JP7223626B2 - server and terminal - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a server and a terminal that enable investment of electronic value.

Investments such as stock trading, foreign exchange margin trading, futures trading, and bond trading have a long history. In recent years, there has been proposed a service that invests electronic value such as points, targeting people who are interested in investing but are reluctant to actually invest money (see, for example, Patent Document 1). .

The microfinance promotion support system described in Patent Literature 1 utilizes user points for microfinance. This system accepts from a user terminal a specification of the number of reserved points, which is the number of points to be reserved from among the number of points available to the user. The designated number of reserved points is written in a storage means, and the validity period of points corresponding to the designated number of reserved points is extended based on the reserved period of the designated number of reserved points. The information processing necessary for the investment amount to be invested as a small loan, which is determined based on the number of reserved points stored in the storage means, to be invested in the investment destination is executed.

JP 2009-217312 A

In the system described in Patent Literature 1, only one type of points is handled, and the points that have expired can be used as the original points. Therefore, if the term of validity of points is extended based on the term of retention, it becomes complicated to adjust the conflict of interest with the point issuer regarding the handling of points after the term of retention has passed.

The present invention has been made in view of these problems, and its object is to provide a technique that enables smoother introduction of a mechanism for extending the expiration date of electronic value.
Alternatively, the above problem can be considered to be caused by using the acquired points as they are for investment. Therefore, another object of the present invention is to eliminate the harmful effects caused by using the acquired points as they are for investment. It is the provision of technology that can

One aspect of the present invention relates to a server. The server is first receiving means for receiving a request for conversion from a first electronic value to a second electronic value from a user's terminal via a network. each of the electronic values has an expiration date; and a second reception means for receiving an instruction to invest the second electronic value obtained as a result of the conversion from a user's terminal via a network.

It should be noted that any combination of the above constituent elements, or mutual replacement of the constituent elements and expressions of the present invention with devices, methods, systems, computer programs, recording media storing computer programs, etc., are also included in the present invention. It is effective as an aspect of

According to the present invention, it is possible to smoothly introduce a mechanism for extending the expiration date of electronic value.
Alternatively, according to the present invention, it is possible to eliminate the harmful effects of using the acquired points as they are for investment.

1 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of a point investment system according to an embodiment; FIG. 2 is a hardware configuration diagram of an investment server in FIG. 1; FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the functions and configuration of an investment server in FIG. 1; FIG. FIGS. 4A to 4E are explanatory diagrams of how to extend the expiration date in the conversion process by the point conversion section. 4 is a data structure diagram showing an example of a user information holding unit in FIG. 3; FIG. FIG. 2 is a flow chart showing a series of processes in the investment server of FIG. 1; FIG. FIGS. 7A to 7D are screen transition diagrams showing screen transitions displayed on the display of the mobile terminal executing the point investment application. FIGS. 8A to 8D are screen transition diagrams showing screen transitions displayed on the display of the mobile terminal executing the point investment application. FIGS. 9A to 9C are screen transition diagrams showing screen transitions displayed on the display of the mobile terminal executing the point investment application. It is a representative screen diagram of a transaction history screen displayed on the display of the mobile terminal.

Hereinafter, the same or equivalent constituent elements, members, and processes shown in each drawing are denoted by the same reference numerals, and duplication of description will be omitted as appropriate. Also, in each drawing, some members that are not important for explanation are omitted.

In the point investment system according to the embodiment, by converting acquired points acquired in various situations into investment points for investment, it is possible to extend the expiration date of acquired points, while acquiring investment points. There is no way to get the points back. As a result, it is possible to extend the expiration date to meet the user's needs, and to make the conversion irreversible, thereby facilitating the adjustment of the right relationship between the acquisition point issuer and the investment point issuer. can be done.

(Embodiment)
FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of a point investment system 2 according to an embodiment. The point investment system 2 includes a mobile terminal 4, an information distribution server 8, and an investment server 10. - 特許庁The mobile terminal 4 , the information distribution server 8 , and the investment server 10 are each connected to a network 6 such as the Internet, and configured to communicate with each other via the network 6 . The configuration shown in FIG. 1 is an example, and the number of mobile terminals 4 and servers 8 and 10 is not limited. Each server 8, 10 may include multiple servers. For example, the investment server 10 and the information distribution server 8 can be configured as one server, or each block component of the investment server 10, which will be described later, can be configured as a server.

The investment server 10 manages the earned points and investment points of users who use the point investment service provided by the point investment system 2 . Acquired points are points acquired by the user through the point investment service, other loyalty programs, point services, mileage programs, and the like. Earned points are redeemable for goods or services at a predetermined rate as determined by the issuer. Investment points are points that can be invested in virtual investment objects (stocks, mutual funds, futures, foreign exchange, etc.) provided by the point investment service. Investment points are redeemable for goods or services at a predetermined rate as determined by the issuer or provider of the point investment service.

In this specification, investment in a virtual investment target is called virtual investment or virtual investment. Virtual investment is a type of investment that makes the user feel as if he or she is trading a financial product by processing data without actually buying, selling, trading, or transferring rights to the financial product. Virtual investment is relatively easy to implement because it does not involve buying and selling of actual financial products.

There is a difference between earned points and invested points. For example, an entity that issues acquired points is different from an entity that issues investment points. In the above example, the entity that issues the investment points is the provider of the point investment service, while the acquired points may be issued by entities other than the provider, such as the provider of the loyalty program. Also, the manner in which acquired points are exchanged for goods or services differs from the manner in which investment points are exchanged for goods or services. For example, earned points may be used in physical stores, while investment points may only be used in e-commerce. The range of goods or services redeemable for earned points may be wider than the range of goods or services redeemable for investment points, or vice versa. The exchange rate for earned points may be more favorable to the user than the exchange rate for investment points, and vice versa.

The information distribution server 8 distributes to the investment server 10 via the network 6 information necessary for processing the virtual investment in the investment server 10 . The information distributed by the information distribution server 8 includes the Nikkei Stock Average and stock prices of specific companies if the virtual investment target is stocks, and includes exchange rates if the virtual investment target is foreign exchange. The information distribution server 8 may be a server installed in the exchange.

The mobile terminal 4 is a mobile terminal of a user who uses the point investment service, and may be, for example, a smart phone, a tablet terminal, a laptop PC, or the like. The user downloads and installs a point investment application program (hereinafter referred to as a point investment application) from the download site to the mobile terminal 4 via the network 6 . Alternatively, the point investment application may be pre-installed on the mobile terminal 4 . The point investment application is provided by a point investment service provider. As the point investment application is executed by the mobile terminal 4, the mobile terminal 4 realizes various functions.

FIG. 2 is a hardware configuration diagram of the investment server 10 of FIG. Investment server 10 includes memory 102 , processor 104 , communication interface 106 , display 108 and input interface 110 . Each of these elements is connected to bus 112 and communicates with each other via bus 112 .

The memory 102 is a storage area for storing data and programs. Data and programs may be stored in memory 102 permanently or temporarily. The processor 104 implements various functions of the investment server 10 by executing programs stored in the memory 102 . The communication interface 106 is an interface for transmitting and receiving data to and from the outside of the investment server 10 . The communication interface 106 is connected to the network 6 and exchanges data with the mobile terminal 4 and the information distribution server 8 via the network 6 . A display 108 is a device for displaying various information. The input interface 110 is a device for accepting input from the administrator of the point investment system 2 .

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the functions and configuration of the investment server 10 of FIG. Each block shown here can be implemented by hardware such as a computer CPU and other elements and mechanical devices, and is implemented by software such as a computer program. It depicts the function blocks to be used. Therefore, those skilled in the art who have read this specification will understand that these functional blocks can be implemented in various ways by combining hardware and software.

The investment server 10 includes a conversion request reception unit 122, a point conversion unit 124, an investment instruction reception unit 126, a virtual investment processing unit 128, a transmission unit 130, a privilege exchange processing unit 132, and a user information storage unit 134. , provided.

The conversion request reception unit 122 receives a request from the user's portable terminal 4 via the network 6 to convert acquired points into investment points. The mobile terminal 4 receives an instruction from the user to convert the earned points into investment points on a conversion screen 502 of the point investment application, which will be described later, and transmits a request for the conversion to the investment server 10 via the network 6 . The conversion request includes the number of points acquired from the conversion source and its expiration date, and more specifically includes one or more pairs of (the number of points acquired from the conversion source, its expiration date). The conversion request may include multiple points earned with different expiration dates. In this specification, "number of points" refers to a group of points associated with a certain expiration date, and the size of the group is specified by a quantity such as 600 (points), 1000 (points), etc. .

When the conversion request receiving unit 122 receives a request for conversion, the point conversion unit 124 performs conversion so that the expiration date of the investment points to be converted is the same as or longer than the expiration date of the acquired points to be converted. Execute. For example, if the length of the period from the current time to the expiration date of the conversion source earned points is smaller than a predetermined value, the point conversion unit 124 changes the expiration date of the conversion destination investment points from the current date to the expiration date of the conversion destination investment points. The length of the period until the deadline is set to the predetermined value. The predetermined value may be appropriately set by the provider of the point investment service, for example, one year, half a year, three months, two years, or the like. Further, when the length of the period from the current time to the expiration date of the conversion source earned points is equal to or greater than the predetermined value, the point conversion unit 124 sets the expiration date of the conversion destination investment points to the conversion source earned points. set to the same as the expiration date of

The rate of conversion from earned points to investment points in the point conversion unit 124 may be appropriately set by the provider of the point investment service. For example, when the conversion rate is set to 2, if the number of acquired points at the conversion source is "50 points", the investment point number at the conversion destination is "100 points".

4A to 4E are explanatory diagrams of how to extend the expiration date in the conversion processing by the point conversion unit 124. FIG. In this example, the predetermined value is set to 1 year, so the expiration date is extended by a maximum of 1 year. FIG. 4(a) corresponds to the case where the expiration date of the acquired points to be converted is less than one year. Due to the conversion processing by the point conversion unit 124, the expiration date of the converted investment points is set to one year from now, which is longer than the original expiration date. That is, the term of validity is extended by converting acquired points into investment points.

FIG. 4(b) corresponds to the case where the expiration date of the acquired points to be converted is one year or longer. By the conversion processing by the point conversion unit 124, the expiration date of the investment points after conversion is set to be the same as the expiration date of the acquired points before conversion. That is, if the original expiration date is longer than a predetermined value, the conversion preserves the expiration date.

FIG. 4(c) corresponds to a case where the acquired points to be converted include two acquired point numbers with different expiration dates. In FIG. 4C, the first number of earned points (eg, "30 points") is associated with the first expiration date (eg, "2018/8/1"), and the second number of earned points (eg, "50 point”) is associated with a second expiration date (for example, “2018/11/1”), and the second expiration date is longer than the first expiration date. In this case, the conversion request includes a set of (number of acquired points = 30, expiration date = 8/1/2018), a set of (number of acquired points = 50, expiration date = 11/1/2018), including.

In FIG. 4C, both the first expiration date and the second expiration date are less than one year. Therefore, by the conversion processing by the point conversion unit 124, the third expiration date of the first investment point number (for example, "60 points") to which the first earned point number is converted is set to one year from now. is longer than the original first expiration date. Similarly, by the conversion processing by the point conversion unit 124, the fourth expiration date of the second investment point number (for example, "100 points") to which the second acquired point number is converted is set to one year from now, This is longer than the original second expiration date. Thus, both the first expiration date and the second expiration date are extended by converting the earned points into investment points.

In FIG. 4(d), similar to FIG. 4(c), the acquired points to be converted include two acquired points with different expiration dates, but the first expiration date is less than one year, and the second expiration date is It corresponds when it is one year or more. It can be said that this is a state in which the term of validity of less than one year and the term of validity of one year or more are mixed.

In FIG. 4D, the conversion processing by the point conversion unit 124 sets the third expiration date to one year from the present time, while setting the fourth expiration date to be the same as the second expiration date. In this way, by converting the earned points into investment points, the first expiration date of less than one year is extended, while the second expiration date of one year or more is maintained. .

FIG. 4(e) shows a case in which the acquired points to be converted include two acquired points with different expiration dates as in FIG. 4(c), but both the first and second expiration dates are one year or more. corresponds to In this case, the conversion processing by the point conversion unit 124 sets the third expiration date to be the same as the first expiration date, and sets the fourth expiration date to be the same as the second expiration date. Thus, if both the first expiration date and the second expiration date are longer than the predetermined value, the conversion maintains both expiration dates.

Returning to FIG. 3, the point conversion unit 124 updates the user information holding unit 134 with the conversion result. The point conversion unit 124 may notify the server (not shown) of the acquired point issuer via the network 6 of the user ID that identifies the user, the number of acquired points to be converted, and its expiration date. The earned point issuer may subtract the notified number of earned points from the user's earned point balance. The earned point issuer may provide the point investment service provider with consideration corresponding to the earned points thus consumed. The provider may prepare a product or service (that is, a privilege) that can be exchanged for investment points using this consideration as a resource.

The investment instruction reception unit 126 receives an instruction to invest the investment points obtained as a result of conversion from the user's portable terminal 4 via the network 6 . The mobile terminal 4 receives an instruction from the user to invest the uninvested investment points of the user in a virtual investment target on an order reception screen 504 of the point investment application, which will be described later. to the network 6. The investment instruction includes an investment target, the number of investment points to be invested and its expiration date, and more specifically includes one or more sets of (investment target, investment points to be invested, expiration date thereof). The investment instructions may include instructions for investing a plurality of investment points with different expiration dates in the same investment object. For example, the investment instruction may include an instruction to buy stock of "ABC Trading" for "500 investment points", in which case further breakdown of "500 investment points" is "300 investment points", and "200 investment points with an expiration date of 10/25/2018".

The investment instruction reception unit 126 notifies the mobile terminal 4 of the user via the network 6 when the expiration date of the investment points to be invested satisfies a predetermined warning standard. In this embodiment, partial settlement within one transaction is not permitted. Also, when the investment points that have been invested expire, all transactions involving the investment points are forcibly settled. Therefore, if multiple investment points with different expiration dates (e.g., 1 week, 3 months, 6 months) are invested in the same investment, the shortest of those expiration dates (1 week ) expires, compulsory settlement will be made for all investment points with expiration dates.

Therefore, at the start of the transaction, that is, at the stage when the investment instruction receiving unit 126 receives the investment instruction, the investment instruction receiving unit 126 determines whether the number of investment points to be invested in the investment object has an expiration date shorter than a predetermined value. exists. If determined to exist, the investment instruction receiving unit 126 warns the user. The predetermined value may be appropriately set by the provider of the point investment service, such as one week, two weeks, or one month. The investment instruction receiving unit 126 may further provide the mobile terminal 4 with an interface that allows the investment points to be used for investment to be arbitrarily selected for each expiration date.

The virtual investment processing unit 128 performs processing related to virtual investment in the investment server 10 . The virtual investment processing unit 128 receives parameters related to virtual investment such as stock prices and exchange rates from the information distribution server 8 via the network 6 . In the case of virtual stock trading, the virtual investment processing unit 128 acquires the stock price of the target company from the information distribution server 8 . In the case of virtual foreign exchange margin trading, the virtual investment processing unit 128 acquires the exchange rate from the information distribution server 8 . Although virtual stock trading will be described below as an example, the technical idea according to the present embodiment can also be applied to other virtual investments such as virtual foreign exchange margin trading.

The virtual investment processing unit 128 acquires the stock price of the investment target company specified by the instruction received by the investment instruction receiving unit 126 from the information distribution server 8, or obtains the stock price that has already been obtained from the information distribution server 8. read out. The virtual investment processing unit 128 calculates the number of virtual stocks (hereinafter referred to as virtual stocks) to be allocated to the user based on the number of investment points specified by the instruction and the acquired stock price. When calculating the number of shares, the virtual investment processing unit 128 multiplies the acquired stock price by a predetermined unit conversion coefficient to calculate the stock price in units of investment points. Alternatively, other algorithms may be used to convert the actual stock price obtained into the stock price of a virtual stock in the point investment service.

For example, if the number of investment points specified in the buy order is "1000 points" and the stock price is "100 points", the virtual investment processing unit 128 allocates "10 shares" of the virtual stock of the target company to the user. The virtual investment processing unit 128 updates the user information holding unit 134 with the investment target, the number of investment points invested, the virtual stock buying/selling price, and the allocated number of stocks.

The virtual investment processing unit 128 updates the stock price by periodically acquiring the stock price of the company from the information distribution server 8, for example, once a day. When the stock price is updated, the virtual investment processing unit 128 evaluates the virtual stock owned by the user with the updated stock price. Specifically, the virtual investment processing unit 128 calculates the number of evaluation points (evaluation value) by multiplying the number of virtual stocks held by the user by the updated stock price, and calculates the number of investment points when investing in the virtual stock. The number of increase/decrease points (profit/loss) is calculated as the difference from the number of evaluation points. The virtual investment processing unit 128 registers the calculated evaluation point number and the calculated increase/decrease point number in the user information holding unit 134 . When the virtual investment processing unit 128 receives a request for provision of the operation status from the user's mobile terminal 4 , the virtual investment processing unit 128 refers to the user information holding unit 134 to generate information indicating the user's operation status, and sends the information to the mobile terminal 4 via the network 6 . Send to

The virtual investment processing unit 128 receives a payment request including designation of a payment target from the mobile terminal 4 of the user via the network 6 . Upon receiving a settlement request, the virtual investment processing unit 128 executes settlement of the investment related to the designated settlement object.

When two investment points with different expiry dates are invested in the same investment object and the investment produces a profit or loss, the virtual investment processing unit 128 calculates the profit or loss according to one of the following two algorithms. It is processed.
(1) Allocate the profit and loss resulting from the investment according to the quantity for each expiration date.
(2) Issue the resulting investment as a new quantity of investment points, and subtract the resulting loss from the short expiry quantity.
Either algorithm (1) or (2) to be used may be configured to be selectable by the point investment service provider or user. Alternatively, the profit resulting from the investment may be processed by the algorithm (1) and the loss resulting from the investment may be processed by the algorithm (2), or vice versa. Thus, the algorithm (1) and the algorithm (2) may be used in combination. The above profit and loss processing is performed at the time of settlement, but may be performed at the time of evaluation.

The following two examples of profit and loss are used to illustrate the above two algorithms.
(Example of profit)
・On March 1, 2018, we purchased 5 shares of ABC Trading. Since the stock price of ABC Trading was 100 investment points, it was an investment of 500 investment points. The breakdown of the 500 investment points was 300 investment points with an expiration date of 2018/12/25 and 200 investment points with an expiration date of 10/25/2018.
・The above five shares were sold on April 1, 2018. The stock price of ABC Trading was 110 investment points, so a profit of 50 investment points came out.
(Example of loss)
・On March 1, 2018, we purchased 5 shares of ABC Trading. Since the stock price of ABC Trading was 100 investment points, it was an investment of 500 investment points. The breakdown of the 500 investment points was 300 investment points with an expiration date of 2018/12/25 and 200 investment points with an expiration date of 10/25/2018.
・The above five shares were sold on April 1, 2018. Since the stock price of ABC Trading was 90 investment points, there was a loss of 50 investment points.

Algorithm (1) allocates profit and loss according to the ratio of points for each term. In the profit example above, the profit of 50 investment points as of April 1, 2018 is allocated more as the number of investment points for each expiration date increases, and the expiration date itself does not contribute to the allocation. For example, 300 investment points with an expiration date of 12/25/2018 will be allocated a profit of 50*300/(300+200)=30 investment points, and as a result of settlement, the number of investment points with an expiration date of 12/25/2018 is 300+30=330. 200 investment points with an expiration date of 10/25/2018 will be allocated a profit of 50*200/(300+200)=20 investment points, and as a result of settlement, the number of investment points with an expiration date of 10/25/2018 will be 200+20 =220.

The same is true for losses. In the above loss example, the loss of 50 investment points as of April 1, 2018 is allocated more as the number of investment points for each expiration date increases, and the expiration date itself does not contribute to the allocation. For example, 300 investment points with an expiration date of 12/25/2018 will be allocated a loss of 50*300/(300+200)=30 investment points, and as a result of settlement, the number of investment points with an expiration date of 12/25/2018 is 300-30=270. A loss of 50*200/(300+200)=20 investment points is allocated to the 200 investment points with an expiration date of 10/25/2018, and as a result of settlement, the number of investment points with an expiration date of 2018/10/25 is 200. -20=180.

The algorithm of (2) issues new points when a profit is made, and withdraws from the old term when a loss is made. In the above profit example, the profit of 50 investment points generated by the settlement on April 1, 2018 is issued to the user as new investment points with an expiration date of a predetermined period (for example, one year) after the settlement. As a result, 50 investment points with an expiration date of 2019/4/1 are newly issued to the user. Alternatively, profit may be added to the number of investment points with the longest expiration date.

In the above loss example, the loss of 50 investment points that occurred in the settlement on 4/1/2018 is deducted from the investment points with the shortest expiry date, namely 200 investment points with the expiry date of 10/25/2018. As a result, the number of investment points with an expiration date of 10/25/2018 is 200-50=150, and the number of investment points with an expiration date of 12/25/2018 remains unchanged. In this way, with the algorithm (2), by realizing profit and loss processing that is advantageous to the user regarding the expiration date, it is possible to increase the motivation to use the point investment service.

The transmission unit 130 transmits various types of information to the mobile terminal 4 via the network 6 . The various types of information include, for example, virtual stock evaluation points owned by the user, total points acquired by the user, total investment points of the user, information on the investment status of the user, stock prices of virtual stocks, and the like.

The privilege exchange processing unit 132 performs processing for exchanging uninvested investment points for a privilege. The processing in the privilege exchange processing unit 132 may be the same as the privilege exchange processing used in a known point system. Typically, a list of benefits is presented on the display of the mobile terminal 4, and selection of benefits by the user is accepted.

FIG. 5 is a data structure diagram showing an example of the user information holding unit 134 of FIG. The user information holding unit 134 holds a user ID that identifies the user, a password as the user's qualification information, information about the user's earned points, and information about the user's investment points, in association with each other. The information about earned points indicates the earned points that the user has in the form of a set of the number of earned points and its expiration date. The information about the investment points indicates the uninvested investment points owned by the user as a set of the number of investment points and its expiration date, and the investment points already invested as a set of the number of investment points, its expiration date, the investment target, and the purchase price. / Shown as a set of selling price, number of shares, multiplier, number of evaluation points, and number of increase/decrease points.

In the example of FIG. 5, the user "A001" currently owns 5 virtual stocks of "ABC Trading", and since the purchase price was 100 investment points, the number of investment points paid at the time of purchase is 500. The breakdown of the number of investment points is 300 investment points with an expiration date of December 25, 2018, 200 investment points with an expiration date of October 25, 2018, and the current number of evaluation points is 550 (currently It shows that the stock price of ABC Trading is 110 investment points) and the profit is 50 investment points.

The operation of the investment server 10 configured as above will be described.
FIG. 6 is a flow chart showing a series of processes in the investment server 10 of FIG.
(Conversion request processing phase)
The investment server 10 receives a request for conversion of acquired points to investment points (S602). The investment server 10 determines whether or not the expiration date of the acquired points to be converted is before a predetermined period of time, for example, one year from now (S604). If it is determined to be before (YES in S604), the investment server 10 sets the expiration date of the conversion destination investment points to one year from now (S606). If it is determined that it is not before (NO in S604), the investment server 10 sets the expiration date of the conversion destination investment points to be the same as the expiration date of the conversion source earned points (S608). The investment server 10 converts the acquired points of the conversion source into investment points having the expiration date set in step S606 or S608 according to a predetermined conversion rate (S610). The investment server 10 updates the user information holding unit 134 with the result of the conversion performed in step S610. The investment server 10 deletes the entry corresponding to the conversion source acquired points and creates a new entry corresponding to the conversion destination investment points in the user information holding unit 134 . For example, in the user information holding unit 134 shown in FIG. 5, when 1000 earned points with an expiration date of 2018/7/15 are converted into investment points on 2018/5/1 at a conversion rate of "2", (earned points number=1000, expiration date=2018/7/15) is deleted, and instead, an entry of (investment points=2000, expiration date=2019/5/1) is newly registered. The processing of steps S604 to S612 is repeated as long as there are acquired points that have not been converted (S614). When the conversion of the acquired points is completed (NO in S614), the processing of the conversion request ends.

(Virtual investment execution phase)
The investment server 10 receives an instruction to invest investment points (S616). The investment server 10 determines whether the expiry date of the investment points to be invested is before a predetermined period of time, for example, two weeks from now (S618). If it is determined to be before (YES in S618), the investment server 10 performs predetermined warning processing (S620). If it is determined not before (NO in S618), the investment server 10 executes the instructed virtual investment (S622). The investment server 10 registers the executed virtual investment in the user information holding unit 134 . In the user information holding unit 134 shown in FIG. 5, for example, if the expiration date is 2018/6/20 and 500 investment points are used to purchase virtual stock "1 share" of B Holding (number of investment points = 500, expiration date = 2018/6/20), (investment object = B Holding, bid/sell price = 500 points per share, number of shares = 1, multiplier = 1) is registered.

FIGS. 7A to 7D are screen transition diagrams showing screen transitions displayed on the display 40 of the mobile terminal 4 executing the point investment application.
FIGS. 8A to 8D are screen transition diagrams showing screen transitions displayed on the display 40 of the mobile terminal 4 executing the point investment application.
FIGS. 9A to 9C are screen transition diagrams showing screen transitions displayed on the display 40 of the mobile terminal 4 executing the point investment application.
FIG. 10 is a representative screen view of the transaction history screen 591 displayed on the display 40 of the mobile terminal 4. As shown in FIG.

FIG. 7A shows a login screen 506 of the point investment application. The user enters the user ID and password on the login screen 506 and taps the OK button. The mobile terminal 4 acquires the input user ID and password in response to the detection of the tap, and transmits them to the investment server 10 via the network 6 . The investment server 10 collates the user ID and password registered in the user information holding unit 134 with the received user ID and password, and performs user authentication. The investment server 10 transmits information indicating success or failure of user authentication to the mobile terminal 4 via the network 6 . The portable terminal 4 causes the display 40 to display the home screen 500 shown in FIG. 7B when the user authentication is successful, and causes the display 40 to display a predetermined error screen (not shown) when the user authentication is unsuccessful.

The home screen 500 displays the user ID 508 of the user who has successfully authenticated (or logged in), the current date and time 510, and an overview of the points held by the user. In particular, the home screen 500 displays a total earned points 512, which is the total earned points of the user, and a total invested points 516, which is the total invested points of the user. On the home screen 500, a warning message 514 is displayed in relation to the total number of earned points 512 to notify about earned points whose expiration date is relatively near. In relation to the total investment points 516, the home screen 500 displays the number of uninvested investment points 518 out of the total investment points 516, and the total number of investment points 518, which is the sum of the evaluation points of the investment points already invested. An evaluation point number 520 and a total increase/decrease point number 522, which is the sum of the increase/decrease points, are displayed. The home screen 500 is provided with a privilege and exchange button 524, a conversion to investment points button 526, a new order button 528, a check/settlement status button 530, and a transaction history button 532, which serve as flow lines to the corresponding functions. Function.

When the mobile terminal 4 detects a tap on the conversion into investment points button 526, the conversion screen 502 shown in FIG. 7(c) is displayed on the display 40. FIG. The conversion screen 502 includes a total earned points 534, a conversion source earned points input/display area 536, a conversion destination investment points input/display area 538, an expiration date breakdown display area 540, and a notes display area. 542 and . When the user inputs the desired number of acquired points in the input/display area 536 for the number of acquired points for conversion, the number of investment points for conversion corresponding to the input number of acquired points is calculated, and the number of investment points for conversion is input/displayed. Displayed in display area 538 . Conversely, when the user inputs the desired number of investment points in the input/display area 538 for the number of investment points to be converted, the number of acquired points for the conversion source corresponding to the input number of investment points is calculated. is displayed in the acquired point number input/display area 536.

The expiration date breakdown display area 540 displays the breakdown of the expiration date of the conversion-source acquired points input/display area 536 that is input or displayed. The expiration date details display area 540 displays the number of acquired points for each expiration date, and further displays the corresponding investment point number and expiration date after conversion for each of them. The notice display area 542 includes text indicating that the expiration date is extended when the earned points are converted into investment points, and text indicating that once converted to investment points, they cannot be returned to earned points.

When the mobile terminal 4 detects that the OK button on the conversion screen 502 has been tapped, the conversion including the number of points input/displayed in the points input/display area 536 of the conversion source and the breakdown for each period of validity of the points is converted. A request is generated and sent to investment server 10 over network 6 . Investment server 10 processes the conversion request as described above and transmits the conversion result to mobile terminal 4 via network 6 . The portable terminal 4 causes the display 40 to display the home screen 500 reflecting the received conversion result (FIG. 7(d)).

When the portable terminal 4 detects a tap on the new order button 528 on the home screen 500, the display 40 displays an investment target selection screen 544 shown in FIG. 8(a). The investment target selection screen 544 has an uninvested investment point number 546 owned by the user and a plurality of investment target objects 548 and 550 . The investment target object is displayed differently depending on whether or not the user has already invested in the investment target. An investment target object 548 corresponding to an investment target that has already invested displays the name of the investment target, the current stock price of the investment target, and the number of evaluation points of the investment points being invested. An investment object 550 for an investment that has not yet been invested displays the name of the investment and the current stock price of the investment.

When the mobile terminal 4 detects a tap on any of the investment target objects included in the investment target selection screen 544, the mobile terminal 4 causes the display 40 to display the order reception screen 504 shown in FIG. 8(b). The order acceptance screen 504 displays the name 552 of the investment target corresponding to the investment target object whose tap was detected on the investment target selection screen 544, that is, the investment target object selected by the user, the current stock price 554 of the investment target, and the current stock price 554 of the investment target. and an area for allowing the user to specify the details of investment. This area includes an order type selection area 558 for accepting selection of an order type (buy or sell), an investment point number input area 560 for inputting the number of investment points to be invested, and an investment rate input area for inputting an investment rate. and a magnification input area 562 . When the mobile terminal 4 detects a tap on the order button 564 on the order acceptance screen 504, the order type selected in the order type selection area 558, the investment point number input in the investment point number input area 560, and the investment multiplier are input. and the investment rate entered in the area 562 is transmitted to the investment server 10 via the network 6 . The investment server 10 executes the investment process described above based on the received investment instruction.

The number of investment points instructed to be invested is selected by default in the investment server 10 from those with short expiration dates. For example, when the user information holding unit 134 shown in FIG. 5 is instructed to invest 2000 investment points, the virtual investment processing unit 128 selects 500 investment points ( 2018/6/20) and apply the remaining 1500 investment points from the 2000 investment points with the next shortest expiration date (2019/6/10). As a result, the breakdown of the investment points is "500 investment points with an expiration date of 2018/6/20" and "1500 investment points with an expiration date of 6/10/2019".

If the number of investment points selected by default includes the number of investment points with a relatively short expiration date as described above, the virtual investment processing unit 128 provides an alternative plan that does not include the number of investment points with a short expiration date. to generate The virtual investment processing unit 128 transmits to the mobile terminal 4 warning information including the breakdown of the current investment points and the generated alternative plan for the breakdown. When receiving the warning information, the mobile terminal 4 displays a warning display area 566 on the order reception screen 504 (FIG. 8(c)). The warning display area 566 includes text 568 indicating that the number of investment points to be invested includes investment points with a short expiration date, a breakdown of the current investment points 570 , and an alternative breakdown 572 . The user selects either the current breakdown or an alternative breakdown with the radio buttons and taps the order button 564 . When the mobile terminal 4 detects the tap, it transmits the selected details to the investment server 10 . The investment server 10 executes the investment with the selected breakdown.

When the portable terminal 4 detects a tap on the details button 574 on the order reception screen 504 of FIG. 8(c), it displays a detail input area 576 instead of the warning display area 566 of the order reception screen 504 (FIG. 8(d)). ). When the mobile terminal 4 detects that the details button 574 has been tapped, it acquires from the investment server 10 the number of all uninvested investment points held by the user and their expiration dates. The mobile terminal 4 generates a breakdown input area 576 based on the acquired information. The detail input area 576 displays a list of all uninvested investment points currently owned by the user and their expiration dates, and provides an investment point number input area 578 for each of them. The user enters the desired breakdown and taps order button 564 . When the mobile terminal 4 detects the tap, it transmits the entered details to the investment server 10 . The investment server 10 executes the investment according to the entered details.

When the mobile terminal 4 detects a tap on the possession status confirmation/payment button 530 on the home screen 500, the mobile terminal 4 causes the display 40 to display the ownership status display screen 580 shown in FIG. 9(a). The holding status display screen 580 includes a total 582 of evaluation points (appraisal value) of investment points owned by the user, a total of 584 evaluation points of investment points currently being invested (already invested), and a total of 586 points of increase/decrease. , and an investing object 588 corresponding to the investment object being invested. The investment object 588 displays the name of the investment target being invested, the current stock price, the current evaluation point number, the current increase/decrease point number, and a settlement button 590 .

When the mobile terminal 4 detects a tap on the settlement button of any of the investing objects included in the holding status display screen 580, the mobile terminal 4 causes the display 40 to display a settlement screen 592 shown in FIG. 9B. The payment screen 592 displays the name 594 of the investment object corresponding to the investment object whose tap has been detected on the holding status display screen 580, that is, the investment object selected by the user, the current stock price 596 of the investment object, and the current stock price 596 of the investment object. It has an uninvested investment point number 598 , an investment time information display area 597 displaying information at the time of investment, a payment information display area 595 displaying information related to payment, and a payment button 593 . The settlement information display area 595 displays the current evaluation point number of the investment points invested in the investment target and the evaluation profit/loss. When mobile terminal 4 detects a tap on payment button 593 , mobile terminal 4 generates a payment request including information specifying an investment object corresponding to the investment object selected by the user on holding status display screen 580 , and sends payment via network 6 . Send to investment server 10 . When the investment server 10 receives the settlement request, it performs processing for settlement of the investment related to the investment object included in the settlement request. The investment server 10 transmits the settlement result to the mobile terminal 4 via the network 6 . The mobile terminal 4 causes the display 40 to display the home screen 500 reflecting the received settlement result (FIG. 9(c)).

When the mobile terminal 4 detects that the transaction history button 532 on the home screen 500 has been tapped, the mobile terminal 4 causes the display 40 to display the transaction history screen 591 shown in FIG. Transaction history screen 591 displays a period input/display area 589 that enables input and display of a period for which history is to be displayed, and transaction history 587 .

In the above-described embodiments, examples of holding units are hard disks and semiconductor memories. In addition, based on the description of this specification, each part is implemented by a CPU (not shown), an installed application program module, a system program module, a semiconductor memory that temporarily stores the contents of data read from the hard disk, etc. Those skilled in the art who have access to this specification will understand what is possible.

According to the investment server 10 according to the present embodiment, conversion of acquired points to investment points is allowed, but the reverse is not allowed. On top of that, the expiration date has been extended by converting earned points into investment points. This has the advantage that (1) for the point investment service provider, the adjustment of the interest with the issuer of the acquired points becomes smoother, and (2) for the user, the expiration date is converted into investment points. In addition, (3) the motivation for conversion to investment points is increased, so that the spread of investment points can be promoted.

In addition, in the investment server 10 according to the present embodiment, detailed handling of expiration dates in accordance with expiration dates set for each number of acquired points is realized. For example, even if some points have a long expiration date and some have a short expiration date, instead of setting a uniform expiration date, long points will remain as they are and short ones will be extended. handling is realized. Thereby, user's satisfaction can be further improved.

In addition, the investment server 10 according to the present embodiment can employ an algorithm that allocates the profit or loss resulting from the investment according to the amount of the invested investment points for each expiration date. Therefore, the user's sense of satisfaction can be enhanced.

The configuration and operation of the investment server 10 according to the embodiment have been described above. Those skilled in the art will understand that this embodiment is merely an example, and that various modifications are possible in combination of each component and each process, and that such modifications are within the scope of the present invention.

In the embodiment, the case of earning points and investing has been explained, but the technical idea of the present embodiment is applied not only to points but also to coupons, miles, coins, chips, etc. as far as electronic value is concerned. can do. Electronic values may be defined as those in which property values such as monetary amounts are electronically described or recorded, and which do not fall under prepaid payment instruments as stipulated by the law regarding payment of funds.

In the embodiment, the case where it is decided whether to extend or maintain according to the expiration date has been described, but the present invention is not limited to this. ) may be extended, or the expiration date of the investment points may be indefinite.

In the embodiment, the case where the investment server 10 executes virtual investment has been described, but the present invention is not limited to this, and processing for executing actual investment such as actual stock trading or foreign exchange trading may be performed.

In the embodiment, the maximum investment rate that can be set may be variable according to the expiration date. For example, the investment server 10 may be configured such that the shorter the expiration date, the larger the maximum investment rate. As a result, incentives for investment can be further enhanced.

In the embodiment, the investment period may be specified in advance, and the expiration date may be set according to the investment period. For example, the expiration date may be set to 1 year, 2 years, 3 years, and 4 years for 3 months, 6 months, 1 year, and 2 years, respectively.

In the embodiment, the configuration may be such that the expiration date is set according to the virtual investee. For example, the expiration date is typically one year, but may be two years for certain investments.

In the embodiment, a case has been described in which the expiration date of acquired points can be extended if they are less than a threshold value by converting them into investment points. The expiration may be preserved in the conversion to . For example, if the number of acquired points "100" with the expiration date "2018/6/20" is converted to the number of investment points "100", the expiration date of the investment points "100" is also set to "2018/6/20". set. Even when the expiration date is maintained, there is an advantage that the acquired points can be used for investment by converting them into investment points. Therefore, in addition to such advantages, the embodiment can be regarded as having an additional incentive for the user to extend the expiration date. In another example, earned points and invested points may be exchangeable if the expiration date is maintained, but the conversion may be irreversible if the expiration date is extended as an incentive.

The configuration for reversible conversion of acquired points and investment points when the expiration date is maintained can also be used as a system configuration alone. Further, for example, the number of acquired points "100" with the expiration date "2018/6/20" and the number of acquired points "200" with the expiration date "2019/12/20" are converted into the number of investment points "300". , of the 300 investment points, '100' can be set to the expiration date of '2018/6/20' and '200' can be set to the expiration date of '2019/12/20'. It is also possible to take over the expiration date of the investment point as it is. Alternatively, when converting earned points with different expiration dates into investment points, as described above, the expiration dates of the different earned points are inherited as the expiration dates of the investment points, or among a plurality of earned points with different expiration dates. Set the expiration date of all investment points to be converted to the expiration date of the earned points with the longest expiration date, or set the expiration date of the earned points with the shortest expiration date among the earned points with multiple different expiration dates It is also possible to set an expiration date for all investment points.

In an embodiment, the user information holding unit 134 may also hold the membership rank of the user. Member ranks include, for example, high-level members (specified members) with no expiration date for earned points and general members for which an expiration date for earned points is set. The above-described embodiment may be applied to general members for which the expiration date of earned points is set. In this case, advanced members are treated differently such that earned points and investment points are processed indefinitely. may

Technical ideas according to the embodiments may be defined by the following items.
(Item 1)
a first receiving means for receiving a request for irreversible conversion from a first electronic value to a second electronic value from a user's terminal via a network;
conversion means for performing the conversion, upon receiving the request, such that the expiration date of the second electronic value is equal to or longer than the expiration date of the first electronic value;
a second receiving means for receiving an instruction to invest the second electronic value obtained as a result of the conversion from a user's terminal via a network.
(Item 2)
When the length of the period from the present to the expiration date of the first electronic value is smaller than a predetermined value, the conversion means changes the expiration date of the second electronic value to be converted from the present to the second electronic value. The server according to item 1, wherein the length of the period until the expiration date of the value is set to the predetermined value.
(Item 3)
When the length of the period from the present to the expiration date of the first electronic value is equal to or greater than a predetermined value, the conversion means changes the expiration date of the second electronic value to be converted to the first 3. The server according to item 1 or 2, which is set to be the same as the expiration date of the electronic value.
(Item 4)
a first expiration date and a second expiration date are associated with the first quantity and the second quantity of the first electronic value, respectively, the second expiration date being longer than the first expiration date;
a third expiration date associated with a third quantity of a second electronic value corresponding to the first quantity of a first electronic value;
A fourth quantity of the second electronic value corresponding to the second quantity of the first electronic value is associated with a fourth expiration date, and the conversion means determines the length of time from the present to the first expiration date. is less than a predetermined value, but the length of the period from the current time to the second expiration date is equal to or greater than the predetermined value, the third expiration date is set to the length from the current time to the third expiration date. 4. The server according to any one of items 1 to 3, wherein the length of the period is set to be the predetermined value, and the fourth expiration date is set to be the same as the second expiration date.
(Item 5)
5. The server according to any one of items 1 to 4, wherein the aspect of exchanging the first electronic value for goods or services is different from the aspect of exchanging the second electronic value for goods or services.
(Item 6)
6. The server according to any one of items 1 to 5, wherein the entity issuing the first electronic value and the entity issuing the second electronic value are different.
(Item 7)
7. The server according to any one of items 1 to 6, wherein the investment is a virtual investment that does not involve buying and selling financial instruments.
(Item 8)
The second receiving means receives instructions from a user's terminal via a network to invest a plurality of quantities of the second electronic value with different expiration dates in the same investment target;
The server further:
8. The server according to any one of items 1 to 7, further comprising means for allocating the profit and loss resulting from the investment according to the quantity for each expiration date.
(Item 9)
The second receiving means receives instructions from a user's terminal via a network to invest a plurality of quantities of the second electronic value with different expiration dates in the same investment target;
The server further:
any one of items 1 to 7, further comprising means for issuing a new quantity of the second electronic value resulting from the investment and deducting any loss resulting from the investment from the quantity with a short expiry date; Servers listed.
(Item 10)
10. A server according to any one of items 1 to 9, further comprising means for notifying the terminal of the user via the network if the expiry date of the second electronic value invested meets a predetermined warning criterion.
(Item 11)
a function of accepting a request for irreversible conversion from a first electronic value to a second electronic value from a user's terminal via a network;
upon receiving the request, performing the conversion such that the expiration date of the second electronic value is equal to or longer than the expiration date of the first electronic value;
a computer program for causing a server to implement a function of receiving an instruction to invest the second electronic value obtained as a result of the conversion from a user's terminal via a network.
(Item 12)
the ability to send a request for irreversible conversion of a first electronic value to a second electronic value via a network to the server of any one of items 1-10;
A computer program for causing a terminal to implement a function of transmitting an instruction to invest the second electronic value obtained as a result of the conversion to the server via a network.
(Item 13)
means for transmitting a request for irreversible conversion of a first electronic value to a second electronic value over a network to the server of any one of items 1-10;
means for transmitting to said server via a network an instruction to invest the second electronic value resulting from said conversion.

2 point investment system 4 portable terminal 6 network 8 information distribution server 10 investment server.

Claims (12)

A first receiving means for receiving a request for conversion from a first electronic value to a second electronic value from a user's terminal via a network , the first electronic value and the second electronic value and each have an expiration date, a first reception means ,
conversion means for performing the conversion, upon receiving the request, such that the expiration date of the second electronic value is equal to or longer than the expiration date of the first electronic value;
a second receiving means for receiving an instruction to invest the second electronic value obtained as a result of the conversion from a user's terminal via a network. When the request for conversion from the first electronic value to the second electronic value at the first receiving means is a request for irreversible conversion, the conversion means converts the second electronic value 2. The server of claim 1, wherein the conversion is performed such that the expiration date is longer than the expiration date of the first electronic value. a first expiration date and a second expiration date are associated with the first quantity and the second quantity of the first electronic value, respectively, the second expiration date being longer than the first expiration date;
a third expiration date associated with a third quantity of a second electronic value corresponding to the first quantity of a first electronic value;
A fourth quantity of the second electronic value corresponding to the second quantity of the first electronic value is associated with a fourth expiration date, and the conversion means determines the length of time from the present to the first expiration date. is less than a predetermined value, but the length of the period from the current time to the second expiration date is equal to or greater than the predetermined value, the third expiration date is set to the length from the current time to the third expiration date. 3. The server according to claim 1, wherein the length of the period is set to be the predetermined value, and the fourth valid period is set to be the same as the second valid period. The second receiving means receives instructions from a user's terminal via a network to invest a plurality of quantities of the second electronic value with different expiration dates in the same investment target;
The server further:
4. The server according to any one of claims 1 to 3, further comprising means for allocating the profit and loss resulting from the investment according to the quantity for each expiration date. The second receiving means receives instructions from a user's terminal via a network to invest a plurality of quantities of the second electronic value with different expiration dates in the same investment target;
The server further:
4. The method of any one of claims 1 to 3, further comprising means for issuing a new quantity of the second electronic value resulting from a profit resulting from the investment and deducting a loss resulting from the investment from the short expiry quantity. server described in . The server according to any one of claims 1 to 5, further comprising means for notifying the terminal of the user via the network if the expiry date of the second electronic value invested satisfies a predetermined warning criterion. . A first receiving means for receiving a request for conversion from a first electronic value to a second electronic value from a user's terminal via a network , the first electronic value and the second electronic value and each have an expiration date, a first reception means ,
conversion means for performing the conversion, upon receiving the request, such that the expiration date of the second electronic value is equal to or longer than the expiration date of the first electronic value;
a second receiving means for receiving an instruction to invest the second electronic value obtained as a result of the conversion from a user's terminal via a network;
A first expiration date and a second expiration date are associated with the first quantity and the second quantity of the first electronic value, respectively;
a third expiration date associated with a third quantity of a second electronic value corresponding to the first quantity of a first electronic value;
A server in which a fourth expiration date is associated with a fourth quantity of second electronic value corresponding to said second quantity of first electronic value. When the investment of the second electronic value generates a profit, the expiration date of the profit of the second electronic value is set to the third amount according to the ratio of the third quantity and the fourth quantity of the second electronic value. 8. The server of claim 7, wherein there are three expiration dates and a fourth expiration date. 8. The server according to claim 7, wherein when the investment of the second electronic value yields a profit, the expiration date of the second electronic value corresponding to the profit is set as the new expiration date. A claim to subtract the second electronic value corresponding to the loss from the third quantity and the fourth quantity of the second electronic value according to the ratio when the investment of the second electronic value causes a loss. Item 7. The server according to Item 7. Claims wherein, when a loss occurs due to the investment of the second electronic value, the second electronic value corresponding to the loss is subtracted from the third quantity or the fourth quantity, whichever has the shorter period from the present to the expiration date. 7. The server according to 7. A first receiving means for receiving a request for conversion from a first electronic value to a second electronic value from a user's terminal via a network , the first electronic value and the second electronic value and each have an expiration date, a first reception means ,
conversion means for performing the conversion, upon receiving the request, such that the expiration date of the second electronic value is equal to or longer than the expiration date of the first electronic value;
a second receiving means for receiving an instruction to invest the second electronic value obtained as a result of the conversion from a user's terminal via a network;
A first expiration date and a second expiration date are associated with the first quantity and the second quantity of the first electronic value, respectively;
a third expiration date associated with a third quantity of a second electronic value corresponding to the first quantity of a first electronic value;
A fourth quantity of a second electronic value corresponding to the second quantity of the first electronic value is associated with a fourth expiration date longer than the third expiration date;
A server capable of setting a maximum investment rate higher than an investment rate when investing a fourth amount of a second electronic value when investing a third amount of the second electronic value.

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