Application program and point display method

Abstract

To improve user convenience while enabling points given by a point service to be used as common points. [Solution] A payment program PR1 stored in a terminal 10 causes a processing device 130 to function as an acquisition unit 130a, a determination unit 130b, and a display control unit 130c. The acquisition unit 130a acquires a first number of points entered by a user as part of the purchase price of a product at a product purchasing site managed by a member store of a first payment service, and a second number of points available to the user in the first payment service. The determination unit 130b determines a third number of points by subtracting the first number of points from the second number of points. The display control unit 130c displays the third number of points on a display device 140 as the number of points available to the user for purchasing products.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to an application program and a method for displaying the number of points. [Background technology]

[0002] Point services that award points according to the payment amount at the time of payment and also allow the awarded points to be used for at least part of the payment amount are becoming popular. Patent Document 1 discloses a technology that enables each branch to enhance sales promotion services that encourage repeat visits by using a dual service of common points issued by multiple branches and branch points that can be issued by each branch. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2009-1168381 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] Point services are sometimes provided as separate services from payment services that provide payment methods. In such cases, points awarded by the point service may be considered as common points that can be applied to part of the purchase price of a product, regardless of the payment method. When using such common points to pay for a product, the process may be as follows: first, on the product purchase website, a user specifies the number of common points to be applied to the purchase price, then selects a payment service to be used to pay for the purchase price, and then completes the procedures for the selected payment service.

[0005] However, in the above process flow, inconveniences can arise when the user is required to specify the number of points to be applied to the payment amount in the payment service (hereinafter referred to as "appropriated points"). When proceeding with the payment service in the above process flow, the number of points available to the user as applied points has been reduced by the number of points specified as common points. However, if the user forgets that they have used some of their points as common points, an error due to insufficient points may occur during the payment service process, preventing further processing, and reducing convenience. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] An application program according to one embodiment of the present disclosure causes a processing device of a terminal to perform the following operations: obtain a first number of points entered by a user as part of the purchase price of a product at a product purchase site managed by a member store of a first payment service and a second number of points available to the user at the first payment service; determine a third number of points by subtracting the first number of points from the second number of points; and display the third number of points on a display device of the terminal used by the user as the number of points available to the user to purchase the product.

[0007] Furthermore, a method of displaying the number of points according to one embodiment of the present disclosure includes the following: a terminal used by the user acquires a first number of points input by the user as part of the purchase price of a product at a product purchase site managed by a member store of a first payment service and a second number of points available to the user at the first payment service; the terminal determines a third number of points by subtracting the first number of points from the second number of points; and the terminal used by the user displays the third number of points as the number of points available to the user for purchasing the product. Includes. [Effects of the Invention]

[0008] According to the present disclosure, the third number of points obtained by subtracting the first number of points input in advance by the user as common points from the second number of points can be displayed on the terminal, thereby improving user convenience. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0009] [Figure 1] 1 is a block diagram showing an example configuration of a payment system 1 including a terminal 10 that stores a payment program according to an embodiment of an application program of the present disclosure. [Figure 2] 10 is a block diagram showing an example of a management table TBL stored in the point server 30. FIG. [Figure 3] 1 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of a terminal 10. FIG. [Figure 4] 10 is a diagram showing an example of a first payment screen GA displayed on a display device 140 of the terminal 10. FIG. [Figure 5] 10 is a diagram showing an example of a selection screen GB displayed on the display device 140 of the terminal 10. FIG. [Figure 6] 10 is a diagram showing an example of a second payment screen GC displayed on the display device 140 of the terminal 10. FIG. [Figure 7] FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of a payment server 20. [Figure 8] FIG. 2 is a sequence diagram showing the flow of communication in the payment system 1. [Figure 9] 10 is a flowchart showing the process flow of a payment request process SA150 executed by the processor 130 of the terminal 10 according to the payment program PR1. [Figure 10] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of a second payment screen GD of the modified example (3). DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0010] (A. Embodiment) FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a payment system 1 including a terminal 10 according to an embodiment of the payment device of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 1, in addition to the terminal 10, the payment system 1 includes a payment server 20, a point server 30, and an affiliated store server 50. In FIG. 1, a user U who uses the terminal 10 is indicated by a dotted line. As shown in FIG. 1, the terminal 10, the payment server 20, the point server 30, and the affiliated store server 50 are connected to a communication network NW by wire or wirelessly. The communication network NW is, for example, the Internet.

[0011] The terminal 10 is a computer device equipped with a communication function for communicating with other devices via a communication network NW and a program execution function. The terminal 10 in this embodiment is a smartphone, but may also be a tablet terminal, a notebook personal computer, or the like. The terminal 10 is not limited to portable computer devices such as smartphones, tablet terminals, or notebook personal computers, but may also be a stationary computer device such as a stationary personal computer. Although one terminal 10 is illustrated in FIG. 1, multiple terminals 10 may be included in the payment system 1.

[0012] The payment server 20 is a computer device for providing a payment service (hereinafter referred to as payment service A) that mediates payments in commercial transactions conducted via the communication network NW. The payment server 20 is operated and managed by a business operator (hereinafter referred to as business operator X) that provides the payment service. The payment service A is an example of a first payment service in the present disclosure. When a user U uses the payment service A, an application program dedicated to the payment service A must be installed on the terminal 10. In this embodiment, the application program is pre-installed on the terminal 10.

[0013] The point server 30 is a computer device for providing a point service (hereinafter, point service C) that awards points (hereinafter, points PA) according to the payment amount. The point server 30 is operated by an operator X. In this embodiment, payment service A and point service C are provided by the same operator, but the former and the latter may be provided by different operators. The points PA awarded by point service C can be used to cover at least a portion of the payment amount in payment service A, with 1 point equaling 1 yen, for example. The point server 30 stores a management table TBL. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of the management table TBL. As shown in FIG. 2, the management table TBL stores the number of points PA held by a user who has registered to use point service C, in association with user identification information for uniquely identifying the user. Note that the user identification information in this embodiment is information that uniquely identifies a user who has registered to use point service C, and is also information that uniquely identifies a user of payment service A. A user U in this embodiment is a user who has registered to use point service C, and the user identifier of user U is "UID_1." FIG. 2 shows that the number of points held by user U in point PA is 5375 points.

[0014] In this embodiment, when a payment is processed by the payment server 20, a completion notice indicating the details of the payment is sent from the payment server 20 to the point server 30. This completion notice includes the user identification information of the user who made the payment and the number of points PA allocated to the payment amount. The point server 30 updates the number of points held by the user who made the payment according to the payment details indicated in the completion notice. For example, if the payment server 20 sends a completion notice to the point server 30 indicating that user U has made a payment by allocating 100 points of points PA to part of the payment amount and that the number of points generated in connection with the payment is 0, the point server 30 updates the number of points held, which is stored in the management table TBL in association with user U's user identification information "UID_1," to 5375-100+0=5275.

[0015] The affiliated store server 50 is a computer device operated by a retail business (hereinafter referred to as business Y) that is affiliated with both payment service A and point service C. The affiliated store server 50 is a computer device for realizing a product purchasing site (hereinafter referred to as purchasing site W) operated and managed by business X. A user U can access the purchasing site W using a terminal 10 and purchase various products. Payment service A can be used to pay for the purchase of these products, and points corresponding to this payment are awarded by point service C, and the user can use the points he or she holds to pay at least a portion of the purchase price.

[0016] In this embodiment, business operator Y is also a member of another payment service (hereinafter referred to as payment service B) different from payment service A. Therefore, payment service B can also be used to pay for the purchase price of a product at purchase site W. In other words, at purchase site W, either payment service A or payment service B can be selected as the payment method for the purchase price of a product. Therefore, in this embodiment, points PA awarded by point service C can be applied to at least a portion of the purchase price of the product to make a payment using payment service B. In this embodiment, points PA can be applied to the purchase price of a product at purchase site W and can also be applied to the payment amount in payment service A, so they are called "common points." In this embodiment, the payment amount is the purchase price of the product minus the number of points PA applied as common points.

[0017] In this embodiment, when a user of terminal 10 makes an application to purchase a product at purchase site W and selects payment service A as the payment method for the purchase price, payment information indicating the payment details is notified from affiliated store server 50 to payment server 20. Payment server 20 instructs terminal 10 to launch the dedicated application program described above. Thereafter, user U can pay the purchase price using payment service A using terminal 10 operating in accordance with this dedicated application program.

[0018] Fig. 3 is a block diagram showing an example configuration of the terminal 10. As shown in Fig. 3, the terminal 10 includes a communication device 110, a storage device 120, a processing device 230, a display device 140, an input device 150, and a bus 160 that interconnects these devices.

[0019] The communication device 110 includes, for example, a wireless communication circuit. The communication device 110 communicates with other devices wirelessly via a communication network NW. Specific examples of other devices that communicate with the communication device 110 include the affiliated store server 50 and the payment server 20.

[0020] The display device 140 includes a liquid crystal display and a drive circuit for the liquid crystal display. The display device 140 displays various images under the control of the processing device 130. The input device 150 is, for example, a transparent touch sensor that covers the display area of ​​the display device 140. In this embodiment, the display device 140 and the input device 150 form a touch panel. The input device 150 detects a touch operation by a user. The input device 150 provides operation content data representing the detected operation content to the processing device 130. By exchanging this operation content data, the user's operation performed on the input device 150 is transmitted to the processing device 130. The input device 150 may include an operator such as a numeric keypad, or may also include a pointing device such as a mouse.

[0021] The storage device 120 is a recording medium readable by the processing device 130. The storage device 120 includes, for example, a non-volatile memory and a volatile memory. The non-volatile memory is, for example, a ROM (Read Only Memory), an EPROM (Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory), and an EEPROM (Electrically Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory). The volatile memory is, for example, a RAM (Random Access Memory). The storage device 120 stores a web browser and a payment program PR1. Note that the web browser is not shown in FIG. 3. The web browser is used to view web pages of the purchase site W. The payment program PR1 is a dedicated application program for using the payment service A. The payment program PR1 is an example of an application program of the present disclosure.

[0022] The processing device 130 includes one or more central processing units (CPUs). The one or more CPUs are an example of one or more processors. Each of the processors and CPUs is an example of a computer. The processing device 130 reads the web browser from the storage device 120 when an instruction to run a web browser is received via an operation on the input device 150. The processing device 130 then executes the web browser read from the storage device 120. The processing device 130, operating in accordance with the web browser, accesses the affiliated store server 50 when the address of the purchasing site W is entered via an operation on the input device 150. The processing device 130, operating in accordance with the web browser, displays a login screen, a product selection screen for selecting products to purchase, a first payment screen GA for performing payment procedures at the affiliated store, and a selection screen GB for selecting a payment method, in accordance with data (e.g., HTML (HyperText Markup Language) data) returned from the affiliated store server 50. The login screen and product selection screen are not particularly different from the corresponding screens on conventional purchasing sites, and therefore detailed description thereof will be omitted. The first payment screen GA and the selection screen GB will be described below.

[0023] FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of the first payment screen GA. Viewing the first payment screen GA, a user can specify the number of points PA to be used as common points, the payment method, and the delivery date and time, and can confirm the order details. The input field GA1 in FIG. 4 allows the user U to input the number of points PA to be used as common points toward the purchase price of the product. FIG. 4 shows an example in which 100 points are used toward the purchase price of the product. The tag GA2 in FIG. 4 is a tag that allows the user U to select a payment method. When the tag GA2 is pressed, the processing device 130 displays a selection screen GB on the display device 140. The selection screen GB will be described in detail later. The tag GA3 in FIG. 4 is a tag that allows the user U to select a delivery date and time. When the tag GA3 is pressed, the processing device 130 displays a list on the display device 140 that allows the user to select "morning," "afternoon," or "not specified" as the delivery date and time. FIG. 4 illustrates an example in which the delivery date and time is "not specified." The order details GA4 include the quantity, unit price, shipping fee, subtotal, and total price of the product requested for purchase. The subtotal is the amount obtained by multiplying the unit price of the product by the quantity of the product requested for purchase, plus shipping fee. The subtotal is calculated for each product. The total price is the sum of the subtotal prices for multiple products, and this total price is the purchase price. Note that if the user purchases only one type of product, the total price will be equal to the subtotal. In this embodiment, on the first payment screen GA, the user U enters the number of common points to be applied to part of the product purchase price, and then presses tag GA2.

[0024] In this embodiment, when tag GA2 is pressed, the processing device 130 transmits a request message to the affiliated store server 50 requesting the transmission of data representing the selection screen GB. Upon receiving this request message, the affiliated store server 50 returns data representing the selection screen GB (e.g., HTML data) to the terminal 10. The processing device 130 displays the selection screen GB shown in FIG. 5 in accordance with this data. As shown in FIG. 5, the selection screen GB has a radio button GB1 for selecting payment service A and a radio button GB2 for selecting payment service B as payment methods for the purchase price of the product. By viewing the selection screen GB, user U can select payment service A as the payment method for the purchase price of the product by pressing radio button GB1. Similarly, user U can also select payment service B as the payment method for the purchase price of the product by pressing radio button GB2.

[0025] When an operation to select payment service A is performed on the terminal 10 while the selection screen GB is displayed, the processing device 130 sends a notification to the affiliated store server 50 including the user's selection (i.e., that payment service A has been selected), the user identification information of user U, and the payment information. The payment information includes the purchase price of the product and the number of common points to be applied to part of the purchase price. Upon receiving this notification, the affiliated store server 50 sends a selection notification to the payment server 20 indicating that payment service A has been selected by the user with user identification information "UID_1." This selection notification includes the user identification information and payment information of the user who selected payment service A. Upon receiving this notification, the payment server 20 sends an activation instruction to the terminal 10 to instruct it to activate the payment program PR1. This activation instruction includes a command to activate the payment program PR1, the payment information included in the selection notification, and the number of points held by the user indicated by the user identification information included in the selection notification.

[0026] Upon receiving a start instruction from the communication device 110, the processing device 130 reads the payment program PR1 from the storage device 120 and starts executing the read payment program PR1. According to this embodiment, when the user U selects payment service A on the purchase site W, the payment program PR1 is automatically started on the terminal 10, improving convenience for the user U. By executing the payment program PR1, the processing device 130 functions as an acquisition unit 130a, a determination unit 130b, a display control unit 130c, a reception unit 130d, and a payment request unit 130e.

[0027] The acquisition unit 130a acquires the number of points held by the user U (hereinafter referred to as the second number of points) and the number of common points to be used as part of the purchase price (hereinafter referred to as the first number of points) from the startup instruction received from the payment server 20 using the communication device 110.

[0028] The determination unit 130b determines the payment amount by subtracting the amount corresponding to the first point number from the purchase price included in the payment information. The settlement unit 130b also determines the third point number by subtracting the first point number from the second point number.

[0029] The display control unit 130c displays a second payment screen GC on the display device 140, which includes the payment amount obtained by subtracting the amount corresponding to the first points from the purchase price of the product and the third points. The second payment screen GC is an example of a "payment screen provided by the payment program" in this disclosure. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of the second payment screen GC. If the purchase price is 5,980 yen and the first points are 100 points, the payment amount will be 5,880 yen, as shown in FIG. 6. Note that FIG. 6 also shows that the number of points PA awarded to user U for this payment is 0. Furthermore, by selecting tag GC1 on the second payment screen GC shown in FIG. 6, payment details such as the quantity, unit price, shipping fee, total amount, and first points of the product requested for purchase can be confirmed.

[0030] Furthermore, on the second payment screen GC shown in FIG. 6, the user U can check the number of points PA available for use by selecting tag GC2. Specifically, the third number of points is displayed in the output area GC3 of the second payment screen GC. The user U can also input the number of points PA to be applied to the payment amount (hereinafter, the fourth number of points) in the input area GC4 of the second payment screen GC. This fourth number of points must be equal to or less than the third number of points. Conventionally, the third number of points was not displayed, and the user U might forget that they had used part of the points PA as common points and enter a fourth number of points that exceeded the third number of points, resulting in an error. According to this embodiment, the third number of points is displayed, allowing the user U to accurately grasp the number of points PA available for use and preventing the user U from entering a fourth number of points that exceeds the third number of points.

[0031] The reception unit 130d receives input of the fourth number of points on the second payment screen GC. The reception unit 130c also receives payment instructions input by the user. When the payment request unit 130e receives a fourth number of points equal to or less than the third number of points and the payment instruction, it sends a payment request including the fourth number of points to the payment server 20. In this case, since the fourth number of points is equal to or less than the third number of points, it is an allocable number of points. Therefore, the payment server 20 does not need to return an error due to insufficient points to the terminal 10. On the other hand, if the fourth number of points exceeds the third number of points, the payment request unit 130d displays an error on the display device 140. The terminal 10 determines whether the fourth number of points exceeds the third number of points, and if so, displays an error, thereby reducing the processing load on the payment server 20. The above is the configuration of the terminal 10.

[0032] Fig. 7 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of the payment server 20. As shown in Fig. 7, the payment server 20 includes a communication device 210, a storage device 220, a processing device 230, and a bus 260 that interconnects these devices.

[0033] The communication device 210 has an interface to which other devices can be connected, and communicates with other devices wirelessly or via a wired connection via the communication network NW. Specific examples of other devices that communicate with the communication device 210 include the affiliated store server 50, the point server 30, and the terminal 10. The storage device 220, like the storage device 120, includes non-volatile memory and volatile memory. Examples of non-volatile memory include ROM, EPROM, and EEPROM. Examples of volatile memory include RAM. The storage device 220 stores the program PR2.

[0034] The processing device 230 includes one or more CPUs. The one or more CPUs are an example of one or more processors. Each of the processor and CPU is an example of a computer. The processing device 230 reads the program PR2 from the storage device 220, for example, when the power (not shown) of the payment server 20 is turned on. The processing device 230 executes the program PR2 read from the storage device 220. The processing device 230 operating in accordance with the program PR2 communicates with the point server 30 to obtain the number of points held by each user of the point service C (hereinafter referred to as point linkage). In addition, the processing device 230 operating in accordance with the program PR2 functions as a start-up control unit 230a and a payment unit 230b.

[0035] Upon receiving the selection notification, the startup control unit 230a generates a startup instruction based on a command to start the payment program PR1, the number of points held through the above-mentioned point linkage, and the payment information included in the received selection notification, and sends the startup instruction to the device corresponding to the user identification information included in the selection notification.

[0036] The settlement unit 230b executes the settlement by deducting the amount corresponding to the fourth number of points included in the settlement request from the settlement amount. According to this embodiment, after the settlement program PR1 is started, the settlement is executed by deducting the fourth number of points entered by the user U, thereby encouraging the use of points by the user U. When the settlement unit 230b completes the settlement, it sends a completion notice indicating the completion of the settlement to each of the terminal 10 and the point server 30. The completion notice sent from the settlement unit 230b to the point server 30 includes the user identification information of the user who made the settlement and the number of points used by the user (the sum of the first number of points and the fourth number of points). When the point server 30 receives the completion notice, it updates the management table TBL according to the content of the received completion notice. For example, if the completion notification received from the payment server 20 includes user U's user identification information "UID_1" and the number of points used by user U is 5375 (first number of points: 100, fourth number of points: 5275), the point server 30 updates the number of points held stored in the management table TBL in association with the user identification information "UID_1" to 0.

[0037] Next, the operation of each device included in the payment system 1 will be described using the example of a case where user U purchases a product at purchase site W and selects payment service A as the payment method. Note that in the operation example described below, the processing device 230 of the payment server 20 operates in accordance with program PR2. Figure 8 is a sequence diagram showing the flow of communication in the payment system 1. Figure 8 shows the flow of communication after user U logs in to purchase site W and selects the product he or she wishes to purchase. Note that in the operation example described below, point collaboration between the payment server 20 and point server 30 has already been performed before user U accesses purchase site W. In Figure 8, communication COM1 related to this point collaboration is indicated by a dotted arrow.

[0038] When a user U selects a product they wish to purchase on the terminal 10, which is displaying a product selection screen at the purchasing site W on the display device 140 using a web browser, the processing device 130 sends a communication message MES1 to the affiliated store server 50, requesting the transmission of data representing a first payment screen GA. This communication message MES1 contains identification information indicating the product desired to be purchased and information indicating the quantity to be purchased. Upon receiving the communication message MES1, the affiliated store server 50 generates data representing the first payment screen GA according to the content of the communication message MES1. The affiliated store server 50 then sends a communication message MES2 including the data to the terminal 10.

[0039] When the processing device 130, operating according to the web browser, receives the communication message MES2, it executes the first display process SA110. In the first display process SA110, the processing device 130 displays the first payment screen GA according to the data included in the communication message MES2. As described above, by viewing the first payment screen GA, the user U can specify the number of points PA to be used as common points, the payment method, and the delivery date and time, and confirm the order details. When the user U inputs an instruction to use 100 points PA as common points and to select a payment method (presses tag GA2), the processing device 130 transmits a communication message MES3 to the affiliated store server 50, requesting the transmission of data representing a selection screen GB. When the affiliated store server 50 receives the communication message MES3, it generates data representing the selection screen GB. Then, the affiliated store server 50 transmits a communication message MES4 including the data to the terminal 10.

[0040] When the processing device 130, operating in accordance with the web browser, receives the communication message MES4, it executes the second display process SA120. In the second display process SA120, the processing device 130 displays the selection screen GB in accordance with the data included in the communication message MES4. As described above, upon viewing the selection screen GB, the user U can select either payment service A or payment service B as the payment method for the purchase price of the product by pressing radio button GB1 or radio button GB2. When the user U selects payment service A, the processing device 130 transmits a notification MES5 to the affiliated store server 50, which includes the user's selection and the user U's user identification information. Upon receiving the notification MES5, the affiliated store server 50 transmits a selection notification MES6 to the payment server 20, indicating that payment service A has been selected by the user with user identification information "UID_1." The selection notification MES6 includes the user identification information "UID_1" and payment information.

[0041] The processing device 230 executes a start control process SB110 in response to reception of the selection notification MES6. In the start control process SB110, the processing device 230 functions as a start control unit 230a. In the start control process SB110, the processing device 230 generates a start instruction MES7 based on the number of owned points corresponding to the user identification information included in the received selection notification MES6 and the payment information included in the selection notification MES6, and transmits the start instruction MES7 to the terminal (terminal 10 in this operation example) corresponding to the user identification information included in the selection notification MES6.

[0042] When the processing device 130 receives the notification MES7, it launches the payment program PR1. The processing device 130, operating in accordance with the payment program PR1, executes the acquisition process SA130. In the acquisition process SA130, the processing device 130 functions as an acquisition unit 130a. In the acquisition process SA130, the processing device 130 acquires the number of points held by the user U (i.e., the second number of points), the number of common points to be applied to part of the purchase price (i.e., the first number of points), and the purchase price from the start instruction MES7 received from the payment server 20 using the communication device 110.

[0043] In determination processing SA140 subsequent to acquisition processing SA130, the processing device 130 functions as determination unit 130b. In determination processing SA140, the processing device 130 determines the payment amount by subtracting the amount corresponding to the first number of points from the purchase price included in the payment information. Also, in determination processing SA140, the processing device 130 determines the third number of points by subtracting the first number of points acquired in acquisition processing SA130 from the second number of points acquired in acquisition processing SA130. In third display processing SA150 subsequent to determination processing SA140, the processing device 130 functions as display control unit 130c. In third display control processing SA150, the processing device 130 functions as display control unit 130c. That is, in step SA150, the processing device 130 displays the third number of points and the payment amount by displaying a second payment screen GC on the display device 140.

[0044] Then, the processing device 130 executes payment request processing SA160 following the third display processing SA130. FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing the processing flow of the payment request processing SA160. In the payment request processing SA160, the processing device 130 first executes the processing of step SA1610. In step SA1610, the processing device 130 functions as the reception unit 130d. That is, in step SA1610, the processing device 130 receives input of the fourth number of points on the second payment screen GC. Also, in step SA1610, the processing device 130 receives a payment instruction. Upon receiving the payment instruction in step SA1610, the processing device 130 executes the processing of step SA1620.

[0045] In steps SA1620, SA1630, and SA1640, processing device 130 functions as payment request unit 130e. In step SA1620, processing device 130 determines whether the fourth number of points entered on second payment screen GC exceeds the third point. If the fourth number of points entered on second payment screen GC exceeds the third point, the determination result of step SA1620 is "Yes." Conversely, if the fourth number of points entered on second payment screen GC is equal to or less than the third point, the determination result of step SA1620 is "No."

[0046] If the determination result of step SA1620 is "No", processing device 130 executes the processing of step SA1630 and terminates payment request processing SA160. In step SA1630, processing device 130 transmits a payment request MES8 including the user identification information of the user making the payment, identification information indicating the affiliated store selling the product, and the fourth point number to payment server 20. In contrast, if the determination result of step SA1620 is "Yes", processing device 130 outputs an error to display device 140 indicating that the fourth point number exceeds the third point number (step SA1640), and executes the processing from step SA1610 onwards again. The above is the flow of the processing in the payment request processing SA160.

[0047] When the processing device 230, operating according to the program PR2, receives the payment request MES8, it executes the payment process SB120. In the payment process SB120, the processing device 230 functions as the payment unit 230b. That is, in the payment process SB120, the processing device 230 executes the payment by subtracting the amount corresponding to the fourth point number included in the payment request MES8 from the payment amount. Upon completing the payment process SB120, the processing device 230 transmits a completion notification MES9 to the terminal 10 and also transmits a completion notification MES10 to the point server 30. Upon receiving the completion notification MES10, the point server 30 updates the management table TBL according to the contents of the received completion notification MES10. The above is the operation of this embodiment.

[0048] As described above, according to this embodiment, the third point number obtained by subtracting the first point number previously input by the user U from the second point number representing the number of points PA held by the user U can be displayed on the terminal 10, thereby improving convenience for the user U.

[0049] (B: Transformation) The above embodiment can be modified as follows. (B-1: Variation 1) In the above embodiment, the selection of payment service A at purchase site W triggers automatic activation of payment program PR1 in terminal 10. However, instead of automatically activating payment program PR1, processing device 130 may display a screen on display device 140 that prompts user U to select whether or not to activate payment program PR1, and payment program PR1 may be activated in response to user U's operation on the screen.

[0050] (B-2: Variation 2) In the above embodiment, the payment program PR1 is pre-stored in the storage device 120 of the terminal 10, but the payment program PR1 may be manufactured or sold separately. When selling the payment program PR1, the payment program PR1 may be provided to the purchaser by being written to a computer-readable recording medium such as a flash ROM and distributed, or by being downloaded via a telecommunications line. Similarly, the program PR2 may be manufactured or sold separately.

[0051] (B-3: Variation 3) In the above embodiment, the affiliated store server 50 transmitted payment information to the payment server 20, including the number of points designated by the user as common points. However, the payment information may include a flag indicating that common points have been designated, rather than the number of points. In this case, the processing device 130, operating according to the payment program PR1, displays the second payment screen GD shown in FIG. 10 on the display device 140 instead of the second payment screen GC when the payment information included in the activation instruction received from the payment server 20 includes the flag. The second payment screen GD does not include the tag GC2, output area GC3, or input area GC4, and points PA cannot be applied to the payment amount. This prevents errors caused by insufficient points during the payment service process. Furthermore, the processing device 130, operating according to the payment program PR1, may display the second payment screen GD on the display device 140 when the payment information included in the activation instruction received from the payment server 20 includes the flag, and may display the second payment screen GC on the display device 140 when the payment information includes the first number of points.

[0052] (C:Other) (1) In the above-described embodiment, ROM and RAM are exemplified as storage device 120 and storage device 220, but storage device 120 and storage device 220 may also be a flexible disk, a magneto-optical disk (e.g., a compact disk, a digital versatile disk, a Blu-ray (registered trademark) disc), a smart card, a flash memory device (e.g., a card, a stick, a key drive), a CD-ROM (Compact Disc-ROM), a register, a removable disk, a hard disk, a floppy (registered trademark) disk, a magnetic strip, a database, a server, or other suitable storage medium.

[0053] (2) In the above-described embodiments, the described information, signals, etc. may be represented using any of a variety of different technologies. For example, data, instructions, commands, information, signals, bits, symbols, chips, etc. that may be referred to throughout the above description may be represented by voltages, currents, electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or magnetic particles, optical fields or photons, or any combination thereof.

[0054] (3) In the above-described embodiment, input and output information may be stored in a specific location (for example, memory) or may be managed using a table. Input and output information may be overwritten, updated, or added to. Output information may be deleted. Input information may be transmitted to another device.

[0055] (4) In the above-described embodiment, the determination may be made based on a value represented by one bit (0 or 1), a Boolean value (true or false), or a comparison of numerical values ​​(e.g., comparison with a predetermined value).

[0056] (5) The order of the process procedures, sequences, flowcharts, etc. illustrated in the above-described embodiments may be rearranged unless inconsistent. For example, the methods described in this disclosure present elements of various steps using an example order, and are not limited to the particular order presented.

[0057] (6) Each function illustrated in FIG. 3 is realized by any combination of at least one of hardware and software. Similarly, each function illustrated in FIG. 7 is realized by any combination of at least one of hardware and software. Furthermore, the method of realizing each functional block is not particularly limited. That is, each functional block may be realized using a single device that is physically or logically coupled, or may be realized using two or more physically or logically separated devices that are connected directly or indirectly (for example, using wires, wirelessly, etc.) and these multiple devices. A functional block may be realized by combining the single device or the multiple devices with software.

[0058] (7) The programs exemplified in the above-described embodiments should be broadly construed to mean instructions, instruction sets, code, code segments, program code, programs, subprograms, software modules, applications, software applications, software packages, routines, subroutines, objects, executable files, threads of execution, procedures, functions, etc., regardless of whether they are called software, firmware, middleware, microcode, hardware description language, or by other names.

[0059] Software, instructions, information, etc. may also be transmitted or received over a transmission medium. For example, if software is transmitted from a website, server, or other remote source using wired technologies (such as coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, Digital Subscriber Line (DSL)), and / or wireless technologies (such as infrared, microwave), then these wired and / or wireless technologies are included within the definition of transmission media.

[0060] (8) In each of the foregoing embodiments, the terms "system" and "network" are used interchangeably.

[0061] (9) The information, parameters, etc. described in this disclosure may be expressed using absolute values, relative values ​​from a predetermined value, or corresponding other information.

[0062] (10) In the above-described embodiments, the terms "connected," "coupled," or any variation thereof refers to any direct or indirect connection or coupling between two or more elements, and may include the presence of one or more intermediate elements between two elements that are "connected" or "coupled" to each other. The coupling or connection between elements may be physical, logical, or a combination thereof. For example, "connected" may be read as "access." As used in this disclosure, two elements may be considered to be "connected" or "coupled" to each other using at least one of one or more wires, cables, and printed electrical connections, as well as electromagnetic energy having wavelengths in the radio frequency range, microwave range, and optical (both visible and invisible) range, as some non-limiting and non-exhaustive examples.

[0063] (11) In the above embodiments, the phrase "based on" does not mean "based only on," unless otherwise specified. In other words, the phrase "based on" means both "based only on" and "based at least on."

[0064] (12) As used in this disclosure, the terms "determining" and "determining" may encompass a wide variety of actions. "Determining" and "determining" may include, for example, judging, calculating, computing, processing, deriving, investigating, looking up, searching, inquiring (e.g., searching in a table, database, or other data structure), ascertaining, and the like. "Determining" and "determining" may also include receiving (e.g., receiving information), transmitting (e.g., sending information), input, output, accessing (e.g., accessing data in memory), and the like. Furthermore, "judgment" and "decision" can include regarding resolving, selecting, choosing, establishing, comparing, etc. as having been "judgment" or "decision." In other words, "judgment" and "decision" can include regarding some action as having been "judgment" or "decision." Furthermore, "judgment (decision)" can be interpreted as "assuming," "expecting," "considering," etc.

[0065] (13) In the above embodiments, when "include," "including," and variations thereof are used, these terms are intended to be inclusive, similar to the term "comprising." Furthermore, the term "or" as used in this disclosure is not intended to be an exclusive or.

[0066] (14) In this disclosure, where articles are added by translation, such as a, an, and the in English, the disclosure may include that the nouns following these articles are plural.

[0067] (15) In this disclosure, the term "A and B are different" may mean "A and B are different from each other." The term may also mean "A and B are each different from C." Terms such as "separate" and "combined" may also be interpreted in the same way as "different."

[0068] (16) Each aspect / embodiment described in this disclosure may be used alone, in combination, or switched depending on the implementation. Notification of predetermined information (e.g., notification that "X is true") is not limited to explicit notification, but may be implicit (e.g., not notifying the predetermined information).

[0069] (D: Aspects understood from the above-described embodiments or modifications) Although the present disclosure has been described in detail above, it is clear to those skilled in the art that the present disclosure is not limited to the embodiments described herein. The present disclosure can be implemented in modified and altered forms without departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure as defined by the claims. Therefore, the description of the present disclosure is intended to be illustrative and does not have any limiting meaning on the present disclosure. The following aspects can be understood from at least one of the above-described embodiments or modifications.

[0070] An application program according to a first aspect of the present disclosure causes a processing device of a terminal to execute the following operations: acquire a first number of points entered by a user as part of a product purchase price at a product purchasing site managed by a member store of a first payment service and a second number of points available to the user in the first payment service; determine a third number of points by subtracting the first number of points from the second number of points; and display the third number of points on a display device of the terminal used by the user as the number of points available to the user for purchasing the product. According to the application program of this aspect, the third number of points obtained by subtracting the first number of points entered by the user in advance from the second number of points held by the user can be displayed on the terminal, thereby improving user convenience.

[0071] In the application program according to the second aspect (an example of the first aspect) of the present disclosure, the obtaining includes obtaining the purchase price, the determining includes determining a payment amount obtained by subtracting an amount corresponding to the first points from the purchase price, and the displaying includes displaying the payment amount on a display device. According to the application program of this aspect, the payment amount obtained by subtracting an amount corresponding to the first points already entered on the product purchasing site from the purchase price can be displayed on the terminal, allowing the user to recognize the amount that needs to be paid.

[0072] An application program according to a third aspect (an example of the first aspect) of the present disclosure causes the processing device to execute the following steps: accept a fourth number of points to be applied to the payment amount input by the user; accept a payment instruction input by the user; and, if the fourth number of points equal to or less than the third number of points and the payment instruction are accepted, send a payment request including the fourth number of points to a payment device that provides the first payment service. According to the application program of this aspect, the fourth number of points is equal to or less than the third number of points, and therefore is an applicable number of points. Therefore, the payment device does not need to return an error due to insufficient points to the terminal.

[0073] An application program according to a fourth aspect (an example of the third aspect) of the present disclosure causes the processing device to display an error on the display device when the received fourth point number exceeds the third point number. According to the application program of this aspect, an error can be displayed when the fourth point number exceeds the third point number, thereby reducing the processing load on the payment device.

[0074] A point display method according to a fifth aspect of the present disclosure includes the steps of: acquiring, by a terminal used by a user, a first number of points entered by the user as part of the purchase price of a product at a product purchase site managed by a member store of a first payment service and a second number of points available to the user in the first payment service; determining, by the terminal, a third number of points obtained by subtracting the first number of points from the second number of points; and displaying, by the terminal used by the user, the third number of points available to the user for purchasing the product. According to the point display method of this aspect, the third number of points obtained by subtracting the first number of points entered by the user in advance from the second number of points held by the user can be displayed on the terminal, thereby improving user convenience. [Explanation of symbols]

[0075] 1...payment system, 10...terminal, 20...payment server, 30...point server, 50...member server, NW...communication network, 110, 210...communication device, 120, 220...storage device, 130, 230...processing device, 140...display device, 150...input device, 160, 260...bus, 130a...acquisition unit, 130b...decision unit, 130c...display control unit, 130d...reception unit, 130e...payment request unit, 230a...launch control unit, 230b...payment unit, PR1...payment program, PR2...program.

Claims

1. Acquiring a first number of points input by a user as part of the purchase price of a product at a product purchase site managed by a member store of a first payment service and a second number of points available to the user in the first payment service; determining a third number of points by subtracting the first number of points from the second number of points; displaying the third number of points on a display device of a terminal used by the user as the number of points that the user can use to purchase the product; An application program that causes the processing device of the terminal to execute the above.

2. said obtaining includes obtaining the purchase price; The determining step includes determining a payment amount by subtracting an amount corresponding to the first number of points from the purchase price; The displaying includes displaying the payment amount on a front display device. The application program according to claim 1 .

3. accepting a fourth number of points input by the user, the fourth number of points being applied to a settlement amount obtained by subtracting an amount corresponding to the first number of points from the purchase price; accepting a payment instruction input by the user; when receiving the fourth point number that is equal to or less than the third point number and the instruction for the payment, transmitting a payment request including the fourth point number to a payment device that provides the first payment service; The application program according to claim 1 , which is executed by the processing device.

4. 4. The application program according to claim 3, further causing the processing device to display an error on the display device when the received fourth point number exceeds the third point number.

5. A terminal used by the user acquires a first number of points input by the user as part of the purchase price of a product at a product purchase site managed by a member store of a first payment service and a second number of points available to the user in the first payment service; The terminal determines a third number of points by subtracting the first number of points from the second number of points; a terminal used by the user displays the third number of points as the number of points that the user can use to purchase the product; How points are displayed, including:

Images