Blockchain Expense Splitting Notes for Automated Reimbursement
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional electronic bill reimbursement systems require manual application to multiple reimbursement acceptors, leading to inefficiencies and complexities in splitting unreimbursed amounts, particularly in shared reimbursement scenarios like medical or vehicle insurance.
Innovation Solution
A blockchain-based method that invokes expense splitting logic in a smart contract to generate and broadcast expense splitting notes based on unreimbursed amounts stored in the blockchain, enabling automated reimbursement processing and tracking.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If manual application to multiple reimbursement acceptors is used, then flexibility in reimbursement processing is maintained, but processing efficiency and complexity deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The reimbursement process is segmented into distinct blockchain transactions: electronic bill submission, reimbursement acceptance, and expense splitting note generation. Each segment is handled by specific smart contract functions, allowing parallel processing and reducing overall complexity while improving efficiency.
Solution Approach 2:
A blockchain-based expense splitting note system acts as an intermediary between multiple reimbursement acceptors and the user. The smart contract automatically generates and manages splitting notes, eliminating the need for manual coordination and reducing process complexity while maintaining flexibility.
2Productivity
If automated expense splitting is implemented, then processing efficiency improves, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The smart contract is designed as a universal expense splitting mechanism that can handle multiple reimbursement acceptors and various splitting scenarios through a single standardized interface. This multi-functionality reduces the need for multiple specialized contracts, managing complexity while maintaining high automation efficiency.
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements self-service automation where the smart contract automatically generates expense splitting notes based on reimbursement data from the blockchain, without requiring manual intervention. The contract self-manages the complex logic of calculating unreimbursed amounts and distributing them appropriately, improving efficiency while encapsulating complexity within the automated system.
3Reliability
If blockchain storage is used for reimbursement data, then data integrity and transparency improve, but storage and processing overhead increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system extracts only essential reimbursement data (electronic bill identifiers, reimbursement amounts, acceptor information) onto the blockchain, while detailed expense splitting calculations are performed off-chain by the smart contract. This extraction approach maintains data integrity for critical information while reducing overall blockchain data volume and storage overhead.
Solution Approach 2:
Reimbursement data is preliminarily verified and stored on the blockchain before expense splitting operations occur. This preliminary action ensures data integrity is established upfront, allowing subsequent splitting operations to work with already-validated data, reducing the need for redundant storage and verification overhead.
Data Source
AI summary
This disclosure relates to blockchain-based reimbursement. In some aspects, a network node on a blockchain network receives a target transaction. The target transaction includes a target electronic bill identifier. In response to receiving the target transaction, expense splitting logic is invoked. The expense splitting logic is specified in a smart contract deployed on the blockchain Respective expense splitting notes are generated based on the expense splitting logic and an unreimbursed amount included in reimbursement information that is stored in the blockchain and that corresponds to the target electronic bill identifier. The respective expense splitting notes are broadcasted to the blockchain for storage.