KR102145187B1 - Finance Card Apparatus and Method for Accumulating Point using Finance Card Apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a finance card apparatus which comprises: a short-range communication module; a memory for storing information on a plurality of customer cards; and a control unit including a payment processing portion which receives payment request information from an affiliate store terminal and provides payment card information in response thereto, and a point accumulation processing portion which provides one of a plurality of pieces of customer card information stored in the memory from customer card affiliate information received from the affiliate store terminal. In the present invention, by integrating a plurality of club cards using one near field communication (NFC) all-in-one card or smart phone, it is possible to increase the convenience of use to customers and to minimize the issuance of the card for issuing retailers, thereby reducing the cost of issuing the card.

Description

[Finance Card Apparatus and Method for Accumulating Point using Finance Card Apparatus}

The present invention relates to card management technology, and more particularly, to an apparatus and method for automatically searching and using a plurality of customer cards.

In general, credit cards or debit cards are issued for face-to-face transactions or e-commerce transactions, and additional customer cards (Royalty Card, Club card) are issued to receive major benefits such as discounts or accrual in the affiliated store or the business. Will be retained. However, it is not easy for customers to carry all of these issued physical cards, so they may not be able to use them when using affiliate stores or industry services that can actually receive benefits, and if the card is not used frequently after the card is issued, the card You may forget about the holding itself and not be used.

In order to alleviate the inconvenience of carrying such a physical card, a smartphone application (application, hereinafter referred to as'app') is provided to the customer by the affiliated store or corresponding business, so that the customer does not need to carry a separate physical card. It supports the use of cards through the app. However, even when using a card through such a smartphone app, there is an inconvenience in that it is necessary to find and execute the corresponding application for each card.

Furthermore, whether it is using a physical card or using a card through a smartphone app, there are many issued cards, so what kind of card should be used in order to receive more discounts or benefits when using the card at the affiliated store or the business type? I am feeling uncomfortable because I do not know. In other words, before payment, there is a hassle of finding a smartphone app, finding a customer loyalty card that fits the retail, and reading it with a barcode scan. Accordingly, the time required for payment and the waiting time are lengthened during the search process, and points (points) cannot be accumulated if the customer card is not in possession. In retail, some of the loyalty is lost when profits are not earned from the perspective of customers.

The present invention provides a financial card device capable of activating the use of a customer card by reducing the labor or time to find a customer card that can receive benefits such as accumulation or discount at an affiliated store, and a method of accumulating points using the financial card device.

The present invention is a financial card device, a short-range communication module, a memory for storing information on a plurality of customer cards, a payment processing unit for receiving payment request information from an affiliated store terminal and providing payment card information in response thereto, and receiving from the affiliated store terminal And a control unit including a point accumulation processing unit that provides one of a plurality of customer card information stored in the memory from the customer card affiliate information.

The present invention is a method of accumulating points using a financial card device, in response to contacting the financial card device to the short-range communication reader of the affiliated store terminal, generating an affiliate store information request interrupt in the affiliated store terminal, and the affiliated store terminal is a customer card Transferring affiliate information to a financial card device, the financial card device searching a card for a customer card corresponding to the affiliated store's customer card affiliate information, and the financial card device transferring the searched customer card information to the affiliated store terminal. And, the affiliated store terminal transmits the customer card information and usage details to the payment server to request approval and accumulation, the payment server performs approval and accumulation corresponding to the customer card information and usage details, and the payment server Transmitting approval and accumulation detail information to the financial card device through the affiliate store terminal, and updating the memory with the accumulation detail information in the financial card device.

The present invention integrates a plurality of club cards using one NFC all-in-one card or smart phone to increase the convenience of use for customers, and the issuance retail minimizes card issuance to reduce the cost of issuing cards.

In addition, it is possible to reduce the hassle and time for a customer to search for a customer card (Royalty Card, Club card) every time during the payment process, thereby increasing the activation of the use of customer cards.

In addition, the MCU part is added from the NFC function of the existing customer card, eliminating the battery and wireless communication module that are essential to other all-in-one cards, simplifying the circuit and securing price competitiveness.

1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a payment system using a financial card device according to the present invention.
2 is a schematic block diagram of a financial card device according to an embodiment of the present invention.
3 is a signal flow diagram illustrating a method of accumulating points using a financial card device according to an embodiment of the present invention.
4 is a signal flow diagram illustrating a method of accumulating points using a financial card device according to another embodiment of the present invention.
5 is a signal flow diagram illustrating a method for accumulating points using a financial card device according to another embodiment of the present invention.

Hereinafter, a financial card device and method according to a preferred embodiment will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. Here, the same symbols are used for the same configuration, and detailed descriptions of repetitive descriptions and known functions and configurations that may unnecessarily obscure the subject matter of the invention are omitted. Embodiments of the invention are provided to more completely explain the invention to those with average knowledge in the art. Therefore, the shapes and sizes of elements in the drawings may be exaggerated for clearer explanation.

Combinations of each block of the attached block diagram and each step of the flowchart may be executed by computer program instructions (execution engine), and these computer program instructions are executed on a processor of a general purpose computer, special purpose computer or other programmable data processing equipment. As it may be mounted, its instructions executed by the processor of a computer or other programmable data processing equipment generate means for performing the functions described in each block of the block diagram or each step of the flowchart.

These computer program instructions may also be stored in a computer-usable or computer-readable memory that can be directed to a computer or other programmable data processing equipment to implement a function in a particular manner, so that the computer-usable or computer-readable memory. It is also possible to produce an article of manufacture in which the instructions stored in the block diagram contain instruction means for performing the functions described in each block of the block diagram or each step of the flowchart.

In addition, since computer program instructions can be mounted on a computer or other programmable data processing equipment, a series of operation steps are performed on a computer or other programmable data processing equipment to create a computer-executable process. It is also possible for the instructions to perform the data processing equipment to provide steps for executing the functions described in each block of the block diagram and each step of the flowchart.

In addition, each block or each step may represent a module, segment, or part of code containing one or more executable instructions for executing specified logical functions, and in some alternative embodiments mentioned in the blocks or steps. It should be noted that it is also possible for functions to occur out of order. For example, two blocks or steps shown in succession may in fact be performed substantially simultaneously, and the blocks or steps may be performed in the reverse order of a corresponding function as necessary.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, the embodiments of the present invention exemplified below may be modified in various other forms, and the scope of the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described below. Embodiments of the present invention are provided to more completely describe the present invention to those of ordinary skill in the art.

1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a payment system using a financial card device according to the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 1, a payment system using a financial card device (hereinafter referred to as a'system') includes financial card devices 100-1 and 100-2, an affiliated store terminal 20, and a payment server 30. I can.

The financial card devices 100-1 and 100-2 are part of a hardware-based mobile simple payment service, and store information on a plurality of customer cards in one card, and, according to the user's selection, pay with a desired card or earn points It is a device that provides an all in one card function that can perform functions such as /discount. Here, the all-in-one card has the advantage of being able to perform payment using multiple cards through one card without carrying multiple cards. Such an all-in-one card may also be named by various terms such as white card, smart card, and e-card.

Here, each of the plurality of customer cards integrated into the financial card apparatuses 100-1 and 100-2 may include at least one of card functions including a payment function, a point accumulation/discount function, and the like. For example, the customer card may be a credit card or a debit card that provides only a payment function, may provide only a point accumulation/discount function without a payment function, or may provide both a payment function and a point accumulation/discount function. have.

As shown in FIG. 1, a financial card device 100- implemented as a financial card device 100-1 mounted on a smart phone 10 carried by a customer, or having a rectangular thin body similar to a conventional magnetic card. It may be implemented as 2).

According to the present invention, the financial card apparatuses 100-1 and 100-2 acquire customer card affiliate information through short-range communication with the affiliate store terminal 20, thereby accumulating points or customer benefits such as discount benefits at the affiliate store. It provides a function to automatically search and use a customer card that can maximize the customer card among a plurality of customer cards. Accordingly, it is possible to reduce the time and effort for the user to find the customer card, and thus the use of the customer card can be activated.

In addition, according to the present invention, when implemented as a card-type financial card device 100-2, the financial card device 100-2 touches the affiliated store terminal 20 or the smart phone 10 without a separate battery. It can be used by receiving power in the state. This can be applied to the power delivery technology of NFC (Near Field Communication) or wireless charging sharing (Sharing) technology. That is, when a magnetic field is generated on the reader side, such as the affiliate store terminal 20, an induced current is generated in the coil on the card side. Power is supplied to the chip using this current, and the data contained in the chip is read by the reader through radio waves. The detailed configuration and description of the financial card devices 100-1 and 100-2 will be described later with reference to FIG. 2.

The affiliated store terminal 20 may be provided with a short-range communication reader unit and a magnetic reader unit as a card terminal installed in the affiliated store in order to perform payment using a customer card in connection with the payment server 30. Here, the affiliated store may mean a store, a store, a department store, an amusement park, a product store, a business that provides services, a company operated by an individual or corporation, or a place that provides goods or services, but is not limited thereto. It can mean a business place that can provide services.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the affiliated store terminal 20 receives customer card affiliate information by an interrupt generated when the financial card devices 100-1 and 100-2 are touched by the short-range communication reader. It is transmitted to the financial card device 100. Here, the customer card affiliate information includes affiliated store identification information (ID), a list of customer cards that can be accumulated or discounted at the affiliated store, and card discount rates and points for each of the customer cards that can be accumulated or discounted. This may be information that enables a card subscriber to search for benefits that can be received when purchasing goods or using services at the affiliated store. This is to allow the financial card apparatus 100 to search for a customer card based on customer card information.

As the customer card information and usage details are transmitted from the affiliated store terminal 20, the payment server 30 approves the customer card, accumulates points corresponding to the usage details of the customer card at the affiliated store, and then approves and accumulates The details are transmitted to the financial card devices 100-1 and 100-2 through the affiliated store terminal 20.

2 is a schematic block diagram of a financial card device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 2, the financial card apparatus 100 includes a short-range communication module 110, a memory 120, and a control unit 130, but may be implemented as a System on Chip (SoC). Additionally, at least one of the display unit 140, the EMV chip 150, and the magnetic stripe 160 may be selectively further included.

The short range communication module 110 is for short range communication, and includes Bluetooth™, Radio Frequency Identification (RFID), Infrared Data Association (IrDA), Ultra Wideband (UWB), ZigBee, and NFC. Short-range communication may be supported by using at least one of (Near Field Communication), Wireless-Fidelity (Wi-Fi), Wi-Fi Direct, and Wireless Universal Serial Bus (USB) technologies.

The memory 120 is a memory in which data can be written/read by the control unit 130 and may store information of a plurality of customer cards. That is, in the conventional card, only a single card information is stored in a minimum memory of less than 1K in a basic passive NFC transmitter tag chip without a separate control unit 130, that is, a microcontroller unit (MCU). , The memory 120 according to the present invention may store a plurality of customer card information that can be read, written, and erased by the control unit 130.

The control unit 130 may record a plurality of customer card information in the memory 120, and read and use the recorded plurality of customer card information for necessary payment or accumulation. That is, in order to register a plurality of customer cards in the financial card device 100, when the financial card device 100 is placed on the smart phone or the affiliated store terminal 20, the financial card device 100 is ), and the control unit 130 of the financial card device 100 confirms a preset security element for the customer card information transmitted by the short-range communication module 110, It is stored in the memory 120.

In addition, it is possible to collectively download and register a plurality of customer cards through an app (eg syrup) in the financial card device 100 at once. Later, when using the financial card device, a card can be selected and designated with a smartphone, or a unique number provided from the affiliated store terminal 20 is recognized and the controller 130 can find a card that is used in the affiliated store and transmit it to the terminal. . In addition, when NFC reading is performed for registration during the first use, the smartphone information is registered on the card, and the registered information is locked, so other information is not updated.

In addition, the control unit 130 may include a payment processing unit (not shown) and a point accumulation processing unit (not shown), and the payment processing unit receives payment request information from the affiliated store terminal 20 and receives payment card information in response thereto. And, as the customer card affiliate information is transmitted from the affiliate store terminal 20, the control unit 130 automatically searches the corresponding customer card to be used in the affiliate store from the memory 120 to the affiliate store terminal 20 Send it to and ask for credit.

In addition, the financial card device 100 may be operated through power delivered from the affiliated store terminal 20 or a smartphone without using a battery by using an NFC SoC.

The display unit 40 may display information on a card currently in use by using a low-power display by the controller 130 and information on payment and accumulated amounts after payment, and may display a simple advertisement or logo of an affiliate store. The display unit 40 may be a thin e-paper display (EPD) or the like so as not to affect the thickness of the main body of the financial card device 100. The display unit 40 may form a layer structure with a touch sensor to enable touch.

The financial card device 100 additionally includes an EMV module unit 150 and a magnetic strip 160 in an existing card, and combines a representative credit card and a plurality of customer cards (Club card) functions into one. Can be integrated.

Here, the EMV chip 150 stores and checks a PIN inside to verify identity, and EMV may simultaneously support debit + credit cards.

The magnetic unit 160 is for generating a magnetic stripe signal, and is made of a magnetic strip in which magnetic information is stored, a magnetic recording layer on which magnetic information is recorded is formed as a thin film, or a coil that converts current into magnetism Can be formed as The magnetic stripe signal is a magnetic signal, includes card information, and is a signal formed according to a standard standard.

Meanwhile, when the above-described financial card device 100 is implemented in a form mounted on a smart phone, each component may be replaced by components of the same function in the smart phone. That is, the customer downloads and installs the smart phone app in advance, and according to the customer's request, the control unit of the smart phone calls the smart phone app so that the same functions as the aforementioned card-type financial card device can be performed.

3 is a signal flow diagram illustrating a method of accumulating points using a financial card device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 3, as the financial card device 100 held by the customer is contacted (S310) with the short-range communication reader 21 of the affiliated store terminal 20, the affiliated store terminal ( In 20), an affiliate store information request interrupt is generated (S315).

Then, the affiliated store terminal 20 corresponds to the customer card affiliate information, for example, the customer card affiliate information, the affiliated store identification information (ID), a list of customer cards that can be accumulated or discounted at the affiliated store, and each of the customer cards that can be accumulated or discounted. The card discount rate and accumulated points are transmitted to the financial card device 100 through the short-range communication reader unit 21 (S320 to S325). In addition, although not shown in the drawings, at this time, the affiliated store terminal 20 may also transmit payment request information to the financial card apparatus 100.

The financial card apparatus 100 searches for a card for a customer card corresponding to the customer card affiliate information of the affiliated store (S330).

Thereafter, the financial card device 100 transmits the searched customer card information to the affiliated store terminal 20 through the short-range communication reader 21 (S335 to S340). In addition, although not shown in the drawing, at this time, the financial card device 100 may transmit payment card information to the affiliated store terminal 20 together. Here, the payment process may be performed by scratching the card or inserting it into the slot separately from FIG. 3.

Then, as the affiliated store terminal 20 transmits the customer card information and usage details to the payment server 30 to request approval and accumulation (S345), the payment server 30 approves to correspond to the customer card information and usage details. And perform the accumulation (S350). Further, although not shown in the drawing, at this time, the affiliated store terminal 100 may transmit payment card information and payment details to the payment server 30 together, and the payment server 30 may perform payment together.

Then, the payment server 30 transmits the approval and accumulation details information to the financial card device 100 through the affiliated store terminal 20 and the short-range communication reader unit 21 (S355 to S366). One, although not shown in the drawing, at this time, the payment server 30 may also transmit the payment details to the affiliated store terminal 20 together.

Then, the financial card device 100 updates the memory 120 with the accumulated details information (S370).

Meanwhile, the aforementioned customer card and payment card may be one.

4 is a signal flow diagram illustrating a method of accumulating points using a financial card device according to another embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating a method of accumulating points using a financial card device according to another exemplary embodiment of the present invention. Is a signal flow diagram for 4 and 5 are diagrams illustrating a process in which the financial card device 100 of the present application is used in conjunction with an integrated card app such as Samsung Pay or NFC Pay (LG, Lotte, etc.).

4, the user registers the customer card recorded in the financial card device 100 in his/her possession in the integrated card app 11 installed on his smartphone (S410), and the integrated card app 11 When the executed smart phone is touched to the affiliated store terminal 20 (S415), the affiliated store terminal 20 transmits customer card affiliate information to the integrated card app 11.

Then, the integrated card app 11 searches the card for a customer card corresponding to the customer card affiliate information of the affiliated store (S425).

Then, the integrated card app 11 transmits a payment request to the affiliated store terminal 20 together with the searched customer card information (S430).

Then, the affiliated store terminal 20 transmits the customer card information along with the payment request to the payment server 30 to request payment and accumulation for purchase of goods or service use at the affiliated store (S435), and the payment server 30 ) Performs payment and accumulates corresponding to the customer card information (S440).

Then, the payment server 30 transmits the approval and accumulated details information to the financial card device 100 through the affiliated store terminal 20 and the card integration app 11 (S445 to S455).

Then, the financial card device 100 updates the memory 120 with the accumulated details information (S460). In this case, when the financial card device 100 is implemented in a state mounted on a smart phone, the payment server 30 may automatically send the accumulated information to the smart phone through the Internet.

FIG. 5 shows an example in which customer card information is registered in the affiliated store terminal 20 through prior information exchange between the affiliated store terminal 20 and the card integrated app 11 as shown in FIG. 4. In FIG. 4, since customer card information is not pre-registered, the affiliate store code must be exchanged every time, but the advance information exchange is a method of finding customer card information of a customer by simply paying at the corresponding store, and making simultaneous payment and accumulation. It can be seen that this is the same as the method of automatically accruing when payment is made when a financial card is connected to a hypermarket chain. Accordingly, in FIG. 5, steps S415 to S425 as shown in FIG. 4 are omitted, and are performed from step S530. That is, when a payment request is made in S530 to S540, the payment server 30 performs payment and accumulation after inquiring the previously registered customer card information (S540). Then, S545 to S560 performed are the same as S445 to S460 shown in FIG. 4.

Claims (9)

A short-range communication module,
A memory for storing information on a plurality of customer cards;
A payment processing unit that receives payment request information from the affiliated store terminal through a short-range communication module and provides payment card information in response thereto, the affiliated store identification information received from the affiliated store terminal through the short-range communication module, and a customer card that can be accumulated or discounted at the affiliated store One of the customer card information with the maximum customer benefit from among the plurality of customer card information stored in the memory from the customer card affiliate information including the card discount rate and points for each of the customer cards that can be accumulated or discounted is automatically A control unit including a point accumulation processing unit capable of reducing labor or time for a customer to search for a customer card having the maximum customer benefit by searching and providing it to the affiliated store terminal;
Financial card device comprising a.
The method of claim 1,
An EMV module unit that stores credit card information and password therein and provides credit card information in response to a request from the control unit; Financial card device further comprising a.
The method of claim 1, wherein the financial card device
Financial card device further comprising a display unit for displaying the payment approval result and accumulated point information received through the short-range communication unit.
The method of claim 3, wherein the display unit
A financial card device that is an electronic paper display.
The method of claim 1, wherein the financial card device
A financial card device implemented in the form of being mounted on a customer's smartphone.
The method of claim 1, wherein the financial card device
A financial card device implemented as a system on chip and supplied with power from an affiliated store terminal or a smart phone.
The method of claim 1,
A financial card device in which payment card information and customer card information are one.
The method of claim 1, wherein the control unit
A financial card device for recording customer card information transmitted from the financial card device to a smart phone or affiliate terminal in memory.
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