Payment server, payment method, program, and payment app

Abstract

Facilitate group payments. [Solution] A payment server that provides electronic payment services in cooperation with a payment app running on a user terminal device, and is equipped with a payment processing unit that acquires payment information indicating the details of the payment via communication and performs payment processing, and when the payment processing unit receives via communication a group payment specification to make a group payment before electronic payment, it sends individual payment information including the divided individual payment amounts to each of the payment apps of multiple users.

Description

[Technical Field]

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

[0002] Conventionally, when a payment is made by a terminal device used by a user reading information linked to the payee and transmitting the read information, the payment amount, and information linked to the user to a payment server as information related to the payment, an invention of an output control program has been disclosed that causes a computer to execute the following steps (Patent Document 1): an acquisition procedure for acquiring information related to the payment from the payment server, identifying the payment object corresponding to the payment amount included in the information related to the payment from a database managed by the payee in which information related to the payment object is registered, and acquiring information related to the identified payment object; and an output control procedure for transmitting payment-related information including the information related to the payment object acquired by the acquisition procedure to a specified output device and outputting the payment-related information. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Patent Publication No. 2021-125085 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] Conventional techniques have not always been able to adequately support group payments when multiple users make purchases at the same store.

[0005] The present invention has been made in consideration of these circumstances, and one of its objectives is to provide a payment server, a payment method, a program, and a payment app that can favorably support group payments. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] One aspect of the present invention is a payment server that provides electronic payment services in cooperation with a payment app running on a user terminal device, and is equipped with a payment processing unit that acquires payment information indicating the content of the payment via communication and performs payment processing, and when the payment processing unit receives via communication a group payment designation to make a group payment before electronic payment, it transmits individual payment information including the divided individual payment amounts to each of the payment apps of multiple users. [Effects of the Invention]

[0007] According to one aspect of the present invention, group payments can be favorably supported. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 illustrates basic aspects of brick-and-mortar electronic payment. [Figure 2] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a configuration for performing electronic payment (terminal payment) using a payment application. [Figure 3] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of the contents of user information 172. [Figure 4] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of the contents of affiliated store / shop information 174. [Figure 5] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an outline of a processing flow when a user scan is performed. [Figure 6] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an outline of the processing flow when a store scan is performed. [Figure 7] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of a configuration for performing electronic payment (card payment) using a payment card. [Figure 8] 10 is a flowchart (part 1) showing an example of the flow of processing related to group payment. [Figure 9] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of the contents of a group payment statement 176. [Figure 10] 10 is a flowchart (part 2) showing an example of the flow of processing related to group payment. [Figure 11] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a process of offsetting payment amounts. [Figure 12] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of a display screen of the payment application 20. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0009] [overview] Hereinafter, with reference to the drawings, embodiments of a payment server, a payment method, a program, and a payment app according to the present invention will be described. A payment app, a payment server, and a credit card server work together to provide an electronic payment service as a payment system. The electronic payment service supports payments for the purchase of goods and services at a store. A store is, for example, a physical store (real-world store) existing in real space, but may also include a virtual store for e-commerce transactions. A virtual store may also include a store operated by an entity other than the operator of the electronic payment service. In such a case, when making a payment for a purchase at the virtual store, the user is controlled to transition to the interface screen of the electronic payment service. In an electronic payment service, a store is treated as belonging to, for example, an affiliated store (brand), and electronic payments when a purchase is made at a store are primarily made between the user and the affiliated store. Alternatively, electronic payments may be made between the user and the store.

[0010] The payment app and payment system of the present invention ideally support multiple people paying for their own purchases (hereinafter referred to as group payment) after purchasing goods or services (e.g., eating and drinking at a restaurant) and when a group payment designation is accepted by the payment server before electronic payment. First, we will explain electronic payment services in general, and then we will explain the processing for group payment.

[0011] [Electronic payment methods at brick-and-mortar stores] FIG. 1 illustrates the basic aspects of brick-and-mortar electronic payments. Electronic payments are generally carried out by three parties: a medium M held by a user U, store equipment E, and a payment system S. The medium M may be a portable computer device such as a smartphone or a credit card. The store equipment E resides in a physical brick-and-mortar store (hereinafter simply referred to as the store) in real space and may include a POS device, a wireless communication device, a credit card reader, a printed code image such as a QR Code (registered trademark), or a display device displaying the code image. In brick-and-mortar electronic payments, information that can identify the user and information about the payment amount are first shared unidirectionally or bidirectionally between the medium M and the store equipment E. At this time, either the medium M or the store equipment E optically reads various information from a code image displayed by the other, provides information via near-field communication (NFC), or reads the PAN (primary account number) using a credit card reader. Then, either the medium M or the store equipment E (the party that obtains information from the other) transmits the payment information required for the payment to the payment system S via a network NW. Both the medium M and the store equipment E may send some information to the payment system S. The payment system S manages various information about the user U and performs electronic payments between the store and the user U in various ways. Electronic payments are performed using either or both of a prepaid system and a postpaid system, or by other methods. In addition, electronic payments may also include so-called online shopping, which is performed between the user's terminal device and the payment system. The network NW includes, for example, the Internet, a LAN (Local Area Network), a wireless base station, a provider device, etc. The various devices that communicate via the network NW, which will be described below, are assumed to have communication devices such as network cards and wireless communication modules.

[0012] [Configuration (Terminal Payment)] 2 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration for performing electronic payment (terminal payment) using a payment app. This electronic payment is performed mainly by a payment app 20 running on a user terminal device 10, which is one of the media M, one or more store payment terminals 30 and one or more store code images 40, which are one of the store facilities E, and a payment server 100, which constitutes part of a payment system S. The payment server 100 communicates with the user terminal device 10, the store payment terminal 30, and one or more information terminals 50 via a network NW.

[0013] The user terminal device 10 is a portable terminal device such as a smartphone or tablet. 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 central processing unit (CPU), etc. In the user terminal device 10, a processor such as a CPU executes a payment application 20, which operates in cooperation with a payment server 100 to provide electronic payment services to users. The payment application 20 is installed on the user terminal device 10 from, for example, an application distribution server (not shown) and controls the camera, communication device, touch panel, etc. of the user terminal device 10. In the following description, the terms "send information to the user terminal device 10 (or receive / acquire information from the user terminal device 10)" and "send information to the payment application 20 (or receive / acquire information from the payment application 20)" may be used interchangeably, but these terms are merely different expressions and are not intended to distinguish between them.

[0014] The store payment terminal 30 is installed, for example, in a store. The store payment terminal 30 is a computer device (or a collection of these) that has at least a product price acquisition function, an optical reading function, a program execution function, and a communication function. The store payment terminal 30 includes a so-called POS (Point of Sale) device, and the POS device may have a product price acquisition function and an optical reading function.

[0015] The store code image 40 is placed in a store and is a code image such as a QR code printed on a paper or plastic medium. The store code image 40 may be displayed on a display placed in the store (or on a terminal device such as a smartphone or tablet).

[0016] The information terminal 50 is used by the operator of the affiliated store who oversees the stores. In electronic payment services, customers who provide goods or services are treated as affiliated stores (brands), and one or more stores exist under the affiliated store. An affiliated store may operate only one store. The information terminal 50 is a smartphone, tablet terminal, personal computer, etc. An affiliated store interface 55 runs on the information terminal 50. The affiliated store interface 55 may be an affiliated store app or a web page displayed by a general-purpose browser. The affiliated store interface 55 accepts coupon settings and the like from the affiliated store operator and transmits them to the payment server 100. By executing the affiliated store interface 55, the information terminal 50 may have the function of displaying a code image corresponding to the store code image 40 or reading a code image displayed by the user terminal device 10 (in the latter case, an optical reading function is required).

[0017] The payment server 100 communicates with the credit card server 200 via a network NW. The payment server 100 has, for example, a content provider 110, an information management unit 120, a payment processing unit 130, and a storage unit 170. The components other than the storage unit 170 are realized by, for example, a hardware processor such as a CPU executing a program (software). Some or all of these components may be implemented using a large scale integration (LSI), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmable gate array (FPGA), or the like. The program may be realized by hardware (including circuitry) such as a Gate Array (GPU) or a Graphics Processing Unit (GPU), or may be realized by a combination of software and hardware. The program may be stored in advance in a storage device (a storage device with a non-transitory storage medium) such as a hard disk drive (HDD) or flash memory, or may be stored in a removable storage medium (a non-transitory storage medium) such as a DVD or CD-ROM, and installed in the storage device by inserting the storage medium into a drive device.

[0018] The storage unit 170 is a hard disk drive (HDD), flash memory, RAM (Random Access Memory), etc. The storage unit 170 may be a NAS (Network Attached Storage) device that the payment server 100 can access via a network. The storage unit 170 stores information such as user information 172, affiliated store / shop information 174, and group payment details 176.

[0019] The content providing unit 110 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 content providing unit 110 provides the content to the user terminal device 10 in the form of a web page, and provides the user terminal device 10 with parameters required for the payment application 20 to render an image.

[0020] The information management unit 120 edits, adds, deletes, etc., user information 172 and affiliated store / shop information 174, and manages them.

[0021] 3 is a diagram showing an example of the contents of user information 172. User information 172 is information in which, for example, user URL, account ID, phone number, password, registration date, charge balance, electronic money type, terminal payment method, card payment method, various history information, identity verification flag, name, address, date of birth, email address, bank account, deferred payment settings, deferred payment condition information, registered group, incomplete group payment information, P2P remittance history, chat history, and other information are associated with each other. Hereinafter, a user instance (electronic payment account) in which this information is associated may be referred to as an account. In the figure, items marked with "-" indicate that they are not set.

[0022] The user URL is used for remittance processing between users. When registering for the electronic payment service, registration of a phone number and password is required. The account ID is issued to the user by the payment server 100. The registration date is the date on which the user registered for the electronic payment service (the date on which the account was created). The charge balance is information indicating the balance of electronic money that the user has set by transferring money to the account in advance. Remittance methods include depositing money into an ATM (Automatic Teller Machine) of a designated service provider (bank) or transferring money from a registered bank account. The type of electronic money is information indicating, for example, whether the electronic money can be withdrawn or can only be used for electronic payments. The terminal payment method is setting information indicating whether the user will make electronic payment using the charge balance (balance payment) or by deferred payment in terminal payment. The card payment method is setting information indicating whether the user will make electronic payment using the charge balance (balance payment) or by deferred payment in card payment. The various history information includes a charge history, which is a history of the user's previous transfers to the electronic payment service to increase the charge balance, and a payment history, which shows the details of each payment made by the user (date and time, store ID of the store where the purchase was made, affiliated store ID, payment amount, payment method, etc.). The friend list is a list of identification information (which may be account ID, user URL, or other information) of communication partners in the user-to-user communication function.

[0023] The identity verification flag is information indicating whether the user has completed identity verification using an ID document. Deferred payment can be selected if identity verification has been completed, and the user with account ID "002" in the figure has not completed identity verification and can only select balance payment as the terminal payment method. The bank account is the account number of a bank account that can be used to deposit funds into the electronic payment service. Deferred payment settings is information indicating whether the settings have been completed to make deferred payment available. Deferred payment condition information is information indicating various conditions such as the deferred payment limit and the amount used this month. The registered group is a group of users registered in advance as a group of users who will make group payments, as described below. A registered group is represented, for example, by the account IDs of other users. Incomplete group payment information is information on electronic payments that have been individually requested as group payments but have not yet been paid.

[0024] 4 is a diagram showing an example of the contents of affiliated store / store information 174. The affiliated store / store information 174 includes, for example, a first table 174A in which an affiliated store ID and a store ID are associated with a store URL, a second table 174B in which an affiliated store ID is associated with an affiliated store name and sales amount (described above), and a third table 174C in which a store ID is associated with a store ID. In addition to this information, the affiliated store / store information 174 may also include information such as the category of the affiliated store or store, the store's location, and payment patterns.

[0025] The payment processing unit 130 performs various processes for electronic payment. There are two methods for terminal payment: a first method (user scan) and a second method (store scan), which will be explained below.

[0026] FIG. 5 shows an overview of the process flow when a user scan is performed. First, the user terminal device 10, with the payment application 20 running, reads and decodes the store code image 40 using its optical reading function (S1). The store code image 40 contains store URL information. The payment application 20 sends first payment information, including the store URL and the user's account ID, to the payment server 100 (S2). The payment server 100 searches the affiliated store / store information 174 using the affiliated store ID and store ID corresponding to the store URL, acquires information about the affiliated store name and store name (S3), and sends this to the payment application 20 (S4). The user enters the payment amount into the payment application 20 on the screen displaying the affiliated store name and store name (S5). The payment application 20 then generates second payment information including at least the payment amount and sends it to the payment server 100 (S6).

[0027] If the "Terminal Payment Method" in the user information 172 of the user is set to "Balance Payment," the payment processing unit 130 of the payment server 100 performs electronic payment based on the received second payment information (S7-1). At this time, the payment processing unit 130 performs electronic payment by, for example, decreasing the charge balance managed in association with the user ID and increasing the item value of the affiliated store's sales proceeds. The item value of the affiliated store's sales proceeds is not used as electronic money itself, for example, but rather the amount corresponding to the item value of the sales proceeds is transferred to a bank account in a cycle determined by an agreement between the affiliated store and the electronic payment service. On the other hand, if the "Terminal Payment Method" is set to "Deferred Payment," the payment processing unit 130 transmits the first payment information and the second payment information to the credit card server 200 to request electronic payment (S7-2). The credit card server 200 performs electronic payment by adding the payment amount to the user's monthly usage amount based on the received information and deducting the monthly usage amount from the user's bank account after the closing date (S7-3).

[0028] Then, the payment processing unit 130 sends a payment completion notice (information for displaying a payment completion screen) to the payment app 20 via the content providing unit 110 (S8), and the payment app 20 displays the payment completion screen (S9). When the store code image 40 is displayed on a display installed in the store, the store code image 40 may include information on the payment amount in addition to the store URL. In this case, the procedure for the user to input the payment amount is omitted, and the information on the payment amount is included in the first payment information and sent to the payment server 100. Information on the affiliated store name and store name may be included and displayed on the payment completion screen.

[0029] FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an overview of the processing flow when a store scan is performed. First, when the payment app 20 is launched, when a payment operation is performed using the payment app 20, when an automatic update timing (e.g., every minute) occurs, and at other timings, the payment app 20 sends a request to issue a one-time code to the payment server 100 (S11). The payment processing unit 130 of the payment server 100 generates a one-time code (S12) and sends it to the payment app 20 (S13). The payment app 20 displays a code image, such as a QR code or barcode, generated based on the one-time code (S14). The user holds (presents) the display surface of the user terminal device 10 over the store payment terminal 30, and the store payment terminal 30 reads and decodes the code image using its optical reading function to obtain the one-time code, etc. (S15). The store payment terminal 30 then generates payment information including the one-time code, payment amount, affiliated store ID, store ID, etc., and sends it to the payment server 100 (S16). The payment amount information is acquired in advance by reading a barcode or manually entering it.

[0030] The payment processing unit 130 of the payment server 100 identifies the user corresponding to the one-time code based on the received information, and if the "terminal payment method" in the user information 172 of the user is set to "balance payment," it performs electronic payment based on the received second payment information (S17-1). The processing content at this time is the same as the processing of S7-1 in FIG. 5. On the other hand, if the "terminal payment method" is set to "post-payment," the payment server 100 transmits the first payment information and the second payment information to the credit card server 200 to request electronic payment (S17-2). The credit card server 200 adds the payment amount to the user's monthly usage amount based on the received information, and performs electronic payment by deducting the monthly usage amount from the user's bank account after the closing date (S17-3).

[0031] Then, the payment processing unit 130 transmits a payment completion notification to the payment application 20 via the content providing unit 110 (S18), and the payment application 20 displays a payment completion screen (S19).

[0032] 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, issuing a one-time code may be omitted in store scanning, 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.

[0033] It should be noted that the "post-payment" settlement may be performed within the settlement server 100, rather than being managed by the credit card server 200. In this case, the components such as the settlement card 60 and the credit card server 200 may be omitted.

[0034] [Configuration (Card Payment)] 7 is a diagram showing an example of a configuration for performing electronic payment (card payment) using a payment card. This electronic payment is performed mainly using a payment card 60, which is one of the media M, a credit card processing terminal 70, which is one of the store facilities E, a payment server 100, which constitutes part of a payment system S, and a credit card server 200. The credit card server 200 communicates with the credit card processing terminal 70 via a network NW.

[0035] The credit processing terminal 70 is installed in the store, similar to the in-store payment terminal 30. The credit processing terminal 70 includes, for example, a credit card reader and a POS device. The credit card terminal reads a personal identification number (PIN) from an inserted or held-up credit card and compares it with the PIN entered by the user. It also transmits a primary account number (PAN) read from the credit card to the credit card server 200 via the POS device. The POS device cooperates with the credit card terminal to transmit information such as the payment amount to the credit card server 200. A payment agent (acquirer) server may be interposed between the credit processing terminal 70 and the credit card server 200; however, for simplicity, the following description omits the server. The payment card 60 is, for example, similar to a commonly used credit card, with a communication chip embedded in the card substrate. The communication chip incorporates a storage medium storing the PIN and communicates with an external device via a contactor (or a wireless antenna). Alternatively, the payment card 60 may be a magnetic card. The information (messages) sent and received when using a credit card include an authorization message for authentication and a sales message for conveying the payment amount, but detailed explanations distinguishing between these will be omitted below.

[0036] The credit card server 200 communicates with the payment server 100 via a network NW. The credit card server 200 includes, for example, an information management unit 210, a credit interface 220, a payment allocation unit 230, a credit payment processing unit 240, and a memory unit 270. The components other than the memory unit 270 are implemented by, for example, a hardware processor such as a CPU executing a program (software). Some or all of these components may be implemented by hardware (including circuitry) such as an LSI, ASIC, FPGA, or GPU, or may be implemented 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 with a non-transitory storage medium), or may be stored in a removable storage medium (a non-transitory storage medium) such as a DVD or CD-ROM, and installed in the storage device by inserting the storage medium into a drive device. The memory unit 270 stores information such as card user information 272.

[0037] The information management unit 210 edits, adds, deletes, etc., and manages the card user information 272. The card user information 272 is information in which, for example, information unique to a user (e.g., PAN), a card payment method, and the user's account ID (used by the payment server 100) are associated with one another. The card payment method is setting information that indicates whether the user will make electronic payment using the charged balance (balance payment) or deferred payment when making a card payment.

[0038] The credit interface 220 determines whether the BIN (Bank Identification Number) in the PAN included in the message received from the credit processing terminal 70 is a code for the company, and if it is a code for the company, passes the message received from the credit processing terminal 70 to the payment allocation unit 230, and if it is not a code for the company, discards the received message.

[0039] The payment allocating unit 230 refers to the card user information 272 of the user corresponding to the message obtained from the credit interface 220, and determines whether the "card payment method" is set to "post-payment." If the "card payment method" is set to "post-payment," the payment allocating unit 230 notifies the credit interface 220 of this and passes the message obtained from the credit interface 220 to the credit payment processing unit 240. On the other hand, if the "card payment method" is set to "balance payment," the payment allocating unit 230 adds the user's account ID to the message obtained from the credit interface 220 and sends it to the payment server 100, requesting electronic payment. When requested to make electronic payment, the payment server 100 performs the same processes as S7-1 in Figure 5 and S17-1 in Figure 6.

[0040] The credit interface 220 checks the PAN and expiration date, and verifies whether the cumulative payment amount exceeds the current month's upper limit, etc. The credit payment processing unit 240 adds the payment amount to the user's monthly usage amount based on the information contained in the message obtained from the payment allocation unit 230, and performs electronic payment by deducting the monthly usage amount from the user's bank account after the closing date.

[0041] [Group Payment] Below, we will explain group payment performed by the payment app 20 and payment server 100 in cooperation with each other. When the payment processing unit 130 receives a group payment specification via communication to perform group payment before electronic payment, it sends individual payment information including the divided individual payment amounts to each of the payment apps of the multiple users. The group payment specification can be performed via the payment app 20, the store payment terminal 30, or an information terminal 50 (with payment functionality).

[0042] FIG. 8 is a flowchart (part 1) illustrating an example of the processing flow for group payment. In FIGS. 8 and 10, three users (user A, who is a representative user using payment app 20 on behalf of the group, and other users B and C) are making a group payment. In the flowchart of FIG. 8, group payment is designated via payment app 20. First, prior to electronic payment, an operation to designate group payment is performed in the payment app 20 of the representative user at the store (S100). This operation includes, for example, information designating users B and C who will make the group payment together with user A. In the payment app 20 of the representative user, for example, an operation to select a group to make the group payment in this electronic payment from groups registered in advance. Note that an operation to register a new registered group may also be performed. At this time, group payment designation information including information about the group making the group payment is sent to the payment server 100 (S102). Note that in the case of user scanning, the group payment designation information may be sent to the payment server 100 together with the payment information in the next process of S104. On the other hand, in the case of store scanning, information specifying group payment is sent to the settlement server 100, for example, when the code image is updated.

[0043] Next, payment information including the total payment amount is sent to the payment server 100 by the user scan or store scan described above (S104). The payment processing unit 130 of the payment server 100 sends a provisional statement, for example, divided equally by the number of users, to the payment app 20 of user A, according to the information on the user group related to the group payment acquired in S102 (S106). User A's payment app 20 accepts an operation to edit the provisional statement (S108) and returns the edited payment amount for each user to the payment server 100 (S110). Note that in S106, a provisional statement allocated to users for each purchase item by some method may be sent to user A's payment app 20, or a provisional statement may be sent to each of users A, B, and C, with each user specifying their own purchase amount.

[0044] The payment processing unit 130 of the payment server 100 creates a group payment statement 176 based on the edited payment amount returned in S108, and sends an electronic payment approval request to each of the payment applications 20 of users A, B, and C (S112). FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example of the content of the group payment statement 176. The group payment statement 176 includes information such as the affiliated store ID, store ID, date and time of use, total payment amount, and payment amount for each user. Upon receiving the operation to accept the electronic payment approval request, the payment application 20 sends a notification to that effect to the payment server 100 (S114). The payment processing unit 130 then makes individual payments to the users in order of acceptance of the electronic payment approval request (S116). This completes the group payment.

[0045] FIG. 10 is a flowchart (part 2) showing an example of the processing flow for group payment. In the flowchart of FIG. 9, group payment is designated via the store payment terminal 30 or information terminal 50 (which has a payment function). The processing of this flowchart is applied exclusively to store scanning. First, prior to electronic payment, the store payment terminal 30 or information terminal 50 obtains the total payment amount in advance by reading a barcode or manually entering it (S200) and accepts an operation to designate group payment (S202). Next, the store payment terminal 30 or information terminal 50 reads code images from the payment apps 20 of users A, B, and C who will be making the group payment (S204) and identifies the payment amount for each user (S206). The store payment terminal 30 or information terminal 50 transmits the payment amounts for each user to the payment server 100 (S208). The payment processing unit 130 of the payment server 100 then makes individual payments to users A, B, and C (S210).

[0046] Here, when a group payment is made in the form of a lump sum payment by the representative followed by other users paying the representative via P2P remittance or the like, and there are multiple incomplete electronic payments among the electronic payments for which group payment specifications have been accepted (when the aforementioned individual payments are completed through operations by each user rather than immediately), if the individual payments between users can be offset, the payment processor 130 may perform the offsetting of the individual payment amounts. Figure 11 is a schematic diagram illustrating the offsetting process for payment amounts. The payment processor 130 references the group payment details 176 and offsets payments made by a user who is both the payer and the recipient if offsetting is possible. In the illustrated example, user A would need to pay 2,000 yen to user B, user B to user C to 3,000 yen, and user C to user A to 2,500 yen. However, after the offsetting, only 1,000 yen is paid from user B to user C and 500 yen is paid from user C to user A. This reduces the transaction volume in electronic payment services.

[0047] Furthermore, if there are multiple uncompleted electronic payments related to group payments for the user, the payment app 20 may display a list of the representative user's identification information and the individual payment amounts related to the representative user, and accept all of the listed individual payment amounts in a lump sum. FIG. 12 is a diagram showing an example of a display screen of the payment app 20. The payment app 20 acquires uncompleted group payment information included in the user information from the payment server 100 and displays the screen shown in this figure. The screen shown on the left displays individual payment information, and when the Confirm button B1 is pressed, the screen transitions to the screen shown on the right. On the screen shown on the right, a lump sum payment is made by pressing the Payment button B2 in a lump sum payment. In this case, too, the payment destination may be the payment server 100 or the representative's account. In other words, this can also be applied to group payments in which the representative makes a lump sum payment, and then other users pay the representative via P2P remittance or the like.

[0048] According to the embodiment described above, group payments can be favorably supported.

[0049] 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]

[0050] E. Store Facilities M medium S payment system 10 User terminal device 20. Payment App 30 Store payment terminal device 40 Store code image 60 Payment Cards 70 Credit card processing terminal 100 Payment Server 130 Payment processing unit 200 Credit Card Server

Claims

1. A payment server that provides an electronic payment service in cooperation with a payment application that runs on a user terminal device, a payment processing unit that acquires payment information indicating the content of payment through communication and performs payment processing; The payment processing unit When a group payment designation for making a group payment is received by communication before electronic payment, individual payment information including the divided individual payment amounts is sent to the payment apps of the multiple users belonging to a registered group that has been previously registered or newly registered by a representative user among the multiple users, If there are multiple uncompleted electronic payments for users who are not the representative and for whom the group payment designation has been accepted, and if the payments of individual payment amounts between users can be offset, the electronic payment is made for the offset individual payment amounts; The individual payment amounts are determined by the representative editing a provisional statement in which the total payment amount is divided equally among the number of users, or by the multiple users specifying their own purchase amounts. Payment server.

2. the payment processing unit accepts the group payment specification transmitted from the payment app of the representative user used at the store; The payment server according to claim 1.

3. the payment processing unit accepts the group payment specification transmitted from a payment terminal device installed in the store; The payment server according to claim 1.

4. A payment server that provides electronic payment services in cooperation with a payment app that runs on a user terminal device, The payment information indicating the details of the payment is acquired through communication, and the payment is processed. In the payment process, When a group payment designation for making a group payment is received by communication before electronic payment, individual payment information including the divided individual payment amounts is sent to the payment apps of the multiple users belonging to a registered group that has been previously registered or newly registered by a representative user among the multiple users, If there are multiple uncompleted electronic payments for users who are not the representative and for whom the group payment designation has been accepted, and if the payments of individual payment amounts between users can be offset, the electronic payment is made for the offset individual payment amounts; The individual payment amounts are determined by the representative editing a provisional statement in which the total payment amount is divided equally among the number of users, or by the multiple users specifying their own purchase amounts. Payment method.

5. A payment server that provides electronic payment services in cooperation with a payment app running on a user terminal device, The payment information indicating the content of the payment is acquired through communication, and the payment is processed. In the payment process, When a group payment designation for making a group payment is received by communication before electronic payment, individual payment information including the divided individual payment amounts is transmitted to the payment apps of the plurality of users belonging to a registered group that has been previously registered or newly registered by a representative user among the plurality of users, In the case where there are a plurality of uncompleted electronic payments for a user who is not the representative and for whom the group payment designation has been accepted, and if the payments of the individual payment amounts between the users can be offset, the electronic payments are made for the offset individual payment amounts; The individual payment amounts are determined by the representative editing a provisional statement in which the total payment amount is divided equally among the number of users, or by the multiple users specifying their own purchase amounts. Program for.

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