JP2004227209A - Point application service system and point supervising device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To enable the approximation and report of the amount to be used until a target point set by a customer in a point system for attaining effective use of points by enabling an exchange of the point between point cards issued by different main bodies. <P>SOLUTION: When the customer uses or presents a card in a store, a store terminal 16 transmits a customer ID and information of the amount used to a point processing terminal 15 of a card company A1-An of the card used. The point processing terminal 15 transmits the information to a point management center 11 provided in this system. The point management center 11 determines whether or not the amount used reaches the target point set by the customer in an arithmetic part 14 by the use of the information in a customer database 12 included in the point management center 11 and a card company database 13. The management center reports the effect when it reaches the point, approximates the amount to be used in future until the target point when it does not reach, and reports the result to a customer terminal 17 owned by the customer. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO&NCIPI

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a point service provided with the use of a credit card or a house card, and in particular, collects points that are given from a card issuing company when the card is used and can receive various services. The present invention relates to a technology that enables a customer to set a target value in such a case, and to promptly notify a use amount required until reaching the target value after using the card.
[0002]
[Prior art]
Generally, as a method of paying a fee without directly using cash when purchasing a product or receiving some service, for example, a method using a credit card is used.
When the customer pays for the transaction using the credit card, the credit company that issued the card gives the user (credit card) a certain percentage of points for each use. ).
These points can be exchanged for a predetermined prize or the like when the points reach a point value totalized for each predetermined period.
Such point giving services are diversified, and the point issuer is not limited to credit cards.
Even in the case of cash settlement, there are also house cards such as shopping malls that issue points according to the usage amount. As described above, the point issuing service is currently diversified, and there are many types of points to be issued.
[0003]
The customer is given points according to each card by using each card. At this stage, however, it is a rule that these different points issued by the issuer are collected independently, and there are some exceptions. Except, points issued by different publishing media cannot be combined.
This is because it is difficult for credit companies to share points given to credit cards for use in order to differentiate services.
However, in order to exchange for prizes, etc., any service requires a certain number of points or more, and at present, it is possible to issue points without reaching exchangeable points or points worth of prizes desired by customers It is considered that the points given are often not fully utilized.
In view of such circumstances, an invention has been devised for integrating points different in the issuer and achieving effective utilization (for example, see Patent Document 1).
However, simply accumulating points to be awarded does not directly lead to an increase in purchase motivation, which is the original purpose of the point program.
It is thought that it is necessary for the customer to be conscious of the points possessed by the customer and to devise a way to arouse the will to actively collect the points.
[0004]
As an example of such a device, there is a method in which a value of points to be accumulated is set in advance, and a target is set, and each time a point is given to a customer, the number of remaining points up to the target point is notified (for example, Patent Reference 2).
However, since the present invention provides a closed system for each store, the content is insufficient for managing points of a credit card or a house card spread over a wide area, and as described above. This is obviously unsuitable for integrating points from different publishers.
The point that setting the target points is impossible from the customer side is also incompatible with the purpose of increasing the customer's willingness to purchase.
Furthermore, in the present invention, the action is merely to notify the customer of the remaining points up to the target point, and does not give any concrete suggestion as to how much the customer should actually spend.
[Patent Document 1]
JP 2002-83240 A [Patent Document 2]
JP-A-6-36143
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
In order to solve the above problems and actively increase the customer's willingness to purchase, rather than notifying the number of remaining points to the target point, how much money should be used to reach the target point afterward It is thought that it is more effective to specifically indicate whether it is good.
An object of the present invention is to provide a system capable of integrating points of different issuing entities for effective use, and notifying the amount of money to be used to achieve the target based on target points determined by the customer. To provide.
[0006]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to achieve the object, the present invention collects, from each of the servers of a plurality of card companies, a point value connected to each of the servers and calculated based on the amount paid by the customer using the card. A point granting service system including a point management device, wherein the point management device stores, for each customer, a target point value and a total holding point value, and a total holding amount of the customer when the customer uses the card. Means for updating the point value, calculating a difference between the target point value of the customer and the updated total holding point value, and based on the calculated difference, the customer needs to spend further in order to reach the target point It has means for calculating the target usage amount.
[0007]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the configuration of a system according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining the contents of customer data and card company data, and FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining a target use amount calculation process when points are issued. is there.
In FIG. 1, reference numeral 11 denotes a point management center, reference numeral 12 denotes a customer database, reference numeral 13 denotes a card company database, reference numeral 15 denotes a point processing terminal of a card company that issues points, such as a credit card and a house card, and reference numeral 16 denotes each customer using a card. A store terminal having a communication function with a card company provided in the store, and 17 are various communication terminals owned by customers.
[0008]
The card company of the present invention is a company that issues points, for example, a credit company, a store, an organization that issues points as a shopping district or a shopping mall, and an airline point issuing organization. May be.
As shown in FIG. 1, a system according to one embodiment of the present invention includes a point management center 11 provided according to the present invention and a plurality of card companies A1, A2,. An and a store terminal 16 provided at each store where a card can be used are configured to be mutually connectable via a network (not shown).
The card companies A1, A2,... An issue cards with the brands of the respective companies to provide a service for giving points to customers. Processing at the time of dealings with customers, the point management center 11 according to the present invention. And a processing server 15 (not shown) that communicates with the server.
Further, the point management center 11 includes a customer database 12 for storing personal information of the customer and card usage information, a card company database 13 for storing the point redemption rate of each card company, and a calculation unit for calculating a target usage amount. 14 is provided.
[0009]
Each customer has a customer terminal 17 that can communicate with the point management center 11 via a network (not shown).
As the customer terminal 17, various devices that can be connected to a network, such as a mobile terminal such as a mobile phone and a PDA owned by the customer, and a home PC can be used.
In addition, the store terminal 16 has a function of connecting itself to each card company and performing a process of communicating the usage amount of the customer according to this system.
The store terminal 16 includes a card reader / writer capable of handling a credit card such as a magnetic stripe type card or an IC card, and can be constituted by a PC or the like having a communication function.
[0010]
As an initial operation, the customer first needs to register personal information in a customer DB 12 provided in the point management center 11.
When a customer registers personal information such as a name, a contact mail address and a telephone number, a unique customer ID is issued for each customer.
Thereafter, the customers are all managed in the point management center 11 with this customer ID. The customer further registers his or her contracted card company name.
This data can be changed at any time upon application if there is a change such as new contract or contract cancellation.
When the contracting card company is registered, the point management center 11 inquires the contracting card company of the customer, and stores in the customer database 12 each point value possessed by the customer by the service of each card company.
In addition, the customer sets a target point value at the time of collecting points by designating a card company.
This setting can also be changed whenever the customer desires.
Here, for convenience, the card company designated by the customer (customer-designated card company) is referred to as a card company A1.
[0011]
2 and 3 show items held in the customer database 12 in which the above information is registered, and the card company database 13 in which the point exchange rate of each card and the point exchange rate between the cards are recorded.
FIG. 2 shows information items held by the customer database 12, and includes a customer ID 20 for identifying each customer, a customer-designated card company ID 21, a contracted card company ID (Am company) 22, and a customer previously assigned by the card company Am. Card point Am (P (Am)) 23, the card company Am obtained from the ratio of the value obtained by converting the holding point value of the Am company into the holding point value of the A1 company and the total holding point value (based on the point value of the A1 company). Point holding rate (Y (Am)) 24, the target point value (Ppur) set by the customer himself (based on the point value of the A1 company) 25, the total holding point value (Phav) (point value of the A1 company) currently held by the customer 26).
In the table of FIG. 2, the diagram is simplified, and only the contracted card company ID of Am company, the holding point value, and the point holding rate are shown. Actually, data of the companies A1 to An is loaded.
The above Y (Am) is
Y (Am) = Z (Am) * P (Am) / Phav
It is.
[0012]
FIG. 3 shows information items held by the card company database, and is composed of a point exchange rate (X (Am)) 27 of Am company and a point exchange rate (Z (Am)) 28 from Am company to A1 company.
The symbol Am represents a card company contracted by the customer, and m is an integer of 1 ≦ m ≦ n.
Further, the point exchange rate (Z (Am)) from the company Am to the company A1 is a value that varies depending on the market price.
In the table of FIG. 3, the diagram is simplified, and only the contracted card company ID of Am company, the holding point value, and the point holding rate are shown. Actually, data of the companies A1 to An is loaded.
[0013]
It is assumed that a customer purchases an article at a member store or the like and, at that time, makes a payment using a card or presents the card.
In this case, when the customer's card is set, the store terminal 16 connects to the card company Am that issued the card and transmits information on the transaction amount to the point processing server 15 of the card company Am.
Here, a point awarded value corresponding to the usage amount is calculated, and the point processing server 15 transmits the current awarded point value to the customer DB in the point management center 11.
If the credit card used is a magnetic stripe type, the information on the point value given in the transaction and the accumulated point value are only transmitted to the card company, but the credit card used is an IC card. In this case, information on the point value given in the transaction and the accumulated point value can be registered in the IC card.
[0014]
FIG. 4 is a flowchart for explaining the processing operation when points are generated. Hereinafter, the processing for calculating the target usage amount will be described with reference to this flow.
In addition, one customer has cards of n companies A1, A2,... An, and the points to be collected are points issued by the customer-designated card company. In this case, in order to make the explanation easy to understand, The customer-designated card company will be described as a card company A1.
First, the customer uses or presents the card of the card company Am to make a purchase (step 31).
Accompanying this, the purchase information such as the usage amount is transmitted from the store terminal 16 to the processing server 15 of the card company Am (step 32).
Based on this, the processing server 15 calculates the assigned point value P (Am) new for the current purchase from the usage amount (step 33).
The processing server 15 transmits the current assigned point value P (Am) new calculated in the previous step to the point management center 11 (Step 34).
[0015]
Upon receiving the above information, the point management center 11 adds the current assigned point value P (Am) new to the point P value (Am) old that the customer has been given by the card company Am by the previous purchasing behavior, The card company possessed point value P (Am), which is an item in the customer database 12, is updated.
P (Am) = P (Am) old + P (Am) new
Further, the sum of the awarded points is calculated to calculate a current total holding point value Phav.
In the following equation, Z (Am) is a conversion rate for converting points of company Am to points of company A1.
Pav = ΣP (Am) * Z (Am) m = 1 to n (Step 35)
Here, the total holding point value Phav of the customer is compared with the target point Ppur set by the customer (step 36).
If the total possessed point value Phav exceeds the target point Ppur (Y), the point management center 11 notifies the customer terminal 17 of the achievement of the target point (step 37).
If the above condition is not satisfied, the flow shifts to the flow from step 38 onward.
[0016]
In step 35, in response to the change of the point P (Am) of the card company Am, the point ownership Y (Am) of each card of the customer is updated, and the information held in the customer database 12 is updated (step 38). .
Here, the calculation unit 14 checks the target point value Ppur of the customer (step 39), and obtains a difference from the current total holding point value Phav.
ΔP = Ppur-Phav (Step 40)
The operation unit 14 divides ΔP based on the point holding rate Y (Am), and calculates a target usage amount expected in the future based on the divided value (step 41).
[0017]
The details of step 41 will be described below.
From the point holding rate Y (Am), the points ΔP (Am) of the card company Am held by the user in the future are calculated as follows.
ΔP (Am) = ΔP * Y (Am) / Z (Am)
This point value is converted into an amount ΔQ (Am) expected to be paid to the card company Am in the future based on the point exchange rate X (Am) of the card company Am.
ΔQ (Am) = ΔP (Am) * X (Am)
By calculating the sum, a target usage amount Qpur expected to be paid in the future is calculated.
Qpur = ΣΔQ (Am) m = 1-n
Here, the point management center 11 transmits the calculated target usage amount Qpur and the difference ΔP between the target point and the currently held point to the customer terminal 17. Various means can be used for transmission, such as e-mail and browser phone mail via a network, depending on the customer's request (step 42).
Although the card has been described as an example, the present invention is also applicable to a case where points are stored in a storage medium such as a computer or a mobile phone.
[0018]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the present invention, in a service point giving system that handles cards of a plurality of brands in a unified manner, a customer's willingness to accumulate points is increased, which leads to an increase in purchase motivation, A point exchange system that enables the effective use of the information can be provided.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a system according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating information held by a customer database.
FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating information held in a card company database.
FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a flowchart of a process for calculating a target usage amount when using a card.
[Explanation of symbols]
11 point management center 12 customer database (DB)
13 Card company database (DB)
14 arithmetic unit 15 processing server of each card company 16 store terminal 17 customer terminal

Claims (5)

A point granting service system including a server of each of a plurality of card companies and a point management device connected to each of the servers and collecting a point value calculated based on the amount paid by the customer using the card from each of the servers. So,
The point management device, for each customer, a target point value, storage means for storing a total holding point value,
Means for updating the customer's total holding point value when the customer uses the card;
Means for calculating a difference between the target point value of the customer and the updated total holding point value, and calculating a target usage amount that the customer needs to spend in the future to reach the target point based on the calculated difference. Point providing service system characterized by having. The point giving service system according to claim 1,
The point management device stores in the storage means, for each customer, a holding point value for each customer's contract card company, and a point exchange rate between points of the customer designated card company and points of each contract card company. And
A point granting service system comprising: means for calculating the total holding point value based on the holding point value of each of the customer's contract card companies and the respective point exchange rates. A point management device connected to each server of a plurality of card companies and each server, and collecting point values calculated based on the amount paid by the customer using the card from each server,
For each customer, the target point value, the total holding point value, the holding point value for each contract card company of the customer, the point exchange rate between the points of the customer designated card company and the points of each contract card company, Storage means for storing the point redemption rate of each contract card company and the point holding rate of each contract card company,
Calculate each converted holding point value by converting the holding point value of each of the customer's contract card companies into points of the customer designated card company based on each of the point exchange rates, and sum up the calculated converted holding point values. Means for calculating the total holding point value;
Means for calculating the ratio of each converted holding point value and the total holding point value and calculating a point holding rate for each contract card company;
Based on the difference between the target point value and the total holding point value, the holding point value, the point exchange rate, and the point redemption rate, a target usage amount for each card company is calculated, and the target usage amount for each card company is calculated. A point management device comprising means for calculating a target usage amount by summing the amounts. The point management device according to claim 3,
When a customer terminal is connected to the point management device, the point management device notifies the customer terminal that the total possessed point value has reached the target point value and reaches the target point value. A point management device for calculating an amount of money and notifying the calculated target usage amount to the customer terminal. Calculate each converted holding point value by converting the holding point value of each customer's contract card company into the customer's designated card company's point by the point exchange rate between the customer's designated card company's point and each contracted card company's point Steps to
Calculating a total holding point value by summing the calculated converted holding point values;
Calculating a ratio of the converted holding point value to the total holding point value and calculating a point holding ratio for each of the contract card companies;
The difference between the target point value and the total holding point value is multiplied by the point holding ratio of each contract card company, the result is divided by the point exchange rate of each contract card company, and the result is multiplied by the point conversion rate. Calculating the target usage amount for each card company by using
A program for executing a procedure of calculating the target usage amount by summing the target usage amount for each card company.

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