronic payment service, to be provided to the user terminal device of the user; causing the user terminal device to provide the determined benefit information; program.

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