Information processing apparatus, information processing method, and program

Abstract

In an electronic payment service that provides various types of benefits, assisting users in discovering and utilizing benefits that are useful to them. 【Solution means】An information processing apparatus including: an acquisition unit that acquires user information regarding users of an electronic payment service; a determination unit that determines, based on the acquired user information, information regarding one or more types of benefits of the electronic payment service and that is provision information for providing to a user terminal device of the user; and a provision unit that provides the determined provision information to the user terminal device.

Description

Technical Field

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

Background Art

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

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] The technique described in Patent Document 1 provides proposal information according to purchase information and has limitations in the sense that it assumes the purchase of products by users. Furthermore, in conventional techniques, when using electronic payment services that provide various types of benefits, users may have difficulty discovering and utilizing benefits that are useful to them.

[0005] The present invention has been made in consideration of such circumstances, and one of its objectives is to provide an information processing apparatus, an information processing method, and a program that can assist users in discovering and utilizing benefits that are useful to them when using electronic payment services that provide various types of benefits.

Means for Solving the Problems

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

Advantages of the Invention

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

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0008]

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DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0009] Hereinafter, with reference to the drawings, embodiments of an information processing apparatus, an information processing method, and a program according to the present invention will be described. Various apparatuses such as "servers", "management apparatuses", and "information providing apparatuses" that provide services to users or perform internal analysis may be realized by a decentralized group of apparatuses, and the operators of the respective apparatuses may be different. Also, the holder of the hardware of the apparatus (provider of the cloud server) and the operator who actually operates the apparatus may be different. The application program and the payment server cooperate to provide an electronic payment service. In the following description, the application program is referred to as a payment application. The electronic payment service is a service that supports payments related to the purchase of goods and services in stores. A store is, for example, a physical store (actual store) existing in the real space, but may include a virtual store for e-commerce. The virtual store may include those provided by a party different from the operator of the electronic payment service. In that case, when making a payment for shopping in the virtual store, it is controlled to transition to the interface screen of the electronic payment service. In the electronic payment service, a store is, for example, treated as belonging to a franchise (brand), and processes such as payment when a purchase action is performed in the store are mainly carried out between the user and the franchise. Instead of this, processes such as payment may be carried out between the user and the store.

[0010] [Electronic Payment Service] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of a configuration for realizing an electronic payment service. The electronic payment service is realized centering around a payment server 100. The payment server 100 communicates with each of, for example, one or more user terminal devices 10, one or more first store terminal devices 50, and one or more second store terminal devices 70 via a network NW. The network NW includes, for example, the Internet, a LAN (Local Area Network), a wireless base station, a provider device, and the like.

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

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

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

[0014] The payment server 100 realizes electronic payment based on the payment information received from the user terminal device 10 or the first store terminal device 50. The first store terminal device 50 may include a POS device and a franchise store server. In that case, the payment information is transmitted from the POS device to the payment server 100 via the franchise store server. In the following description, without particularly distinguishing this, it is assumed that the payment information is transmitted from the first store terminal device 50.

[0015] FIG. 2 and FIG. 3 are sequence diagrams illustrating a rough flow of electronic payment. There may be two patterns, pattern 1 and pattern 2, in electronic payment.

[0016] In the case of pattern 1 shown in FIG. 2 (hereinafter referred to as user scan), the user terminal device 10 in the state where the settlement application 20 is started decodes the store code image 60 by means of an optical reading function (S1). The store code image 60 includes information on the store URL (Uniform Resource Locator). This store URL is obtained by adding information capable of identifying the store to the domain of the electronic payment service, and is associated with a franchise store ID, a store ID, etc. in the payment server 100 (described later). The settlement application 20 transmits first settlement information including the store URL and the account ID to the settlement server 100 (S2). The settlement server 100 searches for store information (described later) from the franchise store ID and the store ID corresponding to the store URL, acquires information on the franchise store name and the store name (S3), and transmits it to the settlement application 20 (S4). The user inputs the settlement amount into the user terminal device 10 on the screen where the franchise store name and the store name are displayed (S5). Then, the user terminal device 10 generates second settlement information including at least the settlement amount and transmits it to the settlement server 100 (S6). The settlement server 100 performs an electronic settlement based on the received second settlement information (S7). Then, the settlement server 100 transmits a settlement completion notice (information for displaying a settlement completion screen) to the settlement application 20 (S8), and the settlement application 20 displays a settlement completion screen (S9). When the store code image 60 is displayed by a display placed in the store, the store code image 60 may include not only the store URL but also information on the settlement amount. In this case, the procedure for the user to input the settlement amount is omitted, and the information on the settlement amount is included in the first settlement information and transmitted to the settlement server 100. Information on the franchise store name and the store name may be included and displayed on the settlement completion screen.

[0017] In the case of Pattern 2 shown in FIG. 3 (hereinafter referred to as store scan), when the payment application 20 is launched, when a payment operation is performed in the payment application 20, when the automatic update timing (for example, every minute) is reached, and at other timings, the payment application 20 sends a request to issue a one-time code to the payment server 100 (S11). The payment server 100 generates a one-time code (S12) and sends 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 in front of the first store terminal device 50, and the first store terminal device 50 decodes the code image by means of an optical reading function and acquires a one-time code or the like (S15). Then, the first store terminal device 50 generates payment information including the one-time code, the payment amount, the franchise ID, the store ID, etc., and sends it to the payment server 100 (S16). The information on the payment amount has been acquired in advance by barcode reading, manual input, or the like. The payment server 100 identifies the user corresponding to the one-time code based on the received information and performs an electronic payment (S17). Then, the payment server 100 sends a payment completion notification to the payment application 20 (S18), and the payment application 20 displays a payment completion screen (S19).

[0018] Note that the electronic payment may be performed in only one of the above patterns. Also, the "account ID" described in FIG. 2 may be other information (for example, a telephone number) that can be used as the identification information of the user. Further, in the store scan, the issuance of the one-time code may be omitted, and the payment application 20 may display a code image generated based on the user's account ID. In that case, instead of identifying the user corresponding to the one-time code, the payment server 100 identifies the user corresponding to the account ID.

[0019] [Payment Server] FIG. 4 is a configuration diagram of the settlement server 100 according to the first embodiment. The settlement server 100 includes, for example, a communication unit 110, a settlement content providing unit 120, a settlement processing unit 130, an information management unit 140, and a storage unit 170. Components other than the communication unit 110 and the storage unit 170 are realized, for example, by a hardware processor such as a CPU executing a program (software). Some or all of these components may be realized by hardware (including a circuit unit; circuitry) such as LSI (Large Scale Integration), ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), FPGA (Field-Programmable Gate Array), or GPU (Graphics Processing Unit), or may be realized by cooperation between software and hardware. The program may be stored in advance in a storage device (a storage device including a non-transitory storage medium) such as an HDD (Hard Disk Drive) or a flash memory, or may be stored in a removable storage medium (a non-transitory storage medium) such as a DVD or a CD-ROM, and may be installed in the storage device when the storage medium is mounted on a drive device. The information management unit 140 further includes an acquisition unit 142, a determination unit 144, and a provision unit 146. Details of these functional units will be described later. The information management unit 140 is an example of the "information processing device" in the claims.

[0020] The storage unit 170 is an HDD, a flash memory, a RAM (Random Access Memory), or the like. The storage unit 170 may be a NAS (Network Attached Storage) device accessible by the settlement server 100 via a network. Information such as user information 172, settlement content information 174, franchise / store information 176, and privilege information 178 is stored in the storage unit 170.

[0021] 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.

[0022] The settlement content providing unit 120 has, for example, the 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 settlement content providing unit 120 appropriately reads necessary content from the settlement content information 174 and provides it to the user terminal device 10. The user terminal device 10 receives various inputs by the user in a state where the content is reproduced by the payment application 20, and transmits the above-mentioned payment information and the like to the payment server 100.

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

[0024] FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of the content of the user information 172. The user information 172 is an example of the user's registration information. The user information 172 includes, for example, a user URL, an account ID, a phone number, a password, as well as an email address, a user ID, name, address, date of birth, registration date, remaining recharge amount, credit payment setting, credit payment limit, credit payment usage amount, available credit payment amount, payment method setting, bank account, credit card number, recharge history information, settlement history information, followed affiliated stores, acquired coupons, acquired points, participating stamp cards, participating campaigns, bookmarks, and other information that are associated. The user URL is used for money transfer processing between users. When newly registering for the electronic payment service, registration of a phone number and a password is required. The account ID is issued to the user by the payment server 100, and the user ID is an ID that the user can optionally set (not necessarily set). Similarly, the email address, and the name, address, and date of birth are also information that the user can optionally set (not necessarily set). The registration date is the date when the user registered for the electronic payment service (the date when the account was created). Hereinafter, an instance of the user (electronic payment account) in which these pieces of information are associated is referred to as an account.

[0025] The remaining balance of the charge indicates the information of the remaining balance of the electronic money set by the user's prior transfer to the account. As means of transfer, there are transfers from the ATM (Automatic Teller Machine) of the designated operator (bank), transfers from the registered bank account, etc. The credit payment setting is the information indicating whether the setting for electronic settlement by credit payment has been completed or not, and is set to either "completed" or "not completed". The credit payment limit is the limit amount of credit payment available per month, the credit payment used amount is the amount of credit payment already used in the current month, and the available credit payment amount is the amount of credit payment available in the current month obtained by subtracting the credit payment used amount from the credit payment limit. Although only one credit payment limit is shown in the figure, in reality, there are further upper limits on a daily basis, etc., and the lower of them may be set as the credit payment limit. Further details of the credit payment will be described later. The settlement method setting is the setting information indicating whether the user conducts an electronic settlement using the remaining balance of the charge or a settlement by credit payment at that time. Each of the bank account and credit card number is the information (account number, card number) of the bank account or credit card number that can receive payments for the electronic payment service. The charge history information is the history of the user's prior transfer to the electronic payment service to increase the remaining balance of the charge. The settlement history information is the information showing the breakdown of the settlements made by the user (date and time, store ID of the store where the purchase action was taken, settlement amount, settlement method, etc.) for each settlement. Details of the followed affiliated stores, acquired coupons, acquired points, participating stamp cards, participating campaigns, and bookmarks will be described later.

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

[0027] Based on the information acquired from the user terminal device 10 and the second store terminal device 70, the information management unit 140 manages the user information 172 and the affiliated store / store information 176. The information management unit 140 performs operations such as adding, editing, and deleting new records for the user information 172, the affiliated store / store information 176, and the privilege information 178.

[0028] [Electronic Settlement] When the settlement information is acquired from the user terminal device 10 or the first store terminal device 50, the settlement processing unit 130 refers to the user information 172 to acquire the "settlement method setting" of the user. For users whose "settlement method setting" is set to "charge balance", the settlement processing unit 130 performs electronic settlement as follows. The settlement processing unit 130 performs electronic settlement, for example, by decreasing the charge balance managed in association with the user ID and increasing the item value of the sales amount of the affiliated store. The item value of the sales amount of the affiliated store is not used as electronic money itself, and the amount corresponding to the item value of the sales amount is transferred to the bank account in a cycle according to the agreement between the affiliated store and the electronic settlement service.

[0029] When the "settlement information" is set to "credit payment" for a user, the settlement processing unit 130 performs electronic settlement as follows. Credit payment is a payment method through cooperation with a credit card company, which is a separate entity from the operator of the electronic payment service. The operator of the electronic payment service acts as the creditor and allows electronic settlement that does not depend on the remaining recharge amount within the credit payment limit. In addition, in order to receive the credit payment service, it may be required to obtain a credit card provided by the operator of the electronic payment service. The amount used for credit payment is settled in a lump sum for one month on the payment date of the following month, for example, by debit from a bank account. In this case, the settlement processing unit 130 performs a provisional settlement by adding the settlement amount to the credit payment usage amount and subtracting the same amount from the available credit payment amount. When the closing date arrives, the processing for debiting the settlement for the current month to the payment date of the following month is performed as described above, or this processing is requested from the operator of the credit card company. If the settlement amount exceeds the available credit payment amount at the time of provisional settlement, an error notification is returned to the settlement application 20.

[0030] [Top screen] FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of the top screen of the settlement application 20. A code image CI is displayed on the top screen. The code image CI includes, for example, a barcode and a QR code. Also, a switching switch SW for switching between performing electronic settlement based on the remaining recharge amount and performing electronic settlement by credit payment is displayed beside the code image CI. Note that the "switch" and "button" are GUIs (Graphical User Interfaces) realized in cooperation with the touch panel. In FIG. 7, "credit" is displayed, which means that the setting is for performing electronic settlement by credit payment. The user can switch between performing electronic settlement based on the remaining recharge amount and performing electronic settlement by credit payment, for example, by swiping the switching switch SW. Also, the top screen includes an operation area OA, a transition button TB1, and a transition button TB2. In the operation area OA, buttons for instructing scanning (start of user scanning), buttons for transferring the remaining recharge amount to other users, buttons for displaying points acquired by the user, buttons for displaying the history of electronic settlements performed by the user, etc., buttons for instructing main operations in electronic settlement are provided. When the transition button TB1 is operated, it transitions to a payment screen that displays the code image used for electronic settlement and the available amount. When the transition button TB2 is operated, it transitions to a screen that displays the available amount in balance payment or credit payment. In FIG. 7, since electronic settlement based on the remaining recharge amount is set, when the transition button TB2 is operated, the available amount in balance payment is displayed.

[0031] Below the operation area OA, for example, a group of buttons (switches) M1 to M2 for launching mini-apps is further displayed. The mini-apps are, for example, apps based on the payment app 20 as a platform. The mini-apps are, for example, application programs developed so that service providers who provide the services of the service server 200 operate within the payment app 20. The service providers develop the mini-apps with reference to the SDK (Software Development Kit), which is a program for app development, technical documents, etc., provided by the administrator of the payment app 20. The mini-apps are, for example, apps that operate when the payment app 20 is launched. For example, when the payment app 20 is installed, part or all of the mini-apps may be installed, or part or all of the mini-apps may be installed from the service server corresponding to the mini-apps. For example, when the mini-app is launched, the mini-app (payment app 20) accesses a service server (not shown) that provides the service corresponding to the mini-app, and the mini-app and the service server cooperate to provide services to the user. In FIG. 7, as an example, the button M1 of the mini-app that provides the function of browsing or acquiring information regarding the coupon provided by the franchise store, and the button M2 of the mini-app that provides the function of browsing or acquiring information regarding the stamp card are displayed. However, buttons for launching various types of mini-apps, such as an investment app for managing the remaining recharge balance and a payment app for paying public transportation fares, may be displayed.

[0032] FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of a method for acquiring and using a coupon by the user terminal device 10. The screen on the left side of FIG. 8 represents a screen displayed on the user terminal device 10 when, for example, the user clicks the button M1 on the top screen of FIG. 7 and accesses the dedicated page of the franchise store that offers the coupon. The franchise store dedicated page includes, for example, an area A1 where summary information of the franchise store is displayed, a button B1 for following the franchise store, an area A2 where detailed information of the franchise store is switchably displayed by tabs, and the like. When the user presses the follow button B1, the payment app 20 transmits information indicating that the follow button B1 has been pressed, together with the user's identification information (for example, account ID), to the payment server 100, and the information management unit 140 stores the identification information (for example, franchise store ID) of the franchise store in the "followed franchise stores" of the user information 172. As a result, for example, each time the franchise store updates the content of the franchise store dedicated page, the payment server 100 notifies the user of the update of the content of the franchise store dedicated page via the payment app 20. That is, the user's following of the franchise store indicates a high degree of interest of the user in the franchise store.

[0033] In FIG. 8, for example, when the user taps "Coupon", which is one of the tabs included in the area A6, coupons that the user can currently use for electronic payment at the store are displayed. When the user, for example, follows the franchise store and presses the button B2 for acquiring a coupon, the payment app 20 transmits information indicating that the acquisition button B2 has been pressed, together with the user's identification information (for example, account ID), to the payment server 100, and the information management unit 140 stores the identification information (for example, franchise store ID) of the franchise store in the "followed franchise stores" of the user information 172 and stores the identification information (for example, coupon number) of the coupon acquired by the user in the "acquired coupons".

[0034] After the user obtains the coupon and the user terminal device 10 executes the electronic payment described above, the payment processing unit 130 determines whether the electronic payment matches the application conditions of the coupon obtained by the user. If it is determined that the electronic payment matches the application conditions of the coupon, a privilege corresponding to the coupon content is granted to the user. Thereafter, the payment application 20 displays, as a payment completion screen, an area A3 for displaying the payment store, an area A4 for displaying the payment amount, and an area A5 for displaying the granted privilege in combination. FIG. 8 shows, as an example, a case where 25 yen in points is granted for a payment of 500 yen in response to the user obtaining a 5% off coupon. In this case, the information management unit 140 adds 25 yen in points to the "acquired points" in the user information 172. When the acquired points have a positive value, the payment processing unit 130 preferentially subtracts the acquired points from the payment amount in the user's next electronic payment, and subtracts the remaining amount from the recharge balance or the available post-payment amount. As another aspect, the coupon may be such that the amount is directly subtracted from the payment amount on the same day without being added as available points for payment. "Acquired points" is an example of "value" in the claims.

[0035] Also, for example, when the user clicks the button M2 on the top screen of FIG. 7, the payment app 20 transitions to a screen for browsing the stamp cards provided by each franchise store. Here, the stamp card means a privilege (e.g., a predetermined number of points) provided to the user in response to the execution of electronic payments that meet a predetermined condition (e.g., a payment of 500 yen or more) set by the franchise store a predetermined number of times (e.g., 5 times). Different from a coupon, the number of electronic payments that meet the predetermined condition is automatically counted by the payment server 100 for the stamp card, and it is automatically provided to the user in response to the execution of the predetermined number of times. When the user executes an electronic payment that meets the predetermined condition for the first time, the payment server 100 stores the identification information of the stamp card as the "participating stamp card" in the user information 172. Although the explanation is omitted in FIG. 5, the user information 172 may further store the number of times the user has executed an electronic payment that meets the predetermined condition. When the user obtains a stamp card, the user can receive points by making an electronic payment at the franchise store where the stamp card was obtained, or can receive a product by presenting the acquired stamp card at the store of the franchise store.

[0036] Also, in the present embodiment, in addition to coupons and stamp cards, campaigns are provided as benefits. Here, a campaign means a benefit of awarding points that can be used for the next settlement to a user who has made an electronic payment that satisfies predetermined conditions set by an electronic payment service or a franchise store (or jointly by them). An upper limit is set for the campaign, and the user can repeatedly use it within the range of the upper limit. When a user executes an electronic payment that satisfies the predetermined conditions for the first time, the settlement server 100 stores the identification information of the campaign as "Campaign in Progress" in the user information 172. Although the explanation is omitted in FIG. 5, the user information 172 may further store the surplus amount obtained by subtracting the settlement amount for which the user has used the campaign from the upper limit. A campaign does not necessarily award points to a user who has made an electronic payment that satisfies the predetermined conditions, and may award points probabilistically (for example, with a 50% probability). Also, for example, multiple candidates (for example, 10%, 5%, 3%, 0%) are prepared for the points awarded in a campaign, and the points to be awarded to a user who has made an electronic payment that satisfies the predetermined conditions are determined probabilistically from among these candidates. When a campaign is provided jointly by an electronic payment service and a franchise store, the source of funds may be provided by the sole responsibility of the electronic payment service, the sole responsibility of the franchise store, or the joint responsibility of the electronic payment service and the franchise store.

[0037] FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example of the content of the privilege information 178. The privilege information 178 is associated with information such as, for example, a privilege ID, a privilege type, a franchise store ID, a target store, usage conditions, and a privilege period. The privilege ID is identification information of a privilege provided by an issuer of the privilege (for example, a franchise store or a local government). The privilege type is information indicating the type of the privilege identified by the privilege ID (that is, a coupon, a stamp, a campaign, etc.). The franchise store ID is identification information for identifying the issuer of the privilege. When the privilege is a campaign, the franchise store ID may be set to blank, or identification information of a subject (for example, a local government) providing the source of the campaign may be stored. The application conditions are information indicating the conditions for electronic payment for which the privilege is applied and the content of the privilege to be granted. The privilege period is information indicating the period during which the application conditions of the issued privilege are valid. The issuer of the privilege can issue the privilege, for example, by inputting the issuance conditions of the privilege on the franchisee interface 72 for the second store terminal device, and the information management unit 140 receiving the input issuance conditions and storing them in the privilege information 178.

[0038] [Offer Presentation] As described above, in the present embodiment, the electronic payment service provides a plurality of types of privileges such as coupons, stamp cards, and campaigns. However, when such a variety of privileges are provided on a single service, in the prior art, when using an electronic payment service that provides a plurality of types of privileges, a user may have difficulty in discovering and utilizing a privilege that is useful to the user.

[0039] Against this backdrop, in the present embodiment, for example, as shown in FIG. 7, an offer button TB3 is provided on the top screen of the payment application 20. When the offer button TB3 is pressed, the payment application 20 transitions to an offer screen for displaying information regarding benefits corresponding to the user. More specifically, when the offer button TB3 is pressed, the payment application 20 transmits information indicating that the button has been pressed, together with the user's identification information, to the payment server 100. The acquisition unit 142 of the payment server 100 acquires the user information 172 of the user. Next, the determination unit 144 determines, based on the user information 172, information regarding one or more types of benefits to be provided to the payment application 20, and the provision unit 146 transmits the determined provision information to the payment application 20. The payment application 20 causes the received provision information to be displayed on the user terminal device 10 as an offer screen. As a result, the user can discover and utilize a benefit that is useful to the user among a plurality of types of benefits. In the following description, some or all of the functions of the acquisition unit 142, the determination unit 144, and the provision unit 146 may be implemented by the payment application 20. Conversely, some or all of the functions of the payment application 20 may be implemented by the acquisition unit 142, the determination unit 144, and the provision unit 146, and the payment application 20 may be responsible only for the display function on the user terminal device 10. Details of the offer screen will be described below.

[0040] [Search widget] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of an offer screen displayed when the "Search" widget is selected. The offer screen includes, for example, a "Search" widget for searching for benefits provided in the vicinity of the user's current location, and a tab TAB1 for switching between the "Search" widget and a "Your Benefit" widget for providing information on benefits for which the user has performed a predetermined operation on the user terminal device 10. FIG. 10 represents, as an example, an offer screen displayed when the "Search" widget is selected from tab TAB1. The offer screen displayed when the "Search" widget is selected is an example of the "First Benefit Information" in the claims, and the offer screen displayed when the "Your Benefit" widget is selected is an example of the "Second Benefit Information" in the claims. In the following description, an example is shown in which the offer screen displayed when the "Search" widget is selected from tab TAB1 and the offer screen displayed when the "Your Benefit" widget is selected can be switched by tab operation, but the present invention is not limited to such a form. For example, the user terminal device 10 may display the information included in these two offer screens together on a single screen, or any format other than a tab (buttons, accordions, carousels, etc.) may be used to make it possible to select any of the information included in the two offer screens for display.

[0041] When the "Search" widget is selected from tab TAB1, the determination unit 144 determines to display on the user terminal device 10, as shown in FIG. 10, for example, a map area MP including a reference position RP which is the current position of the user, a filtering area FL1, and a store information area SA. The current position of the user is, for example, obtained by the settlement app 20 using a positioning device (such as a GPS receiver) provided in the user terminal device 10 and shared with the settlement server 100. The map area MP displays the positions of surrounding stores (two surrounding stores S1 to S2 as an example in FIG. 10) that provide benefits related to the electronic payment service with the reference position RP as a reference. The settlement app 20 receives, for example, franchise / store information 176 and privilege information 178 regarding a predetermined number of stores existing within a predetermined range with the reference position RP as a reference from the settlement server 100 and displays these.

[0042] The settlement app 20 displays a filtering area FL1 for filtering the store card SC displayed at the lower part of the map area MP. More specifically, for example, the settlement app 20 displays on the filtering area FL1 a "All Offers" filter F1, a "Coupon" filter F2, a "Stamp Card" filter F3, a "Campaign" filter F4, etc. In FIG. 10, for the sake of convenience of explanation, the settlement app 20 displays various filters in a two-column configuration on the same screen. However, the settlement app 20 may display various filters in a one-column configuration on the same screen, and for filters that do not fit on the display size of the user terminal device 10, they may be arranged outside the screen in a scrollable form in the left-right direction.

[0043] The "All Offers" filter F1 is a filter that is set by default when the map search function is executed. When this filter F1 is applied, the determination unit 144 determines to sequentially display, as the store information area SA, the surrounding stores that offer at least one type of privilege among all types of privileges such as coupons, stamp cards, and campaigns. At this time, the determination unit 144 determines, for example, a priority for determining the display order of each target surrounding store, and determines to display the store information area SA of each surrounding store in descending order of priority.

[0044] More specifically, the determination unit 144 determines the priority based on indicators such as the distance between the reference position RP and the surrounding store, the reduction rate of the privilege provided by the surrounding store, the similarity between the payment history included in the user information 172 of the user and the franchise of the surrounding store, whether the user follows the franchise of the surrounding store, and the expiration date of the privilege. For example, the determination unit 144 determines that the shorter the distance between the reference position RP and the surrounding store, the higher the priority. Also, for example, the determination unit 144 determines that the higher the reduction rate of the privilege, the higher the priority. Also, for example, the determination unit 144 determines that the higher the frequency of payment by the user at the stores belonging to the category to which the franchise of the surrounding store belongs based on the user's payment history, the higher the priority. Also, for example, the determination unit 144 determines a higher priority when the user follows the franchise of the surrounding store than when not following. Also, for example, the determination unit 144 determines that the closer the expiration date of the privilege, the higher the priority.

[0045] Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 10, for each store, the store information area SA displays information about the store, for example, information related to the store (as an example, in FIG. 10, including the logo of the franchise store, the store name, and information related to the distance from the reference position RP), and also displays information about the benefits provided by each store. For example, in the case of FIG. 10, the store information area SA1 related to "AA Convenience Store BB Store" includes a display area SA1_1 indicating that the store provides a 5% discount coupon and an operation area SA1_2 for obtaining the coupon. When the user presses the operation area SA1_2, the settlement application 20 executes processing corresponding to the coupon, that is, processing for obtaining the coupon. Similarly, the store information area SA2 related to "CC Drugstore DD Store" includes a display area SA2_1 indicating that the store provides a stamp card with a 100-point reduction and an operation area SA2_2 for checking the details of the stamp card. When the user presses the operation area SA2_2, the settlement application 20 executes processing corresponding to the stamp card, that is, processing for transitioning to a screen for checking the details of the stamp card. Similarly, when the benefit is a campaign, the operation area SA2_2 serves as an operation area for transitioning to a screen for checking the details of the campaign.

[0046] Note that in FIG. 10, for the sake of simplicity of explanation, the store information area SA is displayed such that each store provides a single benefit. However, when a store provides multiple types of benefits, the determination unit 144 arranges the display areas and operation areas related to each benefit, for example, from left to right in descending order of the reduction rate. For benefits that do not fit within the display size of the user terminal device 10, they may be arranged outside the screen in a scrollable form in the left-right direction.

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

[0048] When the "Campaign" widget is selected from the tab TAB2 and "Today" is selected from the filtering area FL2, the determination unit 144 determines, for example, to display detailed information DA regarding campaigns that are valid today and can be participated in within a predetermined distance from the reference position RP, which is the current position of the user. The campaigns displayed at this time may be campaigns that the user is not currently participating in (that is, the first payment satisfying the campaign conditions has not been executed). The detailed information DA includes detailed information DA1, DA2,... regarding each campaign, and the detailed information includes the name of the campaign, the upper limit frame, the privilege expiration date, a "Details" button for transitioning to a further detailed page, and the like. Furthermore, when a date representing a future time point is selected from the filtering area FL2, the campaigns to be displayed do not have to be in progress at the current time (in other words, they may be scheduled to be held).

[0049] In this embodiment, the detailed information DA1, DA2, ··· regarding each campaign includes bookmark buttons BM1, BM2, ··· for the user to bookmark the campaign. When the user presses any of the bookmark buttons BM, the payment application 20 transmits information indicating that the bookmark button BM has been pressed to the payment server 100, and the information management unit 140 stores the identification information of the campaign bookmarked by the user in the "Bookmark" of the user information 172. The bookmarked campaign information is displayed by operating the "Your Benefits" widget as described later. As described above, different from coupons, campaigns are applied according to the user's electronic payment without the need for a prior acquisition operation. Therefore, by providing the bookmark function, the user can prevent forgetting the campaigns he / she is interested in. Such a bookmark function is not limited to being provided in the lower display of the offer screen shown in FIG. 11. For example, in the offer screen shown in FIG. 10, it may be provided when the "Campaign" filter F4 is applied from the filtering area FL1. Also, the bookmark function may be provided for the stamp card. In particular, when a campaign or a stamp card is not currently being held and is scheduled to be held in the future, by providing such a bookmark function, the user can prevent forgetting the campaign or stamp card he / she wishes to use.

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

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

[0052] As described with reference to FIG. 10, when the "Search" widget is selected, information regarding the benefits of stores close to the reference position RP, which is the current position of the user, is displayed. Therefore, in the lower display of the offer screens shown in FIGS. 11 and 12, the condition "within a predetermined distance from the reference position RP" may be excluded. In this way, when the "Search" widget is selected on the offer screen, the user can first grasp the benefits available at locations close to the current position, and at the lower part thereof, can grasp information regarding campaigns or coupons estimated to be useful to the user regardless of the distance from the current position. Furthermore, the user can prevent forgetting the campaigns in which he / she is interested by using the bookmark function. That is, according to the present embodiment, in an electronic payment service that provides various types of benefits, it is possible to assist the user in discovering and utilizing benefits that are useful to the user.

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

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

[0055] For example, when the "Offline Payment" button BA3 is pressed, the payment application 20 displays a list of stores of affiliated stores that offer benefits and support offline payment. Also, for example, when the "Online Payment" button BA4 is pressed, the payment application 20 displays a list of stores of affiliated stores that offer benefits and support online payment. Further, for example, when the "Task-Based" button BA5 is pressed, the payment application 20 displays a list of stores of affiliated stores that offer benefits and provide benefits through the execution of some task (such as opening a securities account, introducing to non-users, etc.). Also, for example, when the "User-Exclusive" button BA6 is pressed, the payment application 20 displays a list of stores of affiliated stores that offer benefits only to specific users. Here, "User-Exclusive" means that, for example, the beneficiaries of the benefits are limited to users of services (such as communication carrier services and information distribution services) that are in partnership with the electronic payment service.

[0056] FIG. 14 is a diagram showing an example of the lower display of the offer screen in FIG. 13. The screen shown in FIG. 14 is displayed, for example, when the user scrolls the offer screen shown in FIG. 13. The lower screen of the offer screen includes, for example, an information area IA for providing top charts (i.e., recommendation information based on the popularity of all users) and a category area CA for selecting categories. More specifically, for example, the payment application 20 displays selection items such as "Popular Franchises", "Popular Online Payments", and "Near You" on the information area IA. For example, when "Popular Franchises" is selected, the payment application 20 sequentially displays a list of benefits with a large number of uses by all users of the electronic payment service. Alternatively, the payment application 20 may sequentially display a list of benefits with a large amount of electronic payment amount by all users of the electronic payment service. Also, for example, when "Popular Online Payments" is selected, the payment application 20 displays a list of stores of franchises with a large number of online payment uses (or payment amounts) by all users of the electronic payment service. Also, for example, when "Near You" is selected, the payment application 20 displays a list of stores of franchises with a large number of uses (or payment amounts) by all users of the electronic payment service and existing within a predetermined range from the current location of the user.

[0057] Also, for example, the payment application 20 displays selection items such as "Coupons", "Stamp Cards", "Campaigns", and "Gift Vouchers" on the category area CA. More specifically, for example, when one of these selection items is selected, the payment application 20 displays a list of information regarding the benefits of the selected category. When a category is selected, the payment application 20 may evaluate the benefits based on any indicators (and combinations thereof) such as the high reduction rate, the proximity of the expiration date, and the large number of uses, and display the list of benefits in descending order of the evaluation.

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

[0059] The "Your Benefits" widget is a widget for aggregating and displaying one or more benefits obtained by the user when the user performs a predetermined operation (such as an acquisition operation, a bookmark operation, an electronic payment that satisfies the conditions of a privilege), such as coupons obtained by the user, campaigns bookmarked or participated in, and stamp cards participated in. More specifically, for example, when the "Your Benefits" widget is selected from the tab TAB1 and "Expiring Soon" is selected from the filtering area FL3, the determination unit 144 aggregates and displays the coupons obtained by the user, campaigns bookmarked or participated in, and stamp cards participated in in ascending order of the expiration date of the privilege. FIG. 15 represents, as an example, a case where the detailed information display area DA aggregates and displays detailed information DA1 regarding the coupons obtained by the user, detailed information DA2 regarding the campaigns bookmarked, and detailed information DA3 regarding the stamp cards participated in in ascending order of the expiration date of the privilege.

[0060] Since detailed information DA1 is information about the coupons obtained by the user, unlike in FIG. 12, it includes a "Details" button instead of an "Obtain" button. The payment app 20 may transition the screen to the coupon details page (for example, a page dedicated to franchise stores) in response to a click by the user. Also, as shown in FIG. 15, when the user bookmarks a campaign, the payment app 20 may display, in the detailed information DA2, an indication that the bookmark BM1 has been bookmarked. Further, when the user is participating in a campaign, the payment app 20 may display, in the detailed information DA2, the amount used by the user out of the upper limit of the campaign. Similarly, for the stamp card the user is participating in, the payment app 20 may display, in the detailed information DA3, the progress status of the user (that is, the number of electronic payments the user has made out of the predetermined number of electronic payments required for awarding benefits). In this way, by displaying information about benefits for which the user has performed a predetermined operation using the "Your Benefits" widget, the user can grasp the benefits in which he / she is interested and involved. That is, according to the present embodiment, in an electronic payment service that provides various types of benefits, it is possible to assist the user in discovering and utilizing useful benefits.

[0061] FIG. 16 is a diagram showing another example of an offer screen displayed when the "Your Benefits" widget is selected. As an example, FIG. 16 represents an offer screen displayed when the "Your Benefits" widget is selected from the tab TAB1 and the map display MD is selected from the selection area DM.

[0062] When the map display MD is selected from the display mode selection area DM, the determination unit 144 determines to display the position information of the stores S1, S2, etc. corresponding to each piece of detailed information DA1, DA2, ··· displayed in the detailed information display area DA on the map MP. For example, in the case of FIG. 16, the determination unit 144 determines to display on the map MP the position information S1 of the store that provides the coupon corresponding to the detailed information DA1 and the position information S3 of the store that provides the stamp card corresponding to the detailed information DA3, and the settlement application 20 displays the position information of these stores on the map MP. Thereby, the convenience for the user to grasp the privileges that the user is interested in or involved in can be improved.

[0063] FIG. 17 is a diagram showing another example of an offer screen displayed when the "Your Benefits" widget is selected. As an example, FIG. 17 represents an offer screen displayed when the "Your Benefits" widget is selected from the tab TAB1 and the calendar display MD is selected from the selection area DM. The calendar display CD displays the expiration dates of the benefits corresponding to each piece of detailed information DA1, DA2, ··· associated with the dates of the calendar.

[0064] For example, in the case of FIG. 17, the determination unit 144 determines to display on the calendar the expiration date of July 15 of the coupon corresponding to the detailed information DA1 and the expiration date of July 31 of the stamp card corresponding to the detailed information DA2, and the settlement application 20 displays these dates on the calendar. In particular, as shown in FIG. 17, when the user selects a date from the calendar, the settlement application 20 may focus on the selected date FC and highlight the benefit with the selected date as the expiration date (for example, in the case of FIG. 17, highlighting the thick frame of the detailed information DA1). Also, as another aspect, when the user selects a date from the calendar, the settlement application 20 may display only the detailed information DA regarding the benefit with the selected date as the expiration date.

[0065] FIG. 18 is a diagram showing an example of a detailed screen of a calendar display CD. As shown in FIG. 18, the settlement application 20 may display an outline of benefits (franchise store, store name, local government name, type of benefit, reduction rate, etc.) corresponding to each detailed information DA1, DA2,... on the date of the calendar. As another aspect, the settlement application 20 may also display an outline of benefits on the date of the calendar for coupons, bookmarks, or campaigns that the user has not acquired or stamp cards that the user is not participating in. In this case, when the date of the calendar is selected, the settlement application 20 may arrange an acquisition button for acquiring the coupon, a detailed confirmation button for checking the details of the campaign or stamp card, and a bookmark BM button at the bottom of the calendar display CD. Thereby, the user can visually grasp the expiration dates of various types of benefits provided by the electronic payment service. That is, according to the present embodiment, in an electronic payment service that provides various types of benefits, it is possible to assist the user in discovering and utilizing useful benefits.

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

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

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

[0069] Note that in the processing of the above sequence diagram, the payment application 20 may execute the processing of S12 and S13. In other words, the payment application 20 may implement all of the processing of the sequence diagram in FIG. 19.

[0070] According to the embodiment described above, user information regarding the user of the electronic payment service is acquired, and based on the acquired user information, information regarding one or more types of benefits of the electronic payment service, which is the provision information for providing to the user's user terminal device, is determined, and the determined provision information is provided to the user terminal device. Thereby, when providing an electronic payment service that offers various types of benefits, it is possible to assist the user in discovering and utilizing useful benefits.

[0071] As described above, the embodiments for implementing the present invention have been described using the embodiments. However, the present invention is not limited to such embodiments, and various modifications and substitutions can be made without departing from the gist of the present invention.

Description of Reference Numerals

[0072] 10 User terminal device 20 Payment application 100 Payment server 120 Payment content provision unit 130 Payment processing unit 140 Information management unit 142 Acquisition unit 144 Determination unit 146 Provision unit 170 Storage unit

Claims

1. An acquisition unit that acquires user information relating to a user of the electronic payment service; a determination unit that determines, based on the acquired user information, benefit information related to a plurality of types of benefits of the electronic payment service, which benefit information is to be provided to a user terminal device of the user; a providing unit that provides the determined benefit information to the user terminal device, the determination unit determines to aggregate privilege information related to a privilege for which a predetermined operation defined for each of the plurality of types of privileges has been executed among the plurality of types of privileges displayed on the user terminal device, and to provide the aggregated privilege information to the user terminal device. Information processing device.

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

3. the providing unit provides the first benefit information and the second benefit information to the user terminal device in a switchable or selectable format on the same screen. The information processing device according to claim 2 .

4. the predetermined operation is an operation of bookmarking one or more of the benefits, including a benefit currently activated and a benefit to be activated in the future, among the plurality of types of benefits; the determination unit determines to aggregate benefit information related to one or more bookmarked benefits and provide the aggregated benefit information to the user terminal device. The information processing device according to claim 1 .

5. the predetermined operation is an operation for acquiring a coupon from among the plurality of types of benefits, The determination unit determines to aggregate benefit information related to acquired coupons and provide the aggregated benefit information to the user terminal device; The coupon is provided to the user's electronic payment service account when the user performs a pre-acquired operation and performs an electronic payment that satisfies a predetermined condition. The information processing device according to claim 1 .

6. the predetermined operation is an operation of participating in a stamp card among the plurality of types of benefits by executing an electronic payment, The determination unit determines whether to aggregate benefit information related to the participating stamp cards and provide the benefit information to the user terminal device; The stamp card is a card that adds value to the user's electronic payment service account by making a plurality of electronic payments that satisfy a predetermined condition without the user having to perform a prior acquisition operation. The information processing device according to claim 1 .

7. the providing unit provides the aggregated benefit information to the user terminal device in a calendar format in association with a benefit expiration date linked to the benefit information. The information processing device according to claim 1 .

8. The computer Acquire user information about users of electronic payment services, determining, based on the acquired user information, benefit information relating to a plurality of types of benefits of the electronic payment service, to be provided to a user terminal device of the user; providing the determined benefit information to the user terminal device; determining to aggregate privilege information relating to privileges for which a predetermined operation defined for each of the plurality of types of privileges has been performed among the plurality of types of privileges displayed on the user terminal device, and to provide the aggregated privilege information to the user terminal device; Information processing methods.

9. On the computer, Obtain user information about users of electronic payment services, determining, based on the acquired user information, benefit information relating to a plurality of types of benefits of the electronic payment service, which benefit information is to be provided to a user terminal device of the user; Providing the determined benefit information to the user terminal device; determining whether to aggregate privilege information related to a privilege for which a predetermined operation defined for each of the plurality of types of privileges has been executed among the plurality of types of privileges displayed on the user terminal device, and to provide the aggregated privilege information to the user terminal device; program.

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