Settlement System Home Currency Display
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Solution Overview
Problem
In traditional methods of international transactions, travelers face difficulties in determining the amount of payment in their home currency when purchasing merchandise abroad, especially in countries like Japan, where prices are displayed in local currency. This uncertainty is exacerbated when using credit cards, as the exchange rate is determined by the credit card company at a later time.
Innovation Solution
A settlement system and method that allows users to view prices in their home currency while making purchases abroad. This system includes a server that reports exchange rates to merchant devices, which then display the amount of payment in the user's home currency on their terminal. The system fixes the exchange rate at the time of purchase, allowing users to make transactions securely without worrying about exchange rate fluctuations.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If a traveler uses a credit card to make payment abroad, then the payment can be processed using local currency, but the amount of payment in home currency cannot be determined at the time of purchase
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary actions by acquiring the exchange rate before the payment is made, calculating the payment amount in home currency in advance, and displaying it to the user. This allows the user to know the exact amount to be charged before completing the transaction, eliminating the uncertainty of later exchange rate determination.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention introduces an intermediary mechanism (the payment terminal system) that mediates between the local currency pricing and home currency billing. The terminal acquires exchange rates, performs currency conversion calculations, and presents the home currency amount to the user, bridging the information gap between local pricing and foreign currency understanding.
2Adaptability or versatility
If the exchange rate is determined by the credit card company at a later date, then the credit card system can process international transactions, but the traveler cannot know the exact payment amount at the time of purchase
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary actions by acquiring the exchange rate before the payment is made, calculating the payment amount in home currency in advance, and displaying it to the user. This allows the user to know the exact amount to be charged before completing the transaction, eliminating the uncertainty of later exchange rate determination.
Solution Approach 2:
The system provides immediate feedback to the user by displaying the calculated payment amount in home currency before the transaction is completed. This feedback loop allows the user to verify the cost and make an informed decision, rather than receiving the exchange rate determination later from the credit card company.
3Ease of manufacture
If prices are displayed only in local currency, then the merchant can price merchandise simply, but the foreign traveler cannot understand the price in their home currency
Solution Approach 1:
The payment terminal performs multiple functions: it displays prices in local currency for the merchant and simultaneously converts and displays the equivalent amount in the user's home currency. This multi-functionality allows both the merchant's simplicity and the traveler's understanding to coexist without complicating the underlying pricing system.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention introduces an intermediary mechanism (the payment terminal system) that mediates between the local currency pricing and home currency billing. The terminal acquires exchange rates, performs currency conversion calculations, and presents the home currency amount to the user, bridging the information gap between local pricing and foreign currency understanding.
Data Source
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AI summary
According to one embodiment, a settlement system (100) comprising a server (10) and a merchant device (20), wherein the server (10) includes: a rate notification unit (12a) configured to report, at a predetermined occasion, an exchange rate applicable for a predetermined period of time to the merchant device (20); and a payment controller (12b) configured to perform control to determine an amount of payment to be made to the merchant device (20), based on sales information reported by the merchant device (20) and an exchange rate at a time of purchase, and pay the determined amount to the merchant device (20) in a currency of a second country, the currency of the second country being a home currency for the merchant device (20), the merchant device (20) includes: a display controller (22b) configured to, if a request from a terminal of a user is received, perform control, based on a fixed exchange rate reported by the server (10), to display on the terminal (30) of the user an amount of payment for purchase of an article in a currency of a first country designated by the user; a sales notification unit (22c) configured to, if the user purchases the article, notify the server (10) of the sales information in the currency of the first country, the sales information being calculated by the display controller based on the exchange rate reported by the server (10), wherein the display controller (22b) performs control to identify, based on an image received from the terminal (30), a price of the article that the user wishes to purchase, calculate the amount of payment for purchase of the article in the currency of the first country based on the price of the article and the exchange rate, and display the calculated amount of payment on the image.