JPH0358298A - Prepaid card system - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To make cards ineffective excepting for the newest card by storing the remained amount and serial issue number of the card for each identification number and prohibiting the settlement of account by using the card when the serial issue number read from the card is not coincident with the stored serial issue number. CONSTITUTION:When a buyer buys the new card, the old card already posessed and money are put into a card issuing machine 12 and afterwards, when prescribed operation is executed, the card issuing machine 12 adds the remained amount of the old card to the new card. After the identification number and serial issue number of the buyer are written into the card, the card is issued. At such a time, a storing means 23 stores the remained amount and serial issue number of the card for each identification number. When the buyer desires the settlement of account by using card, an electronic cash register 1 prohibits the settlement of account by using the card in case that the serial issue number read form the card is not coincident with the serial issue number stored in the storing means 23. Thus, the illegal use of the old card, which remained amount is already returned, is prevented.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention "Field of Industrial Application" The present invention relates to a card (hereinafter referred to as a bripaid card) that is purchased in advance for a predetermined amount of money and can be used to purchase products instead of cash. The present invention relates to a prepaid card system using a prepaid card that can be used only at a single store or multiple affiliated stores.

``Prior Technology'' Currently, the Brivaid card is a card that can be used to make phone calls (
Cards used mainly in vending machines, such as telephone cards (hereinafter referred to as telephone cards) and cards that can be used to purchase train tickets (hereinafter referred to as train cards), have been put into practical use.
Cards that can be used at general retail stores and the like to purchase products have not been put into practical use.

However, at retail stores such as supermarkets and convenience stores, issuing so-called store-closed prepaid cards that can only be used at that store or its affiliated stores means that there is no exchange between customers and store employees who receive money at the time of checkout. In addition to the inherent advantage of the Bripay card that there is no need to hand it over, there are various other benefits for the store, such as reducing costs through streamlining, holding special sales using the Bripay card, and securing regular customers.

By the way, when using Vrivaid cards at retail stores such as supermarkets or convenience stores mentioned above, the sales format of the products is different, so even if systems such as telephone cards and train cards that are currently in practical use are introduced as they are. It is expected that things will not go well.

For example, at the above-mentioned retail stores, the amount per payment is larger than that for telephone cards or train cards, and they also handle fractional amounts of 1 yen, so you may end up buying multiple cards with odd amounts left on them. It is expected that there will be problems with the products remaining in the hands of customers.

However, this problem can be solved to some extent by paying off the insufficient amount using another card or cash when there is insufficient payment amount with one card.

However, if such cases occur repeatedly, it is expected that there will be a problem that the advantages of introducing prepaid cards will not be utilized at all.

Therefore, in order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the inventors of the present application, when issuing a new prepaid card, add the remaining amount of the previously issued card to the product purchasing amount of the new card. By doing so, we devised a prepaid card system in which customers always have only one up-to-date Vrivaid card.

In addition, we issue membership cards to customers who are members of a single store or multiple affiliated stores, aggregate the customer's purchase history data using that card, and provide discounts to customers for services based on the aggregated results. Management systems are currently being implemented in many stores. For details, please refer to the customer management system (patent application 6
3-246921).

Therefore, it is convenient to process the remaining balance of the Bripay card by using the above-mentioned Bripay card and membership card in common, since this can be done with only slight changes to the conventional system.

"Problems to be Solved by the Invention" By the way, in the prepaid card system mentioned above, in order to protect the customer, the store manages the balance of the card, and if the customer loses the card, the store will manage the balance of the card. It is desirable to return the remaining amount to the customer.

However, in the above-mentioned Bripay card system, when a customer reports that they have lost their Bripay card, the store may return the balance of the lost card to the customer, or the old lost card may be discovered or someone else may have lost the old card. If the card is picked up, it is expected that a problem will occur in which the old card, which allows the balance to be returned, will be used fraudulently.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a prepaid card system that can automatically prohibit the use of an old card whose remaining balance has been returned, without the need for a clerk to be particularly conscious of it.

"Means for Solving the Problem" The first invention is to purchase a new card by adding the remaining amount of the old card that you already have when purchasing a card that can be used to purchase products etc. instead of cash. a card issuing machine that issues an identification number corresponding to the purchaser and a total issuance number corresponding to the total number of issued cards since the first purchase on the card each time the card is issued; a storage means for storing the remaining amount of the card and the total issue number; and when the purchaser desires to pay with the card, the total issue number read from the card and the total issue number are stored in the storage means; The present invention is characterized by comprising an electronic cash register that prohibits payment using the card when the total issue number does not match.

In a second invention, in the first invention, the card comprises:
The feature is that it doubles as a membership card for a customer management system that provides rebate services to customers who have become members, according to their purchase history.

Furthermore, a third invention is characterized in that in the first invention, the card issuing machine has a function of displaying the remaining amount of the card when the card is inserted.

"Operation" According to the first invention, when a purchaser purchases a new card, he/she inserts the old card he/she already has and money into the card issuing machine, and then performs a predetermined operation. Thereby, the card issuing machine adds the remaining amount of the old card to the new card, writes the purchaser's identification number and the total issue number on this card, and then issues the card. At this time, the storage means stores the remaining amount of the card and the total issue number for each identification number. Further, when the purchaser desires payment by card, the electronic cash register prohibits payment by card when the total issue number read from the card and the total issue number stored in the storage means do not match.

Furthermore, according to the second invention, since the card of the first invention also serves as a membership card for the customer management system, purchasers using this card can automatically receive services such as rebates according to their purchase history. I can do it.

Furthermore, according to the third invention, when a customer wants to know the remaining amount of the card he/she owns, he/she inserts the card into the card insertion slot of the card issuing machine. This allows the card issuing machine to
Display the balance on your card.

"Embodiment" Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a free paid card system according to an embodiment of the present invention. In this figure, reference numeral 1 denotes an electronic cash register (hereinafter referred to as ECR), which performs arithmetic processing such as registration of customer's purchased products and payment, and displays the arithmetic results.

Here, FIG. 2 shows a block diagram of the electrical configuration of the ECR 1, FIG. 3 shows a plan view of the external configuration, and FIG. 4 shows a side view of the same. In these figures, 2 is a CP that controls each part of the device.
U (central processing unit), 3 is an operation unit, which is composed of operation keys 3a consisting of function keys and numeric keys, preset keys 3b, and a manual password key 3C for the customer to enter a password. .

Further, 4 is a barcode reading section, which reads code data corresponding to the barcode from the barcode printed portion of the product.

Further, numeral 5 is a display section for displaying the product name, price, total amount, various message messages, etc., and a display section 5a for the store clerk side is placed on the slope facing the store clerk A, and a display section 5a is placed on the slope facing the customer B. and a customer side display so-called 5b.

In addition, 6 is a printing unit that prints and issues a receipt. Reference numeral 7 denotes a card read/write section that reads various data such as a membership number (identification number) and a password stored in the shopping card 8 shown in FIG. 5, and writes the remaining amount. By inserting and sliding the shopping card 8, various data such as a membership number can be read and written from the band-shaped magnetic stripe provided on the shopping card 8. Here, as shown in FIG. 5, the customer's name is printed on the shopping card 8, and when the shopping card 8 is newly purchased, the remaining amount at the time of purchase is printed on the display section 8a. be done. Furthermore, a scale 8b for displaying percentages is provided in advance, and by purchasing a product using this shopping card 8, a hole is punched in the part of the scale 8b corresponding to the remaining amount when the product is returned.

Further, in FIG. 2, numeral 9 is a ROM in which a control program used in the CPUI is stored, and numeral 10 is a RAM for storing data. This RAMIO is provided with a display register area, a print register area, a total register area, a working area, and the like.

11 is an interface, and the CPU 2 exchanges data with an external device (store controller 22 to be described later) via this interface 11.

Furthermore, in FIG. 1, 12 is a card issuing machine that issues the shopping card 8. Here, FIG. 6 shows a block diagram of the electrical configuration of the card issuing machine 12, and FIG. 7 shows a front view of the external configuration. In these figures, 13 is a CPU that controls each part of the device, and 14 is an operation section, including an operation key 14a consisting of a function key and a numeric keypad, and a button for calling a store clerk when the customer becomes confused or unable to operate the device. Clerk call button 14 pressed for
It is composed of b.

In addition, l5 is a display unit that displays various messages for operation, l6 is a card collection unit, and 16a is a card insertion slot 1.
Reference numerals 6a and 17 represent card issuing units, and 17a represents a card issuing slot, in which a customer inserts an old shopping card 8 or membership card (however, not the shopping card 8) into the card insertion slot 16a and performs a predetermined operation. Accordingly, the card collection department
6 collects the old shopping card 8, and the card issuing section 17 issues a new shopping card 8 from the card issuing port 17a.

Further, the membership card is returned through the card insertion slot 16a.

Furthermore, 18 is a money processing section, 18a is a bill slot, 18
b is 500 yen coin slot, 18c is 10 yen, 50 yen, l
OO yen coin handling population, 18d is a change return slot, and when the customer inserts banknotes or coins from the input slot 18a=c and performs a predetermined operation, the money processing unit 18 performs a predetermined process, and the change is returned. The change is returned to the cashier through the change return port 18d.

In addition, 19 is a ROM in which a control program used by the CPU 13 is stored, 20 is a RAM for storing data, and 2] is an interface.
3 exchanges data with an external device (store controller 22 to be described later) via this interface 2l.

In addition, in FIG. 1, 22 is a store controller that controls each part of the system online and in real time;
is a memory in which a product data (PLU) file, a total file, a member file, etc. are stored. Here, as shown in Figure 8, the member file includes member data (name, address, telephone number, cumulative purchase amount,
This area stores the total issue number, remaining amount, etc.). Incidentally, the total issue number is a four-digit consecutive number representing the total number of shopping cards 8 issued since the customer first purchased them.

In such a configuration, first, when a customer who is not a member purchases the shopping card 8 for the first time, this shopping card 8
Membership number, PIN number and binary code 1 on the magnetic stripe
Since it is necessary to memorize the 4-digit hexadecimal number (i.e., "0000J to rFFFFJ"), the customer must inform the store clerk.As a result, the customer automatically becomes a member of this Super Market Note.

In addition, if a customer who currently has a membership card (but not the shopping card 8) purchases the shopping card 8 for the first time, the customer can purchase the first shopping card from the card issuing machine 12 using the membership card. Purchase 8.

Next, the operation of the CPU 13 when a certain customer purchases the second shopping card 8 from the card issuing machine 12 will be explained in the ninth section.
This will be explained based on the flowchart shown in FIG. When the card issuing machine l2 is powered on, the CPU l3
First, after initializing each part of the device, the process proceeds to the Stenobu SAI process, and a guide screen (3) requesting insertion of the old card is displayed on the display unit 15. The display content may be, for example, the following sentence.

If you wish to check the balance on your shopping card or purchase a new shopping card, please insert your shopping card into the card slot.

Please note that this card issuing machine cannot be used by customers who do not currently have a shopping card.

If you do not have a shopping card, please ask the clerk at the counter. ” If the display screen of the display 15 in FIG. 7 is too small to fit on one screen, the displayed content is scrolled. Then proceed to Stenop SA2.

In step SA2, it is determined whether the old card has been inserted into the card insertion slot 16a. This judgment result is rNO
In the case of J, the same judgment is repeated until rY E S J is obtained. Then, the judgment result of step SA2 is rY E
When SJ is reached, the process advances to step SA3.

In step SA3, the inserted old card is fed by the card collecting section 16, and data is read from the card. Please note that this card contains your membership number (for example,
r2345J), total issue number (e.g. "4"), PIN number (e.g. N212J) and remaining amount (e.g. r
7 2'J) etc. are stored. Then, the process advances to step SA4.

In step SA4, a guide screen (2) requesting manual input of the password is displayed on the display section 15, and then the process proceeds to step SA5. The display content may be, for example, the following sentence.

"Please enter your PIN number manually." In step SA5, it is determined whether the PIN number has been entered manually. If this judgment result is rNOJ, rY E
Repeat the same judgment until SJ is reached. (In addition, if you do not have the PIN code after a certain period of time, please proceed to step SA.
Proceed to 9. ), and the judgment result of step SA5 is rY
When the customer becomes an ESJ, that is, when the customer inputs a four-digit password using the operation key 14a, the process advances to step SA6.

In step SA6, it is determined whether the input password matches the password read from the card. If this judgment result is rY E S J, that is, rl 2
If it is 12J, the process advances to step SA7.

In step SA7, a request is made to the store controller 22 to transfer the data stored in the member file in the memory 23 corresponding to the member number read in the process of step SA3, in this case "2345", and the request is received. The data received at this time is the name (in this case, Taro Yamada) and the total issue number (in this case, "4"). Then, the process advances to step SAIO.

On the other hand, if the determination result in step SA6 is rNOJ, the process advances to step SA8.

In step SA8, an error screen (2) warning of mismatch in the password is displayed on the display unit 15 for a certain period of time, and then the process proceeds to step SA9. The display content may be, for example, the following sentence.

"The password is incorrect." In step SA9, after ejecting the card from the card insertion slot 16a, the process returns to Step SAl.

Further, in step SAIO, it is determined whether the total issue number read from the card matches the total issue number transferred from the store controller 22. If the judgment result is rYEsJ, the process proceeds to Stenop SAII.

In step SAII, after displaying the guide screen ■ requesting the immersion of money on the display section l5, the process proceeds to step SAII.
Proceed to step 3. The display content may be, for example, the following sentence.

"Mr. Taro Yamada, the balance is 72 yen. If you would like to purchase a new shopping card, please insert money. You can put up to 50,000 yen.

If you do not wish to purchase a new shopping card, please press the Want 1 key. ” On the other hand, if the determination result in step SA10 is “NO”, the process advances to step SA12.

In step SA12, an error screen (2) warning of a discrepancy in the total issue number is displayed on the display section 15 for a certain period of time, and then the process proceeds to step SA9. The display content may be, for example, the following sentence.

"The inserted card cannot be discarded or used. Please insert the card you are currently using.
At A13, it is determined whether or not the "O" key of the operation keys 14a has been pressed. In the case of this judgment result or rYEsJ,
Proceed to Stenop SA9.

On the other hand, if the determination result in step SAl3 is rNOj, the process advances to step SA14.

The step SA14 determines whether money has been inserted from the bill slot 18a or the coin slots 18b and 18c. If the result of this determination is "NO", the process returns to step SAl3.

On the other hand, the determination result of step SA14 is rY E S J
In this case, the process advances to step SA15.

In Stenobu SAl5, after displaying the guide screen ■ for changing the password on the display unit 15, step 7'. S
Proceed to A 1 6. The display content may be, for example, the following sentence.

"If you wish to change your PIN, please enter your new PIN (4-digit number).

If you do not want to change your password, press the key again.

” In step SA16, it is determined whether or not the mouth key (check key) of the operation keys 14a has been pressed.

If this judgment result is rNOJ, step SA17
Proceed to.

On the other hand, the judgment result of step SAl6 is rY E S J
In this case, the process advances to step SAl9.

Further, in step SAl7, it is determined whether or not a password has been input using the iH user-14a.

If the result of this determination is rNOJ, the process returns to step SAI6.

On the other hand, the judgment result of step SAl7 is rY E S J
In this case, that is, when the customer inputs a four-digit password using the operation key 14a, the process advances to step SA18.

In step SA18, the input password is stored in the password register, and then the process advances to STEP SAI9. still,
The PIN code previously read from the card is stored in the PIN register, and this number is rewritten.

At step SAI9, a guide screen (3) requesting input of the purchase price of the new shopping card 8 to be purchased is displayed on the display section 15, and then the process proceeds to step SA20. The display content may be, for example, the following sentence.

“Mr. Taro Yamada, the balance is 72 yen.The deposit amount is 1
It is 0,000 yen. After entering the purchase amount, press the Ii key.

If you wish to purchase a shopping card with the full deposit amount, please press only the Rinki key. '' In step SA20, it is determined whether or not the OFF key of the operation keys 148 has been pressed. If this judgment result is rNOJ, step S
Proceed to A21.

The steno knob SA21 determines whether the purchase amount has been input using the operation key 14a. The result of this judgment is “NO”
”, the process returns to step SA20.

On the other hand, the determination result of step SA21 is rY E, S J
In this case, that is, when the customer inputs the purchase amount using the operation key 14a, the process advances to step SA22.

In step SA22, the input purchase amount (for example,
5,000 yen) in the purchase amount register, the process returns to step SA20. Note that the purchase amount register stores the amount of reward money that has been input from the bill slot 18a or the coin slots 18b and 18c, and the amount is rewritten.

On the other hand, the determination result in step SA20 is rY E S j
In this case, the process advances to step SA23.

In step SA23, monetary calculation, balance amount and total issue number are updated. That is, after performing the following processing, the process advances to step SA24.

■Calculate the new remaining amount Old remaining amount + purchase amount New remaining amount・・(1)72+5.00
0=5,072 ■Increment the total issue number (N) N + l =
N... (2) 4 -g 1 - 5 ■ Calculate the change from deposited amount to purchased amount per change... (3) 10,000
-5,000=5,000 In step SA24, a new card issuance process is performed. That is, the card issuing unit 17 magnetically writes the membership number, incremented total issue number, PIN (contents of the PIN register), and new balance on the new card, and also prints the member's name and new balance, and then releases the card. It is issued from the issuing port 17a. At the same time, the new balance and the balance amount are displayed on the display section l5. Incidentally, when a new cart is issued, the old card is collected at the card collection section l6. And step S
Proceed to A25.

The above display content is, for example, the following sentence.

“Mr. Taro Yamada, the balance on your new card is 5,072.
It's yen. Also, the change is 5,000 yen. ” Stesob S
At A25, the change return slot 18d is opened in the money processing section 18.
After returning the change, proceed to Ste Sop SA26.

In step SA26, the incremented total issue number and new balance data are transferred together with the membership number to the controller 22, and then the process returns to the step SAI.

Note that the store controller 22 updates the member file in the memory 23 based on the transferred data.

In the above embodiment, if the customer loses the shopping card 8, he/she will notify the store clerk. The clerk then verifies the customer's identity based on the customer's address, name, and phone number, and issues a new card. This new card will have the same membership number, incremented total issue number, PIN, and new balance as the old card.
In addition, the store controller 22 stores the total issue number and new balance in correspondence with this membership number.

Therefore, when a new card is issued, the old card becomes invalid.

Next, the payment processing performed by the CPU 2 of the ECR 1 and the store clerk A when a certain customer B purchases a product using the shopping card 8 will be described based on the process diagram of FIG. 11. EC
When the Rl is powered on, the CPU 2 first initializes each part of the device. This causes the ECR 4 to enter a registration standby state. Therefore, when customer B brings a plurality of products and requests payment, clerk A receives the products at a position facing customer B and causes barcode reading section 4 to read the barcodes of the products. When the barcode reader 4 reads the barcode, the barcode reader 4 sends code data corresponding to the barcode to the CPU.
Incorporate into 2. From this, CPU2
Proceed to I and perform product registration processing. That is, the product data (
(product name, unit price, etc.) and store it in the working area. Further, the total purchase amount data is stored in the total purchase area.

Furthermore, the CPU 2 displays the name and price of the purchased product on the display section 5, and drives the printing section 6 to print on the receipt paper. Then proceed to Ste Seop SB2.

In step SB2, the CPU 2 determines whether or not the [Subtotal] key has been pressed. If the result of this judgment is "NO", the system waits for the next product's code data to be manually generated. Therefore, when the next code data is supplied, the process returns to step SBI and the above-described product registration process is repeated.

Then, when all product registration is completed, store clerk A presses the operation key 3.
When you press the [Subtotal] key in a, the judgment result in step SB2 becomes rYEsJ, and step. , Proceed to SB3.

In step SB3, the CPU 2 reads the total purchase amount data stored in the total register area, displays it on the display section 5, drives the printing section 6 to print on the receipt paper, and then drives the printing section 6 to print on the receipt paper. Proceed to SB4. For details of the processing from step SB1 to step SB3 described above, please refer to the customer management system (Japanese Patent Application No. 63-246921) previously proposed by the applicant.

In addition, in this example, the total purchase amount for customer B is 3,
000 yen.

In Stenobu SB4, clerk A has customer B's shopping card 8.
The user decides whether or not he or she wishes to pay the bill, and if so, proceeds to Stenobu SB5.

In step SB5, clerk A receives shopping card 8 from customer B, inserts it into groove 7a of card read/write section 7, and then proceeds to step SBf3.

In step SB6, the CPU 2 uses the card read/write section 7 to read various data stored in the shopping card 8, such as the membership number (in this case, "2345"), total issue number, PIN number, and remaining amount. After that, step SB7
Proceed to.

In step SB7, a guide screen requesting manual input of the PIN is displayed on the customer side display iG5b, and then step SB8
Proceed to. The display content may be, for example, the following sentence.

"Please enter your PIN number." In step SB8, it is determined whether the PIN number has been input. If this judgment result is "NO", rYEsJ
Repeat the same judgment until And step SB8
The judgment result becomes rYESJ, that is, when customer B enters the 4-digit PIN using the PIN input key 3C,
Proceed to step SB9.

In step SB9, it is determined whether the manually entered password matches the password read from the card. If the result of this determination is rYESJ, the process advances to step SBIO.

In step SBIO, a request is made to the store controller 22 to transfer the data stored in the member file in the memory 23 corresponding to the member number read in the process of step SB6, in this case "2345", and the request is received. The data received at this time is the name (in this case, Taro Yamada) and the total issue number (in this case, "5"). and,
Proceed to step SBI3.

On the other hand, if the determination result in step SB9 is rNOj, the process advances to step SBII.

In step SBII, after displaying an error screen (A) for a certain period of time on the customer side display 5b to warn of mismatch in the password, the process advances to step SB12. The display content may be, for example, the following sentence.

"The PIN number is incorrect." After ejecting the card at STEP SB12, the process returns to step SB3.

Further, in step SB13, it is determined whether the total issue number read from the card matches the total issue number transferred from the store controller 22. If the result of this determination is rYEsJ, the process advances to step SB14.

In step SB14, the new remaining amount is calculated and the old remaining amount and new remaining amount are displayed. That is, after performing the calculation shown in the following equation and displaying the new balance together with the old balance on the clerk side display 5a and the customer side display 5b, the process proceeds to step SBl6.

Old remaining amount - purchase amount = new remaining amount...(4) 5,072-3
,000=2,072 On the other hand, if the determination result in step SB13 is "NO", the process advances to step SB15.

In step SB'15, an error screen (B) warning of a discrepancy in the total issued number is displayed on the customer side display 5b for a certain period of time, and then the process proceeds to Stenobu SB12. The display content may be, for example, the following sentence.

"This card is an old card and cannot be used. Please pay with a new card or cash." In addition, in step SB16, the printing unit 6 is driven to print out the remaining amount calculated in the process of step SB14 as shown in FIG. Print it on the receipt paper as shown in part b of
After cutting this receipt, the process advances to step SB17. Note that in FIG. 12, the portion a has already been printed in the processing of steps SBI and SB3.

In step SB17, the card read/write unit 7 magnetically writes the new balance data on the shopping card 8, and punches holes in the scale 8b in FIG. 5 according to the new balance. Now, using shopping card 8, which has a balance of 5,072 yen, purchases 3,000 yen, resulting in a new balance of 2,072 yen, so as shown in the following formula, round up the decimal point and then add the value to the nearest 1. Punch holes are punched at the 50% mark.

=40. 85→50(%) In addition, the above-mentioned new balance data is transferred to the store controller 22 together with the membership number, and after updating the membership file in the memory 23, the process proceeds to step SB18.

In this embodiment, since the shopping card 8 also serves as a membership card, the current purchase amount is also added to the cumulative purchase total (see FIG. 8) in the membership file.

Further, since the customer management system is well known, a description thereof will be omitted.

In step SB18, after ejecting the card, the process advances to step SB19.

At step SB19, clerk A hands over the receipt and the ejected shopping card 8 to customer B, and then ends the series of operations.

On the other hand, step S. At B4, in response to the inquiry from clerk A, if customer B does not wish to pay using the shopping card 8, the process advances to step SB20.

In step SB20, upon receiving the deposit amount from customer B, clerk A receives the deposit amount, for example, 5,000.
Enter yen using the numeric keypad in the operation key 3a, and then press the [Deposit/Cash Total] key.

Thereby, the CPU 2 proceeds to the process of step SB21.

In step SB21, the CPU 2 calculates and displays change. That is, after performing the calculation shown in the following equation and displaying the amount of change on the clerk side display 5a and the customer side display 5b, the process advances to step SB22.

Deposit amount - Purchase amount = Change... (5) 5.000-
3.000=2,000 In step SB22, the printing unit 6 is driven to print the deposited amount and the change calculated in the processing in step SB2+ on the receipt paper, and after cutting this receipt, the process advances to step SB23.

In step SB23, clerk A hands the receipt and change to customer B, and then ends the series of operations.

In addition, in the above explanation, in order to display the remaining amount on the shopping card 8, an example was shown in which a 100% display scale 8b was provided in advance and punch holes were punched in this portion according to the remaining amount. As shown in the shaded area in the figure, the display may be made by pasting thermal paper on the scale 8b and coloring it in accordance with the remaining amount.

In addition, both the above-mentioned method of punching holes and the method of using thermal paper mark the predetermined areas, but as shown in Figure 14, visible data is written on the shopping card 8 magnetically. A display section 8c that can be read is provided,
The remaining amount may be displayed in this part.

Furthermore, in the embodiment described above, an example was shown in which the new balance amount is stored in the shopping card 8, but since the remaining amount is managed in the store controller 22, the new balance amount is not stored in the shopping card 8. The remaining amount stored in the member file of the memory 23 may be read and used.

By doing this, the ECR l's card reader/writer section 7 does not need a writing function, so the card league for cards for conventional customer management systems (those that only store membership numbers) can be used as is. There is an advantage.

Note that writing the remaining amount on the shopping card 8 has the following advantages.

(a) There is no need to receive data from the store controller 22 online in real time when inquiring about the balance.

(b) By checking the remaining amount of the store controller 22 and the remaining amount of the shopping card 8, it is possible to check whether the card has been tampered with or not.

Further, in the embodiment described above, as shown in FIG. 1, an example of a system including the store controller 22 and the ECR 1 was shown, but the system is not limited to this. That is, as shown in FIG. 15, a parent-child type P○S system, that is, the parent device ECR 24 may also serve as the store controller 22 to manage the child IEcRI;
As shown in Figure 6, only one ECR 1 may be used.

Also, save the member file to RAM2 in the card issuer 1912.
It may be stored as 0. In other words, it is not limited to the storage location of the member file.

By the way, the above-described embodiment shows a case where a new card cannot be automatically issued without the old card. This is because in the case of this prepaid card system, various data are managed using the membership number (identification number), so it is necessary to confirm the identity of the individual, and inserting the old card plays this role. It is from.

However, by storing the PIN number in the memory 23 as well, it is possible to automatically issue a new card without the old card, for example, by following the procedure below.

■Customers do not memorize their membership numbers, but they do memorize their telephone numbers and pin numbers.

(2) Therefore, if the old card is not available, the membership number is read out from the membership file in the memory 23 by manually inputting the telephone number.

■However, if this is all that is done, someone else's phone number could be misused, but here, the user enters the PIN number and confirms that this PIN number matches the PIN number previously stored in the memory 23 in correspondence with the membership number. If you do so, you can confirm that you are the real person.

■Thus, by inputting a telephone number and a personal identification number, the identity of the user can be confirmed without having to insert the old card, and a new card can be automatically issued.

- In this case, when you become a member or when you purchase the shopping card 8 for the first time, you need to register your PIN number in the member file in the memory 23.

Incidentally, when issuing the shopping card 8, the shopping card 8 may be issued for the remaining amount after adding a predetermined premium to the purchase amount.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, an example was shown in which the card was used as both a shopping card and a membership card, but the present invention is not limited to this.

"Effects of the Invention" As explained above, the present invention has the following effects.

■Cards other than the latest one will be invalidated, so store staff can prohibit the use of old cards without checking the cards every time they pay.

■Therefore, there is no risk that an old card whose remaining balance has been returned will be used fraudulently.

■Each time a card is issued, it is an extremely simple structure that only requires writing in the total issue number.In order to prevent the use of the old card, the card date for which the balance has been returned is stored in the Fuga Check file, and each time the card is used for payment. This method is simpler than checking using stored data because it does not require human effort to input data into a negative check file.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

IF diagram is a block diagram showing the configuration of a prepaid card system according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the electrical configuration of the ECRI, FIG. 3 is a plan view showing the external structure, and FIG. The figure is a side view, FIG. 5 is a front view showing an example of the shopping card 8, and FIG. 6 is a card issued #! Figure 7 is a front view showing the same external structure, Figure 8 is a diagram showing an example of a membership file, and Figures 9 and 10 are a block diagram showing the electrical configuration of a customer. FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing the operation of the CPU 13 when purchasing the shopping card 8 from the card issuer R12. Customer B or shopping card 8
FIG. 12 is a diagram showing an example of a receipt issued from the printing unit 6 of FIG. 2, and FIG. 14 is a front view showing another embodiment of the shopping card 8, and FIGS. 15 and 16 are other embodiments of the prepaid card system. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an example configuration. l ECR, 8... Shopping card, ■ 2... Power card issuing machine, 22... Store controller, 23...... Memory.

Claims (3)

[Claims] (1) When purchasing a card that can be used to purchase products instead of cash, a new card is issued by adding the balance of the old card that you already have,
a card issuing machine that writes an identification number corresponding to the purchaser and a total issuance number corresponding to the total number of cards issued since the first purchase on the card each time the card is issued; a storage means for storing the remaining amount and the total issue number, and when the purchaser desires to pay with the card, the total issue number read from the card and the total issue number stored in the storage means; A prepaid card system comprising: an electronic cash register that prohibits payment using the card when they do not match. (2) The prepaid card system according to claim 1, wherein the card also serves as a membership card of a customer management system to provide rebate services to customers who have become members according to their purchase history. (3) The prepaid card system according to claim 1, wherein the card issuing machine has a function of displaying the remaining amount of the card when the card is inserted.