Payment processing device, payment processing method, and program

Abstract

To provide a payment processing device, a payment processing method, and a program capable of granting a user a privilege according to the content of an electronic payment while protecting the user's personal information. [Solution] A payment processing device comprising a payment processing unit that performs electronic payment based on payment information including the payment amount, an acquisition unit that acquires payment identification information for identifying a transaction made by electronic payment and bonus information indicating a bonus to be granted to a user who made the electronic payment, a user identification unit that identifies the user who made the electronic payment based on the payment identification information, and a bonus granting unit that grants the identified user the bonus indicated by the bonus information.

Description

[Technical field]

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

[0002] Conventionally, there is known an electronic payment service that executes electronic payment by displaying code information on a user terminal device owned by the user and having a store terminal device installed in a store read the code information. Patent Document 1 also proposes a payment management device that, when an electronic payment is requested for an affiliated store or store that is the subject of a campaign, collects the payment amount from the user while reflecting the benefits related to the campaign. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2024-51847 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] However, in the conventional technology, for example, when a campaign that gives benefits for the purchase of a specific product is carried out at an affiliated store, the affiliated store needs to provide information about the product purchased by the user to the payment management device. Since the information about the product purchased by the user is personal information of the user, if the business operating the affiliated store is different from the business of the electronic payment service, the personal information of the user may not be adequately protected.

[0005] The present invention has been made in consideration of the above circumstances, and one of its objectives is to provide a payment processing device, a payment processing method, and a program that can provide users with benefits according to the content of their electronic payments while protecting their personal information. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] One aspect of the present invention is a payment processing device that includes a payment processing unit that performs electronic payment based on payment information including a payment amount, an acquisition unit that acquires payment identification information for identifying a transaction made by electronic payment and bonus information indicating a bonus to be granted to a user who made the electronic payment, a user identification unit that identifies the user who made the electronic payment based on the payment identification information, and a bonus granting unit that grants the identified user the bonus indicated by the bonus information. Effect of the Invention

[0007] According to one aspect of the present invention, it is possible to provide a payment processing device, a payment processing method, and a program that can protect the user's personal information while granting the user a benefit according to the content of the electronic payment. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of an electronic payment system in which an electronic payment service is realized. [Diagram 2] This is a sequence diagram (part 1) illustrating the general flow of electronic payment. [Diagram 3] This is a sequence diagram (part 2) illustrating the general flow of electronic payment. [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram of a payment server 100. [Diagram 5] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of the contents of user information 192. [Figure 6] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of the contents of affiliated store / store information 196. [Figure 7] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of the contents of campaign information 197. [Figure 8] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of the contents of coupon information 198. [Figure 9] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the configuration of an affiliated store server 200. [Figure 10] 13 is a diagram showing an example of the contents of payment history information 292. FIG. [Figure 11]13 is a flowchart showing an example of a point giving process executed by the payment server 100. [Figure 12] 13 is a flowchart showing an example of a validity determination process when a user purchases a product that is a target of a campaign. [Figure 13] 13 is a flowchart showing an example of a validity determination process when a user purchases a product eligible for a coupon. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0009] Hereinafter, with reference to the drawings, an embodiment of a payment processing device, a payment processing method, and a program of the present invention will be described. Various devices, such as various devices and servers that appear below for providing services to users and performing internal analysis, may be realized by a distributed device group, and each device may be operated by a different business operator. Furthermore, the owner of the hardware of the device (provider of the cloud server) and the business operator that actually operates the device may also be different. The payment processing device is a device that provides an electronic payment service. In the following description, the payment processing device is referred to as a payment server. The electronic payment service is a service that supports payments related to the purchase of goods and services at a store. The store is, for example, a physical store (real store) that exists in the real world, but may also include a virtual store for electronic commerce. The virtual store may include one provided by an entity different from the operator of the electronic payment service. In that case, when making a payment for shopping at the virtual store, the screen is controlled to transition to an interface screen of the electronic payment service. In the electronic payment service, the store is treated as belonging to, for example, an affiliated store (brand), and processing such as payment when a purchase is made at the store is mainly performed between the user and the affiliated store.

[0010] [Electronic payment service] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of an electronic payment system in which an electronic payment service is realized. The electronic payment service is realized mainly by a payment server 100. The electronic payment system which realizes 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, the payment server 100, and an affiliated store server 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, and the like.

[0011] The user terminal device 10 is, for example, a portable terminal device such as a smartphone or a tablet terminal. The user terminal device 10 is a computer device having at least an optical reading function, a communication function, a display function, an input acceptance function, and a program execution function. In the following description, components for realizing these functions are referred to as a camera, a communication device, a touch panel, a CPU (Central Processing Unit), and the like. In the user terminal device 10, a processor such as a CPU executes a payment application 20, thereby operating in cooperation with a payment server 100 to provide a user with an electronic payment service. In addition, a processor such as a CPU executes an affiliated store application 30 in the user terminal device 10, thereby operating in cooperation with the payment server 100 to provide a user with a shopping service for purchasing products at an affiliated store. The payment application 20 and the affiliated store application 30 are installed in the user terminal device 10 from, for example, an application store, and control the camera, communication device, touch panel, and the like.

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

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

[0014] The payment server 100 realizes electronic payment based on payment information received from the user terminal device 10 or the first store terminal device 50. The first store terminal device 50 may include a POS device and an affiliated store server, in which case the payment information is sent from the POS device via the affiliated store server to the payment server 100. In the following explanation, no distinction is made between these two and it is assumed that the payment information is sent from the first store terminal device 50.

[0015] The affiliated store server 200 is a server operated by the affiliated store. Although details will be described later, when an electronic payment is made at any store belonging to the affiliated store, the affiliated store server 200 determines a benefit to be given to a user who makes the electronic payment. The benefit is given to a user in response to the purchase of a product covered by a campaign implemented by the affiliated store or a coupon issued by the affiliated store. For example, the benefit may be points that can be used as electronic money in an electronic payment service. A user may actually go to the affiliated store to purchase a product, or may use the affiliated store app 30 to purchase a product at a virtual store of the affiliated store.

[0016] 2 and 3 are sequence diagrams illustrating the general flow of electronic payment. There may be two patterns of electronic payment: pattern 1 and pattern 2.

[0017] In the case of pattern 1 (hereinafter referred to as user scan) shown in FIG. 2, the user terminal device 10 with the payment application 20 activated decodes the store code image 60 by the optical reading function (S1). The store code image 60 includes store URL (Uniform Resource Locator) information. This store URL is an electronic payment service domain to which store-identifying information is added, and is associated with an affiliated store ID, a store ID, etc. in the payment server 100 (described later). The payment application 20 transmits the first payment information including the store URL and the account ID to the payment server 100 (S2). The payment server 100 searches for store information (described later) from the affiliated store ID and the store ID corresponding to the store URL, acquires the affiliated store name and the store name information (S3), and transmits it to the payment application 20 (S4). The user inputs the payment amount into the user terminal device 10 on the screen on which the affiliated store name and the store name are displayed (S5). Then, the user terminal device 10 generates second payment information including at least the payment amount, and transmits 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 transmits a payment completion notice (information for displaying a payment completion screen) to the payment application 20 (S8), and the payment application 20 displays the payment completion screen (S9). Note that when the store code image 60 is displayed on a display installed in the store, the store code image 60 may include not only the store URL but also information on the payment amount. In this case, the step of the user inputting the payment amount is omitted, and the information on the payment amount is included in the first payment information and transmitted to the payment server 100. Information on the affiliated store name and the store name may be included in the payment completion screen and displayed.

[0018] In the case of pattern 2 (hereinafter referred to as store scan) shown in FIG. 3, when the payment application 20 is started, when a payment operation is performed in the payment application 20, when an automatic update timing (e.g., every minute) occurs, and at other timings, the payment application 20 transmits a request for issuing a one-time code to the payment server 100 (S11). The payment server 100 generates a one-time code (S12) and transmits it to the payment application 20 (S13). The payment application 20 displays a code image such as a QR code or a barcode generated based on the one-time code (S14). The user holds (presents) the display surface of the user terminal device 10 over the first store terminal device 50, and the first store terminal device 50 decodes the code image by an optical reading function and obtains the one-time code, etc. (S15). The first store terminal device 50 then generates payment information including the one-time code, payment amount, affiliated store ID, store ID, etc., and transmits it to the payment server 100 (S16). The payment amount information is acquired in advance by reading a barcode or manually entering it. The payment server 100 identifies the user corresponding to the one-time code based on the received information and performs electronic payment (S17). The payment server 100 then transmits a payment completion notice to the payment application 20 (S18), and the payment application 20 displays a payment completion screen (S19).

[0019] Note that electronic payment may be performed using only one of the above patterns. Furthermore, the "account ID" described in FIG. 2 may be other information (e.g., a phone number) that can be used as user identification information. Furthermore, issuance of a one-time code may be omitted in the store scan, and the payment application 20 may display a code image generated based on the user's account ID. In this case, the payment server 100 identifies the user corresponding to the account ID instead of identifying the user corresponding to the one-time code.

[0020] [Payment server] FIG. 4 is a configuration diagram of the payment server 100. The payment server 100 includes, for example, a communication unit 110, a payment content providing unit 120, a payment processing unit 130, an information management unit 140, an acquisition unit 150, a user identification unit 160, a privilege granting unit 170, a validity determination unit 180, and a storage unit 190. The components other than the communication unit 110 and the storage unit 190 are realized by, for example, 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 an LSI (Large Scale Integration), an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), an FPGA (Field-Programmable Gate Array), a GPU (Graphics Processing Unit), or a SOC (System On Chip), or may be realized by cooperation between software and hardware. The program may be stored in advance in a storage device (a storage device with a non-transient storage medium) such as an HDD (Hard Disk Drive) or flash memory, or may be stored in a removable storage medium (non-transient storage medium) such as a DVD or CD-ROM, and installed in the storage device by inserting the storage medium into a drive device.

[0021] The storage unit 190 is a HDD, a flash memory, a RAM (Random Access Memory), etc. The storage unit 190 may be a NAS (Network Attached Storage) device that the payment server 100 can access via a network. The storage unit 190 stores information such as user information 192, payment content information 194, affiliated store / shop information 196, campaign information 197, and coupon information 198.

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

[0023] The payment content providing unit 120 has, for example, a function of a Web server, and provides information (content) for displaying various screens of the electronic payment service to the user terminal device 10. The payment content providing unit 120 appropriately reads necessary content from the payment content information 194 and provides it to the user terminal device 10. The user terminal device 10 accepts various inputs by the user while the content is being played by the payment application 20, and transmits the above-mentioned payment information and the like to the payment server 100. The above content may be generated by the payment application 20. In this case, the payment content providing unit 120 provides information required for generating the content to the payment application 20.

[0024] The payment processing unit 130 performs payment processing based on the payment information transmitted by the user terminal device 10 or the first store terminal device 50. The payment processing unit 130 performs payment processing while referring to the user information 192.

[0025] FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of the contents of the user information 192. The user information 192 is an example of the registration information of a user. The user information 192 is information associated with, for example, a user URL, an account ID, a telephone number, a password, an email address, a user ID, a name, an address, a date of birth, a registration date, a charge balance, a credit payment setting, a credit payment limit, a credit payment amount used, a credit payment available amount, a payment method setting, a bank account, a credit card number, charge history information, payment history information, owned points, and owned coupons. The user URL is used for a remittance process between users. When registering for the electronic payment service, it is necessary to register a telephone number and a password. The account ID is issued to the user by the payment server 100, and the user ID is an ID that can be set by the user at will (does not have to be set). Similarly, the email address, and the name, address, and date of birth are information that can be set by the user at will (does not have to be set). The registration date is the date on which the user registered for the electronic payment service (the date on which the account was created). Hereinafter, the user's instance (electronic payment account) to which this information is associated will be referred to as an account.

[0026] The charge balance is information indicating the balance of electronic money that is set by a user by transferring money to an account in advance. The means of transfer include transfer from an ATM (Automatic Teller Machine) of a designated company (bank) and transfer from a registered bank account. The credit payment setting is information indicating whether or not the setting for enabling electronic payment by credit payment has been completed, and is set to either "completed" or "not completed." The credit payment limit is the credit payment limit that can be used each month, the credit payment usage amount is the amount of credit payment that has already been used in the current month, and the credit payment available amount is the amount of credit payment that can be used in the current month, which is calculated by subtracting the credit payment usage amount from the credit payment limit. Although only one credit payment limit is shown in the figure, in reality, there is also a daily upper limit, and the lower of these may be set as the credit payment limit. Further details of credit payment will be described later. The payment method setting is setting information indicating whether the user will perform electronic payment using the charge balance or payment by credit payment at that time. The bank account and credit card number are information on a bank account or credit card number (account number, card number) that can be used to deposit funds into an electronic payment service. The charge history information is a history of the user's previous transfers to the electronic payment service to increase the charge balance. The payment history information is information that indicates the details of payments made by the user for each payment (payment ID, payment date and time, the affiliated store ID of the affiliated store where the purchase was made, the store ID of the store, payment amount, payment method, etc.).

[0027] The owned points are information indicating points held by a user. Points are given to a user by purchasing a product that is the subject of a campaign or coupon. A user can use the owned points as electronic money in electronic payment services. The owned coupons are information indicating coupons held by a user. For example, the owned coupons field records coupon IDs for identifying coupons held by the user.

[0028] FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of the contents of the affiliated store / store information 196. The affiliated store / store information 196 includes, for example, a first table 196A in which an affiliated store ID and a store ID are associated with a store URL, a second table 196B in which an affiliated store name and sales amount (described above) are associated with an affiliated store ID, and a third table 196C in which a store name is associated with a store ID. In addition to these pieces of information, the affiliated store / store information 196 may include information such as an affiliated store or store category, a store location, and a payment pattern. The above-mentioned affiliated store name may be, for example, information registered by the affiliated store or information registered by an administrator of the electronic payment service. The above-mentioned affiliated store name and store name may be managed in an integrated manner. The above-mentioned affiliated store name may be, for example, a combination of the affiliated store name and the store name. It is preferable that the above-mentioned affiliated store name is an official name or a detailed name. In the affiliated store / store information 196, an icon of an affiliated store or other detailed information of an affiliated store may be associated with an affiliated store ID or a store ID.

[0029] The information management unit 140 acquires information provided by other server devices and terminal devices. The information management unit 140 manages user information 192, affiliated store / store information 196, campaign information 197, and coupon information 198 based on information acquired from the user terminal device 10 and the second store terminal device 70. The information management unit 140 adds new records, edits, deletes, and the like for the user information 192, affiliated store / store information 196, campaign information 197, and coupon information 198.

[0030] FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of the contents of the campaign information 197. The campaign information 197 includes, for example, a campaign ID, a member store ID, a target period, a point redemption rate, and a point grant history. The campaign ID is identification information for identifying the campaign. For example, the campaign may be a campaign related to a time sale held just before a time period when the number of food wastes is high. The member store ID is identification information for identifying the member store that is carrying out the campaign, and is the same information as the member store ID included in the member store / store information 196 in FIG. 6. The target period is information indicating the target period that is the target of the campaign. The point redemption rate is a value used when calculating points to be granted to a user who purchases a target product of the campaign. For example, if the point redemption rate is 10% and the purchase amount of the target product is 1000 yen, 100 points will be granted to the user. The point grant history is information indicating the history of granting points to a user. For example, the point grant history may include information such as the account ID of the user to whom the points were granted, the points granted, and the date and time when the points were granted.

[0031] FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of the contents of the coupon information 198. The coupon information 198 includes, for example, a coupon ID, an affiliated store ID, a target period, a point redemption rate, and a point allocation history. The coupon ID is identification information for identifying a coupon. By using a coupon at the time of electronic payment, points according to the payment content and the content of the coupon are granted to a user. The affiliated store ID is identification information for identifying the affiliated store that issued the coupon, and is the same information as the affiliated store ID included in the affiliated store / shop information 196 in FIG. 6. The target period is information indicating a target period during which the coupon can be used. The point redemption rate is a value used when calculating points to be granted to a user who has purchased a product covered by the coupon. The point allocation history is information indicating a history of points granted to a user. For example, the point allocation history may include information such as the account ID of a user to whom points were granted, the points granted, and the date and time when the points were granted.

[0032] [Electronic payment] When payment information is acquired from the user terminal device 10 or the first store terminal device 50, the payment processing unit 130 refers to the user information 192 to acquire the "payment method setting" of the user. For a user whose "payment method setting" is set to "charge balance", the payment processing unit 130 performs electronic payment as follows. For example, the payment processing unit 130 performs electronic payment by decreasing the charge balance managed in association with the user ID and increasing the item value of the affiliated store's sales. The item value of the affiliated store's sales is not used as electronic money itself, for example, and an amount corresponding to the item value of the sales is transferred to a bank account in a cycle according to an agreement between the affiliated store and the electronic payment service.

[0033] The payment processing unit 130 performs electronic payment for users whose "setting information" is set to "credit card payment" as follows. Credit card payment is a payment method in cooperation with a credit card company, which is a separate entity from the operator of the electronic payment service, and the operator of the electronic payment service acts as a creditor and allows electronic payment that is not dependent on the charge balance within the credit card payment limit. In order to receive the credit card payment service, a credit card provided by the operator of the electronic payment service may be required. The amount used in the credit card payment is settled on the payment date of the following month, for example, by debiting from a bank account, for one month. In this case, the payment processing unit 130 performs provisional payment by adding the payment amount to the credit card payment amount and subtracting the same amount from the available credit card payment amount, and when the closing date comes, it performs processing to debit the payment for the current month on the payment date of the following month as described above, or requests the operator of the credit card company to perform the processing. In addition, if the payment amount exceeds the available credit card payment amount at the time of provisional payment, an error notification is returned to the payment application 20.

[0034] [Member store server] FIG. 9 is a configuration diagram of the affiliated store server 200. The affiliated store server 200 includes, for example, a communication unit 210, a bonus processing unit 220, and a storage unit 290. The bonus processing unit 220 is 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 an LSI, ASIC, FPGA, GPU, or SOC, or may be realized by a combination of software and hardware. The program may be stored in advance in a storage device such as an HDD or flash memory (a storage device having a non-transient storage medium), or may be stored in a removable storage medium such as a DVD or CD-ROM (a non-transient storage medium), and installed in the storage device by mounting the storage medium in a drive device.

[0035] The storage unit 290 is a HDD, a flash memory, a RAM, etc. The storage unit 290 may be a NAS device that the affiliated store server 200 can access via a network. The storage unit 290 stores information such as payment history information 292, campaign information 294, and coupon information 296.

[0036] The communication unit 110 is a communication interface for connecting to the network NW. The communication unit 110 is, for example, a network interface card.

[0037] 10 is a diagram showing an example of the contents of the payment history information 292. The payment history information 292 is information showing the history of payments made when a user purchases a product at an affiliated store. Note that the payment history information 292 may include not only the payment history when a user actually visits an affiliated store to purchase a product, but also the payment history when a user purchases a product at a virtual store of the affiliated store using the affiliated store app 30.

[0038] The payment history information 292 includes, for example, a payment ID (member store side), a payment date and time, a payment amount, a purchased item, a price, and a payment ID (electronic payment service side). The payment ID (member store side) is identification information assigned by the member store server 200 to identify a transaction at the member store. The payment date and time is information indicating the date and time when the electronic payment was made at the member store. The payment amount is information indicating the payment amount of the electronic payment made at the member store. The purchased item is information to identify the item purchased by the user at the member store, and may be, for example, a JAN code. The price is information indicating the price of the item purchased by the user at the member store. For ease of explanation, consumption tax is not taken into consideration here. The payment ID (electronic payment service side) is identification information assigned by the payment server 100 to identify a transaction by electronic payment.

[0039] The payment server 100 and the affiliated store server 200 manage transactions using different payment IDs. The affiliated store server 200 records the payment ID (affiliated store side) assigned by the affiliated store server 200 in association with POS information (payment date and time, payment amount, purchased product, etc.) in the payment history information 292 according to the transaction at the affiliated store. When electronic payment is made at the affiliated store, the payment information is sent from the payment server 100 to the affiliated store server 200. Since the payment information includes the payment ID (electronic payment service side) assigned by the payment server 100, the affiliated store server 200 records the payment ID (affiliated store side) in association with the payment ID (electronic payment service side) in the payment history information 292. If payment is made by a method other than electronic payment (cash, credit card, etc.), the payment ID (electronic payment service side) column in the payment history information 292 is left blank. In the following description, when the term "payment ID" is used, it refers to the payment ID (electronic payment service side) assigned by the payment server 100.

[0040] The campaign information 294 stored in the memory unit 290 of the affiliated store server 200 is information related to a campaign being carried out by the affiliated store that operates the affiliated store server 200. The campaign information 294 may include, for example, a campaign ID, a target period, and a point redemption rate, as well as information for identifying a target product of the campaign (for example, a JAN code).

[0041] Furthermore, the coupon information 296 stored in the memory unit 290 of the affiliated store server 200 is information related to coupons issued by the affiliated store that operates the affiliated store server 200. The coupon information 296 may include, for example, a coupon ID, a target period, and a point return rate, as well as information for identifying a product that is the target of the coupon (for example, a JAN code).

[0042] The affiliated store server 200 cannot provide the payment server 100 with information about products purchased by a user without the user's consent. This is because information about products purchased by a user is personal information of the user. Since the payment server 100 cannot obtain information about products purchased by a user, if the contents of a campaign or coupon are provided for payment information that the payment server cannot obtain, the payment server 100 cannot calculate the benefit (points) to be awarded to the user. Therefore, in this embodiment, the affiliated store server 200, not the payment server 100, calculates the benefit (points) to be awarded to the user.

[0043] The reward processing unit 220 of the affiliated store server 200 calculates the points to be awarded to the user. The reward processing unit 220 may calculate the points to be awarded to the user each time an electronic payment is made, or may calculate the points collectively every predetermined period (e.g., one month). For example, in the example shown in FIG. 10, it is assumed that product A is a target product of a campaign or coupon, and the point redemption rate is 10%. In this case, the reward processing unit 220 calculates 100 points, which is 10% (point redemption rate) of 1000 yen (the price of product A), as points to be awarded to a user who purchases product A.

[0044] Also, as shown in FIG. 10, the target product, product A, is included in the purchased products of electronic payments with payment IDs (electronic payment service side) T0001 and T0002. Therefore, in order to request the user to be given points, the reward processing unit 220 controls the communication unit 210 to link the payment ID (T0001) and reward information (1000 points) to the payment server 100 and also link the payment ID (T0002) and reward information (1000 points) to the payment server 100. Thereafter, the payment server 100 grants 1000 points as a reward to the user who made the electronic payment with the payment ID (T0001) and the user who made the electronic payment with the payment ID (T0002). Details of the processing of the payment server 100 will be described below.

[0045] [flowchart] Fig. 11 is a flowchart showing an example of a point granting process executed by the payment server 100. As described above, points as a privilege are not granted to a user every time an electronic payment is made, but are granted to the user in a lump sum every predetermined period (e.g., one month). For this reason, the payment server 100 executes this flowchart at a predetermined date and time (e.g., the first day of each month).

[0046] First, the acquisition unit 150 of the payment server 100 acquires the payment ID and the benefit information from the affiliated store server 200 (S101). Specifically, the acquisition unit 150 acquires the payment ID and the benefit information received by the communication unit 110 from the affiliated store server 200. Here, if a campaign or coupon is applied, the affiliated store server 200 transmits the campaign ID of the applied campaign or the coupon ID of the applied coupon to the payment server 100. The acquisition unit 150 also acquires the campaign ID or coupon ID received by the communication unit 110 from the affiliated store server 200.

[0047] Next, the user identification unit 160 identifies the user who made the electronic payment based on the payment ID acquired by the acquisition unit 150 (S102). Specifically, the user identification unit 160 refers to the user information 192 and acquires an account ID linked to the payment history information including the payment ID acquired by the acquisition unit 150, thereby identifying the user corresponding to the payment ID acquired by the acquisition unit 150.

[0048] Next, the validity determination unit 180 performs a validity determination process to determine whether the provision of the benefit (points) to the user is valid or not (S103). The payment server 100, which is the party that provides the benefit (points), does not calculate the benefit (points), so if the benefit information received from the affiliated store server 200 is incorrect, there is a possibility that the wrong benefit (points) will be provided to the user. To prevent such a problem from occurring, the payment server 100 determines whether the provision of the benefit (points) to the user is valid or not based on information that it holds. Details of the validity determination process will be described later with reference to Figs. 12 and 13.

[0049] Next, the benefit giving unit 170 judges whether the provision of the benefit (points) to the user is valid or not based on the judgment result in the validity judgment process of S103 (S104). When it is judged that the provision of the benefit (points) to the user is valid, the benefit giving unit 170 grants the benefit (points) indicated by the benefit information to the user (S105). Specifically, the benefit giving unit 170 adds the points indicated by the benefit information to the owned points linked to the account ID of the user identified by the user identification unit 160 in the user information 192, and ends the process according to this flowchart. In this way, the benefit giving unit 170 can grant the benefit (points) to the user. Note that the benefit giving unit 170 may subtract the amount of the benefit (points) granted to the user from the sales amount of the affiliated store in the second table 196B of the affiliated store / shop information 196, or may separately bill the affiliated store.

[0050] On the other hand, if it is determined in S104 that the provision of the benefit (points) to the user is not valid, the benefit provision unit 170 does not provide the benefit to the user and ends the process according to this flowchart. This allows the benefit provision unit 170 to prevent the benefit (points) from being provided to the user when the provision of the benefit (points) to the user is not valid.

[0051] Next, a description will be given of the details of the validity determination process executed in S103 of Fig. 11. The validity determination process differs depending on whether the user has purchased a product that is eligible for a campaign or a product that is eligible for a coupon, and will therefore be described separately for these cases.

[0052] 12 is a flowchart showing an example of a validity determination process when a user purchases a product that is a target of a campaign. When a user purchases a product that is a target of a campaign, the acquisition unit 150 also acquires the campaign ID of the campaign to be applied from the affiliated store server 200 in S101 of FIG.

[0053] First, the validity determination unit 180 determines whether the electronic payment indicated by the payment ID acquired in S101 was made at a member store running a campaign (S201). Specifically, the validity determination unit 180 may acquire the member store ID (the member store ID of the member store running the campaign) linked to the campaign ID acquired from the member store server 200 from the campaign information 197. In addition, the validity determination unit 180 may acquire the member store ID (the member store ID of the member store where the electronic payment was actually made) linked to the payment ID acquired from the member store server 200 from the payment history information of the user information 192. Thereafter, when the member store ID of the member store running the campaign and the member store ID of the member store where the electronic payment was actually made are equal, the validity determination unit 180 may determine that the electronic payment was made at the member store running the campaign.

[0054] If the validity determination unit 180 determines that the electronic payment indicated by the payment ID acquired in S101 was made at a member store running the campaign, the process proceeds to S202. On the other hand, if the validity determination unit 180 determines that the electronic payment indicated by the payment ID acquired in S101 was not made at a member store running the campaign, the validity determination unit 180 determines that the points to be given to the user are invalid (S205). This allows the validity determination unit 180 to prevent a privilege (points) from being erroneously given to a user even though the electronic payment was not made at a member store running the campaign.

[0055] Next, the validity determination unit 180 determines whether the points obtained by multiplying the payment amount by the point return rate are equal to or greater than the points indicated by the special offer information (S202). Specifically, the validity determination unit 180 may obtain the payment amount linked to the payment ID obtained from the affiliated store server 200 from the payment history information of the user information 192. The validity determination unit 180 may also obtain the point return rate linked to the campaign ID obtained from the affiliated store server 200 from the campaign information 197. Thereafter, the validity determination unit 180 may calculate the points by multiplying the payment amount obtained from the payment history information of the user information 192 by the point return rate linked to the campaign ID. Furthermore, the validity determination unit 180 may determine whether the calculated points are equal to or greater than the points indicated by the special offer information obtained from the affiliated store server 200.

[0056] If a user purchases only campaign-targeted products in an electronic payment, the payment amount is equal to the price of the target products, and the points awarded to the user are calculated by multiplying the payment amount by the point redemption rate. On the other hand, if a user purchases not only campaign-targeted products but also products other than the target products, the payment amount is greater than the price of the target products, and the points awarded to the user are less than the points awarded to the user by multiplying the payment amount by the point redemption rate. Therefore, the points awarded to the user by multiplying the payment amount by the point redemption rate will not be less than the points actually awarded to the user. For this reason, in S202, the validity determination unit 180 determines whether the points awarded to the user by multiplying the payment amount by the point redemption rate are equal to or greater than the points indicated by the benefit information.

[0057] If the validity determination unit 180 determines that the points obtained by multiplying the payment amount by the point return rate are equal to or greater than the points indicated by the special offer information, the process proceeds to S203. On the other hand, if the validity determination unit 180 determines that the points obtained by multiplying the payment amount by the point return rate are less than the points indicated by the special offer information, the validity determination unit 180 determines that the points to be given to the user are invalid (S205). This allows the validity determination unit 180 to prevent the user from being mistakenly given more special offers (points) than necessary.

[0058] Next, the validity determination unit 180 determines whether the electronic payment indicated by the payment ID was completed within the target period of the campaign (S203). Specifically, the validity determination unit 180 may obtain the payment date and time linked to the payment ID obtained from the affiliated store server 200 from the payment history information of the user information 192. In addition, the validity determination unit 180 may obtain the target period linked to the campaign ID obtained from the affiliated store server 200 from the campaign information 197. Thereafter, the validity determination unit 180 may determine that the electronic payment was completed within the target period of the campaign when the payment date and time obtained from the payment history information of the user information 192 is included in the target period linked to the campaign ID.

[0059] If the validity determination unit 180 determines that the electronic payment indicated by the payment ID was completed within the campaign target period, it determines that the points should be given to the user as valid (S204). On the other hand, if the validity determination unit 180 determines that the electronic payment indicated by the payment ID was not completed within the campaign target period, it determines that the points should be given to the user as invalid (S205). This allows the validity determination unit 180 to prevent a privilege (points) from being erroneously given to a user even if the electronic payment was made outside the campaign target period.

[0060] As described above, the validity determination unit 180 determines whether the provision of a benefit (points) to a user is valid, and the benefit provision unit 170 provides the user with the benefit indicated by the benefit information when it is determined that the provision of a benefit to a user is valid. This makes it possible to encourage users to purchase products that are the subject of a campaign. For example, if the campaign is a time sale campaign held just before a time period during which a large amount of food is wasted, it is possible to encourage users to purchase products that are close to their expiration date, thereby reducing the amount of food that is wasted.

[0061] 13 is a flowchart showing an example of a validity determination process when a user purchases a product that is eligible for a coupon. When a user purchases a product that is eligible for a coupon, the acquisition unit 150 acquires the coupon ID of the coupon to be applied from the affiliated store server 200 in S101 of FIG.

[0062] First, the validity determination unit 180 determines whether or not the user has a coupon issued by the affiliated store where the purchase was made (S300). Specifically, when the coupon ID acquired from the affiliated store server 200 is included in the user's owned coupons field in the user information 192, the validity determination unit 180 may determine that the user has a coupon issued by the affiliated store where the purchase was made.

[0063] If the validity determination unit 180 determines that the user has a coupon issued by the affiliated store where the purchase was made, the process proceeds to S301. On the other hand, if the validity determination unit 180 determines that the user does not have a coupon issued by the affiliated store where the purchase was made, the validity determination unit 180 determines that the points to be given to the user are invalid (S305). This allows the validity determination unit 180 to prevent a privilege (points) from being erroneously given to a user when the user does not have a coupon.

[0064] Next, the validity determination unit 180 determines whether the electronic payment indicated by the payment ID acquired in S101 was made at the affiliated store that issued the coupon (S301). Specifically, the validity determination unit 180 may acquire the affiliated store ID (the affiliated store ID of the affiliated store that issued the coupon) linked to the coupon ID acquired from the affiliated store server 200 from the coupon information 198. In addition, the validity determination unit 180 may acquire the affiliated store ID (the affiliated store ID of the affiliated store where the electronic payment was actually made) linked to the payment ID acquired from the affiliated store server 200 from the payment history information of the user information 192. Thereafter, when the affiliated store ID of the affiliated store that issued the coupon and the affiliated store ID of the affiliated store where the electronic payment was actually made are equal, the validity determination unit 180 may determine that the electronic payment was made at the affiliated store that issued the coupon.

[0065] If the validity determination unit 180 determines that the electronic payment indicated by the payment ID acquired in S101 was made at the affiliated store that issues the coupon, the process proceeds to S302. On the other hand, if the validity determination unit 180 determines that the electronic payment indicated by the payment ID acquired in S101 was not made at the affiliated store that issues the coupon, the validity determination unit 180 determines that the points to be given to the user are invalid (S305). This allows the validity determination unit 180 to prevent a privilege (points) from being erroneously given to a user even though the electronic payment was not made at the affiliated store that issues the coupon.

[0066] Next, the validity determination unit 180 determines whether the points obtained by multiplying the payment amount by the point return rate are equal to or greater than the points indicated by the benefit information (S302). Specifically, the validity determination unit 180 may obtain the payment amount linked to the payment ID obtained from the affiliated store server 200 from the payment history information of the user information 192. In addition, the validity determination unit 180 may obtain the point return rate linked to the coupon ID obtained from the affiliated store server 200 from the coupon information 198. Thereafter, the validity determination unit 180 may calculate the points by multiplying the payment amount obtained from the payment history information of the user information 192 by the point return rate linked to the coupon ID. Furthermore, the validity determination unit 180 may determine whether the calculated points are equal to or greater than the points indicated by the benefit information obtained from the affiliated store server 200.

[0067] If the user purchases only the product covered by the coupon in the electronic payment, the payment amount is equal to the price of the product covered by the coupon, and the points awarded to the user are calculated by multiplying the payment amount by the point redemption rate. On the other hand, if the user purchases not only the product covered by the coupon but also products other than the product covered by the coupon, the payment amount is greater than the price of the product covered by the coupon, and the points awarded to the user are less than the points awarded to the user by multiplying the payment amount by the point redemption rate. Therefore, the points awarded to the user by multiplying the payment amount by the point redemption rate will not be less than the points actually awarded to the user. For this reason, in S302, the validity determination unit 180 determines whether the points awarded to the user by multiplying the payment amount by the point redemption rate are equal to or greater than the points indicated by the benefit information.

[0068] If the validity determination unit 180 determines that the points obtained by multiplying the payment amount by the point return rate are equal to or greater than the points indicated by the benefit information, the process proceeds to S303. On the other hand, if the validity determination unit 180 determines that the points obtained by multiplying the payment amount by the point return rate are less than the points indicated by the benefit information, the validity determination unit 180 determines that the points to be given to the user are invalid (S305). This allows the validity determination unit 180 to prevent the user from being mistakenly given more benefits (points) than necessary.

[0069] Next, the validity determination unit 180 determines whether the electronic payment indicated by the payment ID was completed within the target period of the coupon (S303). Specifically, the validity determination unit 180 may obtain the payment date and time linked to the payment ID obtained from the affiliated store server 200 from the payment history information of the user information 192. The validity determination unit 180 may also obtain the target period linked to the coupon ID obtained from the affiliated store server 200 from the coupon information 198. Thereafter, the validity determination unit 180 may determine that the electronic payment was completed within the target period of the coupon when the payment date and time obtained from the payment history information of the user information 192 is included in the target period linked to the coupon ID.

[0070] If the validity determination unit 180 determines that the electronic payment indicated by the payment ID was completed within the coupon's target period, it determines that the points should be given to the user as valid (S304). On the other hand, if the validity determination unit 180 determines that the electronic payment indicated by the payment ID was not completed within the coupon's target period, it determines that the points should be given to the user as invalid (S305). This allows the validity determination unit 180 to prevent a privilege (points) from being erroneously given to a user even if the electronic payment was made outside the coupon's target period.

[0071] Note that the validity determination process performed by the validity determination unit 180 is not limited to these processes. For example, the acquisition unit 150 may acquire the purchase amount of the target product from the affiliated store server in S101. Furthermore, the validity determination unit 180 may determine that the points given to the user are invalid if the points obtained by multiplying the purchase amount of the target product by the point return rate in the campaign or coupon do not match the points indicated by the benefit information acquired from the affiliated store server 200. In this way, the validity determination unit 180 can prevent the wrong benefit (points) from being given to the user when the benefit (points) is not calculated correctly on the affiliated store server 200 side.

[0072] The acquisition unit 150 may also acquire the total number of points granted within a predetermined period from the affiliated store server 200. The validity determination unit 180 may also determine that the points granted to the user within the predetermined period are invalid if the total number of points acquired from the affiliated store server 200 does not match the total number of points actually granted within the predetermined period by the benefit granting unit 170. The validity determination unit 180 may acquire the total number of points actually granted within the predetermined period from the point granting history of the campaign information 197 or the coupon information 198. This allows the validity determination unit 180 to check whether the total number of points granted to the user within the predetermined period is correct.

[0073] Furthermore, the points given to the user may include points that can be used only at the affiliated store where the electronic payment was made. Therefore, the benefit giving unit 170 may give the user only points that can be used only at the affiliated store where the electronic payment was made, or may give the user points that include some points that can be used only at the affiliated store where the electronic payment was made. This can encourage the user to make another purchase at the affiliated store where the electronic payment was made.

[0074] According to the embodiment described above, the payment server 100 includes a payment processing unit 130, an acquisition unit 150, a user identification unit 160, and a reward granting unit 170. The payment processing unit 130 performs electronic payment based on payment information including a payment amount. The acquisition unit 150 acquires a payment ID for identifying a transaction by electronic payment and reward information indicating a reward (points) to be granted to a user who has performed electronic payment. The user identification unit 160 identifies the user who has performed electronic payment based on the payment ID. The reward granting unit 170 grants the identified user a reward (points) indicated by the reward information. In this way, the payment server 100 can grant a user a reward according to the content of the electronic payment while protecting the user's personal information.

[0075] The above describes the form for carrying out the present invention using an embodiment, but the present invention is not limited to such an embodiment, and various modifications and substitutions can be made within the scope that does not deviate from the gist of the present invention. [Explanation of symbols]

[0076] 10 User terminal device 20. Payment App 30 Merchant App 50 First store terminal device 100 Payment Server 110 Communications Department 120 Payment Contents Provider 130 Payment processing unit 140 Information Management Department 150 Acquisition Department 160 User Identification Department 170 Benefits Granting Department 180 Validity determination unit 190 Memory section 200 Merchant Server 210 Communications Department 220 Bonus Processing Unit 290 Storage section

Claims

1. a payment processing unit that performs electronic payment based on payment information including a payment amount; an information management unit that manages payment history information including payment identification information for identifying a transaction by electronic payment in association with user identification information for identifying a user who made the electronic payment; an acquisition unit that acquires payment identification information for identifying the electronic payment transaction and benefit information indicating a benefit to be given to a user who has made the electronic payment; a user identification unit that identifies the user who made the electronic payment based on the user identification information linked to the payment identification information; a reward giving unit that gives the identified user points that can be used as electronic money in an electronic payment service as a reward indicated by the reward information; a validity determination unit that determines whether the points given to the user are valid; A payment processing device comprising:

2. the acquiring unit acquires the payment identification information and the benefit information from an affiliated store server operated by the affiliated store where the electronic payment was made; The payment processing device according to claim 1.

3. The benefit indicated by the benefit information is granted to the user in response to a purchase of a product covered by a campaign implemented by the affiliated store or a coupon issued by the affiliated store. The payment processing device according to claim 2.

4. the benefit providing unit provides the points to the user as a benefit provided in response to the campaign or the coupon; The payment processing device according to claim 3.

5. the validity determination unit determines that the provision of points to the user is invalid if the electronic payment indicated by the payment identification information has not been made at the affiliated store implementing the campaign; The payment processing device according to claim 4.

6. the validity determination unit determines that the points to be awarded to the user are invalid if the points obtained by multiplying the payment amount by the point redemption rate for the campaign or the coupon are less than the points indicated by the benefit information; The payment processing device according to claim 4.

7. the validity determination unit determines that the provision of points to the user is invalid if the electronic payment indicated by the payment identification information is not completed within a target period of the campaign or the coupon; The payment processing device according to claim 4.

8. the validity determination unit determines that the provision of points to the user is invalid if the user does not have the coupon issued by the affiliated store; The payment processing device according to claim 4.

9. The acquisition unit acquires a purchase price of the target product from the affiliated store server, the validity determination unit determines that the points given to the user are invalid if the points obtained by multiplying the purchase amount of the target product by the point redemption rate for the campaign or the coupon do not match the points indicated by the benefit information obtained from the affiliated store server; The payment processing device according to claim 4.

10. The acquisition unit acquires from the affiliated store server a total number of the points awarded within a predetermined period of time, the validity determination unit determines that the points given to the user within the specified period are invalid when the total number of points acquired from the affiliated store server does not match the total number of points actually given by the benefit giving unit within the specified period; The payment processing device according to claim 4.

11. The points include points that can be used only at the affiliated store where the electronic payment is made. The payment processing device according to claim 4.

12. A payment processing device Make an electronic payment based on the payment information, including the payment amount; managing payment history information including payment identification information for identifying the electronic payment transaction in association with user identification information for identifying the user who made the electronic payment; acquiring payment identification information for identifying the electronic payment transaction and benefit information indicating a benefit to be given to the user who has made the electronic payment; Identifying the user who made the electronic payment based on the user identification information linked to the payment identification information; granting points that can be used as electronic money in an electronic payment service to the specified user as a benefit indicated by the benefit information; Determine whether the points given to the user are valid or not; Payment processing methods.

13. The payment processing device Making an electronic payment based on payment information including the payment amount; managing payment history information including payment identification information for identifying a transaction by electronic payment in association with user identification information for identifying a user who made the electronic payment; acquiring payment identification information for identifying the transaction by the electronic payment and benefit information indicating a benefit to be given to the user who has made the electronic payment; Identifying the user who made the electronic payment based on the user identification information linked to the payment identification information; granting the specified user points that can be used as electronic money in an electronic payment service as the benefit indicated by the benefit information; determining whether the points given to the user are valid; program.

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