JP2001297276A - Clearance method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a clearance method which can easily and securely perform clearance. SOLUTION: Clearance condition information from a debtor D and clearance condition information from a creditor are inputted to the computer of a clearance agent P and matched with each other. When the pieces of settling condition information match each other, coincidence information showing their coincidence is added and the pieces of clearance condition information are stored. The debtor D previously transfers a debt amount from one's account AD to the account AP of the clearance agent. When a payment indication is inputted from the debtor D, it is decided whether or not coincidence information is added to the clearance condition information corresponding to the payment indication. When it is judged that the coincidence information is added, a request to confirm the balance of the account AP of the clearance agent is outputted to a clearance agent dealing bank BP. When the balance is inputted, it is judged whether or not the balance is not less than the debt amount and when so, an indication for transfer from the account AP of the clearance agent to the account AC of the creditor based upon the clearance condition information is outputted.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

[0001] The present invention relates to a settlement method.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art For example, when a commercial transaction such as buying and selling is performed between a manufacturer and a retail store, a debt relationship with the retail store as a debtor and the manufacturer as a creditor occurs. The following two methods have been conventionally known for eliminating this debt relationship, that is, for settlement. The first is that the debtor requests, for example, a debtor bank to transfer the debt amount from the debtor's account to the creditor's account. The second is the so-called automatic debit, in which the creditor requests the debtor's bank to transfer the credit amount from the debtor's account to the creditor's account.

[0003]

However, since the debtor transaction bank transfers the requested amount, the debt amount requested by the debtor or the credit amount requested by the creditor is different from the regular amount. In such a case, the settlement is not completed, and complicated post-processing is required. For example, when the amount of debt requested by the debtor is less than the regular amount, the creditor must claim the remaining amount. You need to request a refund. Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a settlement method capable of performing settlement easily and reliably.

[0004]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a settlement method for performing settlement between a debtor and a creditor using a computer of a settlement agent. The settlement condition information from the debtor and the entered settlement condition information from the creditor are collated with each other, and when the settlement condition information matches each other, matching information indicating that they match is added to the settlement condition information. Stores the condition information and determines whether the matching information is added to the settlement condition information corresponding to the payment instruction when the payment instruction is input from the debtor, and determines that the matching information is added. A settlement method comprising the steps of outputting a remittance instruction from the settlement agent account to the creditor's account according to the settlement condition information when the settlement is performed. That is, in the first invention, the remittance instruction is not output unless the settlement condition information from the debtor matches the settlement condition information from the creditor. Moreover, even if the settlement condition information matches, no remittance instruction is output unless there is a payment instruction from the debtor.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect, it is determined whether or not the balance of the debtor in the account of the settlement agent is equal to or more than the amount to be remitted according to the payment instruction. When it is determined that the amount is equal to or more than the amount to be paid, a remittance instruction is output. That is, in the second invention, the remittance instruction is not output when the balance is smaller than the amount to be remitted.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the second aspect, when the payment instruction is input from the debtor or when it is determined that the matching information is added, the balance confirmation request is issued. Is output. That is, in the third invention, a confirmation request is output in advance in order to input the balance of the debtor.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect, when there are a plurality of pieces of settlement condition information to be added and stored with matching information, the settlement condition information including a common part among the settlement condition information is included. Calculate the total amount of debts or receivables and output the total amount.

According to a fifth aspect, in the fourth aspect, the common part is a debtor name and a settlement term, and the total amount is output before the settlement term. That is, in the fifth invention, for example, the debtor can know the total amount of his debt before the settlement deadline.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect, when it is determined that matching information is added to each of the plurality of settlement condition information, the creditor of the settlement condition information is the same. It calculates the total amount of receivables in certain settlement condition information and outputs a remittance instruction for the total amount. That is, in the sixth aspect, when remittance is to be performed to the same creditor in accordance with a plurality of settlement condition information, the total amount of the creditors of the creditor is calculated, and the total amount is remitted. Therefore, for example, even if there are a plurality of debtors, the remittance to the creditor can be performed only once.

According to a seventh aspect, in the first aspect, the account of the settlement agent is a single account common to a plurality of debtors or creditors.

According to an eighth aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect, the payment condition information input first among the payment condition information from the debtor and the payment condition information from the creditor is stored, and the remaining payment condition information is stored. When the payment condition information is input, the payment agent information is retrieved by searching the computer of the payment agent, and the payment condition information is collated with each other.

[0012] According to a ninth aspect, in the first aspect, the account of the settlement agent is provided in the settlement agent's financial institution, and the computer of the settlement agent is connected to the settlement agent via a communication network. The remittance instruction is connected to the computer of the financial institution and transmits the remittance instruction to the computer of the financial institution acting as the settlement agent through a communication network.

According to a tenth aspect, in the first aspect, the computer of the settlement agent is connected to at least one of the debtor's computer and the creditor's computer via a communication network. Payment condition information transmitted from the creditor or creditor's computer via the communication network.

[0014]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS FIGS. 1 and 2 show a case where a debtor has one creditor. Referring to FIG. 1, D is a debtor, C is a creditor, P is a settlement agent, BD is a debtor financial institution having an account AD of the debtor, and BC is an account AC of the creditor. Creditor trading financial institutions,
BP indicates a settlement agency financial institution in which the settlement agent account AP is provided. Debtor D and creditor C
Each may be a natural person or a corporation, a private shopkeeper or a company. In the following, a case where each financial institution is a bank will be described, but other financial institutions may be used.

Referring to FIG. 2, TD is the debtor D
Computer, TC is creditor C's computer, TP
Denotes a computer of the settlement agent P, TBD denotes a computer of the debtor transaction financial institution BD, TBC denotes a computer of the creditor transaction financial institution BC, and TBP denotes a computer of the settlement agent transaction financial institution BP. The computers TD, TC, TP, TBD, TBC, TBP are connected to each other by a communication network N such as the Internet via a communication interface such as a modem. Each computer has, for example, a CPU, a display device, an input device, and a storage device as shown in FIG.

Briefly, the settlement method in this embodiment includes the following procedure. 1. The debtor D and the creditor C send the settlement condition information to the settlement agent P, respectively. 2. The payment agent P checks whether or not the payment condition information matches each other. 3. When the settlement condition information matches each other, the settlement agent P adds matching information indicating that the settlement condition information matches, and stores the settlement condition information (payment reservation). 4. The debtor D deposits the amount of debt or more into the account AP of the settlement agent. 5. The debtor D instructs the payment agent P to pay. 6. The payment agent P determines whether the payment condition information corresponding to the payment instruction is reserved for payment. 7. When the payment is reserved, the settlement agent P determines whether or not the debtor D has paid in the account AP of the settlement agent. 8. When payment is made, the settlement agent P moves from the settlement agent account AP to the creditor's account AC according to the settlement condition information.
The remittance agent's bank BP is instructed to remit to remit. 9. The settlement agency bank BP remits from the settlement agent's account AP to the creditor's account AC according to the remittance instruction.

Next, the settlement method according to the present embodiment will be further described with reference to FIGS.

A commercial transaction such as buying and selling is performed in advance between the debtor and the creditor, and settlement conditions such as a settlement deadline and a settlement amount are set between the two parties.
Once the settlement terms are negotiated, the debtor's computer T
Payment condition information is transmitted from both D and the creditor's computer TC (steps 100 and 101). Next, the settlement condition information is received by the settlement agent computer TP (step 102), and then stored in the settlement agent computer TP (step 1).
03). The settlement condition information includes a transaction code, a payment source, a remittee, a settlement term, a settlement amount, and the like. Here, the transaction code is information that enables the specification of the transaction, from which the debtor, the creditor, and the transaction content can be known. The payer is, for example, the name of the debtor, and the remittee is, for example, the name of the creditor, and if necessary, includes the name of the creditor's bank and its account number. The settlement condition information from the debtor D may be received first, or the settlement condition information from the creditor C may be received first.

Next, the settlement condition information from the debtor D and the settlement condition information from the creditor C are collated with each other (step 104). In this case, strictly speaking, the process proceeds to step 104 only when the settlement condition information is received from both the debtor D and the creditor C. When two pieces of settlement condition information are to be collated, for example, it is determined whether or not all of a payment source, a remittee, a settlement time limit, and a settlement amount match each other. When all of these match, the settlement condition information matches each other. It is determined that. On the other hand, if any one is different, it is determined that the settlement condition information does not match each other.

When the settlement condition information from debtor D and the settlement condition information from creditor C match each other, match information is added and the settlement condition information is stored (step 10).
5). This coincidence information indicates that these two settlement condition information coincide with each other, and any information may be used as long as this is known. For example, when the matched payment condition information is stored in a specific part of the computer TP of the payment agent, the storage destination of the payment condition information can be used as the matching information, or simply “matching confirmed” Such a wording may be used. In this way, a payment reservation is made when the two settlement condition information match, that is, when the claims of the debtor and the creditor match.

On the other hand, when the two settlement condition information do not match in step 104, this mismatch is transmitted from the settlement agent computer TP (step 10).
6), received by the debtor's computer TD and the creditor's computer TC (steps 107 and 108). Next, these two settlement condition information are deleted from the computer TP of the settlement agent (step 109). In this way, when the corrected settlement condition information is transmitted from the debtor D or the creditor C, the previously transmitted settlement condition information has been deleted from the computer TP of the settlement agent, so that the Collating the sent settlement condition information with the retransmitted settlement condition information is prevented.

After the payment reservation is made, the fact that the two settlement condition information matches and the settlement condition information are transmitted as reservation information from the computer TP of the settlement agent (step 120), and the computer TD of the debtor is transmitted. (Step 121). As a result, the debtor D can confirm the contents of the debt. The reservation information may be transmitted to the debtor's computer TD before storing the matched settlement condition information together with the matched information. The reservation information can also be transmitted to the creditor's computer TC.

On the other hand, a transfer instruction for transferring the amount of the debt from the account AD of the debtor to the account AP of the settlement agent is transmitted from the debtor's computer TD (step 13).
0), received by the computer TBD of the debtor's bank (step 131). In this case, the balance of the debtor's account AD must be equal to or greater than the debt amount. Therefore, if necessary, prior to transmission of the transfer instruction, the debtor D checks the balance of the debtor's account AD, and reports the shortage to the debtor's account AD.
Deposit to. Upon receiving the transfer instruction, transfer information is transmitted from the computer TBD of the debtor trading bank (step 132), and received by the computer TBP of the settlement agent trading bank (step 133). In this manner, the debtor D pays the account AP of the settlement agent.

Next, a payment instruction is transmitted from the debtor's computer TD (step 140), and received by the settlement agent's computer TP (step 141). Next, the settlement condition information corresponding to the payment instruction is searched (step 142), and whether or not matching information is added to the retrieved settlement condition information, that is, whether or not the retrieved settlement condition information is reserved for payment. Is determined (step 143).

When the payment is reserved, a request for checking the balance of the account AP of the settlement agent is transmitted from the computer TP of the settlement agent (step 144), and received by the computer TBP of the settlement agent bank (step 144). Step 145). Next, the balance of the account AP of the settlement agent is confirmed (step 146). Next, the confirmation result is transmitted from the computer TBP of the settlement agent bank (step 147), and the computer TP of the settlement agent is transmitted.
(Step 148). Next, it is determined whether or not the balance of the account AP of the settlement agent is equal to or more than the debt amount (step 149). That is, it is determined whether or not the debtor D has paid in the account AP of the settlement agent. When the balance is equal to or more than the debt amount, a remittance instruction according to the corresponding settlement condition information, for example, a transfer instruction is issued by the computer TP of the settlement agent.
(Step 150) and received by the computer TBP of the settlement agent bank (step 15).
1). Here, the transfer instruction is to transfer only the amount of debt from the account AP of the settlement agent to the account AC of the creditor, and to transfer the credit to the account AC of the creditor on the day of the settlement deadline. Note that any instruction can be used as the remittance instruction as long as it is an instruction to remit to the creditor's account AD. Next, the transfer information is transmitted from the computer TBP of the settlement agent bank (step 152), and received by the computer TCP of the creditor bank (step 153). In this way, the payment agent's account AP
Is transferred to the creditor's account AC, thus completing the settlement. When the payment instruction is received, a balance confirmation request may be transmitted first to confirm the balance, and then it may be determined whether payment reservation has been made. Alternatively, even if there is no payment instruction, the balance may be confirmed, for example, periodically.

On the other hand, in step 143, when the payment condition information corresponding to the payment instruction has not been reserved for payment, it is determined that there is no payment reservation in the computer T of the payment agent.
It is transmitted from P (step 154) and received by the debtor's computer TD (step 155).

On the other hand, in step 149, when the balance is smaller than the debt amount, a balance shortage (or unpaid) is transmitted from the settlement agent computer TP (step 1).
56), received by the debtor's computer TD (step 157).

As described above, according to this embodiment, the debtor D
When the settlement condition information from the creditor C matches the settlement condition information from the creditor C, remittance to the creditor C is performed.
In other words, the settlement condition information from debtor D and creditor C
When the settlement condition information differs from the settlement condition information, no remittance to creditor C is performed, and therefore, complicated post-processing does not occur.

Further, according to this embodiment, even if the debtor D receives the payment in the account AP of the settlement agent, the remittance to the creditor C is not performed unless the debtor D instructs the payment. This is done for the following reasons. Obligors, such as retailers, typically owe debts to multiple manufacturers, for example, but do not necessarily have sufficient funds to settle all debts simultaneously. . For this reason, the debtor D performs so-called cash flow to settle the debt in order from the debt to be settled.
However, if money is transferred to the creditor C immediately after payment is made to the account AP of the settlement agent, for example, the debtor D will no longer be able to raise funds.

Therefore, in this embodiment, remittance to creditor C is performed when instructed to pay by debtor D,
Allows debtor D to fund. That is, the debt amount remitted to the settlement agent's account AP can be refunded to the debtor D until the debtor D gives a payment instruction. Alternatively, the debtor D can negotiate with the creditor C to change the settlement condition information such as, for example, postponement of the settlement deadline.

When the payment condition information is to be changed, instead of changing the payment condition information stored in the computer TP of the payment agent, the stored payment condition information is deleted and a new payment is performed. It is preferable to re-enter the condition information. Here, when the stored settlement condition information should be deleted, it is preferable that at least an erasure instruction from creditor C is required.

On the other hand, even if the debtor D has a willingness to pay, the remittance is not sent to the creditor C unless a payment instruction is given to the settlement agent P. Therefore, for example, the input deadline of the payment instruction is set based on the payment deadline of the payment condition information for which payment is reserved, and when the payment instruction is not input even after the input deadline, the computer TP of the payment agent and the computer of the debtor The non-input of the payment instruction may be transmitted to the TD. The input deadline can be set freely between the payment reservation and the settlement deadline, but is preferably the same day or the day before the settlement deadline.

Further, according to this embodiment, the remittance to the creditor C is performed when the balance of the account AP of the settlement agent is equal to or more than the debt amount. When the balance is insufficient, it is conceivable that the payment agent P makes a payment by replacing the shortage. However,
In this case, a new loan and debt is generated between the debtor D and the settlement agent P, and the processing becomes complicated. Therefore, in this embodiment, remittance to creditor C is performed when the balance is equal to or greater than the debt amount.

When a third party for settlement intervenes between the debtor and the creditor, a new relationship between the debtor and the creditor occurs, and a new relationship between the third party and the creditor also occurs. It is not unusual for a serious debt and debt relationship to occur. However, in the present embodiment, the debt relationship between the debtor D and the creditor C is maintained despite the intermediary of the settlement agent P between the debtor D and the creditor C. This is compatible with the current business customs, and therefore, the settlement method according to the present embodiment can be introduced into the business world without resistance. In this embodiment, settlement is performed by, for example, fund transfer without using a bill or the like. Accordingly, it is possible to eliminate paperwork and costs involved in issuing or processing bills.

Next, FIG. 9 and FIG. 10 show a case where the number of debtors is equal to the number of creditors. Referring to FIG. 9 and FIG. 10, there are first to nth obligors Dn as obligors and first to mth obligors Cm as obligors. Debt Obligor Accounts AD1-A
Dn corresponds to the corresponding debtor bank BD1 to BDn
And the accounts AC1 to ACm of the creditors are provided in the corresponding creditor banks BC1 to BCm, respectively. Also, the debtor's computers TD1 to TDn,
The creditor's computers TC1 to TCm, the debtor's bank's computers TBD1 to TBDn, and the creditor's bank's computers TBC1 to TBCm are connected to each other via a communication network N.

In the following, a case will be described in which commercial transactions are performed between all the debtors D1 to Dn and all the creditors C1 to Cm, and accordingly (n × m) settlements are made. Further, it is assumed that the settlement term of these settlements is the same.

Even if there are a plurality of debtors and creditors, settlement is basically made in the same manner as in the embodiment described with reference to FIGS. In brief, settlement condition information is transmitted from each of the debtors D1 to Dn, and each of the creditors C1
.. Cm, the settlement condition information is transmitted, and the two corresponding settlement condition information are collated. As a result of the collation, when the settlement condition information matches, payment reservation is made and the reservation information is transmitted. Next, when there is a payment instruction from the debtors D1 to Dn, it is determined whether the corresponding settlement condition information is reserved for payment. When payment is reserved, debtor D
It is determined whether or not 1 to Dn have been deposited in the account AP of the settlement agent, and when they have been deposited, the corresponding creditor C1
The instruction for remittance to Cm is output. Therefore, the settlement is completed.

However, the present embodiment differs from the embodiment described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 8 in the following several points. In this embodiment, the payment agent computer T
Since a large number of settlement condition information is input to P, it is necessary to accurately associate the settlement condition information from the debtor with the settlement condition information from the creditor. Therefore, from the payment condition information input to the computer TP of the payment agent, two payment condition information items corresponding to each other, that is, the payment condition information from the debtor and the payment condition information from the creditor for the same transaction are obtained. Then, the two payment condition information are collated.

In this embodiment, when payment is to be reserved, the total amount of debts SD1 to SDn is calculated for each debtor, and the total debts SD1 to SDn are transmitted as reservation information to the corresponding debtors. I am trying to do it. As will be described later, each debtor D1 to Dn has a total debt amount SD1 to SD1.
It is sufficient to deposit SDn once into the account AP of the settlement agent. Therefore, by calculating and transmitting the total debts SD1 to SDn in advance, the debtors D1 to Dn can calculate the total debt SD
1 to SDn can be confirmed.

Accordingly, of the settlement condition information to be stored with the matching information added thereto, the total amount of the debts of the settlement condition information having the same debtor name and settlement period is calculated, and this total amount is calculated before the settlement period. Is sent to the corresponding debtor. Further, generally speaking, it means that the total amount of the debts of the settlement condition information including the common part among the settlement condition information to be stored with the matching information added thereto is calculated, and this total amount is output.

It should be noted that the total amount of credits SC1 to SC1 for each creditor
SCm may be calculated, and the total amount of credits SC1 to SCm may be transmitted as reservation information to the corresponding creditors.

The processing in this case is shown in FIGS. The processes shown in FIGS. 11 to 13 are repeatedly executed at predetermined time intervals.

Referring to FIGS. 11 to 13, it is first determined whether or not payment condition information for which payment is not reserved, that is, unreserved payment condition information is stored in the computer TP of the payment agent (step 200). ). If all the settlement condition information input to the settlement agent computer TP is subjected to the collation processing, or if no settlement condition information is transmitted from the debtor or creditor, there is no unreserved settlement condition information. When there is no unreserved settlement condition information, the processing cycle ends. On the other hand, when the unreserved settlement condition information exists, the computer TP of the settlement agent is searched to extract one settlement condition information from the unreserved settlement condition information, and the extracted settlement condition information corresponds to the retrieved settlement condition information. It is determined whether the settlement condition information exists in the unreserved settlement condition information (step 201). That is, for example, when the retrieved settlement condition information is transmitted from the creditor, it is determined whether or not the settlement condition information transmitted from the debtor, which is the counterparty of the transaction, exists. This determination can be made using, for example, a transaction code included in the settlement condition information. When the corresponding payment condition information exists in the unreserved payment condition information, the corresponding payment condition information is then extracted,
These two settlement condition information are collated with each other (step 202). When the two settlement condition information coincide with each other, the matching information is added and the settlement condition information is stored (step 203).

On the other hand, if the two payment condition information do not match in step 202, this mismatch is transmitted from the payment agent computer TP (step 2).
04), and are received by the debtor's computer TD and the creditor's computer TC (steps 205 and 206).
Next, these two settlement condition information are deleted from the computer TP of the settlement agent (step 207). Next, the processing cycle ends.

On the other hand, if the corresponding settlement condition information does not exist in the unreserved settlement condition information in step 202, the input time limit set based on the settlement time limit included in the retrieved settlement condition information has elapsed. Is determined (step 208). This input deadline can be set, for example, on the settlement deadline day. Current,
If the input time limit has not elapsed, the processing cycle is ended, and accordingly, input of the corresponding settlement condition information is waited. On the other hand, when the input expiration date has passed, it is transmitted from the payment agent computer TP that there is no transmission of the corresponding payment condition information (step 209).
The extracted settlement condition information is received by the debtor's computer TD or the creditor's computer TC, which is the transmission source of the information (steps 210 and 211). Next, the payment condition information is deleted from the payment agent computer TP (step 212). Next, the processing cycle ends.

When a payment reservation is made in step 203, the debt amount of the payment condition information for which payment has been reserved is totaled for each debtor (step 213). Next, the processing cycle ends.

On the other hand, processing related to transmission of reservation information is shown in FIG.
It is shown in FIG. This process is repeatedly performed at predetermined time intervals.

Referring to FIG. 14, first, it is determined whether or not to transmit the total amount of debts reserved for payment up to this point calculated for each debtor to each debtor (step 220). For example, it is determined that transmission should be performed when the transmission deadline set based on the payment deadline has come, or when all the payment condition information transmitted by the debtor has been reserved for payment, and otherwise should be transmitted. It is determined that it is not. If it is determined that transmission should not be performed, then the processing cycle ends, that is, no reservation information is output. On the other hand, if it is determined that the debt should be transmitted, the total amount of the debt is transmitted as reservation information from the computer TP of the settlement agent (step 221) and received by the corresponding debtor computers TD1 to TDn. (Step 22
2). Next, the processing cycle ends.

On the other hand, as a matter of course, the debtors D1 to Dn need to remit to the account AP of the settlement agent for settlement. In this case, remittance may be performed for each debt amount corresponding to each transaction, but it is sufficient for the debtors D1 to Dn to remit the total debt amounts SD1 to SDn once. Next, this will be described with reference to FIG.

Referring to FIG. 15, the account AD1 of the debtor
.About.ADn to the account AP of the settlement agent by the corresponding sum total of debts SD1 to SDn (SS1). Here, the total debt amounts SD1 to SDn are the sum of the debt amounts to the respective creditors C1 to Cm, that is, if the debtor D1 is taken as an example, the total debt amount SD1
Is the debt amount to the creditor C1 (D1 → C1), the debt amount to the creditor C2 (D1 → C2), ..., the creditor Cm
(D1 → Cm) with respect to (SS2). Such individual debts or credits are summed up for each creditor (SS3), and as a result, creditors C1
The total amount of credits SC1 to SCm is calculated for each Cm.
Next, the account AC1 of the creditor is transferred from the account AP of the settlement agent.
~ Acm, the corresponding total amount of receivables SC1-SC
m is remitted.

Therefore, generally speaking, when a remittance instruction is to be output, the creditor calculates the total amount of the same receivables and outputs the remittance instruction for the total amount.

When performing (n × m) settlements individually,
(N × m) remittances are required. On the other hand, in the present embodiment, n remittances to the account AP of the settlement agent and m remittances to the creditor are sufficient, that is, (n × m) settlements are performed by (n + m) remittances. Can be completed. Therefore, the settlement can be made easily. In particular, debtors D1
Dn can complete all settlements with a single remittance, thus greatly reducing the cost and processing required for remittance.

By the way, as shown in FIG. 1 or FIG. 9, the account AP of the settlement agent is composed of a single account common to the debtor and the creditor. Is obtained. However, in this case, since there are payments from a plurality of borrowers in the account AP of the settlement agent, it is not possible to know how much money has been received from which borrower simply by checking the account AP of the settlement agent.

However, for each obligor, the total amount of money transferred to the settlement agent's account AP up to a certain point in time and the total amount of money transferred from the settlement agent's account AP up to this point are calculated. If these differences are calculated, the calculation result indicates that the account AP of the settlement agent represents the balance of the account dedicated to each debtor.

Therefore, in this embodiment, first, the balance of the account AP of the settlement agent and the deposit / withdrawal history are obtained from the settlement agency bank, and the balance for each obligor is calculated based on the balance and the deposit / withdrawal history. ing. Next, for each debtor, it is determined whether or not the balance is equal to or greater than the total amount of the debts for which a payment instruction has been issued, and a remittance instruction is output when the balance is equal to or greater than the total amount. As a result, a deposit from one debtor is prevented from being used to pay another debtor. The calculation of the balance of the debtor in the account AP of the payment agent may be performed by the computer TP of the payment agent or by the computer TBP of the bank of the payment agent.

FIG. 16 shows the processing when the payment instruction is received. Referring to FIG. 16, a payment instruction is transmitted from the debtor's computer TD (step 240) and received by the payment agent's computer TP (step 24).
1). Next, the payment condition information corresponding to the payment instruction is searched (step 242), and it is determined whether or not the extracted payment condition information is reserved for payment (step 243).

When payment is reserved, total debt amounts SD1 to SDn are calculated for each debtor (step 2).
44). On the other hand, when payment is not reserved,
The absence of the payment reservation is transmitted from the settlement agent computer TP (step 245) and received by the debtor computer TD (step 256).

The processing related to the transmission of the transfer instruction is shown in FIG. 17 and FIG. This process is repeatedly performed at predetermined time intervals.

Referring to FIGS. 17 and 18, first, it is determined whether or not a balance confirmation request should be transmitted (step 250). For example, it is determined that transmission should be performed when the transmission deadline set based on the payment deadline has been reached, or when a payment instruction has been issued for all payment condition information transmitted by the creditor, otherwise It is determined that it should not be sent. If it is determined that transmission should not be performed, then the processing cycle ends. That is, no balance confirmation request is transmitted, and no transfer instruction is transmitted. On the other hand, when the balance confirmation request is to be transmitted, a balance confirmation request is transmitted from the settlement agent computer TP (step 251), and received by the settlement agent transaction bank computer TBP (step 252).

Next, the balance of the account AP of the settlement agent and the deposit / withdrawal history are confirmed (step 253). Then
The result of this check is the computer TB of the settlement agency bank
P (Step 254) and received by the payment agent computer TP (Step 255).

Next, the balance for each debtor is calculated based on the balance of the account AP of the settlement agent and the deposit / withdrawal history (step 256). Next, it is determined for each debtor whether or not the balance is equal to or greater than the total amount of the debts for which payment has been instructed (step 257). If the balance is equal to or greater than the total amount of debts, the total amount of receivables is calculated for each creditor (step 25).
7a) Then, a transfer instruction is transmitted from the settlement agent computer TP for the total amount of the receivables (step 25).
8), is received by the computer TBP of the settlement agent bank (step 259). Next, the transfer information is transmitted from the computer TBP of the settlement agent bank (step 260) and received by the computer TCP of the creditor bank (step 261).

On the other hand, if the balance is less than the debt at step 257, the balance shortage is transmitted from the settlement agent computer TP (step 262) and received by the debtor computer TD (step 263).
Next, the processing cycle ends.

In the embodiment described so far, the computer TP of the settlement agent is connected to each computer of the debtor, creditor, debtor bank, creditor transaction bank, and settlement agent bank by the communication network N. A connection is made and information or instructions are transmitted and received via the communication network N. However, information or instructions can be sent and received, for example, by mail, telephone, facsimile, electronic mail, etc., without using computers connected to each other. Further, the computers of the bank can be connected to each other by a separate communication network different from the communication network N. Further, as the computer, an information communication terminal having a control function and a communication function, for example, a so-called personal computer or mobile phone can be used.

According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a settlement method capable of performing settlement easily and reliably.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram for explaining a settlement system.

FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram of a settlement system.

FIG. 3 is a configuration diagram of each computer.

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram for explaining a settlement method.

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram for explaining a settlement method.

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram for explaining a settlement method.

FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram for explaining a settlement method.

FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram for explaining a settlement method.

FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram illustrating a payment system according to another embodiment.

FIG. 10 is a configuration diagram of a settlement system according to another embodiment.

FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram illustrating a settlement method according to another embodiment.

FIG. 12 is a schematic diagram illustrating a settlement method according to another embodiment.

FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram illustrating a settlement method according to another embodiment.

FIG. 14 is a schematic diagram illustrating a settlement method according to another embodiment.

FIG. 15 is a schematic diagram for explaining the effect of reducing the number of remittances.

FIG. 16 is a schematic diagram illustrating a settlement method according to another embodiment.

FIG. 17 is a schematic diagram illustrating a settlement method according to another embodiment.

FIG. 18 is a schematic diagram illustrating a settlement method according to another embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 D: Obligor C: Obligor P: Settlement agent BD: Obligor bank BC: Obligor bank BP: Settlement agent bank AD: Account of obligor AC: Account of obligor AP: Account of settlement agent account

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuation of the front page (71) Applicant 500228285 Matsuda ▲ Yorichuchu 3-47-27 Doshida, Nerima-ku, Tokyo (72) Inventor Matsuda ▲ Yori ▼ chu 3-47-27 Dochida, Nerima-ku, Tokyo (72) Inventor Masaki Kitai 2-5-1 Kita-Aoyama, Minato-ku, Tokyo Inside the Logistics Development Department, ITOCHU Corporation (72) Inventor Sachi Watanabe 5-7-1 Shiba, Minato-ku, Tokyo NEC F Term (reference) 5B055 CB09

Claims (10)

[Claims] Claims: 1. A settlement method for performing settlement between a debtor and a creditor using a computer of a settlement agent, comprising: input settlement condition information from the debtor; and input settlement condition information from the creditor. When the payment condition information matches with each other, the matching condition information is added and the matching condition information is added and the payment condition information is stored. When a payment instruction is input from the debtor, It is determined whether or not the matching information is added to the settlement condition information corresponding to the payment instruction. When it is determined that the matching information is added, the account of the settlement agent according to the settlement condition information is determined. A settlement method comprising the steps of outputting a remittance instruction to a creditor's account. 2. It is determined whether or not the balance of the debtor in the account of the settlement agent is equal to or more than the amount to be remitted according to the payment instruction, and when it is determined that the balance is equal to or more than the amount to be remitted. The settlement method according to claim 1, wherein a remittance instruction is output to the settlement device. 3. The settlement method according to claim 2, wherein the balance confirmation request is output when a payment instruction from the debtor is input or when it is determined that the matching information is added. 4. When there are a plurality of settlement condition information to be added and stored with matching information, a total amount of debts or receivables of the settlement condition information including a common part among the settlement condition information is calculated. The settlement method according to claim 1, wherein the total amount is output. 5. The settlement method according to claim 4, wherein the common part is a debtor name and a settlement deadline, and the total amount is output before the settlement deadline. 6. When it is determined that matching information is added to each of a plurality of settlement condition information, a total amount of claims in the settlement condition information having the same creditor among the settlement condition information is calculated. The settlement method according to claim 1, wherein a remittance instruction is output for the total amount. 7. The settlement method according to claim 1, wherein the settlement agent account comprises a single account common to a plurality of debtors or creditors. 8. A payment agent, which stores the payment condition information input first among the payment condition information from the debtor and the payment condition information from the creditor, and when the remaining payment condition information is input, 2. The settlement method according to claim 1, wherein the settlement condition information inputted earlier is retrieved by searching for the computer of the above, and the settlement condition information is collated with each other. 9. The settlement agent account is provided in the settlement agent financial institution, and the computer of the settlement agent is connected to a computer of the settlement agent transaction financial institution via a communication network. 2. The settlement method according to claim 1, wherein the remittance instruction is transmitted to the computer of the settlement agency financial institution via the communication network. 10. The settlement agent information is transmitted from the debtor or creditor's computer, wherein the settlement agent's computer is connected to at least one of the debtor's computer and the creditor's computer via a communication network. To
The settlement method according to claim 1, wherein the settlement is received via the communication network.