JP7275426B2 - Card system management server, method and program - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a card system management server, method, and program.

Conventionally, as one of the customer services for promoting the use of cards such as credit cards and retaining customers, services such as discounting annual membership fees according to the amount of money spent on the card and giving various benefits have been widely performed. there is For example, in Patent Document 1, a card with a different design is issued according to the number of years since membership as a card member, that is, the number of years of enrollment, and furthermore, the usage amount of the card is automatically accumulated and a discount is given when the annual membership fee is charged. A card issuance management system has been disclosed which judges the amount, automatically discounts and charges, outputs the usage amount and the amount required until the discount is applied, and notifies the member.

In addition, in Patent Document 2, by giving one credit card an annual membership fee setting according to various incidental services selected by the member, the member can freely combine and set incidental services as an original card. Disclosed is a system for providing a card with a product configuration that allows

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-178168 Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2004-334262

However, in the systems of Patent Literatures 1 and 2, the user selects a service from privilege services (also referred to as incidental services) according to the usage amount prepared in advance by the card company. It was not possible to set goals such as the number of times the card was used and the amount of money used in order to obtain such services. Since there are various forms of card usage for users, it is not always possible to obtain the services that the user requires simply based on the amount of money spent and the number of years of continuous use. In addition, necessary services and services that are no longer needed change along with changes in lifestyles. In other words, it is desirable to be able to customize necessary services.

Therefore, in view of the above problems, the present invention proposes a system in which users themselves can set goals regarding card usage patterns (amount used, number of times used, merchants used, payment method, etc.) in order to obtain desired services. intended to provide

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention provides the following solutions.

(1) A management server for a system of a card company, which is a plan configuration storage means for classifying card usage statuses into categories and storing a configuration of a plurality of plans for each category and points for each plan; Plan selection means for allowing the user to select the goal and goal setting period of the plan for each period, goal achievement level determination means for determining the achievement level of the target for each predetermined period, and according to the determined target achievement level and goal achievement proposal means for presenting a proposal for achieving the goal.

(2) In the configuration described in (1) above, the categories are the number of times the card is used, the card usage amount, the number of merchants using the card, the payment method for the card usage amount, and the method for providing card usage details. characterized by including a plurality of

(3) In the configuration described in (2) above, the benefit given when the goal is achieved includes a discount or no charge for the annual membership fee.

(4) In the configuration according to any one of (1) to (3) above, the goal achievement level determination means refers to the usage history of the user and the remainder of the goal setting period to determine the difficulty level. It is characterized by judging goal achievement.

(5) In the configuration according to any one of (1) to (4) above, the goal achievement proposing means proposes a review of the goal when it is determined that it is difficult to achieve the goal. characterized by

(6) In the configuration described in (2) above, the number of participating member stores is counted by distinguishing between physical store member stores and online store member stores.

(7) A method in a card company's system, comprising the steps of classifying card usage status into categories, storing a configuration of a plurality of plans for each category and a score for each plan; A step of allowing the user to select a goal and a goal setting period of; a step of determining the degree of achievement of the goal for each predetermined period; and a proposal for achieving the goal according to the determined degree of achievement of the goal and causing a computer to execute:

(8) A program that causes a computer to execute the steps described in (7) above.

According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a system in which a user himself/herself can set a target regarding a card usage pattern for obtaining a desired service.

It is a figure which shows the functional structural example of the system (this system) of embodiment of this invention. 4 is a diagram showing a specific example of a plan configuration table stored in plan configuration storage means; FIG. It is a figure which shows the specific example of the privilege service definition table stored in a plan structure memory|storage means. 4 shows a specific example of a plan/result management table stored in the set plan storage means. It is a figure which shows the processing flow to the proposal presentation for goal achievement. FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example presentation of suggestions for achieving a goal. It is a figure which shows the comparative example of a user.

EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION Hereinafter, with reference to an accompanying drawing, the form (henceforth, embodiment) for implementing this invention is demonstrated in detail. In subsequent figures, the same numbers or symbols are attached to the same elements throughout the description of the embodiments. In the diagram of the functional configuration, arrows between functional blocks indicate the data flow direction or the processing flow direction.

Gold cards, platinum cards, black cards, and other cards with high annual fees (from tens of thousands of yen to hundreds of thousands of yen) have many incidental services and are considered to be owned by many as a status, but those who are not wealthy It seems that some users are resistant to the high annual membership fee. Therefore, if you use the payment method specified by the card company or the method of providing usage details (calculations), there is a service where the annual membership fee is discounted or free. For example, the payment method can be set to automatic revolving payment, and the usage details can be set to Web details. However, there are concerns that card subscriptions are not necessarily encouraged due to resistance to revolving payments and users who are unfamiliar with the Internet (especially the elderly) are particular about paper usage statements.

The present invention provides a system capable of providing the following services for card usage. That is, the user, who is the customer, freely selects a plan from among a wide variety of plans, and sets it as the user's annual target (quota). A predetermined number of points is determined according to the target (from the number of plans set and the degree of difficulty in achieving the target), and the final annual membership fee is determined. In addition, users with high points will be able to receive additional services such as cashback, in addition to discounts and free annual membership fees. By doing so, benefits such as discounts on annual membership fees are not determined simply by the amount used, as in the past, but benefits are also determined by other items. It is possible to provide services suited to usage patterns.

(Function configuration)
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a functional configuration example of a system according to an embodiment of the present invention (hereinafter referred to as this system). The management server 10 constitutes a part of the system of a card company that issues cards such as credit cards and provides services. The management server 10 is configured to be able to communicate with the user terminal 20 via a network, allows the user to set a plan (goal) for card use, and offers discounts on annual membership fees and cash payments according to the achievement status of the set goal. This is a server that has a function of giving a privilege service such as a bag to each user.

As an example of one functional configuration, the management server 10 includes plan selection means 101, plan configuration storage means 102, setting plan storage means 103, goal achievement determination means 104, card usage storage means 105, goal achievement proposal means 106, A privilege information storage means 107 is provided. Each functional unit will be described below in order.

A plan selection means 101 allows a user to select a combination of a category and a plan from a plan configuration storage means 102 in which plan points are set and stored for each category of card usage, and selects a series of plans. It is stored in the setting plan storage means 103 as a setting plan.

FIG. 2 shows a specific example of data stored in the plan configuration storage means 102. As shown in FIG. Here, for simplification, it is shown in tabular form as a plan configuration table. In this example, the categories are the number of times the card was used during the target setting period (e.g. 1 year, 6 months, 3 months, etc.), the total amount spent on the card, and the number of merchants using the card. , the payment method for the card usage amount, and the usage details of the card usage settlement amount are set, and the plan selected for each category and the points corresponding to the plan are defined. Each category will be described in turn below.

The number of times of use is the number of times the card is used during the target setting period, and the plan points (hereinafter simply referred to as points) are determined according to the number of times of use. However, what is included in the number of uses and what is not included may be defined. For example, here, the target is usage with a single payment amount of 3,000 yen or more, and usage on the Internet is also included. In addition, since there are cases where the characteristics of the use of cards are different between physical stores and online stores, they may be managed separately. Moreover, in the case of an online shop, the characteristics of the shop may be considered. For example, in the case of a physical store in the same shopping mall, each of the tenant stores is often a member store. This is because a uniform treatment may result in an imbalance.

The usage amount is the total amount of usage of the card during the target setting period, but as in the above case, physical stores and online stores may be separately managed. In the case of revolving payment, the revolving fee is also included in the usage amount.

The number of member stores using the card is the total number of member stores that used the card during the target setting period. In addition, if you use the same member store many times, each will be counted as one store.

The payment method is a setting for whether or not the user performs automatic revolving payment. When automatic revolving payment is selected, points are given, but the points may be adjusted according to the automatic revolving payment course. In the case of setting automatic revolving payment, it may be necessary to use revolving payment a predetermined number of times, for example, one or more times in the previous year.

For the usage details, it is possible to select whether to send the usage details of the card on paper or to use the Web details. If the Web details are selected, points are given, but the points may be adjusted according to the attributes of the user. For example, double the points for older users.

The user may set which plan to use in the above items, and the system will recommend a recommended plan according to the user's attributes (age, gender, annual income, preferences that can be obtained from usage history, etc.) and usage history. You may make it present from the side.

FIG. 3 shows a privilege service definition table as a specific example of data stored in the plan configuration storage means 102. As shown in FIG. The privilege service definition table defines the contents of the service to be given by the total points (total points earned) obtained by the user during the period. In this example, if the total points are less than 25 points, the annual membership fee will be discounted or free, but if the total points are 25 points or more, the annual fee will be waived and a few percent of the annual usage amount of the card will be cashed back. is defined as By making the annual fee discount or free of charge for the privilege service, it is possible to promote the transition to a gold card with a high annual fee. In addition, privilege services may include discounts on annual membership fees and other privilege services other than cashback, depending on the user's attributes (age, gender, annual income, preferences, etc.) For example, if the user is a young woman, may provide gift certificates for cosmetics, coupons for affiliated beauty salons, and the like.

FIG. 4 shows a plan/performance management table as a specific example of data stored in the set plan storage means 103. As shown in FIG. The plan/results management table includes, for each user, the target setting period (usually one year), the number of uses during the target setting period, the amount of use, the number of membership points used, the method of payment, the method of providing usage details, and each category. The target value and current value of are stored. The illustrated points are the plan points defined in the plan configuration table of FIG.

In this example, the target value for the number of uses was set at 36 times (2 points), but it has already exceeded the target, and the current value is 45 times (the score changes at 2), and the target value for the amount of use is 1 million yen. (8 points) was set, but at present it remains at 400,000 yen (2 points). As for the payment method, the goal was to set an automatic revolving payment that gives points, but the point is zero because the automatic revolving payment has not actually been set yet. Therefore, the target total score is 17, but the current total score remains at 8. In such a case, the system determines the current level of goal achievement and provides suggestions for achieving the total score goal, as described below. A specific example of this proposal will be described later.

Returning to FIG. 1, the target achievement degree determination means 104 calculates the target achievement degree by comparing the goals and results of each plan for each predetermined period (for example, every month, every three months, every six months, etc.). The degree of goal achievement is determined by looking at the ratio of the target value to the current value, the comparison between the target score and the number of starting points, and the degree of difficulty of actions that can be taken to raise the score of the plan by one rank. The user's attributes and usage records are also referred to in determining the degree of difficulty.

The goal achievement proposing means 106 refers to the usage history from the start of the goal setting period recorded in the card usage storage means 105 to the present time, and when it determines that the originally set goal is inappropriate, sets a new target value. recommended. In addition, when it is determined that the target can be achieved by increasing the value of a specific category without changing the target from the user's attributes and usage history, promotion of the category is proposed. Of course, if the target is likely to be achieved even under the current conditions, it is possible to present that fact, or it is possible to propose a review of the target to change it to a higher one. In addition, the goal achievement proposal means 106 may employ AI (Artificial Intelligence) technology.

In the example of FIG. 4 above, since the usage unit price of the usage history is small, it is judged that the usage amount is unlikely to reach the target of 1 million yen. It recommends changing the target value, increasing the number of participating stores even if the usage unit price is low, and setting the automatic revolving payment as the target.

The privilege information storage unit 107 stores information on currently available privileges, campaigns and coupons with a limited time limit. The goal achievement proposal means 106 makes a proposal using such privilege information and campaign information. However, when using campaign information with a time limit, the end period is also presented.

As described above, this system allows the user to freely select a combination of plans to obtain benefits, sequentially determines the degree of achievement of the target, and proposes actions that can be taken to achieve the target. Therefore, it is possible to contribute to promotion of card use and improvement of user's customer satisfaction.

The functional configuration of the system described above is merely an example, and one functional block (database and functional processing unit) may be divided, or a plurality of functional blocks may be collectively configured as one functional block. In each functional processing unit, a CPU (Central Processing Unit) built in the device reads a computer program stored in a storage device such as ROM (Read Only Memory), flash memory, SSD (Solid State Drive), hard disk, etc. , implemented by a computer program executed by a CPU. That is, each functional processing unit reads and writes necessary data such as a table from a database (DB; Data Base) stored in a storage device or a storage area on a memory. It is realized by controlling hardware (for example, an input/output device, a display device, a communication interface device). In addition, the database (DB) in the embodiment of the present invention may be a commercial database, but it also means a mere collection of tables and files, and the internal structure of the database itself does not matter.

(processing flow)
FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a processing flow performed by the system up to presenting a proposal for achieving a goal. In the processing flow diagrams (flowcharts) below, the processing order of each step may be changed as long as the relationship between the input and output of each step is not impaired.

In the main process, first, in step S10, the target achievement level is calculated according to the following procedure. The target achievement level calculation process calculates the ratio between the target value and the current value for each category (step S101). Next, the target score and the current score of the category are compared (step S102). Then, an action that can be taken to raise the plan score by one rank and its difficulty level are obtained (step S103).

Here, referring to the plan configuration table in FIG. 2, for example, if the current usage amount is 500,000 yen against the target of 1,000,000 yen, 500,000 yen or more is required to reach the next rank. When the remaining half of the target setting period is left, it is determined that the degree of difficulty in achieving the target is low. After determining the possible actions and their difficulty levels, the degree of achievement is calculated comprehensively in step S104, and the process returns to step S10.

Returning to the main process, it is determined in step S11 whether or not the target has been achieved. If it is determined in step S11 that the target has been achieved (or is likely to be achieved), the next year's service (annual fee discount, free of charge, etc.) is determined from the service definition table in step S12. If it is determined in step S11 that the target has not been achieved, in step S13 the degree of achievement and usage status are analyzed for each category. Finally, in step S14, a proposal for achieving the goal is presented.

The contents of the proposal process for achieving the goal in step S14 are as follows. First, the usage history and attributes of the user are read (step S141). Next, it is determined whether or not the target can be achieved (step S142). If it is determined that the target can be achieved, nothing is done (or the fact is presented), and the process returns to step S14 of the main processing. If it is determined in step S142 that it is difficult to achieve the target, it is determined whether or not the target is inappropriate (step S143). Inappropriate goals mean that the goals are too high or too low compared to the current situation. If it is determined that the target is not inappropriate, it proposes to increase the use of the specific category or, if possible, to raise the target (step S145). If the target is determined to be inappropriate, a new target value (review of the target) is recommended (step S144). At this time, the attributes and usage history of the user may be referenced, and proposals may be made in descending order of difficulty (for example, changing to Web statements, using automatic revolving payments, etc.).

(Proposal presentation example)
FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of presentation of a proposal for achieving a goal. The presentation of the proposal according to the degree of goal achievement may be performed only by displaying numerical values in the format as shown in FIG. 4, or may be presented in a conversational format as shown in FIG. In case A of this example, it is determined that it is difficult to achieve the target number of participating stores, and recommended stores are introduced based on the user's attributes and usage history. In case B, it is determined that the usage amount is likely to fall short, and questions are asked about whether or not items that can be purchased with a card (for example, electricity bills, cell phone bills, taxes, etc.) have been paid in cash. In Case C, the current target is likely to be achieved, but if things continue as they are, it is judged that a target one rank higher can be achieved, and a review is recommended in the direction of raising the target.

(User pattern analysis)
FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a comparative example for analysis of actual user patterns. Users A and B are common cases among young salaried workers and office workers, and although their goals and utilization status are not very high, they have a strong ability to take action, so there is a lot of room for growth and future potential can be expected. User C is a typical example of a middle-ranking manager of a company, and has a good target value and good usage, and is a good customer pattern. Moreover, users D and E are often found among the wealthy class, and have very high target values and usage conditions, and are extremely important customer patterns for card companies. However, since the wealthy may not be interested in setting goals one by one, goals may be automatically set without the user setting them. In this way, by accumulating information such as the plan selected by the user and the degree of achievement of goals, along with the attributes of the user, it is possible to obtain customer data that cannot normally be obtained, which is useful for market analysis.

(Effect of Embodiment)
According to this system, it is possible to provide a system in which a user himself/herself can set a target regarding a card usage pattern for obtaining a desired service. In addition, in this system, the user can freely select a combination of plans to obtain a privilege service, sequentially judge the degree of achievement of the target, and propose actions that can be taken to achieve the target. It can contribute to promotion of card use and improvement of user's customer satisfaction. In addition, by discounting or eliminating the annual membership fee for privilege services, it is possible to promote the shift to gold cards, which have a high image of high annual membership fees.

In the above embodiment, the case where the card is a credit card has been mainly explained, but it can also be applied to other cards such as a membership card that requires an annual membership fee.

Although the present invention has been described using the embodiments, it goes without saying that the technical scope of the present invention is not limited to the scope described in the above embodiments. It is obvious to those skilled in the art that various modifications or improvements can be made to the above embodiments. In addition, it is clear from the description of the scope of the claims that forms with such modifications or improvements can also be included in the technical scope of the present invention.

In the above-described embodiments, the present invention is an invention of a product, and a management server in a system of a credit card company has been described. .

10 Card company system management server 20 User terminal 101 Plan selection means 102 Plan configuration storage means 103 Set plan storage means 104 Goal achievement level determination means 105 Card usage status storage means 106 Goal achievement proposal means 107 Benefit information storage means

Claims (8)

A management server for a card company system,
plan configuration storage means for classifying the usage status of a user's card for each usage mode , and storing the configuration of a plurality of plans for the user to receive benefits for each usage mode and points for each of the plans;
A management server, comprising plan selection means for allowing the user to freely customize goals and goal setting periods of the plans for each of the usage patterns and allow the users to select the plans. goal achievement level determination means for determining the level of achievement of the target for each predetermined period;
goal achievement proposal means for presenting a proposal for achieving the goal according to the determined degree of achievement of the goal;
2. The management server of claim 1, further comprising: a. The usage pattern includes a plurality of the number of card usage, card usage amount, number of affiliated stores using the card, payment method for the card usage amount, and card usage statement providing method. The management server according to Item 1. 2. The management server according to claim 1 , wherein the privilege given when the target is achieved includes a discount or no charge for the annual membership fee. 3. The management server according to claim 2 , wherein the goal achievement level determination means refers to the usage history of the user and the remainder of the target setting period to determine the difficulty level of target achievement. 3. The management server according to claim 2 , wherein said goal achievement proposing means proposes a review of said goal when it is judged that it is difficult to achieve said goal. A method in a card company system, comprising:
a step of classifying the usage status of the card into usage patterns , and storing a configuration of a plurality of plans for the user to receive benefits for each of the usage patterns and points for each of the plans;
a step in which the user freely customizes the target and target setting period of the plan for each of the usage patterns and allows the user to select ;
a step of determining the degree of achievement of the goal for each predetermined period;
presenting a proposal for achieving the goal according to the determined degree of achievement of the goal;
A method characterized by causing a computer to execute A program that causes a computer to execute each step according to claim 7 .

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