Payment gateway system, payment card system

Abstract

To provide a settlement service that does not require installation of a dedicated settlement application on a user terminal and that can distinguish between different types of credit card agreements that can be used at different stores.SOLUTION: A settlement gateway system according to the present invention receives a tag ID of a contactless communication tag when receiving a settlement request, and specifies an agreement type of a payment card that can be used at an installation location of the contactless communication tag by using the tag ID.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4A

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to settlement processing using a payment card number.

Background Art

[0002] In order to use a payment card such as a credit card in a store, a terminal for reading the credit card is required in the store. On the other hand, in recent years, a mechanism has been proposed in which an NFC (Near Field Communication) tag is installed in a store and a smartphone is brought close to the NFC tag to perform settlement processing between the smartphone and a settlement system.

[0003] The service described in Non-Patent Document 1 below provides the above-described settlement service via an NFC tag by pre-installing an application for settlement processing (Apple Pay in the same document) on a smartphone and registering a prescribed credit card with the application.

[0004] The technology described in Non-Patent Document 2 below also provides a settlement service by bringing a smartphone close to an NFC tag, similar to Non-Patent Document 1. In the technology described in the same document, it is not necessary to install a dedicated application on the smartphone, and settlement processing is possible by web settlement.

Prior Art Documents

Non-Patent Documents

[0005]

Non-Patent Document 1

Non-Patent Document 2

[0006] In the technology described in Non-Patent Document 1, there is no need to install a credit card reader terminal in the store, but on the other hand, a dedicated application must be installed on the smartphone in advance. Therefore, it is difficult to use this technology with mobile devices that are not compatible with the dedicated application.

[0007] The technology described in Non-Patent Document 2 differs from Non-Patent Document 1 in that it does not require a dedicated application. On the other hand, it appears that the latter document does not distinguish between the types of credit card contracts that can be used at each store. Depending on the nature of the payment service, it may be desirable to distinguish between the types of contracts that can be used at each store.

[0008] This invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems, and aims to provide a payment service that does not require the installation of a dedicated payment application on the user terminal and that can distinguish between the types of credit card contracts that can be used at each store. [Means for solving the problem]

[0009] The payment gateway system according to the present invention, upon receiving a payment request, also receives the tag ID of a contactless communication tag, and uses the tag ID to identify the contract type of payment card that can be used at the location where the contactless communication tag is installed. [Effects of the Invention]

[0010] According to the payment gateway system of the present invention, it is possible to distinguish between different types of credit card contracts that can be used at each store without installing a dedicated payment application on the user terminal. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0011] [Figure 1] This is a diagram showing the configuration of payment card system 1. [Figure 2] This is a sequence diagram illustrating the procedure for registering card information with payment card system 1. [Figure 3] This is a sequence diagram illustrating the procedure for registering an NFC tag 21 with a payment card system 1. [Figure 4A] This is a sequence diagram illustrating the procedure for user 31 to make a payment at installation location 2. [Figure 4B] This is a sequence diagram illustrating the procedure for user 31 to make a payment at installation location 2. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0012] Figure 1 is a diagram showing the configuration of a payment card system 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The payment card system 1 is a system that provides payment services using payment cards (e.g., credit cards). The payment card system 1 includes a payment gateway system 11, a tag management system 12, and a payment system 13. The payment gateway system 11 includes a card management unit and a payment processing unit, which will be described later. The operation of these systems will be described later.

[0013] Installation location 2 is, for example, a store that sells goods. Installation location 2 is equipped with an NFC tag 21 (contactless communication tag) and an installation location terminal 22. The NFC tag 21 is installed in place of a credit card reader terminal. When user 31 makes a payment at installation location 2, they bring their user terminal 32 (for example, a smartphone) close to the NFC tag 21. This triggers the payment processing described later between the user terminal 32 and the payment card system 1.

[0014] Figure 2 is a sequence diagram illustrating the procedure for registering card information with the payment card system 1. Before using the payment service provided by the payment card system 1, user 31 registers information about their credit card (card information) with the payment card system 1 according to the sequence in Figure 2.

[0015] In step S201, user 31 submits a credit card application to payment system 13. This application is submitted, for example, on a website provided by payment system 13. After reviewing the application, payment system 13 replies with the result of the review, along with a URL that user 31 will use to register with payment card system 1 to indicate their intention to use the payment service. This reply may be sent as a response to the application if the review is completed immediately, or it may be sent by email, for example, if the reply is to be sent at a later date.

[0016] The payment system 13 notifies the payment gateway system 11 of the payment card number issued after the membership screening process. This payment card number does not necessarily need to be notified to the user 31. If the payment card number is not notified to the user 31, the payment card itself does not need to be issued to the user 31; it is sufficient to simply notify the user that the payment card has become usable, so the user 31 can immediately use the payment service using that payment card (however, the registration process described later will be required).

[0017] The settlement system 13 notifies the settlement gateway system 11 of the contract type of the payment card in addition to the payment card number. The contract type is a type that distinguishes the merchandise of the payment card. For example, the gold card and the regular card in a credit card have different contract types.

[0018] In step S202, the user 31 accesses the URL received from the settlement system 13 at the end of S201 and registers the intention to use the settlement service. This URL is an address for accessing the settlement gateway system 11. When the settlement gateway system 11 receives the registration request, it requests the user 31 for personal authentication. The user 31 inputs the authentication information and sends it to the settlement gateway system 11. The authentication information can be notified to the user 31 together with the URL in S201, for example. If the settlement gateway system 11 can authenticate the user, it registers the user 31 as a user of the payment card system 1. Further, the correspondence relationship between the authentication information and the payment card number is stored as card data. Thereby, in subsequent settlement requests, the user 31 can perform settlement only by presenting his / her authentication information (without presenting the payment card number).

[0019] FIG. 3 is a sequence diagram for explaining the procedure of registering the NFC tag 21 with respect to the payment card system 1. The administrator of the payment card system 1 uses the administrator terminal to register the NFC tag 21 with respect to the payment card system 1 according to the sequence in FIG. 3.

[0020] In step S301, the administrator of the payment card system 1 transmits (a) the tag ID of the NFC tag 21, (b) the URL of the payment gateway system 11 that the user terminal 32 should access in the settlement request described later, and (c) the name of the installation location 2 (e.g., the name of the franchise of the settlement service) to the tag management system 12. The tag ID only needs to be known in advance by the system administrator when distributing the NFC tag 21. The URL to be accessed in the settlement request is issued in advance by the payment gateway system 11 for each installation location 2 (or even for each NFC tag 21). The authentication code in S401 described later is, for example, a unique authentication code for each NFC tag 21 stored in the tag in advance. The tag management system 12 stores the correspondence relationship of these pieces of information as tag data.

[0021] In step S302, the administrator transmits (a) the tag ID of the NFC tag 21 and (b) the contract types available for each NFC tag 21 to the payment gateway system 11. The payment gateway system 11 (card management department) stores the correspondence relationship between the tag ID and the available contract types as card data.

[0022] Figures 4A to 4B are sequence diagrams for explaining the procedure when the user 31 conducts a settlement at the installation location 2. When the user 31 purchases goods at the installation location 2 and receives the total purchase amount from, for example, the POS system, the user starts the subsequent settlement procedure. The payment gateway system 11 (settlement processing department) and the tag management system 12 process the following steps in the settlement request.

[0023] In step S401, the user 31 reads information from the NFC tag 21 by approaching the user terminal 32 to the NFC tag 21. The NFC tag 21 stores in advance the tag ID, the authentication code unique to the NFC tag 21, and the destination URL of the settlement request (the URL registered in S301). The user terminal 32 reads this information from the NFC tag 21.

[0024] In step S402, the user terminal 32 accesses the URL read from the NFC tag 21. User 31 enters their authentication information (the authentication information registered in S202) on that URL. The user terminal 32 transmits the tag ID and authentication code read from the NFC tag 21, along with user 31's authentication information, to the payment card system 1. The web page provided by this URL does not require a dedicated application on a smartphone, for example, and can be displayed using a general web browser.

[0025] The payment gateway system 11 receives the above information from the user terminal 32. The payment gateway system 11 passes the received tag ID and authentication code to the tag management system 12. The tag management system 12 authenticates whether the NFC tag 21 is one that has been previously registered in S301 by comparing the tag ID and authentication code. If authentication is successful, the tag management system 12 returns the authentication result along with the pre-registered merchant name to the payment gateway system 11.

[0026] If the payment gateway system 11 can authenticate the NFC tag 21, it identifies the contract types available for that tag. The available contract types are pre-registered in S302, so they can be identified by referring to the card data using the tag ID (or the merchant name). Furthermore, by using the user information received from the user terminal 32, the payment card number held by user 31 can be identified. By combining these, the payment card number (including the contract type) that user 31 can use with the NFC tag 21 can be identified.

[0027] If the payment gateway system 11 can identify an available card number, it will return a message to the user terminal 32 indicating this, along with the merchant name. The user terminal 32 will display the merchant name, which the user 31 will see. If the NFC tag 21 cannot be authenticated, or if there is no available card number (or available contract type), the system will return a message to the user terminal 32 indicating that the payment request cannot be processed, and the user terminal 32 will display a screen to the user 31 indicating this.

[0028] In step S403, user 31 enters the payment amount into user terminal 32. User terminal 32 transmits the amount and user information (user 31's authentication information in S402) to payment gateway system 11. Based on the result of S202, payment gateway system 11 identifies the payment card number corresponding to the user information and uses that payment card number to send a payment request to payment system 13. Payment system 13 performs the payment and returns the result to payment gateway system 11. User terminal 32 receives the payment result and displays a screen to user 31 indicating that the payment has been completed.

[0029] In step S404, user 31 presents a screen indicating that payment has been completed to the user (store clerk) at installation location 2. The store clerk confirms that payment has been completed based on the screen. The store clerk enters the information that payment has been completed into the POS terminal and hands the product and receipt to user 31.

[0030] <Summary of the Invention> In this embodiment, the payment gateway system 11, upon receiving a payment request from the user terminal 32, also receives the tag ID of the NFC tag 21 installed at the payment location (installation location 2), and uses this to identify the payment card contract types that can be used for payment at the installation location 2 of the NFC tag 21. This allows for the management and definition of the payment card contract types that can be used for payment for each NFC tag 21. In other words, the payment card contract types that can use the payment service provided by the payment card system 1 can be restricted in advance for each installation location 2 (and even for each NFC tag 21). The configuration of this embodiment is useful for payment services that have such needs. Since the above processing can be performed via a web browser, there is no need to install a dedicated application on the user terminal 32.

[0031] In this embodiment, the payment gateway system 11 stores the correspondence between user 31's authentication information and payment card number during the card registration procedure S201-S202. This allows user 31 to perform a payment simply by presenting their authentication information (without presenting their payment card number) when issuing a payment request. This enables the provision of payment services to user 31 without presenting the payment card itself or its card number to user 31. Furthermore, since the payment card system 1 can identify the payment card number held by user 31 using user 31's authentication information, there is no need to install a dedicated application on the user terminal 32.

[0032] In this embodiment, the payment gateway system 11 (or tag management system 12) receives in advance a URL to be used to issue a payment request in S301, and receives payment requests via that URL from S401 onward. This allows the NFC tag 21 to issue a payment request only via a pre-registered URL. In other words, a URL to be used for payment can be specified in advance for each NFC tag 21.

[0033] In this embodiment, the payment gateway system 11 receives user information at S402 via the URL stored in the NFC tag 21, and uses that user information to identify the card number that user 31 can use with the NFC tag 21. As a result, user 31 can make a payment without presenting their payment card number, and using the card number unique to the NFC tag 21.

[0034] In this embodiment, the payment gateway system 11 receives user information and other data via a web page that can be displayed by a web browser in S402. As a result, the user terminal 32 can use the payment service without having to install any dedicated applications beforehand.

[0035] <Regarding variations of the present invention> In the above embodiments, two or more of the payment gateway system 11, the tag management system 12, and the payment system 13 may be constructed as an integrated system. For example, the payment gateway system 11 and the tag management system 12 may be constructed as an integrated system. In this case, for example, S301 will be processed by the payment gateway system 11 using the functions of the tag management system 12.

[0036] In the embodiments described above, the payment gateway system 11, the tag management system 12, and the payment system 13 can be configured by hardware such as circuit devices that implement these functions, or by a computing device such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit) executing software that implements these functions. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0037] 1: Payment card system 11: Payment Gateway System 12: Tag Management System 13: Payment System 2: Installation location 21: NFC tag 22: Installation location terminal 31: User 32: User terminal

Claims

1. A payment gateway system that mediates payment processing using payment card numbers, A tag management unit manages tag data that describes the correspondence between the tag ID of a contactless communication tag and the installation location where the contactless communication tag is installed. A card management unit that stores card data describing the correspondence between the tag ID and the contract type of payment card that can be used for payment at the installation location. A settlement processing unit that processes a settlement request using the aforementioned payment card number, Equipped with, The payment request is issued from the user terminal when the user terminal issuing the payment request communicates with the contactless communication tag, When the payment processing unit receives the payment request, it also receives the tag ID of the contactless communication tag that issued the payment request. The payment processing unit performs a card identification process to identify the contract type of the payment card that can be used for payment at the installation location where the contactless communication tag corresponding to the received tag ID is installed, by referring to the card data using the received tag ID. If the payment processing unit can identify the contract type in the card identification process, it processes the payment request using the payment card number corresponding to the identified contract type. If it cannot identify the contract type, it outputs a response indicating that it cannot process the payment request. A payment gateway system characterized by the following features.

2. Before receiving the payment request, the payment processing unit receives a card registration request that registers the correspondence between the payment card number, which has undergone membership screening, and the authentication information of its holder. The payment processing unit stores the correspondence between the payment card number specified in the card registration request and the authentication information. The payment processing unit receives the authentication information along with the payment request and identifies the payment card number corresponding to that authentication information, thereby processing the payment request without receiving the payment card number from the user terminal along with the payment request. The payment gateway system according to claim 1, characterized in that it is as follows.

3. The contactless communication tag is configured to transmit the URL used when issuing the payment request to the payment processing unit, along with the tag ID, to the user terminal. The tag management unit, before receiving the payment request, The aforementioned tag ID, The aforementioned installation location, The URL used when issuing the aforementioned payment request to the aforementioned payment processing unit, We receive a tag registration request to register the correspondence between them. The tag management unit stores the correspondence between the tag ID specified in the tag registration request, the installation location, and the URL. The payment processing unit receives the tag ID along with the payment request via the URL received by the user terminal from the contactless communication tag. The payment gateway system according to claim 1, characterized in that it is as follows.

4. The contactless communication tag is configured to transmit the URL used when issuing the payment request to the payment processing unit, along with the tag ID, to the user terminal. The payment processing unit receives the tag ID from the user terminal via the URL, The tag management unit identifies the location where the contactless communication tag corresponding to the tag ID is installed by querying the tag data using the received tag ID. The payment processing unit identifies the contract type that can be used for payment at the installation location by referring to the card data using the identified installation location and the received tag ID. The payment gateway system according to claim 1, characterized in that it is as follows.

5. The contactless communication tag is configured to transmit the URL used when issuing the payment request to the payment processing unit, along with the tag ID, to the user terminal. The aforementioned card data describes the authentication information of the holder of the payment card number. The payment processing unit receives the authentication information from the user terminal via the URL, The payment processing unit identifies the payment card number held by the cardholder by referring to the card data using the received authentication information, and processes the payment request using that payment card number. The payment gateway system according to claim 1, characterized in that it is as follows.

6. The aforementioned card data describes the correspondence between the tag ID and the contract type for each installation location. The tag management unit identifies the installation location where the payment request was issued by referring to the tag data using the tag ID. The settlement processing unit identifies the contract type that can be used for settlement at the specified installation location, The settlement processing unit processes the settlement request using the specified contract type, thereby processing only the contract types that are available for settlement at the installation location. The payment gateway system according to claim 1, characterized in that it is as follows.

7. A payment gateway system according to any one of claims 1 to 6, A payment system that receives the payment request mediated by the payment gateway system and performs the payment processing thereof, A payment card system characterized by having the following features.

8. The payment gateway system according to claim 2, A payment system that receives the payment request mediated by the payment gateway system and performs the payment processing thereof, It has, The payment system notifies the payment gateway system of the payment card number that has passed the membership screening. The settlement processing unit processes the settlement request by receiving the authentication information along with the settlement request and identifying the payment card number corresponding to the authentication information, regardless of whether the payment card corresponding to the payment card number has already been issued. A payment card system characterized by the following features.

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