JP2003058808A - Method for providing small amount settlement service - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a small amount settlement service providing method allowed to be used for both of customers and an electronic store or the like while holding simple and sure operation and high security without giving a feeling of complexity to a customer or the store even in the case of the settlement of a small amount. SOLUTION: The method includes a customer certification step s404 for certifying a customer in a customer database based on input form data entered and sent from a customer terminal, a use limit amount settlement step s408 for determining a fixed use limit amount in accordance with a payment state by referring to customer's payment state data concerned with the charges of public service by a payment state database of a public institution or the like, a settlement permission/rejection judging step s409 for receiving the ID of a commodity to be settled and the price data of the commodity to be settled which are sent from the customer terminal or the like, judging the permission/rejection of settlement by comparing the price of the commodity to be settled with the use limit amount and informing the customer terminal or the like of the judged result, and a settlement processing step s411 for settling a settlement amount with the electronic store at the time of judging the possibility of settlement, transmitting settled amount data to the public institution or the like and requesting the addition of the settled amount to public charges.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method of providing a small amount payment service standing between a networked electronic store and its customer.

[0002]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION With the spread of the Internet, electronic stores are lined up like shopping malls on a network, and the number of customers as users is steadily increasing. On the other hand, the types of products and services traded there are enormous, and they range from high-value items such as real estate such as land and buildings to small-value items such as small items and sundries. For example, bank transfer, credit card, and product cash on delivery system have been used to settle these product prices. Taking credit card payment as an example, the payment site of an electronic store requires the customer to enter the customer's personal information such as the customer's name, address, and phone number, the credit card number, and the expiration date. Inquiries were made to the company and the settlement process was in progress.

However, in recent years when there is a concern that privacy problems such as "spoofing" and "peeping" to others on the network may occur, the importance of not easily inputting personal information on a Web site becomes important. Is coming. Therefore, in order to fundamentally solve such a situation, an invention which is imaged as a settlement agency has been filed. For example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Nos. 9-282371 and 20
01-84307 and JP 2001-101271 A are examples thereof. The technical idea common to these inventions is that the existence of a payment agency as a third-party institution that authenticates and pays customers is established, and this payment agency acts as an intermediary between an electronic store, a customer, and a financial institution. And, it enables customers to shop and make payments at an electronic store by using a personal identification number or ID.

[0004]

However, if the products to be settled are frequently bought and sold for a small amount, even the conventional technology will have a limit in dealing with the customers. Of course, it must be a technology that enables online shopping and payment with just a PIN or ID, but there is room for improvement in the comfort, usability, and operational efficiency of customers who frequently purchase small-value products. Is considered to still exist. To give an example, payment at the time of music distribution can be assumed. In this case, for a customer who downloads a few songs every other day, or a few songs more frequently every few hours, for a product with a low unit price such as 100 yen per song, a credit settlement process for each download (for example) Will be forced.

It is obvious that the number of customers who feel the complexity of their own payment processing operations for the amount of payment increases,
Further, if customer registration for each electronic store is required in advance, it will be no different from the case where the personal information of the customer is dispersed. In this case, it can be said that the lack of technology to solve this situation hinders the motivation of customers for shopping on the network and prevents its spread. On the other hand, in addition to the complicated settlement process at electronic stores, credit card companies and financial institutions, when counterfeit cards are used or spoofing acts are taken, it is difficult to take countermeasures against them.

Therefore, the present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned conventional problems, and is simple, reliable, and secure for a customer, an electronic store, etc. without feeling complicated even for small amount payment. The purpose is to provide a method for providing a small amount payment service that can be used by both parties.

[0007]

A method of providing a small amount payment service of the present invention that achieves the above object is a method of providing a small amount payment service standing between an electronic store and its customer connected to each other through a network. A customer authentication step of receiving an access from the customer terminal, returning a customer authentication information input form, and performing customer authentication in the customer database based on the data of the input form filled and transmitted from the customer terminal;・ Refer to the customer's payment status data relating to charges for public services such as gas, water, and broadcasting by referring to the payment status database of the public institution that collects utility charges or the financial institution that acts as the agent for collection, and depending on the payment status of the customer The usage limit determination step for determining the usage limit of the settled payment service and the e-commerce product Receives the payment product ID and the payment product price data transmitted from the customer terminal or the online store terminal to purchase, and determines whether the payment is possible by comparing the payment product price and the customer's usage limit. , A settlement approval / disapproval determination step of notifying the customer terminal or the electronic store terminal of the determination result, and if it is determined that the settlement is possible, the settlement amount is settled with the electronic store and the settlement amount is set. Of the data of (1) is transmitted to the public institution or the financial institution, and a payment processing step for requesting an addition request to the public utility is included.

[0008]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing the concept of the small amount payment service providing method of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a conceptual diagram showing the small amount payment service providing system in the present embodiment. As a background of this embodiment, a small amount of payment, which is in cooperation with an electric power company (public organization) or the electric power company itself, is used for authentication and payment processing of end users (customers) who shop at a shopping site (electronic store) on the Internet. Let us assume a situation in which a service company executes the service in relation to the electricity bill of the customer. Of course, the scope of application of the present invention is not limited to this embodiment, and it goes without saying that the present invention can be applied to any situation involving settlement processing on a network. The core of the idea in this embodiment is, in other words, the point of processing by adding the settlement price for the electronic store of the end user to the electricity bill.

Therefore, the small amount payment service company is provided with an authentication / settlement server 10 that performs actual end user authentication and settlement processing. This authentication / settlement server 10
Is connected to the home server 20, the customer terminal 21, and the shopping site server 30 provided by the end user, for example, via the Internet, and is also network-connected to the power company center system 40 or the financial institution center system 50. And, of course, it can function as a WWW server that delivers Web page data and contents to the end user's home server 20 or customer terminal 21, or as a mail server for communicating with each person.

The database provided in the authentication / settlement server 10 is a customer database (customer database) 11 for registering and managing the end user's personal information in association with a user ID, etc., and a product code is assigned to each product for price, features, and images. There is a product database 12 in which such product information is appropriately updated and aggregated from the shopping site server 30, and an order database 13 in which an order number is assigned and managed for a product settlement operation received from an end user (see FIG. 3).

The authentication / settlement server 10 is connected to the home server 20 via the Internet or the like, and is responsible for the end user's product purchase processing at a shopping site or a predetermined site provided by the authentication / settlement server 10. Is a customer terminal 21 provided by the end user. Note that the home server is, for example, installed at the end user's place and enables automatic / remote control of home appliances including the customer terminal 21 by connecting each room or each device with a home network, and at the same time WHM) data is downloaded in real time and sent to the center system 40 of the electric power company at an appropriate timing.

[0012] In addition, the authentication / settlement server 10 is provided by ensuring the confidentiality of the authentication information of the end user.
It will be possible to smoothly carry out certification work with etc. At that time, IC
The use of an end-user authentication card having excellent security such as the card 22 may be used. Even if the end user does not have the home server 20, there is no problem even if the customer terminal 21 directly connects to the Internet to access the authentication / settlement server 10.

The shopping site server 30 functions as an ordinary WWW server for users who are not applied with the small amount settlement service of the present invention, and usually services such as conventional product image browsing and settlement accompanied by input of credit card information. I will provide a. However, from the viewpoint of the end user who receives this service, the authentication / settlement server 1
While it is a server that indirectly provides product information through 0, other than information about product shipping and payment amount information,
It is a hidden server that does not pass any personal information of end users or confidential information for payment.

The shopping site server 30 contributes to updating the product database 12 by uploading product data to the authentication / settlement server 10 periodically or when updated. Further, it also accepts a product search command from the end user through the authentication / settlement server 10 and returns the search result to the authentication / settlement server 10. of course,
It is also possible to directly accept access from the customer terminal 21 without using the authentication / settlement server 10 and provide a product browsing or product search service.

The power company center system 40 or the financial institution center system 50 accesses when the authentication / settlement server 10 carries out the settlement processing of the end user's desired product for purchase. These are existing systems,
The electric power company center system 40 manages, for each end user, the electric power charge calculated according to the amount of electric power consumed at the end user's house, and the end user's account opened at a financial institution affiliated with the electric power company. It is the financial institution center system 50 that manages and deducts the electricity bill from the account according to the bill of the electric power company.

In the present embodiment, for example, the power company center system 40 and the authentication / settlement server 10 are connected via a network, and the two parties exchange payment settlement data relating to the products of the shopping site purchased by the end user. On the other hand, the financial institution center system 50 connected to the electric power company center system 40 realizes the processing of adding the payment amount to the electricity charge of the corresponding end user and billing the end user based on the payment data.

The above databases 11, 12 and
13 may be provided in separate storage devices and function as individual databases that are network-connected, or may be combined appropriately or may be provided collectively in one storage device. In addition, the home server 20 and the customer terminal 2
The device 1 is not limited to a general server computer or a personal computer, but may be a device including any network-connectable computer chip, such as a network-connectable mobile phone, PDA, game machine, fax machine, or digital TV.

In addition, the authentication / settlement server 10, home server 20, customer terminal 21, shopping site server 3
0, the power company center system 40, and the financial institution center system 50 are connected not only to the Internet but also to an ATM line, a personal computer communication line, an LA line.
Various networks such as N and wireless networks can be adopted. When the small amount payment service company is operated by the electric power company itself, the authentication / settlement server 10 and the center system 40 may function as an integrated computer from the beginning.

FIG. 4 is a flow chart showing an actual procedure of the small amount payment service providing method in the present embodiment, and FIG. 5 is a business relationship diagram in the small amount payment service providing method in the present embodiment. Hereinafter, an example of screen transition will be shown together with the actual procedure of the method for providing a small amount payment service of the present invention. In addition,
Screen transition examples are shown in FIGS. 6, 7, and 8.

The authentication / settlement server 10 of the small amount payment service company accepts access from the end user shopping through the customer terminal 21 (s401), and at the same time transmits the web screen data of the top page 600 and the authentication information input form (s402). ). The customer terminal 21 browses the top page 600, inputs the authentication information such as the user ID and the password in the authentication information input form attached to the top page 600, and returns it. On the other hand, the authentication / settlement server 10 uses the customer database 1 based on the data of the input form entered / transmitted from the customer terminal 21.
The customer authentication in 1 is performed (s403). At this time, the information of the IC card 22 of the end user may be read by a reader connected to the customer terminal 21 and used for authentication.

If the authentication is completed normally here (s40
4), The data of the shopping menu screen 610 is transmitted to the customer terminal 21. If the authentication cannot be performed, the process ends. Links to the product database 12 are set in various displays and search windows on the shopping menu screen 610, so that the end user can access the screen 610.
When the desired product genre or category is specified by, the product data corresponding to the specific event is extracted from the product database 12 and sent to the customer terminal 21 (s40
6).

In the example of FIG. 6, since the end user's desired product category is “music” and the product type is “CD”, the list data of the CD products is stored in the product database 1.
The product list screen 700 created in 2 is presented to the customer terminal 21. Here, each time the end user further narrows down the purchase product candidates and specifies the display, detailed product data 710 of the individual product is extracted from the product database 12 and the customer terminal 2
1 is displayed on the screen. If the end user decides on a specific product as a desired product for purchase, the decision event is the product ID.
Is accepted together with (s407). At this time, the authentication / settlement server 10 refers to / determines the usage limit amount of the end user in the customer database 11 and notifies the customer terminal 21 (s408), and also refers to the price of the desired product for purchase based on the product ID. Then, it is determined / notified whether this amount is within the usage limit of the end user (s409). The result is shown on the payment information screen 800 of the customer terminal 21. Further, the order settlement database 13 manages the order settlement number assigned to the product settlement business ordered from the end user.

Note that the above-mentioned usage limit is the payment status data of the end user regarding the charge of the public service such as electricity, gas, water, and broadcasting (electricity charge in the present embodiment), which is the collector of the utility charge (public utility). The center system 40 (payment status database) of the institution) or the center system 50 (payment status database) of the financial institution performing the collection agency makes an inquiry and refers to the authentication / settlement server 10 and the payment status of the end user (average) Payment amount, whether or not there is delinquency, contract period, etc.). Needless to say, it is desirable to update at a predetermined timing.

Then, the determination result of whether or not the settlement is possible is notified not only to the customer terminal 21 but also to the shopping site server 30. If it is determined that payment is possible, the authentication / settlement server 10 transmits the payment amount data to the shopping site server 30 (s410), and executes the payment process on behalf of the end user. Prior to this payment processing, a payment method confirmation screen 810 is transmitted from the authentication / settlement server 10 to the customer terminal 21 to confirm the payment consent by the end user. The settlement amount data is also transmitted to the electric power company or the financial institution to request the addition of the electricity bill (s411). Further, the customer terminal 21 is notified of the completion of the payment processing, and the processing is completed.

On the other hand, the electric power company center system 40, which has received the payment amount data, adds the received payment amount to the electricity charge of the relevant end user, and manages it as the next billing amount. As another embodiment, for example, an end user who transmits the payment amount data from the authentication / settlement server 10 to the home server 20 or the customer terminal 21 and the electric power meter (measuring device) connected to the customer terminal 21 or the like measures the amount. If this payment amount data is added to the power consumption data of, the electric power company will be able to recognize the total data including the payment amount in advance in the electricity rate,
Customer management will be simpler and more efficient.

The embodiment of the present invention may be as follows in order to achieve the above object. In the method of providing a small amount payment service, the payment amount data is transmitted to a customer terminal, and the payment amount data is added to the public service usage amount data of the customer measured by a measuring device connected to the customer terminal. .

Further, the small-value payment service providing system is realized by the computer executing the method in the small-value payment service providing method.

Further, a program for providing a small amount payment service for causing the method for providing a small amount payment service to function on a computer is provided.

Further, a computer-readable recording medium recording the program for providing the small amount settlement service is formed.

[0030]

EFFECTS OF THE INVENTION According to the present invention, a method for providing a small amount payment service that allows both customers and electronic stores to use it while ensuring simplicity, security and security without feeling complicated even for small amount payments. Can be provided.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing the concept of a method for providing a small amount payment service of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a conceptual diagram showing a small amount payment service providing system in the present embodiment.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing examples of tables in various databases.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing an actual procedure of a method for providing a small amount payment service according to the present embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a business relationship diagram in the small amount payment service providing method of the present embodiment.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing an example 1 of a screen transition image according to the present embodiment.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram showing a second example of a screen transition image in the present embodiment.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram showing a third example of a screen transition image in the present embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

s404 Customer authentication step s408 Usage limit determination step s409 Payment approval / disapproval determination step s411 settlement processing step

   ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued front page    (72) Inventor Masafumi Maeda             890 Kashimada, Sachi-ku, Kawasaki City, Kanagawa Stock             Hitachi Industrial Systems Division (72) Inventor Naoaki Shibata             890 Kashimada, Sachi-ku, Kawasaki City, Kanagawa Stock             Hitachi Industrial Systems Division (72) Inventor Kazuaki Matsushima             890 Kashimada, Sachi-ku, Kawasaki City, Kanagawa Stock             Hitachi Industrial Systems Division (72) Inventor Kenichi Taki             890 Kashimada, Sachi-ku, Kawasaki City, Kanagawa Stock             Hitachi Industrial Systems Division (72) Inventor Tetsuo Minowa             890 Kashimada, Sachi-ku, Kawasaki City, Kanagawa Stock             Hitachi Industrial Systems Division

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A method for providing a small amount payment service standing between an electronic store and a customer who are connected to each other via a network, which receives an access from a customer terminal and returns an input form of customer authentication information. With the customer authentication step of performing customer authentication in the customer database based on the data of the input form entered and transmitted from the customer terminal, and the payment status data of the customer regarding the fee of the public service such as electricity, gas, water, broadcasting A usage limit amount determining step of determining the usage limit amount of the payment service determined according to the payment status of the customer by inquiring and referring to the payment status database of the public institution that collects the fee or the financial institution that performs the collection agency, Settlement product I sent from the customer terminal or the electronic store terminal to purchase the product in the electronic store by the customer I While accepting D and the payment product price data, the payment acceptance is determined by comparing the payment product price with the customer's usage limit amount, and the determination result is notified to the customer terminal or the electronic store terminal. Step, and if it is determined that payment is possible, process the payment amount with the electronic store and send the data of the payment amount to the public institution or financial institution and add it to the utility bill. A payment processing step of requesting billing. 2. The payment amount data is transmitted to a customer terminal, and the payment amount data is added to the customer's public service usage amount data measured by a measuring device connected to the customer terminal. The method according to Item 1. 3. A small amount payment service providing system realized by a computer executing the method according to claim 1. 4. A small amount payment service providing program for causing the method according to claim 1 or 2 to function on a computer. 5. A computer-readable recording medium recording the program for providing a small amount payment service according to claim 4.