JP2023096341A - Point management device, point management system, and program - Google Patents

Abstract

To motivate strongly a user to own points.SOLUTION: A point management device 10 is connected with a user terminal 20 used by a user through a communication network NW, and manages a balance of stock points distributed to the user. The point management device 10 comprises: a point management unit 17 which links the balance to a stock price, by updating the balance of the stock points according to the stock price of stocks previously associated with the stock points; and a terminal processing unit 16 which receives an exchange instruction for exchanging at least a part of the balance for the stocks, from the user terminal 20. The point management unit 17 carries out exchange processing which exchanges points according to the stock price of the stocks in the balance for the stocks, on the basis of the exchange instruction received by a terminal processing unit 20.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 11

Description

The present invention relates to point management technology for managing point balances relating to points distributed to users.

Conventionally, points are distributed to users who have purchased products handled by companies or used services, and depending on the point balance of those points, they can receive benefits such as exchanges for specific gifts and discount services. A so-called point service is provided. As a result, in order to receive the desired benefits, the user purchases products or uses services so that points can be accumulated, and the user's willingness to purchase and use can be improved (for example, non-patent literature 1, etc.).

"Point service", https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E3%83%9D%E3%82%A4%E3%83%B3%E3%83%88%E3%82%B5%E3% 83%BC%E3%83%93%E3%82%B9, Wikipedia "Blockchain Mechanism and Its Possibilities", Finance Information Technology Focus 2015.10, Nomura Research Institute

In the conventional point service, it is difficult to give the user a strong motivation to own the points because it is not sufficiently contrived to make the user want to own the points.

An object of the present invention is to solve such problems, and to provide users with a strong motivation to own points.

(1) In order to achieve such an object, a point management device according to the present invention is connected to a user terminal used by a user via a communication network, and stores the balance of points distributed to the user. a point management unit that links the balance with the price by updating the balance in accordance with the time-varying price of a product associated with the points in advance; a terminal processing unit that receives an exchange instruction to exchange the points for the product from the user terminal, and the point management unit converts the points based on the exchange instruction received by the terminal processing unit. An exchange process for exchanging points corresponding to the price of the product out of the balance for the product is performed.

The commodity may be stock.

The product may be virtual currency.

The goods may be foreign currency.

The exchange process includes a first process of subtracting the number of points corresponding to the price of the product from the balance of the points, and transferring ownership of the product for the number of points corresponding to the price to the user. and a second process for

The point management device can communicate with an account management device that manages a service provider account, which is an account of a service provider that provides services using the points, and the point management unit performs, as the second process, A process of instructing the account management device to transfer the product deposited in the account of the service provider to the account of the user may be performed.

The account of the user may be managed by the account management device.

The point management unit may not execute the process of linking the balance with the price during the exchange process.

The point management unit may perform the exchange process without intervening currency.

(2) A point monitoring system according to the present invention includes the point management device and the user terminal.

(3) A program according to the present invention is connected to a user terminal used by a user via a communication network, and stores the balance in a computer that manages the balance of points distributed to the user. A point management step of linking the balance with the price by updating according to the time-varying price of the product associated in advance; and an exchange instruction from the user terminal to exchange the points for the product. and a terminal processing step of accepting, wherein the point management step is performed based on the exchange instruction accepted by the terminal processing unit, wherein the points corresponding to the price of the product out of the balance of the points and , perform an exchange process for exchanging the goods.

(4) A point management device according to the present invention is a point management device that is connected to a user terminal used by a user via a communication network and manages the balance of points distributed to the user, From a point management unit that links the balance with the price by updating the balance according to the price of a virtual currency or foreign currency that is pre-associated with the points, and from the user terminal that indicates the inquiry of the balance and a terminal processing unit that notifies the user terminal of the new balance of the user updated by the point management unit in response to the balance inquiry request of the above.

(5) A point monitoring system according to the present invention includes the point management device and the user terminal.

(6) A program according to the present invention is connected to a user terminal used by a user via a communication network, and stores the balance in a computer that manages the balance of points distributed to the user. a point management step of linking the balance with the price by updating according to the price of a virtual currency or foreign currency associated in advance; and a terminal processing step of notifying the user terminal of the new balance of the user updated by the point management step.

According to the above inventions (1) to (3), the points can be exchanged for linked products, giving the user a strong motivation to own the points. Furthermore, according to the above inventions (4) to (6), since the point balance is linked to the virtual currency or the foreign currency, the user is strongly motivated to own the points.

1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a point management system according to a first embodiment; FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a point management system according to a first embodiment; FIG. It is a configuration example of a point issuance table. It is a configuration example of a point balance table according to the first embodiment. 4 is a sequence diagram showing operations of the point management system according to the first embodiment; FIG. FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing an operation example of the point management system according to the first embodiment; It is an example of a stock point balance inquiry screen. It is a configuration example of a point balance table according to the second embodiment. FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram showing an operation example of the point management system according to the second embodiment; It is a schematic diagram of a point management system according to a third embodiment. It is a schematic diagram of a point management system according to a fourth embodiment. FIG. 12 is a sequence diagram showing operations of the point management system according to the fourth embodiment; It is an example of a screen displayed on the user terminal when stock points are exchanged for stocks. FIG. 20 is a diagram showing how stocks are transferred from a service provider account to a user account in the fourth embodiment; It is a figure which shows an example of the main part of the hardware constitutions of a point management apparatus.

Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Embodiments related to point management technology will be described below as first to third embodiments, and point balances and prices managed by the point management techniques described in the first to third embodiments will change over time. An embodiment relating to technology for exchanging stocks, which is an example of a commodity that changes dynamically, will be described as a fourth embodiment.

[First embodiment]
First, a point management system 1 according to the first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the point management system according to the first embodiment. FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of the point management system according to the first embodiment.

This point management system 1 includes a plurality of user terminals 20 used by users, and a point management device 10 connected to the user terminals 20 via a communication network NW. It is a service system that manages the point balance related to points. Among them, the user terminal 20 is an information processing terminal such as a smart phone, tablet, or personal computer, and the point management device 10 is an information processing device such as a server.

The points according to the present embodiment are points distributed to users who purchase products handled by companies or use services. It is characterized by being a stock price-linked point that is linked to the stock price of a pre-designated company, such as affiliated companies and partner companies related to . Below, the stock price-linked points according to the present embodiment are called stock points, and the quantity thereof is called sp.

As shown in FIG. 2, when company A plans a promotion and distributes points to users, first, company A requests the point management system 1 to issue stock points. At this time, a purchase fund W for purchasing the stock that is the source of the stock points and a point rate R indicating the amount per 1sp are specified. The purchase fund W is changed for each promotion according to the scale of the promotion, but the point rate R is constant for each company (stock brand).

In response to this, the point management system 1 requests the trust company to purchase the shares of the company A with the purchase funds W, and the trust company purchases the shares of the company A for the purchase funds W from the stock market. be. After that, the trust company notifies the point management system 1 of the reference stock price P indicating the stock price of the purchased stock and the number of purchased stocks N as the purchase result, and based on the purchase result, the purchased stock is used as the capital. Stock points are issued to company A from the point management system 1 .

At this time, the number M of stock points to be issued using the purchased stocks as the source of funds is calculated based on the reference stock price P, the number of purchased stocks N, and the point rate R. For example, as shown in FIG. 2, if the purchase capital W is 1 million yen and the stock price of company A is 8,000 yen, ignoring fees and fractions, 125 shares (= W/P = 1 million yen/8,000 yen) yen). Therefore, if the point rate R is 1 yen per 1 sp, the number of issued points M is 1,000,000 sp (=P×N/R=8000 yen×125 shares/1).

The company A assigns the stock points issued by the point management system 1 to the goods and services and distributes them to the users. For example, when giving to PET bottles, a QR code (registered trademark) may be attached to the seal attached to the cap, and the point ID for identifying the stock points and the number of points to be distributed may be encrypted and given. When provided to the service, the encrypted data including the point ID and the number of points may be distributed by e-mail. Unauthorized point registration is eliminated by encrypting the point ID and the number of points relating to the distributed stock points.

The user acquires encrypted data relating to stock points given to goods and services at the user terminal 20, and sends points including encrypted data to the point management device 10 of the point management system 1 at the user terminal 20. A stock point registration is requested by transmitting information using a protocol such as HTTP.

As a result, the stock points given to the product or service are registered as the user's stock points.

After that, the point balance of the user's stock points is updated by the point management device 10 in accordance with the arrival of the timing linked to the stock prices. The stock price linkage timing may be set at regular time intervals, but the processing load increases according to the number of users. The processing may be executed after the

As a result, the point balance of the user's stock points is linked to the stock price P of the designated company A. can be exchanged using a protocol such as HTTP to check the point balance.

[Point management device]
Next, the configuration of the point management device 10 according to the present embodiment will be described in detail with reference to FIG.

As shown in FIG. 1, the point management device 10 includes, as main functional units, a communication I/F unit 11, an operation input unit 12, a screen display unit 13, a point DB 14, a stock price acquisition unit 15, a terminal processing unit 16, and a point management unit 17 are provided.

The communication I/F unit 11 has a function of performing data communication with the user terminal 20 and the stock price providing server 30 via the communication network NW.

The operation input unit 12 includes an operation input device such as a keyboard, a mouse, and a touch panel, and has a function of detecting operator's operations.

The screen display unit 13 is composed of a screen display device such as an LCD, and has a function of displaying an operation menu, setting data, and management data on the screen.

The point DB 14 comprises a storage device such as a hard disk or a semiconductor memory, and is a database that stores various processing information used for stock point management. Main processing information stored in the point DB 14 includes a point issue table and a point balance table.

FIG. 3 is a configuration example of a point issuing table. The point issuance table is a table in which information indicating the content of point issuance requested by a company is registered. The point management unit 17 registers information on stock points to be issued in the point issuing table in response to operator's operation on the operation input unit 12 and various instructions notified from an external device.

In the example of FIG. 3, for each point ID that identifies a stock point, a company ID for identifying a designated company, purchase funds W related to stock points, point rate R, reference date and time T0, reference stock price P (T0), reference number of shares N and the number of issued points M are registered as a set. Of these, the reference date T0 indicates the date when the stock of the designated company was purchased, and the reference stock price P(T0) and the reference number of shares N indicate the purchased stock price and the number of purchased stocks when the stock was purchased at the reference date T0.

FIG. 4 is a configuration example of a point balance table according to the first embodiment. The point balance table is a table in which information on the point balance of stock points held by users is registered. The point management unit 17 registers and updates information about the point balance in response to various requests from the user terminal 20 and arrival of stock price interlocking timing.

In the example of FIG. 4, for each user ID for identifying the user, corresponding to the point ID, the point balance X(t), the update date t when the point balance X(t) was updated, and the point balance X(t) The number Q of distributed stocks to be distributed is registered as a set.

The stock price acquisition unit 15 accesses the stock price providing server 30 from the communication I/F unit 11 via the communication network NW in response to the arrival of the stock price interlocking timing T, and each stock point managed by the point DB 14 is interlocked. It has a function of acquiring each new stock price P(T) of the company.

The terminal processing unit 16 has a function of receiving various requests from the web browser of the user terminal 20 via the communication I/F unit 11 and the communication network NW, and a function of receiving various requests from the user terminal 20 based on a communication protocol such as HTTP. A function of instructing the point management unit 17 to newly register designated stock points in response to a new registration request, and a function of updating the point management unit 17 in response to a balance inquiry request from the user terminal 20. It also has a function of acquiring the user's new point balance X(T) from the point DB 14 and notifying it to the user terminal 20 .

In response to the arrival of the stock price linked timing T, the point management unit 17 stores a point rate R indicating the amount per 1sp (unit point) registered in the point DB 14 and a distribution rate corresponding to the number of points distributed to the user. Based on the number of shares Q and the new stock price P(T) of the designated company, a new point balance X(T) at T is calculated and updated, thereby linking the point balance with the stock price. there is At this time, the new point balance X(T) at T is obtained by the following formula (1).
X(T)=Q×P(T)/R (1)

[Operation of the first embodiment]
Next, operation of the point management system 1 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 5 is a sequence diagram illustrating operations of the point management system according to the first embodiment;

Here, new registration processing of stock points, stock price linked processing of point balance, and balance inquiry processing of point balance will be described.

[New registration process]
First, the stock point new registration process will be described. This new registration process is executed when the user newly registers a distribution point having a point ID that has not been registered before.

After the user acquires the encrypted data of the point ID and the number of new points ΔX related to the distribution points at the user terminal 20, the user accesses the point management device 10 with the web browser of the user terminal 20, and performs a new stock point registration operation. (Step 100), a new registration request containing encrypted data on distribution points and the user ID of the user is transmitted from the user terminal 20 to the point management device 10 (Step 101).

In response to the new registration request from the user terminal 20, the terminal processing unit 16 of the point management device 10 instructs the point management unit 17 to newly register stock points.

In response, the point management unit 17 extracts the point ID and the number of new points ΔX(T0) from the encrypted data included in the new registration request, and extracts the point ID and the corresponding rate R from the point issuance table of the point DB 14. , the reference date and time T0 and the reference stock price P(T0).

Subsequently, based on the new point number ΔX(T0), the rate R, and the reference stock price P(T0), the point management unit 17 calculates the distributed stock number Q corresponding to the newly registered stock points by the following formula (2): Calculated based on
Q=ΔX(T0)×R/P(T0) (2)

Then, the point management unit 17 stores the new point number ΔX(T0), the reference date and time T0, and the distributed stock number Q in the point balance table of the point DB 14, the point balance X(T0) corresponding to the point ID of the user ID, It is registered as the update date T0 and the number of distributed stocks Q (step 102).

After that, the terminal processing unit 16 acquires the point balance X (T0) of the user ID who requested the new registration request from the point balance table of the point DB 14, and transfers the point balance X (T0) to the corresponding user terminal 20. T0) is notified of completion of new registration (step 103).
As a result, the point balance X(T0) is displayed on the screen of the Web browser of the user terminal 20, and the user confirms that the new registration of the distributed stock points has been completed (step 104).

[Stock price linked processing]
Next, stock price-linked processing for the point balance will be described. This stock price interlocking process is intermittently executed according to the stock price interlocking timing.

When the stock price linking timing arrives (step 110), the point management unit 17 of the point management device 10 instructs the stock price acquisition unit 15 to acquire the stock price. From 30, new stock prices P(T) of companies linked with stock points managed by the point DB 14 are obtained (step 111).

Subsequently, the point management unit 17 calculates and updates the point balance X(T) based on the new stock price P(T) for each user's stock points managed in the point DB 14 (step 112). .

Specifically, for each combination of the user ID and the point ID registered in the point balance table of the point DB 14, the point balance X(T) is calculated and updated based on the formula (1) described above. As a result, each user's balance points are linked to the stock price of the designated company and automatically updated at each stock price linkage timing.

[Balance Inquiry Processing]
Next, point balance inquiry processing will be described. This balance inquiry process is executed in response to a balance inquiry request from the user.

When the user accesses the point management device 10 with the Web browser of the user terminal 20 and performs a stock point balance inquiry operation (step 120), the balance inquiry request for the stock points held by the user is sent by the user. It is transmitted from the terminal 20 to the point management device 10 (step 121).

In response to the balance inquiry request from the user terminal 20, the terminal processing unit 16 of the point management device 10 retrieves the point balance X(t ) (step 122), and notifies the corresponding user terminal 20 of the balance inquiry result including the point balance X(t) (step 123).

As a result, the point balance X(t) is displayed on the screen of the Web browser of the user terminal 20, and the user confirms the point balance of stock points linked to the stock price of the specified company (step 124).

[Example of operation of the first embodiment]
Next, an operation example of the point management system 1 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram of an operation example of the point management system according to the first embodiment;

Here, as shown in FIG. 2, 1,000,000 sp worth of stock points are distributed from company A on date and time T0, with 125 shares purchased at the base price P(T0)=8000 yen as collateral. and

When user U purchases a product of company A and performs a new registration operation on user terminal 20 to newly register 100sp worth of stock points given to the product at time T1, user ID=U , point ID=A, and the number of registered points ΔX(T0)=100sp is transmitted from the user terminal 20 to the point management device 10 .

In response, the point management unit 17 of the point management device 10 retrieves the rate R for the point ID=A, the distribution date t=T0, and the reference stock price P(T0)=8000 yen/share from the point issuance table of the point DB 14. is obtained, and the number of distributed shares Q=100×1/8000=0.0125 shares corresponding to the stock points to be newly registered is calculated based on the aforementioned formula (2).

Then, the point management unit 17 adds the registered point number ΔX(T0)=100sp, the distribution date and time t=T0, and the distributed stock number Q=0.0125 specified in the new registration request to the point balance table of the point DB 14. , point balance X(T0)=100sp, update date and time t=T0, and number of shares distributed Q=0.0125 for user ID=U and point ID=A specified in the new registration request.

After that, at date T2, when the stock price linkage timing arrives, the point management unit 17 calculates the point balance of the point DB 14 based on the new stock price P(T2) of each company on date T2 acquired by the stock price acquisition unit 15. Update the point balance P(t) of each stock point registered in the table.

For example, for stock points related to user ID=U and point ID=A, the number of distributed shares Q=0.0125 shares is acquired from the point balance table, and the new stock price P ( Based on T2)=10,000 yen/share, the new point balance X(T2)=0.0125×10,000/1=125sp is calculated according to the formula (1) described above.

As a result, a new point balance X(T2)=125sp and T2 are registered as the point balance X(t) and the update date t for the point ID=A of the user ID=U in the point balance table.

Therefore, after that, when the user terminal 20 notifies the user terminal 20 of the balance inquiry request for the point ID=A of the user ID=U, the corresponding point balance P(T2)=10000 yen/share is acquired from the point balance table. and notified to the user terminal 20 .

FIG. 7 is an example of a stock point balance inquiry screen. Here, a balance inquiry screen is shown as an example when user U holds three types of stock points for companies A, B, and C. For each stock point, the number of registered points at the time of new registration is calculated. The total point number at the time of acquisition and the current point number indicating the latest point balance updated according to the stock price of the specified company at the balance inquiry date and time are displayed together with the icon indicating the specified company.

[Effects of the first embodiment]
As described above, the present embodiment uses, as points to be distributed to users, stock price-linked points in which the point balance is linked to the stock price of the designated company to which the points are distributed. The point balance is linked to the stock price by updating the point balance based on the updated stock price of the designated company used when the balance is updated and the new stock price of the designated company, and the terminal processing unit 16 updates the point balance. In response to a balance inquiry request from the user terminal 20 indicating a balance inquiry, the user terminal 20 is notified of the user's new point balance obtained by updating.

Therefore, since the points (stock points) according to the present embodiment change in accordance with the stock price of the designated company, the point balance changes, so users who hold points become aware of the stock price of the designated company. . For this reason, users will have the motivation and intention to support the specified company's stock price to rise and further improve the performance of the specified company, and as a result, the user's loyalty to the company itself will increase. It becomes possible.

[Second embodiment]
Next, a point management system 1 according to a second embodiment of the invention will be described.

In the first embodiment described above, the case where the number of stocks to be distributed is managed for each stock point of the user U has been described as an example. In the present embodiment, a case will be described in which, instead of the balance stock price, the updated stock price is managed when the point balance is updated.

In the present embodiment, when the stock price-linked timing T arrives, the point management unit 17 updates the user's point balance P(T -1), the updated stock price P(T-1) of the designated company used for the renewal, and the new stock price P(T) of the designated company, the new point balance X(T) at T By calculating and updating, it has the function of linking the point balance with the stock price. At this time, the new point balance X(T) at T is obtained by the following formula (3).
X(T)=X(T-1)×P(T)/P(T-1) (3)

FIG. 8 is a configuration example of a point balance table according to the second embodiment. The point balance table is a table in which information on the point balance of stock points held by users is registered. The point management unit 17 registers and updates information about the point balance in response to various requests from the user terminal 20 and arrival of stock price interlocking timing.

In the example of FIG. 8, for each user ID for identifying the user, the point ID, the point balance X(t), the update date t at which the point balance X(t) was updated, and the point balance X ( The updated stock price P(t) used to update t) is registered as a set.

Other configurations of the point management system 1 and the point management device 10 according to the present embodiment are the same as those of the first embodiment, and detailed description thereof will be omitted here.

[Operation of Second Embodiment]
Next, the operation of the point management system 1 according to this embodiment will be described.

The operation of the point management system 1 according to the present embodiment is substantially the same as the sequence shown in FIG. , stock price linked processing of the point balance, and balance inquiry processing of the point balance will be explained.

[New registration process]
First, the stock point new registration process will be described. This new registration process is executed when the user newly registers a distribution point having a point ID that has not been registered before.

At this time, the present embodiment is different in that the updated stock price P(T0) is registered in the point balance table of the point DB 14 in place of the distributed stock number Q in step 102 of FIG.

That is, the point management unit 17 extracts the point ID and the number of new points ΔX(T0) from the encrypted data included in the new registration request, and extracts the point ID and the corresponding reference date and time T0 and reference The stock price P(T0) is acquired, and is registered in the point balance table of the point DB 14 as the point ID of the user ID and the corresponding update time T0 and updated stock price P(T0), and the new point number ΔX(T0) is registered. The point balance X (T0) corresponding to the point ID of the user ID is registered (step 102).

[Stock price linked processing]
Next, stock price-linked processing for the point balance will be described. This stock price interlocking process is intermittently executed according to the stock price interlocking timing.

At this time, in this embodiment, in step 112 of FIG. It differs in that point balance X(T2) is calculated.

That is, the point management unit 17 calculates and updates the point balance X(T) based on the above-described formula (3) for each combination of the user ID and the point ID registered in the point balance table of the point DB 14. do. As a result, each user's balance points are linked to the stock price of the designated company and automatically updated at each stock price linkage timing.

[Operation example of the second embodiment]
Next, an operation example of the point management system 1 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram of an operation example of the point management system according to the second embodiment.

Here, as shown in FIG. 2, 1,000,000 sp worth of stock points are distributed from company A on date and time T0, with 125 shares purchased at the base price P(T0)=8000 yen as collateral. and

When user U purchases a product of company A and performs a new registration operation on user terminal 20 to newly register 100sp worth of stock points given to the product at time T1, user ID=U , point ID=A, and the number of registered points ΔX(T0)=100sp is transmitted from the user terminal 20 to the point management device 10 .

In response, the point management unit 17 of the point management device 10 obtains the distribution date t=T0 and the reference stock price P(T0)=8000 yen/share for the point ID=A from the point issuance table of the point DB 14. , in the point balance table of the point DB 14, update date t=T0 and update stock price (T0) for user ID=U and point ID=A specified in the new registration request=8000 yen/share. The number of registered points ΔX(T0)=100sp specified in the registration request is registered as the point balance X(T0)=100sp for point ID=A of user ID=U.

After that, at date T2, when the stock price linkage timing arrives, the point management unit 17 calculates the point balance of the point DB 14 based on the new stock price P(T2) of each company on date T2 acquired by the stock price acquisition unit 15. Update the point balance P(t) of each stock point registered in the table.

For example, for stock points related to user ID=U and point ID=A, point balance X(T0)=100sp and updated stock price P(T0)=8000 yen/share are obtained from the point balance table. New point balance X (T2) = 100 x 10000/8000 = 125sp is calculated by the above-mentioned formula (1) based on the new stock price P (T2) = 10000 yen / share of company A, which is the designated company of be done.

As a result, in the point balance table, a new point balance X(T2)= 125sp, T2, and P(T2)=10000 yen/share are registered.

Therefore, after that, when the user terminal 20 notifies the user terminal 20 of the balance inquiry request for the point ID=A of the user ID=U, the corresponding point balance P(T2)=10000 yen/share is obtained from the point balance table. and notified to the user terminal 20 .

[Effects of Second Embodiment]
As described above, the present embodiment uses, as points to be distributed to users, stock price-linked points in which the point balance is linked to the stock price of the designated company to which the points are distributed. The point balance is linked to the stock price by updating the point balance based on the updated stock price of the designated company used when the balance is updated and the new stock price of the designated company, and the terminal processing unit 16 updates the point balance. In response to a balance inquiry request from the user terminal 20 indicating a balance inquiry, the user terminal 20 is notified of the user's new point balance obtained by updating.

Therefore, since the points (stock points) according to the present embodiment change in accordance with the stock price of the designated company, the point balance changes, so users who hold points become aware of the stock price of the designated company. . For this reason, users will have the motivation and intention to support the specified company's stock price to rise and further improve the performance of the specified company, and as a result, the user's loyalty to the company itself will increase. It becomes possible.

In addition, it is sufficient to manage the updated stock price P(t) for each stock point of the user U. Since this stock price is common data among different users U, for example, the company corresponding to the point ID The stock price can be uniquely identified from the ID and the update date and time t. Therefore, it is possible to centrally manage between different users U. In particular, when using the closing stock price, it is not managed by the point management device 10 but can be sequentially obtained from the stock price providing server 30 as necessary. is also possible. Therefore, unlike the first embodiment, there is no need to manage the number of stocks to be distributed individually for each stock point of user U, so the scale of the point balance table of the point DB 14 can be greatly reduced. .

[Third Embodiment]
Next, a point management system 1 according to a third embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram of a point management system according to the third embodiment.

In the first and second embodiments described above, the point management device 10 centrally manages the point balance of each user, and when notifying the user terminal 20 of the point balance, a communication protocol such as HTTP is used. The case where the notification is given as an example.
In this embodiment, each user terminal 20 manages the point balance together with the point management device 10 instead of centrally managing the point balance of each user with the point management device 10 using blockchain technology. A case of distributed management will be described.

Blockchain technology is, for example, as described in Non-Patent Document 2, a transaction that indicates the content of a transaction related to a certain financial business is stored in information called a block that guarantees continuity, and is distributed to all participants. It is a technology that broadcasts, verifies the received block based on the block chain composed of blocks up to that point, and executes transactions based on the transactions included in the block that has been validated.

In this embodiment, the point balance is exchanged between the point management device 10 and the user terminal 20 as shown in FIG. It is designed to Note that the procedure up to issuance of points is the same as in FIG. 2 described above.

Specifically, when the terminal processing unit 16 notifies the user terminal 20 of the updated point balance of the user, the terminal processing unit 16 stores the content of the transaction related to the update of the point balance virtually constructed under the communication network NW. It has the function of writing to a new block of the blockchain and broadcasting it to the communication network NW.

The user terminal 20 verifies the block received from the communication network NW based on the block chain, and based on the content of the transaction included in the block whose validity is obtained, the updated point balance of the user is sent to the user. It has the function of presenting to

The block chain processing in the terminal processing unit 16 and the user terminal 20 may be realized using general processing modules.

[Effect of the third embodiment]
As described above, in the present embodiment, the point balance is exchanged between the point management device 10 and the user terminal 20 using block chain technology. can be exchanged, making it possible to circulate stock price-linked points more safely.

[Fourth Embodiment]
In addition to the functions of the point management system 1 of the first to third embodiments, the point management system 1A according to the fourth embodiment stores the point balance of the user U at the specified company corresponding to the stock points. It also has a function to exchange for shares of The exchange is performed at the request of the user U. The stock of the designated company is the stock that is the source of the stock points to be exchanged, as described above. The number of points per share required to exchange stock points for stocks depends on the price of the stock at the time of the exchange, that is, the stock price. The fourth embodiment will be described below, centering on the exchange of stock points and stocks. Among the elements of the fourth embodiment, elements similar to those of the first to third embodiments are denoted by the same reference numerals.

As shown in FIG. 11, the point management system 1A includes a point management device 10, a plurality of user terminals 20, and a securities account management device 40 managed by a securities company SC. Securities company SC may be changed to the above trust company as appropriate. The functions of the trust company described above, such as the purchase of shares described above, may be realized by the functions of the securities company SC. The point management device 10 is managed directly or through an entrustor by a service provider SM that provides point services using stock points.

The securities account management device 40 is a server computer or the like, and electronically manages securities accounts opened in the securities company SC and stocks deposited in the securities accounts. In the securities account management device 40, a service provider account, which is the securities account of the service provider SM, and a user account, which is the securities account of the user U who owns stock points, are established. Securities account management device 40 is configured to be able to communicate with point management device 10 via network NW.

The stocks purchased in the first to third embodiments are owned by the service provider SM at the beginning of purchase. That is, the shares are deposited in the service provider account. When the stock points owned by the user U are exchanged for shares owned by the service provider SM, the stocks are transferred from the service providing account to the user account of the user U. Ownership of the stock is transferred to the user U by this transfer.

The terminal processing unit 16 of the point management device 10 receives from the user U an exchange instruction to exchange stock points for stocks.

Based on the exchange instruction received by the terminal processing unit 16, the point management unit 17, out of the point balance of the stock points to be exchanged of the user U, points according to the price of the stock to be exchanged, Exchange processing is performed to exchange the stocks to be exchanged.

The point management unit 17 may perform processing for updating the point balance when a product or the like is purchased with the stock points, or when the stock points are exchanged for other points having cash value. As such, stock points may be used to purchase goods or services such as shopping, and/or may be redeemed for other points having other cash value. Information on the number of used points Y of stock points used for purchase or exchange is supplied to the point management device 10 from the user terminal 20 or a server (not shown) that processes the use of stock points. Information on the number of used points Y includes the number of used points, the user ID of the user, and the point ID. The point management unit 17 of the point management device 10 calculates the point balance X(t) corresponding to the acquired user ID and point ID in the point balance table of FIG. 4 or 8 based on the supplied information. , is updated to a value obtained by subtracting the number of used points Y from the X(t). When the point balance table of FIG. 4 is used (in the case of point management according to the first embodiment), the point management unit 17 calculates the distributed stock number Q corresponding to the user ID and point ID as Q×(X( t) -Y)/X(t).

When exchanging stock points for stocks, the terminal processing unit 16 and the point management unit 17 work together to execute the processing of FIG.

In the process of FIG. 12, the portable terminal 20 receives an input from the user U requesting exchange of stock points owned by the user U (step S11). Hereinafter, this user U will also be specifically referred to as user UA. When the exchange request is input, the user terminal 20 requests information on the point balance of each stock point owned by the user UA and the number of stock points per share of the stock subject to each stock point. It is transmitted to the management device 10 (step S12). This information request contains the user ID of the user UA. It is assumed that the user ID is set in the user terminal 20 of the user UA.

An information request from the user terminal 20 is received by the terminal processing section 16 . After receiving this, the point management unit 17 refers to the point balance table, and points ID corresponding to the user ID included in the information request received by the terminal processing unit 16, the point balance X(t), and the number of distributed Q (when points are managed in the first embodiment where the table of FIG. 4 is used) or updated stock price P(t) (when points are managed in the second embodiment where the table of FIG. 8 is used) (if managed) is obtained (step S21). After this acquisition, the point management unit 17 performs prohibition setting for prohibiting execution of the stock price linking process for linking the point balance X(t) and the stock price for the user ID (step S22).

After that, the point management unit 17 derives the number of points Xr per share for each acquired point ID (that is, for each stock) (step S23). When the table of FIG. 4 is used, the point management unit 17 calculates the number of points Xr per share by, for example, the following formula (4). When the table of FIG. 8 is used, the point management unit 17 calculates the number of points Xr per share by, for example, the following formula (5).
Xr=X(t)/Q (4)
Xr=P(t)/R (5)

After that, the terminal processing unit 16 acquires or derives the point ID acquired or derived by the point management unit 17, the point balance X(t) corresponding to the point ID, and the number of points Xr per share corresponding to the point ID. are returned to the user terminal 20 (step S24). In addition to the point ID, the company ID of the point issuing table of FIG. 3 may be used.

Based on the information of each set from the terminal processing unit 16, the user terminal 20 calculates the point balance X(t) of stock points and the number of points Xr per share for each point ID or company ID. A notification image for notification is generated and displayed (step S13). An example of this image is shown in FIG. In the example of FIG. 13, for the stock points corresponding to each of the stocks of companies A to C, the point balance X(t) (such as "point balance 1000 SP") and the number of points per share Xr (such as "900 SP per share") ) is displayed. A company or stock may be specified by, for example, a point ID (because stock points and stocks (companies) correspond one-to-one). A company or the like may be specified by a company ID.

The user UA refers to the notification image displayed on the user terminal U, and performs a designation operation of designating the stock and the number of stocks to be exchanged. The user terminal 20 accepts this designation operation (step S14). It should be noted that the user terminal 20 should not be able to designate a stock whose point balance X(t) is less than the number of points Xr per share. Furthermore, it is preferable that the user terminal 20 cannot designate a number of shares larger than the number obtained by dividing the point balance X(t) by the number of points Xr per share.

When the user terminal 20 receives the designation operation, the user terminal 20 generates an instruction to exchange stock points (at least part of the balance X(t)) for stock, and transmits the instruction to the point management device 10 (step S15). The exchange instruction here includes the user ID of the user UA, the point ID corresponding to the stock to be exchanged, the number of exchanged stocks Z, and the number of points Xr per stock.

A replacement instruction from the user terminal 20 is accepted by the terminal processing unit 16 (step S25). When the terminal processing unit 16 receives the exchange instruction, the point management unit 17 receives points according to the stock price of the stock to be exchanged in the point balance X(t), the stock to be exchanged, is executed (step S26).

The exchange process in step S26 includes a first process of subtracting the number of points corresponding to the stock price of the stock to be exchanged from the point balance X(t) corresponding to the stock to be exchanged, and and a second process for transferring ownership of the stock to the user UA. The order of the first process and the second process is arbitrary.

As the first process, the point management unit 17 converts the point balance P(t) corresponding to the user ID and the point ID in the point balance table into the number of points Xr per share to be exchanged, and the number of shares to be exchanged. A process of subtracting by the number of points multiplied by Z is performed. Through this process, points corresponding to the stock price of the stock to be exchanged are subtracted from the point balance P(t). When the point balance table of FIG. 4 is used, the point management unit 17 further subtracts the number of shares to be distributed Q corresponding to the user ID and the point ID in the point balance table by the number of shares to be exchanged.

As the above-mentioned second processing, the point management unit 17 extracts stocks corresponding to the number of exchanged stocks Z to be exchanged, that is, stocks corresponding to the number of points to be subtracted in the above-described first processing, from the service provider account to the user of the user UA. It includes processing for transmitting an instruction to transfer to an account to the securities account management device 40 . The stock type is specified by the point ID included in the exchange instruction. The account information specifying the service provider account and the user account are assumed to be registered and used in the point management device 10 in association with, for example, the user ID. The above-mentioned instructions sent from the point management unit 17 to the securities account management device 40 include account information of the accounts of the transfer source and the transfer destination, the type of stock to be exchanged, and the number of stocks to be exchanged Z, which are necessary for account transfer of stocks. information.

Based on the information necessary for the account transfer from the point management unit 17, that is, the point management device 10, the securities account management device 40 uses stocks to be exchanged from the account of the service provider by the number of exchanged stocks Z as shown in FIG. Execute account transfer processing to transfer to the user account of the person UA (step S31). This account transfer processing includes, for example, stock name change. Transferring shares between accounts transfers ownership of the shares. Returning to FIG. 12, the securities account management device 40 notifies the point management device 10 to that effect after completing the movement (step S32).

The notification of the end of movement is received by the point management unit 17 . Upon receiving this notification, the point management unit 17 notifies that the stock points have been exchanged for stocks, along with information such as the points balance X(t) after point subtraction and exchanged stocks, etc., to the user terminal of the user UA. 20 (step S27). The user terminal 20 displays the completion of the exchange together with the above-mentioned information on its display unit, thereby displaying the completion of the exchange, the post-exchange point balance X(t), the exchanged shares and the number of shares. Notify (step S16).

After step S27, the point management unit 17 releases the prohibition of the stock price-linked process (step S28). If the point management unit 17 executes the stock price-linked processing for the point balance X(t) corresponding to another user ID while the stock price-linked processing is prohibited, the point balance X that has been prohibited For (t) as well, the stock price linking process should be executed. As a result, the point balance X(t) of the user UA is updated to reflect the latest stock price.

As described above, in this embodiment, the point management unit 17 calculates the point balance X(t), which is the balance of the stock points distributed to the user, over time for stocks previously associated with the stock points. The point balance X(t) is linked to the stock price by updating it according to the stock price that changes (see the first to third embodiments). Then, the terminal processing unit 16 exchanges the stock points owned by the user UA (that is, at least part of the point balance X(t)) from the user terminal 20 with the stock corresponding to the point balance X(t). Receives replacement instructions. Furthermore, based on the exchange instruction received by the terminal processing unit 16, the point management unit 17 exchanges points corresponding to the stock price of the stock to be exchanged out of the point balance X(t) for the stock. process. Therefore, the user U can exchange stock points for stocks whose stock prices are linked, and can actually own the stocks through this exchange. For this reason, the user U has a strong motive to own stock points rather than points that cannot be exchanged for stocks by being able to exchange them for stocks. Thus, according to the present embodiment, the user U is given a strong motivation to own points.

The details of the exchange process are arbitrary. As in this embodiment, in the exchange process, the number of points corresponding to the stock price of the stock to be exchanged (for example, the number of points Xr per share multiplied by the number of exchanged stocks Z) is calculated from the point balance X(t). ), and a second process for transferring the ownership of the stock for the number of points corresponding to the stock price to the user. Through these processes, exchange of stock points and stocks is smoothly performed.

As in this embodiment, the point management unit 17 performs the exchange process without intervening any of the currencies of each country (in particular, the currency of the country where the stock point service is provided), so that stock points and Direct exchange with stock becomes possible, and processing at the time of exchange becomes simple.

Further, as the second process of the exchange process, the point management unit 17 transfers the shares deposited in the service provider account to the securities account management device 40, Perform processing to instruct the transfer to the user account. This makes the transfer of ownership of shares smooth and easy. User accounts are managed by the same securities account management device 40 together with service provider accounts. This facilitates the transfer of stocks between accounts. The same securities account management device 40 may consist of a plurality of servers managed by the same securities company SC. Note that the point management device 10 may manage the name of the stock to be exchanged, and the point management unit 17 may perform processing of changing the name of the stock from the service provider SM to the user UA as the second process.

Also, as in this embodiment, the point management unit 17 preferably does not execute the stock price linking process for linking the point balance X(t) with the stock price at least during the exchange process. This prevents the number of stock points per share from changing during the exchange of stock points for shares. After deriving the number of points per share or after transmitting the derived number of points per share to the user terminal 20, the point management unit 17 terminates the exchange process (the first process and the second process). It is preferable not to execute the stock price linking process until the end of the process). This prevents exchange with a different number of points than the number of stock points per share notified to the user UA. Note that, as the aspect described above, execution of the exchange process may be prohibited during a period during which the stock price linked process is being executed. In such a case, the stock price linkage process is periodically executed at a predetermined time such as when the closing price of the stock price is fixed, and at that time, acceptance of the exchange (for example, execution of step S11) is prohibited. good too.

[Hardware Configuration of Point Management Device 10 According to First to Fourth Embodiments]
The hardware configuration of the point management device 10 is arbitrary. The main part of the point management device 10 includes, for example, a processor 901, a storage part 902 including a main memory and a non-volatile storage device, and a network card 903 connected to the communication network NW, as shown in FIG. The processor 901 may consist of one or more CPUs (Central Processing Units). The point issuance table and the point balance table are stored in the non-volatile storage device of the storage unit 902 . The processor 901 operates as the stock price acquisition unit 15 , the terminal processing unit 16 and the point management unit 17 by executing programs stored in the non-volatile storage device of the storage unit 902 . The program may be recorded in a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium including, for example, a non-volatile storage device. At least part of at least one of the units 15 to 17 may be composed of one or more logic circuits. Logic circuits include ASICs (Application Specific Integrated Circuits) and FPGAs (Field Programmable Gate Arrays). Each device such as the point management device 10 may be configured as one device in one housing, or may be composed of a plurality of devices in which functional components are distributed and housed in a plurality of housings. may

[Modified Examples of First to Fourth Embodiments]
[Modification 1]
The point management device 10 may link the point balance related to the points distributed to the user to the stock price of the designated company. This interlocking method may be performed by a method other than the above embodiment. That is, the point balance updating method by the point management unit 17, the content of the point balance table, and the like can be changed as appropriate. The point management unit 17 performs processing for transferring the ownership of the exchange target stock to the user UA, for example, processing for changing the name of the exchange target stock held by the Japan Securities Depository Center to the user UA. (For example, a process of issuing an instruction to change the name to the device managing the name of the Japan Securities Depository Center) may be executed.

[Modification 2]
In each of the above-described embodiments, stock points are linked to stock prices. It may be the above-mentioned price (especially, the price in the currency of the country where the point service is provided). In this case, the user's account and the service provider's account are the accounts in which the goods are deposited. The securities account management device 40 may be, for example, various computers such as a server computer that manages the accounts. Furthermore, as with stocks, a service provider or the like may purchase a product as a resource for stock points, and the purchased product may be deposited in the service provider's account. Products include financial instruments and derivative financial instruments. Financial products include virtual currency (also called cryptographic asset) and foreign currency (for example, foreign currency when the point service providing country is the home country). In this case, the point balance X(t) of stock points increases or decreases in conjunction with the price of the virtual currency or the foreign currency. An account is an account in which virtual currency or foreign currency is deposited. As a financial product, an ETF (Exchange Traded Fund), which is a type of stock, may be adopted. Other financial products such as various bonds or investment trusts may be employed as products.

The stock points may be exchangeable with pre-associated linked products. In other words, the target of the exchange process in the fourth embodiment may be various products such as virtual currency or foreign currency with which stock points are linked. According to such a modified example as well, the user U is given a strong motive to own stock points by exchanging stock points for goods, as in the above-described embodiment.

Assuming that the shares of the first to third embodiments are changed to virtual currency or foreign currency, the point management device 10 is connected to the user terminal used by the user via a communication network, and the user wherein the balance is linked to the price by updating the balance according to the price of virtual currency or foreign currency pre-associated with the points. terminal processing for notifying said user terminal of said user's new balance updated by said point management section in response to a balance inquiry request from said user terminal indicating said balance inquiry; and may be provided. According to such a configuration, since the point balance is linked to the price of the virtual currency or the foreign currency, the user is motivated to own the points, and the user U is strongly motivated to own the points. be done.

[Expansion of Embodiment]
Although the present invention has been described with reference to the embodiments, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments. Various changes that can be understood by those skilled in the art can be made to the configuration and details of the present invention within the scope of the present invention. In addition, each embodiment can be implemented in any combination within a non-contradictory range.

Reference Signs List 1, 1A... Point management system, 10... Point management device, 11... Communication I/F unit, 12... Operation input unit, 13... Screen display unit, 14... Point DB, 15... Stock price acquisition unit, 16... Terminal processing unit , 17... Point management unit, 20... User terminal, 30... Stock price providing server, NW... Communication network.

Claims (14)

A point management device connected to a user terminal used by a user via a communication network and managing the balance of points distributed to the user,
a point management unit that links the balance with the price by updating the balance in accordance with the time-varying price of the product associated with the points in advance;
a terminal processing unit that receives an exchange instruction to exchange the points for the product from the user terminal,
The point management unit performs an exchange process of exchanging the product for points corresponding to the price of the product, out of the balance of the points, based on the exchange instruction received by the terminal processing unit. ,
Point management device. the commodity is a stock;
The point management device according to claim 1. the product is a virtual currency;
The point management device according to claim 1. the commodity is foreign currency;
The point management device according to claim 1. The exchange process includes a first process of subtracting the number of points corresponding to the price of the product from the balance of the points, and transferring ownership of the product for the number of points corresponding to the price to the user. a second process for
The point management device according to any one of claims 1 to 4. The point management device is capable of communicating with an account management device that manages a service provider account, which is an account of a service provider that provides services using the points,
As the second process, the point management unit performs a process of instructing the account management device to transfer the product deposited in the account of the service provider to the account of the user.
The point management device according to claim 5. The account of the user is managed by the account management device,
The point management device according to claim 6. The point management unit does not execute the process of linking the balance with the price during the exchange process.
The point management device according to any one of claims 1 to 7. The point management unit performs the exchange process without intervening currency,
The point management device according to any one of claims 1 to 8. The point management device according to any one of claims 1 to 9;
the user terminal;
Point management system with A computer connected to a user terminal used by a user via a communication network and managing the balance of points distributed to the user,
a point management step in which the balance is linked to the price by updating the balance in accordance with the time-varying price of the product associated with the points in advance;
a terminal processing step of receiving an exchange instruction to exchange the points for the product from the user terminal;
In the point management step, based on the exchange instruction received by the terminal processing unit, an exchange process is performed to exchange points corresponding to the price of the product out of the balance of the points for the product. ,
program. A point management device connected to a user terminal used by a user via a communication network and managing the balance of points distributed to the user,
a point management unit that links the balance with the price by updating the balance according to the price of a virtual currency or foreign currency that is pre-associated with the points;
a terminal processing unit that notifies the user terminal of a new balance of the user updated by the point management unit in response to a balance inquiry request from the user terminal that indicates an inquiry of the balance;
A point management device comprising: The point management device according to claim 12;
the user terminal;
Point management system with A computer connected to a user terminal used by a user via a communication network and managing the balance of points distributed to the user,
a point management step of linking the balance with the price by updating the balance according to the price of a virtual currency or foreign currency pre-associated with the points;
a terminal processing step of notifying said user terminal of said user's new balance updated by said point management step in response to a balance inquiry request from said user terminal indicating said balance inquiry;
program to run.

Images