Service provision device, service provision system, notification control method, and program
The service provision system addresses the challenge of notification complexity by categorizing and prioritizing notifications based on their source and user behavior, improving user experience and management efficiency.
Patent Information
- Authority / Receiving Office
- JP · JP
- Patent Type
- Patents
- Current Assignee / Owner
- PAYPAY CO LTD
- Filing Date
- 2022-12-14
- Publication Date
- 2026-06-08
AI Technical Summary
Existing notification systems in applications fail to effectively categorize and prioritize notifications based on their source, leading to increased complexity and difficulty in managing diverse and important information.
A service provision system that includes a category determination unit to classify notifications by their source and a notification transmission unit to provide category information, allowing the payment application to display and manage notifications more efficiently.
The system improves the organization and prioritization of notifications, reducing complexity and enhancing user experience by categorizing and managing notifications based on their source and user behavior.
Smart Images
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Abstract
Description
Technical Field
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[0001] The present invention relates to a service providing apparatus, a service providing system, a notification control method, and a program.
Background Art
[0002] Based on the consistency of the semantic feature values of notification messages in applications, a technique for associating notifications of different applications has been proposed (see, for example, Patent Document 1). According to such a technique, it is convenient for the user to easily refer to highly relevant notifications even if they are notifications of different applications.
Prior Art Documents
Patent Documents
[0007] According to one aspect of the present invention, a service delivery device, a service delivery system, a notification control method, and a program can be provided that can improve the complexity of notifications in individual applications. [Brief explanation of the drawing]
[0008] [Figure 1] This diagram shows an example of a configuration for implementing an electronic payment service. [Figure 2] This diagram illustrates the general flow of electronic payments. [Figure 3] This diagram illustrates 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 figure shows an example of the functional configuration of the notification control unit 140. [Figure 8] This figure shows a first example of the notification screen displayed by the payment app 20. [Figure 9] This figure shows a second example of the notification screen displayed by the payment app 20. [Figure 10] This figure shows a third example of the notification screen displayed by the payment app 20. [Figure 11] This figure shows a fourth example of the notification screen displayed by the payment app 20. [Figure 12] This figure shows a fifth example of the notification screen displayed by the payment app 20. [Modes for carrying out the invention]
[0009] The service provision device, service provision system, notification control method, and program of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. The service provision system is implemented by one or more processors. The service provision system is a system that provides services such as electronic payment services. In the following description, the service provision system and service provision device will be assumed to provide electronic payment services, and will be referred to as the "electronic payment system" and "payment server," respectively. However, the service provision system and service provision device may provide any service that involves login, such as shopping, auctions, chat, microblogs, etc. An 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. In an 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.
[0010] [Electronic payment service] Figure 1 shows an example of a configuration for realizing an electronic payment service. The electronic payment service is implemented with a payment server 100 at its core. The payment server 100 communicates with, for example, one or more user terminal devices 10, one or more first store terminal devices 50, and one or more second store terminal devices 70 via a network NW. The network NW includes, for example, the Internet, a LAN (Local Area Network), a wireless base station, and provider equipment.
[0011] The user terminal device 10 is, for example, a portable terminal device such as a smartphone or tablet. The user terminal device 10 is a computer device having at least optical reading function, communication function, display function, input reception function, and program execution function. In the following description, the components for realizing these functions will be referred to as a camera, communication device, touch panel, CPU (Central Processing Unit), etc. In the user terminal device 10, the payment application 20 is executed by a processor such as the CPU, and it operates in cooperation with the payment server 100 to provide electronic payment services to the user. The payment application 20 controls the camera, communication device, touch panel, etc.
[0012] 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).
[0013] 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, or reading a code image displayed by the user terminal device 10.
[0014] The settlement server 100 collaborates with the settlement application 20 operating on the user terminal device 10 to provide an electronic payment service to the user of the user terminal device 10. The settlement server 100 realizes electronic payment based on the settlement information received from the user terminal device 10 or the first store terminal device 50. The first store terminal device 50 may include a POS device and a franchise server. In that case, the settlement information is transmitted from the POS device to the settlement server 100 via the franchise server. In the following description, without particularly distinguishing this, it is assumed that the settlement information is transmitted from the first store terminal device 50. The settlement server 100 performs electronic payment, for example, by reducing the remaining balance of the charge managed in association with the user ID and increasing the item value of the sales amount of the franchise. The item value of the sales amount of the franchise is not, for example, used as electronic money itself, and the amount corresponding to the item value of the sales amount is remitted to the bank account in a cycle according to the agreement between the franchise and the electronic payment service. Electronic payment may include methods such as direct debit and credit card payment, which enable purchases in amounts greater than the remaining balance of the charge at the time of purchase.
[0015] Figure 2 is a diagram illustrating a rough flow of electronic payment. Figure 3 is a diagram illustrating a rough flow of electronic payment. Figures 2 and 3 are sequence diagrams illustrating a rough flow of electronic payment. There may be two patterns, Pattern 1 and Pattern 2, in electronic payment.
[0016] In the case of pattern 1 shown in FIG. 2 (hereinafter referred to as user scan), the user terminal device 10 in the state where the settlement application 20 is activated decodes the store code image 60 by means of an optical reading function (S1). The store code image 60 contains information on the store URL (Uniform Resource Locator). This store URL is obtained by adding information that can identify the store to the domain of the electronic payment service, and is associated with the franchise store ID, store ID, etc. in the payment server 100 (described later). The settlement application 20 transmits the first settlement information including the store URL and the account ID to the settlement server 100 (S2). The settlement server 100 searches for store information (described later) from the franchise store ID and store ID corresponding to the store URL, acquires the information on the franchise store name and the store name (S3), and transmits it to the settlement application 20 (S4). The user inputs the settlement amount into the user terminal device 10 on the screen where the franchise store name and the store name are displayed (S5). Then, the user terminal device 10 generates the second settlement information including at least the settlement amount, and transmits it to the settlement server 100 (S6). The settlement server 100 completes the electronic payment as described above based on the received second settlement information (S7). Then, the settlement server 100 transmits a settlement completion notification (information for displaying a settlement completion screen) to the settlement application 20 (S8), and the settlement application 20 displays the settlement completion screen (S9). When the store code image 60 is displayed by a display placed in the store, the store code image 60 may contain not only the store URL but also the settlement amount information. In this case, the procedure for the user to input the settlement amount is omitted, and the settlement amount information is included in the first settlement information and transmitted to the settlement server 100. The information on the franchise store name and the store name may be included and displayed on the settlement completion screen.
[0017] In the case of Pattern 2 shown in 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, and when it is time for automatic updates, 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 10 over the first store terminal device 50 (presents it), and the first store terminal device 50 decodes the code image using its optical reading function and obtains the one-time code (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 reading or manual input. The payment server 100 identifies the user corresponding to the one-time code based on the received information and completes the electronic payment as described above (S17). Then, the payment server 100 sends a payment completion notification to the payment app 20 (S18), and the payment app 20 displays a payment completion screen (S19).
[0018] 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.
[0019] [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 122, a payment processing unit 124, an information management unit 130, a notification control unit 140, and a storage unit 170. Components other than the communication unit 110 and the storage unit 170 are realized, for example, by a hardware processor such as a CPU executing a program (software). Some or all of these components may be realized by hardware (including circuitry) such as LSI (Large Scale Integration), ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), FPGA (Field-Programmable Gate Array), and GPU (Graphics Processing Unit), or by the cooperation of software and hardware. The program may be stored in advance in a storage device such as an HDD (Hard Disk Drive) or flash memory (a storage device 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 mounted on a drive device.
[0020] 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 can be accessed by the payment server 100 via the network. The storage unit 170 stores information such as user information 172, payment content information 174, and merchant / store information 176.
[0021] 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.
[0022] The payment content provision unit 122, 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 10. The payment content provision unit 122 reads the necessary content from the payment content information 174 as appropriate and provides it to the user terminal device 10. The user terminal device 10 receives various inputs from the user while the content is being played by the payment application 20 and transmits the aforementioned payment information and other data to the payment server 100.
[0023] The payment processing unit 124 performs payment processing based on payment information transmitted by the user terminal device 10 or the first store terminal device 50. The payment processing unit 124 performs payment processing while referring to the user information 172.
[0024] The Information Management Department 130 creates new records for user information 172 or updates each data item in existing records based on information obtained from user terminal devices 10, the first store terminal device 50, the second store terminal device 70, and so on.
[0025] The notification control unit 140 controls notifications to users of the electronic payment service. More specifically, the notification control unit 140 controls the transmission of notifications and controls the display of notifications on the user terminal device 10. On the user terminal device 10, notifications from the payment server 100 may be displayed by the payment application 20.
[0026] 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, phone number, password, as well as information such as email address, user ID, name, address, date of birth, registration date, charge balance, bank account, credit card number, other service linkage information, radio wave authentication settings, carrier payment settings, chat friend list, charge history information, payment history information, chat history information, notification history information, and notification settings information. When registering for a new electronic payment service, registration of a phone number and password is required. The account ID is issued to the user by the payment server 100, and the user ID is an ID that the user can set at will (or not set). Other information besides the user URL, account ID, phone number, password, registration date, charge balance, charge history information, and payment history information is information that the user can set at will. Hereinafter, the user instance (electronic payment account) to which this information is linked will be referred to as an account. The user URL is used for processing payments between users. The registration date is the date the user registered with the electronic payment service (the date the account was created).
[0027] The charge balance is information indicating the balance of electronic money set up by the user by sending money to their account in advance. Methods of sending money include transfers from ATMs (Automatic Teller Machines) of designated providers (banks) and transfers from registered bank accounts. The bank account and credit card number information, respectively, are details of bank accounts or credit card numbers (account number, card number) that can be used to deposit funds into the electronic payment service. Other service linkage information is login IDs for other services that link with the electronic payment service (for example, services operated by operators belonging to the same business group). Radio wave authentication settings are settings for authentication performed through communication with a specific telecommunications carrier. Carrier payment settings are settings for transferring at least a portion of payments made using the electronic payment service to the telecommunications carrier. The chat friends list is a list of other users with whom the user can chat using the chat function provided by the electronic payment service. Charge history information is a history of when the user has sent money to the electronic payment service in advance to increase their charge balance. 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, etc.). Chat history information is a history of the content of chats that the user has had.
[0028] Notification history information is information that shows the history of notifications sent by the payment server 100 to the user. Notification history information includes information such as the content of the notified message, the date and time the notification was made, and the read status of the notification. Notification setting information is setting information related to the display of notifications on the user terminal device 10.
[0029] Figure 6 shows an example of the contents of the merchant / store information 176. The store information 176 includes, for example, a first table 176A in which merchant IDs and store IDs are associated with store URLs, a second table 176B in which merchant names and sales figures (as described above) are associated with merchant IDs, and a third table 176C in which store IDs are associated with store IDs. In addition to this information, the merchant / store information 176 may also include information such as the merchant or store category, store location, and payment patterns.
[0030] Figure 7 shows an example of the functional configuration of the notification control unit 140. The notification control unit 140 includes, for example, a category determination unit 142, a notification transmission unit 144, a priority determination unit 146, and an unread counting unit 148. The category determination unit 142 determines the category related to the display of notifications by the payment application 20 according to the source of the notification. More specifically, the category determination unit 142 selects the category of the notification to be sent to the user terminal device 10 from a group of categories that includes a first category, which is the category of notifications from the provider of the electronic payment service to the user of the electronic payment service, and a second category, which is the category of notifications from the merchant of the electronic payment service to the user of the merchant. Note that the categories may have subcategories in a hierarchical manner.
[0031] The notification transmission unit 144 transmits a notification to the user terminal device 10 that includes category information related to the category determined by the category determination unit 142. Here, the notification may be metadata or the notification content itself (e.g., text or images). The notification may also be information for displaying the category information included in the notification content, or it may be information that includes category information so that the category can be recognized separately from the notification content. If a category has subcategories hierarchically, the notification transmission unit 144 may change the frequency of sending notifications based on the attributes of the subcategory and the content of the notifications belonging to the subcategory.
[0032] In this way, when a notification containing category information is sent, the payment application 20 on the user terminal device 10 can recognize the category of the notification received from the payment server 100 and display the notification in association with that category. Furthermore, if the category has subcategories hierarchically, the payment application 20 can display the information related to the received notification attached to the corresponding subcategory among the subcategories of the category of that notification.
[0033] The priority determination unit 146 determines the display priority for multiple categories based on the user's electronic payment service usage history or user behavior history, and notifies the payment application 20. Upon notification of these priorities, the payment application 20 on the user terminal device 10 can change the display pattern of the multiple categories according to the priority.
[0034] The unread notification aggregation unit 148 recognizes whether or not to include unread notifications in the aggregation based on pre-registered settings for each subcategory of a category that has hierarchical subcategories, aggregates the unread notifications, and notifies the payment application 20 of the aggregation results. By notifying the payment application 20 of the aggregation results for unread notifications, the payment application 20 on the user terminal device 10 can display the number of unread notifications, excluding those that are not included in the aggregation, in association with the category or subcategory. Regarding the settings for this unread aggregation, the payment application 20 accepts setting operations for each subcategory to determine whether or not to include unread notifications in the aggregation, and transmits the setting information to the payment server 100.
[0035] [Notification control] The following describes specific examples of notification control performed by the payment server 100 and the payment application 20, referring to the display examples of the notification screens shown in Figures 8 to 12.
[0036] Figure 8 shows a first example of the notification screen displayed by the payment app 20. The notification screen G100A shown in Figure 8 displays notifications categorized into categories and subcategories. For example, the notification screen G100A includes an application tab G110, a merchant tab G120, and a mini-app tab G130 for displaying notifications categorized into multiple categories. In the example in Figure 8, the application tab G110 is an example of the first category mentioned above, and mainly displays notifications from electronic payment service providers to users. On the other hand, the merchant tab G120 is an example of the second category mentioned above, and mainly displays notifications from electronic payment service merchants to users. The indicator G140 indicates the selected tab and is displayed in accordance with the selected tab according to the tab selection operation.
[0037] Furthermore, the mini-app tab G130 is an example of a third category, which differs from the first and second categories described above. Specifically, the third category is a category of notifications from the provider of the second service to the user when the payment app 20 has a second function that provides the second service in conjunction with the electronic payment function (first function) of an electronic payment service (first service). A payment app 20 with such a function is generally called a "super app," and the second function that is linked with the electronic payment function of the payment app 20 is called a "mini-app." Hereafter, the term "mini-app" may refer to this second function, or the second service provided by the second function. As an example of a mini-app in this embodiment, for example, it is assumed that a merchant provides a service that enables users to purchase their own products (or services) in conjunction with the electronic payment function. Another example of a mini-app is, for example, one that enables an electronic payment service provider to realize other service functions using the electronic payment function.
[0038] Note that the first display example does not limit the number of notification categories to three (Category 1, Category 2, and Category 3). Also, in the first display example, the categories shall have at least Category 1 and Category 2. With respect to the first display example, the category determination unit 142 selects a category from a group of categories that includes at least Category 1 and Category 2 for notifications sent to the payment app 20. In the first display example, the group of categories may also include the above-mentioned Category 3.
[0039] Furthermore, the first display example shows notifications classified into each category, further categorized and displayed within their subcategories. For example, notification screen G100A in Figure 8 displays notifications classified into five subcategories G111 to G115, including "System," "Campaigns," and "New Information." In the display of each subcategory, notification screen G100A may display icons to improve the visibility of the subcategory, or it may display the subcategory title, various information about the most recent notification, the number of unread notifications, etc. For example, subcategory G111 in Figure 8 displays icon C1, title T1, information about the most recent notification N11 and N12, and the number of unread notifications U1. For example, information N11 represents part of the content of the most recent unread notification, and information N12 represents the time the most recent unread notification was received.
[0040] Figure 9 shows a second example of the notification screen displayed by the payment app 20. The notification screen G100B shown in Figure 9 is an example of the display of the merchant tab G120 explained in Figure 8. In the example of notification screen G100B in Figure 9, notifications classified under the "Merchant" category are classified and displayed under the subcategories G121 to G125 for each merchant. In displaying the subcategories, notification screen G100B may also display icons to improve the visibility of the subcategories, the title of the subcategory, various information about the most recent notification, the number of unread notifications, etc., as in the first display example.
[0041] Figure 10 shows a third example of the notification screen displayed by the payment application 20. The notification screen G100C shown in Figure 10 shows an example of notifications displayed in a subcategory selected from a category. In the example of notification screen G100C in Figure 10, notifications N21 and N22 classified in the "Campaigns" subcategory selected from the "Applications" category are displayed. The notification screen G100C also includes an input interface IF23 that accepts operations to display various setting interfaces for the currently displayed subcategory (in this case, "Campaigns").
[0042] Figure 11 shows a fourth example of the notification screen displayed by the payment app 20. The notification screen G100D shown in Figure 11, like the third example, shows an example of notifications displayed in a subcategory selected from a category. In the example of notification screen G100D in Figure 11, notifications N31 and N32 classified in the "Asset Management" subcategory selected from the "Mini Apps" category are displayed.
[0043] As shown in Figures 10 and 11, in notification screens G100C and G100D that display notifications for subcategories, each notification may also display an icon to improve the visibility of the notification, the content of the notification (which may include text and images), and the time the notification was received, similar to the first or second display example. In addition to these displays, each notification may also display its read status.
[0044] Figure 12 shows a fifth example of the notification screen displayed by the payment app 20. The notification screen G100E shown in Figure 12 is an example of a user interface (hereinafter referred to as the "setting interface") for which the user can set notification suppression for a subcategory selected from a category. Notification suppression here may include a first notification suppression that suppresses the notification that the payment app 20 will notify of the arrival of a new notification, and a second notification suppression that suppresses the sending of notifications to the payment app 20 itself. The notification screen G100E in the example of Figure 12 displays a setting interface IF40 which includes an information display area IF41 that prompts the user to confirm the target of notification suppression, and an input interface IF42 that accepts an operation to perform notification suppression settings for the displayed target. The setting interface IF40 is displayed, for example, by a selection operation of the input interface IF23.
[0045] For example, if the first notification suppression setting is configured for a target subcategory, the unread aggregation unit 148 excludes unread notifications from the target subcategory when aggregating unread notifications in the category or subcategory containing that subcategory (hereinafter referred to as the "parent category"). When this aggregation result is notified to the payment app 20, the payment app 20 displays the number of unread notifications in the parent category, excluding the unread notifications from the target subcategory. In this way, by excluding a user-specified subcategory from the unread aggregation, the priority of checking notifications for that subcategory can be lowered, thereby improving the complexity of notifications.
[0046] In the example shown in Figure 12, the setting interface IF40 is illustrated for suppressing notifications for the target subcategory. However, if the input interface IF23 is operated when notification suppression is already set for the target subcategory, the payment app 20 will display a setting interface to disable notification suppression for the target subcategory.
[0047] Furthermore, while the example in Figure 12 describes a case where the settings interface allows users to either enable or disable notification suppression for a given subcategory, whether or not such notification suppression can be enabled may be controlled based on the display priority for each subcategory. For example, the payment app 20 may be configured to not accept settings operations (e.g., not display the settings interface) for subcategories with a priority higher than a threshold, in order to determine whether or not to include them in the unread notification aggregation. By controlling the settings interface in this way, it is possible to prevent users from being deprived of notifications for important categories or subcategories.
[0048] According to the electronic payment system 1 of the embodiment described above, the payment server 100, which provides electronic payment services to users of the user terminal device 10 in cooperation with the payment application 20 operating on the user terminal device 10, includes a category determination unit 142 that determines the category for displaying notifications in the payment application 20 according to the source of the notification, and a notification transmission unit 144 that transmits information to the user terminal device 10 for displaying the category information related to the determined category in the notification, thereby improving the complexity of notifications in the payment application 20.
[0049] For example, in general, applications such as email and chat notify users of information chronologically, regardless of whether the sender is an individual or a corporation. Therefore, especially with email, users often set filtering conditions to organize the information. On the other hand, as notification information becomes more diverse, information of high or low importance, information with the nature of immediate notification (immediacy), and information that is not highly immediate but of high user interest become mixed together, making the sorting of notification information itself complicated. The electronic payment system 1 of the embodiment can improve this complexity of sorting notification information.
[0050] <Variation> The payment app 20 may be configured to change the display of tabs according to their priority. For example, the payment app 20 may change the order of tabs according to their priority. Also, for example, when it is necessary to display one of the tabs in a selected state, such as when the app is launched, the payment app 20 may automatically select the tab with the highest priority. In this case, for example, the priority determination unit 146 may recognize the importance of each category and subcategory to the user based on the user's operation history (an example of payment history or behavioral history) to the payment app 20, and determine a higher priority according to the level of importance. By changing the display of tabs based on such priorities, the electronic payment system 1 can personalize the display of multiple tabs according to the user's characteristics. Also, if the user terminal device 10 has a location information acquisition function, location information may be used as an example of behavioral history. Furthermore, the payment app 20 may change the display of each notification according to its importance. For example, the payment app 20 can suggest to the user the importance of a particular merchant by changing the display of that merchant (background, background color, presence or absence of tags, etc.) for users who frequently use that merchant.
[0051] Furthermore, the payment app 20 may change the display method of subcategories in the category tabs according to the priority of the subcategories. Also, the payment app 20 may change the display method of notifications within subcategories according to the priority of the subcategories. In this case, for example, the payment app 20 may separate notifications into those that are mandatory for notification to the user (e.g., authentication-related notifications and notifications regarding various deadlines (payment deadlines, remittance request deadlines, etc.)) and those that are optional (e.g., campaign information and coupons), and then change the display order of the optional notifications.
[0052] Furthermore, if the electronic payment system 1 provides asset management services as illustrated in Figure 11, the notification transmission unit 144 may be configured to change the frequency of sending notifications depending on the type and nature of the investment product. For example, in this case, the notification transmission unit 144 may recognize the importance of notifications based on the frequency of checking asset management notifications, and increase the frequency of sending notifications of high importance or decrease the frequency of sending notifications of low importance. Also, for example, the notification transmission unit 144 may increase the frequency of sending notifications for investment products where the investment status is likely to change rapidly, such as individual stock investments (see notification N32 in Figure 11, for example) (e.g., real-time reports), or decrease the frequency of sending notifications for investment products where the investment status is unlikely to change rapidly, such as investment trusts (see notification N31 in Figure 11) (e.g., weekly reports).
[0053] Furthermore, the notification transmission unit 144 may be configured to send notifications filtered according to the user's preferences. For example, the notification transmission unit 144 may, in principle, be configured to send only notifications related to merchants that the user follows. In addition, for example, the notification transmission unit 144 may also send notifications about merchants that the user does not follow, but which are likely to match the user's preferences. The user's preferences may be determined based on, for example, the user's behavioral history or payment history, or based on the type, nature, or similarity of merchants that the user follows. For example, the notification transmission unit 144 may send notifications recommending merchants that neither party has visited to users with similar behavioral tendencies. By sending such notifications, the electronic payment system 1 can provide notifications that are more appropriate to the user while suppressing the sending of unnecessary notifications.
[0054] Furthermore, the notification sending unit 144 may be configured to classify users who follow each affiliated store based on commonalities and send notifications tailored to users within each classification. For example, the notification sending unit 144 may classify users by usage timing and frequency (e.g., weekends, once a month, daily, etc.), or by user attributes (student, elderly, gender, age, whether they live in a rural area or in Tokyo, light user or heavy user, etc.).
[0055] Furthermore, the priority determination unit 146 may determine the priority of notifications for each category or subcategory. More specifically, the priority determination unit 146 may determine the priority according to the importance of the notification. For example, the priority determination unit 146 may determine the highest priority for notifications regarding user consent to revisions of terms and conditions due to legal amendments, etc. In this case, the payment app 20 may be configured to display notifications in order of priority, fixing the notification at the top of the category or subcategory until the user confirms it.
[0056] 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]
[0057] 1…Electronic payment system, 10…User terminal device, 20…Payment app, 50…First store terminal device, 60…Store code image, 70…Second store terminal device, 72…Merchant interface, 100…Payment server, 110…Communication unit, 122…Payment content provision unit, 124…Payment processing unit, 130…Information management unit, 140…Notification control unit, 142…Category determination unit, 144…Notification transmission unit, 146…Priority determination unit, 148…Unread aggregation unit, 170…Storage unit, 172…User information, 174…Payment content information, 176…Store information, 176A…First table, 176B…Second table, 176C…Third table
Claims
1. A service provider that provides services to users of a terminal device in cooperation with an application program running on the terminal device, A category determination unit determines the category for displaying notifications sent to the application program from among multiple categories associated with multiple tabs displayed in the application program, according to the source of the notification. A notification transmission unit that includes category information relating to the determined category in the notification and transmits it to the terminal device, Equipped with, Each of the aforementioned categories has subcategories in a hierarchical manner. The application program accepts a setting operation for each subcategory to determine whether or not to include it in the aggregation of unread notifications, and transmits the setting information to the service provider. The system further includes an unread notification aggregation unit that recognizes the subcategory to be aggregated based on the aforementioned configuration information, aggregates the unread notifications, and notifies the application program of the aggregation results. Service provision device.
2. The service provider further includes a priority determination unit that determines the display priority for the multiple categories based on the user's service usage history or the user's behavior history and notifies the application program accordingly. The service provision device according to claim 1.
3. Each of the aforementioned categories has subcategories in a hierarchical manner. The application program displays information regarding notifications received from the service provider by attaching it to the corresponding subcategory among the subcategories of the category indicated by the category information. The service provision device according to claim 1.
4. The application program does not accept setting operations to determine whether or not to include subcategories with a priority higher than a threshold in the aggregation of unread notifications. The service provision device according to claim 1.
5. Each of the aforementioned categories has subcategories in a hierarchical manner. The notification transmission unit changes the frequency of sending the notification based on the attributes of the subcategory and the content of the notification belonging to the subcategory. A service provisioning device according to any one of claims 1 to 4.
6. The application program accepts an operation to set notification suppression for the subcategory, The unread aggregation unit excludes the subcategory for which the notification suppression has been set from the subcategory to be aggregated. The service provision device according to claim 1.
7. A service provision system comprising a service provision device that provides services to users of a terminal device in cooperation with an application program running on the terminal device, and the application program, The aforementioned service provider is A category determination unit determines the category for displaying notifications sent to the application program from among multiple categories associated with multiple tabs displayed in the application program, according to the source of the notification. A notification transmission unit that includes category information relating to the determined category in the notification and transmits it to the terminal device, Equipped with, Each of the aforementioned categories has subcategories in a hierarchical manner. The application program displays information regarding notifications received from the service provider in association with the tab corresponding to the category indicated by the category information included in the notification, and accepts a setting operation for each subcategory to determine whether or not to include it in the aggregation of unread notifications, and transmits the setting information to the service provider. The service provider further includes an unread notification aggregation unit that recognizes the subcategory to be aggregated based on the setting information, aggregates the unread notifications, and notifies the application program of the aggregation results. Service delivery system.
8. A notification control method performed by a service provider that provides services to a user of a terminal device in cooperation with an application program running on the terminal device, The service provision device, The category for displaying notifications sent to the application program is determined from among multiple categories associated with multiple tabs displayed in the application program, according to the source of the notification. The category information relating to the determined category is included in the notification and transmitted to the terminal device, Includes, Each of the aforementioned categories has subcategories in a hierarchical manner. The application program accepts a setting operation for each subcategory, indicating whether or not to include it in the aggregation of unread notifications, and transmits this setting information to the service provider. The service provider recognizes the subcategories to be aggregated based on the configuration information, aggregates the unread notifications, and notifies the application program of the aggregation results. A notification control method that further includes the following.
9. An application program that operates on a user's terminal device and cooperates with a service provider to provide services to the user, The aforementioned terminal device, The service provider device determines the category for displaying the notification sent to the application program from among multiple categories associated with multiple tabs displayed in the application program, according to the source of the notification, and includes the category information related to the determined category in the notification and sends it to the terminal device, thereby causing the terminal device to receive the notification. The information regarding the received notification is displayed in association with the tab corresponding to the category indicated by the category information included in the notification, among the multiple tabs, Each of the aforementioned categories has subcategories in a hierarchical manner. For each of the aforementioned subcategories, the system accepts a setting operation to determine whether or not to include it in the aggregation of unread notifications, and transmits this setting information to the service provider. Based on the aforementioned configuration information, the service provider recognizes the subcategories to be aggregated and aggregates unread notifications, and receives the aggregation results from the service provider. program.