JPH032996A - Magnetic card point service system and its receipt - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To attain the card point service system without issuing an independent magnetic card by reading out a magnetic card carried by a customer and registering the magnetic card correspondingly to a member's number (processing number) set up in each customer. CONSTITUTION:A certain card 3a possessed by each customer is utilized for reading out items previously recorded in the card 3a and allocating a prescribed member's number (processing number) to the card 3a. If the customer possesses plural cards 3a, all the cards 3a are read out and the same processing number is allocated to these cards 3a. A POS 1 is provided with a magnetic card reader 2. Consequently, point service can be attained without issuing an independent card.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] (Industrial Application Field) The present invention is used in the retail industry and service industry to purchase products, etc. using a magnetic card, and to provide point services according to the purchase amount. , without issuing its own card as a magnetic card used in this case,
This system is connected to a magnetic card point service system that can perform point service operations.

(Prior art) A certain service is provided to customers who have purchased products over a certain amount by handing them stamp-like printed materials called blue chips, green stamps, etc. It is a well-known fact that they are preventing the loss of customers. However, the stamps handed out in this way must be protected and stored by pasting them on a designated notebook, and because the pasting process is cumbersome, the actual service effect is halved. Therefore, recently magnetic cards are being used instead of such stamp-type services, and service points according to the purchase amount are recorded on the magnetic card, and at the same time, the accumulated service points including the previous service points are displayed on the receipt. A method of displaying the information is adopted.

However, in order to use such a magnetic card, it is necessary to give the card to each customer, and this card system is limited to large retail stores with large capital. That is, producing and issuing a large number of cards independently requires a large expense burden, and it also takes time for the cards to become widely popular, which poses a major problem for small and medium-sized retailers. Furthermore, in order to receive this service, you must have a card issued by our store, and it is inconvenient to carry around many cards, and it is often easy to misplace them.

(Objective of the Present Invention) As described above, when issuing magnetic cards independently and providing point services according to the purchase amount, there are problems as described above. The present invention is a technology developed to solve this problem, and provides a magnetic card point service system that can provide point services without issuing unique cards.

(Configuration of the present invention) The magnetic card point service system of the present invention is configured with the following features.

The greatest feature of the present invention is that it does not issue a unique magnetic card. Therefore, each customer uses some kind of card that they own, and after reading the information recorded on the card in advance, will be assigned a membership number (reference number). If a customer owns multiple cards, the POS is equipped with a magnetic card reader to read all the cards and give them the same serial number. Of course, the reading device may be connected as an independent device without being attached to the PO8 main body, and
The read contents must be stored, and the POS has a storage device, and the storage device is not just for one magnetic card, but for multiple magnetic cards belonging to a specific customer. Memorize so that you can distinguish between them. therefore,
No matter which one of the plurality of magnetic cards is used, it must be determined that the customer is a specific customer, and the stored magnetic card is registered as a type of serial number. Of course,
Here, the storage device of the magnetic card may be provided within the main body of the PO8, but it is also possible to use these storage devices by connecting it to a computer or even a data bank. The stored contents must include not only the magnetic card but also service points added according to the purchase amount as accumulated points.

By the way, a keyboard is arranged on the surface of the POS, and the unit price of each product is entered, and the display section displays the unit price and quantity of each purchased product, as well as service points and accumulated points, and displays the receipt. It can be handed over to the customer as

On the other hand, if multiple stores cooperate to implement the system, it is necessary for each store to use a unified membership number (reference number). Used when registering the number.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings.

(Example) Today, there are a wide variety of magnetic cards in use in today's society, including bank cards, credit cards, friend's association cards, and fuel cards. I have ~3 pieces.

Figure 1 shows a flowchart for shopping using the card.The POS (1) and the card reader (2) are connected, and the card (3a) held by the customer is , P OS through the card reader (2)
It is recorded in the storage device in (1). The card (3) recorded here is not just one card, but all the cards (3a), (3b), etc. that you own, and these recorded cards (3a), (3b), etc. A membership number, which is a kind of serial number, is assigned to the cards (3a), (3b), etc., and the contents of the cards (3a), (3b), etc. are recorded together with the membership number. Therefore, - once the card (3a
), (3b)... are recorded under the membership number, from the next time on, the recorded possession card (3a),
(3b) If you submit one of the cards and pass it through the card reader (2), it will search for your own recorded membership number, and if the predetermined membership number is retrieved,
Hit the keyboard of OS (1) and input the price of each product. Once the input is complete, calculate the service points according to the amount of the product purchased this time, and at the same time calculate the cumulative points by adding the service points up to the previous time. . The resulting receipt (4) includes the prices of each item, the total amount, and also includes the cumulative points and membership number. In this embodiment, the customer's cards (3a), (3b)
... is stored in the POS (1), but if the number of customers increases, a magnetic disk or the like may be used as another recording device.

By the way, when the above-mentioned cumulative points P increases and reaches a certain amount or more, the customer exchanges it for a desired product, the cumulative points P are settled at that point, and the remaining points are re-recorded. Is the system described in the above example suitable for use at one store, or is it suitable for multiple stores, for example in a shopping district in a certain area, so that service points can be added to other stores as well? In addition, when exchanging products from the accumulated points, it is possible at any store, and a calculation center is set up to perform settlement processing between each store, and the calculation center and each store's P. Connect the OS (1) (1) (1)... Therefore, in such a case, if each store were given its own membership number (reference number), it would not be possible to maintain control, so a unified membership number must be given. Therefore, when making the first purchase, the member takes the membership procedure and at the same time is given a parent card with a predetermined number or symbol registered to the member. A customer who becomes a member first submits the parent card, and then records all cards held by the customer through a card reader. Therefore, the card is recorded based on the membership number registered on the parent card, and in this way, all stores record their own cards based on the parent card. Of course, once you have recorded -1, as in the previous example, you can hand out any one of your cards, search for your membership number, add service points under that membership number, and calculate your total points. are recorded and stored at the calculation center as

In this way, if a calculation center is established and multiple stores cooperate to implement the system of the present invention, the receipt (
As shown in the specific example of 4), by newly setting the item ``points transferred from other stores'', it is possible to make customers aware of the significance of the system.

As described above, the system of the present invention uses a plurality of unspecified magnetic cards to perform point service operations, and can obtain the following effects.

(Effects) (1) In the card point service system of the present invention,
Since it can be implemented without issuing unique magnetic cards, the system can be implemented even by small retail stores. Also, any one of the cards you own
Since you can receive point services even if you use a specific card, if you misplace it, you will not be able to receive the service, or this disadvantage can be completely eliminated. .

(2) Since this system allows already popular cards from other companies (other stores) to be read and registered as they are on the POS, not only does it eliminate the cost of creating cards as described above, but it also spreads the use of cards. There is also no need for advertising costs and the like. Furthermore, by forming usage alliances with other companies, we can efficiently develop new customer bases and new customers.

(3) On the other hand, even if a card from another store or other company is used, the contents are not understood, and the implementation of the system does not infringe on the rights of others.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a flowchart representing the system of the present invention, and FIG. 2 shows another embodiment of the receipt. (1)...POS, (3)...Card,...Card reader,...Receipt.

Claims (2)

[Claims] (1) By reading all or some of the magnetic cards in a customer's possession, registration will be made in correspondence with the membership number (reference number) set for each customer, and when shopping, one of the magnetic cards listed above will be registered. By presenting one card and reading it with a card reader, the registered membership number corresponding to the contents is searched, service points corresponding to the purchase amount are recorded under the membership number, and service points corresponding to the purchase amount are recorded. A magnetic card service point system is characterized in that the cumulative points added to the service points are recorded, and point services within the cumulative points are provided according to a customer's request. (2) On the receipt where each product name, product price, total amount, and other necessary information are entered, service points corresponding to the above total amount will be displayed as the cumulative points added to the previous points, and service points from other stores will be displayed. A receipt characterized by displaying transfer points at the same time.