JP2002007935A - Sales transaction system in mobile communication network, sales transaction method in mobile communication network, and server for sales transaction - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an m-commerce system requiring no transfer of the information concerning a customer. SOLUTION: This m-commerce system 100 stores a virtual bank account for each customer joined in the system. The account shows the payability of the customer. This system also stores information on customers and sellers joined to the system. This system receives the inquiry for payability sent by a seller through a mobile communication network. In reply to this inquiry, the m-commerce system 100 checks whether the customer is payable to a purchased product or not. When the payability is judged, a commercial server 12 transmits a sales message including all details of the transaction concerned. In reply to this sales message, the m-commerce system 100 starts data processing. During this processing, the money is paid to the account of the seller and subtracted from the account of the customer, and statistical and necessary databases are renewed.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention generally relates to systems for providing information and performing financial transactions. More particularly, the present invention relates to financial systems that utilize wireless mobile terminals for conducting financial transactions and, in particular, small payment transactions.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Various automatic payment systems have been developed which are particularly suited for purchasing over distributed computer networks such as the Internet. The reason for using public communication systems such as the Internet is that a single seller (merc
hant) is its ability to economically reach a vast number of potential customers at a significantly lower cost. In addition, customers can explore multiple vendors and their products with a few simple keystrokes and mouse clicks. Thus, it is clear that significantly larger volumes of transactions will be conducted using a distributed network of computers, such as the Internet.

[0003] A large number of purchase and payment methods have been proposed and used together. Typically, a merchant-owned commercial computer that is connected to the customer's computer contains certain promotional information. Based on this information,
The customer's computer operator decides whether to purchase the services or goods offered by this seller.
The customer's computer is linked to a payment processing computer, and the customer's credit card number and quantity of goods or services are sent to the payment processing computer. The payment processing computer automatically contacts the bank or credit card company to verify the credit card and amount. Next, the bank forwards the consent to the payment processing computer. The payment processing computer communicates the self-generated contract and, in one embodiment, the password to the customer's computer. For example, a payment processing computer may be operated by a bank or other financial institution responsible for making payments on behalf of a customer to certify a transaction on behalf of a financial institution without risking the information being intercepted by a third party. It may be a certified gateway. Such financial institutions include, for example, financial institutions that provide credit or debit card services.

[0004] Transmitting credit card numbers over open networks is problematic. for that reason,
Several encryption methods are used. One such method of securing the transport channel is Secure Electronic Transa, developed by the Visa and MasterCard card associations.
ction) (SET). Other well-known secure payment methods include, for example, Secure Transaction T
technology (STT) and Secure Electronic Payments Protocol (SEP)
P).

[0005]

A disadvantage of reliable payment technology is that it requires the provision of special-purpose software adapted to the particular reliable payment technology. Customers generally do not like to install generally unacceptable specialized software, such as commercial software and software for payment gateways, that incorporate the corresponding trusted payment technology to interoperate. Similarly, commercial software and software for payment gateways do not attempt to perform reliable payment technology if not installed on the customer side.

[0006] Transactions have been sluggish due to the payment problems for purchases facing customers. Various techniques have been developed to eliminate this problem, from telephone orders to the establishment of another currency called "electronic money." Electronic money is a viable option,
We face some issues that are difficult or impossible to address. These issues include counterfeiting issues, the government's reluctance to accept initiatives, the inconvenience of using electronic money handling, and the small number of users and sellers who can use electronic money. It is.

[0007] A disadvantage of using a fixed network for commerce is that customers are tied to computers physically connected to the network. For this reason,
The possibility of using wireless networks for commerce promises promise of success. The need to bring Internet-based services and content available to end users, regardless of time and place, has created a new standard for the wireless industry that is useful in developing applications and services that operate on wireless networks. It is going to development. Wireless application protocol (wi
A standard called reless application protocol (WAP) defines an application framework and network protocol for wireless terminals such as mobile phones, pagers and personal digital assistants (PDAs). WA
P allows for providing a wide range of wireless services independent of the underlying digital wireless network technology.

[0008] WAP allows mobile phones that support the protocol to provide information services such as restaurant and hotel information, stock transactions, banking services, telephone directory assistance, exchange rates, operation plans, and train and bus timetables. It will be possible to access trading services.
By using browser software installed on the mobile phone, the user can communicate with the mobile phone for certain promotional information and connect to a commercial computer displayed on a display. Based on that information, the user can decide whether to purchase the service or product provided by the seller.

[0009] The payment method is essentially the same as the above-mentioned method used on the Internet. However, since the user is a subscriber of the mobile communication network and has a fixed directory number, the user can be charged for this purchase by adding the purchase price to the telephone charge. In this case, the operators and sellers in the region of the mobile communication network will later settle out of the account. Since the user typically does not keep a record of the purchases made during the billing cycle, the total telephone charge can be surprisingly high.

For example, using a credit card, the user could send the card number to a commercial server, which in turn could link the card number to a credit card company server. Transmitting a credit card number over a wireless channel can create significant problems because a third party can intercept the number. To alleviate this problem, it is known to use smart cards in mobile phones. The encryption algorithm can be stored and processed on the smart card to verify the smart card, for example, from a remote commercial server or by a host computer operated by a financial institution. In this manner, information can be securely exchanged between the card and the remote location using one or more encryption keys located in predetermined locations at both locations. The encryption key is used to encode information to be transmitted and to decode received information.

[0011] Using encryption technology, the host computer can encode financial information stored remotely or stored locally on a smart card, as well as identifying information such as a personal identification number (PIN). Can also be encoded. Thus, the user's PIN
Can be encrypted by a smart card and sent to a remote host. This remote host has the same encryption key and decodes and verifies the encrypted PIN. This provides authentication to access information stored by the host and / or to request various financial transactions.

In order to emphasize the differences between the networks in which commerce takes place, transactions in the fixed network are called e-commerce, while transactions in the wireless network are m-commerce.
This is called commerce (commerce with mobile terminals).

[0013] Payment methods used within m-commerce have several disadvantages. From a user perspective,
Transmitting a credit card number over a wireless channel, despite encryption, is always problematic. From the seller's point of view, it requires extra resources to handle the collection of user payments, service invoices and credit monitoring. All sellers need to supply these resources, which reduces the willingness to start offering goods and services over public wireless networks. If the user is billed along with the telephone bill, the telephone company or telecommunications operator will need to establish a special configuration for payment and clearing purposes.

Furthermore, in prior art systems, it is not possible to obtain statistical information about the overall transaction in the network, since the transaction records are distributed in commercial servers. This information allows service providers to react quickly to changes in the business environment.

It is an object of the present invention to invent a system for m-commerce where no cash and bills of exchange are transferred, but nevertheless the system gains in real time knowledge of the customer's solvency.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an m-commerce system that provides a centralized site for service and product providers without having to transfer credit card numbers or other confidential information about the customer. is there. At this centralized site, customers are verified, their solvency is checked, virtual accounts are settled, and statistical information is collected and processed.

[0017]

In order to achieve the above object, a mobile communication network-based sales transaction system according to the present invention comprises at least one mobile transaction server and a product or service. At least one mobile terminal operated by a customer who wants to purchase, and at least one commercial server communicable with said mobile terminal and including promotion information for allowing the customer to decide to purchase goods or services. Wherein the mobile terminal is adapted to send a payment message including information on a payment method to the commercial server, the commercial server responding to the payment message via the network on a customer's network. An inquiry message containing a notification of the identity of the product, the price of the purchased item and the payment method. And transmitting a message including sales details to the mobile transaction server in response to a response message received from the mobile transaction server. Has financial data including a payment method of a customer who has subscribed to the system and payment ability data regarding a commercial virtual account subscribed to the system, and the mobile transaction server further includes a merchant, product data, and service data. Information as well as information about the customer, wherein the mobile transaction server is responsive to the inquiry message to check the solvency data associated with the notified payment method and to have a response message transmitted to the commercial server. And the mobile transaction server further comprises a message containing sales details. In response, characterized in that it is programmed to be credited to the customer funds reduces and the commercial virtual account.

Further, the payment ability data corresponds to a deposit transferred to the sales transaction system by a customer, and the payment method is a selection of a prepayment method.

Further, the payment ability data corresponds to a limit of a credit card account transferred to the sales transaction system by the customer.

[0020] The payment ability data may indicate that a direct debit method for debiting from a customer's actual bank account is used.

Further, the commercial virtual account corresponds to income from sales.

Further, the information on each merchant includes identification data, an actual bank account number and each merchant code.

Further, the information on each merchant further includes:
It is characterized by accounting rules.

Further, the information on each customer includes identification data and network identification information.

Further, the network identification information of the customer is a subscriber identification number of the mobile terminal.

The mobile transaction server may be further programmed to generate an invoice in response to a message containing sales details.

[0027] The mobile transaction server is further programmed to create sales statistics.

Further, the mobile transaction server is characterized in that it is programmed to further perform account settlement.

Further, the mobile transaction server is further programmed to establish a connection to an external financial institution for exchanging data.

Further, the details in the message including the details of the sale are coded, and the codes are stored in the mobile transaction server.

The financial data, the information about the customer, the information about the merchant, and the information about the sale are stored in a database.

Further, each database is updated after each transaction.

Alternatively, the database is updated by an external control connection.

Further, the mobile communication network is characterized in that a telephone data record is sent to the mobile transaction server after a customer has finished a telephone call.

Further, the sales transaction method in the mobile communication network according to the present invention is characterized in that at least one mobile transaction server, at least one mobile terminal operated by a customer who wants to purchase goods or services, and the mobile terminal Customer solvency data in a method for performing a sales transaction in a mobile communication network including at least one commercial server that is communicable with and includes at least one commercial server for promoting a customer to purchase a product or service. Storing in advance in the mobile transaction server, transmitting a payment message from the mobile terminal to the commercial server, the payment message including information regarding a payment method and a customer's network identification information;
Creating, in response to the payment message, an inquiry message including a notification of a customer's network identification information, a merchant code, a price of the purchase, and a payment method; and transmitting the inquiry message from the commercial server to the mobile transaction. Transmitting to the commercial transaction server, checking the payment capability data related to the notified payment method at the mobile transaction server, and transmitting a response message to the commercial server; Sending a sales message including details to the mobile transaction server; processing the sales transaction in response to the sales message; checking a customer's solvency; and depositing the commercial virtual account. It is characterized by including.

Further, the method further includes a step of retrieving customer data related to the network identification information from a database, and a step of retrieving payability information corresponding to the customer data from another database.

Further, the method further comprises a step of searching the database for merchant data related to the merchant code.

The method further includes the steps of: decoding the sales message using the merchant data; checking accounting rules from the database; and creating an invoice using the decoded sales message information. It is characterized by the following.

Further, the method further comprises the step of using the mobile subscriber number as network identification information of the customer.

[0040] The sales database may further comprise a step of storing sales information for use in creating statistics.

[0041] The method may further include the step of updating the database after processing the sales transaction.

Further, the method further comprises the step of updating the database via a control connection with the outside.

Furthermore, the control connection with the outside is established to the financial institution.

Further, the sales transaction server according to the present invention comprises:
A database that stores financial data, including solvency data relating to the customer's payment method and a commercial virtual account that provides goods or services to the customer via the public access network; And another database sent over the public access network by a commercial server and notified in response to a solvency inquiry message including a notification of the customer's network identification, purchase price and payment method. The payment server is programmed to check the solvency data associated with the payment method and send a response message to the commercial server, and further include customer details and respond to the message sent by the commercial server. Reduced ability to pay And characterized in that it is programmed to be credited to the commercial virtual account.

[0045] Further, the payment ability data corresponds to a deposit transferred by the customer to the database.

Further, the payment ability data corresponds to the limit of the credit card account transferred to the database by the customer.

Further, the commercial virtual account corresponds to the income from sales.

Further, the information on each merchant stored in the separate database includes identification data, an actual bank account number, and an individual merchant code.

Further, the information on each customer stored in another database includes identification data and network identification information.

Further, the network identification information of the customer is a telephone number.

Further, the present invention is further characterized in that it is further programmed to create sales statistics.

The program is further characterized in that it is further programmed to execute account settlement.

[0053] The program is further characterized by being further programmed to establish a connection with an external financial institution for exchanging data.

Further, the database is periodically updated.

The main part of the m-commerce system, which is one form of the sales transaction system of the present invention, manages customer information
It consists of transaction processing, credit and information transfer and account services.

The m-commerce system includes a database of virtual accounts for each customer who subscribes to the system. This account indicates the customer's ability to pay. The solvency may include paid virtual money in which a customer has previously transferred certain virtual money to a virtual account. This amount can be debited from the real bank account at the same time, or the amount can be frozen in the real bank account. This method corresponds to a prepayment method. The ability to pay can also include a virtual credit card account with certain limits. Further, the solvency may include the knowledge that the customer's real bank account can pay for the purchase. In general, the solvency can include any type of information that guarantees the customer's solvency.

[0057] The m-commerce system may also include at least one database comprising information about the customers and merchants participating in the system. Merchant data includes merchant identification numbers, lists of items or services offered to customers and their prices,
In other words, it has all the necessary information required to invoice the customer, such as possible discounts.

The m-commerce system also has an input / output interface to the public access network. The system receives, at an input, an inquiry sent by a merchant over a network. In this inquiry, the merchant sends the customer's identification number and the value of the purchase selected by the customer. In response to this inquiry, the m-commerce system retrieves customer information from the database and then checks from the database whether the customer is capable of paying for this purchase. If there is a solvency, the amount of the solvency corresponding to the purchase price is frozen. After this, the m-commerce system
A response message is sent to the merchant via the output to approve or reject the purchase. This response message is also sent to the customer.

After receiving the response message containing the approval, the commercial server prepares a transaction message containing all the details of the transaction concerned. This message is sent to the m-commerce system immediately or later along with other transaction messages. The m-commerce system stores this message for processing. Although processing can begin immediately, the mobile transaction server preferably collects a number of transaction messages and processes them in a batch process. During data processing, it is debited from the customer's account and credited to the merchant's account. Also, statistical data and necessary databases are updated.

The proposed m-commerce system includes:
There are several advantages. Customers can purchase services quickly and securely using mobile phones or wireless terminals. The customer can believe that the purchase can be made without any risk. The merchant can delegate all financial and invoicing routines to the m-commerce system that handles billing and deposit control for the customer. Statistical materials created by the m-commerce system include quantitative and qualitative information about shopping trends and service usage, and the statistical information can be effectively used for marketing purposes. . Various customer profiles can be easily created based on statistical data.

[0061]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The network to which the e-commerce system of the present invention can be adapted can be any type of public access network. However, wireless communication networks, in particular, WA
A mobile communication network providing P services is preferred. From now on, it is assumed that the network is a mobile communication network with WAP services.

The upper half of FIG. 1 shows a mobile communication network providing a WAP service. First, a brief description of this network.

FIG. 1 shows only important components, that is, the wireless WAP terminal 10 and the mobile communication network 13.
A gateway 11 and a server 12 existing in the server are shown. The subscriber terminal 10, which is a WAP mobile phone, initiates a connection request with a service located in a server 12 somewhere in the network. WAP phone 12
Communication between the network and the fixed network takes place via radio channels and transceiver base stations 14. The transceiver base station 14 is a component for a network in a mobile communication network.

The commercial server 12 often uses the HTTP format, but can also use the WAP format. This server contains the contents of a WML page intended to be sent to a mobile phone. Between the subscriber terminal and the server there is a gateway 11 including an encoder / decoder. This encoder / decoder
The WAP menu contents of the file received from the server are encoded into a compact format suitable for wireless transmission, and the encoded data received from the wireless channel is decoded before being further transmitted to the server 12.

The WAP telephone 10 has a text browser, a search engine and the like for displaying and interpreting the service received from the server 12. When using the WAP service, the user selects one of the services displayed on the mobile phone screen. The browser sends the request to the commercial server, which returns the menu content retrieved from the menu content database. After the messages of the plurality of request-menu contents are exchanged, the user finally selects one of the offered services or one of the goods. The price and payment method of the selected item of service are known at this stage at the latest. Next, the server 12 inquires about the payment method used by the user. In response to the inquiry, the user returns a response message to the server 12.
This message 1 is named "payment information" in FIG.

After receiving the “payment information” of the message 1, the commercial server 12 creates a payment ability inquiry message 2 and sends it to the m-commerce system 100 in the present embodiment. The system 100 checks the user's ability to pay from the virtual account database and sends a reply message 3 to both the WAP phone 10 and the commercial server 12. If the user is capable of paying for the purchase, the commercial server creates a message 4 containing the details of the transaction. This message can be sent directly to the m-commerce system, or several transaction detail messages can be compiled and sent to the m-commerce system on occasion.

The m-commerce system will now be described in detail. The main part of the m-commerce system resides in the mobile transaction server 101. The permanent data required by the system's service software is stored in multiple databases.

The database 102 for the virtual account is
It consists of the payment ability information of the customer who has subscribed to the m-commerce system. For example, by subscribing to the system, each customer can deposit a fixed amount of virtual money into the database. At the same time, real bank accounts are deducted the same amount of cash. This virtual account can be called a prepaid account. This account is debited with each purchase, and this method is sometimes referred to as automatic debit. Alternatively, the customer may have a credit account with a certain limit in the database. This option is practical if the user prefers a credit card.

In addition, the customer can enter the financial institution's online payment system. For example, a customer makes a contract with a merchant in which purchases are automatically and immediately deducted from the customer's bank account. This approach can be called a direct payment method. In this case, the customer's virtual account will contain information about the payment method in this online payment system.

The customer database 103 stores m-
It contains customer information stored in a database when joining the commerce system. Customer name and address are required. The important thing is that the customer information includes the customer's identification token (ID). this is,
A token coming from the mobile communication network in the inquiry message sent by the seller, with the help of which the m-commerce system can retrieve the relevant customer information from the customer database 103. Typically, this token is the customer's phone number. The customer information includes referencing the virtual money account database 102. By reference, information about the customer and information about the customer's virtual account are combined.

The commercial database 104 contains information on merchants (sellers) who have joined the m-commerce system. The information about the merchant includes not only the name and address of the merchant, but also a list of goods and / or services that the seller provides to the subscribers of the mobile communication network. For each product or service,
Relevant prices, possible discounts, possible bonuses and other information needed to send the bill. Preferably, an identification code (ID) is attached to each seller. If the seller interacts with the m-commerce system, it can be used for the purpose of identifying the code in addition to the IP address of the commercial server.

The service software installed in the mobile transaction server includes management of customer data and merchant data, processing of transactions, handling of credit and solvency information, creation of bills, execution of accounting operations, and creation of statistics. A program for processing transaction results is included.

The m-commerce system has an interface B to an external system such as a bank or another external system. In addition, reports generated by the system are transmitted via this interface. Banks and other external systems can access the m-commerce system via this interface.

FIG. 2 shows the basic steps during the purchase. The protocol used in this session is
It is a protocol for wireless applications (WAP).
Messages exchanged between the mobile terminal and the commercial server pass through the gateway (see FIG. 1). First, the mobile terminal communicates with the commercial server and sends a request. In response to this request, the commercial server sends the content. This content may be, for example, a menu.
When the user selects an item from this menu, the mobile terminal sends a second request. Commercial servers are
Respond by sending a second menu content that contains more detailed information of the selected menu item. After the request and each message of the corresponding menu content have been sent N times, the user has enough information to make a decision to order the service. This service is
For example, it may be a movie ticket order. In response to the order message, the commercial server sends a payment inquiry message for the seller to ask what payment method the user wants. The contents of the menu in the message are "Credit card", "Prepay (pre-pa
y) "," online payment ", etc. Using the browser, the user selects one method. In this embodiment, "credit card" is selected and a response message is transmitted. It is important to note that credit card numbers are not transmitted.

[0075] In response to the payment method message, the commercial server sends a payment capability inquiry message to the mobile transaction server of the m-commerce system. This message contains only the user's identity, the price of the intended purchase, and the payment method selected by the user. Preferably, the user's identification information includes the user's telephone number, which the transmitting network of the operator concerned transmits to the commercial server. The only payment method in the payment inquiry message is a code. Again, it is worth noting that no credit card number is sent in this message.

In response to the account inquiry message, the mobile transaction server first checks information about the user from the customer database, and then checks the corresponding virtual account linked to that particular user. If the virtual account proves that the current assets of the credit card account can adequately cover the purchase, the mobile transaction server sends an authorization message to the commercial server. However, if the virtual account indicates that the user does not have enough liquid assets, the mobile trading server sends a rejection message to the commercial server. Further, the user of the mobile terminal is notified of the approval or rejection of the purchase. This notification ends the session between the seller and the user.

Here, the commercial server creates the second message in the mobile transaction server. This message "Details of the transaction" contains all the details of the purchase made earlier. Therefore, this message will generally include the seller's (merchant) identification code, product code, product total, product price, discount code and bonus code (these codes are also used in the merchant database 104). And payment methods).

In addition, the network operator can deliver the details of previous calls made by the user to the mobile transaction server. Preferably, the operator sends a telephone data record (CDR) for the telephone. It is well known that communications generate a CDR for each phone. In CDR,
Includes the caller's phone number, the start and end times (time stamps) of the call, the duration of the call and the called party's phone number. The telephone number of the called party is a URL (uniform resource locator) when the telephone is a WAP telephone. The mobile trading server can use the CDRs for certification purposes, ie, submit legally valid evidence that the call was actually made, whenever necessary.

[0101] A "detailed transaction" message is sent from the seller.
Also, possibly after receiving the CDR from the operator, the mobile transaction server starts processing the account using the items provided in the "detailed transaction" message. The associated database is updated, ie, the user's virtual account is debited, the seller's account is credited, and statistics are created.

FIG. 3 shows an actual example based on the steps of FIG. The left box shown in FIG. 3 shows the menu content of the display in the user's mobile phone. After the user contacts the commercial server (meaning that the browser has called the commercial server's URL), the server sends the menu content shown in box 31. When the user selects "Movie", the selection is sent through the transmission network to the commercial server. The server returns a menu content 32 which is a list of movies. When the user's selection "Movie 3" is transmitted to the commercial server, the server returns the menu contents 33. The menu content 33 indicates both the movie theater where the selected movie is performed and the time when the movie is performed. In this way, the user selects the delivery date (the ticket can be purchased within 7 days before) in menu content 34 and the price of the ticket in menu content 35. Thereafter, the commercial server requests confirmation of the selection in the menu content 36. When the user clicks "YES" and confirms, the commercial server displays menu content 3
Inquire the payment method at 7. Here, two options are shown: the user can pay with a credit card or a prepaid option. In the latter case, the user pre-funds a virtual account in the m-commerce system.

When the user selects “credit card”, a payment method message is transferred to the commercial server.
In response to this message, the commercial server proceeds to stage 3
At 8, send a solvency inquiry message to the mobile transaction server via the transmission network. The message includes the user's mobile phone number, payment method, here the credit card code, and the price of the intended purchase. In addition, the message contains the address of the commercial server so that the mobile trading server can send the response to the correct address.

After receiving the payment information message, the mobile transaction server queries the customer database to obtain customer data relating to the user's mobile phone number. The customer transaction data contains a pointer to the customer's credit card account in the virtual money database, so the mobile transaction server can determine whether the customer has sufficient solvency for the purchase. Can be. If the answer is “YES”, the mobile transaction server responds to the credit card message by sending an authorization message to the commercial server at stage 310. In response to the approval message, the commercial server forwards the approval message to the user in stage 311. The user's role in the business transaction ends by receiving an approval message from the seller.

The essential part of the process according to the present invention starts here. The commercial server sends, at stage 311, all appropriate details for the purpose described above to the mobile trading server. The mobile transaction server starts processing the received data. As a result, it is deducted from the customer's virtual account and credited to the seller's virtual account.

FIGS. 4 and 5 are diagrams showing the contents of messages transmitted from the mobile communication network to the mobile transaction server. Communication within the mobile communication network creates a telephone data record for each telephone, similar to a PSTN network. As shown in FIG. 4, this record contains basic information about the telephone.
For example, the CDR of a WAP phone contains the identification number of the calling user. This is most commonly the mobile phone number of the user. The CDR also includes the start and end times of the call, the duration of the call, the amount of data transferred during the call, and the address of the called party. For WAP phones, the address is the U of the commercial server.
RL. This type of message is sent to the mobile transaction server after the call. This server stores the CDRs for security. Further, if the service provided by the seller includes a downloadable file, or if the service is tied to the duration of the call, the duration field of the CDR can be used directly for billing.

FIG. 5 shows the menu contents of the "detailed transaction" message of FIG. 4, and the commercial server sends the menu contents to the mobile transaction server. This message consists of the caller ID, which is the number of the user's mobile phone, and the product code. Each product offered by the seller to the user has a unique code. The actual description of the code is stored in a commercial database. In addition, the message includes the number of items sold, here the number of tickets, the currency code if different currencies are used, the unit price of the item and the tax percentage. If a discount or bonus is used,
Those codes will follow in this message. The seller code identifies the seller, and the remaining fields indicate the date and time of the order and the date and time of delivery.
The information in some fields is coded to shorten the message. Each element of the encoded information has a clear textual counterpart in the commercial database. Based on this type of message, the mobile transaction server can perform all necessary operations.

The operation described with reference to FIG. 6 illustrates some basic functions of the mobile transaction server.
Key functions of the mobile transaction server include managing customer data, managing and transferring credit status and funding information, and creating invoices and performing accounting reports. The mobile trading server is a centralized system that allows sellers and customers,
That is, both subscribers of the mobile communication network need to subscribe to the system by contracting with a system operator.

The server has a plurality of databases and service programs. The database 102 has m
-Includes virtual account information for all customers subscribed to the commerce system. The account information can be the total amount of virtual money that the customer has deposited into the e-commerce system. This can be referred to as a pre-pay method. It could be the credit limit of a credit card. There are other possible ways to open a virtual account.

The database 103 contains relevant data of all customers who have subscribed to the m-commerce system. Such data is at least the name, address and payment method. By subscribing to the m-commerce system, the customer must contract with the operator of the system, after which the customer specifies the payment method. The customer can specify one or all payment methods provided by the system. The operator opens a virtual account for each payment method. For this reason, the customer database includes a function of referring to a virtual account owned by the customer. This reference can be a link, index, pointer, etc., independent of the programming language.

Further, the database 103 can include information regarding particular characteristics of the customer. Such a feature indicates that the customer belongs to a bonus or discount system, that is, for example, that the customer is a member of a very enjoyable and rewarding commercial group.

The database 104 contains data relating to all sellers who have subscribed to the m-commerce system. By subscribing to the m-Commerce system,
The seller needs to make a contract with the operator of the system, after which all relevant data about sellers, services, and goods is entered into this m-commerce system. The seller also specifies the payment method. Further, which service of the mobile transaction server will be purchased by the seller is agreed in the contract. The relevant data includes at least information about the name, address, seller code and seller's bank account. Further, each seller has in the database 104 data relating to all the goods and / or services offered by the seller. Such data is needed to decode the information in the "Transaction Details" message (see FIGS. 4 and 5) and for billing, accounting and statistical purposes.

[0091] Transaction database 503 is intended to store transaction details. For this reason, this database is equipped with past knowledge of the transaction. The data in this database can be processed to perform various types of statistical analysis. These statistical analyzes are needed to create sales curves, sales forecasts, marketing, sales campaigns, customer configurations, and the like.

[0092] The invoice database 515 contains information about what was charged. The data in this database can be used to generate an account statement sent to the customer.

When the mobile transaction server receives the account inquiry message from the commercial server, the server retrieves customer data from the customer database 103 associated with the customer's identification information in the message. The ID is most often the customer's phone number. Based on the customer data, the mobile transaction server queries the database 102 to obtain information about the customer's solvency.

After receiving the "detailed transaction" message from the commercial server, the mobile transaction server starts processing. Initially, the service rules of the seller and the customer in this case are checked in stage 500.
The rules determine how to handle this financial transaction, and the rules are stored in databases 103,104. Thereafter, payment and sales transactions are processed.

At stage 511, processing of the payment transaction includes:
It starts by calculating the total value of the purchase. All the details needed for the calculation are contained in the "Details of the transaction" message. The meaning of the coded fields of the message is obtained from the commercial database 104. Information about the payment method used by the customer is obtained from the customer database 103.

The sales transaction process 510 includes a sales portion of a transaction relating to goods or services. At this stage, processing is performed on which goods or services are to be paid, how much the goods or services have in total, what is the delivery date, and so on. The result of the processing is stored in the transaction database 503. Various types of statistics can be created using the information stored in this database.

The accounting process based on the accounting rules is performed in stage 5
12 is executed. This rule dictates when seller and customer accounts are handled. After the account has been processed, the database is updated at stage 513. Paid from the customer's virtual money account in database 102. Therefore, the seller's virtual money account is deposited with the same amount. Input to the ledger is performed using appropriate information.

Finally, the virtual invoice is transferred to the stage 51
Made of 4. The invoice is stored in the invoice database 515. From this invoice database, account statements can be sent periodically.

The above-described m-commerce system can be applied to any public access network. However, it is not wise to adapt to the Internet because of problems with user verification. In contrast, adapting to wireless networks is
Since the telephone number is fixed, verification of the user is easy, so that the recommendation is possible.

In the preceding description, it is assumed that the customer and the user are the same. However, a customer can consist of several users. For example, a family is a customer whose fixed solvency is recorded in the m-commerce system. The members of the family, each with their own mobile phone, are users. Then, purchases made by members of each family are assigned one single customer code and one single virtual account.

This embodiment has been described with reference to a network having a WAP service. However, the system according to the invention can also be used in GSM networks or other digital mobile communication networks. In these networks, a user calls a predetermined service number and receives voice instructions. The user's solvency and billing are performed in the invented system.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an embodiment of a sales transaction system in a mobile communication network according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining message exchange during purchase in the present embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of an actual purchase event in the present embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of the content of a message according to the embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of the content of a message in the present embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a flow of a process according to the present embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

Reference Signs List 10 wireless WAP terminal, 11 gateway, 12 commercial server, 13 mobile communication network, 14 base station, 100 m-commerce system, 101 mobile transaction server, 102 virtual account database, 103
Customer database, 104 Commercial database.

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification symbol FI Theme coat ゛ (Reference) G06F 17/60 ZEC G06F 17/60 ZEC

Claims (38)

[Claims] 1. A mobile communication network-based sales transaction system, comprising: at least one mobile transaction server; at least one mobile terminal operated by a customer who wants to purchase goods or services; At least one commercial server communicable with the mobile terminal and including promotional information for allowing a customer to purchase a product or service, wherein the mobile terminal includes a payment including information regarding a payment method. Adapted to send a message to the commercial server, wherein the commercial server is responsive to the payment message,
A response message transmitted to the mobile transaction server via the network, including an identification information on a customer's network, a notification of a price of a purchase item, and a payment method, and a response message received from the mobile transaction server. Responsive to sending a message including sales details to the mobile transaction server, the mobile transaction server comprising: a payment method for a customer subscribed to the system; and a commercial method subscribed to the system. The mobile transaction server further includes financial information including payment ability data relating to a virtual account, the mobile transaction server further includes information relating to a merchant, product data and service data, and information relating to a customer; In response to the message, check the solvency data associated with the notified payment method. And transmitting a response message to the commercial server, the mobile transaction server further responsive to the message including sales details to reduce customer funding and transfer the commercial virtual account to the commercial virtual account. A sales transaction system in a mobile communication network, wherein the sales transaction system is programmed to deposit money. 2. The sales transaction system in the mobile communication network according to claim 1, wherein the payment ability data corresponds to a deposit transferred by the customer to the sales transaction system, and the payment method is selected by a prepaid method. A sales transaction system in a mobile communication network. 3. The sales transaction system in the mobile communication network according to claim 1, wherein the payment ability data corresponds to a limit of a credit card account transferred to the sales transaction system by the customer. A sales transaction system in a mobile communication network. 4. The sales transaction system in a mobile communication network according to claim 1, wherein the solvency data indicates that a direct debit method is used to debit the customer's actual bank account. Sales transaction system in a mobile communication network. 5. The sales transaction system in the mobile communication network according to claim 1, wherein the commercial virtual account corresponds to income from sales. 6. The sales transaction system in a mobile communication network according to claim 1, wherein the information on each merchant includes identification data, an actual bank account number, and each merchant code. Sales transaction system in a mobile communication network. 7. The sales transaction system in a mobile communication network according to claim 1, wherein the information on each merchant further includes an accounting rule. 8. The sales transaction system in a mobile communication network according to claim 1, wherein the information on each customer includes identification data and network identification information. Sales transaction system. 9. The sales transaction system in a mobile communication network according to claim 8, wherein the network identification information of the customer is a subscriber identification number of the mobile terminal. Trading system. 10. The sales transaction system in a mobile communication network according to claim 1, wherein the mobile transaction server is further programmed to generate an invoice in response to a message including sales details. A sales transaction system in a mobile communication network. 11. The sales transaction system in a mobile communication network according to claim 1, wherein the mobile transaction server is further programmed to generate sales statistics. Sales transaction system in the network. 12. The sales transaction system in a mobile communication network according to claim 1, wherein the mobile transaction server is further programmed to perform account settlement. Sales transaction system. 13. The sales transaction system in a mobile communication network according to claim 1, wherein the mobile transaction server is further programmed to establish a connection to an external financial institution for exchanging data. A sales transaction system in a mobile communication network. 14. The sales transaction system in a mobile communication network according to claim 1, wherein details in the message including sales details are coded,
A sales transaction system in a mobile communication network, wherein the code is stored in the mobile transaction server. 15. The mobile communication system according to claim 1, wherein the financial data, the information about the customer, the information about the merchant, and the information about the sale are stored in a database. Sales transaction system in the network. 16. The sales transaction system in a mobile communication network according to claim 15, wherein each database is updated after each transaction. 17. The sales transaction system in a mobile communication network according to claim 15, wherein the database is updated by an external control connection. 18. The sales transaction system in a mobile communication network according to claim 1, wherein the mobile communication network sends a telephone data record to the mobile transaction server after the customer has finished the call. A sales transaction system in a mobile communication network. 19. At least one mobile transaction server, at least one mobile terminal operated by a customer who wants to purchase goods or services, and a mobile terminal capable of communicating with the mobile terminal to purchase goods or services from the customer. At least one containing promotion information to make the decision
A method for executing a sales transaction in a mobile communication network including two commercial servers, comprising: storing in advance a customer's solvency data in the mobile transaction server; and a payment method from the mobile terminal to the commercial server. Sending a payment message that includes information about the customer's network identification; and in response to the payment message, creating an inquiry message that includes a notification about the customer's network identification, merchant code, purchase price, and payment method. Transmitting an inquiry message from the commercial server to the mobile transaction server; and, at the mobile transaction server, checking payment capability data related to the notified payment method, and responding to the response message. To send to the commercial server Sending a sales message including sales details in response to the response message to the mobile transaction server; processing the sales transaction in response to the sales message; checking a customer's solvency. A sales transaction method in a mobile communication network, comprising the steps of: depositing a commercial virtual account. 20. The sales transaction method in a mobile communication network according to claim 19, wherein customer data related to the network identification information is retrieved from a database, and solvency information corresponding to the customer data is retrieved from another database. Searching, further comprising: a sales transaction method in a mobile communication network. 21. The sales transaction method in a mobile communication network according to claim 19, further comprising a step of searching the database for merchant data related to a merchant code. Method. 22. The sales transaction method in a mobile communication network according to claim 19, wherein the steps of: decoding a sales message using merchant data; checking accounting rules from the database; Creating an invoice using the information in the message; and a method for selling and trading in a mobile communication network. 23. The sales transaction method in a mobile communication network according to claim 19, further comprising a step of using a mobile subscriber number as network identification information of a customer. Transaction system. 24. The sales transaction method in a mobile communication network according to claim 19, further comprising the step of storing sales information in a sales database for use in creating statistics. A sales transaction method in a mobile communication network. 25. The sales transaction method in a mobile communication network according to claim 20, further comprising the step of updating the database after processing the sales transaction. . 26. The sales transaction method in a mobile communication network according to claim 20, further comprising a step of updating the database via an external control connection. Sales transaction method in the network. 27. The sales transaction method in a mobile communication network according to claim 26, wherein the external control connection is established with a financial institution. 28. A sales transaction server, comprising: a database for storing financial data including payment ability data relating to a customer's payment method and a commercial virtual account for providing goods or services to the customer via a public access network; A separate database containing information about the data and service data and information about the customer, sent over the public access network by a commercial server and providing notice of the customer's network identification information, the price of the purchase and the payment method. In response to a payment capability inquiry message including the payment capability data associated with the notified payment method, and transmitting a response message to the commercial server, further comprising sales details and the commercial Sent by server In response to the message deducted ability to pay customers, and sales transactions server, characterized in that it is programmed to be credited to the commercial virtual account. 29. The sales transaction server according to claim 28, wherein said payment ability data corresponds to a deposit transferred to said database by a customer. 30. The sales transaction server according to claim 28, wherein the payment ability data corresponds to a credit card account limit transferred to the database by a customer. 31. The sales transaction server according to claim 28, wherein the commercial virtual account corresponds to income from sales. 32. The sales transaction server according to claim 28, wherein the information about each merchant stored in the separate database includes identification data, an actual bank account number, and an individual merchant code. Characteristic sales transaction server. 33. The sales transaction server according to claim 28, wherein the information on each customer stored in another database includes identification data and network identification information. 34. The sales transaction server according to claim 33, wherein the customer's network identification information is a telephone number. 35. The sales transaction server according to claim 28, further programmed to generate sales statistics. 36. The sales transaction server according to claim 28, further programmed to perform an account checkout. 37. The sales transaction server according to claim 28, further programmed to establish a connection with an external financial institution to exchange data. 38. The sales transaction server according to claim 28, wherein the database is updated periodically.