JP2002298049A - Account administration method, and terminal, server, and account administration device used for the method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an account administration method capable of easily and safely purchasing articles and services through a network, and a terminal, a server, and an account administration device used for the method. SOLUTION: The identification information and the request for purchase of an account user A are transmitted from the terminal 14 to the server 12. The server 12 confirms the usable balance of the account user A based on an ID and password and, based on whether or not the purchase amount of commodities and/or services is within the range of the usable balance, judges whether or not the purchase information and account information of the account user A should be notified to the site of a seller. When the request for purchase by the account user A is transmitted from the terminal 14 to the server 12, the server 12 should desirably confirm the possibility of purchase by the account user A to the terminal 26 of an account owner.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an account management method, and a terminal, a server, and an account management device used for the method. The present invention relates to an account management method for managing an account used when purchasing goods and / or services, and a terminal, a server, and an account management device used for the account management method.

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, electronic commerce, such as online shopping, for accessing a dealer's site from a terminal via a server to purchase a desired product and / or service has become increasingly popular. In such electronic commerce, a user is charged by withdrawing a purchase amount from a designated account based on an account number or a credit number input from a terminal when a purchaser purchases goods and / or services.

[0002]

Generally, only one account is opened at a financial institution such as a bank, and the same applies to a credit card. Therefore, when a child or the like who does not have their own account purchases goods and services through the network, the parent's account number and the like must be borrowed. In addition, when a child directly purchases an article by inputting a parent account number or the like, there is a risk that the purchase may be inadvertently expensive. Therefore, a main object of the present invention is to provide an account management method, and a terminal, a server, and an account management device used for the same, which can more easily and safely purchase goods and services through a network.

[0003]

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, an account management method according to the first aspect of the present invention provides a method for managing accounts and / or goods.
Or access the site of the merchant providing the service from the terminal via the server to manage the account used when purchasing the desired goods and / or services, and the server manages the account by the account holder and the account user. An account management method for controlling an account user to be able to use the account and managing an available balance of the account user, the method including transmitting account user identification information from a terminal to a server, and goods and / or services provided by the account user. Sending a purchase request from the terminal to the server, the server confirming the available balance of the account user based on the identification information, and determining whether the purchase price of the goods and / or services is within the available balance. To determine whether to notify the purchase site of the account user and the account information to the site of purchase based on the Equipped with a flop.

[0004] The account management method according to claim 2 is an account used when purchasing a desired product and / or service by accessing a site of a seller providing the product and / or service from a terminal via a server. An account management method for managing an account user and for controlling an account management device so that the account can be used by the account holder and the account user, and managing the available balance of the account user. Transmitting information from the terminal to the server, transmitting a purchase request for goods and / or services by the account user from the terminal to the server, transmitting the identification information to the account management device by the server, and identifying the identification information to the account management device. Confirming the account user's available balance and transmitting it to the server based on the Comprising the step of the purchase price of the scan to determine whether or not to notify the purchase information and the account information of the account user to the purchase of the site on the basis of whether or not within the scope of the available balance.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the account management method according to the first or second aspect, when a purchase request for goods and / or services by the account user is transmitted from the terminal to the server, the account management method is used. The server further comprises a step of confirming whether or not the purchase by the server is possible with the terminal of the account owner, and a step of determining whether or not the server can be debited from the account based on a response from the terminal of the account owner. . The account management method according to claim 4 is the account management method according to claim 1 or 2,
The method further includes the step of connecting the non-contact IC card to the terminal and depositing the non-contact IC card from the account. The terminal according to claim 5, which is connected to an account management device that manages an account via a server and is connectable to a contactless IC card, and is connected to the connected contactless IC card in the account management device. It is characterized by receiving money from an account.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, the server includes a product and / or
Or the site of the merchant providing the service, the terminal used to purchase the goods and / or services,
A server that is connected to an account management device that manages the account, controls the account so that it can be used by the account owner and the account user, and manages the available balance of the account user; A means for receiving identification information from a terminal, a means for receiving a purchase request from an account user from a terminal, a means for confirming an available balance of an account user based on identification information, and a purchase amount of goods and / or services are used. Notifying the purchaser of the account user's purchase information and account information to the site of purchase if the amount is within the available balance, while debiting the purchase amount from the account if the purchase amount of goods and / or services exceeds the available balance Means for blocking

[0007] The server according to claim 7 is a product and / or server.
Or the site of the merchant providing the service, the terminal used to purchase the goods and / or services,
A server connected to an account management device that manages accounts, a means for receiving identification information of an account user from a terminal,
Means for receiving the purchase request of the account user from the terminal, means for transmitting the identification information to the account management device, means for receiving the available balance of the account user from the account management device, and purchase amount of the goods and / or services. If the balance is within the available balance, the purchaser's site is notified of the purchase information and account information of the account user, while if the purchase amount of goods and / or services exceeds the available balance, the purchase amount from the account is Means for preventing withdrawal are provided.

[0008] The account management device according to the present invention is an account used when purchasing a desired product and / or service by accessing a site of a distributor providing the product and / or service from a terminal via a server. And an account management device connected to the server, wherein the account management device controls the account user and the account user so that the account user and the account user can use the account information. And means for confirming the available balance of the account user based on the identification information and notifying the server.

In the account management method according to the first aspect, since the account user can use the account of the account holder, the account user can easily use the account and the product on the network without having his own account. And / or purchase services. In addition, since the amount used by the account user is limited in advance, shopping can be performed safely without being inadvertently expensive. The server described in claim 6 is suitable for such an account management method. Similarly, in the account management method according to the second aspect, it is possible to easily and safely purchase goods and / or services on the network. The server described in claim 7 and the account management device described in claim 8 are suitable for this account management method.

According to the account management method of the present invention, when a purchase request is made by an account user, the server confirms whether or not the purchase is possible with the terminal of the account owner. Therefore, the account holder can easily and constantly check the object that the account user wants to purchase even if the account holder is away from the account user, so that the account user can be easily managed, and Shopping becomes more secure. In the account management method according to the fourth aspect, a non-contact I through the terminal from the account.
Since payment can be made to the C card, use of the non-contact IC card can be further promoted. The terminal described in claim 5 is suitable for this account management method.

[0011]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows an account management system 10 to which the present invention is applied. The account management system 10 includes a server 12, and a terminal 14, a dealer site 16 and an account management device 18 are connected to the server 12 via a network. The server 12 is used by, for example, a provider, and the server 12 stores account management information and purchase information. The account management information includes identification information (hereinafter, referred to as “ID”) for each user such as an account holder and account users A and B, a password and a usage limit, an available balance, and the like. The account owner is, for example, a parent, and the account users A and B are, for example, children.

The usage limit can be freely set in advance by the user, and can be set arbitrarily, for example, on a purchase opportunity basis, daily basis, weekly basis or monthly basis. When the usage limit is set in units of one purchase opportunity, the available balance is equal to the usage limit. When the usage limit is set in units of a period having a plurality of purchase opportunities, such as one month, the available balance is initially equal to the usage limit, but thereafter, the purchase amount is reduced for each purchase. The balance becomes an available balance and is used to determine whether or not the purchase is possible. The usage limit and the available balance are associated with the corresponding user ID and password. Therefore, in the account management system 10, the server 12 stores the account 24 managed by the account management device 18.
(To be described later) is controlled so that it can be used by the account owner and the account users A and B, and the available balance of the account owner and the account users A and B is managed.

The purchase information includes information such as a purchase requester, a purchased item, a price, a purchaser, and the like. The terminal 14 is composed of, for example, a personal computer or the like, and is used by account holders or users such as account users A and B. To receive. The terminal 14 can be connected to a non-contact IC card 22 such as a prepaid card, and can deposit money into the non-contact IC card 22 from the account 24 managed by the account management device 18 via the server 12. The non-contact IC card 22 can be used in, for example, a vending machine.

The site 16 of the seller includes a homepage of a seller (shop A, shop B, shop C,...) Which provides goods and / or services. The account management device 18 is, for example, a computer of a financial institution and manages the user's account 24. The server 12 is notified of the user's account number / card number, etc., and the server 12 is notified of the determination result, the account holder's usage limit, etc. Send Also, the server 12
Can be connected to the terminal 26 of the account owner, and when requesting the account owner to check the purchase request, the server 12
The terminal 26 notifies the terminal 26 of purchase information for confirming whether or not the purchase is possible, and the terminal 26 transmits a response to the server 12 to the terminal 26.

The operation of the account management method using such an account management system 10 will be described. Here, a case where the user who operates the terminal 14 is the account user A will be described. First, the operation of the terminal 14 will be described with reference to FIG. When purchasing goods and / or services, first, the terminal 14 is connected to the server 12 (step S1), and the ID and password of the account user A are input from the terminal 14 (step S3). Then, the terminal 14
Is checked (step S5), and goods and / or services to be purchased are searched (step S7). Then, the goods and / or services to be purchased are determined (step S9), and the user is logged out (step S11).

Next, the operation of the server 12 will be described with reference to FIG. Here, it is assumed that a purchase request check is not requested from the account owner at the time of purchase. First, when an ID and a password are input from the terminal 14 to the server 12 (step S21), authentication is performed in the server 12 (step S23). If it cannot be authenticated, it is determined whether to re-enter the ID and password (step S25),
If the user does not input again, the process ends. If the user inputs another user, the process returns to step S21. If the authentication is successful, an input from the terminal 14 is accepted (step S27), and it is determined whether or not the input from the terminal 14 is a purchase request (step S29).
If it is not a purchase request, it is determined whether the input from the terminal 14 is a termination process (step S31). If the processing is the end processing, the processing ends. If not, the processing corresponding to the input is performed (step S33), and the processing returns to step S27.

On the other hand, in step S29, the terminal 14
If the input from is a purchase request, the server 12
The available balance of account user A is checked based on D and the password (step S35). Then, the account number / card number and the like of the account are searched based on the ID and password of account user A, the account number / card number and the like are notified to the account management device 18, and the account 24 uses the account management system 10. Whether it is possible or not is account management device 1
8 (step S37). As a result of the inquiry, if the account management system 10 cannot be used (step S3
9 is NO), the terminal 14 is notified that the account management system 10 cannot be used (step S41), and the
Return to 27.

If the account management system 10 can be used (step S39 is YES), the account user A
Is notified (step S43). Then, it is determined whether or not the purchase amount is within the range of the available balance of the account user A (step S45). If the amount exceeds the available balance, the terminal 14 is notified that the purchase amount exceeds the available balance of the account user A without deducting the purchase amount from the account 24 (step S47), and step S27 is performed. Return to Thus terminal 1
The request for purchase is rejected because the reason for purchase is not shown in 4. On the other hand, if the purchase amount is within the range of the available balance of the account user A, the purchase information from the server 12 and the account 2
The purchase amount is debited from the account 24 based on the account information including the account number 4 and the like, the purchase information and the account information are notified to the purchaser site, and a purchase request is made (step S49). Return. In response, the seller as the purchaser provides the purchased user and / or service to account user A.

Next, referring to FIG.
8 will be described. When the account management device 18 is queried from the server 12 (step S51), the server 12
It is determined whether or not account user A can use account management system 10 based on the account number / card number of account 24 from, and the determination result, the usage limit of the account owner, the actual usage, and the like are stored in the server. 12 (step S5).
3). Note that while the terminal 14 is connected to the account management device 18 via the server 12, the contactless IC card 22 is connected to the terminal 14, and a predetermined ID and password are input from an input unit (not shown) of the terminal 14. And the desired amount information, the server 24 and the terminal 1
4 to the non-contact IC card 22.

According to such an account management system 10, since the account user A can use the account of the account holder, the account user A can easily connect to the network without having his own account. Goods and / or services can be purchased, increasing convenience. In addition, since the usage amount of the account user A is limited in advance, shopping can be performed safely without being inadvertently expensive. In addition, the contactless IC card 2 is transmitted from the account 24 of the account management device 18 through the server 12 and the terminal 14.
2, the non-contact IC card 22
Can be further promoted.

When asking the account owner to check the purchase request, the process proceeds to step S49 in FIG.
Step S49a of (a) is used. In this case, if step S45 is YES, in step S49a, the purchase information such as the purchaser, the purchased item, the price, and the purchaser is stored in the server 12, and this purchase information is further stored in the
Is transmitted to the terminal 26 to notify the account holder that the purchase request has been made. This step S49
Except for a, the operation is the same as that shown in FIG. When asking the account owner to check the purchase request as described above, the server 12
Another processing as shown in (b) is further performed.

In this alternative process, when the server 12 receives a reply from the terminal 26 of the account owner (step S6).
1) Based on the answer, it is determined whether or not the purchase request can be made (step S63). If the purchase request is not approved, the server 12 notifies the terminal 14 of the purchase requester of the rejection (step S65). As described above, when the account holder does not approve the purchase request, the account user A cannot purchase. On the other hand, if the purchase request is approved, a purchase request is made to the purchase destination site based on the stored purchase information. At this time, account information such as the account number of the account 24 is also notified (step S67). Then, the approval is notified to the terminal 14 of the purchase requester (step S69). The operation of the account management device 18 in this case is the same as the operation shown in FIG.

As described above, when a purchase request is made by the account user A, the account owner confirms with the account owner terminal 26 whether or not the purchase by the account user A is possible. Because the account user A can easily and always check the object to be purchased even if the user is away, the account user A can be easily managed and shopping on the network can be performed more safely. Note that the server 12 notifies the account owner via the Internet,
Any network such as personal computer communication and communication using a mobile phone (so-called i-mode or the like) can be used.

Further, the user can select a desired product and / or
Or you may want to make sure that the account holder approves the purchase of the service. At this time, as shown in FIG. 6, first, the terminal 14 is connected to the server 12 (step S71), and an ID and a password are input (step S73). Then, the answer from the terminal 26 of the account owner is transmitted to the terminal 14 via the server 12 and displayed, and it is checked whether or not the purchase request is possible (step S7).
5) Then, the user is logged out (step S77). This allows the user to check directly with the account owner whether the account owner approves the purchase of goods and / or services.

Next, an account management system 10a according to another embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.
In the account management system 10a, the account management device 18a
It stores the account 24 and account management information, controls the account 24 so that it can be used by the account owner and the account users A and B, and manages the available balance of the account owner and the account users A and B. , The server 12a receives the determination result and the like. Other configurations are the same as those of the account management system 10 shown in FIG.

The operation of the account management method using such an account management system 10a will be described. Here, a case where the user who operates the terminal 14 is the account user A will be described. Since the terminal 14 performs the operation shown in FIG. 2 as in the case of the account management system 10, the duplicate description will be omitted.

Next, the operation of the server 12a will be described with reference to FIG. Here, it is assumed that a purchase request check is not requested from the account owner at the time of purchase. First, the terminal 14
When an ID and a password are input to the server 12a (step S101), the server 12a performs authentication (step S103). If the user cannot be authenticated, it is determined whether to re-enter the ID and password (step S
105) If not re-entered, the process ends. If re-entered, the process returns to step S101. If authentication is successful, terminal 1
4 is received (step S107), and the terminal 1
It is determined whether or not the input from the terminal 4 is a purchase request (step S109), and if not, it is determined whether or not the input from the terminal 14 is an end process (step S11).
1). If the processing is an end processing, the processing ends. If not, processing corresponding to the input is performed (step S113), and the processing returns to step S107.

On the other hand, in step S109, the terminal 1
If the input from 4 is a purchase request, the server 12a transmits the ID and password of the account user A who is the purchase requester to the account management device 18a, and checks the account 24 used by the account user A to manage the account. Request is made to the device 18a (step S115). Then, the server 12a determines whether or not the account user A can use the account management system 10a based on the determination result transmitted from the account management device 18a (Step S117). As a result, if the account management system 10a cannot be used, the terminal 14 is notified that the account management system 10a cannot be used (step S119), and the process returns to step S107.

If the account management system 10a can be used, the available balance of the account user A received from the account management device 18 is notified to the terminal 14 (step S12).
1). Then, it is determined whether or not the purchase amount is within the range of the available balance of the account user A (step S12).
3). If the amount exceeds the available balance, the terminal 14 is notified that the purchase amount exceeds the available balance of the account user A without deducting the purchase amount from the account 24 (step S125), and step S107. Return to
On the other hand, if the purchase amount is within the range of the available balance of the account user A, the purchase information from the server 12a and the account
Is deducted from the account 24 based on the account information including the account number, etc., and the purchase information and the account information are notified to the purchaser site, and a purchase request is made (step S127), and the process returns to step S107. . In response, the seller as the purchaser provides the purchased user and / or service to account user A.

Next, with reference to FIG.
The operation of 8a will be described. When the account management apparatus 18a is queried from the server 12a (step S131), the information of the account 24 and the purchase requester, that is, the account user A is searched and confirmed based on the ID and the password from the server 12a, and further, the account use is performed. It is determined whether or not person A can use account management system 10a (step S1).
33). Then, the server 12a is notified of the determination result, the available balance of the account user A, the usage limit of the account 24, and the like (step S135). In such an account management system 10a, the same effect as that of the account management system 10 can be obtained.

When asking the account owner to check the purchase request, step S49a in FIG. 5A is used instead of step S127 in FIG. In this case, when step S123 is YES, step S123
At 49a, purchase information such as a purchase requester, a purchased item, an amount, and a purchaser is stored in the server 12a, and the purchase information is further transmitted from the server 12a to the terminal 26. To be notified. Except for step S49a, the operation is the same as that shown in FIG. When asking the account owner to check the purchase request as described above, another processing as shown in FIG. 5B is further performed in the server 12a. Since this separate process has already been described, the server 12 is replaced with the server 12a, and the duplicate description thereof will be omitted. In this case, the account management device 1
The operation of 8a is the same as the operation shown in FIG.

As described above, also in the account management system 10a, when a purchase request is made by the account user A, whether or not the purchase by the account user A is possible is confirmed by the account owner, and the same as the account management system 10 is obtained. The effect is obtained. In the above-described embodiment, the past purchase price may be taken into consideration in determining whether or not the purchase is possible. Further, a plurality of available balances such as each available balance in units of one day or one month may be determined. May be used. The number of account users who use the account 24 may be arbitrary. Further, according to the present invention, when the purchase amount is within the range of the available balance of the account user, at the time of purchase, the purchase information and the account information are notified to the purchaser's site, but the purchase amount is not deducted from the account 24. It can also be applied to the case where payment is made by deducting the purchase amount at the end of the transaction. Further, the present invention can be applied to electronic settlement, and can also be applied to a case where a transfer limit is set for each remittance destination and a transfer is performed.

[0033]

According to the present invention, an account user can easily purchase goods and / or services on a network without having his own account. In addition, shopping can be performed safely without being inadvertently expensive.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an example of an account management system to which the present invention is applied.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing an example of an operation on the terminal side at the time of purchase.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating an example of an operation of a server when a purchase request check is not requested from an account owner.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing an example of the operation of the account management device.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a part of the operation when requesting a purchase request check from an account holder.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing an example of an operation on the terminal side at the time of confirming whether or not purchase is possible.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing another example of an account management system to which the present invention is applied.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing another example of the operation of the server when the purchase request check is not requested from the account owner.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing another example of the operation of the account management device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 10, 10a Account management system 12, 12a Server 14, 26 Terminal 16 Site 18, 18a Account management device 22 Non-contact IC card 24 Account

Claims (8)

[Claims] 1. A terminal for accessing a site of a merchant providing goods and / or services from a terminal via a server to manage an account used when purchasing a desired goods and / or services, and wherein the server manages the account. An account management method for controlling an account to be usable by an account owner and an account user, and managing an available balance of the account user, wherein the identification information of the account user is transmitted from the terminal to the server. Transmitting the purchase request for the goods and / or services by the account user from the terminal to the server; the server confirming the available balance of the account user based on the identification information. Determining whether the purchase price of the goods and / or services is within the range of the available balance. And determining whether to notify the purchase site and the account information of the account user to a purchase site based on the information. 2. A server for accessing a site of a merchant providing goods and / or services from a terminal via a server to manage an account used when purchasing a desired goods and / or services. An account management method for controlling the account to be usable by an account holder and an account user and managing an available balance of the account user, wherein the identification information of the account user is transmitted from the terminal to the terminal. Transmitting the request for purchase of the goods and / or services by the account user from the terminal to the server; transmitting the identification information to the account management device; A step in which a device confirms the available balance of the account user based on the identification information and transmits the balance to the server. And whether to notify the purchase site of the account user of the purchase information and the account information of the account user based on whether the purchase price of the product and / or service is within the range of the available balance. An account management method comprising steps. 3. The product and / or the product by the account user.
Or, when a service purchase request is transmitted from the terminal to the server, the server checks whether the account user can make a purchase with the account owner's terminal, and responds to the response from the account owner's terminal. 3. The account management method according to claim 1, further comprising the step of the server determining whether the account can be debited based on the account. 4. The account management method according to claim 1, further comprising a step of connecting a contactless IC card to the terminal and depositing the contactless IC card from the account. 5. A terminal connected to an account management device for managing an account via a server and connectable to a non-contact IC card, wherein the connected non-contact IC card is connected to the terminal in the account management device. A terminal characterized by receiving money from an account. 6. An account connected to a site of a merchant providing goods and / or services, a terminal used for purchasing the goods and / or services, and an account management device for managing accounts. A server for controlling the account user's available balance while controlling the account user to be able to use the account and an account user, wherein the means for receiving the account user identification information from the terminal, the account use Means for receiving a purchase request from the terminal from the terminal, means for confirming the available balance of the account user based on the identification information, and the purchase price of the goods and / or services is within the available balance. If so, the purchase information and account information of the account user are notified to the site of purchase, while the purchase price of the goods and / or services is notified. A means for preventing the debit of the purchase amount from the account if the amount exceeds the available balance. 7. A server connected to a site of a merchant providing goods and / or services, a terminal used when purchasing the goods and / or services, and an account management device for managing accounts. Means for receiving the identification information of the account user from the terminal; means for receiving the purchase request of the account user from the terminal; means for transmitting the identification information to the account management device; use of the account user Means for receiving a possible balance from the account management device, and, if the purchase amount of the goods and / or services is within the range of the usable balance, notifies the purchase site and the purchase information and account information of the account user to the purchase site. On the other hand, if the purchase amount of the goods and / or services exceeds the available balance, the debit of the purchase amount from the account is prevented. Equipped with a stage, server. 8. An account used for purchasing a desired product and / or service by accessing a site of a merchant providing the product and / or service from a terminal via a server to the account holder and the account user. An account management device that controls the account user's available balance while controlling so that it can be used, and receives the account user's identification information from the server, And an means for confirming the available balance of the account user based on the identification information and notifying the server of the available balance.