JP7721827B1 - Information processing device, information processing method, and program - Google Patents

Abstract

[Problem] To improve user convenience.
[Solution] This information processing device comprises an acquisition unit that acquires from a store's terminal device user identification information, which is the user's identification information used for electronic payment using an electronic payment service, product identification information for identifying the product or service related to the payment, and payment information including the payment amount for the electronic payment, and a processing unit that, if the user holds an electronic gift certificate that is limited to the products that can be used with the electronic payment service and can be applied to the product identification information in the payment information, settles the payment amount using the balance of the gift certificate.
[Selected Figure] Figure 1

Description

The present invention relates to an information processing device, an information processing method, and a program.

In the past, electronic payment services using code information have been disclosed that allow users to manage and use vouchers that can be used at designated stores (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

JP 2024-144763 A

Conventional technology has not always been able to provide gift certificates that are more convenient for users. "Users" include, for example, gift certificate providers and gift certificate users.

The present invention was made in consideration of these circumstances, and one of its objectives is to provide an information processing device, information processing method, and program that can improve user convenience.

One aspect of the present invention is an information processing device that includes an acquisition unit that acquires, from a store terminal device, payment information including user identification information, which is the user's identification information used for electronic payments using an electronic payment service, product identification information, which identifies the product or service related to the payment, and the payment amount of the electronic payment; and a processing unit that, if the user holds an electronic gift certificate that is applicable to the product identification information in the payment information and that limits the products that can be used with the electronic payment service, uses the balance of the gift certificate to settle the payment amount.

According to one aspect of the present invention, it is possible to provide an information processing device, an information processing method, and a program that can improve user convenience.

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a configuration for realizing an electronic payment service. FIG. 1 is a sequence diagram (part 1) illustrating an example of the general flow of electronic payment. FIG. 2 is a sequence diagram (part 2) illustrating the general flow of electronic payment. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating the configuration of a payment server 100. FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of the contents of user information 172. FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of the contents of affiliated store/store information 176. FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of application information 178. 10 is a flowchart showing an example of a processing flow regarding the use of a gift certificate. FIG. 17 is a diagram showing application information 178A. FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example in which an inapplicable product is added. FIG. 10 is a diagram for explaining the issuance of a gift certificate. 10 is a diagram for explaining gift certificate information managed in user information 172. FIG. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of an interface screen displayed on the display unit of the user terminal device 10. FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of gift certificate usage history information.

The following describes embodiments of an information processing device, information processing method, and program of the present invention, with reference to the drawings. Various devices, such as the "server" mentioned below, that provide services to users or perform internal analysis may be implemented as a distributed group of devices, and each device may be operated by a different business. Furthermore, the owner of the device's hardware (the cloud server provider) and the business that actually operates it may also be different. The application program and payment server work together to provide an electronic payment service. In the following description, the application program is referred to as a payment app. An electronic payment service is a service that supports payments for the purchase of goods and services at a store. A store is, for example, a physical store (real-world store) that exists in real space, but may also include virtual stores for e-commerce. Virtual stores may also include stores operated by entities other than the operator of the electronic payment service. In such cases, when paying for purchases at a virtual store, the user is controlled to transition to the interface screen of the electronic payment service. In an electronic payment service, a store is treated as belonging to, for example, a member store (brand), and when a purchase is made at a store, processing such as payment is primarily conducted between the user and the member store. Alternatively, processing such as payment may be conducted between the user and the store.

[Electronic payment service]
FIG. 1 shows an example of the configuration of an electronic payment system in which an electronic payment service is implemented. The electronic payment service is implemented mainly by a payment server 100. The electronic payment system that implements the electronic payment service includes, for example, one or more user terminal devices 10, one or more first store terminal devices 50, one or more second store terminal devices 70, and the payment server 100. These devices communicate with each other via, for example, a network NW. The network NW includes, for example, the Internet, a local area network (LAN), a wireless base station, a provider device, and the like.

Some or all of the functional components included in the electronic payment system may be distributed across multiple devices in any form, or may be integrated into any device. For example, some or all of the functional components of the payment server 100 may be included in another device.

[User terminal device]
The user terminal device 10 is, for example, a portable terminal device such as a smartphone or tablet terminal. The user terminal device 10 is a computer device having at least an optical reading function, a communication function, a display function, an input acceptance function, and a program execution function. In the following description, the components for realizing these functions are referred to as a camera, a communication device, a touch panel, a CPU (Central Processing Unit), etc. In the user terminal device 10, a processor such as a CPU executes a payment app 20, which operates in cooperation with the payment server 100 to provide electronic payment services to users. The payment app 20 is installed on the user terminal device 10 from, for example, an application store, and controls the camera, communication device, touch panel, etc.

[First store terminal device]
The first store terminal device 50 is installed, for example, in a store. The first store terminal device 50 is a computer device having at least a product price acquisition function, an optical reading function, a program execution function, and a communication function. The first store terminal device 50 may include a so-called POS (Point of Sale) device, and the product price acquisition function and the optical reading function may be realized by the POS device. The store code image 60 is placed in the store and is a code image (code information) such as a QR code (registered trademark) printed on a paper or plastic medium. The store code image 60 may be displayed on a display placed in the store (which may be the display of a terminal device such as a smartphone).

[Second store terminal device]
The second store terminal device 70 is used by the operator of the affiliated store. The second store terminal device 70 is a smartphone, tablet terminal, personal computer, etc. An interface for affiliated store 72 runs on the second store terminal device 70. The interface for affiliated store 72 may be an app for affiliated store or a browser. The interface for affiliated store 72 accepts coupon settings and the like from the operator of the affiliated store and transmits them to the payment server 100. The second store terminal device 70, which is a smartphone, has the function of displaying a code image corresponding to a store code image and reading a code image displayed by the user terminal device 10 by executing the app for affiliated store.

[Payment server]
The payment server 100 realizes electronic payment based on payment information received from the user terminal device 10 or the first store terminal device 50. The first store terminal device 50 may include a POS device and an affiliated store server, in which case payment information is sent from the POS device via the affiliated store server to the payment server 100. In the following explanation, this distinction will not be made and it is assumed that payment information is sent from the first store terminal device 50.

Figures 2 and 3 are sequence diagrams illustrating the general flow of electronic payments. There may be two patterns for electronic payments: Pattern 1 and Pattern 2.

In the case of pattern 1 (hereinafter referred to as user scan) shown in FIG. 2, the user terminal device 10 decodes the store code image 60 using its optical reading function (S1). The store code image 60 includes store URL (Uniform Resource Locator) information. This store URL is the domain of the electronic payment service with information that can identify the store added, and is associated with the affiliated store ID, store ID, etc. in the payment server 100 (described below). The payment app 20 transmits first payment information including the store URL and account ID to the payment server 100 (S2). The payment server 100 searches for store information (described below) using the affiliated store ID and store ID corresponding to the store URL, obtains information on the affiliated store name and store name (S3), and transmits this information to the payment app 20 (S4). The user enters the payment amount into the user terminal device 10 on the screen displaying the affiliated store name and store name (S5). The user terminal device 10 then generates second payment information including at least the payment amount and sends it to the payment server 100 (S6). The payment server 100 performs electronic payment based on the received second payment information (S7). The payment server 100 then sends a payment completion notice (information for displaying a payment completion screen) to the payment app 20 (S8), and the payment app 20 displays the payment completion screen (S9). Note that when the store code image 60 is displayed on a display installed in the store or on the display unit of the first store terminal device 50, the store code image 60 may include information on the payment amount in addition to the store URL. In this case, the step of the user inputting the payment amount is omitted, and the payment amount information is included in the first payment information and sent to the payment server 100. Information on the affiliated store name and store name may be included and displayed on the payment completion screen.

In the case of pattern 2 (hereinafter referred to as store scan) shown in FIG. 3, the payment app 20 sends a request to issue a one-time code to the payment server 100 (S11) when the payment app 20 is launched, when a payment operation is performed in the payment app 20, when an automatic update occurs (e.g., every minute), and at other times. The payment server 100 generates a one-time code (S12) and sends it to the payment app 20 (S13). The payment app 20 displays a code image, such as a QR code or barcode, generated based on the one-time code (S14). The user holds (presents) the display surface of the user terminal device 10 over the first in-store terminal device 50, and the first in-store terminal device 50 decodes the code image using its optical reading function and obtains the one-time code, etc. (S15). The first in-store terminal device 50 then generates payment information including the one-time code, payment amount, affiliated store ID, store ID, etc., and sends it to the payment server 100 (S16). The payment amount information is obtained in advance by reading a barcode or manually entering it. Based on the received information, the payment server 100 identifies the user corresponding to the one-time code and performs the electronic payment (S17). The payment server 100 then sends a payment completion notification to the payment app 20 (S18), and the payment app 20 displays a payment completion screen (S19).

Note that electronic payment may be made using only one of the above patterns. Furthermore, the "account ID" described in FIG. 2 may be other information (e.g., a phone number) that can be used as user identification information. Furthermore, issuing a one-time code may be omitted during store scanning, and the payment app 20 may display a code image generated based on the user's account ID. In this case, the payment server 100 identifies the user corresponding to the account ID instead of identifying the user corresponding to the one-time code.

[Functional configuration of payment server]
4 is a configuration diagram of the payment server 100. The payment server 100 includes, for example, a communication unit 110, a content providing unit 120, a payment processing unit 130, an information management unit 140, and a storage unit 170. The components other than the communication unit 110 and the storage unit 170 are realized by, for example, a hardware processor such as a CPU executing a program (software). Some or all of these components may be realized by hardware (including circuitry) such as an LSI (Large Scale Integration), an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), an FPGA (Field-Programmable Gate Array), a GPU (Graphics Processing Unit), or an SOC (System On Chip), or may be realized by a combination of software and hardware. The program may be stored in advance in a storage device (a storage device with a non-transitory storage medium) such as a hard disk drive (HDD) or flash memory, or may be stored in a removable storage medium (a non-transitory storage medium) such as a DVD or CD-ROM, and installed in the storage device by inserting the storage medium into a drive device. The information management unit 140 is an example of an "acquisition unit." The payment processing unit 130 is an example of a "processing unit."

The storage unit 170 is a hard disk drive (HDD), flash memory, RAM (Random Access Memory), etc. The storage unit 170 may be a NAS (Network Attached Storage) device accessible by the payment server 100 via a network. The storage unit 170 stores information such as user information 172, content information 174, affiliated store/store information 176, and application information 178 (details will be described later). Some of this information may be stored in the storage unit of the user terminal device 10. The application information 178 is an example of "correspondence information." Furthermore, if information on usable or unusable products is associated with a gift certificate ID in the user information 172, the user information 172 is an example of "correspondence information." "Correspondence information associated with user identification" is, for example, application information 178 associated with the user identification information in the user information 172. The gift certificate information and application information 178 in the user information 172 are managed using the gift certificate ID as a key, and the gift certificate ID is associated with the user identification information. In this way, the user identification information in the user information 172 and the application information 178 are associated using the gift certificate ID as a key.

The communication unit 110 is a communication interface for connecting to the network NW. The communication unit 110 is, for example, a network interface card.

The content providing unit 120 has, for example, the functionality of a web server, and provides information (content) for displaying various screens for electronic payment services to the user terminal device 10. The content providing unit 120 reads out necessary content from the content information 174 as appropriate and provides it to the user terminal device 10. The user terminal device 10 accepts various inputs from the user while content is being played by the payment app 20, and transmits the aforementioned payment information and the like to the payment server 100. The above content may be generated by the payment app 20. In this case, the content providing unit 120 provides the payment app 20 with the information necessary to generate the content.

The payment processing unit 130 performs payment processing based on the payment information transmitted by the user terminal device 10 or the first store terminal device 50. The payment processing unit 130 performs payment processing while referencing the user information 172.

[User information]
FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of the contents of user information 172. User information 172 is an example of user registration information. The user information 172 includes, for example, a user URL, account ID, telephone number, and password, as well as associated information such as an email address, user ID, name, address, date of birth, registration date, remaining balance, credit card payment settings, credit card limit, credit card payment amount, available credit card payment amount, payment method settings, bank account, credit card number, charge history information, and payment history information. The user URL is used for remittance processing between users. Registration of a telephone number and password is required when registering for an electronic payment service. The account ID is issued to the user by the payment server 100, and the user ID can be set by the user (or does not have to be set). Similarly, the email address, name, address, and date of birth can be set by the user (or do not have to be set). The registration date is the date the user registered for the electronic payment service (the date the account was created). Hereinafter, a user instance (electronic payment account) to which this information is associated will be referred to as an account.

The charge balance is information indicating the balance of electronic money set by the user by transferring funds to the account in advance. Transfer methods include transfer from a designated service provider's (bank's) ATM (Automatic Teller Machine) or transfer from a registered bank account. The credit payment setting indicates whether the settings for electronic credit payment have been completed and is set to either "Completed" or "Not Completed." The credit payment limit is the monthly credit payment limit, the credit payment amount is the amount of credit payment already used in the current month, and the available credit payment amount is the amount of credit payment available in the current month, calculated by subtracting the credit payment amount from the credit payment limit. While the illustration shows only one credit payment limit, in reality, there may also be daily limits, and the lower of these may be set as the credit payment limit. Further details on credit payments will be provided later. The payment method setting is setting information indicating whether the user will make electronic payments using the charge balance or by credit payment at that time. The bank account and credit card number are information about the bank account or credit card number (account number, card number) that can be used to deposit funds into the electronic payment service. The charge history information is a history of the user's previous transfers to the electronic payment service to increase the charge balance. The payment history information is information that shows the breakdown of payments made by the user for each payment (date and time, store ID of the store where the purchase was made, payment amount, payment method, etc.).

Furthermore, if the user holds an electronic gift certificate (coupon), the URL for use, etc., of the user information 172 is associated with gift certificate information. The gift certificate information includes, for example, a gift certificate ID for identifying the gift certificate and the remaining balance of the gift certificate.

[Partner/Store Information]
6 is a diagram showing an example of the contents of affiliated store/store information 176. The affiliated store/store information 176 includes, for example, a first table 176A in which affiliated store IDs and store IDs are associated with store URLs, a second table 176B in which affiliated store IDs are associated with affiliated store names and sales amounts (described above), and a third table 176C in which store IDs are associated with store names. In addition to this information, the affiliated store/store information 176 may also include information such as the category of the affiliated store or store, the store's location, and payment patterns.

[Electronic Payment]
When payment information is acquired from the user terminal device 10 or the first store terminal device 50, the payment processing unit 130 references the user information 172 to acquire the "payment method setting" of the user. For users whose "payment method setting" is set to "charge balance," the payment processing unit 130 performs electronic payment as follows: For example, the payment processing unit 130 performs electronic payment by decreasing the charge balance managed in association with the user ID and increasing the item value of the affiliated store's sales proceeds. The item value of the affiliated store's sales proceeds is not itself used as electronic money, for example; rather, an amount corresponding to the item value of the sales proceeds is transferred to a bank account in a cycle according to an agreement between the affiliated store and the electronic payment service.

The payment processing unit 130 performs electronic payments for users whose "setting information" is set to "credit card payment" as follows. Credit card payment is a payment method in cooperation with a credit card company, which is a separate entity from the operator of the electronic payment service. The operator of the electronic payment service acts as the creditor, allowing electronic payments within the credit card payment limit and independent of the remaining balance. To receive the credit card payment service, a credit card provided by the operator of the electronic payment service may be required. The amount used for credit card payment is settled for the entire month on the payment date of the following month, for example, by debit from a bank account. In this case, the payment processing unit 130 makes a provisional payment by adding the payment amount to the credit card payment amount and subtracting the same amount from the available credit card balance. On the closing date, the payment processing unit 130 performs the process described above to debit the current month's payment on the payment date of the following month, or requests the credit card company operator to perform this process. If the payment amount exceeds the available credit card balance at the time of provisional payment, an error notification is returned to the payment app 20.

The information management unit 140 acquires information provided by other server devices and terminal devices. The information management unit 140 manages user information 172 and affiliated store/store information 176 based on information acquired from the user terminal device 10 and the second store terminal device 70. The information management unit 140 adds new records, edits, deletes, etc. for the user information 172 and affiliated store/store information 176.

[overview]
The payment server 100 acquires payment information from the first store terminal device 50 (store terminal device), including user identification information (e.g., account ID) that is the user's identification information used for electronic payment of the electronic payment service, product identification information that identifies the product or service related to the payment, and the payment amount of the electronic payment. If the user holds an electronic gift certificate that is applicable to the product identification information in the payment information and that limits the products that can be used in the electronic payment service, the payment server 100 uses the balance of the gift certificate to settle the payment amount.

For example, in an electronic payment service, the electronic gift certificate associated with the user identification information of the payment information is managed (e.g., user information 172, application information 178 described below). If the electronic gift certificate can be used for the product identified by the product ID (product identification information) included in the payment information, the payment server 100 uses the balance of the electronic gift certificate to settle the payment amount of the payment information.

Gift certificates are vouchers that can be used for products from a specific manufacturer. A manufacturer can be the person who produces the product, or the person who manages and operates the brand of the product.

In this embodiment, the payment server 100 is not limited to acquiring payment information directly from the first store terminal device 50, but may also acquire the payment information via an intermediary server. The intermediary server may convert the payment information and provide the converted information to the payment server 100. In this case, the payment server 100 uses the converted information (identification information) to perform various processes.

[Applicable information]
The application information 178 is information for identifying products or services for which the gift certificate can be used. Fig. 7 is a diagram showing an example of the application information 178. The application information 178 is information in which a product ID (product identification information) that is identification information for a product or service for which the gift certificate can be used is associated with a gift certificate ID.

[Use of gift certificates]
The payment server 100 determines whether the gift certificate can be used based on the application information 178 and the payment information obtained from the first store terminal device 50, and executes the payment according to the determination result. The flow of a general electronic payment process was explained above in Figure 3. The process related to the use of the gift certificate will be explained in detail with reference to Figure 8.

Figure 8 is a flowchart showing an example of the processing flow for using a gift certificate. The payment information in S16 of Figure 3 described above includes a one-time code, payment amount, affiliated store ID, shop ID, and product ID. This explanation assumes that the payment server 100 has acquired the payment information before processing S100.

First, the payment server 100 determines whether the user holds a gift certificate that can be used for the product, etc., identified by the product ID (S100). For example, the payment server 100 identifies a gift certificate ID to which the product ID can be applied in the application information 178. If the identified gift certificate ID is associated with the user information 172, the payment server 100 determines that the user holds a gift certificate that can be used for the product, etc., identified by the product ID.

If the user has a gift certificate that can be used for the product identified by the product ID, the payment server 100 executes payment using the gift certificate (S102). Note that if the balance on the gift certificate is insufficient to cover the payment amount, processing in S102 is skipped.

Next, if the balance on the gift certificate is insufficient for the payment amount, or if S102 is skipped, the payment server 100 executes payment using another gift certificate or another payment method (S104). Other gift certificates are, for example, products issued by local governments or gift certificates issued by affiliated stores, and are not limited to specific products. Similarly, payments using other gift certificates or other payment methods are executed for payments for products other than the target product.

As described above, the payment server 100 can make payments using products that are limited in availability. Gift certificates can be used for multiple payments until the balance on the gift certificate is used up.

The above-mentioned user information 172 may also be associated with a product ID for which the gift certificate can be used. In this case, the payment server 100 refers to the user information 172 to determine whether the gift certificate can be used.

[Other examples of applicable information]
The payment server 100 identifies the manufacturer ID included in the product ID included in the payment information. The payment server 100 determines whether or not there is a product ID including a manufacturer ID in the application information 178A, and determines whether or not an electronic gift certificate can be used for the product, etc., identified by the product ID in the payment information.

Figure 9 is a diagram showing application information 178A. Application information 178A associates, for example, a gift certificate ID, an inapplicable product ID (or an applicable product ID), and a manufacturer ID. The manufacturer ID is an ID represented by a portion of the product ID. The payment server 100 determines whether the manufacturer ID of the product ID in the payment information matches the manufacturer ID in application information 178A to identify the gift certificate ID. If the user holds a gift certificate with a gift certificate ID, and the product ID in the payment information matches an inapplicable product ID associated with the identified gift certificate ID (if it is on the blacklist), the payment server 100 determines that the gift certificate cannot be used to pay for the product ID in the payment information. By using the manufacturer ID in this way, it is easy to determine whether the gift certificate can be used, reducing the processing load. Processing is performed in a similar manner when an applicable product ID is associated in application information 178A.

In this embodiment, gift certificates may be used for all products from a specific manufacturer. In this case, a manufacturer ID is used, and gift certificates associated with that manufacturer ID are used.

[Limited to affiliated stores]
The member stores at which an electronic gift certificate can be used may be limited. For example, an electronic gift certificate may be associated with a member store ID (or store ID), which is identification information of a member store of an available electronic payment service. If the member store ID in the payment information matches the member store ID on an electronic gift certificate held by the user, the payment server 100 executes payment using the electronic payment service that uses the gift certificate. The member stores that can be used may be associated with the gift certificate ID in the user information 172. Furthermore, instead of information on member stores that can be used, information on member stores that cannot be used may be associated.

The application information 178B in Figure 9 associates, for example, a gift certificate ID, an inapplicable product ID (or an applicable product ID), a manufacturer ID, and an affiliated store ID. The payment server 100 executes payment using a gift certificate for the affiliated store ID specified in the application information 178B. Note that the manufacturer ID may be omitted from the application information 178B. Processing is performed in a similar manner when an applicable product ID is associated in the application information 178B.

The manufacturer ID or affiliated store ID may also be specified in the gift certificate information held by the user in user information 172. For example, when the payment server 100 acquires payment information, it may compare the manufacturer ID or affiliated store ID included in the payment information with the manufacturer ID or affiliated store ID in the gift certificate information in user information 172 to determine whether or not the gift certificate can be used.

[Limitation of terms of use]
Conditions for use of an electronic gift certificate may be attached. The payment server 100 may execute payment on the condition that the information included in the payment information satisfies the conditions. For example, the application information 178, 178A, and 178B may specify other conditions in addition to the product specification. The other conditions may include the member store ID of the member store where the gift certificate can be used, the store ID of the store where the gift certificate can be used, the payment amount (payment of XX yen or more), the period during which the gift certificate can be used, the day of the week, etc. For example, the gift certificate may be usable for the purchase of an eligible product worth XX yen or more.

[Add product ID]
When a new product ID is added to the application information 178, the payment server 100 refers to the application information 178 after the product ID has been added and determines whether or not the electronic gift certificate can be used to pay for the product, etc., identified by the product ID included in the payment information.

When a product for which a gift certificate can be used or a product for which a gift certificate cannot be used is added, a product ID is added to application information 178. Figure 10 is a diagram for explaining an example of adding an inapplicable product. For example, for a gift certificate with gift certificate ID "001", product "J0000114" for which the gift certificate cannot be used is added to application information 178. This restricts the use of gift certificate "001" for payments with product ID "J0000114". In this embodiment, an example of adding an inapplicable product is described, but an applicable product may also be added to application information 178A, or an affiliated store ID may also be added.

As mentioned above, you can add products for which gift certificates can or cannot be used, allowing for more flexible operation. For example, you can temporarily increase the number of products available for use during campaigns, or remove restrictions on products that are currently restricted in use.

When a product ID is added, the payment server 100 may provide the user, via the payment app 20, with information about products that can now be purchased using the gift certificate, or information about products that can no longer be purchased using the gift certificate. This allows the user to easily identify products for which the gift certificate can be used.

Applicable information 178, 178A, 178B may be different for each user. For example, user A may be able to use a gift certificate for products A and B, while user B may not be able to use a gift certificate for product A but may be able to use a gift certificate for product B. For example, a campaign may be run to encourage the use of gift certificates among certain users who do not currently use gift certificates.

[Gift certificates]
FIG. 11 is a diagram for explaining the issuance of a gift certificate. The method of issuance of a gift certificate to a user may be a purchase type or a reward type. In the purchase type, the user operates the payment app 20 to select and purchase a gift certificate on a screen for purchasing gift certificates. In this case, the user purchases the gift certificate using their own charge balance or credit payment. The payment server 100 associates the purchased gift certificate with the user's identification information in the user information 172, thereby making it usable by the user. For example, a premium amount that is greater than the purchase amount may be added to the gift certificate, which motivates the user to purchase the gift certificate.

In the reward type, users apply to receive a gift certificate and receive or are given a gift certificate depending on their application. Applications can be made on a web page provided by the manufacturer, or on a web page provided by the electronic payment service. If the application is provided by the manufacturer, the manufacturer's server will send an email or other message to the user, and by following the instructions in the email, the gift certificate will be linked to the user's identification information in cooperation with the electronic payment service.

As described above, gift certificates can be easily provided to users. For example, manufacturers can easily provide gift certificates to users as part of campaigns, etc.

The payment server 100 may also grant a gift certificate to a user when the user purchases a specific product or makes a payment using an electronic payment service at a specific affiliated store.

[About the source of funds]
For the above-mentioned gift certificates, the manufacturer is responsible for covering the usage fee or premium. For example, when a user performs an operation to purchase a product, the payment server 100 associates the usage fee and premium with the manufacturer and records them. For example, the payment server 100 bills the manufacturer for the total amount recorded for a predetermined period. The manufacturer may also provide the amount to be paid in advance to the operator of the electronic payment service. In this case, for example, the payment server 100 may stop selling the gift certificate when the total amount of the amount incurred in response to the user's operation to purchase a product reaches the amount provided in advance by the manufacturer. Even in the case of a reward-type gift certificate, as described above, a system may be used in which the original funds are paid or recorded when a user performs an operation to acquire a gift certificate.

[Gift certificate management]
FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating gift certificate information managed in the user information 172. For example, if a user purchases the same gift certificate ID multiple times, these may be managed in different records. For example, gift certificates may have different expiration dates, and the payment server 100 manages gift certificate IDs with the same ID purchased at different times in different records, as shown in FIG. 12. For example, one gift certificate and another gift certificate have different expiration dates, and therefore are managed as described above.

When providing gift certificate information to a user, the payment server 100 may integrate information from multiple records (for example, add up the available amounts) and present it to the user via the payment app 20, or may present it to the user separately. For example, when presented separately to the user, it may be presented that the 4,000 yen amount is available until March 30, 2025, and the 3,000 yen amount is available until April 30, 2025. When the combined amounts are displayed, it may be presented that the user holds a gift certificate for, for example, 7,000 yen. In this case, it may also be presented that the 4,000 yen amount is valid until March 30, 2025.

When a user holds gift certificates with different expiration dates, the payment server 100 will prioritize the gift certificate with the shorter expiration date. This improves user convenience.

[Participating stores where gift certificates can be used]
The payment server 100 may display the member stores where the gift certificate held by the user can be used on the display unit of the user terminal device 10. Fig. 13 is a diagram showing an example of an interface screen displayed on the display unit of the user terminal device 10. For example, the payment server 100 may display the member stores where the gift certificate can be used on map information as shown in Fig. 13, or may display a list of the member stores. The interface screen of Fig. 12 shows, for example, the locations of the member stores where the gift certificate can be used on map information based on the user's current location.

As described above, the payment server 100 can provide users with information about affiliated stores where gift certificates can be used, so that users can easily recognize which affiliated stores can use gift certificates.

[Payment history]
An electronic payment service manages historical information on the use of electronic gift certificates. The payment server 100 extracts a list of information on at least affiliated stores where the gift certificates have been used. The payment server 100 may extract a list including, in addition to information on affiliated stores, information on products and other items electronically paid for using the electronic gift certificates at the affiliated stores and the amounts used in the electronic payments using the electronic gift certificates. Specifically, the payment server 100 generates gift certificate usage history information using the payment history information in the user information 172. FIG. 14 is a diagram showing an example of gift certificate usage history information. The gift certificate usage history information is, for example, information that associates the identification information of the affiliated store where the gift certificate was used, the identification information of the product, the amount, and the purchase date and time of the product. The gift certificate usage history information may be generated for each user or for each user attribute. For example, gift certificate usage history information for User A (a user with a predetermined attribute) or gift certificate usage history information for a man in his 30s may be generated. Furthermore, user information (user attributes) may be associated with one record of the gift certificate usage history information. The above attributes may be user attribute information managed or held by the electronic payment service. Specifically, the attribute information may be identity verification information (Know Your Customer information) such as gender, age, and area of residence (e.g., address).

As described above, the payment server 100 can extract information indicating which manufacturer's products are purchased through which sales channels (convenience stores, drugstores, supermarkets, etc.) based on the usage history of gift certificates in electronic payment services. For example, manufacturers can refer to such information to consider product sales channels and sales strategies. Information on sales channels across stores is valuable information that cannot be obtained for stores where a particular user or a user with a specific attribute has purchased a product. The payment server 100 can provide such information. For example, in the case of a coupon, once used at a certain store, information other than that store cannot be obtained. However, in the case of a gift certificate that can be used repeatedly, it is possible to obtain the user's purchasing behavior across sales channels. For example, since it is possible to track the purchase history of a manufacturer's products over time as described above, it is possible to understand which store or sales channel a user purchases which products, and how often they use different stores. Furthermore, since it is possible to identify the affiliated store, the product for which the gift certificate was used, and the amount, it is possible to understand which affiliated store sells the manufacturer's products, how much they cost, and the actual selling price range of the products purchased using the gift certificate. For example, since it is assumed that each store will run its own sales and other promotions, it will be possible to understand at what price range a particular product is most popular. As mentioned above, by analyzing the usage history of the gift certificates mentioned above, it will be possible to obtain information that could not be obtained using previous systems.

According to the embodiment described above, when a user holds an electronic gift certificate that is limited to the products etc. that can be used with the electronic payment service and that can be applied to the product etc. identification information in the payment information, the payment server 100 can improve user convenience by using the balance on the gift certificate to settle the payment amount.

The above describes the form for carrying out the present invention using an embodiment, but the present invention is in no way limited to such an embodiment, and various modifications and substitutions can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

10 User terminal device 20 Payment application 50 First store terminal device 100 Payment server 120 Content provider 130 Payment processor 140 Information manager 178 Application information

Claims (13)

an acquisition unit that acquires payment information including the user identification information, product identification information for identifying the product or service related to the electronic payment, and the payment amount of the electronic payment from a store terminal device that reads a code image encoded with user identification information for identifying the user used for electronic payment of the electronic payment service, displayed on a display unit of the user terminal device;
a processing unit that, when the user holds an electronic gift certificate that is applicable to the product identification information of the payment information and that limits the products that can be used in the electronic payment service, settles the payment amount using the balance of the gift certificate and transmits the settlement result to the terminal device of the user;
An information processing device comprising: The processing unit
By referring to correspondence information in which the user identification information stored in the storage unit is associated with the gift certificate identification information of an electronic gift certificate in which the product identification information of the product or the like that can be used or cannot be used is specified and the products or the like that can be used in the electronic payment service are limited,
If the user holds an electronic gift certificate applicable to the product identification information of the payment information, the payment amount is paid using the balance of the gift certificate.
The information processing device according to claim 1 . The processing unit
When the payment information includes first product identification information to which the electronic gift certificate held by the user can be applied and second product identification information to which the electronic gift certificate cannot be applied,
When paying for the first product or other identification information, the payment amount for the first product or other identification information is paid using the balance of the electronic gift certificate;
For the payment of the second product identification information, an electronic payment method for an electronic service different from that for the balance of the electronic gift certificate is used to pay the payment amount of the second product identification information.
The information processing device according to claim 1 . The gift certificate is a gift certificate that can be used for products of a specific manufacturer,
The information processing device according to claim 1 . The electronic gift certificate is associated with affiliated store identification information, which is identification information of an affiliated store of the electronic payment service that can be used,
The payment information includes the affiliated store identification information,
the processing unit executes payment using the electronic payment service when the affiliated store identification information in the payment information matches the affiliated store identification information on the electronic gift certificate held by the user.
The information processing device according to claim 1 . The electronic gift certificate is associated with conditions under which it can be used,
the processing unit executes the payment on the condition that information included in the payment information satisfies the condition.
The information processing device according to claim 1 . The gift certificate can be used for multiple payments until the remaining balance of the gift certificate is used up.
The information processing device according to claim 1 . When the product identification information is newly added to the correspondence information,
The processing unit refers to the corresponding information to which the product etc. identification information has been added, and determines whether the electronic gift certificate can be used in payment for the product etc. identified by the product etc. identification information included in the payment information.
The information processing device according to claim 2 . The processing unit
Identifying manufacturer identification information included in the product identification information included in the payment information;
determining whether or not the product identification information including the manufacturer identification information is present in the correspondence information, and determining whether or not the electronic gift certificate can be used for the product or the like identified by the product identification information in the payment information;
The information processing device according to claim 2 . History information including information on affiliated stores where the electronic gift certificates have been used in the electronic payment service is managed;
The processing unit extracts a list of information on at least the affiliated stores where the electronic gift certificate has been used.
The information processing device according to claim 1 . The history information further includes information on the products and the like for which electronic payments have been made using the electronic gift certificate at the affiliated store and the amount of the electronic payment using the electronic gift certificate,
The processing unit extracts a list including information on the affiliated store, information on the product, etc., and the amount used.
The information processing device according to claim 10. The computer
The store's terminal device reads a code image in which user identification information for identifying a user used for electronic payment of an electronic payment service, which is displayed on the display unit of the user's terminal device, is encoded, and payment information including the user identification information, product identification information for identifying a product or service related to the electronic payment, and the payment amount of the electronic payment is obtained from the store's terminal device;
If the user holds an electronic gift certificate that is applicable to the product identification information of the payment information and that is limited to the products that can be used in the electronic payment service, the payment amount is paid using the balance of the gift certificate, and the result of the payment is transmitted to the terminal device of the user .
Information processing methods. On the computer,
The store terminal device reads a code image in which user identification information for identifying a user used for electronic payment of an electronic payment service, which is displayed on a display unit of the user's terminal device, is encoded, and acquires payment information including the user identification information, product identification information for identifying a product or service that is related to the electronic payment, and the payment amount of the electronic payment, from the store terminal device;
If the user holds an electronic gift certificate that is applicable to the product identification information of the payment information and that is limited to the products that can be used in the electronic payment service, the payment amount is paid using the balance of the gift certificate, and the result of the payment is transmitted to the terminal device of the user .
program.