JP2554380B2 - Credit terminal - Google Patents

Description

Description: [Industrial application] The present invention relates to a credit terminal for processing a product for payment of a product in a credit transaction using a credit card.

[Prior Art] This type of conventional credit terminal generally has a sales registration function for registering sales data of each product. Then, when payment by a credit card occurs for the price of the sales product registered by the registration function, the card data of the credit card brought by the customer (credit company code, membership number, etc.) is read by the card reader. Also, enter payment method such as lump sum payment, installment payment, bonus combined payment, etc. from the keyboard. By doing so, credit data including card data, credit transaction amount, transaction method, etc. is transmitted to an external host computer connected online to inquire whether credit transaction is possible. Then, when there is a sales license reaction from the host computer, the credit data is printed out on a slip or receipt.

The host computer is provided with a data file in which the contracted customer's membership number, allowable amount, etc. are stored. When the credit data is received, the file data of the corresponding customer is checked to determine whether or not the credit transaction is possible. , The determination result is notified.

By the way, there are various payment methods for credit transactions, such as one-time payment and installment bonus bonus payment, as described above, but not all customers who have a contract with a credit company can use all of these payment methods. For example, it is conceivable to classify customers into preferential customers and ordinary customers and prohibit installment payment of ordinary customers. In addition, it may be possible to prohibit the use of bonuses for student guests. However, these restrictions are left to the discretion of the clerk who has served the customer, and if necessary, they have to contact the host side to confirm and become very troublesome.

Conventionally, in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 58-56065, a credit card is pre-recorded with information for identifying a preferential customer and a general customer, and the special customer or the general customer is recognized according to the reading of the card data. A technology has been disclosed in which, for a preferential customer, for example, a discount process is automatically performed so that an input operation of a customer type can be omitted and an input error of the customer type can be prevented.
However, also in this case, the payment method of the transaction is not prohibited according to the customer type, but the content of the transaction is strictly controlled, and the limitation of the payment method is left to the judgment of the clerk.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] As described above, in the conventional credit terminal of this type, it is difficult to limit the payment method of the credit transaction according to the type of customer, which is a burden on the clerk. However, it was necessary to make inquiries to the host side as necessary, resulting in a decrease in the working efficiency.

Therefore, the present invention makes it possible to automatically limit the payment method of a credit transaction according to the customer type of the customer who uses the card by reading the card data of the credit card without inquiring to the outside, thereby reducing the burden on the clerk. The present invention aims to provide a credit terminal which can reduce the work efficiency and improve the work efficiency.

[Means for Solving the Problems] The present invention relates to a credit terminal device which is connected to an external host computer through a communication circuit and processes payment for a credit transaction based on card data of a credit card read by a card reader. In advance, the permission / prohibition setting data for setting whether or not to permit payment for each type of payment method in a credit transaction corresponding to a plurality of customer type classification data for classifying customer types of customers who own a credit card A stored customer type permission / prohibition setting data storage means, a customer type classification data acquisition means for acquiring the customer type classification data of the customer who owns the credit card from the card data of the credit card read by the card reader,
Payment method input means for selectively inputting various payment methods in credit transactions, and one payment method by this payment method input means is selected and input, and customer type classification data is acquired by the customer type classification data acquisition means. Then, referring to the customer type permission / prohibition setting data storage means, a determination means for determining whether or not to permit the credit transaction based on the permission / prohibition setting data of the selectively input price payment method corresponding to the acquired customer type classification data, When it is determined that the payment is permitted by this determination means, the payment of the credit transaction is processed by the payment method selected and input by the payment method input means, and when it is determined that the payment is not permitted, the credit is issued. It is provided with a control means for prohibiting payment of the price by transaction.

[Operation] By taking such measures, when the card data of the credit card is read by the card reader, the customer type of the customer who possesses the card is identified. In this state, if the customer selects and inputs the payment method for the desired credit transaction, it is automatically determined in the terminal whether the payment method is allowed or prohibited for the applicable customer type,
The processing is restricted based on this determination result. Therefore, by only performing the normal card reading operation and the selection input operation of the payment method, the transaction restriction according to the customer type can be automatically and reliably performed without inquiring to the outside.

[Embodiment] An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 shows a data format of a credit card used in this embodiment, in which necessary information such as a credit company code and a company number is magnetically recorded in a memory area of all 72 columns. Further, a classification flag for classifying customer types of customers is magnetically recorded in the nth column. This classification flag consists of 2 bits. The preferential customer is [00], the general adult customer is [01], and the general student customer is [10].

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the entire configuration, and for example, the credit terminal 1 including an electronic cash register.
Is connected to a host computer 6 of each credit company via a communication circuit 2 including a modulator / demodulator (MODEM) and a network controller (NCU), a public telephone circuit 3, a telephone exchange 4, and a public telephone circuit 5. The terminal 1 has a keyboard 7 used for registration of sales products, a display 8 used for displaying product sales data and total price, a credit company code magnetically recorded on a credit card, a member number, Card reader 9 used to read card data such as classification flags, RJ (receipt / journal) print 10 used to print out receipts and journals, and slip issuing machine 11 used to print out to credit slips Etc. are provided.

Then, on the keyboard 7, as shown in FIG. 4, a numeral key 21, an amount key 22, a department key 23, a clear key 24, and a deposit / deposit key
Current total key 25, credit key 26, cancel key 27, multiplication key
28, a transmission key 29, an issuance key 30, a subtotal key 31, a specific key 32 as a payment method input means for selectively inputting payment methods such as lump sum payment, installment payment, bonus combined payment at the time of credit transaction, etc. are provided. There is.

Here, the deposit / cash total key 25 and the credit key 26 are keys for instructing the closing of product sales transactions, the deposit / cash total key 25 functions as a closing key for cash transactions, and the credit key 26 is a credit key. Serves as a closing key for transactions. Further, the transmission key 29 is a key for instructing the host computer 6 of the credit company to transmit the credit transaction data, and the issuance key 30 is a key for instructing the issuance of the credit voucher of the established credit transaction.

FIG. 3 is a control block diagram of the terminal 1. A CPU (central processing unit) 41 as a control unit main body has a built-in arithmetic circuit, memory control circuit, and the like, executes various arithmetic processes based on input data, and the CPU 41 controls each unit via a bus line 42. The ROM 43 in which the program data and the like for storing the data are stored, and the RAM 44 in which a memory for registering each product sales data, a work memory and the like are formed are operated. Further, the CPU 41 is adapted to read the date and time data measured by the clock circuit 45 in a timely manner.

Further, the communication circuit 2, the keyboard circuit 46 for taking in key data from the keyboard 7, the display 8
A display control circuit 47 for driving and controlling the card reader, a card reader control circuit 48 for fetching card data from the card reader 9, a print control circuit 49 for driving and controlling the RJ printer 10 and the slip issuing machine 11, respectively. I / O port 53 that outputs a drive signal to a drawer opening device 52 that opens a drawer 51 for storing cash etc. C via each of the bus lines 42
It is connected to PU41.

As shown in FIG. 5, the RAM 44 has a position memory 61 for storing a column position (n in this embodiment) in which a classification flag is set on the card format of the credit card, and a credit card. Transaction designation status (acceptability setting data) that sets whether or not to permit payment for each type of payment method in credit transactions, corresponding to each of a plurality of classification flags (customer type classification data) that classify customer types of customers And a table memory 62 as a customer type permission / inhibition setting data storage unit that stores therein in advance. Here, the transaction designation status consists of 3 bits of [a, b, c], and whether the payment method of lump sum payment (a), installment payment (b) and bonus combined payment (c) is allowed or prohibited is "0". (Permitted) and "1" (Prohibited) are shown.

Then, the CPU 41 is program-controlled so as to execute the processing shown in the flowchart of FIG. 6 when the exit key 26 on the keyboard 7 is operated. That is,
When the key data by the input operation of the credit key 26 is input through the keyboard circuit 46, the process is started, and it is determined in ST (step) 1 whether or not the key input condition of the credit key 26 is satisfied. Here, when it is determined that the product for sale for one customer is being registered, the payment for the product is instructed to be closed by a credit transaction, so key input is permitted, and then the card reader 9 is credited. Determine if the card is installed. If not, wait until it is installed. When it is detected that the credit card is attached to the card reader 9, the card data of the credit card read by the card reader 9 is taken in through the card reader control circuit 48. Then, the position memory 61 of the card data
The data of the n-th column set to is taken out to the work memory as a division flag. (Customer type classification data acquisition means).
If the data in the n-th column is not the classification flag, the card arrived at the card reader 9 is not a credit card that can be handled, so an error message "classification error" is displayed on the display 8 and the process ends.

On the other hand, when the classification flag exists in the nth column of the card data, a credit card that can be handled is attached to the card reader 9, and the table memory 62 is searched with the classification flag. Then, the transaction designation status corresponding to the classification flag is taken out to the work memory.

After that, the payment method is input by the specific key 32 of the keyboard 7. When the payment method is input, it is determined whether the payment method is permitted or prohibited by the transaction designation status (determination means). Then, if permitted, the normal credit transaction processing is continued. That is, a credit inquiry message including corresponding card data, credit transaction amount, payment method data, etc. is edited according to the input of the transmission key 29, and the communication circuit 2 is met to the host computer 6 of the corresponding credit company. Send. Accordingly, if there is a sales permission response, the above-mentioned credit data is printed on a predetermined sheet from the slip issuing machine 11 and issued as a credit slip.

On the other hand, when the transaction designation status of the corresponding payment method is "1" and the transaction is prohibited, an error message "transaction prohibited" is displayed on the display 8 and the process is terminated (control means).

In this embodiment having such a configuration, the store issues a credit card in which the classification flag [00] indicating the customer type of the preferential customer is recorded in the n-th column to the preferential customer, and the general adult customer On the other hand, a credit card in which a classification flag [01] indicating the general adult customer's customer type is recorded in the n-th column, and the classification flag [[n] indicating the general student's customer's customer type in the n-th column Issue a credit card on which 10] is recorded. Due to the operation of the store, preferential payment customers are allowed to make payments in one payment, installment payments, and bonus payments.General adults are allowed to make payments in installments and payments in credit transactions.
Assuming that general students are allowed to make a lump sum payment as the payment method for credit transactions, as shown in FIG. 5, the transaction designation status [0,0,
A table in which 0 is set for the transaction flag status [0,0,1] corresponding to the classification flag [01] and is set for the transaction flag status [0,1,1] corresponding to the classification flag [10]. The memory 62 is formed.

Then, the clerk registers the product purchased by the customer,
When the customer offers to pay for the merchandise by credit transaction, after the merchandise registration is completed, the customer receives the credit card and mounts it on the card reader 9. Then, the card data of the credit card is read by the card reader 9 and the data of the n-th column in the card data is taken out as a classification flag. Then, the transaction designation status corresponding to the classification flag is retrieved from the table memory 62. However, if the data in the n-th column is not the division flag, an error will occur.

Next, the clerk operates the specific key 32 corresponding to the payment method desired by the customer. The transaction designation status for that payment method is then examined. If the transaction designation status corresponding to the relevant classification flag is "0", the credit transaction by the payment method is permitted. In this case, the clerk then key-in the credit transaction amount and then operates the transmission key 29. Then, the credit data including the card data, the credit transaction amount, the payment method, etc. is transmitted to the host computer 6 of the corresponding credit company to inquire whether or not the credit transaction is possible. Then, when there is a sales permission response from the host computer 6, a credit slip printed with the above credit data is issued, and the clerk hands this credit slip to the customer together with the product.

On the other hand, if the transaction designation status corresponding to the relevant classification flag is "1", the credit transaction by the payment method is prohibited and an error occurs. In this case, the clerk instructs the customer to make a credit transaction by another method or a transaction other than the credit transaction.

For example, although a general adult customer is prohibited from making a bonus combined payment, when this general adult customer offers a credit transaction using a bonus combined payment, the clerk uses the credit card (category flag “01”) possessed by the customer as a card reader. An error occurs when the player mounts the key 9 on the special key 32 for bonus combined payment and the credit transaction is prohibited. However, if the specific key 32 for installment payment or lump sum payment is operated by a key, the credit transaction processing is continued. In addition, although installment payment and bonus combined payment are prohibited for general student customers, when this general student customer offers a credit transaction by installment payment or bonus lump sum payment, the clerk also has a credit card (category flag “1
0 ”) is attached to the card reader 9, and an error occurs when the specific key 32 for installment payment or bonus lump sum payment is operated, and the credit transaction is prohibited. However, when the specific key 32 for installment payment is operated, the credit transaction processing is continued.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, the clerk performs the normal credit transaction operation without being aware of the customer type, so that the payment method of the credit transaction is automatically limited depending on the customer type. In other words, if you want to limit the payment method for credit transactions according to the type of customer, you can automatically limit the payment method in the terminal by the data of the credit card owned by the customer, which reduces the burden on the clerk. , Work efficiency can be improved without having to contact the host. In addition, since the classification flag that classifies the customer type can be used in any column in the card data of the credit card, if there is already data corresponding to the customer type in the card data, that data can be used as the classification flag. There is. Further, a classification flag may be newly set in an empty column in the card data.

In addition, in the above-described embodiment, the preferential customer, the general adult customer, and the general student customer are exemplified as the customer types, and the lump sum payment, the installment payment, and the bonus combined payment are exemplified as the payment methods, but the present invention is not limited to this, and it is not limited thereto It goes without saying that appropriate modifications can be made.

As described above in detail, according to the present invention, by simply reading the card data of the credit card,
We provide a credit terminal that can automatically limit the payment method of credit transactions according to the type of customer who uses the card without inquiring externally, reducing the burden on the clerk and improving work efficiency it can.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 1 is a card data format diagram of a credit card, FIG. 2 is an overall configuration diagram of a credit processing system, and FIG. FIG. 4 is a block diagram of the credit terminal, FIG. 4 is a key arrangement diagram of the keyboard, FIG. 5 is a main memory configuration diagram of the RAM, and FIG. 6 is a flow chart showing the credit key processing of the CPU. 1 ... Credit terminal, 6 ... Host computer, 7 ... Keyboard, 8 ... Display, 9 ... Card reader, 10 ... RJ printer, 11 ... Voucher issuing machine, 26 ... Credit key, 32 ... … Specific key (instruction means), 41 …… CPU, 43 …… ROM, 44 …… RAM, 61 …… Position memory, 62 …… Table memory.

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] 1. A credit terminal, which is connected to an external host computer via a communication circuit and processes payment for a credit transaction based on card data of a credit card read by a card reader, wherein the credit card is owned. Corresponding to a plurality of customer type classification data for classifying the customer type of each customer, customer type permission / prohibition setting data prestored with permission / prohibition setting data for setting whether or not to allow payment for each type of payment method in credit transactions A storage means, a customer type classification data acquisition means for acquiring the customer type classification data of the customer who owns the credit card from the card data of the credit card read by the card reader, and various payment methods in the credit transaction selectively. Payment method input means to be entered into and one by this payment method input means When the customer type classification data is acquired by the customer type classification data acquisition means and the customer type classification data acquisition means is selected, the selection input corresponding to the acquired customer type classification data is made by referring to the customer type permission / prohibition setting data storage means. The decision means for deciding whether or not to permit the credit transaction based on the approval / disapproval setting data of the payment method, and if the decision means decides that the credit transaction is permitted, the payment method input means selects and inputs. A credit terminal, comprising: a control unit that processes payment by credit transaction by a payment method and prohibits payment by credit transaction when it is determined that the payment is not permitted.