JP7510466B2 - SERVICE PROVIDING APPARATUS, SERVICE PROVIDING METHOD, AND PROGRAM - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a service providing device, a service providing method, and a program.

Conventionally, in electronic payments using electronic money, a so-called auto-charge function has been available, which automatically deposits electronic money from a pre-set bank account into an account for electronic payments as needed. Regarding this auto-charge function, technology has been proposed that allows the deposit source to be switched between multiple bank accounts (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

JP 2012-178105 A

However, in conventional technology, even if multiple bank accounts were registered in advance as potential deposit sources for an electronic payment account, situations could arise in which the required amount could not be auto-charged depending on the deposit balance of the bank account set as the deposit source (hereinafter referred to as the "deposit source account"), or in which auto-charge could not be performed at all. As a result, for a creditor collecting receivables from a debtor, receiving payment of a debt from the debtor through electronic payment involved the risk of not being able to collect the receivable due to insufficient charge balance in the electronic payment account or insufficient deposit balance in the deposit source account (i.e., risk of default).

The present invention has been made in consideration of these circumstances, and one of its objectives is to provide a service providing device, a service providing method, and a program that can reduce the risk of default for creditors who collect debts through electronic payment.

One aspect of the present invention is a service providing device that provides an electronic payment service, comprising: an auto-charge management unit that manages the charge balance of an electronic payment account, which is an account for a user to use the electronic payment service; an auto-charge management unit that deposits money into the electronic payment account from one or more bank accounts registered in advance without the user's operation when the charge balance of the electronic payment account is insufficient for the payment amount; and a payment processing unit that executes payment processing to settle the user's payment with the charge balance of the electronic payment account, and the auto-charge management unit performs processing to deposit money into the electronic payment account from a second bank account different from the first bank account when the amount deposited from a first bank account falls below the amount of the shortfall.

According to one aspect of the present invention, it is possible to reduce the risk of default borne by creditors who collect receivables through electronic payment.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of a configuration for realizing an electronic payment service. FIG. 1 is a sequence diagram (part 1) illustrating an example of a general flow of electronic payment. FIG. 2 is a sequence diagram (part 2) illustrating an example of a general flow of electronic payment. FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram of a payment server 100 according to the first embodiment. FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of the contents of user information 172. FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of the contents of affiliated store/store information 176. FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing the flow of electronic payment with multiple account auto-charge and partial payment. 13 is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of a multiple account auto-charge process in this embodiment. FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a first embodiment of a multiple account auto-charge process. FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a second embodiment of a multiple account auto-charge process.

Below, with reference to the drawings, an embodiment of the service providing device, the service providing method, and the program of the present invention will be described. The application program and the payment server work together to provide an electronic payment service. In the following description, the application program is referred to as a payment app. The electronic payment service is a service that supports payments related to the purchase of goods and services at a store. The store is, for example, a physical store (real store) that exists in real space, but may also include a virtual store for electronic commerce. The virtual store may also include a store provided by an entity other than the operator of the electronic payment service. In that case, when making a payment for a purchase at the virtual store, the screen is controlled to transition to an interface screen of the electronic payment service. In the electronic payment service, the store is treated as belonging to, for example, an affiliated store (brand), and processing such as payment when a purchase is made at the store is mainly performed between the user and the affiliated store. Alternatively, processing such as payment may be performed between the user and the store.

[Electronic payment service]
1 is a diagram showing an example of a configuration for realizing an electronic payment service. The electronic payment service is realized mainly by a payment server 100. The payment server 100 communicates with, for example, one or more user terminal devices 10, one or more first store terminal devices 50, and one or more second store terminal devices 70 via a network NW. The network NW includes, for example, the Internet, a LAN (Local Area Network), a wireless base station, a provider device, and the like.

The user terminal device 10 is, for example, a portable terminal device such as a smartphone or a 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 in the user terminal device 10 from, for example, an application store, and controls the camera, communication device, touch panel, etc.

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 includes 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 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).

The second store terminal device 70 is used by the operator of the affiliated store. The second store terminal device 70 is a smartphone, a tablet terminal, a personal computer, etc. An interface 72 for affiliated stores runs on the second store terminal device 70. The interface 72 for affiliated stores may be an app for affiliated stores or a browser. The interface 72 for affiliated stores accepts coupon settings and the like made by 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 equivalent to a store code image and reading a code image displayed by the user terminal device 10 by executing the app for affiliated stores.

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 the payment information is sent from the POS device to the payment server 100 via the affiliated store server. In the following explanation, no distinction is made between these two, and it is assumed that the payment information is sent from the first store terminal device 50.

Figures 2 and 3 are sequence diagrams illustrating the general flow of electronic payment. There may be two patterns for electronic payment: 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 with the payment application 20 activated decodes the store code image 60 by the 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 to which information capable of identifying the store is added, and is associated with the affiliated store ID, store ID, etc. in the payment server 100 (described later). The payment application 20 transmits the first payment information including the store URL and the account ID to the payment server 100 (S2). The payment server 100 searches for store information (described later) from the affiliated store ID and store ID corresponding to the store URL, acquires the affiliated store name and store name information (S3), and transmits it to the payment application 20 (S4). The user inputs the payment amount into the user terminal device 10 on the screen on which the affiliated store name and store name are displayed (S5). Then, the user terminal device 10 generates second payment information including at least the payment amount and transmits 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 transmits a payment completion notice (information for displaying a payment completion screen) to the payment application 20 (S8), and the payment application 20 displays the payment completion screen (S9). Note that when the store code image 60 is displayed on a display installed in the store, the store code image 60 may include not only the store URL but also information on the payment amount. In this case, the procedure in which the user inputs the payment amount is omitted, and the first payment information is transmitted to the payment server 100 with the information on the payment amount included. 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, when the payment app 20 is started, when a payment operation is performed in the payment app 20, when the automatic update timing (for example, every minute) occurs, and at other timings, the payment app 20 sends a request to issue a one-time code to the payment server 100 (S11). 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 a 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 store terminal device 50, and the first store terminal device 50 decodes the code image using an optical reading function and obtains the one-time code, etc. (S15). Then, the first store terminal device 50 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 acquired 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 electronic payment (S17). The payment server 100 then sends a payment completion notice to the payment application 20 (S18), and the payment application 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, issuance of a one-time code may be omitted in the store scan, and the payment app 20 may display a code image generated based on the user's account ID. In that case, the payment server 100 identifies the user corresponding to the account ID instead of identifying the user corresponding to the one-time code.

[Payment server]
4 is a configuration diagram of the payment server 100 according to the first embodiment. The payment server 100 includes, for example, a communication unit 110, a payment content providing unit 120, a payment processing unit 130, an information management unit 140, an auto-charge management unit 150, 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), or a GPU (Graphics Processing Unit), or may be realized by cooperation between software and hardware. The program may be stored in advance in a storage device such as a hard disk drive (HDD) or flash memory (a storage device with a non-transient storage medium), or may be stored in a removable storage medium (non-transient 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 storage unit 170 is a HDD, flash memory, RAM (Random Access Memory), etc. The storage unit 170 may be a NAS (Network Attached Storage) device that the payment server 100 can access via a network. The storage unit 170 stores information such as user information 172, payment content information 174, and affiliated store/shop information 176.

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 payment content providing unit 120 has, for example, a web server function, and provides information (content) for displaying various screens of the electronic payment service to the user terminal device 10. The payment content providing unit 120 reads out necessary content from the payment content information 174 as appropriate and provides it to the user terminal device 10. The user terminal device 10 accepts various inputs by the user while the content is being played by the payment application 20, and transmits the above-mentioned payment information and the like to the payment server 100.

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 referring to the user information 172.

5 is a diagram showing an example of the contents of the user information 172. The user information 172 is an example of the registration information of a user. The user information 172 is, for example, a user URL, an account ID, a telephone number, a password, as well as information associated with an email address, a user ID, a name, an address, a date of birth, a registration date, a charge balance, a deferred payment setting, a deferred payment limit, a deferred payment usage amount, a deferred payment available amount, a payment method setting, one or more bank accounts, a credit card number, charge history information, and payment history information. The user URL is used for remittance processing between users. When registering for the electronic payment service, it is necessary to register a telephone number and a password. The account ID is issued to the user by the payment server 100, and the user ID is an ID that can be set by the user at will (does not have to be set). The email address, and the name, address, and date of birth are also information that can be set by the user at will (does not have to be set). The registration date is the date on which the user registered for the electronic payment service (the date on which the account was created). Hereinafter, the 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 that is set by the user by transferring money to the account in advance. The means of transfer include transfer from an ATM (Automatic Teller Machine) of a designated company (bank) and transfer from one or more registered bank accounts. The deferred payment setting is information indicating whether or not the setting for enabling electronic payment by deferred payment has been completed, and is set to either "completed" or "not completed." The deferred payment limit is the limit of deferred payment that can be used each month, the deferred payment usage amount is the amount of deferred payment that has already been used in the current month, and the available deferred payment amount is the amount of deferred payment that can be used in the current month, which is calculated by subtracting the deferred payment usage amount from the deferred payment limit. In the figure, only one deferred payment limit is shown, but in reality, there is also a daily upper limit, and the lower of these may be set as the deferred payment limit. Further details of deferred payment will be described later. The payment method setting is setting information indicating whether the user will make electronic payment using the charge balance or payment by deferred payment at that time. The bank account and credit card numbers are information (account number, card number) on a bank account or credit card number that can be used to deposit funds into an electronic payment account.

In this embodiment, the user can register one or more bank accounts along with their priority order as potential deposit sources that can be used for the multiple account auto-charge described below. FIG. 5 shows a case in which first priority, second priority, ..., nth priority (n is an integer equal to or greater than 1) bank accounts can be registered. Charge history information is a history of the user's previous transfers to an electronic payment service to increase the charge balance. Payment history information is information that shows the details 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.).

Figure 6 is a diagram showing an example of the contents of affiliated store/store information 176. Affiliated store/store information 176 includes, for example, a first table 176A in which an affiliated store ID and a store ID are associated with a store URL, a second table 176B in which an affiliated store name and sales amount (described above) are associated with an affiliated store ID, and a third table 176C in which a store ID is associated with a store ID. In addition to this information, affiliated store/store information 176 may also include information such as the affiliated store or store category, the store's location, and payment patterns.

The information management unit 140 manages the user information 172 and the 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, edits, and deletes new records for the user information 172 and the affiliated store/store information 176. For example, the information management unit 140 updates the user information 172 in response to the execution of a charge balance management process by the auto-charge management unit 150 for the user's electronic payment account.

The auto-charge management unit 150 manages the charge balance of an electronic payment account, which is an account for a user to use an electronic payment service. For example, when the charge balance of an electronic payment account is insufficient for the payment amount, the auto-charge management unit 150 automatically deposits money into the electronic payment account from one or more pre-registered bank accounts without the user's operation (so-called auto-charge). More specifically, when multiple bank accounts are set in the electronic payment account, the auto-charge management unit 150 repeatedly executes an automatic deposit process based on the priority of the multiple bank accounts. For example, when the amount deposited from a first bank account falls below the amount of the shortfall, the auto-charge management unit 150 executes a process to deposit money into the electronic payment account from a second bank account different from the first bank account. In this way, the auto-charge management unit 150 can suppress the insufficiency of the charge balance when the electronic payment is executed, and increase the possibility of the payment being completed.

The amount deposited from one bank account to an electronic payment account by auto-charge may be the amount of the shortfall, an amount equal to or greater than the amount of the shortfall, or an amount less than the amount of the shortfall. The amount deposited from one bank account to an electronic payment account by auto-charge may be a predetermined amount. The electronic payment business operator is also assumed to have obtained the user's consent in advance regarding automatic deposits into the electronic payment account by auto-charge.

[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 refers to the user information 172 to acquire the "payment method setting" of the user. For a user 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. The item value of the affiliated store's sales is not used as electronic money itself, for example, but an amount corresponding to the item value of the sales 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 payment for users whose "setting information" is set to "deferred payment" as follows. Deferred payment is set separately from "credit payment" in cooperation with a credit card company, which is a separate entity from the operator of the electronic payment service, and the operator of the electronic payment service acts as the creditor and allows electronic payment that is not dependent on the charge balance within the deferred payment limit. In order to receive the deferred payment service, it may be required to obtain a credit card provided by the operator of the electronic payment service. The amount used for deferred payment is settled on the payment date of the following month, for example, by debiting from a bank account, for one month's worth. In this case, the payment processing unit 130 performs provisional payment by adding the settlement amount to the deferred payment amount and subtracting the same amount from the available deferred payment amount, and when the closing date comes, it performs processing to debit the payment for the current month on the payment date of the following month as described above. In addition, if the settlement amount exceeds the available deferred payment amount at the time of provisional payment, an error notification is returned to the payment application 20.

Furthermore, in this embodiment, the payment processing unit 130 performs the following processing when executing electronic payment, thereby reducing the risk of collecting financial receivables through electronic payment.

(1) Auto-charge from one or more bank accounts when the charge balance is insufficient Even if the charge balance of an electronic payment account is insufficient when electronic payment is executed, if the user's consent has been obtained in advance, the payment processing unit 130 can replenish the charge balance from one or more bank accounts by instructing the auto-charge management unit 150 to execute an auto-charge. This enables the payment processing unit 130 to more reliably complete electronic payment. Hereinafter, this type of auto-charge will be referred to as "multiple account auto-charge."

(2) Settlement of a Part of the Total Payment Amount by Electronic Payment When the Charge Balance is Insufficient If both the user and the business receiving payment from the user (creditor) have agreed in advance, the payment processing unit 130 can settle a part of the total payment amount (an amount that can be paid with the charge balance) by electronic payment even if the charge balance of the electronic payment account is insufficient. This allows the creditor to avoid a situation in which the creditor is unable to collect the entire total payment amount, thereby reducing the risk of collecting financial claims. Hereinafter, this type of electronic payment method will be referred to as "partial payment."

Figure 7 is a schematic diagram showing the flow of electronic payment by multiple account auto-charge and partial payment. In Figure 7, user U uses a service and pays the service usage fee to billing business operator R. Meanwhile, billing business operator R is an operator that collects the service usage fee from user U under commission from service operator SP that provides service to user U. Note that, although the billing business operator R and service operator SP are different operators, billing business operator R may also serve as service operator SP. Furthermore, billing business operator R may collect service usage fees for multiple service operators SP.

Also, in FIG. 7, electronic payment provider T is a business that provides the above-mentioned electronic payment service, and upon request from billing provider R, collects service usage fees through electronic payment from user U's electronic payment account AC and deposits (transfers) the amount into the account of billing provider R or service provider SP. Bank account BK in the figure is user U's bank account BK that has been set as the source of deposits into user U's electronic payment account AC. As described above, one or more bank accounts BK are set in advance in user U's electronic payment account AC for the purpose of multiple account auto-charge.

In this case, first, user U uses a service provided by the service provider SP, and information regarding the use of the service (service usage information) is provided to the billing business operator R (S21). For example, if the service provided by the service provider SP is a service that can be used from the user terminal device 10 using a service app (not shown), the service usage information is generated in response to the user U's operation of using the service app, and is transmitted to the billing business operator R. The service app may be configured as part of the payment app 20. Next, the billing business operator R generates detailed information on the fees to be billed to user U based on the service usage information provided regarding user U, and notifies user U of the information (S22).

Meanwhile, the billing business operator R generates information (withdrawal data) to request the electronic payment business operator T to debit the charge balance of user U's electronic payment account AC for the fee to be billed to user U, and transmits this information to the electronic payment business operator T (payment server 100) (S23). Next, in the payment server 100, the payment processing unit 130 recognizes the amount of the service fee based on the withdrawal data received from the billing business operator R, and executes electronic payment processing to debit the recognized amount from the charge balance of user U's electronic payment account AC (S24).

In this electronic payment process, if the charge balance of the electronic payment account AC is insufficient, the payment processing unit 130 instructs the auto-charge management unit 150 to execute the multiple account auto-charge, and in response to this instruction, the auto-charge management unit 150 executes the multiple account auto-charge process (S25). In this multiple account auto-charge process, if multiple bank accounts BK are set as deposit sources for the electronic payment account AC, the auto-charge management unit 150 deposits money from the multiple bank accounts BK to the electronic payment account AC as necessary (S26). The auto-charge management unit 150 responds to the payment processing unit 130 with the execution result of the multiple account auto-charge process, and the payment processing unit 130 executes the electronic payment process for the charge balance after the execution of the multiple account auto-charge (S27). In this electronic payment process, if the charge balance of the electronic payment account AC is insufficient for the total payment amount, the payment processing unit 130 can settle a part of the total payment amount. The payment server 100 responds to the billing company R with the execution result of the electronic payment process (S28).

Figure 8 is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of the multiple account auto-charge process of this embodiment. The process flow starts upon receiving an execution instruction from the payment processing unit 130 in step S5 of Figure 7. First, the auto-charge management unit 150 selects the bank account with the highest priority from among one or more bank accounts registered as a source of deposits to the user's electronic payment account (S301). Next, the auto-charge management unit 150 inquires of the management device of the bank that holds the selected bank account about the deposit balance of that bank account (S302). The auto-charge management unit 150 determines whether the deposit balance returned in response to the deposit balance inquiry is less than the amount of the shortfall (S303). The shortfall here refers to the amount of the charge balance that is short of the total payment amount of the user.

If it is determined that the deposit balance of the selected bank account is equal to or greater than the shortfall, the auto-charge management unit 150 withdraws the full amount of the shortfall from the selected bank account and deposits it into the electronic payment account (S304). As a result, the shortfall has been fully replenished into the charge balance of the electronic payment account, so the auto-charge management unit 150 ends the multiple account auto-charge process and returns control to the main process (RETURN).

On the other hand, if it is determined in step S303 that the deposit balance of the selected bank account is less than the shortfall, the auto-charge management unit 150 deposits the entire deposit balance of the selected bank account into the electronic payment account (S305) and updates the shortfall (S306). For example, if the shortfall at the start of the multiple account auto-charge process is 500,000 yen and the deposit balance of the bank account initially selected as the deposit source is 200,000 yen, then the 200,000 yen will be deposited into the electronic payment account, and the shortfall will be updated to 300,000 yen (= 500,000 yen - 200,000 yen).

Then, the auto-charge management unit 150 determines whether or not there are any unselected bank accounts remaining among the multiple bank accounts registered as sources of deposits to the target user's electronic payment account, in addition to the currently selected bank account and any bank accounts selected previously (S307). If it is determined that there are no unselected bank accounts remaining, there is no bank account that can be used to deposit the shortfall, so the auto-charge management unit 150 ends the multiple account auto-charge process and returns control to the main process (RETURN). In this case, the auto-charge management unit 150 ends the multiple account auto-charge process while leaving the shortfall in the total payment amount.

On the other hand, if it is determined in step S307 that there are any unselected bank accounts remaining, the auto-charge management unit 150 selects the bank account with the next highest priority after the selected bank account (S308) and returns control to step S302. In this case, if the multiple bank accounts registered as sources of deposits to the target user's electronic payment account have a combined deposit balance equal to or greater than the total payment amount, steps S302 to S307 will be repeatedly executed to deposit funds from the multiple bank accounts in order of priority until the charge balance equals or exceeds the total payment amount (i.e., until the shortfall becomes zero).

Figure 9 shows a first example of the multiple account auto-charge process. Specifically, Figure 9 shows an example of the multiple account auto-charge process when the amount to be billed by the billing company to the user for debt collection is 1 million yen, and the charge balance in the electronic payment account is 100,000 yen. In this example, the user has registered each bank account as a candidate deposit source in the order of priority: Bank A, Bank B, and Bank C. Figure 9 also shows the situation when electronic payment processing for debt collection is carried out when the deposit balances in Bank A, Bank B, and Bank C accounts are 400,000 yen, 300,000 yen, and 200,000 yen, respectively.

In this case, the shortfall at the start of the multiple account auto-charge process is 900,000 yen, calculated by subtracting the charge balance of 100,000 yen from the total receivables of 1 million yen. In this case, the multiple account auto-charge process deposits 400,000 yen, 300,000 yen, and 200,000 yen from bank account A, bank account B, and bank account C, respectively, to cover the shortfall of 900,000 yen, thereby bringing the charge balance of the electronic payment account to 1 million yen, which is sufficient for the total payment amount. Then, the payment processing unit 130 performs electronic payment processing for the charge balance of 1 million yen after the multiple account auto-charge process, so that even if the user's charge balance is insufficient and the user's assets are distributed across multiple bank accounts, the billing company can collect the receivables for the full total payment amount, as long as the user has registered those multiple bank accounts as potential deposit sources.

Figure 10 is a diagram showing a second embodiment of the multiple account auto-charge process. Figure 10 shows an example of processing in the same situation as in Figure 9, where the total amount of claims is 1.1 million yen. In this case, the amount of the shortfall at the start of the multiple account auto-charge process is 1 million yen, which is the total amount of claims of 1.1 million yen minus the charge balance of 100,000 yen, as in the case of Figure 9. In this case, as in the example of Figure 9, the multiple account auto-charge process can deposit 400,000 yen, 300,000 yen, and 200,000 yen from bank account A, bank account B, and bank account C, respectively, to the electronic payment account to cover the shortfall of 1 million yen, but the total is still 100,000 yen short. In this case, the fee billing business cannot collect the entire amount of 1.1 million yen, but can collect 1 million yen and supply it to the service business. In this case, the payment processing unit 130 notifies the fee billing business of the amount of the unsettled amount that is ultimately insufficient compared to the total amount paid by the user. In this case, the billing company will remit the settled amount to the service company as the amount collected, and will notify the service company of the unpaid amount as the remaining balance. This allows the service company to collect as much as possible from the user, even if the user does not have a sufficient charge balance in their electronic payment account.

9 and 10, Bank A is an example of a "first bank" and Bank B is an example of a "second bank". An inquiry about the deposit balance to Bank A is an example of a "first inquiry", and an inquiry about the deposit balance to Bank B is an example of a "second inquiry". An amount deposited into Bank A's account by auto-charge is an example of a "first deposit amount", and an amount deposited into Bank B's account by auto-charge is an example of a "second deposit amount". If Bank B is the "first bank", the same relationship as in the case of Bank A and Bank B can be explained by regarding Bank C as the "second bank". For example, in this case, an inquiry about the deposit balance to Bank B is an example of a "first inquiry", and an inquiry about the deposit balance to Bank C is an example of a "second inquiry". In this case, an amount deposited into Bank B's account by auto-charge is an example of a "first deposit amount", and an amount deposited into Bank C's account by auto-charge is an example of a "second deposit amount".

According to the embodiment described above, the risk of collecting financial receivables through electronic payment can be reduced. Specifically, one of the conventional methods for settling service fees from the balance of a bank account is the so-called bank account transfer. Bank account transfer is realized when a billing business accepts a bank account transfer request from a user and, based on the contents of the request, requests a designated bank to withdraw the amount to be billed. Furthermore, in conventional bank account transfer requests, only one bank account is registered as the transfer source. Therefore, billing businesses either succeed in the bank account transfer and are able to collect the full amount of the total payment, or fail because the designated bank account does not have a sufficient balance, and are unable to collect a single penny. Thus, conventional bank account transfers posed a high risk to billing businesses when the bank account transfer failed.

In contrast, according to the present embodiment, the payment server 100 (service providing device) that provides electronic payment services is provided with an auto-charge management unit 150 that deposits funds from one or more bank accounts to the electronic payment account when the charge balance of the electronic payment account is insufficient, as a means for managing the charge balance of the user's electronic payment account, and a payment processing unit 130 that executes payment processing to settle the user's payment with the charge balance of the electronic payment account. When the amount deposited from the first bank account falls below a predetermined amount, the auto-charge management unit 150 can deposit the shortfall amount from a second bank account different from the first bank account to the electronic payment account. In this way, according to the embodiment of the payment server 100, even if one bank account does not have a deposit balance equal to or greater than the total amount to be paid, funds can be deposited from other bank accounts in order of priority into the electronic payment account, thereby increasing the possibility of collecting receivables through electronic payment.

Furthermore, as mentioned above, with conventional account transfers, depending on the deposit balance of the destination bank account, either the full amount of the payment could be recovered or not a single cent could be recovered. However, with the multiple account autocharge of this embodiment, even if the full amount of the payment cannot be recovered, it is possible to recover service fees to the extent possible from the total payment, thereby reducing the risk to billing companies of debt collection through electronic payments.

<Modification>
In the above embodiment, the case where the autocharge management unit 150 transmits an inquiry about the deposit balance to the bank management device in the multiple account autocharge process has been described. However, this is done so that the payment server 100 can recognize the amount that can be instantly withdrawn from the target bank account for autocharge, and does not necessarily have to be an inquiry about the deposit balance, and may be changed as appropriate according to the interface for accepting inquiries provided by the bank. For example, if the bank side can respond to an inquiry about the amount that can be instantly withdrawn, the autocharge management unit 150 may inquire about the amount that can be instantly withdrawn instead of inquiring about the deposit balance. In this case, the management device of the bank that receives the inquiry calculates the amount that can be instantly withdrawn after taking into account scheduled account transfers, etc., and responds with the calculated amount to the payment server 100. Also, for example, if the bank side can respond to an inquiry about whether a specified amount can be instantly withdrawn, the autocharge management unit 150 may specify the expected withdrawal amount for autocharge and inquire about whether the instant withdrawal is possible instead of inquiring about the deposit balance. In this case, the management device of the bank that receives the inquiry determines whether or not immediate withdrawal of the specified amount is possible, taking into consideration scheduled account transfers, etc., and responds with the result of the determination to the payment server 100.

The above describes the form for carrying out the present invention using an embodiment, but the present invention is not 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, 60...store code image, 70...second store terminal device, 72...interface for affiliated stores, 100...payment server, 110...communication unit, 120...payment content provider, 130...payment processing unit, 140...information management unit, 150...auto-charge management unit, 170...storage unit, 172...user information, 174...payment content information, 176...affiliated store/store information, 176A...first table, 176B...second table, 176C...third table

Claims (7)

A service providing device that provides a user with an electronic settlement service that communicates with a system of a billing business that has been entrusted with collecting a payment owed by a user to a service business that provides the user with a predetermined service, and settles the payment of the payment by electronic settlement in response to a request from the system,
an auto-charge management unit that manages the charge balance of an electronic payment account, which is an account for a user to use the electronic payment service, and when the charge balance of the electronic payment account is insufficient for a payment amount, the auto-charge management unit deposits an amount to cover all or part of the shortfall from a pre-registered bank account into the electronic payment account without the user's operation;
a payment processing unit that executes a payment process for paying the price with the charge balance of the electronic payment account;
Equipped with
the auto-charge management unit, when an amount deposited from a first bank account falls short of an amount of a shortage, performs a process for depositing money from a second bank account different from the first bank account into the electronic payment account;
If both the user and the service provider, which is the creditor related to the payment of the price, have agreed in advance, even if the charge balance of the electronic payment account is insufficient after the auto-charge management unit processes the deposit from the second bank account, the payment processing unit settles the amount of the total amount to be paid by the user that can be paid with the charge balance after the deposit processing, and notifies the system of the billing company of the amount of the unsettled amount that is insufficient against the total amount.
Service providing device. When the charge balance of the electronic payment account is insufficient, the auto-charge management unit
sending a first inquiry regarding the deposit balance of the first bank account to a management device of a first bank having the first bank account;
determining a first deposit amount to be deposited from the first bank account to the electronic payment account based on a result of the reply to the first inquiry, and depositing the determined first deposit amount from the first bank account to the electronic payment account;
The service providing device according to claim 1 . When the first deposit amount falls below the amount of the shortfall, the auto-charge management unit
making a second inquiry regarding the balance of the second bank account to a second bank having the second bank account;
determining a second deposit amount to be deposited from the second bank account to the electronic payment account based on a result of the second inquiry, and depositing the determined second deposit amount from the second bank account to the electronic payment account;
The service providing device according to claim 2 . When a plurality of bank accounts are set in the electronic payment account, the auto-charge management unit
making an inquiry to a bank holding said bank account regarding the deposit balance of said bank account;
determining an amount to be deposited from the bank account to the electronic payment account based on a result of the inquiry, and depositing the determined amount from the bank account to the electronic payment account;
and repeatedly executing an automatic deposit process including the steps of:
The service providing device according to claim 1 . the auto-charge management unit repeatedly executes the automatic deposit process based on the priority order until the charge balance of the electronic settlement account becomes equal to or exceeds the amount required for payment by the user;
The service providing device according to claim 4. a service providing device that provides to a user an electronic settlement service that communicates with a system of a billing company that has been entrusted with the collection of a payment owed by a user to the service company by a service company that provides the user with a predetermined service, and settles the payment of the payment by electronic settlement in response to a request from the system;
an auto-charge process for managing a charge balance of an electronic payment account, which is an account for a user to use the electronic payment service, and when the charge balance of the electronic payment account is insufficient for a payment amount, the auto-charge process deposits an amount to cover all or part of the shortfall from a pre- registered bank account into the electronic payment account without relying on an operation by the user;
a payment process for settling the user's payment with the charge balance of the electronic payment account;
Run
In the auto-charge process, when the amount deposited from the first bank account falls short of the shortfall, a process is performed to deposit money into the electronic payment account from a second bank account different from the first bank account;
In the settlement process, if both the user and the creditor receiving payment from the user have agreed in advance, even if the charge balance of the electronic settlement account is insufficient after the deposit process from the second bank account by the auto-charge process, the amount of the total amount to be paid by the user that can be paid with the charge balance after the deposit process is settled, and the creditor is notified of the unsettled amount that is insufficient against the total amount.
How we provide services. a service providing device that communicates with a system of a billing company that has been entrusted with collecting a payment owed by a user to the service company from the service company that provides the user with a predetermined service, and that provides the user with an electronic settlement service for making payment of the payment by electronic settlement in response to a request from the system;
an auto-charge process for managing a charge balance of an electronic payment account, which is an account for a user to use the electronic payment service, and when the charge balance of the electronic payment account is insufficient for a payment amount, the auto-charge process deposits an amount to cover all or part of the shortfall from a pre- registered bank account into the electronic payment account without relying on an operation by the user;
a payment process for settling the user's payment with the charge balance of the electronic payment account;
Run the command,
in the auto-charge process, when the amount deposited from the first bank account falls short of the shortfall, a process is performed to deposit money into the electronic payment account from a second bank account different from the first bank account;
In the settlement process, if both the user and the creditor receiving payment from the user have agreed in advance, even if the charge balance of the electronic settlement account is insufficient after the deposit process from the second bank account by the auto-charge process, the amount of the total amount to be paid by the user that can be paid with the charge balance after the deposit process is settled, and the creditor is notified of the amount of the unsettled amount that is insufficient against the total amount.
Program for.

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