JP7512482B2 - Point processing system, method and program - Google Patents

Description

This invention relates to a point processing system, method, and program that supports a point service that issues points in conjunction with the provision of products, etc.

As a means of sales promotion and customer acquisition and retention, point services that issue points (including coupons, mileage, trading stamps, etc.) that can be used to exchange for goods and services (hereinafter referred to as "goods, etc.") at real or virtual stores in conjunction with the provision of such goods and services have become widespread.

In recent years, it is becoming common for one user to use multiple point services, and in such cases, point management by the user tends to become complicated. There has also been an increasing demand for the ability to exchange points between point services.

Therefore, there are known websites (aggregation sites) that use account aggregation to improve services for users who use multiple point services. On such aggregation sites, users create an integrated account and register login information for each of the multiple point services they use in advance. This allows users to refer to the details of the points they have acquired in the multiple point services they use, simply by logging in to the integrated account using common login information. Some of these aggregation sites are known to enable point exchange between point services (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

Figure 6 shows an example of a display screen of a user terminal when logging in to an aggregation site that provides a point exchange service using common login information. The user has registered in advance in the integrated account of the aggregation site an ID and password, which are login information for each of the multiple point services used by the user, namely service A, service B, service C, and service X, and each of these are linked to the user's login information.

On the screen shown in FIG. 6(A), the user logs in to the integrated account in order to exchange points between point services. FIG. 6(B) shows an example of the screen after logging in, which is used to input how many of the points acquired for any one of point services A, B, and C that are to be exchanged for points for X service.

When exchanging points using an aggregation site, user information related to each point service is automatically obtained (scraping) using login information for each point service that the user has previously linked and registered to the integrated account. Therefore, on the screen in FIG. 6(B), the user can apply to exchange points from any point service for points from service X without having to enter the ID and password, which are the login information for each point service, each time.

As mentioned above, aggregation sites provide more convenient services to users, but aggregation sites also bring benefits to businesses. Generally, businesses involved in point services can grasp the purchasing behavior of customers in relation to the awarding of points, and can use the grasped purchasing behavior, for example, for product ordering or for product development and planning. By using an aggregation site that realizes point management as described above, businesses involved in point services can collectively collect such user purchasing behavior, for example, from multiple businesses involved in point services that are affiliated businesses.

JP 2006-235951 A

However, the information collected using an aggregation site that realizes such point management is, for example, information from affiliated businesses related to point services, and is limited to information about products purchased with the award of points. For this reason, for example, information about non-affiliated businesses or information about businesses that do not implement point programs cannot be obtained. Furthermore, information about users who do not use the aggregation site in the first place cannot be obtained. In this way, there is a limit to the range of information that can be collected using an aggregation site that realizes point management.

This invention was made in light of the above circumstances, and its purpose is to provide a points processing system, method, and program that can collect a wide range of information about users and motivate users to provide information.

In order to solve the above problems, a first aspect of the point processing system and method according to the present invention includes a login information acquisition unit that acquires login information for a specific user to log in to at least a first service and a second service, a purchase-related information acquisition unit that acquires purchase-related information about the specific user from a database related to the first service based on the acquired login information, a bonus point calculation unit that calculates bonus points that can be used in the second service based on the acquired purchase-related information, and an output unit that outputs information for granting the calculated bonus points to the specific user for the second service.

A second aspect of the point processing system according to the present invention is such that the acquired login information includes common login information for the specified user to log in to the first and second services, and the purchase-related information acquisition unit acquires purchase-related information for the specified user from a database related to the first service based on the acquired common login information.

A third aspect of the point processing system according to the present invention is such that the acquired login information includes individual login information for the specific user to individually log in to the first and second services, and the purchase-related information acquisition unit acquires purchase-related information for the specific user from a database related to the first service based on the acquired individual login information.

A fourth aspect of the point processing system according to the present invention is that the bonus point calculation unit calculates points that can be used in the second service while maintaining the points that the specific user has acquired in the first service that are stored in the database related to the first service.

In a fifth aspect of the point processing system according to the present invention, when the second service includes a plurality of point services that perform point granting processing based on mutually different point granting rules, the bonus point calculation unit selects from the plurality of point services the point service that grants the largest amount of bonus points based on each point granting rule of the plurality of point services, and calculates the bonus points that can be used in the selected point service based on the point granting rule of the selected point service and the acquired purchase-related information.

In a sixth aspect of the point processing system according to the present invention, when the second service includes a plurality of point services, the bonus point calculation unit selects the most frequently used point service from among the plurality of point services based on the frequency of use of the plurality of point services by the specified user, and calculates the bonus points available for use in the selected point service based on the point awarding rules of the selected point service and the acquired purchase-related information.

A seventh aspect of the point processing system according to the present invention is that the bonus point calculation unit calculates the bonus points according to at least one element of the type of information, the level of detail of the information, the amount of information, and the amount contained in the acquired purchase-related information, and a point award rate that is preset in accordance with the element.

An eighth aspect of the point processing system according to the present invention further includes an award history storage unit that generates information representing the calculated bonus point award history in association with information representing the user or the provider of the purchase-related information and stores the information in a storage medium, and an award history information output unit that reads out and outputs the information representing the corresponding bonus point award history stored in the storage medium in response to an acquisition request from a terminal used by the user or the provider of the purchase-related information.

According to a first aspect of the present invention, purchase-related information for a specific user related to a first service is acquired based on login information set in association with the specific user. Then, bonus points that can be used in a second service are calculated based on the acquired purchase-related information, and information for granting the calculated bonus points to the specific user is output to the second service.

The first service includes, for example, a service used by the user to pay for products, etc., a service that sells products to the user, and a service that provides services to the user. The first service also includes services that are not also point services, in addition to services that serve as point services. Therefore, the purchase-related information is not limited to information about products, etc. purchased with point allocation, but also includes information managed by services unrelated to point allocation.

For example, in order to obtain payment information of a user who has used a financial institution, it is generally difficult to directly access the banking system of the financial institution to obtain the payment information. However, such payment information can be easily obtained as the above-mentioned purchase-related information by accessing the database of the financial institution using the login information described above.

In addition, in response to the acquisition of purchase-related information, the user who provided that purchase-related information is given bonus points. This provides users with an incentive to provide purchase-related information, which is expected to lead to an increase in the amount of purchase-related information acquired.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, common login information for a specific user to log in to a first service and a second service is acquired, and purchase-related information related to the specific user related to the first service is acquired based on the acquired common login information. For example, in an integrated account logged in using the common login information, individual login information for each of a plurality of services is registered in advance in association with the common login information, and a course is set for specifying the acquisition form of the purchase-related information. The course includes, for example, information indicating the service name from which information is acquired, the type of information to be acquired, and the acquisition timing. Therefore, by using the common login information as a key, purchase-related information related to the user can be simultaneously acquired from a plurality of services whose individual login information is associated with the common login information. In addition, each piece of purchase-related information can be acquired in an acquisition form specified by the set course.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, individual login information is acquired for a specific user to log in individually to a first service and a second service, and purchase-related information for the specific user is acquired from the first service or the second service based on the acquired individual login information. Therefore, by using the individual login information as a key, purchase-related information for any service of the specific user can be acquired.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, the second service is instructed to grant the specified user bonus points usable in the second service while maintaining the points acquired by the specified user in the first service. In this way, if the first service is a service that also serves as a points service, the points already acquired by the specified user in the first service are maintained even if bonus points are awarded to the specified user. In other words, when the process of acquiring purchase-related information is executed, the points exchange process is not performed, and the points assignment process is performed for the service designated as the point assignment destination. This makes it possible to provide a clearer motivation when providing purchase-related information.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, when there are multiple point services with different point awarding rules as services to which bonus points are awarded, the point service that awards the largest amount or rate of bonus points is selected from the multiple point services, and the bonus points that can be used in this point service are calculated. This allows the user to obtain the largest number of points in exchange for providing their purchase-related information.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, when there are multiple point services to which bonus points can be awarded, the point service that is most frequently used by the user is selected from the multiple point services, and the bonus points that can be used for this point service are calculated. This makes it possible to award bonus points to the point service that the user uses most frequently.

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, bonus points are calculated according to at least one of the following elements: the type of information, the level of detail of the information, the amount of information, and the amount of money contained in the purchasing-related information acquired from the information acquisition service. In other words, bonus points are calculated according to the type, amount, quality, and value of the purchasing-related information acquired. Therefore, when acquiring a user's purchasing-related information, a business receiving the purchasing-related information can simply award bonus points according to the type, amount, quality, and value of that information. On the other hand, the user providing the information can acquire bonus points according to the type, amount, quality, and value of the information provided.

According to an eighth aspect of the present invention, based on the stored bonus point allocation history information, the user can check, for example, what type and how many bonus points he/she has acquired in return for providing past purchase-related information. In addition, the provider of purchase-related information can check, for example, what type and how many bonus points have been granted to the user in return for obtaining purchase-related information.

In other words, this invention provides a points processing system, method, and program that can collect a wide range of information about users and motivate users to provide information.

1 is an overhead view of a system according to a first embodiment of the present invention; 1 is a configuration diagram of a wireless network system according to a first embodiment of the present invention. 3 is a block diagram showing the functional configuration of a point processing device in the wireless network system shown in FIG. 2. FIG. 4 is a flow chart showing an example of a point process executed by the control unit shown in FIG. 3 . FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a display screen for selectively registering in advance services to be managed by an integrated account at an aggregation site. FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a display screen of an aggregation site that manages a plurality of point services.

Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
[First embodiment]
In the first embodiment of the present invention, a technique for supporting a points service using the account aggregation and scraping techniques described in relation to FIG. 6 will be described.

FIG. 1 is an overhead view of a system according to a first embodiment of the present invention. Service A, Service B, and Service C are services that users use in connection with the purchase of goods and the like. The services in question may be, for example, services used by users to pay for goods and the like, such as a credit payment service, or services in which retailers such as department stores, supermarkets, convenience stores, virtual stores, etc. sell goods to users, or services that provide services to users, such as delivery companies, fitness clubs, hairdressing salons, hospitals, etc. Note that such services used by users in connection with purchases may or may not also serve as point services.

On the other hand, the X service is a service that also serves as a point service. A point service is a service in which, for example, when a registered user purchases a product or service, points are awarded to the user under conditions set by the company according to the purchase amount or the number of visits to the store, and the accumulated points can be exchanged for products or services on the next visit or used as payment when purchasing a product or service. Management data for awarded or used points is generally stored on a point card or a mobile device such as a smartphone, and is sent from the store's cash register terminal or a POS server to which the cash register terminal is connected to a point management server for use in managing member users. Specific examples of point services include various types such as coupons, mileage, trading stamps, etc.

In the system according to the first embodiment, a website that uses account aggregation (hereafter referred to as an aggregation site) is provided to improve services for users who use the above-mentioned multiple services A, B, and C. In the first embodiment, this aggregation site constitutes the points processing system according to the present invention.

The server constituting the aggregation site has a login information database 100. An integrated account is created for each user, and individual login information corresponding to each of the multiple services A, B, and C used by the user is registered in advance in the login information database 100, linked to common login information for logging in to the integrated account. This allows the user to refer to the details of the points acquired through each of the multiple services A, B, and C used by the user, simply by logging in to the integrated account using the common login information.

The server constituting the aggregation site also includes a purchase-related information acquisition unit 200 and a bonus point calculation unit 300 .
The purchase-related information acquisition unit 200 acquires purchase-related information about the user from the A service database E1, B service database E2, and C service database E3 provided corresponding to each service A, B, and C used by the user by scraping. The purchase-related information includes, for example, payment information. The payment information includes, for example, the date and time when the user made a payment, the store (including a virtual store), and the amount. Alternatively, the purchase-related information may include, for example, information indicating the order history of a product, information indicating the registration status of a product under consideration for purchase, and information indicating the registration status for receiving the provision of a service.

The bonus point calculation unit 300 calculates the bonus points that can be used in the X service that has been designated in advance as the point grant destination based on the acquired purchase-related information, and transmits instructions to grant the calculated bonus points to the X service point account 400 of the user. The bonus points may be given, for example, as compensation for the acquired purchase-related information. It should be noted here that if the A service, the B service, and the C service each have a point service, even if the bonus points are granted to the X service point account 400, the points that the user has already acquired in the service that also serves as the point service will not be changed.

The following describes the configuration and operation of the first embodiment of the point processing system according to the present invention.

(Configuration example)
FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of a wireless network system according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

The communication system of the first embodiment includes, for example, a plurality of user terminals 3 each used by a user, an X service system 2X that provides an X service which is a point service, an A service system 2A that provides an A service that the user uses in connection with the purchase of a product or the like, and a point processing device 1, all of which are connected via a network NW that uses the Internet Protocol (IP).

Of these, the point processing device 1 realizes the aggregation site. The point processing device 1 acquires purchasing-related information of a user related to the A service from the A service system 2A, and transmits instructions for granting bonus points that can be used in the X service to the user's point account in response to the acquisition of the purchasing-related information. For example, the A service may be a service used by a user to pay for goods, etc., such as a payment service provided by a financial institution, or it may be a service that sells goods to users or a service that provides services to users. The A service may also be a point service.

The X service system 2X includes a management device 21X that executes processing functions to realize the X service, and a user information database 22X that stores the points that each user has acquired in the X service.

The A service system 2A includes a management device 21A that executes processing functions for implementing the A service, and a user information database 22A that stores the user's purchase-related information related to the A service for each user. The purchase-related information includes, for example, payment information. The payment information indicates, for example, the date and time when the user made the payment, the store (including a virtual store), and the amount. Alternatively, the purchase-related information may include information indicating the order history of a product, information indicating the registration status of a product under consideration for purchase, and information indicating the registration status for receiving the provision of a service. Note that if the A service is a service that also serves as a points service, the user information database 22A also stores the points that the user has acquired in the A service for each user.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the functional configuration of the point processing device 1 that constitutes the entirety or a major part of the point processing system according to the first embodiment.
The point processing device 1 according to the first embodiment comprises a control unit 11 , a storage unit 12 , and a communication interface unit 13 .

The communication interface unit 13 includes, for example, one or more wired or wireless communication interface units. The communication interface unit 13 receives common login information transmitted from the user terminal 3, and inputs the received common login information to the control unit 11. The communication interface unit 13 also acquires purchase-related information of the user from the A service system 2A in accordance with an instruction from the control unit 11, and inputs the acquired purchase-related information to the control unit 11. Furthermore, the communication interface unit 13 outputs an instruction to grant bonus points to the X service system 2X in accordance with an instruction from the control unit 11.

The storage unit 12 uses a non-volatile memory that can be written to and read from at any time, such as a hard disk drive (HDD) or solid state drive (SSD), as a storage medium, and has a program storage area and a data storage area. Of these, the data storage area includes a login information storage unit 121, a purchase-related information storage unit 122, and a point conversion table storage unit 123.

The login information storage unit 121 stores, for each user, the contents of the integrated account logged in with the common login information. That is, the login information storage unit 121 stores, as the contents of the integrated account for each user, the common login information and individual login information corresponding to each of a plurality of services including the A service and the X service, in a state in which the individual login information of each service is linked to the common login information. Note that in cases where a user selectively registers services to be managed in an integrated manner in advance on My Page, the login information storage unit 121 also stores the services registered on My Page as the contents of the integrated account for each user. Furthermore, the login information storage unit 121 may store permission information indicating the user's permission to use his/her information.

The purchasing-related information storage unit 122 stores purchasing-related information obtained from the A service system 2A.

The point conversion table storage unit 123 stores conversion coefficients for calculating the bonus points to be added to the points account related to the X service based on the purchase-related information according to the type of purchase-related information. Each conversion coefficient is input in advance by, for example, the operator of the point processing device 1 according to a prior agreement with the X service.

The control unit 11 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) and is equipped with a login information acquisition unit 111, a purchase-related information acquisition unit 112, a bonus point calculation unit 113, and a point allocation instruction unit 114 to execute the processing functions in the first embodiment. All of the processing functions of these units are realized by having the CPU execute a program stored in the program storage area of the storage unit 12.

The login information acquisition unit 111 executes a process of acquiring common login information for the user to log in at least to the A service and the X service. The common login information acquisition process acquires, for example, the common login information input to the user terminal 3 at the time of the user's login via the communication interface unit 13. Alternatively, the common login information acquisition process may read and acquire the user's common login information stored in the login information storage unit 121 of the storage unit 12 periodically on a predetermined day of each month, or every time the user makes a payment for a product or the like. In this case, the login information acquisition unit 111 refers to the contents of the integrated account stored in the login information storage unit 121 of the storage unit 12, and uses the acquired common login information as a key to identify the user's individual login information for logging in to the A service and the user's individual login information for logging in to the X service, which are to be used in subsequent processes.

The purchase-related information acquisition unit 112 accesses the user information database 22A of the A service system 2A via the communication interface unit 13 based on the individual login information of the relevant user for logging in to the A service, identified by the login information acquisition unit 111. Then, it executes a process of acquiring purchase-related information for the relevant user from the user information database 22A and storing the acquired purchase-related information in the purchase-related information storage unit 122 of the storage unit 12.

The bonus point calculation unit 113 reads the purchasing-related information of the relevant user stored by the purchasing-related information acquisition unit 112 from the purchasing-related information storage unit 122, and performs a process of calculating bonus points that can be used in the X service provided by the X service system 2X based on the purchasing-related information that has been read.

At this time, if the A service is a service that also serves as a points service, the bonus point calculation unit 113 executes a calculation process for the bonus points that can be used in the X service while maintaining the points acquired by the user in the A service that are stored in the user information database 22A of the A service system 2A.

In other words, when the bonus point calculation unit 113 executes the process of acquiring purchase-related information, it does not perform the point exchange process, but performs the process of granting points to the service specified as the point grant destination. As a result, even if bonus points are granted to the user's point account based on the purchase-related information related to service A, the points that the user has already acquired in service A will remain the same.

When calculating the bonus points, the bonus point calculation unit 113 reads out a conversion coefficient corresponding to the purchase-related information from the point conversion table storage unit 123 of the storage unit 12, and calculates the bonus points according to this conversion coefficient. For example, the bonus points are calculated by multiplying the amount of the product or the like indicated in the purchase-related information by the conversion coefficient, or by multiplying the amount of information in the purchase-related information by the conversion coefficient.

The point allocation instruction unit 114 generates an instruction to add the calculated bonus points to the point account of the user, and executes a process of transmitting this point allocation instruction from the communication interface unit 13 to the X service system 2X. Note that this transmission process uses the individual login information of the user identified by the login information acquisition unit 111 for logging in to the X service.

(Example of operation)
Next, an example of the operation of the point processing device 1 configured as above will be described.
Fig. 4 is a flow diagram showing an example of point processing executed by the control unit 11 shown in Fig. 3. Prior to the point processing described in relation to Fig. 4, the common login information is linked to the services desired to be managed in an integrated manner. Fig. 5 shows an example of a display screen of My Page on which the user selectively registers the services to be managed in an integrated manner in advance.

The user stores the contents of his/her integrated account in advance in the login information storage unit 121, linking them to the common login information. For example, the user registers, from his/her user terminal 3, individual login information corresponding to each of the multiple services used by the user, including the A service and the X service, as the contents of the integrated account, linking them to the common login information.

At this time, the point processing device 1 displays screen information on the user terminal 3 to request the user's consent to the use of the purchasing-related information. When the user inputs consent on this screen, the point processing device 1 stores this consent information as part of the contents of the integrated account. Note that the point processing device 1 may consider the user to have consented to the provision of purchasing-related information managed by the A service upon registration of individual login information for the A service, without displaying the screen information requesting consent.

In addition, the user may pre-register on his/her My Page, as the contents of the integrated account, services to be managed in an integrated manner from among the services for which individual login information has been registered in association with common login information for the integrated account.

In this case, the point processing device 1, for example, first displays the login screen shown in FIG. 5 (A) on the user terminal 3. Then, when the user logs in on this screen by inputting an ID and password that constitute the common login information of the integrated account, the point processing device 1 performs user authentication based on the input ID and password. If the user's legitimacy is confirmed as a result of this authentication process, the point processing device 1 displays a My Page screen on the user terminal 3. An example of the My Page screen is shown in FIG. 5 (B).

Next, on the My Page screen, the user selects the services that the user wishes to manage in an integrated manner from the displayed services by checking the checkboxes. When the user then performs an operation to complete the selection, information indicating the selection result is sent from the user terminal 3 to the point processing device 1 and stored in the login information storage unit 121.

After the integrated management target service is registered, the point processing device 1 displays a screen on the user terminal 3 to confirm consent to the purchase-related information for the service. When the user inputs consent on this screen, this information is sent from the user terminal 3 to the point processing device 1. The point processing device 1 stores this consent information as part of the contents of the integrated account. Note that in this case too, the selection operation of the integrated management target service on the My Page screen (checking a check box) may be regarded as the user consenting to the provision of purchase-related information for that service.

The point processing device 1 can automatically acquire and manage, by scraping, purchase-related information of a user relating to a service for which individual login information is registered in association with the common login information of an integrated account, or purchase-related information of a user relating to a service selectively registered by the user as described in relation to FIG. 5.

Next, the point processing shown in FIG. 4 will be described.
First, in step S1, the control unit 11 acquires common login information for a user to log in to at least the A service and the X service under the control of the login information acquisition unit 111. The common login information acquisition process may acquire common login information input in the user terminal 3 when the user logs in, for example. Alternatively, the common login information acquisition process may read and acquire the user's common login information stored in the login information storage unit 121 periodically, for example, on a predetermined day each month or every time the user makes a payment for a product or the like.

The process of reading the common login information from the login information storage unit 121 is performed, for example, according to a course that specifies the form of acquisition of purchase-related information, which is set on the My Page screen after the user logs in to the integrated account, that is, information that specifies the type of service for which the user has consented to the provision of purchase-related information and the timing of acquisition of the information.

When the common login information is acquired, the contents of the integrated account stored in the login information storage unit 121 are referenced, and the common login information is used as a key to identify the user's individual login information for the A service and the user's individual login information for the X service, which will be used in subsequent processing.

In step S2, under the control of the purchase-related information acquisition unit 112, the control unit 11 accesses the A service system 2A based on the individual login information for the A service stored in the login information storage unit 121. Then, the control unit 11 acquires purchase-related information for the user from the user information database 22A of the A service system 2A, and stores the acquired purchase-related information in the purchase-related information storage unit 122.

The purchase-related information acquired in step S2 may include not only purchase-related information about the user of the A service system 2A, but also purchase-related information about the user related to other services that the user has registered in advance by linking their login information to the integrated account. Alternatively, as described in relation to FIG. 5, in cases where the user selectively registers services to be managed in an integrated manner in My Page, the purchase-related information acquired in step S2 may include purchase-related information about the user related to the services registered in My Page.

When acquiring payment information as the purchasing-related information in step S2, the purchasing-related information acquisition unit 112 may acquire, for example, only payment information that has been paid since the previous acquisition timing. Also, when acquiring purchasing-related information other than payment information in step S2, the purchasing-related information acquisition unit 112 may acquire, for example, only purchasing-related information that has been generated since the previous acquisition timing.

In step S3, the control unit 11, under the control of the bonus point calculation unit 113, reads out the purchasing-related information stored in the purchasing-related information storage unit 122, and calculates the bonus points that can be used in the X service provided by the X service system 2X based on the purchasing-related information that has been read out. The bonus points are given, for example, as compensation for the purchasing-related information. Note that at this time, if the A service is a service that also serves as a points service, the calculation process is executed while maintaining the points acquired by the user in the A service that are stored in the user information database 22A of the A service system 2A.

The bonus point calculation process will first be described taking as an example a case where payment information has been acquired as purchase-related information in step S2. The payment information is, for example, managed as one record for each product for which the user has paid in one purchase. One record includes the date and time when the user made the payment, the store name (including virtual stores), the amount, etc. Note that the payment information may also include, for example, the product name and point information for the paid product for each record.

The bonus point calculation process is performed, for example, based on the amount indicated by each record of the payment information. For example, the first conversion coefficient stored in the point conversion table storage unit 123 is read out, and the sum of the products of the amounts indicated by each record and the read out first conversion coefficient is calculated to calculate the bonus points.

On the other hand, the calculation process of the bonus points may be performed based on the amount of payment information. For example, the second conversion coefficient stored in the point conversion table storage unit 123 is read, and the total number of records of the payment information is multiplied by the read second conversion coefficient to calculate the bonus points.

The values of the first and second conversion coefficients may be set as follows, for example. For example, the first and second conversion coefficients may be set to different values depending on the service that provides the payment information. Also, for example, for each record of the payment information, for a record that indicates not only the date and time when the user made the payment, the store (including the virtual store), and the amount, but also the product name of the product that has already been paid for, the values of the first and second conversion coefficients may be set to be higher.

In other words, the first and second conversion factors may be set to higher or lower values depending on the amount of information for each record or the type of information contained in each record. Furthermore, the first and second conversion factors may be set to different values depending on the period, such as the year or month, in which the payment for each record of the payment information was made. Note that the first and second conversion factors and the method of calculating the bonus points may be set in a manner different from that described above.

The above explanation describes the calculation process of bonus points when payment information is acquired as the purchase-related information in step S2. However, the same process as in the case of payment information described above may also be executed when other purchase-related information is acquired as the purchase-related information, such as information indicating the order history of a product, information indicating the registration status of a product under consideration for purchase, or information indicating the registration status for receiving the provision of a service.

For example, the other purchasing-related information mentioned above also includes information about each product in each record. Information indicating the product ordering history includes, for each record, the date and time when the user placed the order, the product name, the price, and the delivery location. Information indicating the registration status of a product under consideration for purchase includes, for each record, the date and time when the user registered it, the product name, and the price. Finally, information indicating the registration status for receiving the provision of a service includes, for each record, the type of service, the frequency with which the service is received, the user's gender and age, and the user's address.

When bonus points are calculated based on this purchasing-related information, as in the case of payment information, the calculation may be performed based on the amount of goods etc. indicated in the acquired purchasing-related information, or based on the amount of information, such as the total number of records, of the acquired purchasing-related information. As in the above case, the conversion coefficient used in the calculation process may be set to a different value depending on the service for which the purchasing-related information was acquired, or may be set according to the amount of information for each record or the type of information contained in each record, or may even be set to a different value depending on the date and time information indicated in the purchasing-related information.

Finally, in step S4, the control unit 11, under the control of the point allocation instruction unit 114, transmits an instruction to the X service system 2X to cause the calculated bonus points to be allocated to the point account of the user. In this transmission process, for example, login information for the X service stored in the login information storage unit 121 is used.

(effect)
As described above in detail, the first embodiment of the present invention provides the following effects.
That is, in the point processing device 1, first, common login information corresponding to the user's integrated account is identified, then the common login information is used as a key to identify individual login information corresponding to the A service from the login information storage unit 121, and purchase-related information for the user is obtained from the user information database 22A of the A service system 2A based on the identified individual login information. Then, based on the obtained purchase-related information, bonus points that can be used in the X service are calculated, and an instruction to grant the bonus points is sent to the X service system 2X.

The above-mentioned A services include, for example, services that users use to pay for products, etc., services that sell products to users, and services that provide services to users. The above-mentioned A services also include services that serve as point services, as well as services that do not serve as point services. Therefore, according to the first embodiment, it is possible to obtain, as the purchase-related information, not only information about products, etc. purchased with point allocation, but also information unrelated to point allocation. In other words, it is possible to obtain a wide range of purchase-related information related to the user's consumption behavior.

For example, it is generally difficult for a third party to directly access the banking system of a financial institution to obtain payment information of a user who has used the financial institution. However, such payment information can be easily obtained, with the user's permission, as the above-mentioned purchase-related information by accessing the financial institution's database using the individual login information of multiple services linked to the above-mentioned common login information. In addition, by granting bonus points for the point service used by the user as compensation for obtaining the purchase-related information, the user can be motivated to provide the purchase-related information.

In addition, if service A, from which information is obtained, doubles as a points service, even if bonus points are awarded to service X, which is another points service, the points already acquired by the user in service A will not be reduced but will be maintained. Therefore, the user will not suffer any disadvantage by providing purchase-related information.

Furthermore, a course that specifies the form of acquisition of purchase-related information is set in the integrated account that is logged in using the common login information. The course includes information that specifies, for example, the service from which information is to be acquired, the type of information to be acquired, and the timing of acquisition. Therefore, if multiple services from which information is to be acquired are registered in a course, it becomes possible to acquire a specific type of purchase-related information for the same user from these multiple services all at once at a preset timing.

[Modification]
(1) In the first embodiment, common login information of a user is acquired, and the user logs in to an integrated account based on the common login information, and purchase-related information related to a service from which information is to be acquired is acquired based on individual login information linked to the common login information in the integrated account. However, the means for acquiring purchase-related information may be configured as follows.

In other words, instead of common login information, first individual login information for a service that holds purchase-related information and second individual login information for a service that holds a point account to which bonus points are to be awarded are acquired. Then, purchase-related information is acquired based on the first individual login information, and bonus points are calculated based on the acquired purchase-related information. Finally, an instruction to award the calculated bonus points based on the second individual login information is sent to the management device of the service that holds the point account to which the bonus points are to be awarded.

The process of acquiring the first and second individual login information involves, for example, acquiring the first and second individual login information input by the user to the user terminal 3. When using such individual login information, a wide range of information, such as purchase-related information relating to any service, can be acquired. In addition, bonus points can be awarded to a points account relating to the service desired by the user each time.

(2) For example, only common login information may be used to log in to multiple services from which purchase-related information is obtained, and individual login information may be used to log in to services that hold points accounts to which bonus points are to be awarded. Also, individual login information may be used to log in to multiple services from which purchase-related information is obtained, and common login information may be used to log in to services that hold points accounts to which bonus points are to be awarded.

(3) In the first embodiment, an example was described in which purchase-related information about a user was acquired from a service that is the source of information, but the information acquired is not limited to purchase-related information. For example, survey response information, information about events or tourist spots, road congestion information, and user tweets on any topic may be acquired. Furthermore, when acquiring information from multiple services, it is not limited to acquiring a common type of information, and different types of information may be acquired collectively.

(4) In the first embodiment described above, as an example of selectively registering services to be managed in an integrated account, a case has been shown in which services to be integratedly managed are selected and registered from among services in which individual login information has been linked in advance to the common login information of the integrated account. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and after selecting the services to be integratedly managed, the individual login information corresponding to the selected services may be registered by linking them to the common login information of the integrated account.

(5) In the above first embodiment, an example was described in which the individual login information for each service used by the user, the user information related to each service, and the scraping engine are managed within an aggregation server acting as a point processing device. However, this is not limited to the above, and the individual login information for each service, the user information related to each service, and the scraping engine may be managed in a user terminal, or may be managed in a distributed manner between the aggregation server and the user terminal.

For example, all of the above information and scraping engines may be stored in a user terminal, and a similar service may be realized by software on the user terminal. That is, the point processing realized by the point processing device described in the first embodiment may be realized by an application in the user terminal. Alternatively, a similar service may be realized in a system in which the above login information is managed by a user terminal, and the user information and scraping engine related to each service are managed by an aggregation server.

(6) In the first embodiment, an example was described in which a scraping engine is used to perform purchase-related information acquisition processing in a point processing device configured as an aggregation server. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the point processing device may be configured to acquire information managed by each service by using an Application Programming Interface (API) provided by a server that operates each service from which information is acquired. Generally, there are APIs for authentication and APIs for providing data, and by using these APIs in combination, the point processing device can acquire information about a user after authenticating the user.

In addition, when each service provides information to the point processing device, the type and quality of information provided may be controlled by the API according to the user's permission information. For example, when providing payment information, it is possible to control the provision of only the payment date and time, payment item, and amount for each record, with personal information such as the user name not being provided, or to set all information, including the user's personal information, as the information to be provided.

Similarly, when providing purchase-related information, the purchase date and time, product name, purchase location, and amount can be provided for each record, and the user's personal information can be set to not be provided, or all information, including the user's personal information, can be set to be provided.

(7) As a calculation method for bonus points, the conversion coefficient for points may be varied depending on the type and quality of information acquired. For example, for users who consent to the provision of all information, including personal information, an upper limit for the conversion coefficient may be set, while for users who do not consent to the provision of personal information, the conversion coefficient may be set to a value lower than the upper limit. Also, for users who consent to the provision of payment information, an upper limit for the conversion coefficient may be set, while for users who consent to the provision of only purchase history information relating to specific products or services, the conversion coefficient may be set to a value lower than the upper limit. In this way, it is possible to award appropriate bonus points while reflecting the user's consent.

(8) In the first embodiment, the point processing device 1 calculates bonus points and notifies the point service server of instruction information for granting the calculated points. However, the present invention is not limited to this. The point processing device may only perform a process of acquiring purchase-related information from the service server from which the information is acquired, transmit the acquired purchase-related information to the point service server, and the point service server may calculate bonus points according to the received purchase-related information and grant the bonus points to the corresponding user.

In other words, each processing function of the point processing device does not necessarily have to be provided within the point processing device, but may be configured to be distributed and located in the user terminal, the service server from which information is obtained, and the point service server that awards bonus points. In other words, this invention is not limited to being realized by a single device, but also includes being realized by a system including multiple devices.

(9) When there are multiple point services that are candidates for receiving bonus points, the point processing device manages the current point award rate for the user for each point service. It then selects the point service with the highest point award rate at the current time, calculates bonus points according to the point award rate of the selected point service server, and sends an instruction to award the calculated bonus points to the selected point service. In this case, it is also possible to send the acquired information to the selected point service without calculating the bonus points. In this way, when a user uses multiple point services, it is possible to award bonus points to the point account of the point service with the highest point award rate at the current time.

(10) When there are multiple point services that are candidates for receiving bonus points, the point processing device manages the user's frequency of use of each point service. It then selects the point service that is currently most frequently used, and transmits an instruction to grant points calculated based on the acquired information or the information. In this way, when a user uses multiple point services, it becomes possible to grant bonus points to the point account of the point service that is currently most frequently used.

Other methods for selecting the point service to which bonus points will be awarded include sequentially selecting all point services currently in use, or randomly selecting the service.

(11) When the point processing device has received purchasing-related information and awarded points to a user in return for it, the point processing device may generate point award history information and store it in a history database. The point award history information may, for example, be composed of a user ID or a purchasing-related information provider ID, associated with the date and time of acquisition of the purchasing-related information, an identification name of the acquired purchasing-related information, and the type and number of points awarded. When the point processing device receives a request to inquire about point award history information from a user terminal or a terminal of a person in charge of a business partner service, it searches the history database for the corresponding point award history information and transmits it to the requesting terminal. This allows the user to confirm what type and how many points he or she has received in return for providing purchasing-related information in the past. In addition, the provider of purchasing-related information can confirm what type and how many points have been awarded to the user in return for acquiring purchasing-related information.

In addition, the types and configurations of the point processing device and user terminal, as well as the information stored in the login information storage unit and point conversion table storage unit, can be modified in various ways without departing from the spirit of this invention.

In short, this invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiment as it is, and in the implementation stage, the components can be modified and embodied without departing from the gist of the invention. Furthermore, various inventions can be formed by appropriately combining multiple components disclosed in the above-mentioned embodiment. For example, some components may be deleted from all the components shown in the embodiment. Furthermore, components from different embodiments may be appropriately combined.

100...Login information database, 200...Purchase related information acquisition unit, 300...Bonus point calculation unit, 400...X service point account, E1...A service database, E2...B service database, E3...C service database, NW...Network, 1...Point processing device, 11...Control unit, 111...Login information acquisition unit, 112...Purchase related information acquisition unit, 113...Bonus point calculation unit, 114...Point allocation instruction unit, 12...Storage unit, 121...Login information storage unit, 122...Purchase related information storage unit, 123...Point conversion table storage unit, 13...Communication interface unit, 2X...X service system, 2A...A service system, 21X, 21A...Management device, 22X, 22A...User information database, 3...User terminal.

Claims (7)

A processor of an information processing device connectable to one or more servers,
receiving input of login information for logging in to one or more first services, including a service for selling goods or a service for providing services, selectively registered by a predetermined user, and a second service designated as a point grant destination;
receiving input of permission information of the predetermined user for use of information related to the one or more first services;
receiving , from the server, an output of information relating to the predetermined user based on the received login information in response to the permission information;
receiving from the server an output of bonus points available for a predetermined service in exchange for the information about the user;
A program for executing the above. registering a plurality of individual login information corresponding to services used by the predetermined user, including the first service and the second service, and common login information of an integrated account linked to the plurality of individual login information;
the first service and the second service are selectively registered from among services corresponding to the plurality of individual login information registered in association with the common login information;
The program according to claim 1 . The program according to claim 2, further comprising: a My Page screen having check boxes for selecting desired services so that the specified user can selectively register the first service and the second service from among the services corresponding to the individual login information, the My Page screen having check boxes for selecting desired services is displayed. The program described in claim 3, wherein a course is set on the My Page screen for specifying the form of acquisition of information regarding the user , and the course includes at least information specifying the type of service that the specified user has consented to using and the timing of acquisition. The program according to any one of claims 1 to 4 , wherein the type or quality of information about the user acquired from the database related to the one or more first services is controlled according to the permission information of the specific user. The program according to any one of claims 1 to 5 , wherein the bonus points available for use in the predetermined service are awarded while maintaining the points acquired by the user in the first service. A method implemented by an information processing device connectable to one or more servers, comprising:
receiving input of login information for logging in to one or more first services, including a service for selling goods or a service for providing services, selectively registered by a predetermined user, and a second service designated as a point grant destination;
receiving input of permission information of the predetermined user for use of information related to the one or more first services;
receiving, in response to the permission information, an output of information relating to the given user from a database associated with the one or more first services based on the received login information;
receiving from the server an output of bonus points available for a predetermined service as compensation for the information about the user;
Method.