Advance payment management server, advance payment management method and program

Abstract

To provide an advance payment management server, an advance payment management method and a program capable of simplifying a settlement operation on a purchaser and a seller.SOLUTION: An advance payment management server 200 comprises: an acquisition unit for acquiring advance payment request data including information on a price to be paid from a purchase to a seller; a payout request data transmission unit for transmitting, to a financial institution server 300, payout request data that requests payout of funds specified by the advance payment request data acquired by the acquisition unit to an account of an administrator of the advance payment management server 200; a reception unit for receiving a payout completion notification that indicates completion of payout from the financial institution server 300; and an advance payment data transmission unit for, when the reception unit receives the payout completion notification, transmitting advance payment data including information which commands remittance of a sum of money equivalent to the price from the account of the administrator to the account of the seller to a financial institution server which is the same with or different from the financial institution server 300.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an advance payment management server, an advance payment management method, and a program. [Background technology]

[0002] In recent years, payment systems that mediate payments between sellers and buyers via a communication network such as the Internet have come into widespread use. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a payment system that receives a product order from a buyer, notifies the seller of the product order, causes the seller to ship the product to the buyer, and the buyer pays the seller for the product. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Special Publication No. 2010-537280 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] In the settlement system of Patent Document 1, when a purchaser purchases goods from multiple sellers or when a seller sells goods to multiple purchasers, the settlement process between the purchaser and seller becomes complicated. In particular, when a purchaser is late in paying the price to the seller, the seller is required to make a great effort to collect the price from each purchaser. Therefore, there is a demand for simplifying the settlement process between the purchaser and seller in the transaction system.

[0005] The present invention has been made against this background, and has an object to provide an advance payment management server, an advance payment management method, and a program that can simplify the settlement process for purchasers and sellers. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] In order to achieve the above object, a first aspect of the present invention provides an advance payment management server, An advance payment management server for making an advance payment to a seller on behalf of a purchaser, an acquisition unit for acquiring advance payment request data including information regarding the amount to be paid from the purchaser to the seller; a payment request data transmission unit that transmits to a financial institution server payment request data that requests the payment of funds specified in the reimbursement request data acquired by the acquisition unit to an account of an administrator of the reimbursement management server; A receiving unit that receives a withdrawal completion notification from the financial institution server, the notification indicating that withdrawal has been completed; an advance payment data transmission unit that, when the receiving unit receives the withdrawal completion notice, transmits advance payment data including information instructing the transfer of an amount equivalent to the purchase price from the manager's account to the seller's account to a financial institution server that is the same as or different from the financial institution server; Equipped with.

[0007] In order to achieve the above object, a reimbursement management server according to a second aspect of the present invention comprises: An advance payment management server for making an advance payment to a seller on behalf of a purchaser, an acquisition unit for acquiring advance payment request data including information regarding the amount to be paid from the purchaser to the seller; a payment request data transmission unit that transmits to a financial institution server payment request data that requests an administrator of the on-behalf-of payment management server to pay out funds specified in the on-behalf-of request data acquired by the acquisition unit; a receiving unit for receiving a withdrawal completion notice indicating that withdrawal has been completed from the financial institution server; an advance payment data transmission unit that, when the receiving unit receives a withdrawal completion notification, transmits advance payment data including information instructing the seller to remit an amount equivalent to the purchase price from the withdrawn funds to a financial institution server that is the same as or different from the financial institution server; Equipped with.

[0008] The advance payment management server may further include an availability determination unit that determines whether or not a purchaser can utilize advance payment based on the available advance payment amount allocated to each purchaser and the advance payment request data acquired by the acquisition unit.

[0009] The advance payment management server may further include an available amount change unit that, when the acquisition unit acquires the advance payment request data, reduces the available amount for advance payment allocated to the purchaser based on the advance payment request data acquired by the acquisition unit.

[0010] The acquisition unit acquires a payment confirmation notice from the financial institution server indicating that payment of the purchase price by the purchaser has been confirmed, The available amount change unit may increase the available amount for on-reimbursement allocated to the purchaser based on the on-reimbursement request data acquired by the acquisition unit, when the acquisition unit acquires a payment confirmation notice.

[0011] In order to achieve the above object, a method for managing advance payments according to a third aspect of the present invention comprises: 1. An advance payment management method executed by an advance payment management server for making an advance payment to a seller on behalf of a buyer, comprising: An acquisition unit acquires payment request data including information regarding a payment to be made from a purchaser to a seller; a withdrawal request data transmission unit transmitting, to a financial institution server, withdrawal request data for requesting that funds specified in the reimbursement request data acquired by the acquisition unit be paid out to an account of an administrator of the reimbursement management server; A receiving unit receives a withdrawal completion notice from the financial institution server, the notice indicating that withdrawal has been completed; a step of, when the receiving unit receives a withdrawal completion notice, an advance payment data transmitting unit transmits advance payment data including information instructing the transfer of an amount equivalent to the purchase price from the manager's account to the seller's account to a financial institution server that is the same as or different from the financial institution server; Includes.

[0012] In order to achieve the above object, a method for managing advance payments according to a fourth aspect of the present invention comprises: 1. An advance payment management method executed by an advance payment management server for making an advance payment to a seller on behalf of a buyer, comprising: An acquisition unit acquires payment request data including information regarding a payment to be made from a purchaser to a seller; a step of a withdrawal request data transmission unit transmitting, to a financial institution server, withdrawal request data for requesting an administrator of the on-behalf-of payment management server to withdraw funds specified in the on-behalf-of request data acquired by the acquisition unit; A receiving unit receives a withdrawal completion notice indicating that withdrawal has been completed from the financial institution server; a step of, when the receiving unit receives a withdrawal completion notice, an advance payment data transmitting unit transmits advance payment data including information instructing the seller to remit an amount equivalent to the purchase price from the withdrawn funds to a financial institution server that is the same as or different from the financial institution server; Includes.

[0013] In order to achieve the above object, a program according to a fifth aspect of the present invention comprises: Computer, A program for functioning as an advance payment management server for making an advance payment to a seller on behalf of a purchaser, An acquisition means for acquiring advance payment request data including information regarding the amount to be paid from the purchaser to the seller; a payment request data transmission means for transmitting to a financial institution server payment request data for requesting that funds specified in the on-behalf payment request data acquired by said acquisition means be paid to an account of an administrator of said on-behalf payment management server; A receiving means for receiving a withdrawal completion notification from the financial institution server, the notification indicating that withdrawal has been completed; an advance payment data transmitting means for transmitting, when the receiving means receives a withdrawal completion notice, advance payment data including information instructing the transfer of an amount equivalent to the purchase price from the manager's account to the seller's account to a financial institution server that is the same as or different from the financial institution server; Function as.

[0014] In order to achieve the above object, a program according to a sixth aspect of the present invention comprises: Computer, A program for functioning as an advance payment management server for making an advance payment to a seller on behalf of a purchaser, An acquisition means for acquiring advance payment request data including information regarding the amount to be paid from the purchaser to the seller; a payment request data transmission means for transmitting to a financial institution server payment request data for requesting an administrator of the on-behalf-of payment management server to pay out funds specified in the on-behalf-of request data acquired by the acquisition means; A receiving means for receiving a withdrawal completion notice indicating that withdrawal has been completed from the financial institution server; an advance payment data transmission means for transmitting, when the receiving means receives a withdrawal completion notification, advance payment data including information instructing the seller to remit an amount equivalent to the purchase price from the withdrawn funds to a financial institution server that is the same as or different from the financial institution server; Function as. Effect of the Invention

[0015] According to the present invention, it is possible to provide an advance payment management server, an advance payment management method, and a program that can simplify the settlement process for the purchaser and the seller. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0016] [Figure 1] 1 is a schematic diagram showing a configuration of a payment system according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is another schematic diagram showing the configuration of the payment system according to the embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 3] 2 is a block diagram showing a hardware configuration of an advance payment management server according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. [Figure 4] FIG. 2A is a diagram showing an example of a data table in a purchaser data storage unit in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2B is a diagram showing an example of a data table in a seller data storage unit in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 5] FIG. 1A is a diagram showing an example of a data table of an advance payment request data storage unit in an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 1B is a diagram showing an example of a data table of an advance payment data storage unit in an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 6] 10 is a flowchart showing a flow of an advance payment management process according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 7] 11 is a flowchart showing a flow of an available amount change process according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 8] FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of a payment system according to a modified example of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0017] Hereinafter, an advance payment management server, an advance payment management method, and a program according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In each drawing, the same or equivalent parts are denoted by the same reference numerals.

[0018] In the embodiment, a purchaser is a person who purchases a product from a seller, and a seller is a person who sells a product to a purchaser. Both are sometimes collectively referred to as a user. An administrator is a person who provides an advance payment service to a user, and includes an operator who has been entrusted with operation on behalf of the administrator, and persons who act as the administrator's hands and feet, such as subsidiaries and contractors. A financial institution includes all persons engaged in financial transactions, regardless of name, and includes, for example, banks, credit unions, credit unions, credit card companies, and insurance companies. An account includes not only a bank account opened at a bank, but also those that function in the same way as a bank account.

[0019] The payment system 1 supports a series of payments in which an administrator receives withdrawal funds from a financial institution, pays the purchaser's price on behalf of the seller, and the financial institution collects the price from the purchaser. By using the payment system 1, the seller can receive payment from the administrator early, and the purchaser can pay the price in a lump sum to the financial institution. The following describes an example in which funds are transferred by account transfer, but the transfer of funds is not limited to this and may also be done using, for example, electronic money or digital currency.

[0020] Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of a payment system 1 according to an embodiment. The payment system 1 comprises a communication terminal 100 possessed by a purchaser or seller, an advance payment management server 200 managed by an administrator, and a financial institution server 300 managed by a financial institution. The communication terminal 100, the advance payment management server 200, and the financial institution server 300 are connected to each other so as to be able to communicate with each other via a communication network such as the Internet.

[0021] The communication terminal 100 is, for example, a mobile terminal such as a smartphone or a general-purpose computer, and includes a communication terminal 100B possessed by the purchaser and a communication terminal 100S possessed by the seller. The communication terminal 100 notifies the advance payment management server 200 and the financial institution server 300 of requests from the purchaser and the seller, and displays the processing results from the advance payment management server 200 and the financial institution server 300. The advance payment management server 200 and the financial institution server 300 are, for example, both general-purpose computers. The advance payment management server 200 accepts advance payment requests from purchasers, and manages advance payments to purchasers by the manager. The financial institution server 300 carries out withdrawals from the financial institution to the manager, and accepts deposits from purchasers to the financial institution.

[0022] An outline of settlement executed using the settlement system 1 will be described below. First, as shown in FIG. 1, when a purchaser purchases a product (accrual of accounts payable) and requests an administrator to make an advance payment thereafter, the purchaser operates the communication terminal 100B to input advance payment request data and transmits the input advance payment request data to the advance payment management server 200. The advance payment request data includes information about the product for which the purchaser requests an administrator to make an advance payment, for example, information about the price of the product. When the advance payment management server 200 acquires the advance payment request data from the communication terminal 100B (accrual of an advance payment claim), the advance payment management server 200 reduces the available amount of the advance payment service individually assigned to the purchaser, and transmits the acquired advance payment request data to the financial institution server 300. The available amount is the amount by which the purchaser can receive an advance payment service from the administrator. The advance payment request data transmitted to the financial institution server 300 is an example of withdrawal request data that requests the administrator to withdraw funds specified in the advance payment request data.

[0023] When the financial institution server 300 acquires the advance payment request data and the financial institution pays out the funds for the advance payment to the seller to the administrator, the financial institution server 300 transmits a payment completion notice of the funds to the advance payment management server 200. The payment completion notice is a notice indicating that the payment from the financial institution to the administrator has been completed. The payment from the financial institution to the administrator is made, for example, one business day before the administrator makes an advance payment to the seller, for example, two to three business days before. When the advance payment management server 200 acquires the payment completion notice from the financial institution server 300, it generates advance payment data based on the advance payment request data for each seller. The advance payment data is data related to the amount equivalent to the price for which the administrator will make an advance payment to the seller. The administrator makes an advance payment to the seller based on the advance payment data using the funds paid out from the financial institution (extinguishing the accounts payable). In addition, the amount of funds paid from the financial institution to the administrator may be the total amount of each seller's price minus the financial institution's fee, and the amount of price paid by the administrator to the seller may be the total amount of each seller's price minus the financial institution's fee plus the administrator's fee.

[0024] As shown in Figure 2, when the financial institution pays out the funds for the advance payment to the administrator, it bills the purchaser for payment and collects the paid funds (extinction of the advance payment claim). When the financial institution confirms the purchaser's deposit via account transfer, the financial institution server 300 sends a deposit confirmation notice to the advance payment management server 200. The deposit confirmation notice is a notice that the financial institution has confirmed the deposit from the purchaser. When the advance payment management server 200 receives the deposit confirmation process from the financial institution server 300, it increases the available credit allocated to the purchaser. The above is an overview of the payment executed using payment system 1.

[0025] 3 is a block diagram showing a hardware configuration of the advance payment management server 200 according to the embodiment. The advance payment management server 200 comprises a communication unit 210, a storage unit 220, a control unit 230, an operation unit 240, and a display unit 250. Each unit is connected to each other via an internal bus.

[0026] The communication unit 210 is an interface that can be connected to a communication network such as the Internet, and communicates with each communication unit of the communication terminal 100 and the financial institution server 300 via the communication network.

[0027] The storage unit 220 includes a memory device such as a RAM (Random Access Memory), a ROM (Read Only Memory), a flash memory, or a hard disk, and stores programs executed by the control unit 230 and various data. The storage unit 220 also functions as a work memory for the control unit 230 to execute processes. The storage unit 220 further includes a purchaser data storage unit 221, a seller data storage unit 222, an advance payment request data storage unit 223, and an advance payment data storage unit 224.

[0028] FIG. 4(a) shows an example of a data table of the purchaser data storage unit 221 according to the embodiment. The purchaser data storage unit 221 stores purchaser data on purchasers who have been registered as users. The purchaser data is, for example, assigned to each purchaser and includes a purchaser ID (Identification) for identifying the purchaser, a name (name in the case of a sole proprietor), an address, an account number, an available amount, and a credit limit (available credit). The user registration of a purchaser is carried out, for example, when the purchaser operates the communication terminal 100B to transmit personal information such as a name or name and an address to the advance payment management server 200, and when the user registration is permitted by the administrator and the financial institution, the advance payment management server 200 assigns a purchaser ID and a password to the purchaser. The possibility of user registration and the credit limit are determined based on the user's attributes, for example, owned assets, sales, amount of borrowing, and other indicators indicating the user's creditworthiness.

[0029] FIG. 4(b) shows an example of a data table of the seller data storage unit 222 according to the embodiment. The seller data storage unit 222 stores seller data on sellers who have already been registered as users. The seller data includes information that is the same as or equivalent to the purchaser data. For example, in the same way as in the case of the purchaser's user registration, the seller operates the communication terminal 100S to transmit personal information such as his / her name or title and address to the advance payment management server 200, and when the administrator and the financial institution permit the user registration, the advance payment management server 200 assigns the seller ID and password to the seller. The possibility of user registration is determined based on the user's attributes, such as owned assets, sales, amount of borrowings, and other indicators indicating the user's creditworthiness.

[0030] 5(a) shows an example of a data table of the advance payment request data storage unit 223 according to the embodiment. The advance payment request data storage unit 223 stores advance payment request data related to an advance payment that a purchaser requests an administrator to make. The advance payment request data is registered in the advance payment request data storage unit 223 by the purchaser, and includes information on, for example, the delivery date, purchaser ID, seller ID, product, and price.

[0031] 5(b) shows an example of a data table of the advance payment data storage unit 224 according to the embodiment. The advance payment data storage unit 224 stores advance payment data related to advance payments made by the administrator to the seller. The advance payment data is generated based on the advance payment request data, and includes information on, for example, the delivery date, the seller ID, and the equivalent amount of the price. The equivalent amount of the price is the payment amount paid in advance from the administrator to the seller, and is calculated by totaling the amounts included in the advance payment request data for each seller.

[0032] Returning to Fig. 3, the control unit 230 includes a processor such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit) and controls each unit of the advance payment management server 200. The control unit 230 executes the programs stored in the storage unit 220 to execute the advance payment management process of Fig. 6 and the available amount change process of Fig. 7.

[0033] The control unit 230 functionally comprises an acquisition unit 231 , a usability determination unit 232 , an available amount change unit 233 , an advance payment data generation unit 234 , a format conversion unit 235 , and an output unit 236 .

[0034] The acquisition unit 231 acquires on-reimbursement request data from the purchaser's communication terminal 100B. The acquisition unit 231 also acquires from the financial institution server 300 a withdrawal completion notice notifying the completion of the withdrawal of funds to the manager, and a deposit confirmation notice notifying the confirmation of the deposit from the purchaser.

[0035] The availability determination unit 232 determines whether the purchaser corresponding to the purchaser ID included in the advance payment request data acquired by the acquisition unit 231 is available to use the advance payment service. Whether the purchaser is available to use the advance payment service is determined, for example, based on the available amount allocated to each purchaser in the purchaser data storage unit 221. Specifically, if the available amount corresponding to the purchaser ID is less than the total amount of the price (advance payment amount), it is determined that the purchaser is unable to use the advance payment service. In addition, if the payment to the financial institution from a purchaser who has used the advance payment service cannot be confirmed by the due date or if a notice is received from the financial institution that the use of the service will be suspended, it is also determined that the purchaser is unable to use the advance payment service.

[0036] The available amount change unit 233 changes the available amount allocated to the purchaser in the purchaser data storage unit 221 when the availability determination unit 232 determines that the purchaser is available to use the advance payment service or when the acquisition unit 231 acquires a deposit confirmation notice from the financial institution server 300. Specifically, when the availability determination unit 232 determines that the purchaser is available to use the advance payment service, it subtracts the advance amount from the available amount stored in the purchaser data storage unit 221. In addition, when the acquisition unit 231 acquires a deposit confirmation notice from the financial institution server 300, it adds the deposited advance amount to the available amount stored in the purchaser data storage unit 221.

[0037] When the advance payment data generating unit 234 receives a payment completion notice indicating that the payment has been completed, it generates advance payment data including information instructing the transfer of an amount equivalent to the price from the manager's account to the seller's account.

[0038] The format conversion unit 235 refers to the seller data storage unit 222 and converts the advance payment data generated for each seller into a format for account transfer. In the advance payment data (transfer data) whose format has been converted, the seller's account number is linked to the amount equivalent to the payment to the seller. The transfer data is, for example, CSV data in the Zengin format. The Zengin format is a data format defined by the Japanese Bankers Association.

[0039] The output unit 236 creates a message indicating whether the purchaser can use the advance payment and a message regarding a change in the available amount based on the processing results of the availability determination unit 232 and the available amount change unit 233, and transmits them to the purchaser's communication terminal 100B. The output unit 236 also transmits the advance payment request data acquired by the acquisition unit 231 to the financial institution server 300 as withdrawal request data, and transmits the advance payment data whose format has been converted by the format conversion unit 235 to the financial institution server 300.

[0040] The operation unit 240 receives an instruction from a user, and supplies an operation signal corresponding to the received operation to the control unit 230. The operation unit 240 includes, for example, a mouse and a keyboard.

[0041] The display unit 250 displays various images to the administrator based on image data supplied from the control unit 230. The above is the configuration of the advance payment management server 200.

[0042] (Advance payment management processing) Next, the flow of the advance payment management process executed by the advance payment management server 200 will be described with reference to the flowchart in Fig. 6. The advance payment management process is a process in which advance payment request data is acquired from a purchaser who wishes to make an advance payment, advance payment data for each seller is generated based on the acquired advance payment request data, and the data is transmitted to the financial institution server 300.

[0043] First, at the desired timing of requesting an advance payment, the purchaser operates the communication terminal 100B to input advance payment request data including items related to the seller and the price, and transmits the data to the advance payment management server 200. The purchaser may request an advance payment, for example, after checking the goods delivered by the seller, or before the goods are delivered by the seller. When the acquisition unit 231 of the advance payment management server 200 acquires the advance payment request data from the purchaser's communication terminal 100B (step S11), the availability determination unit 232 determines whether the purchaser corresponding to the purchaser ID included in the advance payment request data is available to use the advance payment service (step S12).

[0044] If it is determined that the advance payment service is available (step S12; Yes), the available amount change unit 233 changes the available amount based on the advance payment request data acquired in the process of step S11 (step S13). Specifically, the available amount allocated to the purchaser is changed by subtracting the advance payment amount included in the advance payment request data from the available amount stored in the purchaser data storage unit 221. On the other hand, if it is determined that the advance payment service is unavailable (step S12; No), the output unit 236 creates a message to the effect that the advance payment service is unavailable, and transmits it to the communication terminal 100B of the purchaser (step S19), and the process ends.

[0045] After the process of step S13 is completed, the control unit 230 transmits the on-reimbursement request data acquired in the process of step S11 to the seller's communication terminal 100S and the financial institution server 300 (step S14), and waits for the process. It is preferable to execute the processes of steps S12 to S14 sequentially without waiting after the execution of the process of step S11.

[0046] When the communication terminal 100S receives the advance payment request data from the advance payment management server 200, it displays the advance payment request data on the display unit. The seller refers to the advance payment request data displayed on the display unit of the communication terminal 100S and checks whether it is consistent with his / her own accounts receivable.

[0047] When the financial institution server 300 receives the advance payment request data from the advance payment management server 200, it executes a process of paying out the funds for the advance payment to the account held by the administrator by referring to the advance payment request data. Specifically, it totals the amounts included in the advance payment request data, and transfers the funds for the advance payment to each seller to the administrator's account via the Zengin System. Next, the financial institution server 300 transmits a payout completion notice to the advance payment management server 200 to inform the administrator that the payout of the funds to the administrator's account has been completed.

[0048] After the process of step S14 is executed, when the acquisition unit 231 of the advance payment management server 200 acquires a withdrawal completion notice from the financial institution server 300 (step S15), the advance payment data generation unit 234 generates advance payment data for each seller based on the advance payment request data acquired in the process of step S11 (step S16). The advance payment data includes the amount equivalent to the price that the administrator will advance to each seller.

[0049] Next, the format conversion unit 235 converts the advance payment data generated for each seller in the process of step S16 into a format for account transfer (step S17). Next, the output unit 236 transmits the advance payment data whose format has been converted in the process of step S17 to the financial institution server 300 (step S18), transmits a message to the effect that the use of the advance payment service has been approved to the communication terminal 100B (step S19), and ends the process. The administrator transmits the advance payment data converted in the process of step S17 to the financial institution server 300 at a desired timing, for example, at regular intervals, and the financial institution server 300 transfers the amount equivalent to the payment to the seller's account via the Zengin System, thereby making an advance payment of the payment to the seller. The above is the flow of the advance payment management process.

[0050] (Available Amount Change Processing) The available amount change process executed by the advance payment management server 200 will be described with reference to Fig. 7. The available amount change process is a process for changing the available amount allocated to a purchaser when the financial institution confirms the payment of the purchaser's payment.

[0051] When the financial institution has completed the payment of funds to the administrator, it requests payment of the price from the purchaser who used the advance payment service at the desired timing. Specifically, the financial institution withdraws the price from the purchaser's account on a specific date. This causes the financial institution's advance payment claim against the purchaser to be extinguished. When the financial institution confirms the payment from the purchaser, it operates the financial institution server 300 to send a payment completion notice to the advance payment management server 200 indicating that the confirmation of the purchaser's payment has been completed. On the other hand, when the financial institution cannot confirm the payment from the purchaser, it operates the financial institution server 300 to send a payment deadline lapse notice to the advance payment management server 200 indicating that the purchaser's payment has not been completed by the deadline.

[0052] The acquisition unit 231 of the advance payment management server 200 judges whether or not a deposit confirmation notice has been acquired from the financial institution server 300 (step S21). If it is judged that a deposit confirmation notice has been acquired from the financial institution server 300 (step S21; Yes), the available amount change unit 233 changes the available amount of the purchaser corresponding to the user ID and stores it in the purchaser data storage unit 221 (step S22). Next, the control unit 230 causes the communication terminal 100B to send a message indicating that the available amount has been changed (step S23), and ends the process.

[0053] On the other hand, if it is determined that a deposit confirmation notice has not been received from the financial institution server 300 (step S21; No), the usability determination unit 232 determines whether a payment deadline expiration notice has been received from the financial institution server 300 (step S24).

[0054] If it is determined that a payment deadline lapse notice has been acquired (step S24; Yes), the availability determination unit 232 changes the use of the advance payment service by the purchaser to unavailable (step S25), causes the communication terminal 100B to transmit a message to the effect that the advance payment by the purchaser has become unavailable (step S23), and ends the process. On the other hand, if it is determined that a payment deadline lapse notice has not been acquired (step S24; No), the process returns to step S21. The above is the flow of the available credit limit change process.

[0055] As described above, the reimbursement management server 200 according to the embodiment includes an acquisition unit 231 that acquires reimbursement request data including information on the amount to be paid from the purchaser to the seller, an reimbursement request data transmission unit that transmits the reimbursement request data acquired by the acquisition unit 231 to the financial institution server 300, a reception unit that receives a withdrawal completion notice from the financial institution server 300 indicating that the withdrawal has been completed, and an reimbursement data transmission unit that transmits to the financial institution server 300 reimbursement data including information instructing the transfer of an amount equivalent to the amount from the manager's account to the seller's account when the reception unit receives the withdrawal completion notice. This allows the seller to collect the amount from the manager and the purchaser to centralize payment of the amount to the financial institution, simplifying the settlement operations of both parties and reducing the costs required for settlement. In addition, the seller can collect the amount from the manager before the purchaser pays the amount, improving cash flow.

[0056] The present invention is not limited to this, and the following modifications are also possible.

[0057] (Modification) In the above embodiment, the seller operates the communication terminal 100S to provide personal information such as a name or title and an address to the reimbursement management server 200, thereby performing user registration to the reimbursement service, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the purchaser may operate the communication terminal 100B to send a notification to the reimbursement management server 200 that the purchaser wishes to be registered as a user by a specific seller, and the reimbursement management server 200, upon receiving the notification, may send a message to the communication terminal 100S of the specific seller to prompt the user to register. The notification requesting user registration may include information regarding the seller's email address, and an email prompting the user to register may be sent to the seller's email address. The seller, who receives the message prompting user registration at the communication terminal 100S, may check the contents of the message and determine whether to execute user registration to the reimbursement service.

[0058] In the above embodiment, the purchaser inputs the advance payment request data and requests the administrator to make an advance payment, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the seller may input delivery data including information on the product delivered to the purchaser and its price, and the purchaser may approve the delivery data and request the administrator to make an advance payment. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 8, the seller operates the communication terminal 100S to register the delivery data in the storage unit 220 of the advance payment management server 200. Next, the advance payment management server 200 transmits the delivery data registered in the storage unit 220 to the communication terminal 100B of the purchaser and requests the purchaser to approve the delivery data. When the purchaser operates the communication terminal 100B to transmit an approval notice approving the delivery data to the advance payment management server 200, the advance payment management server 200 registers the delivery data stored in the storage unit 220 as advance payment request data in the advance payment request data storage unit 223.

[0059] In the above modification, the advance payment management server 200 transmits the delivery data registered in the storage unit 220 to the purchaser's communication terminal 100B and requests the purchaser to approve the delivery data, but this is not limited to the above. For example, the advance payment management server 200 may register the delivery data entered by the seller as advance payment data in the advance payment request data storage unit 223 without requesting the purchaser to approve the delivery data.

[0060] Furthermore, when an advance payment request is accepted from the purchaser, the advance payment management server 200 may transmit a payment notice to the seller's communication terminal 100S to notify the seller of the amount equivalent to the price. The seller checks the payment notice received by the communication terminal 100S, and operates the communication terminal 100S to transmit a notice to the effect that the payment notice is approved. When the advance payment management server 200 receives an approval notice to the effect that the payment notice is approved from the seller's communication terminal 100S, it transmits advance payment request data to the financial institution server 300.

[0061] In the above embodiment, the advance payment request data acquired by the acquisition unit 231 is transmitted to the financial institution server 300, but the present invention is not limited to this. The advance payment request data acquired by the acquisition unit 231 does not have to be transmitted as is to the financial institution server 300, and for example, data in any format may be transmitted to the financial institution server 300 as long as it is withdrawal request data that requests the administrator to withdraw funds specified in the advance payment request data.

[0062] In the above embodiment, when the advance payment management server 200 receives a withdrawal completion notice from the financial institution server 300, it generates advance payment data for each withdrawal completion notice and converts the advance payment data into transfer data, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the advance payment data generated within a certain period of time may be stored in the storage unit 220, the amount equivalent to the price included in the advance payment data for each seller stored in the storage unit 220 may be totaled, and the advance payment data including the total amount equivalent to the price may be converted into transfer data.

[0063] In the above embodiment, when the financial institution cannot confirm the payment from the purchaser, the financial institution server 300 transmits a payment deadline lapse notice to the advance payment management server 200 to the effect that the purchaser's payment has not been completed by the due date, and the advance payment management server 200 changes the purchaser's usage status to unavailable, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, when the financial institution cannot confirm the payment from the purchaser, the financial institution server 300 may change the purchaser's usage status to unavailable and transmit a usage status change notice to the advance payment management server 200 to the effect that the purchaser's usage status has been changed.

[0064] In the above embodiment, the advance payment request data includes information on the product name and the total price for each product as shown in the data table in Fig. 5(a), but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, information on an invoice from a seller may be used as the advance payment request data. Items on an invoice may include, for example, the product name, unit, unit price, consumption tax classification, and tax rate.

[0065] In the above embodiment, various data are stored in the storage unit 220, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, all or part of the various data may be stored in an external server or computer via a communication network.

[0066] Furthermore, the data stored in the storage unit 220 may be stored in blocks linked by a block chain constructed within the network. The generated data may be stored in a newly generated block, and then linked to a block chain in which existing blocks are linked in chronological order, and may be configured to be shared among the communication terminal 100, the advance payment management server 200, and the financial institution server 300.

[0067] In the above embodiment, the Internet is used as the communication network, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the communication network may be realized using a LAN (Local Area Network) or a dedicated line.

[0068] In the above embodiment, the advance payment management server 200 operates based on the program stored in the storage unit 220, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the functional configuration realized by the program may be realized by hardware.

[0069] In the above embodiment, the advance payment management server 200 and the financial institution server 300 are general-purpose computers, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the advance payment management server 200 and the financial institution server 300 may be realized as a dedicated system.

[0070] In the above embodiment, the communication terminal 100, the advance payment management server 200, and the financial institution server 300 are configured separately, but the present invention is not limited to this. The communication terminal 100, the advance payment management server 200, and the financial institution server 300 may be partly or entirely configured as a single device.

[0071] In addition, the processing executed by the advance payment management server 200 is realized, for example, by an apparatus having the above-mentioned physical configuration executing a program stored in the memory unit 220, but the present invention may also be realized as a program or as a storage medium on which the program is recorded.

[0072] In addition, a program for executing the above-mentioned processing operations may be stored and distributed on a computer-readable recording medium such as a flexible disk, a CD-ROM (Compact Disk Read-Only Memory), a DVD (Digital Versatile Disk), or an MO (Magneto-Optical Disk), and the program may be installed on a computer to configure an apparatus that executes the above-mentioned processing operations.

[0073] The above-mentioned embodiments are merely examples, and the present invention is not limited to these, and various embodiments are possible without departing from the spirit of the invention described in the claims. The components described in the embodiments and modifications can be freely combined. In addition, inventions equivalent to the inventions described in the claims are also included in the present invention. [Explanation of symbols]

[0074] 1. Payment system 100, 100B, 100S communication terminal 200 Advance payment management server 210 Communications Department 220 Storage section 221 Purchaser Data Storage Unit 222 Seller data storage unit 223 Payment request data storage unit 224 Advance payment data storage unit 230 Control Unit 231 Acquisition Department 232 Availability determination section 233 Available amount change section 234 Advance payment data generation unit 235 Format Conversion Unit 240 Operation section 250 Display section 300 Financial institution server

Claims

1. An advance payment management server for making an advance payment to a seller on behalf of a purchaser, an acquisition unit for acquiring advance payment request data including information regarding the amount to be paid from the purchaser to the seller; a payment request data transmission unit that transmits to a financial institution server payment request data that requests the payment of funds specified in the reimbursement request data acquired by the acquisition unit to an account of an administrator of the reimbursement management server; A receiving unit that receives a withdrawal completion notification from the financial institution server, the notification indicating that withdrawal has been completed; an advance payment data transmission unit that, when the receiving unit receives the withdrawal completion notice, transmits advance payment data including information instructing the transfer of an amount equivalent to the purchase price from the manager's account to the seller's account to a financial institution server that is the same as or different from the financial institution server; An advance payment management server comprising:

2. An advance payment management server for making an advance payment to a seller on behalf of a purchaser, an acquisition unit for acquiring advance payment request data including information regarding the amount to be paid from the purchaser to the seller; a payment request data transmission unit that transmits to a financial institution server payment request data that requests an administrator of the on-behalf-of payment management server to pay out funds specified in the on-behalf-of request data acquired by the acquisition unit; a receiving unit for receiving a withdrawal completion notice indicating that withdrawal has been completed from the financial institution server; an advance payment data transmission unit that, when the receiving unit receives a withdrawal completion notification, transmits advance payment data including information instructing the seller to remit an amount equivalent to the purchase price from the withdrawn funds to a financial institution server that is the same as or different from the financial institution server; An advance payment management server comprising:

3. the reimbursement management server further comprises an availability determination unit which determines whether the purchaser is able to use the reimbursement based on an available reimbursement amount allocated to each purchaser and the reimbursement request data acquired by the acquisition unit; 3. The advance payment management server according to claim 1 or 2.

4. the reimbursement management server further comprises an available amount change unit which, when the acquisition unit acquires the reimbursement request data, reduces the available amount for reimbursement allocated to the purchaser based on the reimbursement request data acquired by the acquisition unit; The advance payment management server according to any one of claims 1 to 3.

5. The acquisition unit acquires, from the financial institution server, a payment confirmation notice indicating that payment of the purchase price by the purchaser has been confirmed, when the acquisition unit acquires a payment confirmation notice, the available amount change unit increases the available amount for on-reimbursement allocated to the purchaser based on the on-reimbursement request data acquired by the acquisition unit. The advance payment management server according to claim 4.

6. 1. An advance payment management method executed by an advance payment management server for making an advance payment to a seller on behalf of a buyer, comprising: An acquisition unit acquires payment request data including information regarding a payment to be made from a purchaser to a seller; a withdrawal request data transmission unit transmitting, to a financial institution server, withdrawal request data for requesting that funds specified in the reimbursement request data acquired by the acquisition unit be paid out to an account of an administrator of the reimbursement management server; A receiving unit receives a withdrawal completion notice from the financial institution server, the notice indicating that withdrawal has been completed; a step of, when the receiving unit receives a withdrawal completion notice, an advance payment data transmitting unit transmits advance payment data including information instructing the transfer of an amount equivalent to the purchase price from the manager's account to the seller's account to a financial institution server that is the same as or different from the financial institution server; A method for managing advance payments, including:

7. 1. An advance payment management method executed by an advance payment management server for making an advance payment to a seller on behalf of a buyer, comprising: An acquisition unit acquires payment request data including information regarding a payment to be made from a purchaser to a seller; a step of a withdrawal request data transmission unit transmitting, to a financial institution server, withdrawal request data for requesting an administrator of the on-the-fly payment management server to withdraw funds specified in the on-the-fly request data acquired by the acquisition unit; A receiving unit receives a withdrawal completion notice indicating that withdrawal has been completed from the financial institution server; a step of, when the receiving unit receives a withdrawal completion notice, an advance payment data transmitting unit transmits advance payment data including information instructing the seller to remit an amount equivalent to the purchase price from the withdrawn funds to a financial institution server that is the same as or different from the financial institution server; A method for managing advance payments, including:

8. Computer, A program for functioning as an advance payment management server for making an advance payment to a seller on behalf of a purchaser, An acquisition means for acquiring advance payment request data including information regarding the amount to be paid from the purchaser to the seller; a payment request data transmission means for transmitting to a financial institution server payment request data for requesting that funds specified in the on-behalf payment request data acquired by said acquisition means be paid to an account of an administrator of said on-behalf payment management server; A receiving means for receiving a withdrawal completion notification from the financial institution server, the notification indicating that withdrawal has been completed; an advance payment data transmitting means for transmitting, when the receiving means receives a withdrawal completion notice, advance payment data including information instructing the transfer of an amount equivalent to the purchase price from the manager's account to the seller's account to a financial institution server that is the same as or different from the financial institution server; A program to function as a

9. Computer, A program for functioning as an advance payment management server for making an advance payment to a seller on behalf of a purchaser, An acquisition means for acquiring advance payment request data including information regarding the amount to be paid from the purchaser to the seller; a payment request data transmission means for transmitting to a financial institution server payment request data for requesting an administrator of the on-behalf-of payment management server to pay out funds specified in the on-behalf-of request data acquired by the acquisition means; A receiving means for receiving a withdrawal completion notice indicating that withdrawal has been completed from the financial institution server; an advance payment data transmission means for transmitting, when the receiving means receives a withdrawal completion notification, advance payment data including information instructing the seller to remit an amount equivalent to the purchase price from the withdrawn funds to a financial institution server that is the same as or different from the financial institution server; A program to function as a

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