JP2002230647A - Commodity sales system using point - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To improve the convenience in settling of purchased commodities and receive services privileged to a member by directly transferring cash to an account of a store by a customer, converting it into point numbers, controlling it in a point bank account, and settling the amount in purchasing the commodities by the point account. SOLUTION: This commodity sales system 1 using the point is formed by connecting a financial institution's computer 10 informing the store the amount of money transferred from a customer's account to the store's bank account 11, a customer's terminal 120 to which the customer sends a command to transfer the amount to the financial institution's bank account 10, the store's terminal 110 settling the purchased commodities by the point number using a membership card, and a host computer 100 having the point account 400 of the customer and renewing the point account 400 by membership card settlement and the cash transfer, to the Internet 200.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a system for providing point service to a customer at the time of selling goods at a retail store. The present invention relates to a merchandise sales system using settlement points.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, when a retail store sells a product to a customer, the customer is provided with a number of points corresponding to the purchase price, and the points are accumulated. Exchange for, or pay for,
And other services. This point service is a kind of prize exchange and discount service, and payment for merchandise purchase is usually made with cash or a card of a financial institution.

According to Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 9-101988,
Accumulate the number of points served on the loyalty card,
A point card system is described in which cash is converted at a predetermined conversion according to the number of points. This gazette is used for a service that converts the number of points into cash and rebates the customer with cash. Therefore, the product purchase settlement itself is not performed by the number of points.

According to Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 5-324998,
It is described that a prepaid balance, a receivable balance, and a point balance are recorded on the customer's IC card, and that the customer can select a payment method from among cash, a prepaid balance, a receivable balance, and a point balance. In this gazette, customers pre-paid balances at financial institutions,
Payment will be made with an IC card. Then, it is possible to use the point balance for settlement.

[0005] In the above two publications, merchandise is purchased at a store with cash or a prepaid balance, but if there is a point balance, it can be used for a part of the payment amount. Further, in order to apply the prepaid balance to payment, a procedure for increasing the prepaid balance at the financial institution must be performed in advance.

[0006]

Conventionally, merchandise sales at stores are usually settled by cash, and there is a troublesome exchange of cash. Recently, financial cards have been used instead of cash exchange. But,
In order to handle financial cards at stores, the stores must operate in cooperation with financial institutions and card companies, so the cost of the alliance is high. In addition, since there are a plurality of financial card companies, it is necessary that the financial institutions and the financial card companies used by both the store and the customer match. In addition, the prepaid card needs to be transferred to a customer's own IC card in advance at a financial institution.

[0007] It has become popular for customers to transact with a financial institution via a network through their own personal computers, so that customers can transfer money to a designated account using their own terminal without going to the financial institution.

[0008] An object of the present invention is to improve the convenience of a customer by transferring cash to a store through a financial institution, depositing the cash in his or her own point account, and paying for the purchase of goods with the point account.

[0009] Further, another object is to provide a service in which a store makes a customer a member and gives a privilege, differentiates the customer from other customers, and utilizes the customer acquisition and expansion. Further, other purposes are:
The merchandise can be purchased with the membership card, so that the customer does not need to have cash or another financial institution card.

[0010]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Therefore, according to the present invention,
When a customer purchases an item, the customer is provided with the number of points corresponding to the purchase amount, the points are accumulated, and the points that can be converted into the amount of the points and applied to the customer's payment are used. In the merchandise sales system, the customer transfers cash to the account of the store in which the customer is a member through his / her own account, converts the cash into a point number and deposits the cash into a point account managed by the store. The payment is made with a member card.

Further, the merchandise sales system using the points includes a financial institution computer in which a customer transfers money from his / her own customer account to a store account opened by a store, or debits from the customer account in response to a request for debiting the store. Connects the customer terminal that sends a transfer instruction to the financial institution computer to the financial institution computer, a customer terminal that is installed in the store, and that uses the member card to settle the customer's membership card authentication and product purchase payment with the point account using the customer card, And a host computer that manages the customer's point account and updates the point account by settlement with the membership card and transfer and debit to the financial institution computer, connected to the Internet.

Further, the point account is provided with an item number assigned each time the point account is updated by a transaction, a date on which the item number is assigned, a transfer amount from a financial institution, and a customer account of the financial institution. , The number of points converted from the transfer amount at a predetermined conversion rate, the number of points paid for the purchase of goods, the accumulated point balance of the number of points entered and withdrawn, the purchase amount of goods, and the point account update And a brief description.

[0013] Further, the conversion rate is set according to a transfer amount by a member privilege determined by the store.

[0014] Further, the member card includes a member identification of the customer, a name of the customer, gender, age, date of birth, address of the customer, and a password of the customer.

Further, the shop terminal has a card reading section for reading a card, a point input section for inputting the number of points corresponding to the amount of goods by keyboard, a display section for monitoring the input data, and performs member authentication and point processing. A processing program, a data buffer of a work area where processing is developed, and a processing unit that executes the processing program;
A communication unit that communicates with the host computer.

[0016]

Next, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Referring to FIG. 1 showing an embodiment of the present invention, a merchandise selling system 1 using points includes a financial institution computer 10, a host computer 100, a store terminal 110, a customer terminal 120 such as a personal computer, and the Internet. 20
0. The financial institution computer 10 has a customer account 12 and a store account 11 opened by the customer and the store, and the customer transfers money from his own account to the store's account, or the store debits the customer's account.

Referring to FIG. 2, host computer 10
0 and details of the shop terminal 110 will be described. The host computer 100 is notified by the financial institution computer 10 that the customer has transferred from his own account to the store's account or debited from his own account, and records the amount database 101 to record and the amount of the amount database 101 as a member privilege. Points database 10 for storing point accounts for accumulating the points calculated and converted by
2 and an authentication database 1 for authenticating customers with a membership card
03, a processing unit 104 for executing processing, a point calculation / conversion program 105 for converting an amount into points, customer authentication, and updating a point account; a data buffer 106 as a work area for executing processing;
Interface 1 for receiving a transfer amount notification from the financial institution computer 10 and a communication unit 107 for communicating with the
08.

The store terminal 110 includes a card reading unit 111 for reading a membership card, a point input unit 112 for inputting a product selling price in points when selling a product, and a display unit 113 for displaying a point input and authentication data input on a monitor.
An input / output control unit 114 for controlling input / output, a processing unit 115 for executing input / output processing, a processing program 116 for input / output processing, a data buffer 117 as a work area for executing the processing program, and a host computer. 1
And a communication unit 118 for communicating with the communication unit 00.

FIG. 3 shows a flow in which a customer transfers money from his / her own financial institution account to a store account. Customer terminal 1
Reference numeral 20 denotes a terminal owned by the customer.
The customer can operate the computer to connect to the financial institution computer 10 and issue a transfer instruction from the own account 12 to the store account 11.

FIG. 4 shows an operation when a customer purchases a product at a store. The member card 301 is the card reading unit 1
11 to read and authenticate that the customer is a member.
The merchandise point 302 is a value indicating the merchandise price to be sold by the number of points, and is input to the point input unit 112.
The customer purchases a product by performing member authentication using the member card 301 and inputting a point of the product price.

FIG. 5 shows a point account 400 established for a member customer. The item number 401 is a number given each time a point account is updated by a transaction. Date 402 is
The date on which the point account was updated. The point balance 403 indicates the current amount of points. The account transfer amount 404 is the amount transferred from the customer's own account to the store account. The debit amount 405 indicates the amount debited by the store from the customer's account to its own account. The product sale 406 indicates the price of the product sold by the store to the customer.
The summary 407 indicates the content of the transaction. Point account 400
Is updated by the sale, transfer, and debit of the product, and the point balance is indicated. The member privilege is applied to the addition of service points when converting the transfer amount 404 to the number of points in order to accumulate the points in the point balance 403 or lending when the point balance is insufficient.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS.
The operation will be described with reference to the data entered in FIG. First, creation of point data used in product sales will be described. In FIG. 3, a member who is a customer
Using his / her own customer terminal 120, the user designates a necessary transfer from the customer-related account 12 to the store account 11. As a result, the amount is transferred from the customer account 12 to the store account 11. The host computer 100 of the store is notified of the transferred amount via the account interface 108. In FIG. 2, the processing unit 104 of the host computer 100 stores the notified amount in the data buffer 106, and then updates the financial database 101 according to the amount. Further, based on the updated financial database 101, the number of points is calculated and converted according to the point and conversion program 105, and the point account 400 of the point database 102 is updated. When a store sells a product to a customer, the number of payment points is determined by the point account 4 in the point database 102 of the host computer 100 of the store.
Update 00.

Next, the flow of member authentication and point payment will be described with reference to FIG. The processing unit 115 of the store terminal 110
After storing the authentication data of the membership card read via the card reading unit 111 in the data buffer, the communication unit 118
Via the host computer 100. on the other hand,
The host computer 100 stores the authentication data received via the communication unit 107 in the data buffer 106,
It is checked with the authentication data of the authentication database 103 whether or not the user is a member. Then, the determination result is transmitted to the store device 110. When the store terminal 110 receives the determination that the member is a member, the store terminal 110 permits point input, stores the number of points of the product input to the point input unit 112 in the data buffer 117, and transmits the number of points to the host computer 100. Host computer 100 receiving this
Stores the number of points in the data buffer 106, and deducts and updates the points from the point balance 403 of the point account 400 in the point database 103.
If the point balance 403 interrupts beyond the member privilege, it transmits to the shop terminal 110 that sales cannot be performed.

Next, the sale of goods (purchase of goods by a customer) at the shop terminal 110 will be described. In FIG. 4, the store clerk or the customer causes the card reading unit 111 of the store terminal 110 to read the member card 301. When the user is authenticated as a member, the merchandise point 302 is input to the point input unit 112. As described above, if there is no problem such as a shortage in the point balance 403, the sale of the product is completed.

Next, the flow of merchandise sales and merchandise payment will be described with reference to specific data illustrated in the point account 400 of FIG. Since the customer has transferred 5,000 yen to the store account, the point balance becomes 5,000 points (item number 1). By selling 2000 points (yen) of goods, 2000 points are deducted and the point balance becomes 3000 points (item number 2). Product 400
By selling 0 points (yen), 4000 points are deducted and the point balance becomes (minus) 1000 points (item number 3). It should be noted that the minus 1000 points of the balance points are due to the member privilege enabling the point lending with a limit of 5000 points. With a regular debit from the store to the customer account for the financial institution,
At this point, since the points are (minus) 1000, 1000 points of 1000 yen are deducted,
The balance point becomes 0 (item number 4). Since the customer has transferred 10,000 yen from the account 12 of the customer to the account 11, 1000 points of the member privilege service are added, and the point balance becomes 11000 points (item number 5). By selling 8000 points (yen) of goods,
8000 points are deducted and the point balance is 3000
It becomes a point (item number 6). In the regular debit of the account, since the number of points is not negative at this point, there is no debit from the account 12, and there is no change in the point balance (item number 7).

The above is an example of the flow of the settlement of merchandise sales and merchandise payment with points. Note that the member privilege here is provided by the store as a service to the member, and a service of lending up to 5,000 points and additional points of 10,000 points or more (1000 points)
When making a transfer of 0 yen or more), one of the points
This service adds 0%.

[0027]

The first effect of the present invention is that customers and stores do not need to deal with cash in selling goods,
This eliminates the hassle of selling and improves convenience.

The second effect is that merchandise can be purchased with a member card issued by a store. Therefore, there is no need to deal with various types of financial cards, there is no need to partner with a card company, and the cost can be reduced.

The third effect is that the point service makes it easy to perform services such as point addition of member benefits according to the store's own rules, and it is possible to improve customer service.・ Useful for expansion.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing details of a host computer and a shop terminal of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a flow of operations among a customer terminal, a financial institution computer, and a store terminal.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an operation on a store terminal.

FIG. 5 is a diagram exemplifying the structure and update status of a point account.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Product sales system using points 10 Financial institution computer 11 Store account 12 Customer account 100 Host computer 101 Financial database 102 Point database 103 Authentication database 104 Processing unit 105 Point calculation / conversion program 106 Data buffer 107 Communication unit 108 Account interface 110 Store Terminal 111 Card reading unit 112 Point input unit 113 Display unit 114 Input / output control unit 115 Processing unit 116 Processing program 117 Data buffer 118 Communication unit 120 Customer terminal 200 Internet

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Claims (7)

[Claims] When a customer purchases a product, the customer is provided with a number of points corresponding to the purchase price, the number of points is accumulated, and the number of points is converted to the amount paid by the customer and applied to the customer. In a product sales system using points that can be made, a customer transfers cash to an account of a store in which the customer is a member through his / her own account, converts the cash into a point number, and deposits the cash into a point account managed by the store. A merchandise sales system using points, wherein the purchase is settled by a member card in the point account. 2. A merchandise sales system using the points, a financial institution computer in which a customer transfers money from his / her own customer account to a store account opened by a store, or debits from the customer account in response to a request for debiting the store. Connecting the customer terminal that sends a transfer instruction to the financial institution computer to the financial institution computer, a shop terminal installed in the store, and performing settlement by the membership card of the customer's membership card and payment of the product purchase by the membership card with the point account; Manage customer loyalty accounts,
2. The merchandise sales system using points according to claim 1, wherein a host computer for updating a point account by settlement with the membership card and transfer and debit to the financial institution computer is connected to the Internet. 3. The point account, an item number assigned each time the point account is updated by a transaction, a date on which the item number is assigned, a transfer amount from a financial institution, and a customer account of the financial institution. , The number of points converted from the transfer amount at a specified conversion rate, the number of points paid for product purchases, the accumulated point balance of the number of points entered and withdrawn, the product purchase price, and the point account update 2. A merchandise sales system using points according to claim 1, wherein the system further comprises: 4. The merchandise selling system using points according to claim 3, wherein the conversion rate is set according to a transfer amount according to a member privilege determined by the store. 5. The membership card according to claim 1, wherein the membership card includes a customer identification, a customer name, a customer's gender, age, date of birth, address, and a customer password. Product sales system using points. 6. The store terminal, a card reading unit for reading a card, a point input unit for inputting a number of points corresponding to the amount of goods to a keyboard, a display unit for monitoring input data, and a member authentication and point process. 3. The point according to claim 2, further comprising: a processing program, a data buffer of a work area in which processing is developed, a processing unit that executes the processing program, and a communication unit that communicates with the host computer. 4. Product sales system. 7. The merchandise selling system using points according to claim 2, wherein the customer terminal is a personal computer installed or carried by a customer.