KR20120087311A - Method and system for distributing gift certificate - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: A method for distributing gift certificates and a system thereof are provided to use or purchase gift certificates by using an application of a portable terminal. CONSTITUTION: A gift certificate management system(120) receives information about a member store identifier recognized by a user terminal(150). The gift certificate management system receives payment information related to a user using the user terminal from a member store terminal(140). The gift certificate management system calculates points or the remaining balance of a gift certificate of the user based on the payment information.

Description

METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR DISTRIBUTING GIFT CERTIFICATE}

The present invention relates to a method and system for distributing a gift certificate, and more particularly, to a gift certificate distribution method that makes it easier to purchase goods or use services by distributing gift certificates through an application executable in a mobile terminal device. It is about the system.

Recently, various commercial activities have been active, and numerous gift certificates are being distributed. For example, there are many types of gift certificates such as department stores, shoes, education, dining out, tours, tourism, books, culture, and mobile vouchers. Currently, paper vouchers issued by distribution companies and card types issued by financial institutions. Gift certificates are widely used. The distribution system of such gift certificates incurs issuance costs and the like, which requires inconvenience to visit a distributor for purchase. In addition, there is a problem that if you do not have a gift certificate, even if you have purchased a gift certificate, you cannot use the gift certificate.

On the other hand, with the development of electronic communication devices, most people carry a personal mobile terminal, and recently, a smart terminal that adds computer support functions such as internet communication and information retrieval to such a mobile terminal, and can install an application desired by a user. Development of the phone is actively being made.

Therefore, there is an urgent need to develop a technology that makes it easy to purchase and use gift certificates anytime and anywhere by distributing and using them using smart phones that are rapidly spreading around the world.

The present invention aims to solve the above-mentioned problems of the prior art.

In addition, another object of the present invention is to distribute the gift certificate using an application that can be installed in the mobile terminal and to facilitate the purchase activity anytime and anywhere by using the gift certificate.

On the other hand, another object of the present invention is to distribute the vouchers and to use them in the above manner to facilitate the distribution of vouchers and to increase the user's desire to purchase additional benefits in the voucher-related business. .

According to an embodiment of the present invention, receiving information on an affiliated store identifier recognized by a user terminal device, receiving payment information of a user of the user terminal device from a merchant terminal device, based on the payment information A gift certificate distribution method may include providing a residual amount of the user's gift certificate.

Meanwhile, according to one embodiment of the present invention, an identifier information receiver for receiving information on an affiliated store identifier recognized by a user terminal device, and a payment information receiver for receiving payment information of a user of the user terminal device from the affiliated store terminal device. A gift certificate distribution system may be provided that includes a gift certificate management unit that calculates a residual amount of the user's gift certificate based on the payment information.

In addition, according to an embodiment of the present invention, the identifier recognition unit for recognizing the merchant identifier to transmit the recognized information, payment information and payment approval request for the user at the merchant corresponding to the identifier, payment approval A mobile communication terminal device including a payment approval unit for transmitting a signal may be provided.

On the other hand, according to one embodiment of the present invention, there is provided another method for distribution of gift certificates and a computer readable recording medium for recording a computer program for executing such a method.

According to the present invention, since a voucher can be purchased or used using an application that can be installed on a mobile terminal that is always carried, purchase activities can be facilitated anytime and anywhere.

In addition, according to the present invention, by distributing a gift certificate using a rapidly spreading application of the smartphone, the mobile terminal-based business area can also be expanded, and the user's desire to purchase goods can also be increased.

1 is a view schematically showing the overall configuration of a gift certificate distribution system according to an embodiment of the present invention.
2A is a diagram illustrating a detailed configuration of a gift certificate management system according to an embodiment of the present invention.
2B is a diagram illustrating a detailed configuration of a payment execution unit according to an embodiment of the present invention.
3 is a diagram illustrating a detailed configuration of a user terminal device according to an exemplary embodiment.
4 is a view showing a gift certificate distribution process according to an embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION The following detailed description of the invention refers to the accompanying drawings that show, by way of illustration, specific embodiments in which the invention may be practiced. These embodiments are described in sufficient detail to enable those skilled in the art to practice the invention. It should be understood that the various embodiments of the present invention are different, but need not be mutually exclusive. For example, certain features, structures, and characteristics described herein may be implemented in other embodiments without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention in connection with an embodiment. It is also to be understood that the position or arrangement of the individual components within each disclosed embodiment may be varied without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. The following detailed description is, therefore, not to be taken in a limiting sense, and the scope of the present invention is to be limited only by the appended claims, along with the full scope of equivalents to which such claims are entitled, if properly explained. Like reference numerals in the drawings refer to the same or similar functions throughout the several aspects.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings so that those skilled in the art can easily implement the present invention.

[Preferred Embodiment of the Present Invention]

The term "gift certificate" in the present invention refers to a mileage card that can be used in place of cash after purchasing an item or using a service at a predetermined merchant, and can be used instead of cash by earning a method such as purchasing an item or using a service. Therefore, it should be understood as a generic term for all kinds of securities, etc., which have a certain face value and which can be used as a trading means by replacing cash.

Configuration of the entire system

1 is a view schematically showing the configuration of an entire system for distributing a mobile gift certificate according to an embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 1, the entire system of the present invention includes a communication network 100, a gift certificate issuer terminal device 110, a gift certificate management system 120, a value added network (VAN) server 130, and an affiliated store. The terminal device 140 may be configured to include a user terminal device 150.

First, the communication network 100 may be configured regardless of communication modes such as wired and wireless, and may include a local area network (LAN), a metropolitan area network (MAN), and a wide area network (WAN). Network). Preferably, the communication network 100 according to the present invention may be a known World Wide Web (WWW). Meanwhile, a communication network used for communication between the affiliated store terminal device 140 and the value-added communication network server 130 may perform communication between other devices (for example, communication between the user terminal device 150 and the gift certificate management system 120). The communication network 100 may be a different type of communication network (for example, a VAN network), but for convenience of description, the term communication network 100 will be used to mean all types of communication networks.

The gift certificate issuer terminal device 110 according to an embodiment of the present invention provides various gift certificate information to the gift certificate management system 120 and issues a gift certificate that is a purchase target of the user. The owner of the gift certificate issuer may access the gift certificate management system 120 through the gift certificate issuer terminal device 110 to inquire the sales performance of the gift certificate provided by him or her, and supply the quantity of the gift certificate that has been sold or provide a new gift certificate. And the like. Payment for the gift certificate provided by the gift certificate issuer may be made by the gift certificate management system 120, and various known methods may be used as the payment method. The gift certificate issuer terminal device 110 is a terminal device provided in a gift certificate issuer, and one or more terminal devices 110 may communicate with the gift certificate management system 120. The terminal device 110 is a digital device that allows a gift voucher owner to communicate after connecting to the gift voucher management system 120, a personal computer (for example, a desktop computer, a laptop computer, etc.), a workstation, a PDA, Any digital device having memory means such as a web pad or a mobile phone and having a microprocessor can be used as the gift certificate issuer terminal device 110 according to the present invention. In addition, the gift voucher issuer terminal device 110 may further include a user interface providing module (not shown) which allows the gift voucher issuer to access the gift voucher management system 120 to execute various functions.

The gift certificate management system 120 according to an embodiment of the present invention receives a variety of gift certificates from the gift certificate issuer terminal device 110 and provides the same to the user terminal device 150. In addition, the user terminal device 150 has received a gift voucher to pay the price associated with the purchase of the gift voucher, when the user purchased the goods in the merchant with the voucher purchased or used the service, the merchant terminal device 140 Receives goods purchase information or service usage information of the user from the terminal, and receives information on the merchant identifier recognized by the user terminal device 150 and / or identifier information of the application that enables the user terminal device 150 can be recognized. To match them. After the matching, the current user purchase information or service usage information and information on the amount to be paid is transmitted to the user terminal device 150, and when the approval signal is transmitted through the user terminal device 150, the final payment approval information To the merchant terminal device 140 through the value-added communication network server 130. On the other hand, each user also manages the vouchers purchased and held, and when the merchant pays the amount related to the purchase of goods or the use of the service, the user continuously calculates the amount of the voucher from the value of the voucher that the user currently has. Can manage In this case, points and the like may be used for settlement instead of the amount of money. The calculated information may be transmitted to the user. As described above, the gift certificate management system 120 according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention is a system that performs a function of managing a distribution process such as gift certificate sales and product purchase through the gift certificate. The detailed configuration and function of the gift certificate management system 120 will be described later in detail.

The value-added communication network server 130 according to an embodiment of the present invention performs a function of relaying communication between the gift certificate management system 120, the merchant terminal device 140, and the gift certificate management system 120. As described above, when a user purchases goods or uses a service at a merchant, the user terminal purchases information or service usage information and information on the amount or points to be paid from the merchant terminal device 140. ) May be transmitted to the gift certificate management system 120. In addition, after payment is completed, information related to payment approval may be transmitted from the gift certificate management system 120 to the affiliated store terminal device 140 through the value-added communication network server 130. For convenience of explanation, the gift certificate management system 120 and the value-added communication network server 130 are described as being different components, but the gift certificate management system 120 and the value-added communication network server 130 may be included in the same system or server. It may be implemented in one system or server.

Merchant terminal device 140 according to an embodiment of the present invention is a POS (Point Of Sale) terminal, a credit authorization terminal (CAT) or EMV (Europay, Master, Visa) It may be a terminal or the like, but may be a different type of payment terminal device. The affiliated store terminal device 140 according to an embodiment of the present invention transmits the information about the goods purchased by the user or the service used and / or information about the payment amount to the gift certificate management system 120 through the value-added communication network server 130. And a payment approval request for this. To this end, the affiliated store terminal device 140 may provide a user interface that allows the merchant owner to input information about a user's purchased goods or a service and / or information about a payment amount thereof. Merchants may enter the payment information by pressing the "gift voucher payment key" through the user interface to distinguish from the usual payment process. In addition, the display apparatus may include a display device (not shown) for displaying such a user interface and allowing the merchant owner to input various information through the corresponding user interface.

The affiliated store having the affiliated store terminal device 140 according to an embodiment of the present invention may have a unique identifier. The affiliated store identifier may be attached to the affiliated store terminal device 140 or may be provided at a different location to identify the affiliated store or the affiliated store terminal device 140. Such an identifier may be in the form of a one-dimensional or two-dimensional barcode, for example. In addition, it may be a different radio frequency identification (RFID) tag, a near field communication (NFC) tag, or an identifier capable of wireless recognition in a different manner. The identifier may include information about the merchant, for example, a merchant code, a merchant location or a merchant name. After the user purchases an item or uses a service at the affiliated store and recognizes the unique identifier of the affiliated store through the user terminal device 150, the recognized information may be transmitted to the gift certificate management system 120. At this time, the gift certificate management system 120 matches the information transmitted from the user terminal device 150 with the purchase information or service usage information of the user transmitted from the merchant terminal device 140 and the payment amount information for the payment amount Transmits information about the to the user terminal device 150. When the approval signal is received from the user terminal device 150, the gift certificate management system 120 transmits the payment approval information to the merchant terminal device 140, the merchant terminal device 140 at this time receives a receipt that the payment has been completed You can output it to the user. To this end, the affiliated store terminal device 140 may include a receipt output means (not shown).

The user terminal device 150 according to an embodiment of the present invention enables a user to search for a gift certificate and purchase a gift certificate, and can recognize and recognize information on a unique identifier of the affiliated store recognized when purchasing an item or using a service at a merchant. It transmits the information about the identifier of the application to the gift certificate management system 120. To this end, the user terminal device 150 may include a predetermined identifier recognizer 154. The user terminal device 150 receives a payment authorization request from the gift certificate management system 120 and information about a payment amount to be paid by the user at the affiliate store corresponding to the recognized identifier, and transmits an approval signal thereto to complete the payment. It also performs a function. The detailed configuration and function of the user terminal device 150 will be described later in detail.

User terminal device 150 according to an embodiment of the present invention is a digital device that allows the user to communicate after connecting to the gift certificate management system 120, a personal computer (for example, desktop computer, laptop computer, etc.) As long as a digital device having a memory means such as a workstation, a PDA, a web pad, a mobile phone, and the like with a microprocessor can be used as the user terminal device 150 according to the present invention.

Hereinafter, the detailed configuration and operation of the gift certificate management system 120 which is the main characteristic configuration of the present invention will be described in detail.

Gift Certificate Management System

2A is a diagram illustrating a detailed configuration of a gift certificate management system 120 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 2A, the gift certificate management system 120 according to the present invention includes a gift certificate sales unit 121, an identifier information receiver 122, a payment information receiver 123, a payment performer 124, and a gift certificate manager 125. It may be configured to include a gift certificate database 126, merchant ID database 127, the communication unit 128, the control unit 129. According to an embodiment of the present invention, the gift certificate sales unit 121, identifier information receiving unit 122, payment information receiving unit 123, payment performing unit 124, gift certificate management unit 125, gift certificate database 126, merchant identifier The database 127, the communication unit 128, and the control unit 129 may be program modules in which at least some of them communicate with the gift certificate issuer terminal device 110, the merchant terminal device 140, or the user terminal device 150. Such program modules may be included in the gift certificate management system 120 in the form of an operating system, an application program module, and other program modules, and may be physically stored on various known storage devices. In addition, such program modules may be stored in a remote storage device that can communicate with the gift certificate management system 120. On the other hand, such program modules include, but are not limited to, routines, subroutines, programs, objects, components, data structures, etc. that perform particular tasks or execute particular abstract data types, described below, in accordance with the present invention.

First, the gift certificate sales unit 121 performs a function of selling a gift certificate provided from one or more gift certificate issuer terminal devices 110 to a user. As described above, a user may search for and purchase a gift certificate handled by the gift certificate management system 120 through a web search or a search through an application. The gift certificate sales unit 121 may provide the user terminal device 150 with information (such as the type of gift certificate, the issuer of the gift certificate, the price of the gift certificate, etc.) regarding the handled gift certificate to the user terminal device 150. When the purchase request for a specific gift certificate is received from the user terminal device 150, a payment information input window for purchasing the gift certificate is provided. When a user selects a payment method in the provided payment information input window and inputs payment information, payment completion information is transmitted from a separate payment server (for example, a credit card company server, etc.) to the gift certificate management system 120, and the gift certificate sales unit 121 confirms that payment has been completed.

The gift certificate sales unit 121 may transmit a gift certificate purchase completion message to the user terminal device 150. The purchase completion message may include link information about a web page for downloading an application corresponding to the gift certificate. The user who has received the purchase completion message can go to a web page where the application can be downloaded through the link information included in the purchase completion message, and download and install the application. Meanwhile, the gift certificate sales unit 121 may receive identification information of the user terminal device 150 to which a purchase completion message is transmitted after payment for the gift certificate is completed. To this end, the gift certificate sales unit 121 may provide an input window for inputting identification information. A user may input identification information of his or her user terminal device 150 or identification information of another user's user terminal device 150. By inputting identification information of another user's user terminal device 150, the user may present a gift certificate purchased by the user to another user. The identification information of the user terminal device 150 may be, for example, a phone number of the user terminal device 150.

When the user moves to a predetermined web page through the link information included in the purchase completion message, the application may be transmitted from the gift certificate sales unit 121 to the user terminal device 150. Such an application activates the identifier recognition unit 154 of the user terminal device 150 so that the user terminal device 150 can recognize the identifier of the affiliated store terminal device 140, and the information on the recognized identifier is stored in the gift certificate management system. Perform a function to be transmitted to (120). In addition, it may provide a function that allows a user to search for and purchase a gift certificate. On the other hand, the payment approval to the user terminal device 150 based on the goods purchase information, service usage information or payment information of the user received from the merchant terminal device 140, the identifier information received from the user terminal device 150 In this case, the information related to the payment approval request may be displayed and the user may input the payment approval information. For example, the user may transmit a payment approval intention to the gift certificate management system 120 by pressing a "payment approval" button displayed through the corresponding application. Applications may vary by type of gift certificate, and each application may contain a unique identifier. The gift certificate management system 120 that receives the application identifier together with the affiliate store identifier information from the user terminal device 150 may identify the user terminal device 150 that has transmitted the corresponding information from the application identifier.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the gift certificate sales unit 121 matches the information on the gift certificate purchased by the user or received from another user with the information on the identifier of the user terminal device 150 of the corresponding user. Store in

The identifier information receiver 122 according to an embodiment of the present invention receives information about an affiliated store identifier and information on an application identifier from the user terminal device 150. As described above, the user executes an application corresponding to the gift certificate available at the affiliate store through the user terminal device 150 to activate the identifier recognition unit 154 and recognizes the affiliate store identifier to recognize the information and the gift certificate management system 120. Can be sent to. In addition, the identification information of the corresponding application may be transmitted together.

The payment information receiving unit 123 according to an embodiment of the present invention receives the user purchase information, service usage information, or information on a payment amount thereof from the merchant terminal device 140. The merchant owner may input information about the goods purchased or the service used by the user and the amount to be paid by the user through the merchant terminal device 140 to transmit the corresponding information to the gift certificate management system 120. In addition, a payment approval request may be transmitted from the affiliated store terminal device 140 at this time.

The payment performing unit 124 according to an embodiment of the present invention functions to perform payment by matching the information transmitted from the identifier information receiving unit 122 and the payment information receiving unit 123.

Referring to FIG. 2B, the payment execution unit 124 may include a payment approval request unit 124a and a payment completion information transmission unit 124b.

The payment approval request unit 124a requests the payment information approval from the user terminal device 150 by matching the information transmitted from the identifier information receiver 122 and the payment information receiver 123. When matching, the affiliated store identifier database 127 may be referred to. The merchant identifier database 127 may store information about the merchant identifier. The payment approval request unit 124a may refer to the information to determine the user based on the information about the identifier transmitted from the user terminal device 150. The affiliated store that is currently visited may be checked, and the information transmitted from the affiliated store terminal device 140 of the affiliated store may be identified as the current goods purchase information or service usage information of the corresponding user. For example, when a user "A" purchases an item "C" at a merchant "B" and recognizes a merchant identifier "b" through the user terminal device 150, The information is sent to the gift certificate management system 120. On the other hand, the owner of the "B" merchant stores the gift certificate management system 120 by inputting the information about the item ("C") purchased by the user or information about the amount of 10,000 won to be paid through the merchant terminal device 140 Can be sent. Merchant identifier database 127 stores the information "b" is the identifier of the "B" merchant, payment approval request unit 124a is to send this information and the identifier "b" transmitted from the user terminal device 150 With reference to this, the user may determine that he or she is currently visiting an affiliated store "B", and with reference to the information transmitted from the affiliated store terminal device 140 of the "B" affiliated user, the user "A" is finally referred to as "b". It is possible to generate information indicating that the "C" item is purchased at the merchant "B" having the identifier, or payment information indicating that the current payment is 10,000 won. When payment information is generated by this process, the payment approval request unit 124a transmits the generated payment information to the user terminal device 150 and asks whether to approve the payment.

That is, the user requests a payment approval based on the generated information. At this time, the payment approval requesting unit 124a refers to the gift certificate database 126, and the remaining amount of the gift certificate corresponding to the user's gift certificate, that is, the gift certificate corresponding to the identifier information of the application currently executed by the user terminal device 150, and the present value. When the remaining amount of the gift certificate is relatively small by comparing the amount to be paid, the corresponding information may be transmitted to the user terminal device 150. For example, a warning that payment is impossible due to lack of the remaining amount may be transmitted to the user terminal device 150. In addition, the user terminal device 150 may be sent information about the recommended gift certificate, etc. to induce the user to purchase the gift certificate. If the remaining amount of the gift certificate is sufficient, the user can check the payment information displayed on the user terminal device 150 to check whether the information about the goods or services used and the amount to be paid are correct and approve payment. have. For example, a window may be displayed on a gift certificate application executed by the user terminal device 150, and the user may approve the payment by pressing a "payment approval" button.

When the payment approval information is received from the user terminal device 150, the payment completion information transmitter 124b may transmit payment completion information indicating that payment is completed to the affiliated store terminal device 140. In addition, the information may be transmitted to the user terminal device 150.

When the payment is completed, the gift certificate manager 125 subtracts the currently paid amount from the remaining amount of the gift certificate corresponding to the identifier information of the gift certificate application currently used by the corresponding user when purchasing or using the service. Update the information and provide the updated information to the user terminal device 150. Alternatively, points that are currently used for payment may be subtracted from the current remaining points. These points may be points earned by a user purchasing goods or using services at a merchant, or may be points obtained without going through a separate purchase process. Through this, the user can check the information on the gift certificate and the remaining amount or the remaining points of the gift certificate. If the remaining amount of the gift certificate is less than or equal to a predetermined amount, the gift certificate manager 125 transmits a warning message to the user terminal device 150 or induces the purchase of additional gift certificate (for example, gift certificate recommendation information or the like). ) May be provided.

The communication unit 128 according to an embodiment of the present invention receives information on the purchase of goods or use of a service and information on a payment amount from the merchant terminal device 140, and the merchant terminal device 140 from the user terminal device 150. Receives an identifier and payment approval information of the), and transmits the payment completion information to the merchant terminal device 140 and the user terminal device 150. In general, the communication unit 128 may perform a function of allowing the gift certificate management system 120 according to the present invention to communicate with an external device such as the affiliated store terminal device 140 and the user terminal device 150.

On the other hand, the control unit 129 according to an embodiment of the present invention is a gift certificate sales unit 121, the application provider 122, payment information generation unit 123, approval information transmission unit 124, gift certificate management unit 125, The gift certificate database 126, the merchant identifier database 127, and the communication unit 128 may control a flow of data. That is, the control unit 129 according to the present invention controls the flow of data between the components of the gift certificate management system 120, thereby, the gift certificate sales unit 121, the application provider 122, payment information generation unit 123, The approval information transmitter 124, the gift certificate manager 125, the gift certificate database 126, the merchant ID database 127, and the communication unit 128 may control to perform unique functions.

Hereinafter, the detailed configuration and operation of the user terminal device according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail.

User terminal device

3 is a diagram illustrating a detailed configuration of a user terminal device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 3, the user terminal device 150 of the present invention includes a web browser driving unit 151, a message transmitting and receiving unit 152, an application driving unit 153, an identifier recognition unit 154, and a payment approval unit 155. ), An input unit 156, a display unit 157, a communication unit 158, and a controller 159 may be configured.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the web browser driver 151, the message transceiver 152, the application driver 153, the identifier recognizer 154, payment approval unit 155, input unit 156, display unit ( 157, the communication unit 158, and the control unit 159 may be program modules in which at least some of them communicate with the gift certificate management system 120. Such program modules may be included in the user terminal device 150 in the form of an operating system, an application module, and other program modules, and may be physically stored on various known storage devices. In addition, these program modules may be stored in a remote storage device that can communicate with the user terminal device 150. On the other hand, such program modules include, but are not limited to, routines, subroutines, programs, objects, components, data structures, etc. that perform particular tasks or execute particular abstract data types, described below, in accordance with the present invention.

The user terminal device 150 may search for a gift certificate through various methods and purchase the searched gift certificate.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, a user may search and purchase a gift certificate by performing a web search through a web browser driven by the web browser driver 151. For example, by entering a predetermined keyword (for example, "convenience store gift certificate" or "coffee shop gift certificate", etc.) into a predetermined portal site, a gift certificate can be searched and a searched gift certificate can be purchased. When the user requests the purchase of a predetermined gift certificate, the gift certificate management system 120 may provide the user terminal device 150 with a payment information input window for the price of the purchased gift certificate, and the user may provide the payment information through the gift certificate management system 120. You can purchase a gift certificate by entering it. For example, the gift certificate management system 120 may provide a credit card information input window, and a user may input credit card information to make a payment, at which time the credit card company server (not shown) Gift certificate purchase is completed by transmitting the relevant information to the gift certificate management system 120. However, according to another exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the user may search for and purchase a gift certificate through a predetermined gift certificate search application executed by the application driver 153. The application may be provided from the gift certificate management system 120 or the gift certificate issuer terminal device 110, or may be an application unique to the user terminal device 150. The payment process for the gift certificate may be performed in the same manner as the purchase of the gift certificate through a web search.

Meanwhile, according to another exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the user may search and purchase a desired gift certificate by performing a web search through another terminal (for example, a personal PC, etc.) other than the user terminal device 150, and may purchase a gift certificate at an offline store or the like. You can also buy it.

The message transmitting and receiving unit 152 according to an embodiment of the present invention performs a function of receiving a purchase completion message from the gift certificate management system 120 that the purchase of a gift certificate is completed. When payment for the gift certificate is completed, the gift certificate management system 120 receives payment approval information and transmits a purchase completion message for the purchase of the gift certificate to the user, and the purchase completion message may be transmitted in the form of a short message service (SMS). Can be. The purchase completion message may include link information about a web page for downloading an application related to the purchased gift certificate.

Meanwhile, the user may input identification information (for example, a telephone number, etc.) of the terminal device 150 to which the purchase completion message including the link information is transmitted through the input unit 156 before receiving the purchase completion message. have. The input identification information of the user terminal device 150 may be transmitted to the gift certificate management system 120, and the gift certificate management system 120 sends a gift certificate purchase completion message to the user terminal device 150 corresponding to the transmitted identification information. Can transmit Gift vouchers can also be presented by transmitting the vouchers purchased in this way to the terminal device 150 of another user. According to an embodiment of the present invention, the user may purchase a gift certificate at an offline store or the like, or may purchase a gift certificate through a personal PC. In this case, the terminal device 150 identification information of the user or another user may be obtained according to a conventional method. The purchase completion message including the application download link information may be transmitted to the user terminal device 150 by transmitting to the gift certificate management system 120.

The application driver 153 according to an embodiment of the present invention drives an application corresponding to the gift certificate purchased by the user. When the purchase completion message is transmitted to the user terminal device 150, the user can move to a web page where the application necessary for using the gift certificate can be downloaded through the link information included therein, and the application is downloaded from the web page. It can be installed in the device 150. The application may be provided by the gift certificate management system 120. Meanwhile, as described above, the application may include a unique identifier for each application corresponding to each gift certificate. This identifier may be an identifier capable of simultaneously identifying the application and the user terminal device 150.

The identifier recognizer 154 according to an embodiment of the present invention performs a function of recognizing an identifier of an affiliate store. When the affiliated store identifier is in the form of a one-dimensional or two-dimensional barcode, a camera module or the like capable of photographing the barcode may function as the identifier recognizer 154. On the other hand, when the merchant identifier is in the form of an RFID tag, the identifier recognizer 154 may be an RFID reader, and when the merchant identifier is an NFC tag, the identifier recognizer 154 may be an NFC chip. In addition, an identifier of a different type may be used as the merchant identifier, and the identifier recognizer 154 may be a module of various types capable of recognizing the identifier. When a user visits an affiliated store and executes an application related to a gift certificate to be used, the application driver 152 drives the corresponding application. At this time, the identifier recognizer 154 may be activated, and if the merchant identifier is recognized through the identifier recognizer 154, the corresponding application may transmit information about the recognized identifier to the gift certificate management system 120. do. At this time, the application may transmit the unique identifier information of the application to the gift certificate management system 120 together. As a result, the gift certificate management system may recognize the user who has transmitted the information about the affiliated store identifier and the terminal device 150. The identifier of the affiliated store recognized through the identifier recognizer 154 may be displayed through the display unit 157.

The payment approval unit 155 according to an embodiment of the present invention receives a payment approval request from the gift certificate management system 120 together with information about a payment amount to be paid by the current user. As described above, the gift certificate management system 120 receives the information on the purchase of goods, service usage information or information on payment of the user from the merchant terminal device 140, and transmits the information on the identifier of the corresponding merchant. It transmits to one user terminal device 150. The user may confirm item purchase information or service usage information and payment amount information thereof through the display unit 157 and approve payment through the input unit 156. The payment approval unit 155 transmits a payment approval signal according to a user's input to the gift certificate management system 120. When the payment approval signal is transmitted, the gift certificate management system 120 may perform payment and transmit information related to payment completion to the user terminal device 150.

The communication unit 158 according to an embodiment of the present invention may perform a function for enabling a communication function between the gift certificate management system 120 and the user terminal device 150.

On the other hand, the control unit 159 according to an embodiment of the present invention is a web browser driver 151, a message transceiver 152, an application driver 153, an identifier recognizer 154, payment approval unit 155, input unit 156, the display unit 157 and the communication unit 158 control the flow of data. That is, the control unit 159 according to the present invention controls the flow of data between the components of the user terminal device 150, the web browser driver 151, the message transmitting and receiving unit 152, the application driver 153, the identifier The recognition unit 154, the payment approval unit 155, the input unit 156, the display unit 157, and the communication unit 158 may be controlled to perform unique functions.

Hereinafter, the mobile voucher distribution process according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described.

Gift Certificate Distribution Process

4 is a diagram illustrating a distribution process of a mobile gift certificate according to an embodiment of the present invention.

First, a gift certificate search and a purchase request for a specific gift certificate may be transmitted from the user terminal device 150 to the gift certificate management system 120 (S410). When the payment associated with the purchase of the gift certificate is completed, the gift certificate management system 120 may transmit a purchase completion message to the user terminal device 150 (S420), and the user may access a predetermined web page through link information included in the purchase completion message. After accessing (S430), an application corresponding to the purchased gift certificate may be downloaded (S440). Although the application is illustrated as being transmitted through a web page operated by the gift certificate management system 120, the application may be transmitted through a web page operated by the gift voucher issuer. The user terminal device 150 may install the corresponding application (S450).

When the user visits the affiliated store and purchases an item or uses a service, the affiliated store owner inputs an item purchase, service use information, or a corresponding payment amount through the affiliated store terminal device 140 (S460). The input information and the payment approval request may be transmitted together to the gift certificate management system 120 through the value-added communication network server 130 (S470). In addition, the user recognizes the unique identifier of the affiliated store through the identifier recognition unit 151 after executing the gift certificate application to the user terminal device 150. The gift certificate application executed at this time is preferably an application corresponding to the gift certificate available in the merchant. The information on the merchant identifier recognized through the user terminal device 150 and the identifier information of the currently running application are transmitted to the gift certificate management system 120 (S480). The gift certificate management system 120 matches the information transmitted from the affiliated store terminal device 140 and the user terminal device 150 to determine which merchants used which goods or services to use and how much to pay. Generates information about The approval request is transmitted to the user terminal device 150 together with the generated payment information (S490). The user may confirm payment after confirming the transmitted payment information, and the payment approval may be transmitted to the gift certificate management system 120 (S500). The gift certificate management system 120 receiving the payment approval information confirms the payment completion and transmits the information about the payment completion to the user terminal device 150 and the affiliated store terminal device 140 (S510). The merchant terminal device 140 receiving the payment completion information issues a receipt to the user (S520). After the payment is completed, the gift certificate management system 120 performs the settlement by subtracting the current payment amount from the remaining amount of the gift certificate to update the information of the gift certificate (S530), and transmits the updated information to the user terminal device 150 ( S540), so that the user can check the information of the gift certificate owned or the remaining amount of the gift certificate.

The embodiments of the present invention described above can be implemented in the form of program instructions that can be executed through various computer components and recorded on a computer-readable recording medium. The computer-readable recording medium may include program commands, data files, data structures, and the like, alone or in combination. Program instructions recorded on the computer-readable recording medium may be those specially designed and configured for the present invention, or may be known and available to those skilled in the computer software arts. Examples of computer-readable recording media include magnetic media such as hard disks, floppy disks and magnetic tape, optical recording media such as CD-ROMs, DVDs, and magneto-optical media such as floptical disks. media), and hardware devices specifically configured to store and execute program instructions, such as ROM, RAM, flash memory, and the like. Examples of program instructions include not only machine code generated by a compiler, but also high-level language code that can be executed by a computer using an interpreter or the like. The hardware device may be configured to operate as one or more software modules to perform the process according to the invention, and vice versa.

Although the present invention has been described by specific embodiments such as specific components and the like, but the embodiments and the drawings are provided to assist in a more general understanding of the present invention, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments. For those skilled in the art, various modifications and variations can be made from these descriptions.

Therefore, the spirit of the present invention should not be construed as being limited to the above-described embodiments, and all of the equivalents or equivalents of the claims, as well as the following claims, I will say.

110: gift certificate issuer terminal device
120: gift certificate management system
130: value added network server
140: the merchant terminal device
150: user terminal device
121: gift certificate sales department
122: identifier information receiving unit
123: payment information receiving unit
124: payment performer
125: gift certificate management
126: Gift Certificate Database
127: Merchant identifier database
124a: Payment authorization request
124b: payment completion information transmission unit
151: web browser driver
152: message transceiver
153: application driver
154: identifier recognition unit
155: payment approval
156: input unit
157: display unit

Claims (34)

(a) receiving information on an affiliated store identifier recognized by the user terminal device;
(b) receiving payment information of a user of the user terminal device from a merchant terminal device; And
(c) calculating the remaining amount or points of the user's gift certificate based on the payment information. The method of claim 1,
The step (a)
And receiving information on the identifier recognized through the identifier recognizer of the user terminal device. The method of claim 2,
The identifier is formed of at least one of a one-dimensional barcode, two-dimensional barcode, a Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tag or a Near Field Communication (NFC) tag,
The identifier recognition unit is a gift certificate distribution method consisting of at least one of a camera module, RFID reader, NFC chip. The method of claim 1,
The payment information comprises at least one of the user purchase information, service usage information, information about the amount to be paid for the gift certificate distribution method. The method of claim 1,
The step (c)
Transmitting a payment approval request along with the payment information to the user terminal device; And
Receiving a payment approval from the user terminal device, and transmitting information on the completion of payment to the merchant terminal device and the user terminal device. The method of claim 1,
Before the step (a)
Receiving a purchase request for the gift certificate from the user terminal device;
Performing a payment for the gift certificate requested for purchase; And
And transmitting the application corresponding to the gift certificate to the user terminal device. The method of claim 6,
The application is a gift certificate distribution method that is an application that enables the recognition of the merchant identifier and the transmission of information on the recognized identifier. The method of claim 6,
The step (a)
And receiving information on the identifier of the application together with the information on the merchant identifier. The method of claim 6,
After the payment step,
Transmitting a purchase completion message for the gift certificate to the user terminal device;
The purchase completion message is a gift certificate distribution method including link information for a web page that can receive the application. 10. The method of claim 9,
The application transmission step,
And transmitting a purchase completion message for the gift certificate to a user terminal device corresponding to the identification information received from the user terminal device. The method of claim 10,
The identification information is a telephone number distribution method. An identifier information receiver configured to receive information about an affiliated store identifier recognized by the user terminal device;
A payment information receiver configured to receive payment information of a user of the user terminal device from the affiliated store terminal device; And
A gift certificate distribution system including a gift certificate management unit for calculating the remaining amount or points for the gift certificate of the user based on the payment information. The method of claim 12,
And the identifier is recognized through an identifier recognition unit of the user terminal device. The method of claim 13,
The identifier is formed of at least one of a one-dimensional barcode, two-dimensional barcode, RFID tag or NFC tag,
The identifier recognition unit is a gift certificate distribution system consisting of at least one of a camera module, RFID reader, NFC chip. The method of claim 12,
The payment information includes a gift voucher distribution system comprising at least one of information about the purchase of goods, service usage information, the amount of money to be paid. The method of claim 12,
A payment approval request unit which transmits a payment approval request together with the payment information to the user terminal device; And
Receiving a payment approval from the user terminal device, further comprising a payment execution unit including a payment completion information transmitting unit for transmitting the information on the payment completion to the merchant terminal device and the user terminal device. The method of claim 12,
Receiving a purchase request for the gift certificate from the user terminal device, the gift certificate distribution system further comprises a gift voucher sales unit for performing a payment for the purchase request gift certificate, and transmits the application corresponding to the gift certificate to the user terminal device. . 18. The method of claim 17,
The application is a gift certificate distribution system that is an application that enables the recognition of the merchant identifier and the transmission of the information on the recognized identifier. 18. The method of claim 17,
And the identifier information receiving unit receives the information on the identifier of the application together with the information on the merchant identifier. 18. The method of claim 17,
The gift certificate sales unit transmits a purchase completion message for the gift certificate to the user terminal device, and the purchase completion message includes link information on a web page capable of receiving the application. 21. The method of claim 20,
The gift certificate sales unit transmits a purchase completion message for the gift certificate to a user terminal device corresponding to the identification information received from the user terminal device. The method of claim 21,
And the identification information is a telephone number. An identifier recognizing unit for recognizing an affiliate store identifier and transmitting the recognized information; And
And a payment approval unit configured to receive payment information and a payment approval request for a user at an affiliate store corresponding to the identifier, and transmit a payment approval signal. The method of claim 23, wherein
And the payment approval unit transmits the payment approval signal to settle the remaining amount or points for the gift certificate of the user. The method of claim 23, wherein
The identifier is formed of at least one of a one-dimensional barcode, two-dimensional barcode, RFID tag or NFC tag,
The identifier recognition unit is a mobile communication terminal device comprising at least one of a camera module, an RFID reader, an NFC chip. The method of claim 23, wherein
The payment information includes at least one of the user's goods purchase information, service usage information, information about the amount to be paid. 25. The method of claim 24,
A web browser driver for executing a web browser to enable searching for the gift certificate; And
The mobile communication terminal device further comprises an application driver for receiving and driving the application corresponding to the purchased gift certificate. 28. The method of claim 27,
And the application is an application that enables the affiliated store identifier recognition and the transmission of information on the recognized identifier. 28. The method of claim 27,
And the identifier recognizing unit transmits information on the identifier of the application together with the information on the merchant identifier. 28. The method of claim 27,
Further comprising a message transceiver for receiving a purchase completion message for the gift certificate,
The purchase completion message includes a link information for a web page that can receive the application. 31. The method of claim 30,
And an input unit for allowing a user to input identification information of a user terminal device to which a purchase completion message for the gift certificate is to be transmitted. 32. The method of claim 31,
And said identification information is a telephone number. 25. The method of claim 24,
And a display unit for receiving and displaying information on payment completion or information on the gift certificate for which the settlement is completed. A computer-readable recording medium for recording a computer program for executing the method according to any one of claims 1 to 11.

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