Information processing device, information processing method, and program

Abstract

To provide an information processing device, an information processing method, and a program that can improve the convenience for users who have experienced overdrafts in resolving excess amounts. [Solution] In the case of payment using a prepaid card, if the first additional charge amount, which is the payment amount at the time of authorization, is subtracted from the second payment amount, which is the payment amount at the time of sale at the merchant, is greater than the user's electronic money balance, the information processing device includes a display control unit that prefills the charge screen with a charge amount that takes into account the second additional charge amount, which is the first additional charge amount, when the user charges electronic money to their electronic money balance on the charge screen of the user terminal device.

Description

Technical Field

[0004] ,

[0005] , ,

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

Background Art

[0002] Conventionally, an electronic payment service has been known that displays code information on a user terminal device owned by a user and causes the code information to be read by a store terminal device installed in a store to execute electronic payment. Further, Patent Document 1 proposes an electronic payment system for registering a credit card available for an electronic payment service with a payment server.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] However, in the electronic payment system described in Patent Document 1, the remaining balance of electronic money charged by the user can only be used for payment by a business operator that has concluded a franchise contract with an electronic payment service provider that provides payment using electronic money. Therefore, there were inconvenient cases when the user made a payment by a business operator that has not concluded a franchise contract. Therefore, in recent years, a technology has been used that links the remaining balance of electronic money charged by the user to an international brand prepaid card that can be used for payment at the store of the business operator, and enables the remaining balance of electronic money to be used for payment by the prepaid card. <​​However, with such technology, the settlement amount at the time of authorization, which is performed at the time of payment using a prepaid card, may exceed the settlement amount at the time of sale at the merchant (which is determined at a later time). In this case, if the settlement amount at the time of sale exceeds the electronic money balance, an excess amount occurs, and the user ends up in a state where they have borrowed the excess amount from the electronic payment service provider to complete the transaction with the merchant (a so-called overdraft). In such cases, the electronic payment service provider will charge the user for the excess amount, but with conventional technology, it was sometimes difficult for users who experienced an overdraft to resolve the excess amount.

[0006] This invention has been made in consideration of these circumstances, and one of its objectives is to provide an information processing device, an information processing method, and a program that can improve the convenience for users who have experienced overdrafts in resolving the excess amount. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] One aspect of the present invention is an information processing device for a payment processing system in which prepaid card information, which is information relating to a user's prepaid card, and the user's electronic money balance are linked, and when the user makes a payment using the prepaid card at a merchant store where the prepaid card can be used, a payment processing using the user's electronic money balance is executed, wherein, for a payment using the prepaid card, if the first additional charge amount, which is the payment amount at the time of authorization, is subtracted from the second payment amount, which is the payment amount at the time of sale at the merchant, is greater than the user's electronic money balance, the information processing device includes a display control unit that, at the charging timing when the user charges electronic money to the electronic money balance on the user terminal device, prefills the user terminal device with a charge amount that takes into account the second additional charge amount, which is the first additional charge amount, subtracted from the electronic money balance. [Effects of the Invention]

[0008] According to one aspect of the present invention, it is possible to provide an information processing device, an information processing method, and a program that can improve the convenience for users who have experienced an overdraft in resolving the excess amount. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0009] [Figure 1] This diagram shows an example of the configuration of an electronic payment system that enables electronic payment services. [Figure 2] This is a sequence diagram (part 1) illustrating the general flow of electronic payments. [Figure 3] This is a sequence diagram (part 2) illustrating the general flow of electronic payments. [Figure 4] This is a diagram showing the configuration of payment server 100. [Figure 5] This figure shows an example of the contents of user information 172. [Figure 6] This figure shows an example of the contents of merchant / store information 176. [Figure 7] This is a diagram showing the configuration of the user terminal device 200. [Figure 8] This figure shows the first example of an overview of prepaid card payments. [Figure 9] This is a sequence diagram illustrating an example of the process involved in purchasing goods using a prepaid card. [Figure 10] This figure shows an example of authorization information 178. [Figure 11] This diagram shows an example of the home screen of payment app 20. [Figure 12] This figure shows an example of the top-up screen for payment app 20. [Figure 13] This sequence diagram shows an example of a prefill process executed by the display control unit 160 when a user transitions to the charge screen. [Figure 14] This diagram illustrates electronic payment failures and charges resulting from overdrafts occurring in users. [Figure 15]This sequence diagram shows an example of a prefill process executed by the display control unit 160 when an overdraft occurs and the electronic payment fails. [Figure 16] This diagram shows how to prioritize resolving excess amounts through electronic money transfers. [Figure 17] This figure shows a second example of the overview of prepaid card payments. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0010] The following describes embodiments of the information processing apparatus, information processing method, and program of the present invention with reference to the drawings. Various devices, such as servers, that appear below and are used to provide services to users or perform internal analysis may be implemented by a distributed group of devices, and the operators of each device may be different. Furthermore, the owner of the hardware of the devices (the provider of the cloud server) and the operator that actually operates them may also be different. The application program and the payment server work together to provide an electronic payment service. In the following description, the application program will be referred to as the payment app. The electronic payment service is a service that supports payment for the purchase of goods and services at a store. A store is, for example, a physical store (real store) that exists in the real world, but may also include a virtual store for e-commerce. A virtual store may include one provided by an entity different from the operator of the electronic payment service. In that case, when settling a purchase at a virtual store, the user may be directed to the interface screen of the electronic payment service. In the electronic payment service, a store is treated as belonging to, for example, a merchant (brand), and processing such as payment when a purchase is made at a store is mainly carried out between the user and the merchant. Alternatively, processing such as payment may be carried out between the user and the store. Furthermore, the card company server and the payment server will work together to provide payment services using prepaid cards. A prepaid card is a prepaid card that can be used at participating merchants after being pre-charged with electronic money. When using a prepaid card at a store, payment can be made by holding or inserting the prepaid card into the store's card terminal. When using a prepaid card, the user may be required to enter a PIN. Also, when using a prepaid card for online transactions (such as internet shopping), the user may be required to enter the card information (prepaid card number, expiration date, etc.) on the payment screen of the website.

[0011] [Electronic payment service] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of an electronic payment system in which an electronic payment service is realized. The electronic payment service is realized centering around a payment server 100. An electronic payment system for realizing the electronic payment service includes, for example, one or more user terminal devices 200, one or more first store terminal devices 50, one or more second store terminal devices 70, a payment server 100, a card store terminal device 300, and a card company server 400. These devices communicate via, for example, a network NW. The network NW includes, for example, the Internet, a LAN (Local Area Network), a wireless base station, a provider device, and the like.

[0012] Part or all of the functional configurations included in the electronic payment system may be distributed among a plurality of devices in any form or integrated into any device. For example, part or all of the functional configuration of the card company server 400 may be included in the configuration of the payment server 100, or part or all of the functional configuration of the payment server 100 may be included in the functional configuration of the card company server 400.

[0013] The user terminal device 200 is, for example, a portable terminal device such as a smartphone or a tablet terminal. The user terminal device 200 is a computer device having at least an optical reading function, a communication function, a display function, an input reception function, and a program execution function. In the following description, the configurations for realizing these functions are referred to as a camera, a communication device, a touch panel, a CPU (Central Processing Unit), etc., respectively. In the user terminal device 200, by executing a payment application 20 by a processor such as a CPU, it operates to provide an electronic payment service to the user in cooperation with the payment server 100. The payment application 20 is installed in the user terminal device 200 from, for example, an application store, and controls a camera, a communication device, a touch panel, etc.

[0014] The first store terminal device 50 is installed, for example, in a store. The first store terminal device 50 is a computer device having at least a product price acquisition function, an optical reading function, a program execution function, and a communication function. The first store terminal device 50 may include a so-called POS (Point of Sale) device, and the product price acquisition function and optical reading function may be realized by the POS device. The store code image 60 is placed in the store and is a code image such as a QR code (registered trademark) printed on paper or plastic media. The store code image 60 may also be displayed on a display placed in the store (which may be the display of a terminal device such as a smartphone).

[0015] The second store terminal device 70 is used by the operator of the affiliated store. The second store terminal device 70 is a smartphone, tablet, personal computer, etc. The affiliated store interface 72 operates on the second store terminal device 70. The affiliated store interface 72 may be an affiliated store application or a browser. The affiliated store interface 72 accepts coupon settings etc. from the affiliated store operator and transmits them to the payment server 100. The second store terminal device 70, which is a smartphone, has the function of displaying a code image corresponding to a store code image by running the affiliated store application, and reading a code image displayed by the user terminal device 200.

[0016] The payment server 100 implements electronic payment based on payment information received from the user terminal device 200 or the first store terminal device 50. The first store terminal device 50 may include a POS device and a merchant server, in which case payment information is transmitted from the POS device to the payment server 100 via the merchant server. In the following description, this distinction will not be made, and it will be assumed that payment information is transmitted from the first store terminal device 50.

[0017] The card terminal device 300 is a terminal device used at merchants that accept prepaid cards. The card terminal device 300 acquires information from the prepaid card presented by the user and transmits the acquired information to the card company server 400.

[0018] The card company server 400 is a server device for a prepaid card issuing company related to electronic payment services. The card company server 400 is operated, for example, by a group company of the payment server 100.

[0019] Figures 2 and 3 are sequence diagrams illustrating the general flow of electronic payments. There may be two patterns for electronic payments: Pattern 1 and Pattern 2.

[0020] In the case of Pattern 1 shown in Figure 2 (hereinafter referred to as User Scan), the user terminal device 200, with the payment application 20 running, decodes the store code image 60 using its optical reading function (S1). The store code image 60 contains information about the store URL (Uniform Resource Locator). This store URL is an electronic payment service domain to which information that can identify the store has been added, and is associated with the merchant ID and store ID, etc., at the payment server 100 (described later). The payment application 20 sends the first payment information, including the store URL and account ID, to the payment server 100 (S2). The payment server 100 searches for store information (described later) from the merchant ID and store ID corresponding to the store URL, obtains the merchant name and store name information (S3), and sends it to the payment application 20 (S4). The user enters the payment amount into the user terminal device 200 on the screen where the merchant name and store name are displayed (S5). The user terminal device 200 then generates second payment information, including at least the payment amount, and sends it to the payment server 100 (S6). The payment server 100 performs electronic payment based on the received second payment information (S7). The payment server 100 then sends a payment completion notification (information for displaying the payment completion screen) to the payment application 20 (S8), and the payment application 20 displays the payment completion screen (S9). If the store code image 60 is displayed on a display placed in the store, the store code image 60 may include payment amount information as well as the store URL. In this case, the procedure for the user to enter the payment amount is omitted, and the payment amount information is included in the first payment information and sent to the payment server 100. Merchant name and store name information may be included and displayed on the payment completion screen.

[0021] In the case of Pattern 2 shown in Figure 3 (hereinafter referred to as Store Scan), when the payment app 20 is launched, when a payment operation is performed in the payment app 20, when it is time for an automatic update (for example, every minute), and at other times, the payment app 20 sends a request to the payment server 100 to issue a one-time code (S11). 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 the display surface of the user terminal device 200 over the first store terminal device 50, and the first store terminal device 50 decodes the code image using its optical reading function and obtains the one-time code, etc. (S15). Then, the first store terminal device 50 generates payment information including the one-time code, payment amount, merchant ID, store ID, etc., and sends it to the payment server 100 (S16). The payment amount information is obtained in advance by barcode scanning or manual input. Based on the received information, the payment server 100 identifies the user corresponding to the one-time code and performs the electronic payment (S17). The payment server 100 then sends a payment completion notification to the payment app 20 (S18), and the payment app 20 displays a payment completion screen (S19).

[0022] Furthermore, electronic payment may be performed using only one of the above patterns. Also, the "account ID" explained in Figure 2 may be other information that can be used as user identification information (for example, a phone number). In addition, the issuance of a one-time code may be omitted during store scanning, and the payment app 20 may display a code image generated based on the user's account ID. In that case, the payment server 100 will identify the user corresponding to the account ID instead of identifying the user corresponding to the one-time code.

[0023] [Payment Server] Figure 4 is a diagram of the configuration of the payment server 100. The payment server 100 includes, for example, a communication unit 110, a payment content provision unit 120, a payment processing unit 130, an information management unit 140, an acquisition unit 150, a display control unit 160, and a storage unit 170. Components other than the communication unit 110 and the storage unit 170 are realized, for example, by a hardware processor such as a CPU executing a program (software). Some or all of these components may be realized by hardware (including circuitry) such as LSI (Large Scale Integration), ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), FPGA (Field-Programmable Gate Array), GPU (Graphics Processing Unit), and SOC (System On Chip), or by the cooperation of software and hardware. The program may be stored in advance on a storage device such as an HDD (Hard Disk Drive) or flash memory (a storage device equipped with a non-transient storage medium), or it may be stored on a removable storage medium such as a DVD or CD-ROM (a non-transient storage medium) and installed on the storage device when the storage medium is inserted into the drive device.

[0024] The storage unit 170 can be an HDD, flash memory, RAM (Random Access Memory), etc. The storage unit 170 may also be a NAS (Network Attached Storage) device that the payment server 100 can access via the network. The storage unit 170 stores information such as user information 172, payment content information 174, merchant / store information 176, and authorization information 178. Some of this information may also be stored in the storage unit of the user terminal device 200.

[0025] The communication unit 110 is a communication interface for connecting to a network NW. The communication unit 110 is, for example, a network interface card.

[0026] The payment content provider unit 120, for example, has the functionality of a web server and provides information (content) for displaying various screens of the electronic payment service to the user terminal device 200. The payment content provider unit 120 reads the necessary content from the payment content information 174 as appropriate and provides it to the user terminal device 200. The user terminal device 200 accepts various inputs from the user with the content being played by the payment application 20 and transmits the aforementioned payment information to the payment server 100. The above content may also be generated by the payment application 20. In this case, the payment content provider unit 120 provides the payment application 20 with the information necessary for generating the content.

[0027] The payment processing unit 130 performs payment processing based on payment information transmitted by the user terminal device 200 or the first store terminal device 50. The payment processing unit 130 performs payment processing while referring to the user information 172.

[0028] Figure 5 shows an example of the contents of User Information 172. User Information 172 is an example of user registration information. User Information 172 includes, for example, user URL, account ID, telephone number, password, as well as information such as email address, user ID, name, address, date of birth, registration date, charge balance, credit payment settings, credit payment limit, credit payment amount, available credit payment amount, payment method settings, bank account, credit card number, charge history information, payment history information, prepaid card information, excess amount, and points held. The user URL is used for money transfer processing between users. When registering for a new electronic payment service, registration of a telephone number and password is mandatory. The account ID is issued to the user by the payment server 100, and the user ID is an ID that the user can set at will (or not set). Similarly, the email address and name, address, and date of birth are also information that the user can set at will (or not set). The registration date is the date the user registered for the electronic payment service (the date the account was created). Hereafter, the user instance (electronic payment account) to which this information is associated will be referred to as an account.

[0029] The charge balance is information indicating the balance of electronic money set by the user by sending money to their account in advance. Methods of sending money include sending from an ATM (Automatic Teller Machine) of a designated provider (bank) and sending from a registered bank account. The credit payment setting indicates whether or not the user has completed the settings to enable electronic payments by credit card, and is set to either "Completed" or "Not Completed". The credit payment limit is the monthly limit for credit payments, the credit payment amount is the amount already used for credit payments in the current month, and the available credit payment amount is the amount available for credit payments in the current month, calculated by subtracting the credit payment amount from the credit payment limit. While the diagram shows only one credit payment limit, in reality there are also daily limits, and the lower of these may be set as the credit payment limit. Further details on credit payments will be described later. The payment method setting indicates whether the user will use electronic payment with the charge balance or payment by credit card at that time. The bank account and credit card number information, respectively, refers to the bank account or credit card number (account number, card number) to which funds can be deposited into the electronic payment service. The charge history information is a record of when the user has previously sent money to the electronic payment service to increase the charge balance. The payment history information shows the details of each payment made by the user (date and time, store ID of the store where the purchase was made, payment amount, payment method, etc.).

[0030] Prepaid card information includes details about the prepaid card, such as the prepaid card number and expiration date. The excess amount, as will be explained in more detail later, is the amount that occurs when the final payment amount for a prepaid card transaction unintentionally exceeds the user's electronic money balance, due to the nature of the payment system.

[0031] The points held represent information indicating the amount of points awarded by an electronic payment service when a user makes an electronic payment via that service, and which can be used for the next electronic payment. For example, when a user makes an electronic payment of a predetermined amount, the electronic payment service awards the user points equivalent to a predetermined percentage (e.g., 1%) of that amount. The points awarded to the user are stored in user information 172 as points held. The points awarded to the user are used preferentially in the next electronic payment by the same user. For example, if a user with a charge balance of 1000 yen and points held makes an electronic payment of 700 yen, an amount equivalent to 200 yen (700 yen minus 500 points) will be deducted from the charge balance, and the user's charge balance will become 800 yen. Users may also be able to set whether or not to use their points for electronic payments. If points are not used for electronic payments, the points awarded to the user will be accumulated without being used for electronic payments.

[0032] Figure 6 shows an example of the contents of the merchant / store information 176. The merchant / store information 176 includes, for example, a first table 176A where the merchant ID and store ID are associated with the store URL, a second table 176B where the merchant name and sales amount (as described above) are associated with the merchant ID, and a third table 176C where the store name is associated with the store ID. In addition to this information, the merchant / store information 176 may also include information such as the merchant or store category, the store's location, and payment patterns. The merchant name mentioned above may be, for example, information registered by the merchant, or information registered by the administrator of the electronic payment service. The merchant name and store name mentioned above may be managed in an integrated manner. The merchant name mentioned above may be, for example, a combination of the merchant name and the store name. It is preferable that the merchant name mentioned above be the official name or a detailed name. In the merchant / store information 176, the merchant icon and other detailed information about the merchant may be associated with the merchant ID or store ID.

[0033] The Information Management Unit 140 acquires information provided by other server devices and terminal devices. Based on the information acquired from the user terminal device 200 and the second store terminal device 70, the Information Management Unit 140 manages user information 172, merchant / store information 176, and authorization information 178. The Information Management Unit 140 performs operations such as adding, editing, and deleting new records for user information 172, merchant / store information 176, and authorization information 178.

[0034] The acquisition unit 150, as will be described in detail later, acquires first payment information, including the payment amount at the time of authorization (hereinafter referred to as "authorization") (first payment amount), for payments using prepaid cards, and also acquires second payment information, including the payment amount at the time of sale at the merchant (second payment amount).

[0035] As will be described in detail later, the display control unit 160, in the case of payment using a prepaid card, if the first additional charge amount, obtained by subtracting the first payment amount obtained by the acquisition unit 150 from the second payment amount, is greater than the user's electronic money balance (charge balance), prefills the charge screen with a charge amount that takes into account the second additional charge amount, obtained by subtracting the electronic money balance from the first additional charge amount, at the time the user charges electronic money to their electronic money balance on the charge screen of the user terminal device 200. The user can then confirm the prefilled charge amount on the charge screen and charge their electronic money, thus performing the charge without the hassle of manually entering the charge amount.

[0036] [Electronic payment] When the payment processing unit 130 obtains payment information from the user terminal device 200 or the first store terminal device 50, it refers to the user information 172 to obtain the user's "payment method setting". For users whose "payment method setting" is set to "charge balance", the payment processing unit 130 performs electronic payment as follows. For example, the payment processing unit 130 performs electronic payment by decreasing the charge balance, which is managed in association with the user ID, and increasing the value of the merchant's sales proceeds item. The merchant's sales proceeds item value is not used as electronic money itself, for example, but rather the amount corresponding to the sales proceeds item value is transferred to the bank account in a cycle according to the agreement between the merchant and the electronic payment service. The merchant may also receive the sales proceeds as electronic money. In this case, the payment server 100 manages the account (wallet) corresponding to the merchant ID, the electronic money balance of the account, and the sales proceeds history for each payment method in association.

[0037] The payment processing unit 130 performs electronic payment as follows for users whose "settings information" is set to "credit payment". Credit payment is a payment method that cooperates with a credit card company, which is a separate entity from the operator of the electronic payment service, and allows electronic payment that does not depend on the charge balance within the credit limit. In order to use the credit payment service, it may be required to obtain a credit card provided by the operator of the electronic payment service. The payment processing unit 130 adds the payment amount to the credit payment usage amount in the user information 172 and subtracts the above payment amount from the available credit payment amount. If the payment amount exceeds the available credit payment amount, an error notification is sent back to the payment app. The amount used by credit payment is settled, for example, in a lump sum for one month on the payment date of the following month, for example, by direct debit from a bank account. This processing is carried out by the operator of the credit card company.

[0038] [User terminal device] Figure 7 is a diagram showing the configuration of the user terminal device 200. The user terminal device 200 comprises, for example, a communication unit 210, a display unit 220, an input unit 230, a control unit 240, and a storage unit 250. The communication unit 210 is a communication interface for communication via a network NW. The display unit 220 and the input unit 230 are implemented, for example, by a touch panel display.

[0039] The control unit 240 is implemented, for example, by a hardware processor such as a CPU executing a program (software). Some or all of these components may be implemented by hardware (including circuit parts) such as LSIs, ASICs, FPGAs, and GPUs, or by the cooperation 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 equipped with a non-transient storage medium), or it may be stored in a removable storage medium such as a DVD or CD-ROM (a non-transient storage medium) and installed in the storage device when the storage medium is inserted into a drive device.

[0040] The storage unit 250 is an HDD, flash memory, or RAM, etc. The storage unit 250 may also be a NAS device accessible by the user terminal device 200 via a network. User information 252 and payment application 20, etc., are stored in the storage unit 250. User information 252 is some or all of the information from the user information 172 shown in Figure 5 that corresponds to the user who owns the user terminal device 200. The payment application 20 is read and executed by the hardware processor (CPU, etc.) in the user terminal device 200.

[0041] By launching the payment application 20 on the user terminal device 200, the user can utilize the electronic payment service provided by the payment server 100. That is, by operating the payment application 20 screen, the user can perform electronic payments via user scan (Figure 2) or store scan (Figure 3). While the electronic payment process is the same as before, this embodiment further enables payment via prepaid card using the charged electronic money balance. This point will be explained below.

[0042] [Overview of prepaid card payments (Example 1)] Figure 8 is a diagram illustrating the first example of a prepaid card payment overview. The example shown in Figure 8 illustrates the processing flow when an on-us transaction takes place. An on-us transaction is a transaction where the issuer of the prepaid card and the merchant acquiring company are the same company. Therefore, in Figure 8, there is no merchant acquiring company between the merchant and the card company.

[0043] In this embodiment, prepaid card payments are made from the balance of electronic money used in the electronic payment service. Therefore, before actually making a prepaid card payment, the user charges electronic money from the payment app 20 screen (S101). As a result, the payment server 100 adds the specified amount of electronic money to the electronic money balance linked to the user's account.

[0044] Next, the user applies to purchase goods at a participating store (S102). At this time, the user has the store terminal 300 read their prepaid card. This allows the store terminal 300 to obtain the card information of the user's prepaid card (prepaid card number, expiration date, etc.). Note that although this is described as an application to purchase goods, it could also be an application to use a service.

[0045] Next, the card terminal 300 transmits payment information, including the payment amount for the goods to be purchased, to the card company server 400 (S103). There are two types of payment information: first payment information, which includes the first payment amount, the payment amount at the time of authorization, and second payment information, which includes the second payment amount, the payment amount at the time of sale at the merchant. However, for the sake of simplicity, this is simply referred to as "payment information." Details of the first and second payment information will be described later.

[0046] Next, the card company server 400 transmits payment information to the payment server 100 (S104). Based on the payment information received from the card company server 400, the payment server 100 deducts the payment amount from the user's charge balance (S105). Specifically, the payment server 100 subtracts the payment amount from the user's charge balance in the user information 172.

[0047] Meanwhile, the card company server 400 makes the payment to the merchant (S106). For example, the card company server 400 may transfer the payment amount to the merchant's bank account. This allows the merchant to receive the payment amount corresponding to the user's purchase of goods (or use of services).

[0048] However, once payment is completed in S106, the card company has advanced the payment amount. Therefore, the card company server 400 sends a request for advance payment to the settlement server 100 (S107). The settlement server 100 pays the advance payment based on the request for advance payment received from the card company server 400 (S108). Through the above process, when a user purchases goods (or uses a service) using a prepaid card, payment can be made from the user's electronic money balance.

[0049] Next, we will explain the difference between credit card payments and prepaid card payments. With credit card payments, the payment server 100 checks the user's available credit limit by referring to user information 172 and decides whether or not to approve the credit card payment. When a user purchases goods using a credit card, the user will be billed for the amount used at the end of the month. Therefore, with credit card payments, payment is not processed immediately after the user purchases goods.

[0050] In contrast, with prepaid card payments, the payment server 100 checks the user's electronic money balance (charge balance) by referring to user information 172 and determines whether or not to approve the prepaid card payment. When a user purchases goods using a prepaid card, the payment server 100 immediately deducts the payment amount from the user's charge balance. Therefore, unlike credit card payments, prepaid card payments are settled immediately.

[0051] It should be noted that when paying with a prepaid card, the settlement amount may differ between the authorization stage and the time of sale at the merchant. For example, when a user refuels at a gas station, the authorization process may be performed with a settlement amount of 1 yen because the actual amount of gasoline dispensed is unknown at the time of authorization. However, at the time of sale at the merchant (gas station), the settlement amount may be adjusted to reflect the actual amount of gasoline dispensed (for example, 5,000 yen). Another example is when a user makes a reservation for accommodation through a travel agency. At the time of authorization, the authorization process may be performed with the accommodation fee as the settlement amount. However, at the time of sale at the merchant (accommodation facility), the settlement amount may be adjusted to include the charges for services actually used at the accommodation (such as room service). Thus, the settlement amount may differ between the authorization stage and the time of sale at the merchant. Based on this, the details of the processing when paying with a prepaid card will be explained below.

[0052] [Sequence Diagram] Figure 9 is a sequence diagram showing an example of the process related to purchasing goods using a prepaid card. The process shown in the sequence diagram of Figure 9 is executed when a user applies to purchase goods at a participating store. Note that while this is shown as a product purchase application, it could also be a service usage application.

[0053] First, the card terminal 300 obtains the card information (such as the prepaid card number and expiration date) of the user's prepaid card (S201). For example, the card terminal 300 may directly read the card information from the prepaid card presented by the user, or it may have the user input the card information.

[0054] Next, the card terminal 300 transmits the first settlement information to the card company server 400 (S202). The first settlement information is the settlement information at the time of authorization, which will be described later. For example, the first settlement information includes the transaction ID, prepaid card number, terminal identification number, merchant ID, and first settlement amount. The transaction ID is identification information for identifying the transaction. The prepaid card number is the number of the user's prepaid card, which is included in the card information obtained in S201. The terminal identification number is identification information for identifying the card terminal 300. The merchant ID is identification information for identifying the merchant to which the store where the user intends to purchase goods belongs, and is the same information as the merchant ID shown in Figure 6. The first settlement amount is the settlement amount at the time of authorization.

[0055] Next, the card company server 400 receives the first payment information from the card terminal device 300 and transmits the received first payment information to the payment server 100 (S203). In this embodiment, the payment processing for prepaid cards is performed by the payment server 100, so the first payment information is transmitted to the payment server 100.

[0056] Next, the acquisition unit 150 of the payment server 100 acquires the first payment information transmitted from the card company server 400. The payment processing unit 130 performs authorization processing based on the first payment information acquired by the acquisition unit 150 (S204). Authorization processing is the process of determining whether or not to approve payment using a prepaid card based on the first payment information. Specifically, in the authorization processing, the payment processing unit 130 acquires the user's electronic money balance (charge balance) from the user information 172. The payment processing unit 130 also determines that if the first payment amount included in the first payment information is less than or equal to the user's electronic money balance, it approves payment using a prepaid card and subtracts the first payment amount from the user's electronic money balance. On the other hand, if the first payment amount included in the first payment information is greater than the user's electronic money balance, the payment processing unit 130 determines that it does not approve payment using a prepaid card.

[0057] Next, the information management unit 140 updates the authorization information 178 stored in the storage unit 170 (S205). Figure 10 shows an example of the authorization information 178. As shown in Figure 10, the authorization information 178 includes the transaction ID, prepaid card number, terminal identification number, merchant ID, first settlement amount, and determination result.

[0058] Specifically, the information management unit 140 links the transaction ID, prepaid card number, terminal identification number, merchant ID, first payment amount, and judgment result and adds them to the authorization information 178. The transaction ID, prepaid card number, terminal identification number, merchant ID, and first payment amount are all information included in the first payment information received in S203. The judgment result is the result of the authorization process in S204. If the authorization process determines that the payment using the prepaid card should be approved, the judgment result is OK. On the other hand, if the authorization process determines that the payment using the prepaid card should not be approved, the judgment result is NG.

[0059] Next, the settlement server 100 sends the authorization result to the card company server 400 (S206). The authorization result includes information such as the transaction ID and the decision result (OK or NG). The card company server 400 sends the authorization result to the card store terminal 300 (S207), and the card store terminal 300 sends the authorization result to the user terminal 200 (S208). The user terminal 200 may display whether or not the payment using the prepaid card has been approved based on the authorization result received from the card store terminal 300. This allows the user to understand the authorization result.

[0060] Next, the card terminal 300 transmits the second settlement information to the card company server 400 (S209). The second settlement information is the settlement information at the time of sale at the merchant. For example, the second settlement information includes the transaction ID, prepaid card number, terminal identification number, merchant ID, and the second settlement amount. The second settlement amount is the settlement amount at the time of sale at the merchant.

[0061] Next, the card company server 400 receives the second payment information from the card terminal device 300 and transmits the received second payment information to the payment server 100 (S210). In this embodiment, the second payment information is transmitted to the payment server 100 in order to perform electronic payment using the user's electronic money balance with a prepaid card.

[0062] Next, the acquisition unit 150 of the payment server 100 acquires the second payment information transmitted from the card company server 400. The payment processing unit 130 performs payment processing based on the second payment information acquired by the acquisition unit 150 (S211). Specifically, the payment processing unit 130 acquires the first payment amount linked to the transaction ID included in the second payment information from the authorization information 178. The payment processing unit 130 also completes the payment processing if the second payment amount included in the second payment information matches the first payment amount. On the other hand, if the second payment amount included in the second payment information does not match the first payment amount, the payment processing unit 130 calculates an additional charge amount (first additional charge amount) obtained by subtracting the first payment amount from the second payment amount. After that, the payment processing unit 130 subtracts the calculated additional charge amount from the user's electronic money balance and completes the payment processing. This ensures that payment processing can be performed appropriately even if the second payment amount at the time of sale at the merchant is higher than the first payment amount at the time of authorization.

[0063] Next, the information management unit 140 updates the user information 172 stored in the memory unit 170 (S212). Specifically, the information management unit 140 updates the charge balance in the user information 172 based on the user's electronic money balance after the additional collection amount has been reduced.

[0064] Next, the payment server 100 sends a payment completion notification to the card company server 400 (S213). The payment completion notification includes the transaction ID and information indicating that the payment has been completed. The card company server 400 sends the payment completion notification to the card-use store terminal 300 (S214), and the card-use store terminal 300 sends the payment completion notification to the user terminal 200 (S215). Based on the payment completion notification received from the card-use store terminal 300, the user terminal 200 may display that the payment using the prepaid card has been completed. This allows the user to understand that the payment process has been completed.

[0065] In the above description, the prepaid card is assumed to be a physical card, but it is not limited to this. For example, the prepaid card in this embodiment may be a virtual prepaid card in which no physical card exists. In the case of a virtual prepaid card, the user may use the user terminal device 200 to enter the prepaid card number, etc., on the merchant's website to apply for the purchase of goods online. The user's prepaid card information (prepaid card number, expiration date, etc.) can be checked from the screen of the payment application 20. Details of the screen of the payment application 20 will be described later.

[0066] Furthermore, in S211 of Figure 9, there may be cases where the second settlement amount at the time of sale at the merchant is lower than the first settlement amount at the time of authorization. In such cases, the settlement processing unit 130 calculates the refund amount by subtracting the second settlement amount from the first settlement amount and adds the refund amount to the user's electronic money balance. This ensures that settlement processing can be performed appropriately even when the second settlement amount at the time of sale at the merchant is lower than the first settlement amount at the time of authorization.

[0067] Furthermore, in S211 of Figure 9, if the user's electronic money balance is insufficient, the user may not be able to pay the additional amount due. In this case, the settlement processing unit 130 will bill the user for the insufficient amount. Specifically, if the additional amount due is greater than the user's electronic money balance, the settlement processing unit 130 will bill the user for the excess amount (second additional amount due) obtained by subtracting the electronic money balance from the additional amount due, and will also set the user's electronic money balance to zero. The information management unit 140 records the excess amount calculated by the settlement processing unit 130 in the user information 172, linked to the user's prepaid card information. The following explains this point with specific examples.

[0068] For example, consider a case where the first payment amount at authorization is 8,000 yen, the second payment amount at the time of sale at the merchant is 10,000 yen, and the user's electronic money balance is 9,000 yen. During authorization processing, the payment processing unit 130 determines that the first payment amount (8,000 yen) is less than or equal to the user's electronic money balance (9,000 yen), and therefore approves the prepaid card payment. It then subtracts the first payment amount (8,000 yen) from the user's electronic money balance (9,000 yen). As a result, the user's electronic money balance becomes 1,000 yen at the end of the authorization process.

[0069] Next, at the time of sale at a participating store, the payment processing unit 130 calculates the additional amount to be collected (2,000 yen) by subtracting the first payment amount (8,000 yen) from the second payment amount (10,000 yen). At this time, since the additional amount to be collected (2,000 yen) is greater than the user's electronic money balance (1,000 yen), the payment processing unit 130 calculates the excess amount (1,000 yen) by subtracting the user's electronic money balance (1,000 yen) from the additional amount to be collected (2,000 yen). The payment processing unit 130 also charges the user the excess amount (1,000 yen) and resets the user's electronic money balance (charge balance) to 0. This prevents billing errors even if the user's electronic money balance is insufficient.

[0070] Furthermore, any excess amount resulting from insufficient electronic money balance can be resolved by the user charging their electronic money. Therefore, if the additional amount to be collected is greater than the electronic money balance (i.e., an excess amount has occurred), the payment processing unit 130 will notify the user to charge electronic money for the excess amount.

[0071] [Payment app screen] Figure 11 shows an example of the home screen of the payment app 20. As shown in Figure 11, the home screen of the payment app 20 includes area A1, area A2, area A3, code image IM, icon IC1, and buttons B1, B2, and B3.

[0072] Area A1 displays the currently selected payment method for the electronic payment service. For example, Figure 11 shows that the payment method currently set is electronic money balance. Furthermore, users can switch the payment method of the electronic payment service by swiping area A1 left or right. For example, if the user swipes area A1 right, the payment app 20 switches to credit card payment. This allows users to easily switch the payment method of the electronic payment service.

[0073] Area A2 displays icons for instructing key smartphone payment operations such as scanning, sending money, points, transaction history, and topping up. Button B1 is a button for transitioning to the electronic money top-up screen. When the user selects (tap) button B1, the electronic money top-up screen, described later, is displayed, for example, via Figure 12. The user can top up their electronic money from the top-up screen.

[0074] Area A3 displays various icons for launching various mini-applications that can be executed by the payment application 20. Specifically, area A3 displays 12 icons. Of these icons, icon IC1 is for launching the prepaid card mini-application. When the user selects (tap) icon IC1, the payment application 20 launches the prepaid card mini-application. This allows, for example, a card details screen showing the details of the prepaid card, or a payment history screen for prepaid card payments, to be displayed on the display unit 220 of the user terminal device 200.

[0075] Button B2 is a button that contains a message prompting the user to charge their electronic money due to an overdraft. When the user selects (tap) button B2, the payment app 20 transitions to the electronic money charging screen, similar to when button B1 is selected (tapped). Button B2 is displayed only when an overdraft occurs. The display control unit 160 determines whether an overdraft has occurred for the user when the user opens the home screen, and if it is determined that an overdraft has occurred, it causes the payment app 20 to display button B2. In another embodiment, in S211 of Figure 9 above, if it is determined that an excess amount has occurred, the payment server 100 sends status information indicating that an excess amount has occurred to the payment app 20, the payment app 20 stores this status information, and when the user opens the home screen, the payment app 20 may display button B2 based on this status information (in other words, the payment app 20 may display button B2 as a function of the app itself, without being controlled by the display control unit 160 of the payment server 100).

[0076] Button B3 is used to instruct the user to display the payment screen. When the user selects (tap) button B3, the payment screen described later will be displayed, for example, via Figure 14. The payment screen displays code information such as barcodes and QR codes (registered trademarks) used for smartphone payments. Similarly, when the user selects (tap) the code image IM, a similar payment screen will be displayed.

[0077] [Prefilling excess amount when transitioning to the charge screen] Figure 12 shows an example of the charge screen of the payment app 20. As shown in Figure 12, the charge screen of the payment app 20 includes areas A4, A5, A6, A7, and button B4.

[0078] Area A4 is an input form for entering the amount to be charged to electronic money. For example, the user may directly enter the charge amount on Area A1, or the charge amount may be automatically entered by selecting a charge amount candidate displayed at the bottom of Area A4. The display control unit 160 controls the display of the payment application 20 to prefill the excess amount as the charge amount in the input form of the charge screen, for example, when the user selects to transition from the home screen to the charge screen and an overdraft has occurred for that user. Figure 12 shows, as an example, a scenario in which the user has an overdraft of 2,000 yen, and accordingly, 2,000 yen has been prefilled as the charge amount. As a result, users who have experienced an overdraft do not need to manually enter an amount equivalent to the overdraft, improving the convenience for users in resolving the overdraft.

[0079] In another embodiment, if an overdraft occurs, the payment application 20 may receive and store status information indicating that an overdraft has occurred and the overdraft amount from the payment server 100, and the payment application 20 may prefill the overdraft amount on the charge screen when the user selects to transition to the charge screen (in other words, the payment application 20 may display the overdraft amount as a function of the application itself, without being controlled by the display control unit 160 of the payment server 100).

[0080] Area A5 contains information showing the account information of the financial institution from which the user will charge electronic money to the electronic payment service. If the user selects (tap) Area A5, the payment app 20 may allow the user to change the financial institution account information. Area A6 contains information showing the expected electronic money balance when the user charges the amount entered in Area A1. In the case of Figure 12, the user has an excess amount of 2000 yen, and 2000 yen is entered in Area A1, so the payment app 20 displays 0 yen as the expected electronic money balance after charging. The payment app 20 recalculates and updates the electronic money balance displayed in Area A6 each time the charge amount entered in Area A1 is changed.

[0081] Area A7 is a message area that prompts the user to charge electronic money due to an overdraft. Button B4 is a button to instruct the user to charge the amount entered in area A4. When the user selects (tap) button B4, the settlement processing unit 130 charges electronic money to the user's electronic money balance from the financial institution account indicated by area A5. At this time, if electronic money has been charged to the user's electronic money balance, the settlement processing unit 130 will preferentially use the charged electronic money to resolve the excess amount. In the situation shown in Figure 12, for example, if the user charges 3,000 yen worth of electronic money, the settlement processing unit 130 will use 2,000 yen of the 3,000 yen to resolve the excess amount, and then charge the remaining amount of 1,000 yen worth of electronic money to the electronic money balance. On the other hand, for example, if a user charges 1,000 yen worth of electronic money, the payment processing unit 130 will use the entire 1,000 yen to settle the excess amount, but an excess amount of 1,000 yen will still remain.

[0082] Furthermore, at the time an overdraft occurs, the settlement processing unit 130 may refer to the user information 172 and, if the user's points are greater than 0, preferentially use the user's points to resolve the excess amount. For example, assuming the user has 500 points, if an excess amount of 1000 yen occurs, the settlement processing unit 130 may calculate the excess amount as 500 yen, which is 1000 yen minus 500 points.

[0083] [Sequence Diagram] Figure 13 is a sequence diagram showing an example of a prefill process executed by the display control unit 160 when the user transitions to the charge screen. The process shown in the sequence diagram of Figure 13 is executed, for example, when the user presses the charge button B1 on the home screen.

[0084] First, the payment app 20 accepts the press of the charge button on the screen (S301). Next, the payment app 20 sends information indicating the press of the charge button to the payment server 100, linked to the user's account ID (S302). Next, the display control unit 160 determines whether or not an excess amount has been incurred for the user linked to the received account ID (S303). Here, let's assume that the display control unit 160 has determined that an excess amount has been incurred for the user in question.

[0085] In that case, the display control unit 160 sends instruction information to the payment application 20 instructing it to prefill the excess amount on the charge screen (S304). Next, the payment application 20 prefills the excess amount on the charge screen and displays it (S305). This allows the user to charge without having to manually enter an amount equivalent to the excess amount on the charge screen. If the payment application 20 is configured to share and hold the user's excess amount in advance from the payment server 100, the determination process in S303 may be performed by the payment application 20. In that case, the payment application 20 does not need to perform the transmission and reception processes in S302 and S304.

[0086] [Prefilling excess amounts in the event of electronic payment failure] Figure 14 is a diagram illustrating the failure and charging of electronic payments by a user experiencing an overdraft. The left side of Figure 14 shows, for example, a user experiencing an overdraft selecting (tapping) button B3 or code image IM on the home screen shown in Figure 11, which causes the payment app 20 to enlarge the code image IM, and the first store terminal device 50 reading the enlarged code image IM by store scan.

[0087] At this time, if the user's payment method is set to electronic money balance rather than credit payment, the user will have an excess amount, and therefore the electronic money balance will be 0. As a result, the store scan will fail, and as shown in the center of Figure 14, the payment app 20 will display information notifying the user that the electronic payment has failed due to insufficient electronic money balance. When the user confirms the failure of the electronic payment and selects (taps) the charge button B4, the payment app 20 will transition to a charge screen similar to Figure 12. The display control unit 160 controls the display of the payment app 20 so that if a user who has experienced an overdraft has chosen to transition to the charge screen after the electronic payment via store scan has failed, the sum of the excess amount and the payment amount will be prefilled into the input form of the charge screen as the charge amount. Figure 14 illustrates, as an example, a scenario where a user has incurred an excess balance of 2,000 yen and attempts to make an electronic payment of 1,000 yen, but fails. Consequently, 3,000 yen is pre-filled as the charge amount (furthermore, in area A6, 0 yen is displayed as the "available balance after charging," taking into account the 1,000 yen electronic payment).

[0088] This type of control is possible because, through store scanning, the first store terminal device 50 shares the payment amount with the payment server 100 in S16 of Figure 3, and therefore the display control unit 160 can grasp the value of the payment amount. As a result, if an overdraft occurs and electronic payment via store scanning fails, the user does not need to manually enter an amount equivalent to the sum of the overdraft and the payment amount, but can charge the amount necessary to resolve the overdraft and execute the electronic payment. [Sequence Diagram] Figure 15 is a sequence diagram showing an example of prefill processing performed by the display control unit 160 when an overdraft occurs and the electronic payment fails. The processing shown in the sequence diagram of Figure 15 is performed, for example, when an overdraft occurs and an electronic payment is performed by store scanning.

[0089] First, similar to the processes S15 and S16 of the store scan in Figure 3, the user holds (presents) the display surface of the user terminal device 200 to the first store terminal device 50, and the first store terminal device 50 decodes the code image using its optical reading function and obtains a one-time code, etc. (S401). Then, the first store terminal device 50 generates payment information including the one-time code, payment amount, merchant ID, store ID, etc., and transmits it to the payment server 100 (S402).

[0090] Next, the display control unit 160 determines whether or not an excess amount has been incurred for the user associated with the account ID included in the one-time code (S403). Here, the display control unit 160 determines that an excess amount has been incurred for the user in question.

[0091] In that case, the display control unit 160 sends information to the user terminal device 200, including a payment failure notification and an electronic money charge request, to the payment application 20 (S404). In response, the payment application 20 displays a payment failure notification, including a button to transition to the charge screen, as shown in the center of Figure 14, for example (S406). Next, the payment application 20 sends information to the payment server 100 indicating that the charge button has been pressed (S407).

[0092] When the display control unit 160 receives information indicating that the charge button has been pressed, it calculates the total amount of the excess amount and the payment amount (S408). Next, the display control unit 160 sends instruction information to prefill the total amount on the charge screen (S409). Then, the payment application 20 prefills the total amount on the charge screen and displays it (S305). As a result, the user can charge electronic money without having to manually enter the total amount of the excess amount and the payment amount on the charge screen.

[0093] In the sequence diagram of Figure 15, at S408, the display control unit 160 holds the total amount of the excess amount and the settlement amount. In another configuration, if the payment application 20 is configured to share and hold the user's excess amount in advance from the payment server 100, the payment application 20 may receive only the settlement amount from the payment server 100 at S404, and the subsequent processing at S405 to S410 may be executed as a function of the application alone (in that case, the payment application 20 will also execute the calculation process of the total amount at S408).

[0094] [Applying to user scans] Figures 14 and 15 illustrate the charge when a user experiencing an overdraft attempts to perform an electronic payment via store scan and fails. As another example, the present invention can also be applied to the charge when a user experiencing an overdraft attempts to perform an electronic payment via user scan and fails. More specifically, for example, a user enters the payment amount in S5 of Figure 2 and sends the payment amount to the payment server 100 in S6. At this time, if the display control unit 160 determines that an excess amount has occurred for that user, it may calculate the total amount of the payment amount entered by the user and the excess amount, and instruct the payment application 20 to prefill the total amount on the charge screen. In other words, the processing from S403 to S410 in the sequence diagram of Figure 15 can also be applied to user scans.

[0095] [Another example of overdraft elimination] Thus, according to this embodiment, a user who experiences an overdraft can resolve the excess amount by charging electronic money or using their accumulated points. As another example, if the payment app 20 makes a transfer to a user who experiences an overdraft using the transfer function, it may preferentially use the transferred amount to resolve the excess amount.

[0096] Figure 16 illustrates a method for preferentially resolving excess amounts through electronic money transfers. The screen on the left of Figure 16 is displayed, for example, when a user presses the "Send" button on the home screen of Figure 11 and specifies the recipient user (for example, by specifying an account ID or phone number). The screen on the left of Figure 16 shows the case where the recipient user has set a handle name (Taku) to be displayed to the sender user. The screen shown on the left of Figure 16 includes, for example, an area A8 for entering the transfer amount and an execution button B5 for executing the transfer with the entered transfer amount. When the user enters the transfer amount in area A8 and presses the execution button B5, the settlement processing unit 130 deducts the transfer amount from the sender user's charge balance and simultaneously adds the transfer amount to the recipient user's charge balance.

[0097] Subsequently, as shown on the right side of Figure 16, the sending user's payment app 20 displays a message MS in the receiving user's chat room indicating that the transfer has been completed. At the same time, the receiving user's payment app 20 displays information indicating that it has received the transfer from the sending user. At this time, if the receiving user has an excess amount, the payment processing unit 130 may add the surplus amount obtained by subtracting the excess amount from the transfer amount to the receiving user's charge balance. In this way, by enabling multiple methods for resolving overdrafts in an electronic payment service, not only electronic money charging, the resolution of overdrafts can be promoted.

[0098] [Overview of prepaid card payments (example 2)] Figure 17 shows a second example of the overview of prepaid card payments. In the example shown in Figure 8 above, it was assumed that an on-us transaction occurred where the issuer of the prepaid card and the merchant acquiring company were the same company. On the other hand, in the example shown in Figure 17, it is assumed that no on-us transaction occurred. For example, Figure 17 shows an example where a card company operating card company server 400 enters into a contract with an international brand credit card company, thereby enabling prepaid card payments at stores of merchants that are affiliated with the international brand credit card company. In Figure 17, since the issuer of the prepaid card and the merchant acquiring company are different, the merchant acquiring company exists between the merchant and the card company.

[0099] Therefore, the card terminal device 300 does not directly transmit payment information to the card company server 400, but rather transmits the payment information to the card company server 400 via the acquirer server 500 operated by the acquirer (S303, S304).

[0100] Furthermore, the card company server 400 will not pay the settlement amount directly to the merchant, but will pay the settlement amount through the acquirer (S307, S308). For example, the card company server 400 may transfer the settlement amount to the acquirer's bank account. Alternatively, the acquirer server 500 may transfer the settlement amount to the merchant's bank account. This allows the merchant to receive the settlement amount corresponding to the user's purchase of goods (or use of services).

[0101] Note that steps S301-S302 in Figure 17 are the same as steps S101-S102 in Figure 8, steps S305-S306 in Figure 17 are the same as steps S104-S105 in Figure 8, and steps S309-S310 in Figure 17 are the same as steps S107-S108 in Figure 8. Therefore, a detailed explanation of these processes will be omitted.

[0102] According to the embodiment described above, when a payment is made using a prepaid card, if the first additional charge amount, which is the payment amount at the time of authorization, is less than the first additional charge amount, which is the payment amount at the time of sale at the merchant, the display control unit 160 prefills the charge screen with a charge amount that takes into account the second additional charge amount, which is the first additional charge amount minus the electronic money balance, at the time the user charges electronic money to their electronic money balance on the charge screen of the user terminal device. This improves the convenience for users who have experienced an overdraft in resolving the excess amount.

[0103] In the above explanation, payment server 100 is described as an example of a payment processing device, and it is assumed that payment server 100 and card company server 400 are separate servers, but this is not limited to this. For example, if the electronic payment service provider and the card company are the same company or group company, a single server integrating payment server 100 and card company server 400 may be provided as the payment processing device.

[0104] Although embodiments for carrying out the present invention have been described above using examples, the present invention is not limited in any way to these embodiments, and various modifications and substitutions can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention. [Explanation of symbols]

[0105] 20 Payment Apps 50. First store terminal device 100 Payment Servers 110 Communications Department 120 Payment Content Provision Department 130 Payment Processing Unit 140 Information Management Department 150 Acquisition Department 160 Display Control Unit 170 Storage section 172 User information 178 Authorization Information 200 User terminal devices 210 Communications Department 220 Display section 230 Input section 240 Control Unit 250 Storage section 300 Card-based store terminal devices 400 card company servers 500 Acquirer Servers

Claims

1. An information processing device for a payment processing system, which links prepaid card information, which is information about a user's prepaid card, with the user's electronic money balance, and when the user makes a payment using the prepaid card at a merchant store where the prepaid card can be used, the device executes a payment process using the user's electronic money balance, With respect to a payment using the aforementioned prepaid card, if the first additional charge amount, which is the payment amount at the time of authorization, is obtained by subtracting the second payment amount, which is the payment amount at the time of sale at the merchant, is greater than the user's electronic money balance, the display control unit prefills the charge screen with a charge amount that takes into account the second additional charge amount, which is the first additional charge amount, obtained by subtracting the electronic money balance from the electronic money balance, at the time the user charges the electronic money balance on the charge screen of the user terminal device. If the aforementioned additional collection amount is greater than the user's electronic money balance, the system includes a settlement processing unit that sets the user's electronic money balance to zero. The aforementioned charge timing includes a second charge timing in which, after the merchant's payment terminal attempts to process a payment using the user's electronic money balance of 0 by reading the code information displayed on the user terminal device and fails, the user chooses to transition to the charge screen on the user terminal device. Information processing device.

2. The display control unit prefills the charge screen with the charge amount, which is the sum of the settlement amount of the failed settlement process and the second additional collection amount, at the second charge timing. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1.

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