JP2003162632A - Balance information notification service method and balance information notification system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a balance information notification service method and a balance information notification system that can notify a depositor of information on his/her account balance. <P>SOLUTION: To execute the balance information notification service method that include: a determination step s407 that performs determination processing of whether or not the account balance is below a minimum base amount predetermined for the account with respect to the account set for a financial institution; a step s409 that, if it is determined that the account balance is below the minimum base amount, acquires an address for transmitting information to the account depositor of the account through an information communication network; and a step s410 that sends notification data including at least determination result information indicating that the account balance is below the minimum base amount to the acquired address through the information communication network. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2003,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a balance information notifying service method and a balance information notifying system for transmitting information about an account balance in a financial institution through an appropriate information communication network.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art At present, many depositors who have accounts at financial institutions use account transfer for payment of public utility charges and various commercial transactions. The financial institution carries out the business of deducting a specified amount of money from a specified account on the transfer date specified by the payer and depositing the money into the specified account. On the other hand, for the above-mentioned invoiced person, the claimant will deliver a transfer statement notifying the amount of the account transfer and the transfer date before the transfer date by mail to the address of the invoiced party, etc. Give notice. On the part of the claimant who received this, the account balance of their own is found from the contents of the account book such as a bankbook so that the transfer amount described in this statement of notification can be smoothly debited. If so, you will go to the bank and deposit the shortfall in your own account.

[0003]

However, the above-mentioned claimant does not always know his / her account balance accurately. Therefore, it is necessary for the depositor to actively check the balance, for example, by calling a financial institution, using internet banking, or directly visiting a store. In particular, with the recent increase in payment opportunities using credit cards, the transfer process and the deposit process are frequently repeated, and the account balance is subject to small fluctuations. There is no choice but to repeat it, and the complexity of the procedure cannot be denied. In addition, the transfer details notifications delivered by mail have different delivery dates depending on the storing company, and various transfer processes and account balances at each time are taken into consideration for each storing company. It was necessary to try to maintain the account balance, and the burden of maintaining the account balance on the demandee side was not small.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object thereof is to provide a balance information notification service method and a balance information notification system capable of notifying a depositor of information relating to an account balance. To do.

[0005]

A first invention for achieving the above object is a balance information notifying service method for transmitting information about an account balance in a financial institution through an appropriate information communication network, which is a computer. Due to
With respect to the deposit account provided in the financial institution, a determination step of performing a determination process of whether or not the account balance is below a predetermined minimum reference amount for the account, and the account balance determines the minimum reference amount by the determination step. If it is determined that it is lower than the minimum reference amount, a destination acquisition step of acquiring a destination when transmitting information to the account depositor of the relevant account via the information communication network And a balance notification step of sending notification data including at least result information to the information communication network addressed to the acquired destination.

In a second aspect based on the first aspect, the account balance is checked at every predetermined timing, and a balance change account whose account balance has changed from the time of the previous check is extracted, and in the determination step, the extracted balance is extracted. The feature is that the determination process is performed for the changed account.

In a third aspect of the invention, in the first or second aspect of the invention, for an account for which the account balance is determined to be below the minimum reference amount in the determination step, the minimum reference is determined in the determination step due to an increase in the balance thereafter. If it is determined that the amount is not less than the amount, the destination for transmitting information to the account depositor of the account via the information communication network is acquired, and in the balance information notification step, the minimum reference amount or more is obtained. The notification data including at least the determination result information indicating that the account balance has been recovered is sent to the information communication network addressed to the acquired destination.

In a fourth invention according to any one of the first to third inventions, the destination is an electronic mail address, and the balance notifying step is an electronic mail having information relating to the balance notification data as a text. The feature is that it is sent to the corresponding e-mail address.

A fifth aspect of the present invention is a balance information notifying system for transmitting information about an account balance in a financial institution through an appropriate information communication network, wherein the account balance of the deposit account provided in the financial institution is concerned. Judgment means for judging whether or not the account is below a predetermined minimum reference amount, and when the judgment means determines that the account balance is below the minimum reference amount, the account deposit of the corresponding account To the person who has acquired the destination when transmitting information via the information communication network to the person, and the notification data including at least the determination result information indicating that the minimum standard amount has been exceeded. Balance notification means for sending to the information communication network.

A sixth invention relates to a balance information notifying program for causing a computer to execute the method according to any one of the first to fourth inventions.

A seventh invention relates to a computer-readable recording medium in which the balance information notifying program according to the sixth invention is recorded.

[0012]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION === Network configuration === As an information communication network to which the balance information notification service method according to an embodiment of the present invention is applied, a network mainly including the Internet will be cited. FIG. 1 shows a schematic configuration diagram of the information communication network. The Internet 1 is a computer (user computer) used by an unspecified number of users, such as a personal computer.
2 is connected. A mobile phone 3 having an Internet connection function is also connected to the Internet 1 as a user computer via a gateway server 5 provided in the mobile communication network 4. Then, the service providing server 6 is connected to the Internet 1 to provide a balance information notification service for notifying the user computers (2, 3) of various information regarding the account balance.

While the service providing server 6 is connected to the Internet 1, it is also connected to a private network 7 such as a LAN or WAN of a financial institution as a computer managed by the financial institution. Then, it also communicates with other computers provided in the financial institution. The private network is also connected to a host computer 8 that performs deposit / withdrawal processing for each account, a database 9a that stores and manages data used by the host computer 8 and the service providing server 6, and the like. further,
In the present embodiment, it is assumed that the computer (customer computer) 10 managed by a credit card company, which is the biller of the account transfer, or a public service organization such as electric power, gas, water, etc., is also connected to the private network 7 by a dedicated line. .

In the present embodiment, the service providing server 6 cooperates with the host computer 8 and the database 9a to acquire account balance information at a financial institution, and embeds this information in predetermined screen data, for example, to send notification data. To form. Then, this notification data is transmitted to the user computers (2, 3) to perform the balance information notification service.

The user computer 2 and the customer computer 10 are not limited to personal computers, but may be the Internet-connectable mobile phone 3, digital TV, PDA, laptop computer, game console, or other network. The terminal may include any connectable computer chip. The network connecting the service providing server 6, the user computer 2, the mobile phone 3, the gateway server 5, the host computer 8, and the customer computer 10 to each other is not only the Internet but also an ATM line,
Various networks such as personal computer communication lines, LAN, wireless networks can be adopted while considering security and economic efficiency.

=== User Database === In the balance information notification service of the present embodiment, when it is determined that the account balance is below the preset minimum reference amount, or it is determined that it is below this. After that, if it is determined that the account balance has increased and exceeded the minimum reference amount, the depositor who is the owner of the relevant account will be notified of the determination result by communication means such as e-mail. The user database 9a registers and manages the depositor's personal information such as the minimum reference amount information and the electronic mail address necessary for the processing.

Here, the minimum reference amount means, for example, the minimum maintenance balance amount designated in advance by the user so that the transfer process at the end of the month can be smoothly executed. You may keep it. In this way, when the minimum standard amount is set on the financial institution side, for example, if the account balance on a certain reference date falls below a certain standard amount, products and such In combination with the service of the embodiment, it is possible to notify when the account balance falls below the reference amount at which the maintenance fee is incurred.

As a data structure, as shown in FIG. 2, a relational database in which the identification number of each depositor (user) is used as a key and the store number, the subject, the account number, the minimum reference amount, and the e-mail address are related is formed. ing. Of course, the contact information registered in the database 9a can be changed as appropriate in accordance with the communication means with the user. In addition to the e-mail address, information such as an IP address, a telephone number, and a fax number can be used. Good. In addition, there is no problem with a data structure in which an identification number is not used as a key, but simply the account number is used as a key to associate other personal information.

In providing the balance information notification service to the users, when the deposit accounts of all the pre-registered users are targeted, only the accounts whose balance has changed at a predetermined timing among the pre-registered user's deposit accounts. Two patterns can be assumed when extracting and targeting.

=== Flow of Service Provision === FIG. 3 is a flow chart showing a processing procedure in the balance information notification service method of the present embodiment. Hereinafter, the flow of processing will be described in the case of the conditions of the above pattern, that is, the case where the balance account changes at a predetermined timing and the deposit account of the user who has set the minimum reference amount in advance is targeted. The service providing server 6 starts the check process regarding the account balance at each check timing, such as the time when the business reception time of the financial institution ends (s401). This timing may be designated for each user, or may be set appropriately on the financial institution side.

The service providing server 6 requests the host computer 8 to inquire about an account whose balance has changed since the last check (s402). By inquiring the host computer 8 for the balance change account and extracting the account, it is possible to improve the processing efficiency by targeting only the account with the changed balance, rather than all the deposit accounts for which the minimum reference amount is set. Of. Prior to this inquiry request, it is assumed that the host computer 8 performs a process of setting a flag on the deposit account to be processed when performing a deposit / withdrawal process associated with transfer, for example. Further, it is assumed that this flag is reset when the inquiry response is sent to the service providing server 6.

By doing so, it is possible to reduce the processing load of the host computer 8 for checking whether or not there is a balance change for all deposit accounts for each inquiry request of the service providing server 6, and the service providing server 6 also has a flag. The inquiry processing can be completed only by extracting the established account, which is also preferable in terms of improving processing efficiency.
Of course, the host computer 8 may check all deposit accounts for each inquiry request according to processing efficiency and cost. As described above, the service providing server 6 receives the inquiry result from the host computer 8 and extracts the balance change account from the numerous deposit accounts (s403).

Next, with respect to the extracted balance change account, it is determined by referring to the user database 9a whether or not the balance change account includes an account for which the minimum reference amount is set (s404). Therefore, when there is an account for which the minimum reference amount is set, the store number and account number of the corresponding account are referred to in the user database 9a, and this store number,
The host computer 8 is queried for the account balance of the account number (s405). The service providing server 6 which has received the response result according to the balance inquiry process from the host computer 8.
Comes to recognize the balance of the corresponding account (s406). On the other hand, if there is no account for which the minimum reference amount has been set, the processing ends. In the above description, the presence of the balance change account and the information of the account balance are obtained by making an inquiry to the host computer 8. However, for example, the host computer 8 and the service providing server 6 are integrated, or If the storage device is shared, it is possible to obtain the information such as the above-mentioned account balance by the reference process in the storage device itself without performing the inquiry operation.

The service providing server 6 determines whether or not the account balance of the corresponding account is below a predetermined minimum reference amount for the account (s407). When it is determined that the account balance is below the minimum reference amount, the user database 9a is searched for the contact information of the depositor using the account number of the corresponding account as a key (s40
8), Acquire the destination to notify the balance information (s40
9). The balance notification data including at least the determination result information indicating that the amount is below the minimum reference amount is transmitted to the destination such as the acquired e-mail address or IP address, and the process ends (s410). In addition to the determination result, for example, information of the transfer details (deposit and withdrawal details) of the day when the amount is below the minimum reference amount may be acquired from the host computer 8 and added to the determination result notification information (see FIG. 4). .

On the other hand, if it is determined that the minimum reference amount is exceeded, it is further determined whether or not the account balance of the relevant account was less than or equal to the minimum reference amount at the previous determination (s40).
7 '). As a result, it is recognized whether or not the balance has fallen below the minimum standard amount, but the account balance has subsequently increased and has recovered above the minimum standard amount. As a result, if the account has the account balance equal to or more than the minimum reference amount at the time of the previous determination, the process ends. On the other hand, if the account balance has recovered to the minimum reference amount or more, the destination is searched and acquired for the account in the same manner as described above (s408, s40
9) The notification data including at least the determination result information that the account balance has recovered to the minimum reference amount or more is transmitted to the acquired destination (s410).

User computer 2 corresponding to the destination
The mobile phone 3 receives the above-mentioned notification data, and the user as the user of the user computer 2 recognizes that the balance is insufficient or the balance is recovered with respect to the minimum reference amount. For example, FIG. 4 shows a screen example when the mobile phone 3 receives the balance notification data. The user browses such a screen 400 and recognizes the fact that the current account balance has fallen below the minimum reference amount or has recovered, and what kind of deposit / withdrawal process has led to this fact. This allows the user to check whether his or her account balance is below the minimum reference amount without having to perform troublesome procedures such as periodically calling a financial institution or visiting a physical store to check the balance. It is possible to quickly and accurately recognize the cause (including the case where the minimum standard amount has been recovered) or the cause. In particular, this contributes to reducing the load on the user side for maintaining the account balance in the situation where the settlement opportunity by the credit card increases and the account balance is likely to change finely.

=== Other Embodiments === In the case of a pattern in which all the deposit accounts of the users registered in advance are targeted, the balance change account is extracted from the balance change account inquiry s402 in the above step s403. Are omitted and a series of processing is executed.

Further, in the above embodiment, the presence or absence of the balance change account is checked and then the presence or absence of the minimum reference amount setting account is determined, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, if the minimum standard amount is set in advance for all deposit accounts,
It is possible to proceed to the next step balance inquiry just by inquiring the balance changing account, or the minimum standard regardless of whether the balance has changed (that is, omitting the balance changing account inquiry). The balance inquiry process may be performed for all accounts for which the amount is set.

The means of transmitting information to the user is not limited to electronic mail. For example, a storage resource on the network specified by a predetermined URL is allocated to each user, and a web page for presenting balance notification data is created. Then, the Web page for each user is stored in the corresponding storage resource. That is, the service providing server 6 follows the well-known procedure such as FTP and the UR for each user
A data group (HTML that composes a Web page addressed to L
Send data, image data, etc.). Thereby,
Each user uses a browser of his or her own user computer to access a web page corresponding to balance notification data from a predetermined URL.
Pages can be ordered and viewed.

[0030]

According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a balance information notification service method and a balance information notification system capable of notifying a depositor of information relating to an account balance.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing a schematic configuration of an information communication network to which a balance information notification service method according to the present embodiment is applied.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a data structure of a user database.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure in the balance information notification service method of the present embodiment.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing a reception screen of balance notification data in the balance information notification service method of the present embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

s407 judgment step s409 Destination acquisition step s410 Balance notification step

Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. A balance information notification service method for transmitting information about an account balance in a financial institution via an appropriate information communication network, wherein the account balance of a deposit account provided in the financial institution is A determination step that performs a process for determining whether or not the account is below a predetermined minimum reference amount, and when the determination step determines that the account balance is below the minimum reference amount, the account deposit of the corresponding account An address acquisition step of acquiring an address when transmitting information to the person via the information communication network, and sending notification data including at least determination result information indicating that the minimum standard amount is exceeded to the acquired address. A balance information notification service method comprising: a notification step of sending to the information communication network. Law. 2. The account balance according to claim 1, wherein the account balance is checked at predetermined timings, and a balance change account whose account balance has changed since the previous check is extracted. In the determination step, the extracted balance change account is targeted. A balance information notification service method characterized by performing determination processing. 3. The account according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the account balance is determined to be below the minimum reference amount in the determination step, unless the account balance is below the minimum reference amount due to an increase in the balance thereafter. If determined, the destination for transmitting information to the account depositor of the account via the information communication network is acquired, and in the balance information notifying step, the account balance is restored to the minimum reference amount or more. And sending the notification data including at least the determination result information to the information communication network addressed to the acquired destination. 4. The email address according to claim 1, wherein the destination is an email address, and the balance notification step assigns an email containing information relating to the balance notification data to a corresponding email address. A balance information notification service method characterized by sending to a recipient. 5. A balance information notification system for transmitting information about an account balance in a financial institution through an appropriate information communication network, wherein a deposit account provided in the financial institution has a predetermined account balance. To the depositor of the relevant account when the determining means determines whether the account balance is below the minimum reference amount. Address acquisition means for acquiring a destination when information is transmitted via the information communication network, and notification information including at least notification data including determination result information indicating that the minimum standard amount is exceeded, to the acquired information communication network And a notification means for sending to the balance information notification system. 6. A balance information notification program for causing a computer to execute the method according to any one of claims 1 to 4. 7. A computer-readable recording medium in which the balance information notification program according to claim 6 is recorded.