Purchasing agency system, management device, and purchasing agency method

Abstract

This invention provides a purchasing agency system, management device, and purchasing agency method that enable simple and reliable settlement processing for the purchase of goods or applications for the provision of services, while also preventing purchasing errors. [Solution] By sending order data for the purchase of goods or provision of services from the ordering party's terminal, the ordering party can request a purchasing agent using the purchasing agent's device to perform purchasing based on the order data. The management device then matches the order data, which includes the price of the goods or services, the receipt data, which includes the receipt information for the amount paid by the purchasing agent, and the payment data, which includes the funds used from a predetermined account by the purchasing agent's device to pay the price for the goods or services, and performs settlement processing.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The disclosure in this specification relates to an online product purchase or service application proxy purchase system, its management device, and a proxy purchase method.

Background Art

[0002] When users of a predetermined facility, such as inpatients in a hospital, purchase products and apply for services in a store within the facility, a facility internal product purchase system has been proposed to facilitate the payment of the users' consideration. That is, according to the system, when the user (inpatient) holds up their identification code (two-dimensional code displayed on a wristband or the like) and the code of the product they want to purchase to a store terminal, a verification request is sent from the terminal to the server, and the total amount in the system server can be automatically debited from the inpatient's account set with a financial institution and paid to each store. (For example, refer to Patent Document 1.)

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] However, according to the facility internal product purchase system, inpatients themselves had to go directly to the store within the facility. Among inpatients, there are inpatients who are prohibited from going outside the ward and inpatients who cannot even get up from their beds in the first place. Since these inpatients cannot go directly to the store outside the ward, they cannot use the facility internal product purchase system.

[0005] Therefore, hospitalized patients like those described above, for example, if the communication terminal installed in their hospital room is connected to the internet, will either purchase goods using e-commerce sites, or ask accompanying family members, visiting relatives, or hospital-based businesses, staff, or nurses to purchase goods or apply for services on their behalf.

[0006] However, when using e-commerce sites, there was a problem in that the delivery person for the purchased goods was not allowed to enter the hospital room, making it impossible to hand over the goods directly to the hospitalized patient who placed the order.

[0007] Furthermore, since accompanying family members and visitors are not always present in the hospital room, there was a problem in that orders could not be placed in a timely manner when hospitalized patients wanted to purchase goods or apply for services.

[0008] Furthermore, when using the aforementioned purchasing agent, orders from multiple hospitalized patients are usually consolidated and purchased on their behalf. While this somewhat resolves issues such as the delivery of goods when using the aforementioned e-commerce site and the timeliness issues when relying on accompanying or visiting relatives, it increases the workload of the purchasing agent, as they are responsible for sorting and delivering the purchased goods to the hospitalized patients. Additionally, there is the problem of cumbersome settlement procedures, whether the payment for purchased goods or services is received from the hospitalized patients or advanced by the purchasing agent. Moreover, the purchasing agent's handling of orders from multiple hospitalized patients increases the likelihood of errors such as missed purchases and incorrect settlements.

[0009] While the above issues were explained using the example of a hospital patient purchasing goods or requesting services, these issues generally arise when a party ordering goods or services requests purchasing assistance.

[0010] The disclosures in this specification are intended to resolve the above-mentioned problems and aim to provide a purchasing agency system, management device, and purchasing agency method that enable simple and reliable settlement processing and prevent purchasing errors when a customer requests purchasing agency services for the purchase of goods or provision of services. [Means for solving the problem]

[0011] To address the above issues, one embodiment of the purchasing agency system disclosed herein includes a terminal on the ordering party's side for the ordering party to make an online application for the purchase of goods or provision of services, a purchasing agency device that receives order data from the ordering party's terminal, and a management device that performs payment processing related to the application for the purchase of goods or provision of services.

[0012] The aforementioned ordering terminal includes a payment method registration input unit for registering payment methods for ordering the purchase of goods or the provision of services online, An order information input unit that places the aforementioned order via the internet, A settlement request unit requests payment for the order placed by the order information input unit using the settlement means, It has an order data transmission unit that transmits order data relating to the order information, including the price of the order, via the internet, The purchasing agent's device includes an order data receiving unit that receives the order data from the order data transmission unit, A purchasing agent uses funds in a designated account to pay for goods purchased or services requested based on the order data, and reads receipt information for the amount paid for the purchase of the goods or the request for the services; An acquisition unit that acquires information on funds used from the designated account to pay the aforementioned consideration as payment data, A payment data transmission unit that transmits the aforementioned payment data, The system includes a receipt data transmission unit that transmits receipt data via the Internet from the receipt information read by the receipt information reading unit, The management device includes an account setting processing unit that receives the registration of a payment method from the payment method registration input unit and sets up the account of the ordering party, An electronic payment processing unit receives a payment request for the payment from the payment request unit of the ordering party's terminal logged in with the aforementioned account, and accepts the deposit into the management account and performs online payment processing using the aforementioned payment means. A remittance processing unit that pre-transfers the aforementioned funds from the management account to the predetermined account, The order data transmitted from the order data transmission unit, the payment data transmitted from the payment data transmission unit, and the receipt data transmitted from the receipt data transmission unit are received by the Receive data receiving unit. A matching processing unit that matches the order data, the payment data, and the receipt data, It has.

[0013] With this configuration, the ordering party can request a purchasing agent using the purchasing agent's device to perform purchasing based on the order data by transmitting order data for the purchase of goods or provision of services from the ordering party's terminal. Furthermore, the management device can perform settlement processing by matching order data relating to order information including the price of the goods or provision of services, receipt data relating to receipt information for the amount paid by the purchasing agent, and payment data relating to funds used from a predetermined account by the purchasing agent's device to pay the consideration for the purchase of goods or provision of services.

[0014] Furthermore, one embodiment of the management device disclosed herein includes an account setting processing unit that receives registration of online payment methods from the ordering party's terminal and sets up the ordering party's account for the purpose of receiving orders for the purchase of goods or provision of services online from the ordering party, An electronic payment processing unit receives an order information input via the internet from the ordering party's terminal, places the order, and receives a request from the ordering party's terminal, logged in with the account, to settle the payment for the order using the payment method, and performs online payment processing. A data receiving unit receives the following from the ordering terminal: the purchasing agent's device receives order data relating to the purchase of the goods or provision of the services, the purchasing agent uses funds from a designated account to pay for the goods to be purchased or the services to be requested based on the order data, the purchasing agent's device reads receipt information for the amount paid for the purchase of the goods or the provision of the services, and the data receiving unit receives the receipt data extracted from the receipt information and payment data relating to the funds used from the designated account to pay the consideration, and the ordering data relating to the purchase of the goods or provision of the services from the ordering terminal. A remittance processing unit that pre-transfers the aforementioned funds to the aforementioned designated account, It consists of a matching processing unit that matches the receipt data, the order data, and the payment data.

[0015] Furthermore, one aspect of the purchasing agency method disclosed herein is that the management device accepts registration of online payment methods and processes the setting up of the customer's account via the internet for the purpose of ordering the purchase of goods or the provision of services online from the ordering party's terminal. The process involves transferring funds from the management account managed by the management device to a designated account managed by the purchasing agent's device, which holds funds for paying the consideration for the purchase of the goods or the provision of services. From the ordering terminal logged in with the aforementioned account, the ordering information relating to the ordering is entered into the management device via the internet, thereby placing the order, and the ordering data relating to the ordering information, including the price of the order, is transmitted to the management device and the purchasing agent's device. The ordering party's terminal, logged in using the aforementioned account, requests payment for the order using the aforementioned payment method, The management device receives the payment request and performs online payment processing to accept the deposit into the management account. The purchasing agent device that has received the order data uses the funds in the predetermined account to pay for the price of the goods to be purchased or the services to be applied for pursuant to the order data, and reads receipt information on the amount paid for the purchase of the goods or the application for the services. The purchasing agent device obtains, as payment data, the fund information used from the predetermined account for paying the price. The purchasing agent device transmits receipt data related to the receipt information and the obtained payment data to the management device via the Internet. The management device performs a matching process of generating a matching table composed of matching data respectively extracted from the order data, the receipt data, and the payment data, and determination information for determining whether each of the matching data matches or does not match.

Advantages of the Invention

[0016] The purchasing agency system, management device, and purchasing agency method of the present invention achieve simple and reliable settlement processing and can prevent the occurrence of purchasing mistakes when a purchaser requests a purchasing agency for the purchase of goods or the application for service provision.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0017] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a system configuration diagram of a purchasing agency system disclosed in this specification. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram of a system constituting the purchasing agency system disclosed in this specification. [Figure 3] FIG. 3 is a sequence diagram of a purchasing agency method disclosed in this specification. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a processing flow diagram of purchasing agency. [Figure 5] FIG. 5 is a diagram schematically showing the flow of funds when the payment means for the price is a prepaid card. [Figure 6] FIG. 6 is a settlement processing flow diagram by a deferred payment settlement means. [Figure 7] Figure 7 is a flowchart of the matching process. [Figure 8] Figure 8 shows a matching table. [Figure 9] Figure 9 shows a first modified example of the purchasing agency system. [Figure 10] Figure 10 shows a second modified example of the purchasing agency system. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0018] Hereinafter, embodiments for implementing the disclosures herein will be described with reference to the drawings. When subsequent embodiments have components corresponding to previously described embodiments, the same reference numerals are used and redundant descriptions are omitted. Furthermore, when only a part of the configuration is described in each embodiment, the reference numerals of the previously described embodiment may be used for other parts of that configuration. Even if it is not explicitly stated that each embodiment can be specifically combined, it is possible to partially combine embodiments if there is no particular impediment to such combination. In addition, the sizes of components in the drawings are exaggerated as appropriate for the sake of clarity and do not represent actual dimensions or ratios between components unless explicitly stated otherwise.

[0019] <Hardware configuration of the purchasing agency system> Figure 1 is a system configuration diagram of the purchasing agency system disclosed herein. In this embodiment, the system configuration is shown when a customer (inpatient) at hospital H requests a purchasing agent (resident business operator, hospital staff, nurse, etc.) to purchase goods at a sales store R located within hospital H. In addition to purchasing goods, the purchases in this system also include applications for services. For example, this includes requests for cleaning, and applications for rentals of towels, pajamas, etc. Although Figure 1 shows a sales store R located inside hospital H, mainly for the use of hospital H users such as inpatients, it may also be a sales store located outside hospital H.

[0020] This system is applicable not only to hospitals, but also to designated facilities such as nursing homes, hotels, and apartment buildings, as long as the ordering party can request purchasing assistance from a terminal installed at the designated facility, but only when they are using the facility. Here, for example, in the case of a nursing home, the residents would be the ordering party; in the case of a hotel, the guests would be the guests; and in the case of an apartment building, the residents would be the purchasing agents. For example, in the case of a nursing home, the care staff would be the caregivers; in the case of a hotel, the hotel employees would be the hotel staff; and in the case of an apartment building, the building manager (or an employee of the management company) would be the purchasing agents.

[0021] The purchasing agency system disclosed herein consists of a management device 1, a client terminal 2, and a purchasing agency device 3. The management device 1, the client terminal 2, and the purchasing agency device 3 are all interconnected via the Internet I.

[0022] In this embodiment, both the ordering party's terminal 2 and the purchasing agent's device 3 are installed within Hospital H, and both are connected to the local area network established within Hospital H. Note that the local area network in Figure 1 is a wireless local area network, but it may also be a wired network.

[0023] The local area network (JAR) is configured as a mesh Wi-Fi network consisting of multiple access points. The mesh Wi-Fi network consists of a router 4 and multiple access points 5 that are subordinate to the router 4. The router 4 acquires discovery information and topology information of the connection structure of the access points 5, and based on this information, sends instructions to the multiple access points 5 to control the network. The router 4 also performs proxy control of data communication and data traffic management between the Internet I and the local area network. The client terminal 2 is connected to the local area network via the access points 5. The client terminal 2, the purchasing agent device 3, and the management device 1 are connected to the Internet I via the local area network, but in this specification, this network configuration is also defined as being connected to each other via the Internet I.

[0024] The purchasing agency system involves, at a minimum, online transfer of funds between the management device 1 and the purchasing agent device 3, corresponding to the payment for the purchase of goods and / or the provision of services (hereinafter referred to as "purchase of goods, etc."). Therefore, the management device 1 and the purchasing agent device 3 are connected to a bank server B that manages the accounts for the transfer and deposit of the funds. In Figure 1, a single bank server B is shown as being connected, but the bank managing the account for the management device 1 and the bank managing the account for the purchasing agent device 3 may be different banks. In this case, the bank server B is defined as a collection of multiple servers.

[0025] Management device 1 is a server in the purchasing agency system that manages transactions from the ordering party's order for the purchase of goods to the purchasing agency's purchase of goods based on that order.

[0026] The ordering terminal 2 is, for example, a television receiver, tablet terminal, desktop computer, or notebook computer capable of internet communication. In this embodiment, if the designated facility is hospital H, the ordering terminal 2 may be, for example, a television receiver or tablet terminal installed on the bedside table of an inpatient. In this case, the television receiver or tablet terminal is a multi-functional terminal that can view information content from hospital H and external content (television programs, distributed content), and can also place orders for the purchase of the aforementioned products online. Figure 1 shows an example in which ordering terminals 2A, 2B, and 2N of multiple inpatients are connected.

[0027] The purchasing agent's device 3 is, for example, a tablet terminal, desktop computer, or notebook computer capable of internet communication. In this embodiment, for example, any device used for business management (management of electronic medical records, management of inpatient information, communication with hospital staff, nursing records, etc.) installed in a nurse station that has the function of receiving order information from the ordering terminal 2 is acceptable. The purchasing agent's means of payment P for goods and / or services (hereinafter referred to as "goods, etc.") purchased and / or applied for at the sales store R may be, for example, a credit card, debit card, prepaid card, an electronic payment application installed on a mobile terminal, or a bank transfer. The purchasing agent's device 3 is also equipped with a reader (scanner) (not shown) that reads and digitizes receipts received at the sales store R along with the purchase of goods, etc.

[0028] <Functional block structure of the purchasing agency system> Figure 2 is a functional block diagram of the purchasing agency system disclosed herein.

[0029] The management device 1, the ordering party's terminal 2, and the purchasing agent's device 3 are all equipped with a web browser and capable of displaying the distributed data (the format of the data is not particularly limited and includes all forms such as text, images, videos, and audio) on a display. Furthermore, the display is not limited to a display; it may also be displayed on paper media output by an output device such as a printer.

[0030] Furthermore, each device is equipped with a CPU (Central Processing Unit), RAM (memory), ROM (storage), and, if necessary, input devices such as a mouse and keyboard, and output devices such as a display and speakers. The CPU, in accordance with instructions received from the input devices, reads data stored in the storage or external storage device and controls it to output, for example, to a display. When the CPU receives a predetermined signal, it reads a processing program stored in the storage into memory, executes predetermined information processing on the data using the processing program, and controls it to output, for example, the result of the information processing to the output device (e.g., a display). The functions of the management device 1, the ordering terminal 2, and the purchasing agent device 3, which will be described below, are all performed by reading the data, executing the information processing, and outputting the results.

[0031] The ordering terminal 2 includes a payment method registration input unit 21, an order information input unit 22, a payment request unit 23, and an order data transmission unit 24.

[0032] The payment method registration input unit 21 registers online payment methods for ordering goods online. The online payment method may be limited to a specified payment method, or it may allow for the selection of various payment methods, such as credit cards, bank transfers, electronic money, and deferred payment. Furthermore, the cost of the order may be added to the hospital H's billing process (settling of hospitalization fees, etc.). In this case, by entering the orderer's (inpatient's) ID (such as the inpatient number) in the payment method registration input unit 21, the cost will be added to the invoice when settling hospitalization fees upon discharge.

[0033] The order information input unit 22 places orders for the aforementioned goods via the Internet I. For example, the ordering terminal 2 displays a list of goods handled by the sales store R, and the ordering party can input order information by selecting the desired goods.

[0034] The settlement request unit 23 requests settlement of the payment for the order placed by the order information input unit 22 using the settlement means registered in the settlement means registration input unit 21.

[0035] The order data transmission unit 24 transmits order data, including the price of the order, to the management device 1 and the purchasing agent device 3 via the Internet I.

[0036] The purchasing agent's device 3 includes an order data receiving unit 31, an acquisition unit 32, a payment data transmission unit 33, a receipt information reading unit 34, and a receipt data transmission unit 35.

[0037] The order data receiving unit 31 receives the order data from the order data transmission unit 24 of the ordering terminal 2. The receiving order data can be extracted by the purchasing agent using the purchasing agent's device 3 and viewed on the screen to confirm the products to be purchased.

[0038] The receipt information reading unit 34 reads receipt information for the amount paid by the purchasing agent using funds from a designated account to pay for the goods purchased based on the order data. In other words, the receipt information reading unit 34 has the function of reading receipt information such as a receipt issued from the cash register R1 of the sales store R when the purchasing agent purchases the goods based on the order data at the sales store R, using OCR recognition. The receipt information read by OCR recognition is stored as receipt data in the purchasing agent's device 3.

[0039] The receipt data transmission unit 35 transmits the stored receipt data to the management device 1 via the internet from the receipt information read by the receipt information reading unit 34.

[0040] The acquisition unit 32 acquires information on funds used from the designated account to pay the consideration as payment data. For example, if funds are withdrawn, debited, or immediately debited from the designated account (i.e., the purchasing agent's account B2) to purchase goods, etc., the acquisition unit 32 acquires data on the debited amount as payment data. If the payment for the purchase of goods etc. by the purchasing agent is made using a cashless payment method (e.g., prepaid card, QR code payment, etc.), the payment is made via the cashless payment equipment R2 (multi-payment terminal, CAT terminal, electronic money payment terminal, etc.) of the sales store R.

[0041] The payment data transmission unit 33 transmits the payment data acquired by the acquisition unit 32 to the management device 1.

[0042] The management device 1 includes an account setting processing unit 11, an electronic payment processing unit 12, a remittance processing unit 13, a data receiving unit 14, and a matching processing unit 15.

[0043] The account setup processing unit 11 receives the registration of a payment method from the payment method registration input unit 21 of the ordering terminal 2 and sets up the ordering party's account.

[0044] The electronic payment processing unit 12 receives a payment request from the payment request unit 23 of the ordering terminal 2, which is logged in with the account, and accepts the deposit into the management account B1 managed by the bank server B using the payment means, and performs online payment processing.

[0045] The remittance processing unit 13 pre-transfers the funds from the management account B1 to the purchasing agent's account B2. The remittance processing unit 13 can perform the transfer at any time before the purchasing agent makes the purchase of the goods. The transfer can be performed automatically at the time the total amount to be used is calculated, such as after calculating the total amount of the order data received within a certain period, or after simulating and calculating the amount of order data generated within a certain period on a weekly or monthly basis.

[0046] The data receiving unit 14 receives order data transmitted from the order data transmission unit 24 of the ordering terminal 2, payment data transmitted from the payment data transmission unit 33 of the purchasing agent device 3, and receipt data transmitted from the receipt data transmission unit 35.

[0047] The matching processing unit 15 matches the order data, payment data, and receipt data received by the data receiving unit 14 and determines whether each data item matches or does not match.

[0048] <Sequence of purchasing agency methods> Figure 3 is a sequence diagram of the purchasing agency method disclosed herein.

[0049] The management device 1 receives registration of online payment methods via the internet I from the ordering terminal 2 for the purpose of ordering goods online (S111), and processes the setting of the ordering party's account (S112).

[0050] From the ordering terminal 2, which is logged in with the aforementioned account, the ordering information for the aforementioned order is entered into the management device 1 via the Internet I, thereby placing the order, and the ordering data related to the ordering information, including the price of the order, is transmitted to the management device 1 and the purchasing agent's device 3 (S113, S114).

[0051] The ordering terminal 2, logged in with the aforementioned account, requests payment for the order using the aforementioned payment method (S115). The management device 1 receives the payment request and performs online payment processing to accept the deposit into the management account B1 (S116).

[0052] Furthermore, the management device 1 performs a remittance process to transfer funds from the management account B1 to the purchasing agent account B2, which is managed by the purchasing agent device 3 and holds funds for paying for the purchase of the aforementioned goods (S117). The purchasing agent device 3 is notified that funds have been deposited into the purchasing agent account B2 as a result of the remittance process (S118).

[0053] In this embodiment, the payment request in S115 and the payment processing in S116 are executed before the remittance processing in S117 and the fund deposit processing in S118. However, they may be executed after S117 and S118 (or after the payment processing for the purchase of goods by the purchasing agent, as described later). Also, the processing in S117 and S118 may be executed before the order data transmission processing in S114.

[0054] In S114, the purchasing agent uses the funds in the purchasing agent's account B2 to pay for the goods to be purchased based on the order data received by the purchasing agent's device 3, and makes the purchase of the goods at the sales store R (S119). The purchasing agent's device 3 acquires the funds used from the purchasing agent's account B2 to pay for the purchase of the goods as payment data and transmits it to the management device 1 (S120). The purchasing agent then hands over the purchased goods to the orderer (hospitalized patient). In the case of service applications, the purchasing agent hands the application slip to the orderer (hospitalized patient), and then the purchasing agent hands over the goods subject to the service to the orderer (hospitalized patient) after receiving them (for example, if a hospitalized patient orders towel rental, the purchasing agent hands over the slip received from the sales store R in exchange for the towel rental application to the hospitalized patient. After that, the purchasing agent receives the towels from the sales store R and hands them over to the hospitalized patient).

[0055] The purchasing agent device 3 reads the receipt information received from the sales store R for the amount paid by the purchasing agent for the purchase of goods (S121). The read receipt information is transmitted from the purchasing agent device 3 to the management device 1 as receipt data (S122). In this embodiment, the transmission of payment data (S120) precedes the transmission of receipt data (S122) in chronological order, but the transmission of receipt data may precede the transmission of payment data, or the transmission of payment data and receipt data may be performed simultaneously.

[0056] The management device 1, having received the order data, receipt data, and payment data, generates a matching table consisting of matching data extracted from each of the data sets and determination information that determines whether each of the matching data sets matches or does not match, and performs a matching process (S123).

[0057] <Purchasing agency processing> The processing flow for purchasing agency services will be explained using Figure 4 as an example, where the purchasing agency device 3 consists of a parent purchasing agency device and multiple child purchasing agency devices connected to the parent purchasing agency device via the internet.

[0058] For example, in the case of a multi-facility hospital group such as a medical corporation, the purchasing agent device 3 may consist of a parent purchasing agent device that oversees the entire medical corporation group and child purchasing agent devices installed in each hospital that makes up the medical corporation group. Similarly, in the case of a large general hospital, the purchasing agent device 3 may consist of, for example, a parent purchasing agent device that oversees the entire hospital and child purchasing agent devices installed in the nurse stations on each floor and / or each ward.

[0059] The parent purchasing agent device and the child purchasing agent device are interconnected via the Internet I. The multiple child purchasing agent devices belong to multiple groups, such as individual hospitals constituting a medical corporation group, or individual floors and / or wards of a large general hospital.

[0060] Furthermore, the purchasing agent account B2 is managed by the parent purchasing agent device and consists of a parent account into which the total funds of the multiple groups are deposited from the management device 1, and child accounts managed by the multiple child purchasing agent devices and assigned to each of the multiple groups.

[0061] The remittance processing unit 13 of the management device 1 pre-transfers the total amount of funds that can be used to pay the consideration from the management account B1 to the parent account (S1).

[0062] The parent purchasing agent device has a charge processing unit, and for each of the plurality of groups, the charge processing unit charges the payment means for the payment of the consideration as needed for the funds to be used to pay the consideration (S2). In other words, in this embodiment, the payment means can be any rechargeable device, such as electronic money or a prepaid card.

[0063] Furthermore, the parent purchasing agent device has a transfer processing unit, and the transfer processing unit makes transfers from the parent account to each of the child accounts of the multiple child purchasing agent devices (S3). When the transfer is made to the child account, payment settlement is executed at the sales store R using the payment means for the purchase of goods, etc. (S4). When payment settlement is executed, the parent purchasing agent device acquires payment data (S5), and transmits the payment data from the parent purchasing agent device to the management device 1 (S6).

[0064] Figure 5 schematically illustrates the flow of funds when the payment method is a prepaid card. In this embodiment, we show an example in which hospital H is composed of multiple groups, such as a medical corporation group. That is, hospital H consists of the main hospital Hh and multiple groups (groups with n facilities) under hospital Hh, namely hospitals H1, H2, and Hn. Hospital Hh is equipped with a parent purchasing agent device 3P, which manages the parent account B2P. Hospital H1 is equipped with a child purchasing agent device 3Ca, which manages the child account B2C-1. Hospital H2 is equipped with a child purchasing agent device 3Cb, which manages the child account B2C-2. Similarly, hospital Hn is equipped with a child purchasing agent device 3Cn, which manages the child account B2C-n.

[0065] One or more prepaid cards P are prepared to utilize the funds in each of the sub-accounts B2C-1, B2C-2, and B2C-n, and are distributed to each purchasing agent. Because the payment method is a prepaid card P, there are no restrictions such as credit checks or prohibition of use by anyone other than the cardholder, as is the case with credit cards, and it is possible to distribute them to multiple purchasing agents. Furthermore, since the charging by the charge processing unit and the transfer by the transfer processing unit can be managed and controlled by the parent account B2P, which is the representative account, the parent purchasing agent device 3P can centrally manage budget and actuals for the purchasing agents of the multiple groups.

[0066] When a customer at hospital H1 uses the prepaid card P to purchase goods at store R, the parent purchasing agent device 3P retrieves payment data from cash register R1. Similarly, when a customer makes a payment for goods at hospital H2, the parent purchasing agent device 3P retrieves payment data from cash register R2, and when a customer makes a payment for goods at hospital Hn, it retrieves payment data from cash register Rn.

[0067] The configuration described in Figure 5 shows an example where Hospital H is composed of multiple groups, such as a medical corporation group. However, a similar configuration is applicable to a large general hospital composed of multiple groups formed on each floor and / or each ward. In this case, for example, Hospital Hh can be read as Headquarters Hh, Hospital H1 as Floor H1 or Ward H1, Hospital H2 as Floor H2 or Ward H2, and Hospital Hn as Floor Hn or Ward Hn. (Furthermore, although this embodiment is described using a hospital as an example, as explained at the beginning, it is also applicable to certain facilities such as nursing homes, hotels, and apartments, which are composed of multiple groups.)

[0068] <Payment processing via deferred payment method> Figure 6 shows the processing flow when the payment method registered from the payment method registration input section of the ordering terminal 2 is a deferred payment method.

[0069] The customer described in this embodiment is an inpatient at Hospital H, but may not have cash, credit cards, or other payment methods available when purchasing goods. Furthermore, with deferred payment, there is no risk of cyberattacks or defective products like with credit cards. In addition, there is the advantage of having more flexibility in the timing of payment and being able to purchase goods prior to payment. Therefore, allowing the customer to select deferred payment as a payment method would be highly convenient for the customer.

[0070] When the ordering party applies for registration of a payment method at the payment method registration input unit 21 of the ordering party terminal 2 (S11), an account for the deferred payment method is generated in the management device 1 (S12).

[0071] After an order is placed for the purchase of goods, etc., from the ordering terminal 2, which has an account set up for the deferred payment method (S13), a payment request is made using the deferred payment method (S14). The order data is then transmitted from the order data transmission unit 24 of the ordering terminal 2 to the management device 1 and the purchasing agent device 3 (S15). The purchasing agent device 3, which receives the order data, checks and confirms the order data, purchases the goods, etc., and pays the price using the payment method (S16). After payment is made using the payment method, the settlement process using the deferred payment method is performed (S17).

[0072] In this embodiment, as described above, the entity selling the goods (sales store R) and the entity executing the deferred payment processing (management device 1) are different. Therefore, since a payment processing service is involved to perform the deferred payment on behalf of the sales store R, it becomes a deferred payment of the type of debt assignment.

[0073] <Butt joint processing> Figure 7 shows the matching process flow. The purchasing agency system disclosed herein is configured such that the ordering party entrusts the purchasing of goods, etc., to the purchasing agency via the management device 1 from the ordering party's terminal 2. Therefore, it is necessary to prevent purchasing errors (such as purchasing goods different from those ordered) and fraudulent transactions by the purchasing agency. The matching process in the purchasing agency system is a mechanism for detecting the above errors and fraud.

[0074] When order information is entered from the ordering terminal 2 (S211) and a payment request is made (S212), the order data is transmitted to the management device 1 (S213).

[0075] Meanwhile, when the purchasing agent device 3 makes a payment for the purchase of goods based on the order data (S214), it acquires payment data corresponding to the payment (S215). The acquired payment data is transmitted to the management device 1 (S216). Furthermore, after the payment is made, it reads the receipt information received from the sales store R (S217) and generates receipt data (S218). The receipt data is generated by OCR recognition of the receipt information (receipt). The generated receipt data is transmitted to the management device 1 (S219).

[0076] When the management device 1 receives the order data transmitted from the ordering terminal 2 and the payment data and receipt data transmitted from the purchasing agent device 3 (S220), it generates matching data (S221). The matching data is generated by extracting predetermined data from the order data, payment data and receipt data.

[0077] Determination data is generated to determine whether each of the extracted matching data matches or does not match (S222), and a matching table (S223) is generated from the matching data and the determination information.

[0078] Figure 8 shows a matching table. The matching table consists of the matching data and the determination data. The data extracted from the order data that constitutes the matching data is, for example, a record consisting of "order date," "product name or service name," "orderer," and "price." The data extracted from the payment data that constitutes the matching data is a record consisting of "payment date," "transaction details," "payment person," and "transaction amount." Furthermore, the data extracted from the receipt data that constitutes the matching data is a record consisting of "purchase date," "product name or service name," "store name," and "receipt amount." However, the matching table used in the matching process is not necessarily limited to one that covers all of these items. Matching data consisting of only some of the above items is acceptable as long as it can be determined that the matching data is a match, and matching data with additional items other than those mentioned above is also acceptable.

[0079] The aforementioned determination data is data that displays the results of determining whether the data in each column of the matching data in the matching table matches or does not match. The determination method will be explained in detail below with reference to the matching table in Figure 8.

[0080] The first column of the aforementioned matching table consists of the "Order Date" from the order data, the "Payment Date" from the payment data, and the "Purchase Date" from the receipt data. Here, the "Order Date" of "2024 / 08 / 31" and the "Payment Date" and "Purchase Date" of "2024 / 09 / 01" are different dates on the calendar, but the judgment information is "match." For example, if an order is placed by a hospitalized patient at night, the purchasing agency may be carried out the next day. Therefore, the system is set to judge the order date in the order data and the payment date in the payment data as a match if they differ within a certain period. Note that the "Payment Date" in the payment data and the "Purchase Date" in the receipt data are usually the same day, so the system is set to judge whether they match or not on the calendar. However, it is possible to set the same settings for this judgment as for the "Order Date" and "Payment Date" settings described above.

[0081] The second column of the matching table consists of the "product name / service name" from the order data, the "transaction details" from the payment data, and the "product name / service name" from the receipt data. Although the "product name / service name" in the order data is "High-Quality Tissue 5-Box Set" and the "product name / service name" in the receipt data is "High-Quality TS5SET", the display is different, but the judgment information is "match". In general, the way receipts are written to be read in order to generate receipt data differs from store to store. Therefore, the matching processing unit 15 maintains (not shown) a correspondence table in advance between the names of products etc. written on the receipts of sales stores R that use the purchasing agency system and the official names of products etc. (i.e., the "product name / service name" in the order data), and when determining whether the "product name / service name" in the order data and the receipt data match, it can refer to the correspondence table to determine whether they match or not. Regarding payment data, for example, in the case of prepaid cards, the usage details often show the name of the store that processed the payment for the prepaid card, rather than the name of the purchased product. Therefore, the item in the second column is "Transaction Details," and in this embodiment, the name of the sales store where the purchase was made, "H1 Hospital Store," is recorded. Accordingly, for payment data as well, a correspondence table of "Product Name / Service Name" and "Transaction Details" from the receipt data is maintained, and a match or mismatch can be determined by referring to this comparison table. For example, if the sales store R using the purchasing agency system is identified in advance, the characteristic that the way the receipt data is written differs from store to store can be utilized, and a correspondence table can be maintained as described above to determine a match or mismatch.

[0082] The third column of the aforementioned matching table consists of the "Orderer" from the order data, the "Payer" from the payment data, and the "Store Name" from the receipt data. In the third column as well, although the text differs, the judgment information is "Match." The "Orderer" from the order data is not the name of the hospitalized patient, but the hospitalized patient number "H1001" assigned to the hospitalized patient, and the "Payer" from the payment data is not the name of the purchasing agent, but the employee number "H1ENS001" assigned to the purchasing agent. Since the purchasing agent in charge of a specific hospitalized patient is determined in advance, a correspondence table between hospitalized patient numbers and employee numbers can be maintained in advance, and a match or mismatch can be determined by referring to this table. There may be multiple purchasing agents in charge of a hospitalized patient, but in this case, a one-to-many correspondence table can be created. For the "Store Name" from the receipt data, it is usually possible to identify in advance the sales store where the purchasing agent purchases goods as a purchasing agent, so the sales store name identified along with the hospitalized patient number and employee number can be associated with the aforementioned correspondence table. Data identifying the "orderer" is included in the order data when logging in with the aforementioned account. Furthermore, data identifying the "payment officer" is included in the payment data when the payment data transmission unit 33 transmits the payment data, as explained in Figure 2. Note that the data identifying the "orderer" may, for example, be recorded as a two-dimensional code containing the bed number of the orderer (hospitalized patient). This two-dimensional code is placed in a predetermined location, and the orderer logs into the orderer terminal 2 by reading the two-dimensional code, thereby identifying the orderer.

[0083] The fourth column of the aforementioned matching table consists of the "price" from the order data, the "transaction amount" from the payment data, and the "receipt amount" from the receipt data. Although the "price" from the order data is "1,000 yen" and the "transaction amount" from the payment data is "6,000 yen," the determination information is "match." Regarding payment data, for example, in the case of prepaid cards, the usage details show the total transaction amount at the time of payment, not the amount of each individual item. In other words, when purchasing goods at a store as a purchasing agent, multiple items from multiple customers are purchased together, so the usage details only show the total amount of the combined purchase. On the other hand, the receipt data shows the individual amounts of the purchased goods and the total amount, so it is "1,000 / 6,000 yen." Therefore, since the "amount received" of "1,000" in the receipt data matches the "price" of "1,000 yen" in the order data, and the "amount received" of "6,000 yen" in the receipt data matches the "transaction amount" of "6,000 yen" in the payment data, it is determined that they match overall.

[0084] <First variation> Figure 9 is a block diagram showing a first modified example of the embodiment described in Figure 2. In Figure 9, the purchasing agent side device 3 is described in a configuration that includes the transfer processing unit 36 ​​and the charge processing unit 37 described in Figures 4 and 5.

[0085] The embodiment described in Figure 2 is a configuration in which receipt information such as receipts issued from the cash register R1 of the sales store R is read by the receipt information reading unit 34 and transmitted by the receipt data transmission unit 35. However, the first modified example is a configuration in which the sales store R that has introduced a POS system processes the payment using the POS register R3.

[0086] In the first modified example, the purchasing agent device 3 has a receipt data receiving unit 38 that receives the receipt data, such as an electronic sheet, from the POS register R3 via the Internet I, and transmits the receipt data received by the receipt data receiving unit 38 from the receipt data transmission unit 35.

[0087] With this configuration, all data subject to matching—namely, order data, payment data, and the aforementioned receipt data—can be sent and received electronically, enabling more efficient matching.

[0088] <Second variation> In the second modified example, the ordering party uses e-commerce, specifically the e-commerce site R4, to purchase goods instead of the retail store R. When purchasing goods from the e-commerce site R4, the purchasing agent device 3 has a receipt data storage unit 39 that downloads receipt data for the purchase of the goods from the e-commerce site R4, and transmits the receipt data stored in the storage unit 39 from the receipt data transmission unit 35. In the second modified example, the order information that can be entered in the order information input unit 22 of the ordering party terminal 2 is not entered directly on the e-commerce site R4, but rather on a site provided by the management device 1, and the purchasing agent uses the purchasing agent device 3, which receives the order data from the ordering party terminal 2, to purchase goods from the e-commerce site R4.

[0089] This configuration increases the variety of products and services available to the customer, thereby improving customer convenience.

[0090] <Other> In the above embodiment, as well as the first and second modified examples, a configuration was described using hospital H as an example, in which the ordering terminal 2 is installed within a predetermined facility and can only be used when the ordering party is using the predetermined facility. However, the purchasing agency system is not limited to this configuration. Therefore, the ordering terminal 2 may be a mobile terminal, and neither the ordering party nor the purchasing agency may be located within the same facility, as in the case of hospital H. For example, even if the ordering parties are located in scattered locations, they may form a group, and a predetermined purchasing agency may use the purchasing agency system to perform purchasing on behalf of that group. If the ordering terminal 2 is a mobile terminal, and neither the ordering party nor the purchasing agency is located within the same facility, then in both cases, the ordering party's location (the place where the purchased goods are handed over) must be specified by the purchasing agency. For example, the ordering data may include data on the handover location.

[0091] The technology disclosed in this specification is not limited to the embodiments described above. That is, it encompasses the exemplary embodiments and variations thereof by those skilled in the art. It also encompasses the substitution or combination of parts, elements between one embodiment and another. Furthermore, the scope of the disclosed technology is not limited to the descriptions of the embodiments. The scope of the disclosed technology is indicated by the claims and further includes all modifications within the meaning and scope equivalent to the claims. [Explanation of symbols]

[0092] 1 Management device 2. Ordering party's terminal 3 Purchasing agent side device 4 Routers 5 Access Points 11. Account Settings Processing Unit 12 Electronic Payment Processing Unit 13 Remittance Processing Unit 14. Data receiving unit 15. Butt joint processing unit 21 Payment Method Registration Input Section 22 Order Information Input Section 23 Payment Request Department 24 Order Data Transmission Section 31 Order Data Reception Department 32 Acquisition Department 33 Payment Data Transmission Section 34 Receipt Information Reading Unit 35 Receipt Data Transmission Section 36 Transfer Processing Unit 37 Charging Processing Unit 38 Receipt Data Receiving Department 39 Receipt Data Storage Section R Retail Stores R1 Cash Register R2 Cashless Payment Device R3 POS Register R4 EC site B Bank-side server B1 Management Account B2 Purchasing Agent Account I Internet P Payment method H Hospital

Claims

1. A payment method registration input section for registering payment methods in order to place an order for the purchase of goods or application for the provision of services online, An order information input unit for inputting order information in order for the ordering party to place the aforementioned order via the internet, A settlement request unit requests payment for the order placed by the order information input unit using the settlement means, An order data transmission unit that transmits order data relating to order information including the price of the order via the internet, A terminal on the ordering side having, An order data receiving unit that receives the order data from the order data transmission unit, A purchasing agent uses funds in a designated account to pay for goods purchased or services requested based on the order data, and reads receipt information for the amount paid for the purchase of the goods or the request for the services; An acquisition unit that acquires information on funds used from the designated account to pay the aforementioned consideration as payment data, A payment data transmission unit that transmits the aforementioned payment data, A receipt data transmission unit transmits receipt data via the Internet from the receipt information read by the receipt information reading unit, A purchasing agent's device having, An account setting processing unit that receives the registration of a payment method from the payment method registration input unit and sets up the account of the ordering party, An electronic payment processing unit receives a payment request for the payment from the payment request unit of the ordering party's terminal logged in with the aforementioned account, and accepts the deposit into the management account and performs online payment processing using the aforementioned payment means. A remittance processing unit that pre-transfers the aforementioned funds from the management account to the predetermined account, The order data transmitted from the order data transmission unit, the payment data transmitted from the payment data transmission unit, and the receipt data transmitted from the receipt data transmission unit are received by the Receive data receiving unit. A matching processing unit that matches the order data, the payment data, and the receipt data, A purchasing agency system comprising a management device having [a certain feature].

2. The receipt information reading unit uses OCR to recognize the receipt information written on the receipt and generates receipt data. The purchasing agency system according to claim 1, wherein the matching processing unit generates a matching table comprising matching data extracted from the receipt data, order data, and payment data generated by the receipt information reading unit, and determination information for determining whether each of the matching data matches or does not match.

3. The purchasing agent device consists of a parent purchasing agent device and a plurality of child purchasing agent devices connected to the parent purchasing agent device via the Internet, each of the plurality of child purchasing agent devices belonging to a plurality of groups, and the predetermined account consists of a parent account managed by the parent purchasing agent device into which the total funds of the plurality of groups are deposited, and child accounts managed by the plurality of child purchasing agent devices and assigned to each of the plurality of groups, and the remittance processing unit pre-transmits the total amount of funds that can be used as payment for the consideration from the management account to the parent account for the entire plurality of groups, The purchasing agency system according to claim 1, wherein the parent purchasing agent device includes a charge processing unit that charges the payment means for the payment of the consideration as needed for each of the plurality of groups, and a transfer processing unit that transfers funds from the parent account to each of the plurality of child purchasing agent devices.

4. The purchasing agency system according to claim 3, wherein the payment means is a prepaid payment means.

5. The purchasing agency system according to claim 1, wherein the payment method registered from the payment method registration input unit is a deferred payment method.

6. The purchasing agent device has a receipt data receiving unit that receives the receipt data via the Internet from the POS system of the store that accepted the application for the purchase of the goods or provision of the services, and the purchasing agent system according to claim 1, wherein the receipt data received by the receipt data receiving unit is transmitted from the receipt data transmission unit.

7. The aforementioned order information input unit enables the placement of orders for the purchase of the aforementioned goods or the application for the aforementioned services to the e-commerce site. The purchasing agent device has a storage unit that stores receipt data downloaded from an e-commerce site that accepts an application for the purchase of the goods or provision of the services, and transmits the receipt data stored in the storage unit from the receipt data transmission unit, according to claim 1.

8. The purchasing agency system according to claim 1, wherein the ordering party's terminal is installed within a designated facility and can only be used when the ordering party is using the designated facility.

9. An account setup processing unit that accepts registration of payment methods from the ordering party's terminal and sets up the ordering party's account for online orders for the purchase of goods or provision of services from the ordering party, An electronic payment processing unit receives an order information input via the internet from the ordering party's terminal, places the order, and receives a request from the ordering party's terminal, logged in with the account, to settle the payment for the order using the payment method, and performs online payment processing. A data receiving unit receives the following from the ordering terminal: the purchasing agent's device receives order data relating to the purchase of the goods or provision of the services, the purchasing agent uses funds from a designated account to pay for the goods to be purchased or the services to be requested based on the order data, the purchasing agent's device reads receipt information for the amount paid for the purchase of the goods or the provision of the services, and the data receiving unit receives the receipt data extracted from the receipt information and payment data relating to the funds used from the designated account to pay the consideration, and the ordering data relating to the purchase of the goods or provision of the services from the ordering terminal. A remittance processing unit that pre-transfers the aforementioned funds to the aforementioned designated account, A management device comprising: a matching processing unit that matches the aforementioned receipt data, the aforementioned order data, and the aforementioned payment data.

10. The management device accepts registration of payment methods and processes the setting up of the customer's account via the internet for the purpose of placing an order for the purchase of goods or the provision of services online from the ordering party's terminal. The process involves transferring funds from the management account managed by the management device to a designated account managed by the purchasing agent's device, which holds funds for paying the consideration for the purchase of the goods or the provision of services. From the ordering terminal logged in with the aforementioned account, the ordering information relating to the ordering is entered into the management device via the internet, thereby placing the order, and the ordering data relating to the ordering information, including the price of the order, is transmitted to the management device and the purchasing agent's device. The ordering party's terminal, logged in using the aforementioned account, requests payment for the order using the aforementioned payment method, The management device receives the payment request and performs online payment processing to accept the deposit into the management account. The purchasing agent's device, upon receiving the order data, uses the funds in the designated account to pay for the goods to be purchased or the services to be requested based on the order data, and reads the receipt information for the amount paid for the purchase of the goods or the request for the services. The purchasing agent's device acquires the funds used from the designated account to pay the consideration as payment data, The purchasing agent's device transmits the receipt data relating to the receipt information to the management device via the internet, and also transmits the acquired payment data. A purchasing agency method in which the management device performs a matching process to generate a matching table consisting of matching data extracted from the order data, the receipt data, and the payment data, respectively, and determination information that determines whether each of the matching data matches or does not match.

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