Display control system, display control method, and program

Abstract

To improve user convenience on the payment method selection screen when specifying the payment method to be used for at least one of the goods or services. [Solution] When a request is made to display a payment method specification screen for specifying a payment method used in the payment of at least one of the goods and services, the useful information acquisition unit (101) of the display control system (1) acquires useful information that is beneficial to the user making the payment using the specified payment method. The display control unit (102) executes display control processing related to the display of the payment method specification screen based on the useful information.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a display control system, a display control method, and a program. [Background Art]

[0002] Conventionally, technologies for improving the convenience of users who perform payment for at least one of goods and services have been studied. For example, Patent Document 1 describes a granting device that, from among transaction targets to be traded, determines transaction targets to which a coupon available to a user via an electronic payment service, which the user has already acquired, is not applicable, determines an application mode of the coupon for the remaining transaction targets obtained by excluding the transaction targets to which the coupon is not applicable, and grants a benefit based on the application mode of the coupon to the user. [Prior Art Documents] [Patent Documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2024-096495 [Summary of the Invention] [Problem to be Solved by the Invention]

[0004] However, with the technology of Patent Document 1, although a coupon can be automatically applied to a transaction target for which a user's already acquired coupon can be used, and application of a coupon can be automatically excluded for transaction targets to which the coupon is not applicable, it has not been possible to improve the user convenience on a payment method designation screen related to designation of a payment method used for payment of at least one of goods and services. This point is the same for technologies other than that of Patent Document 1.

[0005] One object of the present disclosure is to improve user convenience on a payment method designation screen related to designation of a payment method used for payment of at least one of goods and services. The object of the present disclosure is not limited to this object. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] The display control system relating to this disclosure includes a useful information acquisition unit that acquires useful information useful to a user making a payment using a payment method when a request is made to display a payment method specification screen relating to the specification of a payment method used for the payment of at least one of goods and services, and a display control unit that executes a display control process relating to the display of the payment method specification screen based on the useful information. [Effects of the Invention]

[0007] This disclosure enhances user convenience on the payment method selection screen for specifying the payment method used for at least one of the goods and services. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0008] [Figure 1] This figure shows an example of the hardware configuration of a display control system. [Figure 2] This figure shows an example of a screen displayed on a user's terminal. [Figure 3] This figure shows an example of a screen displayed on a user's terminal. [Figure 4] This figure shows an example of the functions implemented by the display control system. [Figure 5] This is a diagram showing an example of a payment database. [Figure 6] This figure shows an example of a useful information database. [Figure 7] This is a diagram showing an example of an e-commerce database. [Figure 8] This figure shows an example of the processing performed by the display control system. [Figure 9] This figure shows an example of the functions implemented in the display control system for modified examples. [Figure 10] This figure shows an example of the payment confirmation screen for Modification Example 1. [Figure 11] This figure shows an example of the payment confirmation screen for Modification Example 2. [Figure 12] This figure shows an example of the payment method selection screen for Modification Example 5. [Figure 13] This figure shows an example of the payment method selection screen for Modification Example 9. [Figure 14] This figure shows an example of the payment completion screen for variation 14. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0009] [1. Hardware configuration of the display control system] An example of an embodiment of the display control system, display control method, and program relating to this disclosure will be described. In this embodiment, the case in which the display control system, display control method, and program are applied to a payment service will be given as an example. A payment service is a service that provides electronic payment (cashless payment) to a user. For example, a payment service may realize payment for a user using an EC (Electronic Commerce) service. An EC service is a service that provides electronic commercial transactions to a user.

[0010] Furthermore, the display control system, display control method, and program may be applied to services other than payment services that are linked to e-commerce services. The display control system, display control method, and program may be applied to any service. For example, the display control system, display control method, and program may be applied to e-commerce services, financial services, travel booking services, communication services, point services, or other services.

[0011] Figure 1 shows an example of the hardware configuration of a display control system. For example, the display control system 1 includes a payment server 10. The payment server 10 is connected to a network N such as the Internet or a LAN. In this embodiment, an example is given in which the e-commerce server 20 and user terminal 30 are also connected to the network N. In the example in Figure 1, one unit each of the payment server 10, e-commerce server 20, and user terminal 30 is shown, but there may be multiple units of at least one of the payment server 10, e-commerce server 20, and user terminal 30.

[0012] The payment server 10 is a server computer for a payment service. For example, the payment server 10 includes a control unit 11, a storage unit 12, and a communication unit 13. The control unit 11 includes at least one processor. The storage unit 12 includes at least one of a volatile memory such as a RAM and a non-volatile memory such as a flash memory. The communication unit 13 includes at least one of a communication interface for wired communication and a communication interface for wireless communication.

[0013] Note that the display control system 1 only needs to include at least one computer. The computers included in the display control system 1 are not limited to the example shown in Fig. 1. For example, the display control system 1 may include the payment server 10 and an EC server 20. The display control system 1 may include the payment server 10 and a user terminal 30. The display control system 1 may include the payment server 10, the EC server 20, and the user terminal 30. The display control system 1 may include the payment server 10 and another computer not shown in Fig. 1.

[0014] The EC server 20 is a server computer for an electronic commerce service. For example, the EC server 20 includes a control unit 21, a storage unit 22, and a communication unit 23. The hardware configurations of the control unit 21, the storage unit 22, and the communication unit 23 may be the same as those of the control unit 11, the storage unit 12, and the communication unit 13, respectively.

[0015] The user terminal 30 is a user's computer. For example, the user terminal 30 is a smartphone, a tablet, a personal computer, or a wearable terminal. The user terminal 30 includes a control unit 31, a storage unit 32, a communication unit 33, an operation unit 34, and a display unit 35. The hardware configurations of the control unit 31, the storage unit 32, and the communication unit 33 may be the same as those of the control unit 11, the storage unit 12, and the communication unit 13, respectively. The operation unit 34 is an input device such as a touch panel or a mouse. The display unit 35 is a display such as a liquid crystal display or an organic EL display.

[0016] Furthermore, programs stored in memory units 12, 22, and 32 may be supplied to the payment server 10, the e-commerce server 20, or the user terminal 30 via the network N. Also, at least one of a reading unit (e.g., a memory card slot) for reading computer-readable information storage media and an input / output unit (e.g., a USB port) for inputting and outputting data with external devices may be included in the payment server 10, the e-commerce server 20, or the user terminal 30. For example, a program stored on the information storage media may be supplied to the payment server 10, the e-commerce server 20, or the user terminal 30 via at least one of the reading unit and the input / output unit.

[0017] [2. Overview of the Display Control System] In this embodiment, we take as an example the case in which a user uses a payment service to settle payment for at least one of the goods and services sold in the e-commerce service. For example, the user operates the user terminal 30 to access the e-commerce service website and search for at least one of the goods and services. The user adds at least one of the desired goods and services to the e-commerce service shopping cart.

[0018] Figures 2 and 3 show examples of screens displayed on the user terminal 30. For example, when a user proceeds with the procedure to order at least one of the products and services added to the shopping cart, the user terminal 30 communicates with the EC server 20, as shown in the upper part of Figure 2, and displays a payment method selection screen SC1 on the display unit 35, which accepts the selection of any payment method from among the multiple payment methods supported by the EC service.

[0019] The payment method may be a payment service provided by a payment service provider, or it may be a payment method different from the payment service provided by the payment service provider. For example, the other payment method may be bank transfer, cash on delivery, payment at a physical store, credit card, other cards other than credit cards, or cryptocurrency. The term "payment method" means a concept that encompasses both payment services and other payment methods. In this embodiment, we give an example where the EC service supports both payment services and other payment methods, but the EC service may support only one of either payment services or other payment methods.

[0020] In the upper example of Figure 2, the payment method selection screen SC1 displays payment method content C10, which accepts the selection of "AAA Pay," a payment service of the payment service provider managing the payment server 10; payment method content C11, which accepts the selection of "BBB Pay," a payment service of a different payment service provider; and payment method content C12, which accepts the selection of other payment methods. Hereafter, when payment method content C10 to C12 are not distinguished, they will be referred to as payment method content C.

[0021] Payment Method Content C is a user interface component that accepts the selection of a payment method. Payment Method Content C may be any component that can accept user input. For example, Payment Method Content C may be a button, checkbox, text, icon, link, slider, or other component. If the e-commerce service supports multiple payment methods, the Payment Method Selection Screen SC1 includes Payment Method Content C for each of the multiple payment methods.

[0022] In this embodiment, if a campaign is being held with the payment service "AAA Pay", the details of the campaign are displayed in the payment method content C10. In the upper example of Figure 2, a campaign is being held where, when a user makes a payment with the payment service "AAA Pay", the point accrual rate for the payment is five times the normal rate. When the cursor displayed on the payment method selection screen SC1 hovers over the payment method content C10, further details of the campaign may be displayed. For example, the display of the campaign details and the display of the payment method content C10 may be performed in two stages.

[0023] Furthermore, even if a campaign is being held for the payment service "BBB Pay," the details of that campaign will not be displayed in the payment method content C11. Similarly, even if a campaign is being held for the payment service "AAA Pay" or other payment methods besides "BBB Pay," the details of those campaigns will not be displayed in the payment method content C12.

[0024] For example, when a user selects payment method content C10, as shown in the lower part of Figure 2, the user terminal 30 communicates with the payment server 10 and displays a login screen SC2 on the display unit 35 to accept login to the payment service "AAA Pay". The user enters their login account for the payment service into input form F20. The user enters their password for the payment service into input form F21. When the user enters their login account and password and selects button B22, the payment server 10 verifies the validity of the login account and password entered by the user.

[0025] For example, once the validity of the login account and password entered by the user is confirmed, the user terminal 30 communicates with the payment server 10, as shown in the upper part of Figure 3, and displays a payment confirmation screen SC3 for confirming the payment details on the display unit 35. In the example shown in the upper part of Figure 3, the payment amount linked from the EC service, the points or electronic money that the user can use for payment, and the payment methods available to the user are displayed on the payment confirmation screen SC3. As shown in the modified example described later, the details of campaigns in the payment service may also be displayed on the payment confirmation screen SC3.

[0026] For example, when a user selects button B30, payment is executed based on the information specified on the payment confirmation screen SC3. As shown in the lower part of Figure 3, the user terminal 30 communicates with the payment server 10 and displays a payment completion screen SC4 on the display unit 35, indicating that the payment has been completed. In the example at the bottom of Figure 3, a campaign is being held where the point accrual rate is five times higher. If the normal accrual rate is 1%, the payment completion screen SC4 will show that 5% of the points, which is five times the normal accrual rate, will be awarded. Information indicating that the payment has been completed is linked to the EC service, and the user terminal 30 performs the procedure to complete the order. The procedure to complete the order may be performed by the same process as known EC services.

[0027] In this embodiment, we take the example of a user accessing the EC service website and then accessing the payment service website to execute a payment. However, the payment flow is not limited to this embodiment. The payment flow may be any flow. For example, a payment may be executed by reading a code (e.g., a barcode or a two-dimensional code) displayed on the payment method specification screen SC1 with the user terminal 30. In this case, the code may indicate information necessary for payment (e.g., the payment amount, information about the store where the payment will be executed, the URL of the EC service, or a combination thereof).

[0028] As described above, the display control system 1 of this embodiment transmits data to the EC server 20 to display payment method content C10, which indicates the details of a campaign, on the payment method selection screen SC1 when a campaign is being held in a certain payment service. As a result, the user can understand that a campaign is being held in the payment service by viewing the payment method content C10 on the payment method selection screen SC1, and the display control system 1 can improve user convenience on the payment method selection screen SC1. The details of the display control system 1 will be described below.

[0029] [3. Functions implemented by the display control system] Figure 4 shows an example of the functions implemented by the display control system 1. The various components implemented in the display control system 1 of this embodiment can be configured by combining them into a single device or by further distributing them among multiple devices. Figure 4 also shows an example of the functions implemented by the EC server 20.

[0030] [3-1. Functions implemented by the payment server] For example, the payment server 10 includes a data storage unit 100, a useful information acquisition unit 101, a display control unit 102, and a payment processing execution unit 103. The data storage unit 100 is implemented by a storage unit 12. The useful information acquisition unit 101, the display control unit 102, and the payment processing execution unit 103 are each implemented by a control unit 11.

[0031] [Data Storage Unit] The data storage unit 100 stores various types of data related to the payment service. For example, the data storage unit 100 stores the payment database DB1 and the useful information database DB2.

[0032] Figure 5 shows an example of a payment database DB1. The payment database DB1 is a database that stores various information related to payment services. For example, the payment database DB1 stores user ID, login account, password, payment method information, and payment source information. The information stored in the payment database DB1 is not limited to the example in Figure 5. Other information may be stored in the payment database DB1. For example, the payment database DB1 may store payment history information related to a user's payment history.

[0033] A user ID is an example of user identification information that can identify a user. A login account is also an example of user identification information. A login account is user identification information that a user enters to log in to a payment service. The login account may be freely changed by the user. A user ID is user identification information that is managed separately from the login account. In this embodiment, we take the example of a case where there is a login account separate from the user ID (where there are at least two pieces of user identification information), but there may be only one piece of user identification information. That is, the user ID and the login account do not have to be separate. A password is authentication information that is verified during login.

[0034] Payment method information is information that identifies the payment methods available to a user in a payment service. The payment methods available to a user in a payment service may be any method. For example, a user may use a credit card, other cards besides credit cards, electronic money, balances not referred to as electronic money, points, bank accounts, other accounts besides bank accounts, crypto assets, wallets, or other payment methods in a payment service. Since payment methods are sometimes used for payments, they can also be called payment methods. For example, payment method information may include information such as credit card numbers, electronic money numbers, bank account information, or point card numbers.

[0035] The payment source information is information that identifies the payment method selected as the payment source. The payment source is the payment method used for settlement. The user can specify any payment method as the payment source from among multiple payment methods whose payment method information is stored in the settlement database DB1. When the user specifies a payment source, the settlement server 10 updates the payment source information to reflect the payment source specified by the user. For example, the user may change the payment source from the settlement confirmation screen SC3. When the user changes the payment source from the settlement confirmation screen SC3, the settlement server 10 updates the payment source information to reflect the payment source changed by the user.

[0036] Figure 6 shows an example of the useful information database DB2. The useful information database DB2 is a database that stores useful information related to payment services. Useful information is information that is beneficial to users of the payment service. Useful information indicates the benefits received by the user. For example, useful information may include campaigns, coupons, discounts, prize redemption, free use of services, advertisements, other content besides advertisements, or other perks. Useful information is simply information that the user perceives as beneficial.

[0037] In this embodiment, we take the example of a case where the useful information indicates a campaign being held by a payment service. Therefore, sections describing campaigns can be read as useful information. For example, the useful information database DB2 stores a useful information ID that can identify the useful information, and the useful information itself. The information stored in the useful information database DB2 is not limited to the example in Figure 6. Other information may be stored in the useful information database DB2. For example, the useful information database DB2 may store the conditions of the user to whom useful information should be presented.

[0038] The beneficial information indicates specific details of benefits accrued to the user. In the present embodiment, the beneficial information indicates details of a campaign. For example, the beneficial information may be a character string indicating campaign details included in payment method content C10, or may be image data of the payment method content C10. The beneficial information may indicate the magnitude of benefits accrued to the user. In the example in the upper part of FIG. 2, the beneficial information may indicate the magnitude of a benefit such as "5x points". Benefits accrued to the user are not limited to point accrual rates. For example, the beneficial information may indicate a cashback amount, a cashback rate, a discount rate, a discount amount, an amount of a free gift that a user can obtain, an amount of a free service that a user can receive, or the magnitude of another benefit.

[0039] For example, when terms of use for a user to utilize a campaign are defined, the beneficial information may indicate the terms of use defined for the campaign. The terms of use can also be referred to as conditions for a user to participate in the campaign. The terms of use may be the same as those adopted in publicly known campaigns. For example, the terms of use may be a period during which the campaign is held, a maximum number of people allowed to participate in the campaign, conditions for users eligible to participate in the campaign, a period during which users can enter the campaign, or other conditions. These terms of use may be presented in the payment method content C10.

[0040] Note that data stored in the data storage unit 100 is not limited to the above example. The data storage unit 100 only needs to store various types of data for a payment service. For example, the data storage unit 100 may store data necessary for displaying each of a login screen SC2, a payment confirmation screen SC3, a payment completion screen SC4, and other screens. When at least one of products and services that can be targets of payment is handled in the payment service, the data storage unit 100 may store a payment target database in which various types of information related to at least one of products and services (for example, information that can identify at least one of products and services, names, or prices) is stored.

[0041] [Beneficial Information Acquisition Unit] The useful information acquisition unit 101 acquires useful information that is beneficial to the user making the payment using the payment method specified in the payment method specification screen SC1 when a request is made to display the payment method specification screen SC1 for specifying the payment method used for the payment of at least one of the goods and services. In this embodiment, the useful information acquisition unit 101 acquires useful information from the useful information database DB2 as an example, but the useful information acquisition unit 101 may acquire useful information from other databases other than the useful information database DB2, other computers other than the payment server 10, or information storage media.

[0042] A display request is data in a predetermined format for requesting the display of the payment method specification screen SC1. For example, if the payment method specification screen SC1 is displayed in the browser of the user terminal 30, the display request may be an HTTP request. If an application dedicated to the EC service is installed on the user terminal 30, the display request may be data in a format that the application can send. The time when a display request has been made is the time after the display request has been made. Useful information may be obtained at any time after the display request has been made.

[0043] In this embodiment, we take the case where a user terminal 30 sends a display request to the EC server 20 as an example. When the EC server 20 receives a display request from the user terminal 30, it requests the payment server 10 to acquire useful information. When the payment server 10 receives a request from the EC server 20 to acquire useful information, the useful information acquisition unit 101 acquires the useful information from the useful information database DB2. In this embodiment, the payment server 10 receiving a request from the EC server 20 to acquire useful information corresponds to the timing when a display request is made, which is when the useful information is acquired. The useful information acquisition unit 101 acquires the useful information on the condition that the payment server 10 receives a request from the EC server 20.

[0044] The user terminal 30 may also directly send a display request to the payment server 10. In this case, the payment server 10 receives the display request from the user terminal 30. When the payment server 10 receives a display request from the user terminal 30, the useful information acquisition unit 101 acquires useful information from the useful information database DB2. The payment server 10 receiving a display request from the user terminal 30 may correspond to the timing of "when a display request is made," which is when useful information is acquired. The useful information acquisition unit 101 may acquire useful information on the condition that the payment server 10 receives a display request from the user terminal 30.

[0045] In this embodiment, the payment method selection screen SC1 is a screen that accepts the user's selection from among multiple payment methods. In the upper example of Figure 2, the payment method selection screen SC1 is a screen that accepts the user's selection from three payment methods: the payment service "AAA Pay", the payment service "BBB Pay", and other payment methods. For example, the useful information acquisition unit 101 acquires useful information for a specific payment method before the user selects that particular payment method from among the multiple payment methods.

[0046] A specific payment method is a payment method associated with useful information. Among multiple payment methods, there may be only one specific payment method or there may be multiple specific payment methods. In the upper example of Figure 2, the payment service "AAA Pay" corresponds to a specific payment method. The useful information acquisition unit 101 acquires useful information managed by the payment server 10 of the payment service provider operating the payment service "AAA Pay" before the payment method content C10 is selected and the payment service "AAA Pay" is specified. The useful information acquisition unit 101 does not acquire useful information for other payment methods other than the specific payment method (for example, the payment service "BBB Pay" indicated by the payment method content C11, or other payment methods indicated by the payment method content C12).

[0047] For example, if only one piece of useful information is stored in the useful information database DB2, the useful information acquisition unit 101 only needs to acquire that one piece of useful information. If multiple pieces of useful information are stored in the useful information database DB2, the useful information acquisition unit 101 may acquire all of the multiple pieces of useful information, or it may acquire only some of the multiple pieces of useful information. For example, the useful information acquisition unit 101 may randomly acquire just one piece of useful information from among the multiple pieces of useful information, or, as shown in the modified example below, it may acquire one of the multiple pieces of useful information based on factors such as the amount of benefit indicated by the useful information.

[0048] The payment method selection screen SC1 may be any screen related to the selection of a payment method. The payment method selection screen SC1 is not limited to the example of this embodiment. The payment method selection screen SC1 may be a screen that displays a pre-specified payment method. In this case, the payment method selection screen SC1 may accept changes to the pre-specified payment method, or it may not accept changes to the pre-specified payment method. If the payment method selection screen SC1 does not accept changes to the payment method, the payment method may be specified on a screen other than the payment method selection screen SC1.

[0049] Furthermore, the payment method selection screen SC1 is not limited to a shopping cart screen like the one shown in the upper part of Figure 2. For example, the payment method selection screen SC1 may be a screen showing details of at least one of the products and services, a screen showing the user's bookmarks, a screen where the user confirms the order, or another screen. Regardless of which of the multiple payment methods is selected, the useful information acquisition unit 101 may acquire useful information. For example, if a campaign common to all of the multiple payment methods is being held, the useful information acquisition unit 101 may acquire useful information regardless of the specific payment method. If a campaign is being held in the EC service, the useful information acquisition unit 101 may acquire useful information regardless of the specific payment method.

[0050] [Display Control Unit] The display control unit 102 performs various processes related to the display of the screen. In this embodiment, the display control unit 102 performs display control processing related to the display of the payment method specification screen SC1 based on useful information. The display control processing is information processing for the display of all or part of the payment method specification screen SC1. For example, the display control processing may be the acquisition of display data for the entire payment method specification screen SC1, the transmission of said display data, the acquisition of some parts of the payment method specification screen SC1 (e.g., payment method content C10), the transmission of said parts, or preprocessing performed for these processes. The display data is data that causes the user terminal 30 to display some kind of screen. The display data may be in any format. For example, the display data may be in the format of a markup language such as HTML, or it may be in image format.

[0051] In this embodiment, the payment method specification screen SC1 is a screen for the e-commerce service, and the display data for the entire payment method specification screen SC1 is generated by the e-commerce server 20. Therefore, we will take the example of a case where acquiring a part of the payment method specification screen SC1 corresponds to display control processing. Furthermore, we will take the example of a case where the payment method content C10 corresponds to such a part. For example, acquiring the payment method content C10 may involve acquiring the image data of the entire payment method content C10, or acquiring a part of the payment method content C10 (for example, text such as "5x points campaign").

[0052] For example, the display control unit 102 acquires image data of the payment method content C10 based on useful information. In the upper example of Figure 2, the useful information is text such as "5x points campaign". The display control unit 102 acquires image data of the payment method content C10 that includes the text indicated by the useful information. The template image data for the payment method content C10 is stored in the data storage unit 100. The display control unit 102 performs display control processing by adding text to the template and acquiring image data of the payment method content C10. The display control unit 102 may also perform display control processing by sending the image data of the payment method content C10 to the EC server 20.

[0053] The useful information may also be image data of payment method content C10 with text added to the template. That is, instead of the display control unit 102 adding text to the template, image data of payment method content C10 with text already added to the template may be prepared in advance as useful information. In this case, for each campaign, the image data of payment method content C10 is stored as useful information in the useful information database DB2. The display control unit 102 executes display control processing by sending the useful information, which is the image data of payment method content C10, to the EC server 20.

[0054] Furthermore, the display control unit 102 may acquire the display data for the entire payment method specification screen SC1 and send it to the EC server 20. If the payment server 10 communicates directly with the user terminal 30, the display control unit 102 may acquire image data of the payment method content C10 or the display data for the entire payment method specification screen SC1 and send it to the user terminal 30. The display control unit 102 may also perform display control processing by acquiring other parts other than the payment method content C10 (for example, icons that function as a user interface) based on useful information and sending them to the EC server 20 or the user terminal 30.

[0055] In this embodiment, since useful information is associated with a specific payment method (in the upper example of Figure 2, the payment service "AAA Pay") among the multiple payment methods that can be specified on the payment method specification screen SC1, the display control unit 102 executes display control processing based on the useful information of the specific payment method. If no specific payment method is defined, the display control unit 102 may execute display control processing based on useful information acquired regardless of the specific payment method.

[0056] In this embodiment, the payment method selection screen SC1 includes payment method content C that accepts the selection of each of a plurality of payment methods. For example, the display control unit 102 performs display control processing to display the payment method content C10 of a specific payment method on the payment method selection screen SC1 based on useful information for that specific payment method. In the upper example of Figure 2, the display control unit 102 performs display control processing to display the payment method content C10 of the payment service "AAA Pay", which is a specific payment method, on the payment method selection screen SC1 based on useful information for that payment service "AAA Pay".

[0057] Furthermore, if the useful information acquisition unit 101 acquires multiple pieces of useful information, the display control unit 102 may execute display control processing to display a payment method content C10 on the payment method selection screen SC1, which combines the contents indicated by each of the multiple pieces of useful information. The display control unit 102 may also calculate the degree of benefit to the user based on the price of at least one of the goods and services that the user is about to pay for, and the benefits such as the point accrual rate indicated by the useful information, and execute display control processing to display a payment method content C10 showing the result of the calculation on the payment method selection screen SC1.

[0058] Furthermore, the display control unit 102 may perform display control processing to display the content of campaigns, etc., indicated by the useful information near the payment method content C10, rather than including it within the payment method content C10. For example, the display control unit 102 performs display control processing by sending useful information to the EC server 20. When the display control unit 201 of the EC server 20 receives useful information from the payment server 10, it displays the content of campaigns, etc., indicated by the useful information near the payment method content C10. The display control unit 102 may determine the amount of information (e.g., number of characters) to include in the payment method content C10 based on the size of the payment method content C10 or its upper limit. The display control unit 102 may also determine the amount of information to include in the payment method content C10 based on the type of user terminal 30 (e.g., whether the user terminal 30 is a personal computer or a smartphone). The display control unit 102 may dynamically determine the size of the payment method content C10 based on the amount of information indicated by the useful information.

[0059] [Payment Processing Execution Department] The payment processing execution unit 103 executes payment processing. Payment processing is processing for the settlement of at least one of the goods and services to be paid for. The payment processing itself may be the same as the processing used in known payment services. For example, the payment processing execution unit 103 executes payment processing based on the payment method designated as the source of payment. Payment processing may be any processing appropriate to the payment method. If the payment method is electronic money, the payment processing execution unit 103 executes processing to reduce the balance of the electronic money as payment processing. If the payment method is a credit card, the payment processing execution unit 103 executes a series of processes such as credit authorization processing for the credit card as payment processing.

[0060] In this embodiment, since the payment method content for each of the multiple payment methods is included in the payment method selection screen SC1, the payment processing execution unit 103 executes payment processing for payment based on the specific payment method so that the user receives the benefit indicated by the useful information when the payment method content for a specific payment method is selected. For example, if the benefit indicated by the useful information is an increase in the point accrual rate, the payment processing execution unit 103 executes payment processing by calculating the points to be awarded to the user based on the accrual rate indicated by the useful information. If the benefit indicated by the useful information is a discount, the payment processing execution unit 103 executes payment processing by calculating the payment amount based on the discount amount or discount rate indicated by the useful information.

[0061] In this embodiment, since payment is made for at least one of the goods and services sold in the EC service, the payment processing execution unit 103 obtains information on at least one of the goods and services to be paid for (for example, the payment amount) from the EC server 20. In the lower example of Figure 2, a user who is already logged into the EC service logs into the payment service by entering their login account and password. However, if the payment service and the EC service are linked by user ID, the payment processing execution unit 103 may obtain the user ID of the user attempting to make the payment from the EC server 20 to identify which user is making the payment. The payment processing execution unit 103 obtains the payment source information of the user making the payment from the payment database DB1 and, based on the payment source information, executes the payment processing for the payment amount obtained from the EC server 20.

[0062] [3-2. Functions implemented by the EC server] For example, the EC server 20 includes a data storage unit 200 and a display control unit 201. The data storage unit 200 is implemented by a storage unit 22. The display control unit 201 is implemented by a control unit 21.

[0063] [Data Storage Unit] The data storage unit 200 stores various types of data related to the e-commerce service. For example, the data storage unit 100 stores the e-commerce database DB3.

[0064] Figure 7 shows an example of the EC database DB3. The EC database DB3 is a database that stores various information related to the EC service. For example, the EC database DB3 stores user IDs, login accounts, passwords, and shopping cart information. The information stored in the EC database DB3 is not limited to the example in Figure 7. Other information may be stored in the EC database DB3. For example, the EC database DB3 may store usage history information related to the user's usage history in the EC service.

[0065] In this embodiment, we take the example of a case where the user ID and login account for the EC service are different from the user ID and login account for the payment service. The correspondence between the user ID and login account for the EC service and the user ID and login account for the payment service may be stored in the data storage unit 200. This correspondence may also be stored in another computer other than the EC server 20 (for example, the payment server 10) or in an information storage medium. This correspondence may identify which user of the EC service corresponds to which user of the payment service. That is, this correspondence may identify which user of the payment service corresponds to which user of the EC service.

[0066] Furthermore, the user ID and login account for the e-commerce service and the user ID and login account for the payment service may be the same. In other words, the user ID and login account may be the same for both the e-commerce service and the payment service. Also, instead of having multiple user identification pieces of information such as a user ID and a login account, only one of them may exist. In other words, only one user identification piece of information may exist for each user.

[0067] Furthermore, the data stored in the data storage unit 200 is not limited to the examples above. The data storage unit 200 can store various types of data related to the e-commerce service. For example, the data storage unit 200 may store data necessary for displaying the payment method specification screen SC1. The data storage unit 200 may also store a payment target database containing various information about at least one of the goods and services that are subject to payment in the e-commerce service. The data storage unit 200 may also store a store database containing various information about stores that have stores on the e-commerce service.

[0068] [Display Control Unit] The display control unit 201 displays various screens in the EC service on the user terminal 30. For example, the display control unit 201 displays the payment method specification screen SC1 on the user terminal 30. When the EC server 20 obtains image data of the payment method content C10 from the payment server 10, the display control unit 201 obtains display data for the payment method specification screen SC1, which includes the payment method content C10, based on the image data of the payment method content C10.

[0069] In the upper example of Figure 2, the display control unit 201 acquires display data for the payment method specification screen SC1, which includes the contents of the shopping cart indicated by the shopping cart information and the payment method content C10. The image data of the payment method content C11 and C12 is assumed to be stored in advance in the data storage unit 200. The display control unit 201 acquires display data for the payment method specification screen SC1, which also includes the payment method content C11 and C12. The display control unit 201 transmits the display data of the payment method specification screen SC1 to the user terminal 30, thereby causing the user terminal 30 to display the payment method specification screen SC1.

[0070] Furthermore, the EC server 20 may acquire image data of the payment method content C10 from the payment server 10 and record it in the data storage unit 200 before a request to display the payment method specification screen SC1 is made. The EC server 20 may also acquire image data of the payment method content C10 in advance from a computer other than the payment server 10 and record it in the data storage unit 200. In this case, the image data of the payment method content C10 may correspond to useful information.

[0071] For example, the useful information acquisition unit 101 may be implemented by the EC server 20. The display control system 1 may include the EC server 20 but not the payment server 10. The useful information acquisition unit 101 of the EC server 20 acquires image data of the payment method content C10 stored in the data storage unit 200 as useful information. The display control unit 201 may display a payment method specification screen SC1, which includes the payment method content C10 indicated by the image data, as an example of useful information, on the user terminal 30.

[0072] For example, the data storage unit 200 may store a useful information database DB2. If the useful information is not image data of the payment method content C10, but rather information such as a string indicating the content of a campaign, the display control unit 201 may insert the string indicated by the useful information into the template payment method content C10, and display the payment method specification screen SC1, which includes the payment method content C10 with the inserted string, on the user terminal 30. The template image data is assumed to be stored in the data storage unit 200.

[0073] For example, the display control unit 201 may not include the content of the campaign indicated by the beneficial information in the payment method content C10, but instead display a payment method selection screen SC1 on the user terminal 30 in which the content is placed near the payment method content C10. Alternatively, the display control unit 201 may display a payment method selection screen SC1 on the user terminal 30 in which the content of the campaign indicated by the beneficial information is placed in a location other than near the payment method content C10. The display control unit 201 can simply display a payment method selection screen SC1 on the user terminal 30 that includes the content of the benefits indicated by the beneficial information.

[0074] [4. Processing performed by the display control system] Figure 8 shows an example of the processing performed by the display control system 1. The processing in Figure 8 is performed by the control units 11, 21, and 31 executing the programs stored in the memory units 12, 22, and 32, respectively. Each step in Figure 8 is an example of a display control method.

[0075] As shown in Figure 8, when the user operates the user terminal 30 to specify the website of the EC service, the EC server 20 performs a login process with the user terminal 30 for the user to log in to the EC service (S1). The EC server 20 performs a process with the user terminal 30 to add at least one of the goods and services to the shopping cart (S2). When the user performs an operation to display the contents of the shopping cart, the user terminal 30 sends a request to the EC server 20 to display the payment method specification screen SC1 (S3).

[0076] When the EC server 20 receives a request from the user terminal 30 to display the payment method specification screen SC1 (S4), it requests the payment server 10 to provide image data of the payment method content C10 (S5). When the payment server 10 receives a request from the EC server 20 for image data of the payment method content C10 (S6), it retrieves useful information based on the useful information database DB2 (S7). The processing in S7 is as described in the processing of the useful information retrieval unit 101.

[0077] Based on the useful information obtained in S7, the payment server 10 performs display control processing with the EC server 20 (S8). In S8, the payment server 10 generates image data of the payment method content C10 based on the useful information. The payment server 10 sends the image data of the payment method content C10 to the EC server 20. The EC server 20 receives the image data of the payment method content C10 from the payment server 10. Based on the image data of the payment method content C10, the EC server 20 generates display data for the payment method specification screen SC1.

[0078] The EC server 20 performs a process to display the payment method specification screen SC1 with the user terminal 30 (S9). In S9, the EC server 20 sends the display data for the payment method specification screen SC1 to the user terminal 30. The user terminal 30 receives the display data for the payment method specification screen SC1 from the EC server 20. Based on the display data for the payment method specification screen SC1, the user terminal 30 displays the payment method specification screen SC1 on the display unit 35.

[0079] When a user selects payment method content C10, the payment server 10 executes a payment process with the user terminal 30 (S10). In S10, a series of processes are executed, including the login process for the payment service performed from the login screen SC2 at the bottom of Figure 2, the display of the payment confirmation screen SC3 at the top of Figure 3, the execution of payment for items added to the shopping cart, and the display of the payment completion screen SC4 at the bottom of Figure 3. Once the payment is complete, the payment server 10 executes a payment completion linkage process with the EC server 20 to inform them that the payment has been completed (S11). The EC server 20 then executes an order completion process with the user terminal 30 to complete the order (S12), and this process ends. The processes in S11 and S12 may be the same as those used in known EC services that link with payment services.

[0080] [5. Summary of Embodiments] In this embodiment, the display control system 1 acquires useful information when a request is made to display the payment method specification screen SC1. Based on the useful information, the display control system 1 executes display control processing related to the display of the payment method specification screen SC1. As a result, the user can learn about information useful to them through the display control processing executed based on the useful information, and the display control system 1 can improve user convenience. For example, a user may not be aware of the existence of a campaign or coupon, or may forget to enter a campaign or obtain a coupon. A user may want to use a campaign or coupon, but may not know where to enter or obtain it. In this regard, the display control system 1 can improve user convenience because the user can learn about the existence of a campaign or coupon, or become aware of the need to enter or obtain a coupon through the display control processing. As users become more aware of campaigns or coupons, the display control system 1 can promote the use of campaigns or coupons.

[0081] Furthermore, the payment method selection screen SC1 is a screen that accepts the user's selection from among multiple payment methods. The display control system 1 acquires useful information about a specific payment method before the user selects that particular payment method from among the multiple payment methods. Based on the useful information about the specific payment method, the display control system 1 executes display control processing. As a result, the user can learn about information useful to them before specifying a payment method, thus improving user convenience. For example, the display control system 1 can promote the use of a specific payment method among multiple payment methods. A payment service provider operating a payment service that is a specific payment method can promote the use of their own payment service.

[0082] Furthermore, the payment method selection screen SC1 includes payment method content C that accepts the selection of each of multiple payment methods. The display control system 1 executes display control processing to display the payment method content C10 for a specific payment method on the payment method selection screen SC1 based on useful information for that specific payment method. As a result, the user can learn useful information through the payment method content C10, and the display control system 1 can improve user convenience.

[0083] Furthermore, when a payment method content C10 for a specific payment method is selected, the display control system 1 executes a payment process for the payment based on that specific payment method so that the user receives the benefits indicated by the useful information. This allows the user to receive the benefits identified in the payment method content C10, thus enhancing user convenience. For example, the display control system 1 can prevent situations where the user is aware of a benefit in the payment method content C10 but does not receive that benefit in the actual payment.

[0084] [6. Variant] This disclosure is not limited to the embodiments described above. This disclosure may be modified as appropriate without departing from the spirit of this disclosure.

[0085] Figure 9 shows an example of the functions implemented in the modified display control system 1. As shown in Figure 9, the modified payment server 10 includes a user information acquisition unit 104, a payment target information acquisition unit 105, a store information acquisition unit 106, an entry processing execution unit 107, and a post-entry reception unit 108. Each of the user information acquisition unit 104, payment target information acquisition unit 105, store information acquisition unit 106, entry processing execution unit 107, and post-entry reception unit 108 is implemented by a control unit 11.

[0086] [6-1. Variation 1] For example, some campaigns that offer useful information require users to perform a specific entry operation in order to receive the benefits generated by the campaign. This is also true for other benefits other than campaigns (e.g., coupons or discounts). Modification example 1 describes a case where entry content that accepts entry operations is displayed on the user terminal 30.

[0087] In Modification 1, the display control unit 102 executes display control processing related to the display of entry operation content that accepts an entry operation when the user needs to perform a predetermined entry operation in order to receive the benefits indicated by the useful information. An entry operation is an operation performed for the purpose of entry. An entry is an application made to receive the benefits indicated by the useful information. For example, if the useful information indicates a campaign, the entry is an application for the campaign. If the useful information indicates a coupon, the entry may be an application to acquire the coupon. That is, the entry operation may be an application to acquire the coupon. If something other than a coupon is to be acquired, the entry operation may be an application to acquire that other thing. Similarly, in Modification 1, an entry operation is required even if the useful information indicates benefits other than a campaign.

[0088] Entry operation content is a user interface component that accepts entry operations. Entry operation content can be any component capable of accepting user input. For example, entry operation content may be a button, checkbox, text, icon, link, slider, or other component. While Modification 1 uses the example of entry operation content being displayed on the payment confirmation screen SC3, entry operation content can be displayed on any screen. For example, entry operation content may be displayed on the EC service side screen (e.g., the payment method selection screen SC1).

[0089] The display control processing in Modification 1 may be the same as the display control processing in the embodiment, but Modification 1 provides an example of a case where these display control processes are different. The display control processing in the embodiment is related to the display of campaigns, etc., on the payment method selection screen SC1, whereas the display control processing in Modification 1 is related to the display of entry operation content. When the entry operation content is displayed on the payment method selection screen SC1, the display control processing in Modification 1 is the same as the display control processing in the embodiment. However, in Modification 1, the entry operation content is displayed on the payment confirmation screen SC3, so the display control processing in Modification 1 is different from the display control processing in the embodiment. Hereafter, the display control processing in Modification 1 will be referred to as the display control processing for entry operation content.

[0090] In the first modified example, we take the case where the entry requirement information, which indicates whether or not an entry operation is required, is included in the useful information. However, the entry requirement information may not be included in the useful information. The entry requirement information may be stored in the useful information database DB2 as information different from the useful information. Based on the entry requirement information, the display control unit 102 determines whether or not the user needs to perform an entry operation in order to receive the benefits indicated by the useful information. If the display control unit 102 determines that the user does not need to perform an entry operation, it does not execute the display control processing of the entry operation content. If the display control unit 102 determines that the user needs to perform an entry operation, it executes the display control processing of the entry operation content.

[0091] Figure 10 shows an example of the payment confirmation screen SC3 in Modification 1. For example, the display control unit 102 executes the display control processing of the entry operation content C31 by transmitting the display data of the payment confirmation screen SC3, including the entry operation content C31, to the user terminal 30. The data of the entry operation content C31 is assumed to be stored in the data storage unit 100. Based on this data, the display control unit 102 generates the display data of the payment confirmation screen SC3, including the entry operation content C31. The display data of the payment confirmation screen SC3 may be in any format, similar to the display data of the payment method specification screen SC1. For example, the display data of the payment confirmation screen SC3 may be in the format of a markup language such as HTML.

[0092] In the example shown in Figure 10, the payment confirmation screen SC3 includes the content of the campaign indicated by the useful information. For example, the content of the campaign displayed on the payment confirmation screen SC3 may be the same as the content of the campaign displayed on the payment method selection screen SC1, or it may be more detailed than the campaign displayed on the payment method selection screen SC1. The payment confirmation screen SC3 may also display the content of other campaigns different from the campaign displayed in the payment method content C10. The display control unit 102 may vary the number of campaigns displayed on the payment confirmation screen SC3 depending on the type of user terminal 30 (for example, whether the user terminal 30 is a personal computer or a smartphone).

[0093] For example, entry may be completed when the user selects entry operation content C31, or the display control unit 102 may display a campaign details screen showing campaign details on the user terminal 30 when the user selects entry operation content C31. Entry operations may also be accepted on the campaign details screen. Entry to other campaigns may also be accepted on the payment confirmation screen SC3. If multiple campaigns are displayed on the payment confirmation screen SC3, entry operations may be performed for each individual campaign, or entry to multiple campaigns (for example, multiple campaigns that can be used simultaneously) may be completed with a single entry operation.

[0094] Note that the processing of the display control unit 102 in Modification 1 is not limited to the above example. For example, when entry operation content C31 is displayed on the payment method specification screen SC1, the display control unit 102 may execute the display control processing of entry operation content C31 by transmitting image data of entry operation content C31 to the EC server 20. When the payment server 10 communicates directly with the user terminal 30 to display the payment method specification screen SC1, the display control unit 102 may execute the display control processing of entry operation content C31 by transmitting display data of the payment method specification screen SC1, including payment method content C and entry operation content C31, to the user terminal 30. In this case, the display control processing of entry operation content C31 is the same as the display control processing of the embodiment.

[0095] In the modified example 1, the display control system 1 executes display control processing for the entry operation content C31 when the user needs to perform an entry operation in order to receive the benefits indicated by the useful information. As a result, the user can perform an entry operation on the entry operation content C31, and the display control system 1 can improve user convenience.

[0096] [6-2. Variation 2] For example, in Modification 1, the display control unit 102 executes display control processing related to displaying registered content indicating that the user has already registered, if the user has already performed an entry operation. The user can also register on screens other than the payment confirmation screen SC3 described in Modification 1. These other screens may be screens for the payment service or screens for other services different from the payment service.

[0097] Entered content is content that indicates that the user has already performed an entry operation. Entered content may be a user interface part that accepts user input, but in Modification 2, it is assumed to be a part that does not accept user input. For example, entered content may be a button, checkbox, text, icon, link, slider bar, or other part. Modification 2 takes the example of when entered content is displayed on the payment confirmation screen SC3, but entered content may be displayed on any screen. For example, entered content may be displayed on the EC service side screen (for example, the payment method selection screen SC1).

[0098] The display control processing in Modification 2 may be the same as the display control processing in the embodiment, but Modification 2 provides an example of a case where these display control processes are different. The display control processing in the embodiment is related to the display of campaigns, etc., on the payment method selection screen SC1, whereas the display control processing in Modification 2 is related to the display of entered content. When entered content is displayed on the payment method selection screen SC1, the display control processing in Modification 2 is the same as the display control processing in the embodiment. However, in Modification 2, entered content is displayed on the payment confirmation screen SC3, so the display control processing in Modification 2 is different from the display control processing in the embodiment. Hereafter, the display control processing in Modification 2 will be referred to as the display control processing for entered content.

[0099] In the modified example 2, it is assumed that entry status information regarding the user's entry status is stored in the payment database DB1. The entry status information indicates whether or not the user has entered a campaign or other benefit. For example, when a user operates the user terminal 30 and enters a campaign or other benefit, the payment server 10 updates the entry status information associated with the user's user ID to indicate that the user has entered the benefit.

[0100] The entry status information may also be stored in a database other than the payment database DB1 (for example, the useful information database DB2), a computer other than the payment server 10 (for example, the EC server 20), or an information storage medium. The display control unit 102 obtains the entry status information from the payment database DB1, the other database, the other computer, or the information storage medium. Based on the entry status information, the display control unit 102 determines whether the user has already performed an entry operation. If the display control unit 102 determines that the user has not yet performed an entry operation, it executes the display control processing of the entry operation content C31 in the same manner as in the modified example 1.

[0101] Figure 11 shows an example of the payment confirmation screen SC3 in Modification 2. For example, when the display control unit 102 determines that the user has already performed an entry operation, it sends the display data of the payment confirmation screen SC3, including the entered content C32, to the user terminal 30, thereby executing the display control processing of the entry operation content C31. The data of the entered content C32 is stored in the data storage unit 100. Based on this data, the display control unit 102 generates the display data of the payment confirmation screen SC3, including the entered content C32. In the example in Figure 11, the payment confirmation screen SC3 does not include the entry operation content C31. The entered content C32 may be the enabled entry operation content C31 (for example, the grayed-out entry operation content C31).

[0102] Note that the processing of the display control unit 102 in Modification 2 is not limited to the above example. For example, if the entered content C32 is displayed on the payment method specification screen SC1, the display control unit 102 may execute the display control processing of the entered content C32 by sending image data of the entered content C32 to the EC server 20. If the payment server 10 communicates directly with the user terminal 30 to display the payment method specification screen SC1, the display control unit 102 may execute the display control processing of the entered content C32 by sending the display data of the payment method specification screen SC1, including the payment method content C and the entered content C32, to the user terminal 30. In this case, the display control processing of the entered content C32 is the same as the display control processing of the embodiment.

[0103] In the modified example 2, the display control system 1 executes display control processing related to displaying the entered content, indicating that the user has already performed an entry operation, if the user has already performed an entry operation. This allows the user to understand that they have already performed an entry operation for the entered content C32, thereby improving user convenience.

[0104] [6-3. Modified Example 3] For example, as briefly explained in the embodiments, at least one of the goods and services may be sold by an e-commerce business operator different from the payment service provider that provides the payment method to the user. Conversely, at least one of the goods and services may be sold by a payment service provider. This disclosure includes both forms in which at least one of the goods and services for which the payment method is accepted on the payment method specification screen SC1 is sold by an e-commerce business operator and forms in which it is sold by a payment service provider.

[0105] Similar to the embodiment, when at least one of the goods and services is sold by an e-commerce business operator, the display control unit 102 executes display control processing related to the display of the e-commerce business operator's payment method specification screen SC1 based on useful information. The e-commerce business operator's payment method specification screen SC1 is a screen that accepts the specification of a payment method for at least one of the goods and services sold by the e-commerce business operator. The display control processing of Modification 3 is as described in the embodiment. When a payment business operator sells at least one of the goods and services, the display control unit 102 can communicate directly with the user terminal 30 to cause the user terminal 30 to display the payment method specification screen SC1.

[0106] In variation 3, at least one of the goods and services is sold by an e-commerce business operator different from the payment service provider. The display control system 1 performs display control processing on the e-commerce business operator's payment method specification screen SC1 based on useful information. As a result, the user can learn useful information on the e-commerce business operator's payment method specification screen SC1, and the display control system 1 can improve user convenience. For example, by providing the user with useful information about the payment service linked to the e-commerce service from which they intend to purchase at least one of the goods and services, the display control system 1 can motivate the user to use the payment service.

[0107] [6-4. Modification 4] For example, as explained to some extent in the embodiments, the payment method selection screen SC1 may be a screen that accepts the user's selection from among the payment methods provided by the payment service provider and other payment methods provided by other payment service providers different from the payment service provider. The payment method selection screen SC1 may also be a screen that does not accept the selection of other payment methods from other payment service providers. Therefore, both the form in which the payment method selection screen SC1 accepts the selection of each payment method from multiple payment service providers and the form in which it accepts the selection of a payment method from a particular payment service provider are within the scope of this disclosure.

[0108] In Modification 4, the display control unit 102 executes display control processing based on useful information of a payment service provider. This payment service provider is a payment service provider that provides the specific payment method described in the embodiment. The useful information of the payment service provider is useful information that indicates the benefits that arise from a user using the payment service operated by the payment service provider. Since useful information of other payment service providers is not acquired, the display control unit 102 executes display control processing without relying on useful information of other payment service providers. The display control processing based on the useful information of the payment service provider is as described in the embodiment.

[0109] In Modification 4, the payment method selection screen SC1 is a screen that accepts the user's selection from among the payment methods offered by the payment service provider and other payment methods offered by other payment service providers different from the payment service provider. The display control system 1 performs display control processing based on useful information from the payment service provider. As a result, the user can learn useful information from the payment service provider, and the display control system 1 can improve user convenience. For example, the display control system 1 can promote the use of a payment method offered by a specific payment service provider among multiple payment service providers. A specific payment service provider can promote the use of its own payment service.

[0110] [6-5. Variation 5] For example, in modified examples 3 and 4, the useful information acquisition unit 101 may acquire useful information from e-commerce businesses. The useful information from e-commerce businesses indicates the benefits offered by e-commerce businesses. For example, the useful information from e-commerce businesses may indicate campaigns offered by e-commerce businesses, coupons distributed by e-commerce businesses, discounts offered by e-commerce businesses, free gifts offered by e-commerce businesses, free services offered by e-commerce businesses, or other benefits offered by e-commerce businesses.

[0111] In variation 5, we take the example of a case where useful information of e-commerce businesses is also stored in the useful information database DB2. The useful information acquisition unit 101 acquires useful information of e-commerce businesses from the useful information database DB2. The useful information acquisition unit 101 may also acquire useful information of e-commerce businesses from other databases other than the useful information database DB2, other computers other than the payment server 10 (for example, the EC server 20), or information storage media.

[0112] Figure 12 shows an example of the payment method specification screen SC1 of Modification 5. As shown in Figure 12, the display control unit 102 of Modification 5 performs display control processing based on the useful information of the e-commerce business operator. For example, the display control unit 102 performs display control processing by sending image data of the benefit content C13, which shows the content of the benefits indicated by the useful information of the e-commerce business operator, to the EC server 20. The image data is stored in the data storage unit 100. The image data may correspond to the useful information. When the EC server 20 receives the image data from the payment server 10, it obtains the display data of the payment method specification screen SC1, including the benefit content C13, based on the image data and sends it to the user terminal 30. Based on the display data of the payment method specification screen SC1, the user terminal 30 displays the payment method specification screen SC1 as shown in Figure 12 on the display unit 35.

[0113] The useful information acquisition unit 101 and the display control unit 102 may be implemented by the EC server 20. In this case, the payment server 10 does not include the useful information acquisition unit 101 and the display control unit 102. The display control system 1 may include the EC server 20 but not the payment server 10. That is, the display control system 1 may not apply to payment services but may apply to EC services. When the useful information acquisition unit 101 and the display control unit 102 are implemented by the EC server 20, the data storage unit 200 stores a database similar to the useful information database DB2.

[0114] For example, the useful information acquisition unit 101 of the EC server 20 acquires useful information of e-commerce businesses based on a database similar to the useful information database DB2. The display control unit 102 of the EC server 20 performs display control processing of the payment method specification screen SC1, which displays content useful to the user, based on the useful information of e-commerce businesses acquired by the useful information acquisition unit 101 of the EC server 20.

[0115] The display control system 1 in the modified example 5 acquires useful information from e-commerce businesses. Based on the useful information from e-commerce businesses, the display control system 1 performs display control processing. As a result, users can learn about the useful information provided by e-commerce businesses, and the display control system 1 can improve user convenience.

[0116] [6-6. Variation 6] For example, if there are multiple pieces of useful information that can be displayed on the payment method selection screen SC1, the useful information acquisition unit 101 may acquire the piece of useful information that provides a relatively large benefit to the user from among the multiple pieces of useful information. Having multiple pieces of useful information that can be displayed on the payment method selection screen SC1 means that multiple pieces of useful information are stored in the useful information database DB2. If the useful information has usage conditions such as a time limit, having multiple pieces of useful information that satisfy these usage conditions is equivalent to having multiple pieces of useful information that can be displayed on the payment method selection screen SC1.

[0117] The term "high profit" refers to the amount of profit. For example, a high point accrual rate, a large amount of points awarded, a high discount rate, a large discount amount, a high price for prizes, a high price for services, or the high monetary value of other benefits all constitute high profit. Relatively high profitable information refers to the most profitable information, information whose profit is above a threshold, or information whose rank is above a predetermined rank when multiple pieces of useful information are sorted in descending order of profit. In Modification Example 6, we take the example of a case where the useful information acquisition unit 101 acquires the most profitable information among multiple pieces of useful information as relatively high profitable information.

[0118] For example, suppose that each of several pieces of useful information represents a campaign that increases the point accrual rate. In this case, the useful information acquisition unit 101 will acquire the useful information with the largest increase in the accrual rate among the multiple pieces of useful information, as the useful information with the relatively greatest benefit. If there are useful information pieces for three campaigns, campaign X which increases the accrual rate by 4%, campaign Y which increases the accrual rate by 3%, and campaign Z which increases the accrual rate by 2%, the useful information acquisition unit 101 will acquire the useful information for campaign X which has the highest accrual rate. Similarly, if there are other benefits besides the point accrual rate, the useful information acquisition unit 101 should acquire the useful information that provides the greatest benefit.

[0119] In the modified example 6, the display control unit 102 performs display control processing based on beneficial information that offers relatively high profits. The display control unit 102 performs display control processing based on beneficial information that offers relatively high profits, and not on other beneficial information (i.e., beneficial information that offers relatively low profits) among a plurality of beneficial information. In the example of campaigns X, Y, and Z described above, the display control unit 102 performs display control processing by acquiring image data of payment method content C10 that shows the content of campaign X, without showing the content of campaigns Y and Z, and sending it to the EC server 20.

[0120] In the modified example 6, the display control system 1, when multiple pieces of useful information can be displayed on the payment method selection screen SC1, retrieves the useful information that will bring relatively greater benefits to the user from among the multiple pieces of useful information. Based on the useful information that will bring relatively greater benefits, the display control system 1 executes display control processing. As a result, the user can learn about the useful information that will bring relatively greater benefits to them, and the display control system 1 can improve user convenience. For example, the user can learn that using a particular payment service will generate more benefits, and the display control system 1 can increase the appeal of a particular payment service to the user.

[0121] [6-7. Variation 7] For example, if there are multiple pieces of useful information that can be displayed on the payment method specification screen SC1, the useful information acquisition unit 101 may acquire the useful information from among the multiple pieces of useful information that has a relatively short remaining time until a predetermined deadline for the user to receive the benefit. In the modified example 7, it is assumed that a deadline is set for the benefit indicated by the useful information. If the user uses the payment service within the deadline set for the useful information, they can receive the benefit indicated by the useful information. The deadline may be indicated in the useful information or in other information different from the useful information. The remaining time is the time from the present to the deadline. The useful information acquisition unit 101 may calculate the remaining time for the deadline of each of the multiple pieces of useful information.

[0122] Useful information with a relatively short remaining time refers to useful information with the shortest remaining time, useful information with a remaining time less than a threshold, or useful information that ranks above a predetermined rank when multiple useful pieces of information are sorted in ascending order of remaining time. In Modification Example 7, we take the example of a case where the useful information acquisition unit 101 acquires the useful information with the shortest remaining time from among multiple useful pieces of information as useful information with a relatively short remaining time. For example, if the current time is April 2025, and there is useful information for three campaigns: campaign X with a deadline at the end of May 2025, campaign Y with a deadline at the end of June 2025, and campaign Z with a deadline at the end of July 2025, the useful information acquisition unit 101 acquires the useful information for campaign X, which has the shortest remaining time.

[0123] In the modified example 7, the display control unit 102 performs display control processing based on useful information with a relatively short remaining time. The display control unit 102 performs display control processing based on useful information with a relatively short remaining time, without relying on other useful information (i.e., useful information with a relatively long remaining time) among a plurality of useful information. In the example of campaigns X, Y, and Z described above, the display control unit 102 performs display control processing by acquiring image data of payment method content C10 that shows the content of campaign X, without showing the content of campaigns Y and Z, and sending it to the EC server 20.

[0124] In the modified example 7, if there are multiple pieces of useful information that can be displayed on the payment method selection screen SC1, the display control system 1 retrieves the useful information with the shortest remaining time until the user can receive the benefit. The display control system 1 then executes a display control process based on the useful information with the shortest remaining time. This allows the user to know about useful information for which they have a short period of time to receive the benefit, thus improving user convenience. For example, the user can learn about information such as campaigns for which they will soon be unable to receive the benefit.

[0125] [6-8. Variation 8] For example, if there are multiple pieces of useful information that can be displayed on the payment method specification screen SC1, the useful information acquisition unit 101 may acquire useful information from among the multiple pieces of useful information that corresponds to actions taken by the user in the past. Actions taken by the user in the past may be actions taken by the user in the payment service, or actions taken by the user in other services different from the payment service (for example, an e-commerce service). Actions taken by the user in the past can also be said to be the user's usage history in a given service.

[0126] In Modification 8, we take the example of a case where a user's usage history in a payment service corresponds to actions the user has taken in the past. The usage history information regarding the user's usage history is stored in the payment database DB1. The useful information acquisition unit 101 acquires the usage history information from the payment database DB1. The useful information acquisition unit 101 may also acquire the usage history information from a database other than the payment database DB1, a computer other than the payment server 10, or an information storage medium.

[0127] For example, usage history information shows the amount a user spends on the payment service, the date and time of use, the location of use, the campaigns the user used, the coupons the user used, the other benefits the user used, or a combination of these. When a user uses the payment service, the payment server 10 updates the user's usage history information. When a user uses a campaign or coupon, the payment server 10 updates the user's usage history information to show the campaign or coupon the user used. When multiple pieces of useful information are stored in the payment database DB1, the useful information acquisition unit 101 acquires some of the useful information from among the multiple pieces of useful information based on the usage history information.

[0128] For example, suppose that among multiple pieces of useful information, there is a mix of useful information indicating campaigns and useful information indicating coupons. The useful information acquisition unit 101 determines, based on the usage history information, whether the number of times the user has used a campaign is above a threshold, and if so, acquires useful information indicating campaigns. The useful information acquisition unit 101 also determines, based on the usage history information, whether the number of times the user has used a coupon is above a threshold, and if so, acquires useful information indicating coupons. The useful information acquisition unit 101 may also calculate the number of times the user has used campaigns and coupons respectively, based on the usage history information, and acquire the useful information of the campaign or coupon that has been used relatively more often.

[0129] In the modified example 8, the display control unit 102 executes display control processing based on useful information corresponding to the user's actions. The display control unit 102 does not execute display control processing based on useful information that is not corresponding to the user's actions. For example, if the user's usage history information indicates a tendency to participate in campaigns, the display control unit 102 executes display control processing based on useful information indicating campaigns. If the user's usage history information indicates a tendency to use coupons, the display control unit 102 executes display control processing based on useful information indicating coupons.

[0130] In the modified example 8, the display control system 1, when multiple pieces of useful information can be displayed on the payment method selection screen SC1, retrieves the useful information corresponding to the user's past actions from among the multiple pieces of useful information. The display control system 1 then executes display control processing based on the useful information corresponding to the user's actions. As a result, the user can learn about useful information corresponding to their own actions, and the display control system 1 can improve user convenience. For example, the display control system 1 can enhance the appeal of a particular payment service to the user by displaying information that is likely to interest the user.

[0131] [6-9. Modification 9] For example, the useful information acquisition unit 101 may acquire multiple pieces of useful information if there are multiple pieces of useful information that can be displayed on the payment method specification screen SC1, and if the benefits of each of the multiple pieces of useful information can be used in combination. Using multiple benefits means that a user can receive multiple benefits with a certain payment. For example, if a user can take advantage of increased point accrual rates from multiple campaigns with a certain payment, the user can use these campaigns in combination. If a user can take advantage of both increased point accrual rates from a campaign and discounts from coupons with a certain payment, the user can use the benefit of the campaign and the benefit of the coupon in combination.

[0132] For example, useful information may include information indicating whether or not the benefits can be combined. The information indicating whether or not the benefits can be combined may be other information different from the useful information. When there are multiple pieces of useful information, the useful information acquisition unit 101 acquires multiple pieces of useful information that can be combined with each other based on the information indicating whether or not each of the pieces of useful information can be combined. In the modified example 9, the useful information for a campaign that increases the point accrual rate is indicated in the information indicating whether or not it can be combined. The useful information for a discount using a coupon is also indicated in the information indicating whether or not it can be combined.

[0133] Figure 13 shows an example of the payment method specification screen SC1 of Modification 9. In Modification 9, the display control unit 102 performs display control processing related to the display of benefits when used in combination, based on multiple pieces of useful information. For example, the display control unit 102 may perform display control processing by generating image data of payment method content C10 in which the benefits indicated by each of the multiple pieces of useful information indicating mutually usable benefits are added together, and transmitting the image data to the payment server 10. In the example of Figure 13, a campaign that doubles the point accrual rate and a campaign that quintuples the point accrual rate can be used in combination. Therefore, the display control unit 102 generates image data of payment method content C10 showing a 7x increase, which is the sum of the point accrual rate increases from these campaigns, and transmits the image data to the payment server 10.

[0134] The display control unit 102 may also perform display control processing by generating a payment method content C10 in which the content of the benefits shown by each of a plurality of beneficial information items that show mutually usable benefits are listed, and transmitting the payment method content C to the payment server 10. For example, if a campaign to increase the point accrual rate and a discount coupon can be used together, the display control unit 102 may perform display control processing by generating image data of the payment method content C10 that shows that the point accrual rate will increase and that a predetermined discount will occur, and transmitting the image data to the payment server 10.

[0135] The display control system 1 in the modified example 9 acquires multiple pieces of useful information when there are multiple pieces of useful information that can be displayed on the payment method specification screen SC1, and when the benefits of each of the multiple pieces of useful information can be used in combination. Based on the multiple pieces of useful information, the display control system 1 performs display control processing related to the display of the benefits obtained by using them in combination. As a result, the user can understand the benefits that can be used in combination for payment, and the display control system 1 can improve user convenience. For example, by informing the user that the benefits can be used in combination, the display control system 1 can increase the appeal of a particular payment service to the user.

[0136] [6-10. Variation 10] For example, if multiple pieces of useful information are stored in the useful information database DB2, it is thought that obtaining useful information tailored to the user will increase its appeal. If the user is male, obtaining useful information that is highly appealing to men will increase its appeal. If the user is young, obtaining useful information that is highly appealing to young people will increase its appeal. Therefore, in Modification 10, we will explain the case in which useful information tailored to the user is obtained.

[0137] The display control system 1 of the modified example 10 includes a user information acquisition unit 104. The user information acquisition unit 104 acquires user information about the user. User information is information associated with the user ID. For example, user information may be the user's demographic information (e.g., the user's gender, age, age group, residential area, or occupation), or it may be the user's personal information. User information may be the user's usage history in a payment service or e-commerce service, or it may be information such as attributes that do not identify an individual.

[0138] In Modification 10, user information is assumed to be stored in the payment database DB1. The user information acquisition unit 104 acquires user information from the payment database DB1. User information may also be stored in other databases other than the payment database DB1, other computers other than the payment server 10 (for example, the EC server 20), or information storage media. The user information acquisition unit 104 may acquire user information from other databases, other computers, or information storage media.

[0139] For example, the user information acquisition unit 104 obtains the user ID of the currently logged-in user from the EC server 20. If the user ID for the payment service and the user ID for the EC service are the same, the user information acquisition unit 104 can determine which user's user information to obtain by obtaining a common user ID for both the payment service and the EC service from the EC server 20.

[0140] For example, if the user ID for the payment service and the user ID for the e-commerce service are different, and the correspondence between them is stored in the e-commerce server 20, the user information acquisition unit 104 can determine which user's user information to acquire by obtaining the user ID for the payment service of the currently logged-in user from the e-commerce server 20. If the user ID for the payment service and the user ID for the e-commerce service are different, and the correspondence between them is stored in the payment server 10, the user information acquisition unit 104 can determine which user's user information to acquire by obtaining the user ID for the e-commerce service of the currently logged-in user from the e-commerce server 20 and converting it to the user ID for the payment service.

[0141] The useful information acquisition unit 101 in Modification 10 acquires useful information based on user information. In Modification 10, user conditions related to user information are associated with useful information and stored in the useful information database DB2. User conditions are the conditions for users for whom the benefits shown by the useful information are appropriate. For example, user conditions may be conditions such as the gender, age group, or residential area of ​​users targeted by a campaign, etc. User conditions may also be conditions that can be determined based on other demographic information. User conditions only need to be conditions that can be determined based on user information.

[0142] For example, the useful information acquisition unit 101 determines, based on the user information, whether each of the multiple user conditions stored in the useful information database DB2 is met. The useful information acquisition unit 101 acquires useful information associated with the user conditions that the user information satisfies from among the multiple user conditions. If the user conditions indicate the gender of a user for whom the benefits shown in the useful information are appropriate, the useful information acquisition unit 101 acquires useful information associated with the user conditions that match the gender of the user indicated in the user information. If the user conditions indicate the age group of a user for whom the benefits shown in the useful information are appropriate, the useful information acquisition unit 101 acquires useful information associated with the user conditions that match the age group of the user indicated in the user information. The processing after the useful information has been acquired may be the same as in the embodiments or modifications 1 to 9.

[0143] The display control system 1 in the modified example 10 acquires user information. Based on the user information, the display control system 1 acquires useful information. As a result, users can learn about useful information tailored to them, and the display control system 1 can improve user convenience. For example, the display control system 1 can also enhance the appeal of payment services provided by a specific payment service provider.

[0144] [6-11. Variation 11] For example, if multiple pieces of useful information are stored in the useful information database DB2, it is thought that obtaining useful information corresponding to at least one of the goods and services subject to payment will increase the appeal to the user. Hereafter, at least one of the goods and services subject to payment will be referred to as the payment target. Variation 11 explains the case in which useful information corresponding to the payment target is obtained.

[0145] The display control system 1 in Modification 11 includes a settlement target information acquisition unit 105. The settlement target information acquisition unit 105 acquires settlement target information relating to a settlement target. The settlement target information can be any information relating to a settlement target. For example, the settlement target information may be settlement target identification information that can identify the settlement target (e.g., GTIN: Global Trade Item Number), the name of the settlement target, the genre of the settlement target, the price of the settlement target, the quantity of the settlement target, or other information. Modification 11 gives an example where the settlement target identification information corresponds to the settlement target information.

[0146] For example, the EC server 20 stores a payment target database in the data storage unit 200, which contains payment target information for various goods and services that may be subject to payment. The EC server 20 retrieves payment target information for payment targets from the payment target database. The EC server 20 transmits the payment target information for payment targets to the payment server 10. In the upper example of Figure 2, since payment targets are placed in the shopping cart, the EC server 20 transmits the payment target information for payment targets placed in the shopping cart to the payment server 10. The payment target information acquisition unit 105 retrieves payment target information for payment targets from the EC server 20.

[0147] The payment target information acquisition unit 105 may also acquire payment target information from a computer other than the EC server 20 (for example, a user terminal 30). If the payment target database is stored in the data storage unit 100, the payment target information acquisition unit 105 may acquire payment target information from the data storage unit 100. If the payment target database is stored in an information storage medium other than the data storage unit 100, the payment target information acquisition unit 105 may acquire payment target information from the other information storage medium.

[0148] The useful information acquisition unit 101 in Modification 11 acquires useful information based on the payment target information. In Modification 11, it is assumed that payment target conditions related to the payment target information are associated with the useful information and stored in the useful information database DB2. The payment target conditions are the conditions under which the benefits indicated by the useful information are appropriate for payment. For example, the payment target conditions may be conditions such as information that can identify the product or service that is the target of the campaign, etc. (e.g., GTIN), the name of the product or service that is the target of the campaign, etc., or the category of the product or service that will be the target of the campaign, etc. The payment target conditions only need to be conditions that can be determined based on the payment target information.

[0149] For example, the useful information acquisition unit 101 determines whether each of the multiple payment target conditions stored in the useful information database DB2 is met based on the payment target information. The useful information acquisition unit 101 acquires useful information associated with the payment target conditions that the payment target information satisfies from among the multiple payment target conditions. If a particular product or service is eligible for a campaign, the useful information acquisition unit 101 acquires useful information indicating that the payment target is eligible for the campaign, based on the payment target information and the multiple payment target conditions. If a particular category of product or service is eligible for a campaign, the useful information acquisition unit 101 acquires useful information indicating that the category of the payment target is eligible for the campaign, based on the payment target information and the multiple payment target conditions.

[0150] Furthermore, the processing after the acquisition of useful information may be the same as in the embodiment or modifications 1 to 10. For example, the display control unit 102 may perform display control processing to display on the payment method specification screen SC1 the amount of benefit (e.g., the amount of points awarded or the discount amount) that would be generated if the benefits of a campaign, etc., were applied to the payment that the user is about to execute, based on the useful information corresponding to the payment target information.

[0151] The display control system 1 in the modified example 11 acquires payment target information. Based on the payment target information, the display control system 1 acquires useful information. As a result, the user can learn useful information corresponding to the payment target, and the display control system 1 can improve user convenience. For example, the display control system 1 can also enhance the appeal of payment services provided by a specific payment service provider.

[0152] [6-12. Variation 12] For example, if multiple pieces of useful information are stored in the useful information database DB2, it is thought that the appeal to the user will be enhanced if the useful information that is relevant to the store where the user is making a payment is retrieved. For example, suppose that among a number of campaigns, there are campaigns applicable to a pizza shop and campaigns applicable to a hamburger shop. When a user accesses the pizza shop's EC server 20, the payment server 10 may identify the campaign applicable to the pizza shop from among the number of campaigns and display content C10 that indicates that campaign. If the useful information indicates the content of the campaign, it is thought that the appeal to the user will be enhanced if the content of the campaign is displayed in the payment method content C when the store where the user is making a payment is the target of the campaign. Modification example 12 explains the case where useful information relevant to the store is retrieved.

[0153] The display control system 1 in Modification 12 includes a store information acquisition unit 106. The store information acquisition unit 106 acquires store information relating to stores that sell at least one of goods and services. Store information can be any information relating to a store. For example, store information may be store identification information that can identify a store (e.g., an ID assigned to the store), the name of the store, the genre of the store, the area of ​​the store, or other information. Modification 12 gives an example where store identification information corresponds to store information.

[0154] For example, suppose the EC server 20 stores a store database in the data storage unit 200, which contains the store information of each of the multiple stores that operate on the EC service. The EC server 20 retrieves the store information of the store where the user will make a payment from the store database. The EC server 20 transmits the store information to the payment server 10. In the upper example of Figure 2, at least one of the goods and services of a certain store is added to the shopping cart, so the EC server 20 transmits the store information of that store to the payment server 10. The store information acquisition unit 106 retrieves the store information from the EC server 20.

[0155] The store information acquisition unit 106 may also acquire store information from other computers other than the EC server 20 (for example, a user terminal 30). If the store database is stored in the data storage unit 100, the store information acquisition unit 106 may acquire store information from the data storage unit 100. If the store database is stored in an information storage medium other than the data storage unit 100, the store information acquisition unit 106 may acquire store information from the other information storage medium.

[0156] The useful information acquisition unit 101 in Modification 12 acquires useful information based on store information. In Modification 12, it is assumed that store conditions related to store information are associated with useful information and stored in the useful information database DB2. Store conditions are the conditions for stores where the benefits indicated by the useful information are appropriate. For example, store conditions may be information that can identify stores that are the target of a campaign, etc. (e.g., store ID), the category of stores that are the target of a campaign, etc., or the area of ​​stores that will be the target of a campaign, etc. Store conditions only need to be conditions that can be determined based on store information.

[0157] For example, the useful information acquisition unit 101 determines, based on the store information, whether each of the multiple store conditions stored in the useful information database DB2 is met. The useful information acquisition unit 101 acquires useful information associated with the store conditions that the store information satisfies from among the multiple store conditions. If a particular store is eligible for a campaign, the useful information acquisition unit 101 acquires useful information that the store the user is trying to pay at is eligible for the campaign, based on the store information and the multiple store conditions. If a store in a particular category is eligible for a campaign, the useful information acquisition unit 101 acquires useful information that the category of the store the user is trying to pay at is eligible for the campaign, based on the store information and the multiple store conditions. The processing after the useful information has been acquired may be the same as in the embodiments or modifications 1 to 11.

[0158] The display control system 1 in the modified example 12 acquires store information. Based on the store information, the display control system 1 acquires useful information. As a result, the user can learn useful information relevant to the store where they are making a payment, thus improving user convenience. For example, the display control system 1 can also enhance the appeal of payment services provided by a specific payment service provider.

[0159] [6-13. Variation 13] For example, some benefits, such as those offered in promotional materials, require users to register in order to receive them. While registration could be accepted on the payment confirmation screen SC3, users would need to perform the registration process separately, potentially increasing their operational burden. Therefore, Modification 13 describes a case where selecting the payment method content C10 also serves as the registration process.

[0160] The display control system 1 in Modification 13 includes an entry processing execution unit 107. When a payment method is selected on the payment method specification screen SC1, the entry processing execution unit 107 executes entry processing for the entry necessary for the user to receive the benefits indicated by the useful information. The meaning of entry is as explained in Modification 1. Entry processing is the process of recording entry status information indicating that the user has entered. For example, entry processing may be the process of acquiring a coupon. If something other than a coupon is acquired, entry processing may be the process of acquiring that other item. In Modification 13, as in Modification 2, it is assumed that the entry status information is stored in the payment database DB1. As in Modification 2, the entry status information may also be stored in another database, etc.

[0161] In the upper example of Figure 2, the user selects the "AAA Pay" payment service, which is the payment method for which the campaign is running, by selecting payment method content C10. The user's operation of selecting payment method content C10 serves not only as specifying the payment method but also as an entry operation. The EC server 20 notifies the payment server 10 that the user has selected payment method content C10. Alternatively, the user terminal 30 could notify the payment server 10 that the user has selected payment method content C10, instead of the EC server 20.

[0162] For example, when the payment server 10 receives a notification from the EC server 20 or the user terminal 30, the entry processing execution unit 107 executes entry processing so that the entry status information indicates that the user has entered the campaign shown in the payment method content C10. The user may enter through an operation other than selecting the payment method content C10. For example, the user may enter from the payment service website or from a screen other than the payment method specification screen SC1 in the EC service.

[0163] Furthermore, if the entry status information indicates that a user has entered the campaign, a benefit from the campaign (in the upper example of Figure 2, the benefit is an increased point accrual rate) will be generated. The process for generating the benefit from an entered campaign may be the same as known processes. The payment flow after the entry processing unit executes the entry process and the flow for generating the entered benefit may be the same as in the embodiment.

[0164] In the modified example 13, the display control system 1 executes an entry process for the user to receive the benefits indicated by the useful information when a payment method is selected on the payment method specification screen SC1. As a result, the user completes the entry process by selecting the payment method, thus reducing the user's operational burden.

[0165] [6-14. Variation 14] For example, a user may make a payment without registering for a campaign or other benefit. In this case, if the user is unable to receive the campaign or benefit, it could reduce user convenience. Modification 14 explains a case where, even if a user makes a payment without registering, retroactive registration is possible. The user can receive the campaign or benefit even if they make a retroactive registration after the payment has been made.

[0166] The display control system 1 in Modification 14 includes a post-entry reception unit 108. The post-entry reception unit 108 accepts post-entry entries from the user when a settlement is executed without the user making the necessary entry to receive the benefits indicated by the useful information. A post-entry entry is an entry made after the settlement has been executed. For example, the post-entry reception unit 108 accepts a post-entry operation, which is an operation for a post-entry, on the post-entry screen displayed on the user terminal 30 after the settlement has been executed. A post-entry operation differs from an entry operation in that it is a post-entry, but in other respects it is the same as an entry operation. Like an entry operation, a post-entry operation may be any operation.

[0167] In Modification 14, the example given is that the payment completion screen SC4 corresponds to the post-entry screen, but the post-entry screen may be any other screen besides the payment completion screen SC4. For example, the post-entry screen may be any other screen in the payment service or a screen in the e-commerce service. Post-entry operations may be received not on the payment service or e-commerce service screen, but via email sent to the user, or via a message from a short message service or messaging app.

[0168] Figure 14 shows an example of the payment completion screen SC4 of Modification 14. For example, the post-entry reception unit 108 determines whether or not the user has made an entry based on the entry status information. If the post-entry reception unit 108 determines that the user has made an entry, it displays the payment completion screen SC4, which does not accept post-entry operations, on the user terminal 30, similar to the lower part of Figure 3. If the post-entry reception unit 108 determines that the user has made an entry, it displays the payment completion screen SC4, which includes post-entry content C40 for accepting post-entry operations, on the user terminal 30, as shown in Figure 14.

[0169] For example, when a user selects the post-entry content C40, the payment server 10 updates the entry status information to indicate that the user has entered. When a user selects the post-entry content C40, the payment server 10 generates the benefit indicated by the beneficial information. In the example in Figure 14, when a user makes a post-entry, the point accrual rate increases, so the payment server 10 recalculates the points to be awarded to the user. If points are awarded to the user immediately after payment, the payment server 10 awards the user the difference in points.

[0170] In the modified example 14, the display control system 1 accepts a post-transaction entry by the user if a settlement is executed without the user making the necessary entry to receive the benefits indicated by the useful information. As a result, even if the user executes a settlement without making an entry, they can still receive the benefits through a post-transaction entry, thus improving user convenience.

[0171] [6-15. Other variations] For example, the above modifications may be combined. For instance, the AI ​​may determine which campaign is presented to the user from among the multiple campaigns described in Embodiments and Modifications 1 to 14. In this case, the AI ​​may be input with arbitrary information about the user (e.g., the user's demographic information or payment history information) and information indicating the content of each of the multiple campaigns (e.g., a string indicating the content of the campaign). The AI ​​may be input with prompts in natural language indicating that it should select the appropriate campaign based on this information. The AI ​​calculates an embedded representation of this information input to it and outputs information that can identify the appropriate campaign according to the embedded representation.

[0172] For example, the functions described as being implemented by the payment server 10 may be implemented by the EC server 20, the user terminal 30, or another computer. The functions described as being implemented by the payment server 10 may be shared among multiple computers.

[0173] [7. Addendum] For example, the display control system can also be configured as follows:

[0174] (1) When a request is made to display a payment method specification screen regarding the specification of a payment method used for the payment of at least one of the goods and services, a useful information acquisition unit acquires useful information that is beneficial to the user making the payment using the said payment method. A display control unit that executes display control processing related to the display of the payment method specification screen based on the aforementioned useful information, A display control system including a display control system. (2) The aforementioned payment method selection screen is a screen that accepts the user's selection from among multiple payment methods. The useful information acquisition unit acquires the useful information for a specific payment method from among the multiple payment methods before the user selects that specific payment method. The display control unit executes the display control process based on the useful information of the specific payment method. (1) The display control system described above. (3) The aforementioned payment method selection screen includes payment method content that accepts the selection of each of the aforementioned multiple payment methods, The display control unit executes the display control process to display the payment method content of the specific payment method on the payment method specification screen, based on the useful information of the specific payment method. (2) The display control system described above. (4) The display control system further includes a payment processing execution unit that, when the payment method content of the specific payment method is selected, performs payment processing for the payment based on the specific payment method so that the benefits indicated by the useful information are realized by the user. (3) The display control system described above. (5) The display control unit executes display control processing related to the display of entry operation content that accepts the entry operation when the user needs to perform a predetermined entry operation in order to receive the benefits indicated by the useful information. (3) or (4) The display control system described above. (6) The display control unit executes a display control process related to displaying the entered content, indicating that the user has already entered, if the user has already performed the entry operation. (5) The display control system described above. (7) At least one of the aforementioned goods and services is sold by an e-commerce business operator different from the payment service provider that provides the aforementioned payment method to the user, The display control unit executes the display control process relating to the display of the payment method specification screen of the e-commerce business operator based on the useful information. A display control system as described in any of (1) to (6). (8) The aforementioned payment method selection screen is a screen that accepts the user's selection from among the payment methods provided by the payment service provider to the user and other payment methods provided by other payment service providers different from the aforementioned payment service provider. The display control unit executes the display control process based on the useful information of the payment service provider. (7) A display control system as described in any of the above. (9) The useful information acquisition unit acquires the useful information of the e-commerce business operator, The display control unit executes the display control process based on the useful information of the e-commerce business operator. (7) or (8) The display control system described above. (10) If there are multiple pieces of useful information that can be displayed on the payment method specification screen, the useful information acquisition unit acquires the piece of useful information that provides a relatively large benefit to the user from among the multiple pieces of useful information. The display control unit executes the display control process based on the beneficial information which provides a relatively large benefit. A display control system as described in any of (1) to (9). (11) If there are multiple pieces of useful information that can be displayed on the payment method specification screen, the useful information acquisition unit acquires the piece of useful information from among the multiple pieces of useful information that has a relatively short remaining time until the predetermined deadline during which the user can receive the benefit. The display control unit executes the display control process based on the useful information for which the remaining time is relatively short. A display control system as described in any of (1) to (10). (12) If there are multiple pieces of useful information that can be displayed on the payment method specification screen, the useful information acquisition unit acquires the useful information from among the multiple pieces of useful information that corresponds to the actions the user has taken in the past. The display control unit executes the display control process based on the useful information corresponding to the action. A display control system as described in any of (1) to (11). (13) The useful information acquisition unit acquires multiple pieces of useful information when there are multiple pieces of useful information that can be displayed on the payment method specification screen and when the benefits of each of the multiple pieces of useful information can be used in combination. The display control unit executes the display control process relating to the display of the benefits obtained by combining the multiple pieces of useful information, based on the plurality of useful pieces of information. A display control system as described in any of (1) to (12). (14) The display control system further includes a user information acquisition unit that acquires user information relating to the user, The useful information acquisition unit acquires the useful information based on the user information. A display control system as described in any of (1) to (13). (15) The display control system further includes a payment target information acquisition unit that acquires payment target information relating to at least one of the goods and services subject to payment, The useful information acquisition unit acquires the useful information based on the settlement target information. A display control system as described in any of (1) to (14). (16) The display control system further includes a store information acquisition unit that acquires store information relating to stores that sell at least one of the goods and services, The useful information acquisition unit acquires the useful information based on the store information. A display control system as described in any of (1) to (15). (17) The display control system further includes an entry processing execution unit that, when the payment method is selected on the payment method specification screen, executes entry processing for the entry necessary for the user to receive the benefits indicated by the useful information. A display control system as described in any of (1) to (16). (18) The display control system further includes a post-entry reception unit that accepts the user's post-entry if the settlement is executed without the user making the necessary entry to receive the benefits indicated by the useful information. A display control system as described in any of (1) to (17). [Explanation of Symbols]

[0175] 1 Display control system, N Network, 10 Payment server, 11,21,31 Control unit, 12,22,32 Storage unit, 13,23,33 Communication unit, 20 EC server, 30 User terminal, 34 Operation unit, 35 Display unit, 100,200 Data storage unit, 101 Useful information acquisition unit, 102,201 Display control unit, 103 Payment processing execution unit, 104 User information acquisition unit, 105 Payment target information acquisition unit, 106 Store information acquisition unit, 107 Entry processing execution unit, 108 Post-entry reception unit, B22,B30 Buttons, C,C10,C11,C12 Payment method content, C13 Profit content, C31 Entry operation content, C32 Entry completed content, C40 Post-entry content, DB1 Payment database, DB2 Useful information database, DB3 EC database, F20, F21 input forms, SC1 payment method selection screen, SC2 login screen, SC3 payment confirmation screen, SC4 payment completion screen.

Claims

1. When a request is made to display a payment method specification screen that includes payment method content accepting the selection of each of several payment methods used for payment of at least one of goods and services, a useful information acquisition unit acquires useful information that is beneficial to the user who will make the payment using the specific payment method, before the user selects a specific payment method from among the several payment methods. A display control unit that performs display control processing to display the payment method content of the specified payment method on the payment method specification screen based on the useful information of the specified payment method, Includes, The display control unit executes a display control process to display entry operation content that accepts the entry operation on the payment confirmation screen, which is displayed for payment confirmation when a specific payment method is selected on the payment method selection screen, if the user needs to perform a predetermined entry operation in order to receive the benefits indicated by the useful information. Display control system.

2. The display control system further includes a payment processing execution unit that, when the payment method content of the specific payment method is selected, performs payment processing for the payment based on the specific payment method so that the benefits indicated by the useful information are realized by the user. The display control system according to claim 1.

3. The display control unit executes a display control process to display entry content on the payment confirmation screen indicating that the user has already entered, if the user has already performed the entry operation on a screen other than the payment confirmation screen. The display control system according to claim 1 or 2.

4. At least one of the aforementioned goods and services is sold by an e-commerce business operator different from the payment service provider that provides the aforementioned payment method to the user, The display control unit executes the display control process relating to the display of the payment method specification screen of the e-commerce business operator based on the useful information. The display control system according to claim 1 or 2.

5. The aforementioned payment method selection screen is a screen that accepts the user's selection from among the payment methods provided by the payment service provider to the user and other payment methods provided by other payment service providers different from the aforementioned payment service provider. The display control unit executes the display control process based on the useful information of the payment service provider. The display control system according to claim 4.

6. The useful information acquisition unit acquires the useful information of the e-commerce business operator, The display control unit executes the display control process based on the useful information of the e-commerce business operator. The display control system according to claim 4.

7. If there are multiple pieces of useful information that can be displayed on the payment method specification screen, the useful information acquisition unit acquires the piece of useful information that provides a relatively large benefit to the user from among the multiple pieces of useful information. The display control unit executes the display control process based on the beneficial information which provides a relatively large benefit. The display control system according to claim 1 or 2.

8. If there are multiple pieces of useful information that can be displayed on the payment method specification screen, the useful information acquisition unit acquires the piece of useful information from among the multiple pieces of useful information that has a relatively short remaining time until the predetermined deadline during which the user can receive the benefit. The display control unit executes the display control process based on the useful information for which the remaining time is relatively short. The display control system according to claim 1 or 2.

9. If there are multiple pieces of useful information that can be displayed on the payment method specification screen, the useful information acquisition unit acquires the useful information from among the multiple pieces of useful information that corresponds to the actions the user has taken in the past. The display control unit executes the display control process based on the useful information corresponding to the action. The display control system according to claim 1 or 2.

10. The useful information acquisition unit acquires multiple pieces of useful information when there are multiple pieces of useful information that can be displayed on the payment method specification screen and when the benefits of each of the multiple pieces of useful information can be used in combination. The display control unit executes the display control process relating to the display of the benefits obtained by combining the multiple pieces of useful information, based on the plurality of useful pieces of information. The display control system according to claim 1 or 2.

11. The display control system further includes a user information acquisition unit that acquires user information relating to the user, The useful information acquisition unit acquires the useful information based on the user information. The display control system according to claim 1 or 2.

12. The display control system further includes a payment target information acquisition unit that acquires payment target information relating to at least one of the goods and services subject to payment, The useful information acquisition unit acquires the useful information based on the settlement target information. The display control system according to claim 1 or 2.

13. The display control system further includes a store information acquisition unit that acquires store information relating to stores that sell at least one of the goods and services, The useful information acquisition unit acquires the useful information based on the store information. The display control system according to claim 1 or 2.

14. When a request is made to display a payment method specification screen relating to the specification of a payment method used for the payment of at least one of goods and services, a useful information acquisition unit acquires useful information that is useful to the user who makes the payment using the payment method, A display control unit that executes display control processing related to the display of the payment method specification screen based on the aforementioned useful information, When the user makes a selection operation on the payment method specification screen in which the user selects the payment method, and the selection operation also serves as an entry operation for the entry necessary for the user to receive the benefits indicated by the useful information, an entry processing execution unit executes an entry process for the entry necessary for the user to receive the benefits indicated by the useful information. A display control system including a display control system.

15. When a request is made to display a payment method specification screen relating to the specification of a payment method used for the payment of at least one of goods and services, a useful information acquisition unit acquires useful information that is useful to the user who makes the payment using the payment method, A display control unit that executes display control processing related to the display of the payment method specification screen based on the aforementioned useful information, When the payment is executed without the user making the necessary entry to receive the benefits indicated by the useful information, a payment completion screen is provided, which displays the payment completion screen that accepts the user's subsequent entry, and a post-entry acceptance unit is provided to display the payment completion screen that indicates the payment has been completed. A display control system including a display control system.

16. A computer, When a request is made to display a payment method specification screen that includes payment method content accepting the selection of each of several payment methods used for payment of at least one of goods and services, a useful information acquisition step is made to acquire useful information that is useful to the user who will make the payment using the specific payment method, before the user selects a specific payment method from among the several payment methods. A display control step that performs a display control process to display the payment method content of the specific payment method on the payment method specification screen, based on the useful information of the specific payment method; Execute, The display control step, when the user needs to perform a predetermined entry operation in order to receive the benefits indicated by the useful information, executes a display control process to display entry operation content that accepts the entry operation on the payment confirmation screen, which is displayed for payment confirmation when the specific payment method is selected on the payment method specification screen. Display control method.

17. When a request is made to display a payment method specification screen that includes payment method content accepting the selection of each of several payment methods used for payment of at least one of goods and services, a useful information acquisition unit acquires useful information that is beneficial to the user who will make the payment using the specific payment method, before the user selects a specific payment method from among the several payment methods. A display control unit that performs a display control process to display the payment method content of the specified payment method on the payment method specification screen, based on the useful information of the specified payment method. To make the computer function as, The display control unit executes a display control process to display entry operation content that accepts the entry operation on the payment confirmation screen, which is displayed for payment confirmation when a specific payment method is selected on the payment method selection screen, if the user needs to perform a predetermined entry operation in order to receive the benefits indicated by the useful information. program.

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