Information processing device, information processing method, and program

Abstract

To more effectively encourage users to change their phone numbers. [Solution] An information processing device comprising: an acquisition unit that acquires history information showing the usage history of a telephone number; and a processing unit that determines whether or not the history information indicates that the telephone number has changed from valid to invalid, and if it is determined that the telephone number has changed from valid to invalid, it notifies a user terminal device corresponding to the identification information of the user of the electronic payment service associated with the telephone number registered in the electronic payment service regarding the telephone number.

Description

Technical Field

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

Background Art

[0002] Conventionally, there is known a parameter change control system that stores a password and a telephone number in association with each other, and uses the password and the telephone number to execute parameter changes in response to a parameter change request including the telephone number of the mobile device (see Patent Document 1).

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] When the telephone number registered in the service is changed, it is desirable to change it to the updated telephone number. However, the user may neglect to change it in the service.

[0005] The present invention has been made in consideration of such circumstances, and one of its objects is to provide an information processing apparatus, an information processing method, and a program that can more appropriately prompt the user to change the telephone number.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0006] One aspect of the present invention is an information processing device comprising: an acquisition unit that acquires history information showing the usage history of a telephone number; and a processing unit that determines whether or not the history information indicates that the telephone number has changed from valid to invalid, and if it is determined that the telephone number has changed from valid to invalid, it notifies a user terminal device corresponding to the identification information of the user of the electronic payment service associated with the telephone number registered in the electronic payment service regarding the telephone number. [Effects of the Invention]

[0007] According to one aspect of the present invention, it is possible to provide an information processing device, an information processing method, and a program that can more appropriately prompt users to change their telephone number. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0008] [Figure 1] This diagram shows an example of a configuration for implementing an electronic payment service. [Figure 2] This is a sequence diagram (part 1) illustrating the general flow of electronic payments. [Figure 3] This is a sequence diagram (part 2) illustrating the general flow of electronic payments. [Figure 4] This is a configuration diagram of the payment server 100 according to the embodiment. [Figure 5] This figure shows an example of the contents of user information 172. [Figure 6] This figure shows an example of the contents of merchant / store information 176. [Figure 7] This flowchart shows an example of the processing flow executed by the information processing unit 150. [Figure 8] This is a diagram to explain the determination of condition (1). [Figure 9] This figure shows an example of the interface screen IM1 where a notification was displayed. [Figure 10] This figure shows an example of the IM2 screen where a notification was displayed. [Figure 11] This figure shows an example of the interface screen IM3. [Figure 12] This figure shows an example of notification information 180. [Figure 13] This flowchart shows another example of the processing flow executed by the information processing unit 150. [Figure 14] This diagram illustrates the process of providing notifications in response to changes in status. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0009] The following describes embodiments of the information processing apparatus, information processing method, and program of the present invention with reference to the drawings. Various devices, such as the "server" mentioned below, which provide services to users or perform internal analysis, may be implemented by a distributed group of devices, and the operators of each device may be different. Furthermore, the owner of the hardware of the devices (the provider of the cloud server) and the operator that actually operates them may also be different. The application program and the payment server work together to provide an electronic payment service. In the following description, the application program will be referred to as the payment app. The electronic payment service is a service that supports payment for the purchase of goods and services at a store. A store is, for example, a physical store (real store) that exists in the real world, but may also include a virtual store for e-commerce. A virtual store may include one provided by an entity different from the operator of the electronic payment service. In that case, when settling a purchase at a virtual store, the user may be directed to the interface screen of the electronic payment service. In the electronic payment service, a store is treated as belonging to, for example, a merchant (brand), and processing such as payment when a purchase is made at a store is mainly carried out between the user and the merchant. 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 the configuration of an electronic payment system in which an electronic payment service is implemented. The electronic payment service is implemented with a payment server 100 at its center. The electronic payment system that implements the electronic payment service includes, for example, one or more user terminal devices 10, one or more first store terminal devices 50, one or more second store terminal devices 70, a payment server 100, and an information provision device 200. These devices communicate with each other, for example, 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. Some or all of the functional configuration included in the electronic payment system may be distributed across multiple devices in any form, or may be integrated into any device.

[0011] [User terminal device] The user terminal device 10 is, for example, a portable terminal device such as a smartphone or tablet. The user terminal device 10 is a computer device having at least optical reading function, communication function, display function, input reception function, and program execution function. In the following description, the components for realizing these functions will be referred to as a camera, communication device, touch panel, CPU (Central Processing Unit), etc. In the user terminal device 10, the payment application 20 is executed by a processor such as the CPU, and it operates in cooperation with the payment server 100 to provide electronic payment services to the user. The payment application 20 is installed on the user terminal device 10, for example, from an application store, and controls the camera, communication device, touch panel, etc.

[0012] [Store Terminal Device #1] The first store terminal device 50 is installed in a store, for example. 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. Note that the store code image 60 may be displayed by a display placed in the store (which may be a display of a terminal device such as a smartphone).

[0013] [Second Store Terminal Device] The second store terminal device 70 is used by the operator of the franchise store. The second store terminal device 70 is a smartphone, a tablet terminal, a personal computer, or the like. In the second store terminal device 70, an interface 72 for franchise stores operates. The interface 72 for franchise stores may be an application for franchise stores or a browser. The interface 72 for franchise stores accepts settings of coupons and the like by the operator of the franchise store and transmits them to the settlement server 100. The second store terminal device 70 which is a smartphone has a function of displaying a code image corresponding to the store code image or reading the code image displayed by the user terminal device 10 by executing an application for franchise stores.

[0014] [Information Providing Device] The information providing device 200 provides the settlement server 100 with the telephone number information 178 described later. The telephone number information 178 may be information acquired by the settlement server 100 itself instead of being provided from the information providing device 200.

[0015] [Settlement Server] The payment server 100 implements 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 a merchant server, in which case payment information is transmitted from the POS device to the payment server 100 via the merchant server. In the following description, this distinction will not be made, and it will be assumed that payment information is transmitted from the first store terminal device 50.

[0016] Figures 2 and 3 are sequence diagrams illustrating the general flow of electronic payments. There may be two patterns for electronic payments: Pattern 1 and Pattern 2.

[0017] In the case of Pattern 1 shown in Figure 2 (hereinafter referred to as User Scan), 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 contains information about the store URL (Uniform Resource Locator). This store URL is an electronic payment service domain to which information that can identify the store has been added, and is associated with the merchant ID and store ID, etc., at the payment server 100 (described later). The payment application 20 sends the 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 later) from the merchant ID and store ID corresponding to the store URL, obtains the merchant name and store name information (S3), and sends it to the payment application 20 (S4). The user enters the payment amount into the user terminal device 10 on the screen where the merchant name and store name are displayed (S5). The user terminal device 10 then generates second payment information, including at least the payment amount, and sends it to the payment server 100 (S6). The payment server 100 performs electronic payment based on the received second payment information (S7). The payment server 100 then sends a payment completion notification (information for displaying the payment completion screen) to the payment application 20 (S8), and the payment application 20 displays the payment completion screen (S9). If the store code image 60 is displayed on a display placed in the store, the store code image 60 may include payment amount information as well as the store URL. In this case, the procedure for the user to enter the payment amount is omitted, and the payment amount information is included in the first payment information and sent to the payment server 100. Merchant name and store name information may be included and displayed on the payment completion screen.

[0018] In the case of Pattern 2 shown in Figure 3 (hereinafter referred to as Store Scan), when the payment app 20 is launched, when a payment operation is performed in the payment app 20, when it is time for an automatic update (for example, every minute), and at other times, the payment app 20 sends a request to the payment server 100 to issue a one-time code (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 that was generated based on the one-time code (S14). The user holds the display surface of the user terminal device 10 over the first store terminal device 50 (presents it), and the first store terminal device 50 decodes the code image using its optical reading function and obtains the one-time code, etc. (S15). Then, the first store terminal device 50 generates payment information including the one-time code, payment amount, merchant ID, store ID, etc., and sends it to the payment server 100 (S16). The payment amount information is obtained in advance by barcode scanning or manual input. Based on the received information, the payment server 100 identifies the user corresponding to the one-time code and performs the electronic payment (S17). The payment server 100 then sends a payment completion notification to the payment app 20 (S18), and the payment app 20 displays a payment completion screen (S19).

[0019] Furthermore, electronic payment may be performed using only one of the above patterns. Also, the "account ID" explained in Figure 2 may be other information that can be used as user identification information (for example, a phone number). In addition, the issuance of a one-time code may be omitted during store scanning, and the payment app 20 may display a code image generated based on the user's account ID. In that case, the payment server 100 will identify the user corresponding to the account ID instead of identifying the user corresponding to the one-time code.

[0020] [Payment Server Functional Configuration] Figure 4 is a diagram of the configuration of the payment server 100. The payment server 100 includes, for example, a communication unit 110, a content provision unit 120, a payment processing unit 130, an information management unit 140, an information processing unit (processing unit) 150, and a storage unit 170. Components other than the communication unit 110 and the storage unit 170 are realized, for example, by a hardware processor such as a CPU executing a program (software). Some or all of these components may be realized by hardware (including circuitry) such as LSI (Large Scale Integration), ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), FPGA (Field-Programmable Gate Array), GPU (Graphics Processing Unit), and SOC (System On Chip), or by the cooperation of software and hardware. The program may be stored in advance on a storage device such as an HDD (Hard Disk Drive) or flash memory (a storage device equipped with a non-transient storage medium), or it may be stored on a removable storage medium such as a DVD or CD-ROM (a non-transient storage medium) and installed on the storage device when the storage medium is inserted into the drive device.

[0021] The storage unit 170 can be an HDD, flash memory, RAM (Random Access Memory), etc. The storage unit 170 may also be a NAS (Network Attached Storage) device that the payment server 100 can access via the network. The storage unit 170 stores information such as user information 172, content information 174, merchant / store information 176, and telephone number information 178. Some of this information may also be stored in the storage unit of the user terminal device 10. Details of each piece of information will be described later.

[0022] The communication unit 110 is a communication interface for connecting to a network NW. The communication unit 110 is, for example, a network interface card.

[0023] The content provider unit 120, for example, has the functionality of a web server and provides information (content) for displaying various screens of the electronic payment service to the user terminal device 10. The content provider unit 120 reads the necessary content from the 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 the content is being played by the payment application 20 and transmits the aforementioned payment information to the payment server 100. The above content may also be generated by the payment application 20. In this case, the content provider unit 120 provides the payment application 20 with the information necessary for generating the content.

[0024] The payment processing unit 130 performs payment processing based on 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.

[0025] [User information] Figure 5 shows 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, user URL, account ID, telephone number, password, as well as information such as email address, user ID, name, address, date of birth, registration date, charge balance, credit payment settings, credit payment limit, credit payment amount, available credit payment amount, payment method settings, bank account, credit card number, charge history information, and payment history information. The user URL is used for money transfer processing between users. When registering for a new electronic payment service, registration of a telephone number and password is mandatory. The account ID is issued to the user by the payment server 100, and the user ID is an ID that the user can set at will (or does not have to set). Similarly, the email address and name, address, and date of birth are also information that the user can set at will (or does not have to set). The registration date is the date the user registered for the electronic payment service (the date the account was created). Hereafter, the user instance (electronic payment account) to which this information is associated will be referred to as an account.

[0026] The charge balance is information indicating the balance of electronic money set by the user by sending money to their account in advance. Methods of sending money include sending from an ATM (Automatic Teller Machine) of a designated provider (bank) and sending from a registered bank account. The credit payment setting indicates whether or not the user has completed the settings to enable electronic payments via credit card using the payment app 20, and is set to either "Completed" or "Not Completed". The credit payment limit is the monthly limit for available credit payments, the credit payment amount is the amount already used for credit payments in the current month, and the available credit payment amount is the amount available for credit payments in the current month, calculated by subtracting the credit payment amount from the credit payment limit. While the diagram shows only one credit payment limit, in reality there are also daily limits, and the lower of these may be set as the credit payment limit. Further details on credit payments will be described later. The payment method setting indicates whether the user will use electronic payment with the charge balance or payment by credit card at that time. The bank account and credit card number information, respectively, refers to the bank account or credit card number (account number, card number) to which funds can be deposited into the electronic payment service. The charge history information is a record of when the user has previously sent money to the electronic payment service to increase the charge balance. The payment history information shows the details of each payment made by the user (date and time, store ID of the store where the purchase was made, payment amount, payment method, etc.).

[0027] [Franchise / Store Information] Figure 6 shows an example of the contents of the merchant / store information 176. The merchant / store information 176 includes, for example, a first table 176A in which the merchant ID and store ID are associated with the store URL, a second table 176B in which the merchant name and sales amount (as described above) are associated with the merchant ID, and a third table 176C in which the store name is associated with the store ID. In addition to this information, the merchant / store information 176 may also include information such as the merchant or store category, the store's location, and payment patterns.

[0028] The Information Management Unit 140 acquires information provided by other server devices. Based on the information acquired from the user terminal device 10 and the second store terminal device 70, the Information Management Unit 140 manages user information 172 and affiliated store / store information 176. The Information Management Unit 140 performs operations such as adding, editing, and deleting new records for user information 172 and affiliated store / store information 176.

[0029] The information management unit 140 acquires telephone number information 178 from the information provision device 200 at predetermined intervals (for example, every month). The information management unit 140 stores and manages the acquired telephone number information 178 in the storage unit 170.

[0030] The information processing unit 150 uses the telephone number information 178 to perform various processes. Details of these processes will be described later.

[0031] [Electronic payment] When the payment processing unit 130 obtains payment information from the user terminal device 10 or the first store terminal device 50, it refers to the user information 172 to obtain the user's "payment method setting". 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, which is managed in association with the user ID, and increasing the value of the merchant's sales proceeds item. For example, the value of the merchant's sales proceeds item is not used as electronic money itself, but rather the amount corresponding to the value of the sales proceeds item is transferred to the bank account in a cycle according to the agreement between the merchant and the electronic payment service.

[0032] The payment processing unit 130 performs electronic payment as follows for users whose "settings information" is set to "credit payment (credit payment using code information)". Credit payment is a payment method that is carried out 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 donor and allows electronic payment that does not depend on the charge balance within the credit payment limit. In order to use the credit payment service, it may be required to obtain a credit card provided by the operator of the electronic payment service. The amount used by credit payment is settled in a lump sum for the month on the payment date of the following month, for example, by withdrawal from a bank account. In this case, the payment processing unit 130 performs a provisional settlement by adding the settlement amount to the amount used by credit payment and subtracting the same amount from the available credit payment limit. When the closing date arrives, it processes the payment for the current month to be withdrawn on the payment date of the following month as described above, or requests the operator of the credit card company to perform the said process. If the settlement amount exceeds the available credit payment limit at the time of provisional settlement, an error notification is sent back to the payment app 20.

[0033] [overview] The information processing unit 150 determines whether or not the history information, which shows the history of the telephone number's usage, indicates that the telephone number has changed from valid to invalid. If the information processing unit 150 determines that the history information indicates that the telephone number has changed from valid to invalid, it sends a notification regarding the telephone number to the user terminal device 10 (payment application 20) corresponding to the user identification information of the electronic payment service associated with the telephone number registered in the electronic payment service.

[0034] The phone number is, for example, the phone number registered in user information 172. This phone number is required when using the electronic payment service. This phone number is used for SMS (Short Message Service) authentication of the electronic payment service. Users can change their phone number by operating the payment app 20.

[0035] [Flowchart (1)] Figure 7 is a flowchart illustrating an example of the processing flow performed by the information processing unit 150. First, the information processing unit 150 refers to telephone number information (S100). Next, the information processing unit 150 extracts individuals who meet the specified conditions (S102). Then, the information processing unit 150 sends a notification to the extracted individuals (S104). This completes one routine of processing in this flowchart.

[0036] The conditions are, for example, that (1), (2), and (3) are met. Note that (2) or (3) may be omitted. The information processing unit 150 determines whether or not the above conditions are met. (1) The flag at the first time point in telephone number information 178 is valid, and the flag at the second time point in telephone number information 178, which is after the first time point, is invalid.

[0037] Figure 8 is a diagram illustrating the determination of condition (1). The telephone number information 178 is information that associates a point in time, such as the date and time, with a telephone number and a flag indicating the status of the telephone number. In the example in Figure 8, "1" is a flag indicating that the telephone number is valid, and "0" is a flag indicating that the telephone number is invalid. Valid means the telephone number is in use. Invalid means the telephone number is not in use. Figure 8 shows the status of the telephone number flags for each month.

[0038] The information processing unit 150 extracts, for example, telephone numbers registered in user information 172 whose flags have changed from "enabled" (1) to "inactive" (0) at the two most recent points in time. For example, the information processing unit 150 extracts telephone numbers where the flag for July at the first point in the most recent first predetermined period is "enabled" (1), and the flag for August at the second point in time is "inactive" (0). The extracted telephone numbers are registered in user information 172 but are presumed to be unused. Therefore, it is necessary to inquire with the user about whether they have changed their telephone number and encourage them to do so.

[0039] In the above process, the determination may be made using three or more time points instead of two. For example, the information processing unit 150 may determine that condition (1) is satisfied if the most recent time point (e.g., August in Figure 8) is invalid "0", and two or more time points prior to that (e.g., June and July in Figure 8) are valid. Alternatively, the condition for (1) may be that two or more most recent time points are invalid "0".

[0040] (2) The telephone number registered with the electronic payment service has not been changed. For example, the information processing unit 150 determines whether or not the telephone number registered with the electronic payment service has been changed during a second predetermined period based on the second point in time. The second predetermined period may be, for example, a period including the first and second points in time, or a period that does not include the first point in time but includes the second point in time. The second predetermined period may be, for example, the two months of July and August as described above, or it may be August.

[0041] The timing for starting this process is a predetermined timing after obtaining the latest telephone number information 178. As shown in Figure 8, if telephone number information 178 is obtained every month, this timing is when the latest telephone number information 178 for August 2024 is obtained, and before the telephone number information 178 for September 2024 is obtained. This process is performed, for example, each time updated telephone number information 178 is obtained.

[0042] (3) The user's identification information for the electronic payment service must be in an available state. An available state means that the account is active or temporarily unavailable (suspended), but the user has not canceled their registration for the electronic payment service.

[0043] If the information processing unit 150 determines that the above conditions are met, it will cooperate with the content provision unit 120 to issue a notification regarding the telephone number. Notifications regarding the telephone number may include notifications prompting a change of telephone number or notifications prompting confirmation of the registered telephone number.

[0044] [notification] The information processing unit 150 displays the above notification on the home screen. Figure 9 shows an example of the interface screen IM1 on which the notification is displayed. Interface screen IM1 is the home screen. The home screen is, for example, the screen displayed after launching the payment app 20. Interface screen IM1 includes, for example, code information, various menu buttons, a payment button for making a payment, and information IF1 prompting the user to change their phone number. Information IF1 prompting the user to change their phone number is an action banner such as, for example, "Please verify your registered phone number." This allows the user to be prompted to verify their phone number.

[0045] The information processing unit 150 may also send the above notification via push notification. Figure 10 shows an example of a screen IM2 on which a notification has been sent. Screen IM2 is, for example, a screen displayed on the display unit of the user terminal device 10. Screen IM2 includes, for example, information IF2 prompting the user to change their phone number. Information IF2 prompting the user to change their phone number may be, for example, "Has your phone number changed?". This prompts the user to confirm their phone number.

[0046] The information processing unit 150 may also send the above notification by any means, such as email, automated voice call, or SMS. The information processing unit 150 may also send the notification by multiple notification means, such as email and action banners.

[0047] [User actions in response to notifications] When a predetermined operation is performed on interface screen IM1 or screen IM2, the information processing unit 150 displays an interface screen (for example, interface screen IM3) on the display unit of the user terminal device 10. The interface screen includes a change button to instruct the user to change the telephone number, a do not change button to instruct the user not to change the telephone number, and a close button to close the interface screen. If the close button is operated, the information processing unit 150 will send another notification regarding the telephone number after a predetermined period of time has elapsed, but if the change button or the do not change button is operated, it will not send another notification regarding the telephone number.

[0048] Figure 11 shows an example of the interface screen IM3. The interface screen IM3 includes, for example, a button B1 to indicate whether to change the user's registered phone number or a new phone number, a button B2 to indicate not to change the phone number, and a close button B3 to close the interface screen IM3.

[0049] When button B1, which indicates changing to a new phone number, is pressed, the information processing unit 150 displays an interface screen (not shown) on the display unit for entering the new phone number. When the new phone number is entered on the interface screen and the registration operation is performed, the information processing unit 150 changes the phone number in the user information 172 to the new phone number.

[0050] If button B2, which indicates that the phone number will not be changed, is pressed, the information processing unit 150 completes the notification processing. For example, in rare cases, the flag in the phone number information 178 may be incorrect, so if the user confirms that there will be no change, the processing is considered complete. In this case, the conditions (1)-(3) are judged at the next time (for example, the next month), and if a positive judgment is made, a notification is sent.

[0051] When the close button B3 is pressed, the information processing unit 150 closes the interface screen IM3. In this case, the information processing unit 150 generates notification information 180. Figure 12 shows an example of notification information 180. The notification information 180 includes, for example, the date and time when the close button B3 was pressed and the date and time of the next notification. When the close button B3 is pressed, the information processing unit 150 determines the next notification date and time based on the time when the close button B3 was pressed. For example, the notification date and time is set for a few days later (for example, 3 days later). For example, when transitioning to the interface screen IM3, the notification action banner in Figure 9 mentioned above disappears once, but when the close button B3 is pressed, a notification is sent a few days later. This allows the information processing unit 150 to remind the user to change to a new phone number.

[0052] For example, if the phone number has not changed, the process will end by operating button B2, and if the phone number has changed, the user can anticipate that operating button B1 will require registration of the new phone number. Registration of the new phone number is expected to require certain operations, and depending on the situation when interface screen IM3 is displayed, the user may not have the time or opportunity to perform these operations. In this case, the user may operate the close button B3. Even in such cases, the information processing unit 150 will provide a reminder, improving user convenience.

[0053] The information processing unit 150 may, for example, continue the process that will send a notification a few days later for a predetermined period (for example, two months), and then stop it after that period. If the user continues to operate the close button for the predetermined period, the information processing unit 150 will assume that the telephone number has not changed and will stop the above notification.

[0054] [Flowchart (2)] Figure 13 is a flowchart showing another example of the processing flow executed by the information processing unit 150. This processing is an example of the processing flow when the interface screen IM3 is displayed.

[0055] First, the information processing unit 150 determines whether or not an operation to change to a new telephone number has been performed (S200). If an operation to change to a new telephone number has been performed, the information processing unit 150 displays an interface screen for changing to a new telephone number on the display unit of the user terminal device (S202). When the user enters a new telephone number and performs the operation to change it, the information processing unit 150 performs a change process to change the telephone number in the user information 172 to the new telephone number (S204).

[0056] The information processing unit 150 determines whether an operation to change to a new telephone number was performed, or whether an operation to not change the telephone number was performed (S206). If an operation to not change the telephone number was performed, the information processing unit 150 stores in the storage unit 170 that the telephone number has not been changed (S208).

[0057] If the operation to change to a new phone number is not performed, and the operation to keep the phone number unchanged is not performed, the information processing unit 150 determines whether or not the operation to close the interface screen IM3 was performed (S210). If the operation to close the interface screen IM3 was not performed, the processing of one routine in this flowchart ends.

[0058] If the interface screen IM3 is closed, the information processing unit 150 will issue a notification after a predetermined period (S212). The information processing unit 150 will generate notification information 180 and, based on the notification information 180, will issue a notification that the telephone number will be changed to a new one. This completes the processing of one routine in this flowchart.

[0059] As described above, the payment server 100 can appropriately notify users whether or not they have changed their phone number. This allows for a more appropriate prompting of users to change their phone number.

[0060] [summary] For example, a user may forget to update the phone number registered with their electronic payment service if they change their phone number. In this case, the notification mentioned above will alert the user to the change in phone number, and they can change their phone number by operating the payment app 20 while logged in and performing SMS authentication or similar.

[0061] For example, if user A changes their phone number from A to B, they can use the electronic payment service by updating the registered phone number A to B. However, if phone number A becomes the phone number of another user, user B, and user B registers phone number A as user B's phone number in the electronic payment service, user A may no longer be able to use the electronic payment service. Typically, when allowing another user to use phone number A that was previously used by another user, an idle period (2 or 3 months) is usually allowed before allowing them to use it.

[0062] Therefore, during idle periods, the information processing unit 150 can prompt the user to change their registered phone number to phone number B before another user registers phone number A, by issuing the above notification, and have them perform the operation to change their phone number. This makes it possible to appropriately prompt the user to change their phone number before phone number A is registered to user B (before it becomes difficult for user A to change from phone number A to phone number B).

[0063] [Utilizing other flags] The above example described processing that focused on the enabled flag "1" and the disabled flag "0". Other flags may also be considered, as follows. Other flags include, for example, the following: • Stop flag "3" Error flag "4" • Communication terminal flag "5"

[0064] The "3" flag indicates that the phone number is unavailable due to circumstances on the user's end. Error flag "4" indicates that there is a problem with the phone number itself (for example, the phone number is incorrect) or that the phone number is a special type of number such as a toll-free number. The communication terminal flag "5" indicates that the phone number is a phone number used for data communication (a phone number assigned for data communication).

[0065] The information processing unit 150 issues a notification when the status (flag) of a telephone number in the telephone number information 178 changes from a predetermined state to an invalid state. The status is that the telephone number is unavailable (temporary suspension flag), the telephone number is a special telephone number designated in advance (error flag), or the telephone number is a telephone number used for data communication (communication terminal flag).

[0066] Figure 14 is a diagram illustrating the process of providing notifications in response to changes in status. As shown in Figure 14, the information processing unit 150 provides a notification regarding the change of telephone number when the temporary suspension flag changes from "3" to the invalid flag "0".

[0067] The information processing unit 150 may also send a notification in the telephone number information 178 when the telephone number changes from valid to a predetermined status. The status is the same as above: the telephone number is unavailable (temporary suspension flag), the telephone number is a special telephone number designated in advance (error flag), or the telephone number is being used for data communication (communication terminal flag).

[0068] Through the above process, the information processing unit 150 can appropriately notify users of changes to their telephone number in response to changes in the status of the telephone number.

[0069] According to the embodiments described above, when the information processing unit 150 determines that a telephone number has changed from valid to invalid, it can more appropriately prompt the user to change their telephone number by sending a notification regarding the telephone number to the user terminal device corresponding to the identification information of the user of the electronic payment service associated with the telephone number registered in the electronic payment service.

[0070] Although embodiments for carrying out the present invention have been described above using examples, the present invention is not limited in any way to these embodiments, and various modifications and substitutions can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0071] 10. User terminal device 20 Payment Apps 100 Payment Servers 120 Content Provision Department 130 Payment Processing Unit 140 Information Management Department 150 Information Processing Unit 200 Information provision device

Claims

1. An acquisition unit that acquires history information showing the usage history of a telephone number, Determine whether the aforementioned history information indicates that the telephone number has changed from valid to invalid. When it is determined that the above has changed from valid to invalid, a processing unit that notifies the user terminal device corresponding to the identification information of the user of the electronic payment service associated with the above telephone number registered in the electronic payment service, An information processing device equipped with the following features.

2. The aforementioned processing unit, The system determines whether the flag at the first point in time of the history information is valid, and whether the flag at a second point in time after the first point in time of the history information is invalid. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1.

3. The aforementioned processing unit, The notification is made when it is determined that the flag at the first time point in the most recent first predetermined period is valid, the flag at the second time point is invalid, and the telephone number registered with the electronic payment service has not been changed during the second predetermined period based on the second time point. The information processing apparatus according to claim 2.

4. The aforementioned processing unit, The notification is made when it is determined that the flag at the first time point in the most recent first predetermined period is valid, the flag at the second time point is invalid, the telephone number has not been changed during the second predetermined period based on the second time point, and the user's identification information account for the electronic payment service is available. The information processing apparatus according to claim 3.

5. The aforementioned processing unit, In the aforementioned history information, if the status of the telephone number changes from a predetermined state to invalid, the notification is made. The aforementioned status means that the telephone number is unavailable, that the telephone number is a pre-defined special telephone number, or that the telephone number is a telephone number used for data communication. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1.

6. The aforementioned processing unit, In the aforementioned history information, if the telephone number changes from valid to a predetermined status, the aforementioned notification is made. The aforementioned status means that the telephone number is unavailable, that the telephone number is a pre-defined special telephone number, or that the telephone number is a telephone number used for data communication. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1.

7. The aforementioned processing unit, After the aforementioned notification, the interface screen is displayed on the display unit of the user terminal device. The interface screen includes a change button for instructing the user to change the phone number, a do not change button for instructing the user not to change the phone number, and a close button for closing the interface screen. If the close button is pressed, after a predetermined period of time has elapsed, a notification regarding the telephone number will be sent again. If the aforementioned change button or the aforementioned non-change button is operated, the notification regarding the aforementioned telephone number will not be sent again. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1.

8. The aforementioned telephone number is the telephone number required when using the aforementioned electronic payment service and is the telephone number used for SMS authentication. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1.

9. The aforementioned processing unit, If it is determined that the above has changed from valid to invalid, a notification regarding the telephone number is sent to the payment application program corresponding to the identification information of the user of the electronic payment service that is associated with the telephone number registered with the electronic payment service. The aforementioned payment application program is an application program used for electronic payments in the aforementioned electronic payment service. The user can change their phone number by operating the payment application program. The information processing apparatus according to claim 8.

10. Computers We obtain historical information showing the usage history of a phone number. Determine whether the aforementioned history information indicates that the telephone number has changed from valid to invalid. If it is determined that the telephone number has changed from valid to invalid, a notification regarding the telephone number is sent to the user terminal device corresponding to the identification information of the user of the electronic payment service that is associated with the telephone number registered in the electronic payment service. Information processing methods.

11. On the computer, We obtain historical information showing the usage history of the phone number. The system determines whether the history information indicates that the telephone number has changed from valid to invalid. If it is determined that the status has changed from valid to invalid, the system will cause a notification regarding the telephone number to be sent to the user terminal device corresponding to the identification information of the user of the electronic payment service that is associated with the telephone number registered in the electronic payment service. program.

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