JP2003506791A - Method and system for exchanging bonus points on online system - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] The present invention provides a method for exchanging bonus points provided by a separate company for bonus points or cyber money (electronic money) of another company. The present invention provides a connection step in which a member connects to a web server operated by the trading center, and a menu providing step in which the trading center provides a trading menu for inquiring, selling and buying bonus points to the connected member. A transaction requesting step in which the member selects a transaction menu to request a transaction, a transaction performing step in which the transaction center performs a transaction in response to a member's transaction request, and the transaction center performs the transaction information and the transaction A change item storage step of storing the changed point information and cyber money information of the member, a member notification step of notifying the member of the changed point information and cyber money information of the member, and a changed point information. Bonus including the member company notification stage of notifying the member company that provides the relevant points The present invention relates to a method of exchanging points and a device related thereto. The method of the present invention allows consumers to receive a substantial bonus at an early stage, and the companies selected by the member companies are collective fixed customers, that is, members can be secured and are superior to other similar companies. It is characterized by having a strong competitiveness.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a method for exchanging bonus points provided by separate companies for bonus points or cyber money (electronic money) of another company. Specifically, the bonus points and cyber money of each individual company are exchanged. It relates to a method of setting an appropriate exchange rate to allow various bonus points to be freely traded or exchanged in the real world or cyber space.

[0002]

[Prior art]

Money basically has the functions of storing value, exchanging value, and measuring value.
However, in the present invention, the bonus points that are the medium of exchange have a non-monetary aspect in which the exchange of value is impossible if the amount of money does not reach a certain level, although it has the function of storing value and measuring. Have The object of the present invention is to monetize non-monetary by adding a value exchange function to non-monetary bonus points below the minimum usable limit, which cannot be used because the current level has not reached a certain level. Through this, the company aims to monetize the bonus points provided by the company to the customer and to give the customer a substantial price discount benefit, and to give the company that implements this service the benefit of securing the customer.

In the majority of industrial fields, not only has the product life cycle entered a mature stage, but standardization and universalization of related production technologies have made product quality uniform and product differentiation difficult. As a result, serious price competition and service competition through price destruction are occurring. That is, consumers will recognize prices and services as important elements of product purchasing in the purchasing market where product discrimination is minimal, and therefore companies will use prices and services as the most important means of competition. It has become. In such a competitive market environment, companies may reduce operating profits by competitively lowering prices in order to secure the market, or even all related companies may suffer losses.

Changes in the market environment due to intensified competition and diverse and confusing customer preferences are not considered as a target for a company to sell products to each individual customer, but as a supporter who supports the company. The idea of having to do so has been changed, and from this foundation of recognition, marketing based on customer information (Data Base Marketing; hereinafter referred to as DB marketing) has occurred. . Businesses need to maintain a lasting close relationship with their patron customers, and DB marketing has just emerged as a means to specifically realize lasting communication with customers. DB marketing is almost synonymous with one-to-one marketing or relationship marketing in that it aims to maintain a lasting relationship with each customer.

Companies have sought to find each customer's requirements by collecting and accumulating various data for their customers and analyzing that data, and the earliest stage of such efforts is exactly the norm. It is a frequent consumer program.

As a result of the company's loyalty to its own brand (the act of continuously purchasing a specific product) compared with the selling cost, the cost of selling one product to a customer with high loyalty It is far less expensive than selling to new customers who have no purchasing experience, and we understand that selling to customers with relatively high loyalty plays a role of a towing vehicle to improve corporate profits. He began to focus on securing customers.

That is, after collecting customer information through the special treatment system for regular customers, by analyzing the material, the taste and request of each customer are grasped, and one-to-one marketing is performed based on the material to conduct potential customer To become a customer who is always good at, and a customer who is always good at to be a supporter (advocate: a customer of a level that solicits others' products).

[0008]   The point accumulation system was developed as one of the means for this.

The point accumulation system is a system in which various bonus points and reserves that can be redeemed depending on the actual results are provided to the members who have been subscribed, as prescribed goods, prizes, money and services. In this system, "members" have the advantage that "members" receive discounts from a "member company" in certain departments, and "member companies" have the advantage of securing customers and preventing withdrawal.
It became universal in a short time.

[0010] Point accumulation system is typically performance-proportional-compensation (reward accrual program)
And achievements-stage-compensated (tired reward program) categories.

The achievement-proportional-compensation type is to provide members with points that can be redeemed or redeemed for the achievement of card use. Usage under this program is usually aggregated on a monthly basis and compensation is provided based on a monthly aggregate. The redemption amount of points that can be redeemed at the time of purchasing goods of the company brand according to the refund of a certain percentage of the annual usage record of the card company or the usage record of the credit card issued by a specific company (automobile card of a car company) The method of discounting the price by + α is the actual result
-Proportional-This is a typical example of compensation type.

However, these programs have a disadvantage in that they cannot give clear achievement goals to “members”. In other words, the "member" can enjoy the blessing of compensation as long as he / she actually uses it, so that it is not necessary to forcibly increase the usage record.
In addition, by providing the same type and level of compensation to all "members", it is not possible to meet the individual tendency of members who desire various types of compensation.

The performance-stage-compensation type is to provide compensation to "members" whose usage performance reaches a certain level. Generally, in the achievement-stage-compensation type, various fulfillment levels and compensations corresponding to each fulfillment level are set by the "member company", and compensation is provided to "members" who have a certain level of achievements or more. is there. Most domestic companies use this type of performance-stage-compensation type, but provide compensation when a certain level is reached by accumulating accumulated points accumulated by the usage history of members. Is.

A method-system for managing performance-stage-compensation types is described in US Pat. No. 5,025,37
It has been disclosed in Specification No. 2. This patent relates to a system for managing and providing compensation to members who have achieved a predetermined performance level.
The planned performance level is selected by the sponsor and compensation is limited to the credit of the member.

However, the performance-stage-compensation type including US Pat. No. 5,025,372 has a disadvantage that the same compensation has already been decided for all the members participating in this program. Therefore, members who are not interested in the offered compensation cannot be motivated to achieve higher levels. After all, there is no difference from the performance-proportional-compensation type in that the individual tendency of each member is not taken into consideration.

One solution to this drawback is presented in US Pat. No. 6,018,718. The patent is a little different from the usual compensation program in that it fully considers each member's individual propensity as it relates to a method and system for providing individual member ordered compensation. It is a thing.

If compensation for such bonus points is made smoothly, the conversion cost of consumers will be increased.
(Opportunity cost for consumers to give up the potential benefits of compensation from existing purchasing places when they give up on existing purchasing places and use other purchasing places) The utilization rate of the preferential treatment system of the regular customers of the users is increased, the loyalty of the brand is increased, the enterprise can collect a lot of data, and the profit through the sales is continuously increased. Is.

However, the implementation of such a bonus point system for a company has come to the forefront as it is not long.

After all companies are implementing the bonus card system, in order to induce the initial impulse purchase or to secure the initial customer data, after providing the bonus product with a small amount of purchase, the bonus product This is because they used a strategy that made it possible to purchase a specific product with patience for a considerable period of time. As a result, consumers have given up on sustainable purchasing and use of the preferential treatment system for regular customers, thus not only hindering companies and fixed customers and obtaining high-quality customer information, but also the system Recovery from the costs invested for enforcement became uncertain.

While the patents relating to the various compensation programs or the compensation systems described in detail increase the performance of the members, they focus on the satisfaction of individual compensation propensity to be used as a means for that purpose.

It is a fact that the actual usage of members who have joined each member company can be slightly increased by using such a program.

However, in the conventional programs or patents, since the purchase record is small, if the various bonus points and the reserve level cannot reach a certain level, the bonus points and the reserve itself are left as unused assets and fallen down. The problems of the less frequent use of bonus cards by members and the inadequate securing of loyal customers by companies are also overlooked. In addition, members may incur unnecessary purchases or purchases for increasing performance in order to obtain more compensation or better compensation, which may promote unnecessary consumption or overconsumption.

On the contrary, in the case of a member company, the compensation provided by the performance-stage-compensation type excluding the form of reserve fund has a general feature that increases geometrically with respect to the reserve point of the member. There is a considerable risk inherent in maintaining the program from the standpoint of member companies.

[0024] For example, in the case of an airline mileage program, the first compensation provided is to provide a simple ticket, but as the mileage increases, the cost increases and is provided to the highest level member. Compensation induces considerable risks such as constant seat class upgrades and free hotel offers.

Therefore, the opportunity cost due to the conversion of the buyer's place of purchase is reduced, the loyalty of the buyer to the company or brand is increased, and the risk of the company due to the implementation of the bonus point system is reduced, while the expectation by the system implementation There is a demand for a system that allows various bonus points to be freely exchanged or traded appropriately so that profits can be realized.

[0026]

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention]

The present invention comprehensively solves the errors of consumer purchasing patterns and corporate marketing strategies due to changes in the business environment as described above, and the preferential treatment system for regular customers, and thereby establishes a practical system and establishes a system between companies. The purpose is the network configuration of.

The present invention selects a company that is in the process of implementing a bonus point system to form a bonus point exchange pool (Exchange Pool), and transfers bonus points provided by another company to bonus points of other companies or cyber points. An attempt is made to provide a method and apparatus for exchanging money.

The present invention provides a new method of converting various unnecessary asset-like bonus points and reserves held by members into usable assets in a short period of time to obtain necessary bonus products, It is to provide member companies with an opportunity to eliminate possible risks initially at a relatively low cost.

[0029]

[Means for Solving the Problems]

In order to achieve the above-described object, the present invention mediates a transaction of a member company that provides points to a customer, a member who is a customer who receives points from the member company, and the points owned by the member. The transaction center participates as a party, the member connects to a web server operated by the transaction center, and the transaction center inquires and sells bonus points to the connected member,
A menu providing step of providing a transaction menu related to purchase, a transaction requesting step in which the member selects a transaction menu to request a transaction, a transaction executing step in which the transaction center performs a transaction according to a member's transaction request, and the transaction The center notifies the member of the storage stage of the changed items for storing the transaction information by the transaction execution, the changed point information of the member and the cyber money information, and the changed point information of the member and the cyber money information. The present invention provides a bonus point exchange method including a member notification step and a member company notification step of notifying changed member information to a member company providing the corresponding points, and a device related thereto.

[0030]   The terms used in the present invention are defined below.

The bonus point or mileage system is a fixed amount if a company purchases its own product in order to attract consumers and provides points at a fixed ratio to the actual result and accumulates more than a predetermined point. A system that allows you to receive goods, services, money, etc. as a bonus, or to receive a discount when purchasing products of the same company in proportion to the points, at which time you can use those points as bonus points or points Say. Cyber money is electronic money, electronic checks, electronic wallets, and electronic money that can be used in cyber space that is not real money and can be used for purchasing goods by electronic commerce if necessary or can be exchanged for real money. Says the transferred price. However, in the present invention, cyber money is preferably used only for the purpose of purchasing points of a member company. A member company means, for example, a company that has contracted with the transaction center so as to sell the service points provided by itself when there is a transaction center that relays the exchange of points by the method of the present invention. A member means a person who can use the transaction center as a person who accumulates points provided by a member company. Exchange Rate is the amount of cyber money that corresponds to 1 point,
That is, it is an exchange unit and can be determined in advance by the value of bonus points provided by the member company, or can be determined in the form of a variable exchange rate by combining the point transaction results of the member company. In other words, by lowering the exchange rate of member company points with a large number of points sold and lowering the amount of sales by purchasing more points, member company points with a higher exchange rate reduce the purchase amount and increase the balance of the system. Introduction is also possible.

In the present invention, information about the buyer who first receives the bonus points from the member company that provides the bonus points is transmitted to the transaction center, so that the buyer automatically becomes a member. It is also possible to allow purchasers who receive bonus points from member companies to become members by actively entering their information into the transaction center and joining, and if necessary It is also possible to automatically join bonus points and to give membership only to other bonus points when they actively join.
However, in the case of the automatic subscription type, the member must later set a new password to use the transaction center when connecting to the transaction center for the first time.

On the other hand, the step of receiving the order may be performed on a wired / wireless telephone or on the Internet, and the member may place an order by directly facing the staff of the transaction center. That is, the member can make a one-to-one face-to-face transaction through a telephone or an ARS telephone, or can make a transaction online through various wired and wireless computer networks.

The features and advantages of the present invention other than those described above will be apparent from the following description of the preferred embodiments of the present invention to be referred to next.

[0035]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

  Hereinafter, the method and apparatus of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

In the method of the present invention, the information transmission relationship between each transaction member is shown in FIG. If a specific member purchases goods or services from a specific member company in the user pool, the member company provides the member with a certain bonus point in proportion to the purchase amount.
The provided points are immediately saved in the point information DB. Members who have bonus points or cyber money can sell or buy points by connecting to the transaction center according to the present invention. At this time, the type and number of changed points and the amount of cyber money are the point information DB. The type of bonus points and changes in points will be immediately reported to the member company providing the bonus points. On the other hand, if a member who buys at a transaction center or has bonus points accumulated through purchasing goods-services presents the points to the member company that provides the bonus points, the member company receives the points at the same time. A bonus such as a predetermined item and an amount of money is provided to the member, and the fact that the member has consumed points is immediately stored in the point information DB. Therefore, points between trading members and items of change in cyber money can be immediately confirmed with each other.

The system of the transaction center, member side and member company side in connection with the apparatus of the present invention is illustrated in FIGS. 2 to 4. The systems of each party can be interconnected by a communication network such as the Internet. Although these systems are not shown in the drawings, memory devices such as RAM (RAM) and ROM (ROM), which are usually essential components of a computer, DOS (DOS), Windows (Windows®), and Unix ( It has an operating system such as UNI X (registered trademark) and Linux, a clock, and the like. These systems can also be based on conventional personal computer (PC) or WORK STATION computers.

As shown in FIG. 2, the transaction center of the present invention includes a communication program, a communication network interface, a web server 11 for connecting members and providing a user interface to members, member information, and a member company. Information, transaction information, exchange rate information,
The storage device 14 for storing data including transaction information and cyber money information and the communication program, the communication network interface, the web server, and the storage device are controlled to interpret the member's transaction request and execute the transaction, thereby performing the transaction. Is a device that includes a controller 12 that extracts necessary information, stores the information changed by the transaction execution, and notifies the member and the member company of the transaction result.

The storage device 14 stores member information DB1a for storing the personal information and bonus card information of the member, member company information DB1b for storing information about the member company, and information regarding the exchange rate of each point. Exchange rate information DB1c, payment settlement DB1d that stores information related to expense settlement, cyber money information DB1e and point information DB1f that stores information related to members' bonus points and cyber money, transaction information DB1g that stores and stores transaction status, etc. .

In fact, each device of the transaction center can be integrated into the web server 11, and the web server and the rest of the devices can be configured by different computers.

The controller 12 means a CPUU of a computer, which executes an application program, manages data, inquires and manages a storage device, performs a calculation process, and the like.

The transaction center 10 confirms whether the member has more than the sold quantity of the type of points in the case of a sell-out order, and if it is a buy-back order, the number of buy-in points of the member. Confirm that you have more than the cyber money that corresponds to the above, and if you do not have more than that, notify the member that the transaction is not possible, and if you have more than that, carry out the transaction. Has a sex review program. In this way, a member who holds less than the required number of points for the transaction or less than the cyber money corresponding to the amount of purchasing points will apply for a new transaction.

Further, the transaction center has information on points increased or decreased by point transactions between members, and has a settlement DB 1d so that it can be periodically settled with a member company that provides the points. Is good. Further, it is preferable that the transaction center has a settlement program for automatically calculating increase / decrease of burden due to increase / decrease of points of a specific member company which is periodically changed in the transaction process by referring to the settlement DB 1d.

On the other hand, there is a high possibility that points will not be sold and purchased in the short term during the point transaction process. In such a case, in order to prevent the transaction activity from being interrupted, it is desirable to store a predetermined amount of buffer cyber money and points of each type in the settlement DB 1d immediately after the completion of the settlement process.

The transaction center according to the present invention has at least two communication network interfaces capable of communicating through the Internet network or the like. The communication network interface plays a role of online connecting the member terminal and the member company computer to the transaction center.

FIG. 3 shows the configuration of the terminal on the member side according to the present invention. The member has a communication program capable of connecting to the transaction center, for example, a web browser and a terminal having a communication network interface such as a modem. The terminal may be an ordinary personal computer equipped with an output device 15 such as a monitor and a printer and an input device 16 such as a keyboard and a mouse.

Members connect to the web server of the transaction center through the communication network interface of the terminal to exchange points.

FIG. 4 shows a computer on the member company side according to the present invention. The computer of the member company has a communication program and a communication network interface that can be connected to the transaction center, a storage device that stores data including information of individual members and information of individual points, the communication program and the communication network interface. In addition, while controlling the storage device, it includes a controller that manages the information required for membership, points, and transaction execution and stores the changed information.

In order to protect information, the computer of the member company is synchronized with the original DB in real time, in addition to the original DB in which the individual member information (1A) and individual point information (1F) are stored. It is preferable that the transaction center receives information from the individual DB information of the individual duplication member and the individual individual DB information of the individual duplication point information DB separately.

Further, from the standpoint of a member company, new points or withdrawal members may occur for their own points, and new points for members may occur. May disappear. Therefore, in the computer of the member company, the information of the individual member is changed, and the generation and disappearance of the points of the member are input to the information of the individual member and the information of the individual point. / It is desirable to have the disappearance input device 18. Of course, the input devices 17 and 18 may be in an interface form connected to other computers.

In the device of the present invention, a point information DB for storing and managing the points of members
Can be divided into two categories. An information DB of individual points owned and managed by each member company and an integrated point information DB that manages points of members who use the transaction center. These can physically exist in various ways. That is, the transaction center may build and hold the integrated point information DB, and may have the authority to inquire and manage the individual point information DB of each member company in real time when necessary without the integrated point information DB. It is possible. Further, in any of the above cases, a replication DB for inquiry may be provided separately from the original DB for information protection. Hereinafter, the integrated point information DB (hereinafter, simply referred to as “point information DB”) will be described in detail by the physical position thereof.

1) Method of setting point information DB in each member company For a shared member, that is, a member of a transaction center, a duplicate DB is configured through an API program to update the member point information DB and information. , Is a system in which the transfer information of the transaction center approaches the replication DB and inquires so that the replication DB is synchronized with the ledger DB in real time. In this case, the point information DB for all the shared members cannot be created.

2) Method of placing shared member point DB in the transaction center This is a method of duplicating and integrating the original DB of each member company to form one integrated point information DB and locating it in the transaction center. . In this case, the point information DB of the transaction center must be synchronized with the original DB of each member company in real time.

An example of a specific flow of the method of the present invention using the above system and network is shown in FIG. For convenience of explanation, the web server of the transaction center will provide the transaction menu in a question and answer form to the connected members.

First, if the user 1 connects to the transaction center 10 that operates the method of the present invention through the communication network 4 such as the Internet, the controller inquires the member DB to determine whether the member is authorized (step 1
Check 02). At this time, the user enters the member authentication number (the identification code, various card numbers, resident registration number or ID, Password, etc. may be input depending on the situation of each member company) to be authenticated as a member. . After that, if you are a member, you will be asked whether you want to sell or buy points (step 103).

In the case of sale, the type and quantity of bonus points to be sold are input (step 104), and compared with the point information of the member stored in the point information DB (step 105), the kind and quantity of sale are determined. It is confirmed whether there is any (step 106). If there is a sufficient quantity, after the sold quantity is exchanged for cyber money, the related information changed by the transaction is saved in the point information DB and the cyber money information DB, and the details are notified to the related member companies (step 107). . After that, ask if you want to make another transaction (step
108), if there is another transaction, send to the above step 103, and if there is no other transaction, end (step
109) Yes.

On the other hand, if the member is not a member in step 102, the member joining is questioned (step 114), and when joining the member, the member information is input / stored (step 115), and the process returns to step 102.

When purchasing points is selected in step 103, the type and quantity of points to be purchased are input (step 110), and the cyber money of the member stored in the cyber money DB is confirmed (step 111). . After comparing whether there is cyber money of the member company corresponding to the number of purchased points (step 112), if it is sufficient, after exchanging for the points, the changes due to the exchange are saved in the point information DB and the cyber money DB respectively. Then, report this to the member company. Then, return to step 108.
If the member's cyber money is not enough, go back to step 103 to adjust the purchase amount.

In the method according to the present invention, an authentication step for authenticating a member connected to each of the steps may be added. Authentication is browser-based certificate and other PKI
(Public Key Infrastructure; International convention for encryption of public key infrastructure, certificate management) Structured authentication can be used. The authentication method can be replaced by an authentication method improved by future technological development.

First, the member connects his / her PC to, for example, the Internet and drives a web browser built in the PC to connect to the web server of the transaction center. If the connected person is not a registered member, follow the procedure for member registration.
After connecting to the member, the connection person goes through various authentication procedures, and the transaction center issues an electronic certificate to the authenticated member. In the transaction process, the member enters the identification code of each member company that he / she owns through the PC that has received the electronic certificate, and the transaction in which the member's identification code is input after completing the member authentication procedure The center will transmit the identification code to each member company.

The member company, which has received the member authentication number transmitted from the member, confirms the agreement between the identification code transferred using the API program installed in the preceding stage of the member point DB or the application program itself and the information of the current member. consider. For the member who has the same information as the transferred member, the API program or the application program is driven again to extract the point information of the member from the company's individual point information DB and transfer it to the transaction center.

Hereinafter, the exchange rate, the actual transaction method, the fee addition method, the points, and the cyber money settlement method in the process of operating the method of the present invention will be described in detail.

(1) Exchange Rate The exchange rate means an amount of cyber money corresponding to one point, that is, an exchange unit. This can be agreed in advance between member companies depending on the value of compensation for bonus points provided by each member company. The simplest example is assuming that the value of cyber money is equivalent to the value of the real Korean won coin, and if the A member company provides 10,000 points of gasoline for its 1000 points, then A The company's point exchange rate is [10000 won / 10
00 points = 10 cyber money / point], and if the member company B offers an airline ticket worth 600,000 won against its own 30,000 points, the point exchange rate of company B is [600000 won / 30000 points]. = 20 cyber money / point].

There are two types of point exchange rates: 1) a plurality of exchange rates with different exchange rates for selling / buying, and 2) a single exchange rate with the same exchange rate for selling / buying. Is possible.

The multiple exchange rate forms are such that the member points from the member company more than the appropriate point unit price calculated by calculating the ratio between the unit price of the bonus product provided by the member company and the points required to receive the product. The unit price is high when buying, and the price is low when members sell their points to member companies. For example, in the above example, the point of Company A can be binary so that the exchange rate at the time of sale is 9 cyber money / point and the exchange rate at the time of purchase is 11 cyber money / point. According to this method, the generated difference cyber money can be applied to the operation cost of the transaction center.

The form of a single exchange rate is a form in which the exchange rate of selling / buying is fixed at an appropriate unit price of the above-mentioned points or a fixed unit price determined by the member company.

On the other hand, it is also possible to adopt a variable exchange rate policy in which the exchange rate of points that sell a lot is lower and the exchange rate of points that buy a lot is higher due to the general principle of supply and demand. The variable exchange rate system is a system in which the exchange rate is changed from time to time in a specific time unit in consideration of the ratio of sales / buying of points of each member company.

In this case, the amount of points sold / buried by each member company and the total amount of points converted into cyber money are linked to reduce the exchange rate for points with a large amount of sales, and the exchange rate for points with a large amount of purchase. It is a form in which a certain amount of selling / buying amount is adjusted by raising the value of. At this time, a program that adjusts the exchange rate of each member company is used to store the changed exchange rate in the exchange rate information DB in real time so that it can be inquired and applied at the time of transaction. To be able to

When the variable exchange rate is applied, the fluctuation of the exchange rate can be appropriately adjusted in consideration of the cashability of various points held by the member, the profitability of the transaction center and each member company, and the like. For example, the closer the point to the specific member company is to the level at which compensation can be actually made, the lower the exchange rate for selling the corresponding point of the relevant member and the higher the exchange rate for purchase can be set.

(2) Actual Transaction Method A member who is connected to the transaction center inquires about the type and quantity of points he or she owns, and then sells, buys, or buys at the same time as selling (hereinafter, this case is referred to as “exchange”). ) Can be entered to request a transaction.

The inputted information is automatically converted into a certain form on the window applet (Windows Applet) provided on the member's PC by the web server of the transaction center, and the converted cyber money is displayed on the screen. It In the case of point sales, it becomes [exchange rate of sales x quantity of points sold], and in the case of point purchase, it becomes [exchange rate of purchase x quantity of points purchased]. In the two cases, the result value of everyone becomes cyber money, and there is only the difference that + and-, which are increase / decrease indicators, are attached to the front end. For the convenience of calculation, the member exchanges the sold exchange rate and the purchased exchange rate by applying 10 which is the same single exchange rate.
In the case of selling or buying 0 points as an example, the member is a cyber money that multiplied the exchange rate of 10 and 20 points when selling.
You can recognize the increase of 200, and when you buy it, you will see that the cyber money 200 multiplied by 10 and 20 points of the exchange rate of the purchase has dropped.

If the result value is converted into points that are not cyber money by slightly modifying the detailed formula, in the case of point sales, [the amount of cyber money purchased / the exchange rate of sales] becomes points. In the case of purchase, it can be seen that [the amount of sale of cyber money divided by the exchange rate of purchase]. That is, the members recognize on the monitor screen that the point 20 is decreased when the cyber money 200 is increased in the above example, and the point 20 is increased when the cyber money 200 is decreased. Will be able to.

Next, when the member “confirms” the breakdown of the transaction on the screen, the increase / decrease data of cyber money and points are the cyber money DB and the point information D, respectively.
It is transferred to B, the material is updated, and the transaction details are stored in the transaction information DB. This process is controlled by the controller of the transaction center, at which time the controller functions as a transaction server.

* Selling Order Referring to FIG. 6 which is an attached drawing showing an example of a selling order of points according to the method of the present invention, the member defines the type and quantity of points he or she intends to sell (
In step 201), an order for sale is applied and transferred to the web server of the trading center (step 202). Next, the information about the sell-out order is transmitted to the controller, and the controller first inquires the point information DB of the corresponding member (step 203) and confirms whether or not more points than the sold-out quantity are accumulated (step 204). If it is confirmed that the quantity is equal to or more than the quantity sold, the controller calculates the cyber money corresponding to the quantity sold, through the calculation process (step 205) of [exchange rate for sales x quantity of points sold]. The generated cyber money is stored in the cyber money DB (step 206). Information about the sold points is transferred to the member company providing the points through the communication network interface (step 207). The member company deducts the received data from the duplicate point DB, or deducts the amount of goods sold by the corresponding member from the point information DB through the API program.

* Buying Order Referring to FIG. 7, which is an attached drawing showing an example of a buying order of points according to the method of the present invention, a member who connects to the web server of the transaction center and inquires about his own points and cyber money information. Decides the type and quantity of points to be bought (step 301), and places an order for purchase. The web server of the transaction center, which has received the purchase order, transfers the data to the controller (step 302).
The controller calculates (exchange rate of purchase x quantity of applicable points) for the purchase order of the relevant member (step 303), calculates the cyber money required for the physical quantity of the purchase, and then the cyber money. The information DB is inquired (step 304) and it is confirmed whether or not the member has accumulated more cyber money than the calculated one (step 305).
). Only when the amount of cyber money is more than the required amount, the necessary cyber money is subtracted from the cyber money DB (step 306), and the result is notified to the member company that provides the purchased points, and it is applicable from the point information DB. Try to increase the points of the member (step 307).

* Exchange In some cases, members can sell a points and buy b points at the same time. This is basically to complete the transaction for selling a points first and then to purchase the transaction for b points, but from the member's perspective, the intermediate stage (that is, the stage of holding cyber money by selling) is performed. It can be divided into two types depending on whether or not it passes.

Since the form that goes through the intermediate stage is such that the selling and buying transactions occur continuously, detailed description thereof will be omitted.

The form that does not go through the intermediate stage is a method of directly exchanging a points and b points from the viewpoint of members. Members can place buy / sell orders on their PCs for the points they are about to sell and the points they are about to buy. The trading center to which the order is transmitted, the quantity of a points by the mutual sale / buy discount rate between a and b points according to [(exchange rate of purchase of b points) / (exchange rate of sale of a points)] The point information DB of each member company is updated by converting the b points corresponding to the value of 1 to the A member company and notifying the A member company of the decrease of the a point and the B member company of the increase of the b point. As a specific updating method, the transferred data can be updated in the duplicate point information DB in the member company, or the point information DB can be updated directly by driving the installed API program.

Of course, in this process, the remaining a points corresponding to the value of 1 unit or less of the b points are automatically converted by cyber money or left as they are.

(3) Fee addition method The transaction center can add a necessary fee for mediating point transactions in the course of each transaction. As for the cost addition method, the profit of the difference in exchange due to the system of multiple exchange rates that makes the exchange rate for sale and the exchange rate for purchase explained above different is retained at the transaction center, and by the transaction explicitly. Some add a fee.

[0081]   * Additional fees due to multiple exchange rate systems   Selling points-The fees in the process of buying and buying are as follows.

First, when the point a of the member company A is exchanged for the b point of the member company B, the standard exchange rate recognized as the proper price of the member company points (the exchange rate based on the actual value of the specific point). The cyber money of a converted by
If b is the point obtained by converting C from Company B's points at the standard exchange rate, the commission in the process of conversion to cyber money, that is, the process of selling is [C- (a × exchange rate of selling)]. .

If (a × exchange rate of sale) = c ′, the fee in the process of exchanging cyber money for points of company B, that is, the purchase process is [b− (c ′ ÷ exchange rate of purchase)) ] become.

[0084]   Therefore, the total commission in the sale-buy transaction process is   (C−c ′) + [b− (c ′ ÷ exchange rate of purchase)].

* Addition of explicit fee When the point a held by the member is sold, the own point a should be exchanged into cyber money corresponding to [quantity of sale of a x exchange rate of a] = C. However, at this time, the amount of money excluding the fee corresponding to [quantity of sales x exchange commission rate], that is, [C- (amount of sales of a x exchange commission rate)] = about C'cyber money It will be stored in the cyber money information DB.

Further, when purchasing the point a corresponding to the cyber money C, the point a corresponding to [C / (exchange rate of the point a) = [quantity of purchase of the a] comes to be purchased. The amount corresponding to [quantity of purchase x commission rate for exchange] can be deducted with the cyber money of the corresponding member, or the amount excluding the corresponding amount of point a can be saved in the point information DB. is there.

Of course, such a fee processing relationship is transferred to the member's PC, and the member becomes aware that a part of his points or cyber money has been deducted due to the transaction fee.

The exchange fee can be added to one or both of the selling stage and the buying stage or both sides, and the calculation method of the commission is the same as the above calculation for selling and buying. Be promoted. However, the exchange fee in the case of adding a commission at both the selling and buying stages can be simplified to [a x exchange discount rate x commission rate] when the point a is exchanged for the point b. At this time, the discount rate of exchange is the mutual sale / buy discount rate between a and b points according to [(exchange rate of purchase of b points) / (exchange rate of sale of a points)].

(4) Points and Cyber Money Settlement Method By trading various types of points, from the standpoint of a member company, it provides more bonuses than the bonus corresponding to the total amount of bonus points actually issued by itself. There are cases where this happens and vice versa. Therefore, the transaction center has a system for compensating the member companies that provided more bonuses by collecting the difference from the member companies that provided lesser bonuses than the bonus corresponding to the total amount of bonus points at regular intervals. Is desirable.

As a specific settlement method, there is a settlement method for direct exchange type transactions without the intermediary of cyber money. In this case, the discount rate between the member companies is calculated by the transaction breakdown between the member companies. Therefore, the amount of money, excluding the amount that is deducted, will be lent to each other and settled.

Further, as another settlement method, there may be the following cyber money mediation method.

When the member sells the point a of the member company A and buys the point b of the member company B among the points, the point a is a fixed amount of cyber money according to [exchange rate for sale × quantity for sale]. Is converted to. At this time, member company A began to reduce the debt that it would have to bear in the future (that is, the cost that would be incurred when the member presented points and requested compensation). The cash c that corresponds to the actual value of will be provided to the transaction center.

On the other hand, when a member uses cyber money to buy points of the member company B, the cyber money is converted into points b ′ and updated in the point information DB of the member company B, and the corresponding member's point information DB is updated. About the point of member company B, b'is increased. Member company B will have unexpected debt raised to b '. At this time, since the member company B has to allocate the amount of cyber money equal to [quantity of purchase / exchange rate of purchase], the cash c corresponding to the actual value of the cyber money.
'Will be applied from the trading center.

When the cash paid by each member company to the transaction center at the cost of reducing their debt is C and the cash paid from the transaction center at the cost of generating their debt is C ′, C ≧ It becomes C ', and C-C' cash is the amount that the member exchanges points to hold in the form of cyber money provided by the transaction center or the total amount consumed by the member in the form of cyber money and the fee for the point exchange transaction. Is the same as the sum of the total amount of.

When all members theoretically do not own the cyber money provided by the transaction center and consume it in the form of cyber money, and there is no commission for the exchange transaction, C
= C ', and complete balance settlement will occur.

The settlement will be in the form of balance settlement between each member company after a certain period of time has passed. It is also possible to carry out the loan settlement only for the shortage / excess money between each member company on the basis of the end of every month or the 15th.

[0097]

【The invention's effect】

The method of the present invention allows a consumer to exchange a small amount of various bonus points obtained as a result of various consumption patterns for cyber money or another type of bonus point, and to obtain a substantial bonus early. The companies selected as member companies are able to secure a group of fixed customers, that is, members, in order to concentrate on the companies that can receive grace and exchange points if the members can purchase. Be more competitive than other similar companies.

Although the present invention has been described in detail above with reference to the embodiments, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments, and the present invention is not limited to the idea of the present invention as long as it has ordinary knowledge in the technical field to which the present invention belongs. The invention could be modified or altered without departing from the spirit.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing an information transmission relationship between transaction members in the method of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a device diagram showing an example of a transaction center in the method of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a device diagram showing an example of a member terminal in the method of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a device diagram showing an example of a member company computer in the method of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is an example of a specific flow of actually using the method of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is an example of an order for selling points according to the method of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is an example of a point purchase order according to the method of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 User 1a Member information DB 1b Member company information DB 1c Exchange rate information DB 1d Settlement DB 1e Cyber money information DB 1f point information DB 1g transaction information DB 1A Individual member information DB 1F Individual point information DB 4 Communication network 10 trading centers 11 Web server 12 controller 13 Application program 14 Storage device 15 Output device 16 input device 17 Member information input machine 18-point generation / disappearance input device 20 members 30 member companies 41 Communication network interface

[Procedure amendment]

[Submission date] September 13, 2002 (2002.9.13)

[Procedure Amendment 1]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Correction target item name] Full text

[Correction method] Change

[Contents of correction]

Title: Method and system for exchanging bonus points on an online system

[Claims]

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method of exchanging bonus points provided by separate companies for bonus points of other companies or cyber money (electronic money). The present invention relates to a method of setting an appropriate exchange rate (Exchange Rate) between corporate bonus points and cyber money so that various bonus points can be freely traded or exchanged in the real world or cyber space.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Money basically has functions of storing value, exchanging value, and measuring value.
However, in the present invention, the bonus points that are the medium of exchange have a non-monetary aspect in which the exchange of value is impossible if the amount of money does not reach a certain level, although it has the function of storing value and measuring. Have

In the majority of industrial fields, not only has the product life cycle entered a mature stage, but standardization and universalization of related production technologies have made product quality uniform and product differentiation difficult. As a result, serious price competition and service competition through price destruction are occurring. That is, consumers will recognize prices and services as important elements of product purchasing in the purchasing market where product discrimination is minimal, and therefore companies will use prices and services as the most important means of competition. It has become. In such a competitive market environment, companies may reduce operating profits by competitively lowering prices in order to secure the market, or even all related companies may suffer losses.

Changes in the market environment due to intensified competition and diverse and confusing customer preferences are not considered as a target for a company to sell products to each individual customer, but as a supporter who supports the company. The idea of having to do it has to be changed, and marketing based on customer information (Data Base Marketing; DB marketing) has begun to occur from the foundation of such recognition. Businesses need to maintain a lasting relationship with their patron customers, and DB marketing has emerged as a means to specifically realize lasting communication with customers. DB marketing is one-to-one marketing (one-to-one marketing) in that it aims to maintain a lasting relationship with each customer.
) Or relationship marketing (relationship marketing) and the same meaning.

Companies have tried to find out the demands of each customer by collecting and accumulating various data for their customers and analyzing the data, and the earliest stage of such efforts is exactly the regular customers. Is a frequent consumer program.

As a result of the company's loyalty to its own brand (the act of continuously purchasing a specific product) compared with the selling cost, it is found that the cost of selling one product to a customer with high loyalty is the cost of own product. It is far less expensive than selling to new customers who have no purchasing experience, and we understand that selling to customers with relatively high loyalty plays a role of a towing vehicle to improve corporate profits. He began to focus on securing customers.

That is, after collecting customer information through the special treatment system for regular customers, by analyzing the material, the taste and request of each customer are grasped, and one-to-one marketing is performed based on the material to conduct potential customer To become a customer who is always good at, and to make a customer who is always good at being a supporter (advocate: a customer at the level of soliciting their products to others).

A point accumulation system has been developed as one of the means for achieving this. The point accumulation system is a system that provides members with various bonus points and reserves that can be redeemed according to their achievements, such as predetermined goods, prizes, money, and services. This system has the advantage that "members" receive discounts from a "member company" for a certain number of departments, while "member companies" have the advantage of securing customers and preventing withdrawal, and within a short time. It has become universal.

[0009] Point accumulation systems are typically performance-proportional-compensation (reward accrual progr
am) and performance-stage-tired reward program categories.

[0010] The performance-proportional-compensation type is to provide members with points that can be redeemed or redeemed for the performance of card use. Usage under this program is usually aggregated on a monthly basis and compensation is provided based on a monthly aggregate. The amount of points that can be redeemed when purchasing goods of the company brand according to the refund of a certain percentage of the annual usage record of the card company or the usage record of the credit card issued by a specific company (automobile card of an automobile company) A method of discounting the price by + α is a typical example of the performance-proportional-compensation type.

However, these programs have a disadvantage in that they cannot give clear achievement goals to the'members'. In other words, the'members' can enjoy the benefits of compensation only if they actually use it, so they do not have to make an effort to increase the usage record.
In addition, by providing the same type and level of compensation to all'members', it is not possible to meet the individual tendency of members who desire various types of compensation.

[0012] The performance-stage-compensation type is to provide compensation to'members' whose usage performance reaches a certain level. Generally, in the performance-stage-compensation type, various fulfillment levels and compensations corresponding to each fulfillment level are set by the'member company 'and the compensation is provided to'members' who have a certain level of achievements or more. is there. Most domestic companies use this type of performance-stage-compensation type, but provide compensation when a certain level is reached by adding up the accumulated points accumulated according to the usage history of members. Is.

A method and system for managing performance-stage-compensation types is described in US Pat. No. 5,0.
No. 25,372. This patent relates to a system for managing and providing compensation to members who have achieved a predetermined performance level. The planned performance level is selected by the sponsor and compensation is limited to the credit of the member.

However, the performance-stage-compensation type including US Pat. No. 5,025,372 has a disadvantage that the same compensation has already been decided for all the members participating in this program. Therefore, members who are not interested in the offered compensation cannot be motivated to achieve higher levels. After all, there is no difference from the performance-proportional-compensation type in that it does not take into consideration the individual propensity of each member.

US Pat. No. 6,018,718 proposes a solution to such disadvantages. The patent is a little different from the usual compensation program in that it fully considers each member's individual propensity as it relates to a method and system for providing individual member ordered compensation. It is a thing.

When the compensation for such bonus points is smoothly performed, the conversion cost of the consumer (when the consumer gives up the existing purchasing place and uses the other purchasing place, the potential cost from the existing purchasing place is reduced). The opportunity cost to give up the blessing of reimbursement is artificially increased, the usage rate of the preferential treatment system of consumers' regular customers is increased, the loyalty of the brand is increased, and companies collect more data. Profits through sales will be continuously increased at the same time that they can do it.

[0017] However, the implementation of such a bonus point system for companies has come to the forefront as it is not long.

After all companies are implementing the bonus card system, in order to induce the initial impulse purchase, or to secure the initial customer data, after providing the bonus product with a small amount of purchase, the bonus product This is because they used a strategy that made it possible to purchase a specific product with patience for a considerable period of time. As a result, consumers have given up on sustainable purchasing and use of the preferential treatment system for regular customers, thus not only hindering companies and fixed customers and obtaining high-quality customer information, but also the system Recovery from the costs invested for enforcement became uncertain.

While the patents relating to the various compensation programs or compensation systems detailed above increase the performance of the members, they focus on the degree of satisfaction with the individual tendency of compensation used for that purpose.

It is a fact that the actual use of members who have joined each member company can be slightly increased by using such a program.

However, in the conventional programs or patents, since the amount of purchases is small, if certain bonus points and reserves cannot be reached, the bonus points and reserves themselves are left as unused assets and fallen down. The problems of the less frequent use of bonus cards by members and the inadequate securing of loyal customers by companies are also overlooked. In addition, members may incur unnecessary purchases or purchases for increasing performance in order to obtain more compensation or better compensation, which may promote unnecessary consumption or overconsumption.

On the contrary, in the case of a member company, the compensation presented by the performance-stage-compensation type excluding the form of reserve fund has a general feature that increases geometrically with respect to the reserve point of the member, Even from the standpoint of member companies, there is a considerable risk inherent in maintaining the program.

[0023] For example, in the case of an airline mileage program, the compensation initially provided is a simple flight ticket provision, but as the mileage increases, the cost increases and is provided to the highest level member. Compensation induces considerable risks such as constant seat class upgrades and free hotel offers.

Therefore, the opportunity cost due to the conversion of the buyer's purchasing place is reduced, the loyalty of the buyer to the company or brand is increased, and the risk of the company due to the implementation of the bonus point system is reduced, while the expectations of the system implementation are expected. There is a demand for a system that allows various bonus points to be freely exchanged or traded appropriately so that profits can be realized.

[0025]

The present invention is put to practical use by comprehensively solving the errors of the consumer purchasing patterns, the corporate marketing strategies, and the regular customer preferential treatment system due to the changes in the business environment described above. The purpose is to establish a dynamic system and the network structure between companies.

The invention selects a company that is in the process of implementing a bonus point system to form a bonus point exchange pool (Exchange Pool), and uses bonus points provided by another company as bonus points of another company or cyber money. The present invention seeks to provide a method and system for exchanging. That is, at present, non-monetary monetization is performed by providing a value exchange function to non-monetary bonus points below the so-called'minimum usable limit ', which cannot be used below a certain level, and through which the company provides customers with This is to monetize the provided bonus points so that customers can benefit from substantial price discounts and companies that implement this service can benefit from securing customers.

The present invention provides a new method of converting various bonus points and reserves held by members that are unnecessary assets into usable assets in a short period of time to obtain necessary bonus products. Is to provide an opportunity to eliminate possible risks early at a relatively low cost.

[0028]

Means for Solving the Problems The present invention for achieving the above object includes a member company that provides points to a customer, a member who is a customer who receives points from the member company, and A transaction center that mediates the transaction of points owned by members participates as a party,
A connection step in which the member connects to a web server operated by the transaction center;
The transaction center provides a menu for the connected member to provide a transaction menu for inquiring, selling and buying bonus points to the connected member, a transaction requesting step for the member to select a transaction menu and request a transaction, and the transaction center A transaction execution step of executing a transaction in response to a member's transaction request; a storage step of the transaction information in which the transaction center stores the transaction information by the transaction execution and the changed point information and cyber money information of the member, respectively; Exchange of bonus points including a member notification step of notifying the member of the changed point information and cyber money information of the above, and a member company notification step of notifying the member company providing the changed point information of the corresponding point Provide a way.

Also, according to the present invention, the method for exchanging bonus points is, after the connecting step,
The method may further include authenticating the connected member by the transaction center.

In an embodiment according to the present invention, the method for exchanging bonus points further comprises a transaction validity examination stage after the transaction request stage, and when the transaction validity examination stage is a selling order, the member can obtain the points. Check if you have more than the sold quantity of the type, and if it is an acquisition order, check whether the member has more than the cyber money corresponding to the quantity of the acquisition points, and do not have more In this case, the member can be notified that the transaction is not possible, and if the member has more than that, the transaction can be performed.

In another embodiment of the present invention, when the changed point information and the cyber money information are sales transactions, the quantity of points is subtracted from the sales quantity and the sales quantity is In the case of cyber money that corresponds to the point price and is a purchase transaction, a method of exchanging bonus points, which is the amount obtained by subtracting the cyber money corresponding to the point price of the purchase quantity from the points of the purchase quantity and the holding cyber money I will provide a. In addition, the exchange rate can be dualized by the selling exchange rate and the buying exchange rate.
Therefore, it is possible to provide a bonus point exchange method in which a predetermined exchange transaction fee rate is imposed at the time of sale and purchase transactions.

According to the present invention, when a user who is a member is further provided with bonus points by a member company that provides points as described above, or when bonus points are presented and a bonus is received, the member receives the bonus points. Provide a method for exchanging bonus points, in which the occurrence / disappearance of bonus points is immediately recorded in the point information.

Further, according to the present invention, is the member automatically a member who is a purchaser first provided with bonus points from a member company that provides the points,
Alternatively, a method for exchanging bonus points, which is a person who has joined as a member as a purchaser who has been provided with bonus points by a member company, is provided.

Further, according to the present invention, the type and quantity of the points held by all the members are periodically inspected to purely sell and buy the points, and the points corresponding to the increased points and the decreased points. A bonus point exchange method is further provided, which further includes a process of adjusting the potential compensation cost due to the increase and decrease of points with the company. At this time, immediately after the settlement process is completed, a predetermined amount of buffer cyber money for transaction execution and points of each type are accumulated.

According to another aspect of the present invention, a member company that provides points to a customer, a member who is a customer who is provided with points by the member company, and a transaction center that mediates transactions of the points held by the member. The transaction center includes a communication program, a communication network interface, a web server for members to connect to and provide a user interface to members, member information, member company information, transaction information, and exchange rate information. A storage device for storing data including transaction information and cyber money information,
While controlling the communication program, the communication network interface, the web server, and the storage device, the transaction request of the member is interpreted, the transaction is performed, the information necessary for the transaction is extracted, and the information changed by the transaction is extracted. A bonus point exchange system including a controller for storing and notifying members and member companies of transaction results.

Further, the present invention has a terminal including a communication program and a communication network interface that allows a member to connect to the transaction center, the member company has a computer, and the computer has the transaction. A communication program and a communication network interface that can be connected to the center, a storage device that stores data including individual member information and individual point information, and a member while controlling the communication program, the communication network interface, and the storage device. And a bonus point exchange system including a controller for managing information necessary for performing points and transactions and storing changed information.

According to the present invention, the transaction center confirms whether the member holds more than the number of points sold in the case of a sell order, and if the order is a purchase, the member Confirms that he holds more than the cyber money corresponding to the number of points purchased, and if he does not hold more than that, informs the member that the transaction is not possible, and if he holds more than that, the transaction is Provide a bonus point exchange system that further includes a plausibility study program to be carried out.

In the system of the present invention, the transaction center further includes a point information DB synchronized in real time with information on individual points of each member company, and the computer on the member company side stores information on individual members and individual points. In addition to the original DB that stores information, the transaction center further includes a duplicate individual member information DB and a duplicate individual point information DB that are synchronized with the original DB in real time. Provide a bonus point exchange system that receives information from the point information DB.

In addition, the transaction center further stores a bonus DB so that the amount of increase / decrease of a particular member company point changed in the transaction process can be stored and utilized in a periodic payment process. Provide a switching system.

In addition, the transaction center provides a bonus point exchange system that further includes a settlement DB so that the amount of increase or decrease of the specific member company points changed during the transaction can be stored and utilized in the periodic settlement process. To do. Therefore, immediately after the settlement process is completed, the settlement DB stores buffer cyber money for transaction execution and points of each type in predetermined amounts.

The transaction center provides a bonus point exchange system, further including a settlement program for periodically referring to the settlement DB and adjusting the increase / decrease of points of a specific member company changed in the course of a transaction. Then, the computer of the member company inputs the information of the individual member, the generation and disappearance of the individual points into the information of the individual member and the information of the individual points, and the input device of the member and the input / output of the points. Provide a bonus point exchange system that further includes

[0042]   The terms used in the present invention are defined.

What is a bonus point or mileage system in order for a company to attract consumers?
If you purchase your own products, you will be provided with points at a fixed rate relative to the actual results, and if you accumulate more than a certain number of points, you will receive certain items, services, money, etc. as bonuses, or the same in proportion to the points. A system that allows you to receive discounts when purchasing products from other companies. At that time, the points are called bonus points or points. Cyber money is not real money Electronic money, electronic checks, electronic wallets, electronic transfers that can be used in cyber space that can be used for purchasing goods by electronic commerce if necessary and can be exchanged for real money Say the price paid. However, in the present invention, cyber money is preferably used only for the purpose of purchasing points of a member company. A member company means, for example, a company that has contracted with the transaction center so as to sell the service points provided by the company when there is a transaction center that relays the exchange of points according to the method of the present invention. Means a person who can use the transaction center as a person who accumulates points provided by member companies. The exchange rate is the amount of cyber money that corresponds to one unit of points, that is, the exchange unit, and can be determined in advance by the value of bonus points provided by the member company.
It is also possible to combine the point transaction results of the member companies and determine in the form of a variable exchange rate. In other words, by introducing a system that lowers the amount of sales by lowering the exchange rate of points of member companies that sell a lot of points, and lowers the amount of points of purchase by a member company that buys more points to lower the amount of purchases and adjusts the mutual balance. Is also possible.

In the present invention, the information about the buyer who first receives the bonus points from the member company that provides the bonus points is transmitted to the transaction center, so that the buyer can automatically become a member. Buyers who receive bonus points from member companies can become members by actively entering their information into the transaction center and joining, and if necessary, what bonus points It is also possible to automatically join the above and to give membership only to the other bonus points only when actively joining. However, in the case of the automatic subscription type, a member must later set a new password to use the transaction center when connecting to the transaction center for the first time.

On the other hand, when the order is received, the order may be made over a wired / wireless telephone or on the Internet, and the member may place an order by directly facing the staff of the transaction center. That is, the member can make a one-to-one face-to-face transaction through a telephone or an ARS telephone, or can make a transaction online through various wired and wireless computer networks.

The features and advantages of the present invention other than those described above will be apparent from the following description of the preferred embodiments of the present invention to be referred to next.

[0047]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION   Hereinafter, the method and apparatus of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

In the method of the present invention, the information transmission relationship between each transaction member is shown in FIG. If a specific member purchases goods or services from a specific member company in the user pool, the member company provides the member with a certain bonus point in proportion to the purchase amount. At this time, the provided point information is immediately point information. Saved in DB. Members who have bonus points or cyber money can sell or buy points by connecting to the transaction center according to the present invention. At this time, the type and number of changed points and the amount of cyber money are the point information DB. The type of bonus points and changes in points will be immediately reported to the member company that provides the bonus points. On the other hand, if a member who purchases at a transaction center or has bonus points accumulated through purchase of goods-services presents the points to a member company that provides the bonus points, the member company receives the points at the same time as the predetermined point. Bonuses such as goods and money are provided to the member, and the fact that the member has consumed points is immediately stored in the point information DB. Therefore, points between trading members and items of change in cyber money can be immediately confirmed with each other.

The system of the transaction center, member side and member company side in connection with the apparatus of the present invention is illustrated in FIGS. The systems of each party can be interconnected by a communication network such as the Internet. Although not shown in the drawings, these systems are usually memory devices such as RAM (RAM), ROM (ROM), Dos (DOS), Windows (Windows), Unix (UNIX) which are essential components of a computer.
), Operating systems like LINUX, clocks (cl
ock) and so on. These systems can also be based on ordinary personal computer (PC) or walk station (WORK STATION) computers.

As shown in FIG. 2, the transaction center of the present invention includes a communication program, a communication network interface, a web server 11 for connecting members and providing a user interface to members, member information, and member companies. A storage device 14 for storing data including information, transaction information, exchange rate information, transaction information and cyber money information, and interpreting a member's transaction request while controlling the communication program, communication network interface, web server and storage device. To perform the transaction, extract information necessary for performing the transaction, store information changed by the transaction, and notify the member and the member company of the transaction result. .

The storage device 14 stores a member information DB 1a that stores the personal information and bonus card information of the member, a member company information DB 1b that stores information about the member company, and information about the exchange rate of each point. The exchange rate information DB 1c, the settlement DB 1d that stores information about expense settlement, the cyber money information DB 1e and point information DB 1f that store information about bonus points and cyber money of members, the transaction information DB 1g that stores and stores the transaction status, etc. .

In fact, each device of the transaction center can be integrated into the web server 11, and the web server and the rest of the devices can be configured by different computers.

The controller 12 means a CPU of a computer, which executes application programs, manages data, inquires and manages storage devices, and performs calculation processing.

If the transaction center 10 is a sell-out order, the member confirms whether the member holds more than the sell-out quantity of the points, and if it is a buy-out order, the member purchases the number of buy-in points. It is appropriate to confirm whether you have more than the cyber money that corresponds to the above, notify you that the transaction is not possible if you do not have more than that, and execute the transaction if you have more than that Owns a review program. In this way, a member who holds less than the required number of points for the transaction or less than the cyber money corresponding to the amount of purchasing points will apply for a new transaction.

Further, the transaction center has information on points increased or decreased by point transactions between members, and has a settlement DB (1d) so that it can periodically make a settlement with the member company that provides the points. What you have is good. Further, it is preferable that the transaction center has a settlement program that refers to the settlement DB and automatically calculates the increase / decrease of the load due to the increase / decrease of the points of the specific member company changed periodically in the transaction process.

On the other hand, there is a high possibility that points will not be sold and purchased in the short term during the point transaction process. In such a case, in order to prevent the transaction activity from being interrupted, it is desirable to accumulate buffer cyber money and points of each predetermined amount in the settlement DB (1d) immediately after the completion of the settlement process.

The transaction center according to the present invention has at least two communication network interfaces capable of communicating through the Internet network or the like. The communication network interface plays a role of online connecting the terminal of the member and the computer of the member company with the transaction center.

FIG. 3 shows the configuration of the terminal on the member side according to the present invention. The member has a communication program capable of connecting to the transaction center, for example, a web browser and a terminal having a communication network interface such as a modem. The terminal may be an ordinary personal computer equipped with an output device 15 such as a monitor and a printer and an input device 16 such as a keyboard and a mouse.

Members can exchange points by connecting to the web server of the transaction center through the communication network interface of the terminal.

FIG. 4 shows a computer on the member company side according to the present invention. The computer of the member company has a communication program and a communication network interface that can be connected to the transaction center, a storage device for storing data including information of individual members and information of individual points, the communication program and the communication network interface. In addition, while controlling the storage device, it includes a controller that manages the information required for membership, points, and transaction execution and stores the changed information.

In order to protect information, the computer on the member company side uses the information (1A) of the individual member.
In addition to the original DB in which the individual point information (1F) is stored, the information DB of individual members for duplication and the information D of individual points for duplication synchronized with the original DB in real time.
It is preferable that the transaction center receives information from the duplicate individual member information DB and the duplicate individual point information DB separately from B.

Further, from the standpoint of a member company, new points or withdrawal members may occur for their own points, and new points for members may also occur. By compensating for certain points, points for members can be obtained. May disappear. Therefore, on the computer of the member company, by changing the information of the individual member and inputting the generation and disappearance of the points of the member to the information of the individual member and the information of the individual point, the member information input device 17 and the point generation / It is desirable to have the disappearance input device 18. Of course, the input devices 17 and 18 may be of an interface type connected to other computers.

In the device of the present invention, a point information DB for storing and managing the points of members
Can be divided into two categories. An information DB of individual points owned and managed by each member company and an integrated point information DB that manages points of members who use the transaction center. These can physically exist in various ways. That is, the transaction center may build and hold the integrated point information DB and may have the authority to inquire and manage the individual point information DB of each member company in real time when necessary without the integrated point information DB. It is possible. Also,
In any of the above cases, a copy DB for inquiries is provided separately from the original DB for information protection.
You can also put. Hereinafter, the integrated point information DB (hereinafter, simply referred to as "point information DB") will be described in detail according to the physical position thereof.

1) Method of placing point DB in each member company A shared DB, that is, a member of the transaction center, a duplicate DB is configured through an API program so that the member point information DB and the information of the transaction center are transmitted when the information is updated. The replication DB is the ledger DB so that the information approaches the replication DB and makes an inquiry.
It is a method to be synchronized in real time with. In this case, the point information DB for all the shared members cannot be created.

2) Method of placing shared member point DB in transaction center This is a method of duplicating and integrating the original DB of each member company to form one integrated point information DB, and locating this at the transaction center. . In this case, the point information DB of the transaction center must be synchronized with the original DB of each member company in real time.

An example of a specific flow of the method of the present invention using the above system and network is shown in FIG. For convenience of explanation, the web server of the transaction center will provide the transaction menu in a question and answer form to the connected members.

First, when the user 1 connects to the transaction center 10 that operates the method of the present invention through the communication network 4 such as the Internet (step S501), the controller inquires the member DB to determine whether the member is authorized (step S502). ) Confirm. At this time, the user has a member authentication number (identification code, various card numbers, resident registration number or ID, P depending on the situation of each member company, P
You can be authenticated as a member. After that, if the member is a member, a question is asked as to whether to sell or buy the points (step S503).

In the case of sale, the type and quantity of bonus points to be sold are entered (step S506), and compared with the point information of the member stored in the point information DB (step S507), there is a kind and quantity to sell. Check if (step S50
8). If there is a sufficient quantity, after the sold quantity is exchanged for cyber money, the related information changed by the transaction is saved in the point information DB and the cyber money information DB, and the details are notified to the related member companies (step S509). . After that, a question is asked as to whether another transaction should be made (step S514), and if there is another transaction, it is sent to the step S505, and if there is no other transaction, the process ends.

On the other hand, if the member is not a member in step S502, the member joins the question (step S503).
, When entering the member, input / save the member information (step S504), step S5
Return to 02.

When the purchase of points is selected in step S505, the type and quantity of points to be purchased are input (step S510), and the cyber money of the member stored in the cyber money DB is confirmed (step S511). It is compared whether there is cyber money of the member company corresponding to the quantity of the purchase points (step S512).
), If sufficient, after exchanging the points, the changes due to the exchange are stored in the point information DB and the cyber money DB, respectively, and this is notified to the member company (step S
513). After that, the process returns to step S514. If the member's cyber money is not sufficient, the process returns to step S505 to adjust the amount of purchase.

In the method according to the present invention, an authentication step for authenticating a member connected to each of the steps may be added. Authentication is browser-based certificate and other PKI (Pu
blic Key Infrastructure; public key infrastructure encryption, international convention for certificate management) Structure authentication can be used. The authentication method can be replaced by an authentication method improved by future technological development.

First, the member connects his / her own PC to, for example, the Internet and drives a web browser built in the PC to connect to the web server of the transaction center. If the connected person is not a registered member, follow the procedure for member registration.
After the connection person is registered as a member, he / she goes through various authentication procedures, and the transaction center issues an electronic certificate to the authenticated member. In the transaction process, the member enters the identification code of each member company that he / she owns through the PC that has received the electronic certificate, and the transaction in which the member's identification code is input after completing the member authentication procedure The center will transmit the identification code to each member company.

The member company, which receives the member authentication number of the member, confirms the matching between the identification code transferred by using the API program or the application program installed in the front of the member point DB and the information of the current member. consider. The API program or the self-application program is driven again for the member who has the same information as the transferred member, and the point information of the member is extracted from the individual point information DB of the company and transferred to the transaction center.

Hereinafter, the exchange rate, the actual transaction method, the fee addition method, the points, and the cyber money settlement method in the process of operating the method of the present invention will be described in detail. (1) Exchange Rate The exchange rate means the amount of cyber money corresponding to one unit of point, that is, the exchange unit. This can be agreed in advance between member companies depending on the value of compensation for bonus points provided by each member company. In the simplest example, assuming that the value of cyber money is equivalent to the value of the actual Korean won coin, and if A member company provides 10,000 points of gasoline for its 1000 points, The company's point exchange rate will be [10000 won / 1000 points = 10 cyber money / point], and if the B member company provides an airline ticket equivalent to 600,000 won for its own 30,000 points, The point exchange rate is [600000 won / 30000 points = 20 cyber money / point].

There are two types of exchange rates: 1) a plurality of exchange rates with different exchange rates for selling / buying, and 2) a single exchange rate with the same exchange rate for selling / buying. It is possible.

With respect to the form of a plurality of exchange rates, the member buys points from the member company in comparison with an appropriate point unit price calculated by calculating the ratio between the unit price of the bonus product provided by the member company and the points required to receive the product. The unit price is high at the time, and when the member sells his / her own points to the member company, the price is set low. For example, in the above example, the point of Company A can be binary so that the exchange rate at the time of sale is 9 cyber money / point and the exchange rate at the time of purchase is 11 cyber money / point. The difference cyber money generated by this method can be appropriated as the operating cost of the transaction center.

The form of a single exchange rate is a form in which the exchange rate of selling / buying is fixed at an appropriate unit price of the points or a fixed unit price determined by the member company.

On the other hand, it is also possible to adopt a policy of a variable exchange rate in which the exchange rate of points that sell a lot is lower and the exchange rate of points that buy a lot is higher due to the general principle of supply and demand. The variable exchange rate system is a system in which the exchange rate is changed from time to time in a specific time unit in consideration of the ratio of selling / buying points of each member company.

In this case, the amount of points sold / received by each member company and the total amount of points converted into cyber money are linked to reduce the exchange rate for points with a lot of sales, and the exchange rate for points with a lot of purchases. It is a form in which a certain amount of selling / buying amount is adjusted by raising the value of. At this time, the exchange rate information DB stores the exchange rate that has been fluctuated by a program that adjusts the exchange rate of each member company.
To be able to save and query in real time, so that it can be applied at the time of trading.

When the variable exchange rate is applied, the change in the exchange rate can be appropriately adjusted in consideration of the cashability of various points held by the member, the profitability of the transaction center and each member company, and the like. For example, the closer the point to the specific member company is to the level at which compensation can be actually made, the lower the exchange rate for selling the relevant point of the relevant member and the higher the exchange rate for purchase can be set.

(2) Actual Transaction Method A member who is connected to the transaction center inquires about the type and quantity of points he or she owns, and then sells, buys, or buys at the same time as selling (hereinafter, this case is referred to as “exchange”). ) To request a transaction.

The input information is automatically converted into a certain form on the window applet (Windows Applet) provided on the member's PC by the web server of the transaction center, and the converted cyber money is displayed on the screen. It In case of point sales
The exchange rate for selling x the quantity for selling points], and in the case of purchasing points, it becomes [the exchange rate for purchasing x the quantity for purchasing points]. In both cases, the result value of all becomes cyber money, and there is only the difference that + and-, which are increase / decrease indicators, are attached to the front end. For the convenience of calculation, the member applies 2 when applying the exchange rate of sale and exchange rate of purchase and the exchange rate of 10 which is the same for everyone.
Taking the case of selling or buying 0 points as an example, at the time of selling, the member can recognize that the exchange rate 10 of the selling and the cyber money 200 multiplied by 20 points have been increased, and when buying the You can see that the cyber money 200, which has multiplied the exchange rate of 10 and 20 points, has fallen.

When the result value is converted into points that are not cyber money by slightly modifying the detailed formula, in the case of point sales, [the amount of cyber money purchased / the exchange rate of sales] It can be seen that in the case of purchase, it becomes [the quantity of cyber money sold / the exchange rate of the purchase]. That is, the member recognizes on the monitor screen that the point 20 is decreased when the cyber money 200 is increased in the above example and that the point 20 is increased when the cyber money 200 is decreased. Will be able to.

Next, when the member “confirms” the details of the transaction on the screen, the increase / decrease data of cyber money and points are the cyber money DB and the point information DB, respectively.
The information is transferred to and updated, and the transaction details are stored in the transaction information DB. This process is controlled by the controller of the transaction center, at which time the controller functions as a transaction server. * Selling Order Referring to FIG. 6, which is an attached drawing illustrating an example of a selling order of points according to the method of the present invention, when attempting to sell (step S601), the member types the points he / she wants to sell. Then, the quantity is determined (step S602), and an order for sale is applied and transferred to the web server of the transaction center (step S603). Next, the information about the selling order is transmitted to the controller, and the controller first receives the point information D of the corresponding member.
B is inquired (step S604) and it is confirmed whether or not points equal to or more than the sold quantity are accumulated (step S605). If the controller confirms that it is equal to or more than the quantity sold, the controller calculates [exchange rate of sales x quantity of points sold] (step S
After 606), the cyber money corresponding to the quantity of selling points is calculated, and the calculated cyber money is stored in the cyber money DB (step S607). The information on the sold points is transferred to the member company providing the points through the communication network interface (step S608). The member company deducts the transmitted data from the duplicate point DB, or deducts about the amount of sold goods of the corresponding member from the point information DB through the API program. * Buying Order Referring to FIG. 7, which is an attached drawing illustrating an example of a buying order for points according to the method of the present invention, if the customer wants to buy (step S701), he / she can connect to the web server of the trading center to purchase his own points and cyber. The member who has referred to the money information sets the type and quantity of points to be purchased (step S702) and places an order for the purchase. The web server of the transaction center which has received the purchase order transfers the data to the controller (step S703). The controller calculates the purchase order of the corresponding member (exchange rate of purchase x quantity of corresponding points) (step S704) to calculate necessary cyber money for the quantity of purchase, and then
The cyber money information DB is inquired (step S705) and it is confirmed whether or not the member has accumulated more cyber money than the calculated one (step S706). Only when the amount of cyber money is greater than or equal to the required amount, the required cyber money is subtracted from the cyber money DB (step 707), the result is reported to the member company that provides the purchased points, and it is applicable from the point information DB. Try to increase the points of the member (step 708). * Exchange In some cases, members can sell a points and buy b points at the same time. This is fundamentally after first completing a point sale transaction b
The point is to buy and sell points, but depending on whether or not an intermediate step (that is, the step of holding cyber money by selling) is passed from the member's perspective.
It can be divided into different types.

Since the form that goes through the intermediate stage is such that the selling and buying transactions occur continuously, detailed description thereof is omitted.

In the form that does not go through the intermediate stage, in terms of members, a points and b points are directly exchanged. Members will be able to place buy / sell orders on their PCs for the points they are about to sell and the points they are about to buy. The trading center to which the order was transmitted is [(exchange rate of purchase of b points) /
(Exchange rate of selling a points)] Converts b points corresponding to the value of the quantity of a points according to the discount rate of mutual selling / buying between a points b, and decreases a points for A member companies. The B member company is notified of the increase in b points, and the point information DB of each member company is updated. As a concrete update method, the transferred data can be updated in the duplicate point information DB in the member company, or the point information DB can be updated directly by driving the already installed API program.

Of course, in this process, the remaining a points corresponding to the value of 1 unit or less of the b points are automatically converted by cyber money or left as they are.

(3) Fee Addition Method The transaction center can add a necessary fee for mediating point transactions in the course of each transaction. As for the cost addition method, the profit of the difference in exchange due to the system of multiple exchange rates that makes the exchange rate for sale and the exchange rate for purchase explained above different is retained at the transaction center, and by the transaction explicitly. Some add a fee. * Addition of fees by the system of multiple exchange rates Fees in the process of selling and buying points are as follows.

First, when the point a of the member company A is exchanged for the point of the member company b, it is converted by a standard exchange rate (an exchange rate based on the actual value of a specific point) that is recognized as a proper price of the member point. When the cyber money of a is C, and the point obtained by converting C from the points of Company B at the reference exchange rate is b, the fee in the conversion process to cyber money, that is, the selling process is [C- (a × Exchange rate for sale). "

If (a × exchange rate of sale) = c ′, the fee in the process of exchanging cyber money for points of company B, that is, the purchase process is [b− (c ′ ÷ exchange rate of purchase)) "become.

Therefore, the total commission in the selling-buying transaction process is (C−c ′) + [b− (c ′ ÷ buying exchange rate)]. * Addition of explicit fee When the point a held by the member is sold, the point a of the member will be exchanged for cyber money corresponding to [quantity of sale of a x exchange rate of a] = C. At this time, the amount of money excluding the fee corresponding to [quantity of sales x exchange rate of exchange], that is, [C- (amount of sales of a x exchange rate of exchange)]
] = C ′ of cyber money will be stored in the cyber money information DB.

When purchasing the point a corresponding to the cyber money C, the point a corresponding to [C / (exchange rate of point a) = [quantity of purchase of a]] comes to be purchased. [Quantity of purchase x exchange fee rate]
The fee corresponding to (1) is additionally deducted by the cyber money of the corresponding member, or the quantity of points a corresponding to that is excluded, and the quantity is saved in the point information DB.

Of course, such a processing relation of the fee is transferred to the member's PC, and the member becomes aware that the point of his / her own or a part of the cyber money is deducted by the transaction fee.

The exchange fee can be added to either one of the selling stage and the buying stage, or both sides, and the calculation method of the commission is the same as the above calculation for selling and buying. Be promoted. However, the exchange fee in the case of adding the fees at both the selling and buying stages can be simplified to [a × discount rate × exchange rate] when the point a is exchanged for the point b. At this time, the discount rate of the exchange is the mutual sale / buy discount rate between a and b points according to [(exchange rate of buying B points) / (exchange rate of selling a points)].

(4) Points and Cyber Money Settlement Method Since various types of points are traded, it is necessary for the member company to provide more bonuses than the bonus amount corresponding to the total amount of bonus points actually issued by itself. There will be cases when and vice versa. Therefore, the transaction center should set up a system to compensate for the difference from the member company that provided less bonus than the bonus corresponding to the total amount of bonus points at a certain period, and to compensate the member company that provided more bonus. Is desirable.

As a specific settlement method, there is a settlement method for direct exchange type transactions without the intermediary of cyber money. In this case, depending on the discount rate between the member companies, the transaction details between the member companies are used. The amount that excludes the amount to be deducted will be mutually loaned and settled.

[0097]   Further, as another settlement method, the following cyber money mediation method can be used.

When the member sells the point a of the member company A among the points and buys the point b of the member company B, the point a is a fixed amount of cyber money according to [exchange rate of sold x quantity of sold]. Is converted to. At this time, member company A
Falls into the actual value of cyber money because it has reduced the debt it will have to bear in the future (ie the cost that members will incur when they present points and request compensation) Cash c will be provided to the transaction center.

On the other hand, when a member uses cyber money to buy points of member company B, the cyber money is converted into points b ′ and updated in the point information DB of member company B, and the member of the member The point of company B is increased by b '. Member company B raises unexpected debt to b '. At this time, member company B
The amount of purchase / the exchange rate of purchase] must be applied to the cyber money, so that the cash c'corresponding to the actual value of the cyber money will be applied from the transaction center.

When the cash paid by the member companies to the transaction center at the cost of reducing their debt is C, and the cash paid from the transaction center at the cost of their debt generation is C ′,
When C ≧ C ′, the cash of C−C ′ is the amount that the member exchanges points to hold in the form of cyber money provided by the transaction center or the total amount consumed by the member in the form of cyber money and the point exchange transaction. It is the same as the total amount of fees for.

When all members theoretically do not own the cyber money provided by the transaction center and consume it in the form of cyber money, and there is no fee for the exchange transaction, C
= C ', and complete balance settlement will occur.

The settlement will be in the form of balance settlement between each member company after a certain period has passed. It is also possible to carry out the loan settlement only for shortages / excesses between member companies on the basis of the end of every month or the 15th.

[0103]

According to the method of the present invention, a consumer can exchange a small amount of various bonus points obtained as a result of various consumption patterns for cyber money or another type of bonus point, and the consumer can be substantially realized at an early stage. The companies selected by the member companies are collective fixed customers, that is, members, in order to receive the benefits of various bonuses and concentrate on the companies that can exchange points if the members can purchase It is possible and will be more competitive than other similar companies.

Although the present invention has been described in detail above with reference to the embodiments, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments, and the idea and spirit of the present invention can be applied to those having ordinary knowledge in the technical field to which the present invention belongs. Without departing, the invention could be modified or changed.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing an information transmission relationship between transaction members in the method of the present invention.

[Fig. 2]   It is an apparatus figure showing an example of a transaction center in the method of the present invention.

[Figure 3]   It is an apparatus figure showing an example of a member terminal in the method of the present invention.

[Figure 4]   It is an apparatus figure showing an example of a member company computer in the method of the present invention.

[Figure 5]   It is an example of the concrete flow which actually uses the method of this invention.

[Figure 6]   It is an example of a point selling order by the method of the present invention.

[Figure 7]   It is an example of a point purchase order by the method of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols] 1 user 1a Member information DB 1b Member company information DB 1c Exchange rate information DB 1d Settlement DB 1e Cyber money information DB 1f point information DB 1g transaction information DB 1A Individual member information DB 1F Individual point information DB 4 communication network 10 trading centers 11 Web server 12 controller 13 Application program 14 Storage device 15 Output device 16 Input device 17 Member information input machine 18-point generation / disappearance input device 20 members 30 member companies 41 Communication network interface

[Procedure Amendment 2]

[Document name to be corrected] Drawing

[Name of item to be corrected] Figure 5

[Correction method] Change

[Contents of correction]

[Figure 5]

[Procedure 3]

[Document name to be corrected] Drawing

[Name of item to be corrected] Figure 6

[Correction method] Change

[Contents of correction]

[Figure 6]

[Procedure amendment 4]

[Document name to be corrected] Drawing

[Name of item to be corrected] Figure 7

[Correction method] Change

[Contents of correction]

[Figure 7]

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued front page    (81) Designated countries EP (AT, BE, CH, CY, DE, DK, ES, FI, FR, GB, GR, IE, I T, LU, MC, NL, PT, SE), OA (BF, BJ , CF, CG, CI, CM, GA, GN, GW, ML, MR, NE, SN, TD, TG), AP (GH, GM, K E, LS, MW, MZ, SD, SL, SZ, TZ, UG , ZW), EA (AM, AZ, BY, KG, KZ, MD, RU, TJ, TM), AE, AL, AM, AT, AU, AZ, BA, BB, BG, BR, BY, CA, CH, C N, CR, CU, CZ, DE, DK, DM, EE, ES , FI, GB, GD, GE, GH, GM, HR, HU, ID, IL, IN, IS, JP, KE, KG, KP, K R, KZ, LC, LK, LR, LS, LT, LU, LV , MA, MD, MG, MK, MN, MW, MX, NO, NZ, PL, PT, RO, RU, SD, SE, SG, S I, SK, SL, TJ, TM, TR, TT, TZ, UA , UG, US, UZ, VN, YU, ZA, ZW (72) Inventor Kim, Dong, Han             South Korea, 463-070, Sunnam-si, Bung             Dunku, Yatta-Pudon, 215, Maefa             -Maeul, 216-401 [Continued summary] Spenders can benefit from substantial bonuses early on. The companies selected by the member companies are In other words, it is possible to secure members and compete better than other similar companies. It is characterized by becoming competitive.

Claims (21)

[Claims] 1. A member company that provides points to a customer, a member who is a customer who is provided with points from the member company, and a transaction center that mediates transactions of points held by the member, as participants, Connecting to a web server operated by the trading center, inquiry of the bonus points to the connected member by the trading center, selling,
A step of providing a menu for providing a transaction menu related to purchase, a step of requesting a transaction in which the member selects a transaction menu to request a transaction, and a step of performing a transaction in which the transaction center performs a transaction in response to a transaction request from a member The transaction center stores the transaction information by the execution of the transaction, the changed point information of the member and the cyber money information, and the changed point information and the cyber money information of the member. A method for exchanging bonus points, comprising: a member notification step of notifying members, and a member company notification step of notifying changed member information to a member company providing the corresponding points. 2. The method for exchanging bonus points according to claim 1, further comprising an authentication step of authenticating the connected members. 3. In the case of a sell-out order, it is confirmed whether the member has more than the sold quantity of the points, and in the case of a buy-back order, the member corresponds to the purchased point quantity. Confirm that you have more than the cyber money, and if you do not have more than that, notify the member that you cannot trade, and if you have more than that, carry out the transaction The method for exchanging bonus points according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising the step of examining the validity of. 4. The changed point information and the cyber money information, when the transaction is a sale, are the cyber amount corresponding to the point price of the sale amount and the quantity obtained by deducting the sale amount from the point holding quantity. In the case of money and a transaction of purchase, it is the amount obtained by deducting cyber money corresponding to the point price of the purchase amount from the points of the purchase amount and the holding cyber money. How to exchange the stated bonus points. 5. The method for exchanging bonus points according to claim 1, wherein the cyber money corresponding to each type of point price is determined by a predetermined exchange rate. 6. The method for exchanging bonus points according to claim 5, wherein the exchange rate is dualized by an exchange rate for sale and an exchange rate for purchase. 7. The method for exchanging bonus points according to claim 1, wherein a commission rate of a predetermined exchange transaction is added at the time of sale and purchase transactions. 8. When the user who is the member is further provided with bonus points from a member company that provides the points as described above, or when the bonus points are presented and the bonus is received, the bonus of the member is obtained. Occurrence of points /
3. The disappearance matter is immediately recorded in the point information.
How to exchange the bonus points described in. 9. The member is a person who has automatically become a member as a purchaser first provided with bonus points from a member company that provides the points, or a purchase provided with bonus points from the member company. The method for exchanging bonus points according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the person has joined as a member as a member. 10. A periodical check of the types and quantities of points held by all members to purely sell or buy points, and points increased by purchasing and buying points and member companies corresponding to the points decreased and points increased. The method for exchanging bonus points according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising the step of adjusting the potential compensation cost due to the decrease. 11. The method for exchanging bonus points according to claim 10, wherein buffer cyber money for transaction execution and points of each type are accumulated by a predetermined amount immediately after the completion of the settlement process. 12. A device in which a member company that provides points to a customer, a member who is a customer who receives points from the member company, and a transaction center that mediates transactions of points held by the member participate as parties. Yes, communication programs and communication network interfaces, web servers that members connect to and provide user interfaces to members, member information, member company information, transaction information, exchange rate information, transaction information and cyber A storage device for storing data including money information, and controlling the communication program, the communication network interface, the web server and the storage device, interpreting the transaction request of the member to execute the transaction, and necessary for the execution of the transaction. A system that extracts information, saves information changed by the transaction execution, and notifies the transaction results to members and member companies. Changer bonus points, characterized in that it is composed of composed trading center includes a machine, a. 13. The bonus point exchange device according to claim 12, wherein the member has a terminal including a communication program and a communication network interface that can be connected to the transaction center. 14. The member company, a communication program and a communication network interface that can be connected to the transaction center, a storage device for storing data including individual member information and individual point information, the communication program, While controlling the communication network interface and storage device,
13. The bonus according to claim 12, further comprising a computer including a member, points, and a controller that manages information necessary for performing transactions and stores the changed information. Point exchange device. 15. The transaction center confirms, in the case of an order for sale, whether the member holds more than the number of points for sale of the type of the points,
If it is a purchase order, check whether the member has more than the cyber money corresponding to the quantity of the purchase points, and if it does not have more, notify the member that the transaction is not possible, and 15. The bonus point exchanging device according to claim 12, further comprising a validity examination program for executing a transaction when the user holds the bonus points. 16. The transaction center according to claim 12, further comprising a point information database synchronized in real time with information on individual points of each member company. Bonus point exchange device. 17. The computer of the member company, in addition to the original database that stores the information of individual members and the information of individual points, stores the information database of duplicate individual members and the duplicate individual points synchronized in real time with the original database. 15. The bonus according to claim 12, further comprising an information database, wherein the transaction center receives information from the duplicate individual member information database and the duplicate individual point information database. Point exchange device. 18. The transaction center further comprises a settlement database so that the amount of increase / decrease of points of a specific member company changed during the transaction can be stored and utilized in a periodic settlement process. The bonus point exchanging device according to any one of claims 12 to 14. 19. The bonus point according to claim 18, wherein immediately after the completion of the settlement process, a predetermined amount of buffer cyber money for transaction execution and points of each type are accumulated in the settlement database. Exchange device. 20. The transaction center further comprises a settlement program that refers to the settlement database to periodically settle the increase or decrease of the points of a specific member company changed in the course of the transaction. The bonus point exchanging device according to item 19. 21. The member company's computer inputs the change of individual member information, the generation and disappearance of individual points into the individual member information and the individual point information, and the member information input device and the generation / disappearance of points. 15. The bonus point exchanging device according to claim 14, further comprising: