JP7633294B2 - Application program, payment system, and terminal device control method - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an application program, a payment system, and a method for controlling a terminal device.

Conventionally, electronic payment services that use user terminals owned by users are known. For example, Patent Document 1 proposes an electronic payment system that executes electronic payments by displaying code information such as a barcode or QR code (registered trademark) on a user terminal and having a payment terminal installed in a store read the code information.

JP 2022-157339 A

However, in the electronic payment system described in Patent Document 1, the code information displayed on the user terminal needs to be read by a payment terminal installed in the store, and the payment process cannot be completed by operating the user terminal alone, which can be inconvenient for users.

The present invention has been made in consideration of these circumstances, and one of its objectives is to provide an application program, a payment system, and a control method for a terminal device that can improve the convenience of users in electronic payments.

One aspect of the present invention is an application program that causes a terminal device capable of communicating with a payment server via a network to acquire first identification information for identifying an affiliated store to which a store selling a product belongs, acquire second identification information for identifying the product, acquire the price of the product corresponding to the first identification information and the second identification information, and transmit payment information for performing payment processing for the product, including a payment amount based on the price of the product, to the payment server in response to an instruction from a user who possesses the terminal device.

According to one aspect of the present invention, it is possible to provide an application program, a payment system, and a method for controlling a terminal device that can improve the convenience of users in electronic payments.

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. 13 is a diagram showing an example of the contents of product information 178. FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of the contents of coupon information 180. FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram of a user terminal device 200. FIG. 3 shows an example of a store code reading screen 300 of the payment application 20. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of a product code reading screen 310 of the payment application 20. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of a shopping cart screen 320 of the payment application 20. FIG. 3 shows an example of a payment screen 330 of the payment application 20. FIG. 11 is a sequence diagram illustrating an example of a general flow of electronic payment by a second user scan.

Below, with reference to the drawings, an embodiment of the application program, the payment system, and the control method of the terminal device 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 the real world, 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 200, 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 200 is, for example, a portable terminal device such as a smartphone or a tablet terminal. The user terminal device 200 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 200, a processor such as a CPU executes a payment app 20, thereby operating to provide electronic payment services to users in cooperation with the payment server 100. The payment app 20 is installed in the user terminal device 200 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 200 by executing the app for affiliated stores.

The payment server 100 realizes electronic payment based on payment information received from the user terminal device 200 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 types of 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 200 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 a domain of an electronic payment service to which information capable of identifying a store is added, and is associated with an affiliated store ID, a 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 information on the affiliated store name and the store name (S3), and transmits it to the payment application 20 (S4). The user inputs the payment amount into the user terminal device 200 on the screen on which the affiliated store name and the store name are displayed (S5). Then, the user terminal device 200 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 information on the payment amount as well as the store URL. In this case, the procedure in which the user inputs the payment amount is omitted, and the first payment information includes information on the payment amount and is transmitted to the payment server 100. Information on the affiliated store name and store name may be included in the payment completion screen and displayed.

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 (registered trademark) or a barcode generated based on the one-time code (S14). The user holds (presents) the display surface of the user terminal device 200 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 this case, the payment server 100 identifies the user corresponding to the account ID instead of identifying the user corresponding to the one-time code.

[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, 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, affiliated store/shop information 176, product information 178, and coupon information 180.

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 200. 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 200. The user terminal device 200 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 200 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, a bank account, a credit card number, charge history information, payment history information, points, a coupon ID, a stamp card, and the like. 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 a registered bank account. 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 number are information on a bank account or credit card number (account number, card number) that can be used to deposit funds into the electronic payment service. The charge history information is a history of the user transferring funds to the electronic payment service in advance to increase the charge balance. The payment history information is information showing the details of the payment made by the user (date and time, store ID of the store where the purchase was made, payment amount, payment method, etc.) for each payment. The points are a value acquired each time an electronic payment is made using the payment application 20, and can be used as electronic money in the electronic payment service. The coupon ID is identification information for identifying a coupon owned by the user. The stamp card is information on a stamp card owned by the user, and may include information on the number of stamps on the stamp card and the discount amount that can be applied when purchasing a product. A stamp card may exist for each of multiple affiliated stores, and may be associated with an affiliated store ID described later.

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 affiliated store IDs and store IDs are associated with store URLs, a second table 176B in which affiliated store names and sales amounts (described above) are associated with affiliated store IDs, and a third table 176C in which store names are associated with store IDs. In addition to this information, affiliated store/store information 176 may also include information such as the affiliated store or store category, store location, and payment patterns.

Figure 7 is a diagram showing an example of the contents of product information 178. Product information 178 is information about products for each affiliated store. Product information 178 is input using the second store terminal device 70, collected by the payment server 100 from the second store terminal device 70, and stored in the memory unit 170. Product information 178 is, for example, information that associates the affiliated store ID, product ID, product name, genre, price, image, and other information. The affiliated store ID is the same as that described in Figure 6. Product ID is identification information for identifying the product. Product name is information indicating the name of the product. Genre is information indicating the genre to which the product belongs (e.g., food, drink, magazine, etc.). Price is information indicating the price of the product. Image is information indicating an image of the product, but may also be an address of a location where the image of the product is stored.

In this way, product information 178 is information that associates the affiliated store ID with information about the product (product ID, product name, genre, price, image). Therefore, even if the product is the same, it can be sold at different prices depending on the affiliated store.

Figure 8 is a diagram showing an example of the contents of coupon information 180. Coupon information 180 is information indicating the contents of an electronic coupon that can be used to discount a product. Coupon information 180 is input using the second store terminal device 70, collected from the second store terminal device 70 by the payment server 100, and stored in the memory unit 170. Coupon information 180 is information in which, for example, a coupon ID, product ID, discount amount, expiration date, and other information are associated. The coupon ID is identification information for identifying the coupon. The product ID is the same as that described in Figure 7. The discount amount is information regarding the amount that can be discounted from the price of the product by using the coupon. The expiration date is information regarding the expiration date until which the coupon can be used.

The information management unit 140 manages the user information 172, affiliated store/store information 176, product information 178, and coupon information 180 based on information acquired from the user terminal device 200 and the second store terminal device 70. The information management unit 140 adds new records, edits, deletes, etc. for the user information 172, affiliated store/store information 176, product information 178, and coupon information 180.

[Electronic Payment]
When payment information is obtained from the user terminal device 200 or the first store terminal device 50, the payment processing unit 130 refers to the user information 172 to obtain 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 payment 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 payment amount exceeds the available deferred payment amount at the time of provisional payment, an error notification is returned to the payment application 20.

[User terminal device]
9 is a configuration diagram of the user terminal device 200. The user terminal device 200 includes, for example, a communication unit 210, a display unit 220, an input unit 230, a control unit 240, and a storage unit 250. The communication unit 210 is a communication interface for communicating with the payment server 100. The display unit 220 and the input unit 230 are realized, for example, by a touch panel display.

The control unit 240 is realized, for example, by a hardware processor such as a CPU executing a program (software). Some or all of these components may be realized by hardware (including circuit units) such as an LSI, ASIC, FPGA, or GPU, or may be realized by a combination of software and hardware. The program may be stored in advance in a storage device such as an 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 250 is a HDD, flash memory, RAM, or the like. The storage unit 250 may be a NAS device that the user terminal device 200 can access via a network. The storage unit 250 stores user information 252, the payment app 20, and the like. The user information 252 is part or all of the information of the record corresponding to the user who owns the user terminal device 200, among the user information 172 shown in FIG. 5. The payment app 20 is read and executed by a hardware processor (such as a CPU) in the user terminal device 200.

[Second User Scan]
In the user scan described in Fig. 2 (hereinafter referred to as the first user scan), the user must line up at the cash register installed in the store and input the payment amount told by the clerk into the user terminal device 200. Therefore, the user must line up at the cash register where the clerk is, and if there are many people lined up at the cash register, the waiting time may be long. Furthermore, when performing the first user scan, the user must show the clerk even products that the clerk does not want to see and have them scanned at the cash register, so the user's privacy may not be guaranteed.

Therefore, in this embodiment, we propose a second user scan that allows users to perform payment processing simply by operating the user terminal device 200, without the need for users to line up at the cash register or contact a store clerk. By performing a second user scan, it is possible to improve the convenience of users in electronic payments. Details of the second user scan are described below.

[Payment app display screen]
Fig. 10 is a diagram showing an example of a store code reading screen 300 of the payment application 20. When the payment application 20 is started up on the user terminal device 200 and the user selects (tap) an icon corresponding to the second user scan on the home screen of the payment application 20, the store code reading screen 300 shown in Fig. 10 is displayed on the display unit 220 of the user terminal device 200.

As shown in FIG. 10, the user terminal device 200 reads and decodes the store code image 60 using an optical reading function. This allows the user terminal device 200 to obtain a store URL with information that can identify the store added to the domain of the electronic payment service. The user terminal device 200 transmits first payment information including the store URL and account ID to the payment server 100. The payment server 100 transmits the affiliated store ID, affiliated store name, and store name corresponding to the store URL to the user terminal device 200.

In this way, the control unit 240 of the user terminal device 200 reads the store code image (first code information) 60 installed in the store using the camera mounted on the user terminal device 200, decodes the read store code image 60, and obtains the affiliated store ID from the payment server 100 based on the store URL obtained by decoding. This allows the user terminal device 200 to identify the affiliated store where the user is trying to purchase a product.

Figure 11 is a diagram showing an example of a product code reading screen 310 of the payment application 20. When the store code image 60 is read on the store code reading screen 300 of Figure 10, the product code reading screen 310 shown in Figure 11 is displayed on the display unit 220 of the user terminal device 200.

The product code reading screen 310 includes a reading area 311, a shopping cart button 312, and a payment button 313. The reading area 311 is an area that is read by the camera of the user terminal device 200. Products are marked with a barcode that encodes the product ID. When the user places a product in the reading area 311 so that the product's barcode is visible, the product's barcode is read and decoded by the optical reading function of the user terminal device 200.

In this way, the control unit 240 of the user terminal device 200 reads the barcode (second code information) attached to the product using the camera mounted on the user terminal device 200, and decodes the read barcode. This allows the user terminal device 200 to obtain a product ID for identifying the product.

The user terminal device 200 transmits the affiliated store ID and the product ID to the payment server 100. The payment server 100 reads information (product name, genre, price, image) corresponding to the affiliated store ID and the product ID received from the user terminal device 200 from the product information 178 in the memory unit 170, and transmits the read information to the user terminal device 200.

The user terminal device 200 adds products to the shopping cart based on the information received from the payment server 100. The shopping cart is a function for temporarily storing products to be purchased. The shopping cart button 312 is a button for displaying a shopping cart screen 320 (described later) on the display unit 220. The payment button 313 is a button for displaying a payment screen 330 (described later) on the display unit 220.

Figure 12 is a diagram showing an example of a shopping cart screen 320 of the payment application 20. When a user selects (tap) the shopping cart button 312 shown in Figure 11, the shopping cart screen 320 shown in Figure 12 is displayed on the display unit 220 of the user terminal device 200.

The shopping cart screen 320 includes information about a product to be purchased 321, cashback information 322, a coupon 323, a stamp card 324, a scan button 325, and a payment button 326. The information about a product to be purchased 321 is information showing information (product name, genre, price, image) about a product to be purchased that has been added to the shopping cart. The cashback information 322 is information including the conditions for cashback. In the example shown in FIG. 12, a message saying "Add one more product and get a 10% cashback!" is displayed as the cashback information 322.

Coupon 323 is information about coupons that can be applied to products to be purchased that are included in the shopping cart. For example, the user terminal device 200 transmits the product ID of the product to be purchased that is included in the shopping cart to the payment server 100. The payment server 100 reads information about coupons that can be applied to the product with the product ID received from the user terminal device 200 (coupon ID, product ID, discount amount, expiration date) from the coupon information 180 in the memory unit 170. The payment server 100 also refers to the coupon column of the user information 172 in the memory unit 170 to determine whether the user has a coupon that can be applied to the product to be purchased. If the user has a coupon that can be applied to the product to be purchased, the payment server 100 transmits information about the coupon (coupon ID, product ID, discount amount, expiration date, etc.) to the user terminal device 200. The user terminal device 200 displays coupons 323 that can be applied to the products to be purchased that are included in the shopping cart on the display unit 220 based on the information received from the payment server 100.

The stamp card 324 is information about the stamp card owned by the user. The stamp card is a card on which stamps are pressed according to the user's visit to a store or the payment amount, and the user can receive a discount according to the number of stamps pressed on the stamp card. For example, the user terminal device 200 transmits the affiliated store ID to the payment server 100. The payment server 100 refers to the stamp card column of the user information 172 in the memory unit 170 and determines whether the user owns a stamp card corresponding to the affiliated store ID received from the user terminal device 200. If the user owns a stamp card corresponding to the affiliated store ID received from the user terminal device 200, the payment server 100 transmits information about the stamp card (number of stamps, discount amount, etc.) to the user terminal device 200. The user terminal device 200 displays the stamp card 324 that can be used at the affiliated store visited by the user on the display unit 220 based on the information received from the payment server 100.

The scan button 325 is a button for scanning other products. When a user selects (tap) the scan button 325, the product code reading screen 310 shown in FIG. 11 is displayed on the display unit 220 of the user terminal device 200. The payment button 326 is a button for displaying a payment screen 330, which will be described later, on the display unit 220.

Figure 13 is a diagram showing an example of a payment screen 330 of the payment application 20. When a user selects (tap) the payment button 313 shown in Figure 11 or the payment button 326 shown in Figure 12, the payment screen 330 shown in Figure 13 is displayed on the display unit 220 of the user terminal device 200.

The payment screen 330 includes information about the product to be purchased 331, information about points to be earned 332, a total amount 333, a payment completion button 334, and a back button 335. Information about the product to be purchased 331 is information about the product to be purchased (product name, price), and may include the amount of discount available through the use of a coupon or stamp card. Information about points to be earned 332 is information about points to be earned through this purchase. The total amount 333 is the amount to be paid by the user, which is the total amount of the products to be purchased minus the discount amount.

The payment completion button 334 is a button for instructing payment of the amount shown in the total amount 333. When the user selects (tap) the payment completion button 334, the user terminal device 200 transmits payment information, including the payment amount, to the payment server 100. The payment server 100 performs electronic payment based on the payment information received from the user terminal device 200.

For example, if the user has a coupon that can be applied to the product that the user is trying to purchase, the control unit 240 calculates the payment amount (total amount 333) taking into account the discount amount provided by the coupon, and transmits payment information including the calculated payment amount to the payment server 100. This allows the user terminal device 200 to perform electronic payment taking into account the discount amount provided by the coupon.

In addition, if the user has a stamp card of the affiliated store that sells the product that the user wishes to purchase, the control unit 240 calculates the payment amount (total amount 333) taking into account the discount amount provided by the stamp card, and transmits payment information including the calculated payment amount to the payment server 100. This allows the user terminal device 200 to perform electronic payment taking into account the discount amount provided by the stamp card.

The back button 335 is a button for returning to the previous screen. When the user selects (tap) the back button 335, the user terminal device 200 displays the previous screen (the product code reading screen 310 in FIG. 11 or the shopping cart screen 320 in FIG. 12) on the display unit 220.

Figure 14 is a sequence diagram illustrating the general flow of electronic payment by the second user scan. First, the user terminal device 200 with the payment application 20 activated decodes the store code image 60 by the optical reading function (S21). The store code image 60 contains store URL information. The payment application 20 transmits the first payment information including the store URL and the account ID to the payment server 100 (S22). The payment server 100 uses the store URL to search the affiliated store/store information 176 to obtain the affiliated store ID, affiliated store name, and store name (S23), and transmits them to the payment application 20 (S24). The payment application 20 obtains the product ID by reading and decoding the barcode of the product in response to the user's operation on the product code reading screen 310 (S25). Then, the payment application 20 transmits the affiliated store ID and the product ID to the payment server 100 (S26). The payment server 100 reads information (product name, genre, price, image) corresponding to the affiliated store ID and product ID received from the payment application 20 from the product information 178 in the storage unit 170, and transmits the read information to the payment application 20 (S27). The payment application 20 adds the product to the shopping cart based on the information received from the payment server 100. The payment application 20 can add multiple products to the shopping cart by repeating the processes of S25 to S27.

When the payment button 326 is selected (tapped) on the payment screen 330, the payment app 20 calculates the payment amount (S28). The payment app 20 then generates second payment information including at least the payment amount and sends it to the payment server 100 (S29). The payment server 100 makes an electronic payment based on the received second payment information (S30). The payment server 100 then sends a payment completion notification (information for displaying a payment completion screen) to the payment app 20 (S31), and the payment app 20 displays the payment completion screen (S32).

According to the embodiment described above, the user terminal device 200 is capable of communicating with the payment server 100 via the network NW. The control unit 240 of the user terminal device 200 acquires an affiliated store ID (first identification information) for identifying the affiliated store to which the store selling the product belongs, acquires a product ID (second identification information) for identifying the product, and acquires the price of the product corresponding to the affiliated store ID and the product ID. In addition, the control unit 240 transmits payment information for performing payment processing for the product, including a payment amount based on the product price, to the payment server 100 in response to instructions from a user who possesses the user terminal device 200. This allows the user terminal device 200 to improve the user's convenience in electronic payments.

In addition, since the second user scan allows the user to purchase products without contacting the store clerk, there is a possibility that the user will take home products that have not been electronically paid for due to a mis-scanning or forgetting to scan the products. The more products the user tries to purchase, the higher the possibility of this problem occurring. Therefore, the control unit 240 of the user terminal device 200 may prohibit the second payment information from being sent to the payment server if the number of products the user tries to purchase exceeds a preset upper limit. If the number of products exceeds the preset upper limit, the user may have the store clerk check the products he or she wants to purchase, and then the upper limit may be lifted and electronic payment may be made. For example, the control unit 240 may lift the upper limit by reading code information (third code information) such as a QR code (registered trademark) owned by the store clerk using a camera mounted on the user terminal device 200. This reduces the possibility that the user will take home products that have not been electronically paid for due to a mis-scanning or forgetting to scan the products.

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.

20 Payment application 50 First store terminal device 60 Store code image 70 Second store terminal device 100 Payment server 110 Communication unit 120 Payment content providing unit 130 Payment processing unit 140 Information management unit 170 Storage unit 172 User information 174 Payment content information 176 Store information 178 Product information 180 Coupon information 200 User terminal device 210 Communication unit 220 Display unit 230 Input unit 240 Control unit 250 Storage unit

Claims (8)

A user terminal device capable of communicating with the payment server via a network,
acquiring, from the payment server, first identification information for identifying a member store to which a store selling a commodity belongs;
acquiring second identification information for identifying the product;
obtain, from the payment server, a price of the product corresponding to the first identification information and the second identification information, the price of the product being obtained based on product information which is information about the product for each of the member stores;
When the number of the products that the user carrying the user terminal device wishes to purchase exceeds a preset upper limit, prohibiting the transmission of payment information for performing payment processing for the products, including a payment amount based on the prices of the products, to the payment server;
If the transmission of the payment information to the payment server is not prohibited, the payment information is transmitted to the payment server in response to an instruction from the user.
Application program. When the user terminal device acquires the first identification information,
reading first code information provided in the store using a camera provided in the user terminal device;
Decoding the first code information that has been read;
acquiring the first identification information from the payment server based on the information obtained by the decoding;
2. The application program according to claim 1. When the user terminal device acquires the second identification information,
reading second code information attached to the product using a camera mounted on the user terminal device;
obtaining the second identification information by decoding the read second code information;
2. The application program according to claim 1. The user terminal device further includes:
determining whether the user has a coupon applicable to the product that the user wishes to purchase;
If the user has the coupon, the payment amount is calculated by subtracting the discount amount of the coupon from the total price of the product that the user wishes to purchase;
transmitting payment information including the calculated payment amount to the payment server;
2. The application program according to claim 1. The user terminal device further includes:
A determination is made as to whether or not the user has a stamp card of a store that sells the product;
If the user has the stamp card, the payment amount is calculated by subtracting the discount amount of the stamp card from the total amount of the product that the user wishes to purchase ;
transmitting payment information including the calculated payment amount to the payment server;
2. The application program according to claim 1. The user terminal device further includes:
The upper limit is lifted by reading third code information possessed by a store clerk of the store using a camera mounted on the user terminal device.
2. The application program according to claim 1. A payment server that performs payment processing;
an application program installed in a user terminal device capable of communicating with the payment server via a network;
A payment system comprising:
The application program is installed in the user terminal device.
acquiring, from the payment server, first identification information for identifying a member store to which a store selling a commodity belongs;
acquiring second identification information for identifying the product;
obtain, from the payment server, a price of the product corresponding to the first identification information and the second identification information, the price of the product being obtained based on product information which is information about the product for each of the member stores;
When the number of the products that the user carrying the user terminal device wishes to purchase exceeds a preset upper limit, prohibiting the transmission of payment information for performing payment processing for the products, including a payment amount based on the prices of the products, to the payment server;
If the transmission of the payment information to the payment server is not prohibited, transmit the payment information to the payment server in response to an instruction from the user;
The payment server performs payment processing for the product based on the payment information received from the user terminal device.
Payment system. A user terminal device capable of communicating with the payment server via a network,
Obtaining from the payment server first identification information for identifying a member store to which a store selling a commodity belongs;
acquiring second identification information for identifying the product;
Obtaining from the payment server a price of the product corresponding to the first identification information and the second identification information, the price of the product being obtained based on product information which is information about the product for each of the member stores;
prohibiting the transmission of payment information for carrying out payment processing for the products, including a payment amount based on the prices of the products, to the payment server when the number of the products that the user carrying the user terminal device wishes to purchase exceeds a preset upper limit;
If the transmission of the payment information to the payment server is not prohibited, the payment information is transmitted to the payment server in response to an instruction from the user.
A method for controlling a user terminal device.

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