KR20060081598A - Method of using mileage reserve for communication expense and apparatus thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for using a customer's mileage reserve as a communication fee. The present invention is a process in which a customer pays a predetermined amount to a merchant and the merchant gives a predetermined reserve corresponding thereto, and the information is transmitted to the credit card company server, and the above reserve information is provided to the telecommunication company by the credit card company server. The process consists of providing a communication service free of charge to the customer for a predetermined time corresponding to the above reserves.

According to the present invention, customers can conveniently use the reserve (mileage point), the merchant can efficiently marketing through the reserve service, the credit card companies in favor of recruiting merchants, the telecommunications company through a free communication service There is an increase in sales.

Description

Method of using mileage reserve and its device {Method of using mileage reserve for communication expense and apparatus}             

Figure 1 shows the overall configuration to which the method using the mileage reserve according to the present invention as a communication fee is applied.

2 is a reference diagram illustrating the concept of the present invention.

Figure 3 is a flow chart of a preferred embodiment of the method for using the mileage reserve according to the present invention as a communication fee.

Figure 4 is a block diagram of a preferred embodiment of a credit card company server to use the mileage reserve according to the present invention as a communication fee.

The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for using a customer's mileage reserve as a communication fee.

Conventionally, when each individual makes a credit card payment or cash payment, mileage reserves (Points, etc.) provided through each affiliate store (point earning service use merchants) are generally collected in a few thousand units and used only at special merchants such as theaters. It was possible and also there was a problem that frequently deleted or automatically forgotten when a certain period of unused. For reference, it is reported in the news, but the accumulated points that are automatically destroyed because they are not used in time are hundreds or hundreds of billions.

The technical problem to be achieved by the present invention is to provide a method and apparatus for using the customer's mileage reserve as a communication fee.

Method for using the mileage reserve according to the present invention for solving the above problems as a communication fee includes a merchant payment device, the credit card company server and the credit card company server and the Internet connected to a credit card company server through the Internet or a telephone line A method of using a reserve provided by a merchant to a predetermined customer at a telecommunication company server connected through a telecommunication network as a communication fee provided to the customer by the telecommunication company, the credit card company server using the telephone number of the customer. Receiving the customer information including, registering the customer as a member and storing it to build a member database; (b) the credit card company server is provided with merchant information including the unique code information of the merchant, the merchant To become a member and save it Building a merchant database; (c) the credit card company server receiving and storing reserve information given to the customer at the merchant from the merchant payment device; and (d) the credit card company server storing the reserve information. It is characterized in that it comprises the step of transmitting to the telecommunications server along with the customer's phone number, the telecommunications server to cover the cost corresponding to the reserve of the communication charges imposed on the phone number of the customer with the reserve. .

The customer information of the step (a) of the method of using the mileage reserve as a communication fee further includes credit card information issued to the customer by the credit card company, and the step (c) may include (c1) the credit. The card company server receives and stores the payment amount to be paid by the customer, the credit card number of the customer and the reserve information from the merchant payment device, and (c2) the credit card company server to the member database and the merchant database. Generating authorization information for the payment amount based on the information of the payment amount and providing the authorization information to the affiliated store payment device; and (c3) the credit card company server associates the customer information of the customer, the affiliated store information of the affiliated store with the reserve information. And storing the same.

In addition, in the step (c) of the method of using the mileage reserve as a communication fee, the credit card company server notifies the customer that the reserve has given the reserve to the customer based on the reserve information by telephone of the telephone number of the customer. It may be characterized by further comprising the step.

Credit card company server to use the mileage reserve according to the present invention for solving the above problems as a communication fee is a merchant payment device connected to a communication network including the Internet or a telephone line, a communication company server and the merchant payment through the communication network A credit card company server connected to a device and the telecommunication company server, wherein the telecommunication company server makes use of a reserve provided by the merchant to a predetermined customer at a telecommunication fee provided by the telecommunication company to the customer. Receives customer information including a number, the member management unit for registering the customer as a member and storing it to build and manage a member database, the merchant information including the unique code information of the merchant is provided, the merchant as a member Subscribe and save it Merchant management unit for establishing and managing a blind spot database, receiving and storing the reserve information given to the customer from the merchant from the merchant payment device, and stores the reserve information, along with the telephone number of the customer to the carrier server, The telecommunication company server is characterized in that it comprises a reserve management unit to cover the cost corresponding to the reserve of the communication charges imposed on the phone number of the customer with the reserve.

Hereinafter, after briefly explaining the concept of the present invention, a preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

The present invention is a method for receiving a communication service by using the points (such as mileage, cashbag, etc.) provided by the merchant in accordance with the use of credit cards and cash payments as the user's personal mobile phone or general telephone charges or Internet charges. Examples of the mileage reserve provided by the merchants applied to the present invention relates to a process in which a general consumer pays for the purchase of goods and use of services through the affiliated store, and the merchants accumulate the reserves for the merchant and the card company (VAN) company. Is provided with the provision of reserves according to sales generated from general merchants, the process of providing the corresponding reserve grant information to the telecommunications company, and the telecommunications company free calls to consumers who purchased goods based on the data provided by the card company (VAN). Providing time (The above reserves will be used for As made in the course of processing).

According to the present invention, in the case of offline (Off Line) merchants, press the reserve (point) button of the function of the credit card inquiry machine and then press the mobile phone number of the customer, and then press the amount requested to earn. The data is transferred to the card company (VAN), and the card company (VAN) stores the reserve information and transmits it to the telecommunications company to convert the accumulated amount to the communication fee, and the credited company deposits the credited amount to the telecommunications company. The telecommunications company provides the customer with free talk time as much as the accumulated amount based on the reserve information received from the card company (VAN). On the other hand, the card company receives the deposit amount from the merchant. In the case of an online merchant, when the customer requests a purchase request and the customer wants to replace the deposit with a communication fee, the credited amount is transferred to a card company (VAN). As in the case of transmission to the telecommunications company, and the telecommunications company provides a free communication service to the customer in the above manner. At this time, the card company may pay the amount of the card paid to the affiliated store except for the cost corresponding to the accumulated amount of the card amount paid.

Meanwhile, the method of confirming the accumulated amount of the existing reserves can be confirmed only by visiting the website of the credit card company or by calling the customer center, but according to the present invention, a text message (SMS) is immediately available when the reserve is accumulated. This can be confirmed, and the indirect advertising effect of the merchant can also be expected by displaying the name of the merchant together in a text message. In addition, it is possible to proceed with various events through the above text message.

Figure 1 shows the overall configuration to which the method using the mileage reserve according to the present invention as a communication fee is applied. Referring to FIG. 1, there is a payment device 101, a credit card company server 102, and a communication company server 103 of a card affiliate store.

The payment device 101 of the card merchant performs a function of receiving a predetermined amount from a customer in exchange for a predetermined service or product at the merchant. In addition, at this time, according to the payment amount performs the function of providing the credit card company server 102 with the reserve information given to the customer in the merchant.

The credit card company server 102 (or card company server) receives a predetermined amount of reserve information from the merchant payment device and stores it in association with merchant information and customer information, and stores the reserve information and communication service information of the customer (for example, For example, a telephone number, etc.) to the telecommunication company server 103.

The telecommunication company server 103 is provided with the reserve information and the customer's communication service information (telephone number, etc.) from the card company server 102 corresponding to the above reserves of the charges when the customer uses the communication service related to the communication service information It performs the function of reducing the predetermined amount (replacement of communication fee with reserve).

2 is a reference diagram illustrating the concept of the present invention. First, a customer purchases a predetermined service or product at an online or offline merchant and pays a predetermined amount as a cost thereof. At this time, the card payment can be used, and in some cases cash payment (not shown) is also possible. Thereafter, the merchant gives a predetermined reserve to the customer according to the payment amount and transmits this information to the card company (2). If the customer pays with a credit card, the card payment information is also provided to the credit card company.

The credit card company stores the merchant information, the customer information and the reserve information in association with the above, and informs the customer through a text message or the like that the above reserve is accumulated to the customer (5). In this case, if the name of the merchant is "Gung Joong-ok" and the reserve is "1000 Won", an example of a text message may be "You will receive 1,000 won communication from Gong Joong-ok."

After that, the credit card company provides communication device information such as the telephone number of the customer and the reserve information to the corresponding communication company, and the communication company discounts the predetermined amount corresponding to the above reserve among the communication charges related to the communication device information. (6) to provide telecommunication services.

Figure 3 is a flow chart of a preferred embodiment of the method for using the mileage reserve according to the present invention as a communication fee.

First, the credit card company server receives customer registration, and provides customer information such as the customer's unique code, password, and credit card number and communication device information (telephone number, etc.) that the customer wants to use free of charge. Receive the above customers to join the membership database to build (301). And by selling a predetermined service or product to the above customers to receive a predetermined amount of reserves corresponding to the cost from the merchant to provide the merchant unique code, password, etc. to sign up the merchant to build a merchant database (302) do. At this time, the customer and the merchant can sign up for a credit card company, both online and offline methods.

On the other hand, the customer purchases a predetermined service or product through the merchant and pays for the cost, wherein the merchant's payment device receives the reserve information provided to the customer from the merchant (303), and the unique code of the merchant , Along with the customer's unique code or communication device information (telephone number, etc.) to the credit card company server. At this time, if the customer pays the fee using a credit card, the credit card number information of the customer is provided to the credit card company server together with the above information.

When the customer pays with a credit card, the credit card company server generates (305) the authorization information for the transaction based on the information provided above and the information in the member database and the merchant database and provides it to the payment device of the merchant. In this case, if the customer pays in cash, step 305 may be omitted.

After that, the credit card company server stores the above-mentioned reserve grant information 306 and generates a text message corresponding to the information, and sends a text message request to a predetermined communication company server (for example, in the drawing as a communication company server used by the customer). do. The telecommunication company server sends the above text message (307).

After that, the credit card company server transmits the reserve information to the telecommunication company server used by the customer's communication device (telephone number, etc.), and the telecommunication company server stores the reserve information. After that, when the telecommunication company server charges the customer for the communication fee related to the customer's communication device, the carrier bills only the cost except for the predetermined cost corresponding to the reserve.

Figure 4 is a block diagram of a preferred embodiment of a credit card company server to use the mileage reserve according to the present invention as a communication fee. Credit card company server according to the present invention includes a member management unit 401, merchant management unit 402, reserve management unit 403.

The member management unit 401 receives customer information such as a customer's unique code, password, credit card number, and communication device information (telephone number, etc.) that the customer wants to use free of charge when receiving a member registration from the customer. It provides the function to build member database by joining the above customers.

Merchant management unit 402 is provided with merchants unique code, password, etc. from the merchant to provide to the customer a predetermined amount of money corresponding to the cost while selling a predetermined service or product to the customer to join the merchant member membership database Perform the function to build it.

The reserve management unit 403, when the customer purchases a predetermined service or product through the merchant and pays the cost, reserve information from the merchant's payment device, the unique code of the merchant, the customer's unique code or communication device information Receives and stores a phone number and generates a text message corresponding to the information, and sends a text message request to a predetermined communication company server. Thereafter, the reserve information is transmitted to the carrier server used by the customer's communication device (phone number, etc.).

 At this time, if the customer pays the fee using a credit card, the credit card number information of the customer is further received from the payment device of the merchant, and based on the information provided above and the information in the member database and the merchant database. Generates the approval information for the transaction further performs the function provided to the payment device of the merchant.

In the above it was described in detail a preferred embodiment of the present invention. The scope of protection of the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and all of them are included in the scope of protection of the present invention when the idea of the present invention is applied.

On the other hand, the method of the present invention can be produced as a program by a computer that can be executed by a computer, the computer program can be recorded on a computer-readable recording medium.

According to the present invention, consumers (cardholders and cash purchasers) can be used in real time as well as the concept of reserves that can be used when earning more than a certain percentage, such as the existing mileage or cashbag (cashbag) reserves that were available only at theaters or certain merchants The service is provided through the payment of communication charges such as mobile phones or ordinary telephones or the Internet, which is closely related to real life, and has the advantage of increasing customer satisfaction.In the general merchants in charge of transactions, SMS (text service) provided when recruiting excellent customers and providing communication Through indirect advertising effect can be aimed at to increase sales without additional advertising, and also the card company (VAN) managing such merchants can be formed infrastructure using only the existing server without additional investment cost Also good at more efficient management and recruitment To be increased. In addition, the accumulated mileage reserve has the advantage that can be used by cashing in the affiliates that provided the reserve in addition to the conversion of the communication fee, so that a number of general merchants are effective by avoiding the use of the reserve only in certain affiliates (theatre, family restaurant, etc.) In the long term, it is effective to boost the stagnant domestic economy.

That is, according to the present invention, it is easy to use the accumulated points (mileage credits) through credit card use and cash payment from the point of view of the consumer (buyer or customer), thereby minimizing the damage that can be caused by deleting the mileage credits due to the unused period. Since marketing through mileage reserves can be effective in terms of merchants, it is possible to increase sales by increasing the recognition of excellent customers and increasing the recognition of merchants. It is possible to increase the card payment fee in favor of the general merchant recruitment, and can also expect to increase sales by providing free calls to customers for a certain period from the carrier's point of view.

Claims (5)

Credits given by the merchants to predetermined customers in a merchant payment device connected to a credit card company server through the Internet or a telephone line, the credit card company server and a communication company server connected through a communication network including the Internet and the credit card company server. As a method used by the telecommunications company to provide a communication fee to the customer, (a) the credit card company server receiving customer information including the telephone number of the customer, subscribing the customer as a member and storing it to build a member database; (b) the credit card company server receiving affiliate store information including unique code information of the affiliate store, subscribing to the affiliated store as a member and storing it to build an affiliate store database; (c) the credit card company server receiving and storing the reserve information given to the customer at the affiliated store from the affiliated store payment device; And (d) the credit card company server transmits the reserve information together with the telephone number of the customer to the telecommunication company server, and the cost corresponding to the reserve among the communication charges imposed on the telephone number of the customer by the telecommunication company server as the reserve. A method for using the mileage reserve as a communication fee, characterized in that it comprises a step to cover. The method of claim 1, Of step (a) The customer information further includes credit card information issued to the customer by the credit card company, Step (c) is (c1) the credit card company server receiving and storing the payment amount to be paid by the customer, the credit card number of the customer and the reserve information from the merchant payment device; (c2) generating, by the credit card company server, the authorization information on the payment amount based on the information in the member database and the affiliate database, and providing the authorization information to the affiliated store payment device; And (c3) the credit card company server using the mileage reserve as a communication fee, characterized in that it comprises the step of storing the customer information of the customer, the merchant information of the affiliated store and the reserve information in association. The method of claim 1, wherein step (c) The credit card company server further comprises the step of notifying the customer the telephone number of the telephone number of the customer has given the reserve to the customer on the basis of the reserve information to use the mileage reserve as a communication fee Way. A computer-readable recording medium having recorded thereon a computer program for executing the method of claim 1 to a computer. It is connected to the merchant payment device and the telecommunication company server through a merchant payment device, a telecommunication company server, and the telecommunication network connected to a communication network including the Internet or a telephone line, and the telecommunication company server assigns a predetermined customer to the predetermined customer. As a credit card company server to use the reserve as a communication fee provided to the customer in the communication company, A member manager that receives the customer information including the telephone number of the customer, registers the customer as a member and stores it to build and manage a member database; An affiliate store management unit configured to receive and receive affiliate store information including unique code information of the affiliate store, to register and store the affiliate store as a member, and to build and manage an affiliate store database; Receives and stores reserve information given to the customer in the merchant from the merchant payment device, and transmits the reserve information along with the telephone number of the customer to the telecommunication company server, and the telecommunication company server imposes the telephone number of the customer. Credit card company server to use the mileage reserve as a communication fee, characterized in that it comprises a reserve management unit to cover the expenses corresponding to the reserve of the communication fee to the reserve.

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