JP2010165115A - Prepaid card system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a prepaid card system excellent in safety, and manageable easily to a store side, as a PIN code is not validated until being sold in the store, even in the case of a prepaid card on which the PIN code is printed beforehand. <P>SOLUTION: An electronic money control center 6 offers a PIN code C added onto a prepaid card A to a PIN control center 10, and the PIN control center 10 creates a GS1 bar code B by being associated to the PIN code C, displays it on the prepaid card A, and offers it to the store 13. The store 13 reads the GS1 bar code B on the prepaid card A at a selling time, and transmits the read GS1 bar code B to a common VAN center 16. The PIN control center 10 transmits the PIN code C associated to the received GS1 bar code B to the electronic money control center 6, and the electronic money control center 6 validates the received PIN code C. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a prepaid card system, and more particularly, to a prepaid card system that can ensure safety when sold at a convenience store, a supermarket, a mass retailer, or the like.

  In recent years, electronic commerce such as online shopping has been established using the Internet. Various settlement methods are implemented in such electronic commerce, but prepaid methods that pay a certain amount in advance are widespread in terms of safety and small transactions. One of them is to use a prepaid card, and by entering the PIN code written on the prepaid card at the time of payment, the electronic money management center checks the balance and payment amount corresponding to the received PIN code. However, since there is a possibility of unauthorized use after the purchase of a prepaid card, a prepaid card system that cannot be used illegally has been proposed (for example, Patent Document 1).

JP 2002-117349 A

  The problem to be solved by the present invention is that the above-mentioned prepaid card system can avoid the problem after sales, but since the PIN code (ID) is already printed on the prepaid card, it is a convenience store. When selling at retail stores such as supermarkets and mass merchandisers, there is a problem that damage will be serious because it will be used as it is if it is stolen, and there is a problem that must be taken care of for its inventory management, and prepaid cards There was a problem that it was not possible to control fraudulent registration of the amount at the store at the time of sale or before sale.

  In order to solve the above problems, the present invention is effective even if the PIN code is printed on the prepaid card in advance, as long as the user does not pay the card price at the store. In terms of cost, it is easy to manage for the dealer, is safe without causing damage at the EC site and the electronic money management center, and does not require special equipment at the dealer. It is an object to provide an effective prepaid card system.

In order to solve the above problems, a prepaid card system according to the present invention is a prepaid card system in which an electronic money management center settles electronic money based on a PIN code displayed on the prepaid card, and has the following requirements: And
(B) The electronic money management center creates a PIN code to be given to the prepaid card, registers the created PIN code in the database and provides it to the PIN management center. (B) The PIN management center associates the PIN code with the PIN code. Create a barcode, register the created barcode and the PIN code in the database, create a prepaid card with the PIN code and barcode, and provide the prepaid card to the dealer (C) When selling the prepaid card, the store reads the bar code of the prepaid card at the POS terminal and transmits the read bar code to the joint VAN center. (2) The bar received at the joint VAN center. Link to the barcode from the code contents It identifies the information of the PIN management center that transmits by adding additional information to the bar code to the PIN management center.
(E) The PIN management center reads from the received barcode the PIN code associated with the barcode from the database, and transmits the read PIN code to the electronic money management center. The money management center verifies the received PIN code against the PIN code stored in the database and validates it.

  The store may be a convenience store and the joint VAN center may be a convenience VAN center.

  According to the invention of claim 1, since the PIN code is not valid unless payment is made at the POS terminal at the time of sale of the prepaid card and the GS1 code is transmitted to the PIN management center, the prepaid card before settlement is merely a printed matter. Since strict inventory management is not required, even if theft, loss, or damage occurs, there is no damage to the store that sells the card and the prepaid card issuer.

  According to the invention of claim 2, by using the convenience store VAN center to which all the convenience store POSs in the country are connected, the convenience store is special just like selling other products just by selling a prepaid card. It is possible to provide a prepaid card system that is easy to handle for convenience stores, and stores equipped with a POS system that can access a convenience store VAN center, such as supermarkets and the like. If it is a mass retailer, this system can be easily introduced not only at a convenience store but also at every retailer.

Explanatory drawing which shows an example of the prepaid card applied to the prepaid card system of this invention Explanatory diagram of the process in which electronic money is settled via the Internet Flowchart diagram illustrating a process in which electronic money is settled Explanatory diagram of the process of validating the PIN code Flow chart explaining the process of validating the PIN code

  FIG. 1 shows an example of a prepaid card used in a prepaid card system according to the present invention. This prepaid card A displays a bar code (GS1 bar code) B read by a POS terminal at the time of card sales and a PIN code C. Can be purchased at a store that sells cards (for example, a convenience store), and purchases of goods and information (for example, purchase of books and music downloads) within the amount of the prepaid card A purchased For example, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, a user 1 uses a terminal 2 such as a personal computer to send information from an information provider (hereinafter referred to as an EC site) 4 via the Internet 3. When the providing server 5 is accessed (a101) and the desired product or information is requested, the information providing server 5 of the EC site 4 is the user Since the user 1 inputs the PIN code C written on the prepaid card A, the entered PIN code C is sent to the information providing server 5 of the EC site 4 (a102). It is transmitted (a103).

  The information providing server 5 of the EC site 4 transmits the received PIN code C and the sales amount to the management server 7 of the electronic money management center 6 (b101), and inquires whether the PIN code C is valid and whether payment is possible. . The management server 7 of the electronic money management center 6 refers to the database 8, confirms whether the received PIN code C is valid and the balance, feeds back the validity of the PIN code C, and returns the amount set in the information. The payment is made and the payment amount is paid to the information providing server 5 of the EC site 4 (b102), and the EC site 4 provides information and goods to the user 1 (a104).

  By the way, in this system, since the PIN code C is already printed on the prepaid card A, the PIN code C is invalidated until the prepaid card A is sold, the user purchases it at the store, and the card price is charged. The PIN code C is made valid at the time of payment.

  Therefore, in this system, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, a PIN management center 10 for managing the PIN code C is arranged. The electronic money management center 6 that manages electronic money creates a PIN code C to be individually assigned to the prepaid card A, stores the created PIN code C in the PIN code table 8a of the database 8 of the management server 7, and the PIN management center. 10 is supplied using appropriate means (printed material, CD-ROM, communication, etc.) (c101).

  The PIN management center 10 creates a GS1 barcode B by linking to the PIN code C provided from the electronic money management center 6, and prints or seals the GS1 barcode B and PIN code C on the prepaid card A. The PIN code C is stored in the database 12a of the PIN management server 11 (see FIG. 1). The created GS1 barcode B is stored in the database 12b.

  GS1 barcode B can be used to receive telegrams from POS terminals in real time without any special development, according to the standard GS1-128. If the POS terminal is a joint VAN manufacturer code and is connected to this joint VAN, the GS1 barcode B can be transmitted to the designated PIN management center 10 without any special capital investment. It is what has become.

  The PIN management center 10 provides the created prepaid card A to a store 13 such as a convenience store equipped with the POS terminal 14 (d101).

  At the store 13, when the user 1 purchases the prepaid card A (e101) and pays the price M (e102), the salesperson at the store 13 reads the GS1 barcode B with the barcode reader of the POS terminal 14, The card price is settled based on the amount described in the read GS1 barcode B, and the read GS1 barcode B is transmitted to the joint VAN center 16 (d102).

  The joint VAN center 16 searches the database 18 for a registered company (in this case, the PIN management center 10) from the received GS1 barcode B information, and receives the GS1 barcode received by the PIN management server 11 of the PIN management center 10. B is transmitted (d103).

  The PIN management server 11 of the PIN management center 10 that has received the GS1 barcode B refers to the database 12a, reads the PIN code C associated with the GS1 barcode B, and reads the read PIN code C in the electronic money management center 6. It transmits to the management server 7 (c102).

The management server 7 of the electronic money management center 6 validates the received PIN code C.
When the PIN code C received by the management server 7 is validated, the prepaid card A on which the PIN code C is displayed is valid. Therefore, the prepaid card A is activated simply by paying the card fee at the store 13. Therefore, since there is no need to perform special processing, the salesperson can process the prepaid card A in the same way as a general product, and the prepaid card A is not effective until it passes through the POS terminal. However, it is possible to realize a prepaid card system that is extremely easy to handle without special consideration.

  As described above, when the prepaid card A in which the PIN code C is valid is used on the EC site 4, as described with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3, the user 1 purchases at the store (convenience store or the like) 13. When the prepaid card A is prepared, the terminal 2 is started up, connected to the Internet 3, the EC site 4 is accessed, the necessary information is searched, and the necessary information is hit and purchased. When the screen requesting the PIN code C is displayed from the EC site 4, the PIN code C displayed on the prepaid card A is input from the keyboard, and the transmission button (not shown) displayed on the screen is clicked. The entered PIN code C is sent to the EC site 4 via the Internet 3, and the EC site 4 sends the received PIN code C to the electronic money management center. Send to -6.

  The electronic money management center 6 that has received the PIN code determines whether the received PIN code C is a valid PIN code, and if it is a valid PIN code, determines whether there is a balance that can be settled, and determines that it is valid. In such a case, the EC site 4 is notified to that effect, the information provision fee is settled, and payment processing with electronic money is performed.

  As described above, the prepaid card A before the sale is displayed with the GS1 barcode B on which various information including the amount is written and the PIN code C which is identification information unique to the card. PIN code C will not be valid unless payment processing is performed at the POS terminal 14, so if there is a problem of theft or loss before sales, the PIN code remains invalid unless payment processing is performed at the POS terminal. Therefore, it is possible to provide a prepaid card system with extremely low risk for those who sell cards and those who provide information.

  The prepaid card A displays a GS1 barcode B in which various information including the amount of money is written and a PIN code C, which is card-specific identification information, and the PIN management center 10 that has received the GS1 barcode B. The PIN management server 11 refers to the database 12a, reads the PIN code C linked to the GS1 barcode B, and transmits the read PIN code C to the management server 7 of the electronic money management center 6. Even if the GS1 barcode B is processed, the PIN management server 11 of the PIN management center 10 can verify the unmatch because the PIN code is associated with the barcode.

  In addition, if the store is a convenience store, by using the convenience store VAN center where all the convenience store POSs in the country are connected, the convenience store can sell other products just by selling prepaid cards. It is possible to realize a prepaid card system that does not require any special equipment or operation, and is convenient for a convenience store and has excellent safety. In addition, supermarkets and mass retailers can easily apply this system if they have a POS system that can access the convenience store VAN center.

1 User 2 Terminal 3 Internet 4 EC site (information provider)
6 Electronic Money Management Center 10 PIN Management Center 13 Dealer 14 POS Terminal 16 Joint VAN Center A Prepaid Card B GS1 Barcode C PIN Code

Claims (2)

A prepaid card system in which an electronic money management center settles electronic money based on a PIN code displayed on a prepaid card, and has the following requirements.
(B) The electronic money management center creates a PIN code to be given to the prepaid card, registers the created PIN code in the database and provides it to the PIN management center. (B) The PIN management center associates the PIN code with the PIN code. Create a barcode, register the created barcode and the PIN code in the database, create a prepaid card with the PIN code and barcode, and provide the prepaid card to the dealer (C) When selling the prepaid card, the store reads the bar code of the prepaid card at the POS terminal and transmits the read bar code to the joint VAN center. (2) The bar received at the joint VAN center. Link to the barcode from the code contents It identifies the information of the PIN management center that transmits by adding additional information to the bar code to the PIN management center.
(E) The PIN management center reads from the received barcode the PIN code associated with the barcode from the database, and transmits the read PIN code to the electronic money management center. The money management center verifies the received PIN code against the PIN code stored in the database and validates it.   The prepaid card system according to claim 1, wherein the store is a convenience store and the joint VAN center is a convenience VAN center.

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