WO2015105181A1 - Currency management device, currency management method, and program - Google Patents

Abstract

The purpose of the present invention is to perform payment of consideration for goods or services in a desired type of company-specific currency or exchange currency in each of the countries of the world. Provided is a currency management device in which a settlement currency identification unit (212) identifies a type of exchange currency that is specified for use in settlement by a customer (U) from among a plurality of types of exchange currency as a settlement currency by communicating with a store terminal (20) that receives a credit card and a card medium (C). A consideration recognition unit (213) recognizes an amount of consideration for goods or services as an amount of the settlement currency. A billing processing unit (211) distinguishes between a part of the amount of consideration that is to be paid by credit card and a part of the amount of consideration that is to be paid by the card medium (C) and controls the execution of billing processing. When, for example, consideration is to be paid using a combination of the card medium (C) and the credit card, the billing processing unit (211) subtracts a converted amount of the settlement currency that corresponds to the part that is to be paid using the card medium (C) from the amount of consideration that is recognized in the settlement currency, identifies the amount remaining after subtraction as the amount to be paid by credit card, and settles the result as an amount of the settlement currency.

Description

Currency management apparatus, currency management method and program

The present invention relates to a currency management device, a currency management method, and a program.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, electronic money cards for managing a corporate currency such as electronic money have been distributed along with the spread of small-value settlement in electronic commerce. Such an electronic money card stores information on corporate currency in association with it, and the holder of the electronic money card can easily pay with electronic money via an IC chip built in the electronic money card. It can be carried out.
In order to disseminate such payments in corporate currency, Patent Document 1 describes that headquarters such as convenience stores in each country cooperate to construct the same system and provide services using electronic money. (For example, refer to Patent Document 1).

In recent years, electronic money cards and credit cards can be used together to pay for goods or services.

JP 2008-282368 A

However, in the past, when electronic money cards were used, payments were often made in the currency of the issuing country, and the currency in the country other than the issuing country was different, making it very difficult to use in multiple countries. Met.
Conventionally, when a credit card is used, the payment is made in the currency of the country where the payment was made. For this reason, when the credit card is charged in another exchange currency, it is converted into the other exchange currency at a later date. In this case, the exchange rate is not at the time of payment, but at a predetermined time thereafter (for example, a predetermined day of the next month when the payment is made), and some payers may feel unfair. . In addition, with the rapid globalization, it is expected that many people will have multiple credit cards that are charged in different types of exchange currencies.

The present invention has been made in view of such a situation, and an object of the present invention is to make it possible to pay for the price of goods or services in a desired type of corporate currency or exchange currency in various countries around the world.

In order to achieve the above object, a currency management device according to one aspect of the present invention provides:
A communication means for performing communication between a terminal that accepts a credit card and a storage medium in which a predetermined amount of a corporate currency is associated in advance as a medium for payment of consideration for goods or services;
Payment currency specifying means for specifying, as a payment currency, a type designated by the payer for payment from a plurality of types of exchange currencies by communication with the terminal by the communication means;
A value recognizing means for recognizing the amount of the value by the amount of the payment currency specified by the payment currency specifying means;
Billing processing means for controlling the execution of the billing process by distinguishing between the amount paid by the credit card and the amount paid by the storage medium;
With
When the consideration is paid by a combination of the storage medium and the credit card,
The billing processing means
Subtract the converted amount of the settlement currency for the amount paid by the storage medium from the amount of the price recognized in the settlement currency by the price recognition means, and specify the amount after subtraction as the amount to be paid by the credit card ,
Control the execution of the billing process so that at least the amount paid by the credit card is settled in the amount of the settlement currency;
It is characterized by that.

In the currency management device according to another aspect of the present invention,
A currency exchange rate acquisition means for acquiring a currency exchange rate for converting the amount of the consideration into the amount of the settlement currency;
The billing processing means controls execution of the billing process using the exchange currency rate acquired by the exchange currency rate acquisition means when or before the consideration is paid;
be able to.

In the currency management device according to another aspect of the present invention,
The credit card and the storage medium are the same single card medium,
be able to.

The currency management method according to one aspect of the present invention includes:
A currency management method executed by a currency management device,
A communication step for performing communication between a terminal that accepts a credit card and a storage medium in which a predetermined amount of a corporate currency is associated in advance as a medium for payment of consideration for goods or services;
A payment currency specifying step for specifying, as a payment currency, a type designated by the payer for payment from a plurality of types of exchange currencies by communication with the terminal in the communication step;
A consideration recognition step for recognizing the amount of the consideration by the amount of the settlement currency identified in the settlement currency identification step;
A charging process step for controlling the execution of the charging process by distinguishing between the amount paid by the credit card and the amount paid by the storage medium;
Including
When the consideration is paid by a combination of the storage medium and the credit card,
The charging processing step includes:
Subtracting the converted amount of the settlement currency for the amount paid by the storage medium from the amount of the consideration recognized in the settlement currency in the consideration recognition step, and specifying the amount after subtraction as the amount to be paid by the credit card ,
Control the execution of the billing process so that at least the amount paid by the credit card is settled in the amount of the settlement currency;
Including steps.

The program of one embodiment of the present invention is:
As a medium for payment for goods or services, a currency management apparatus having a communication means for communicating between a credit card and a terminal that accepts a storage medium in which a predetermined amount of corporate currency is associated in advance. On the other hand, the computer that executes the control
Payment currency specifying means for specifying, as a payment currency, a type designated by the payer for payment from a plurality of types of exchange currencies by communication with the terminal by the communication means;
A value recognizing means for recognizing the amount of the value by the amount of the payment currency specified by the payment currency specifying means;
Billing processing means for controlling the execution of the billing process by distinguishing between the amount paid by the credit card and the amount paid by the storage medium;
To function,
When the consideration is paid by a combination of the storage medium and the credit card,
The billing processing means
Subtract the converted amount of the settlement currency for the amount paid by the storage medium from the amount of the price recognized in the settlement currency by the price recognition means, and specify the amount after subtraction as the amount to be paid by the credit card ,
Control the execution of the billing process so that at least the amount paid by the credit card is settled in the amount of the settlement currency;
It is characterized by that.

According to the present invention, it is possible to pay for the value of goods or services in a desired type of corporate currency or exchange currency in various countries around the world.

It is a figure which shows the structure of the currency management system with which the currency management apparatus which concerns on embodiment of this invention is applied. It is a block diagram which shows the hardware constitutions of the currency management apparatus of embodiment of this invention. It is a functional block diagram which shows the functional structure for performing a payment settlement management process among the functional structures of the currency management apparatus of FIG. It is a figure which shows the structure of the exchange currency rate table memorize | stored in the corporate currency rate memory | storage part of the memory | storage part of the currency management apparatus of FIG. It is a figure which shows the structure of the corporate currency rate table memorize | stored in the corporate currency rate memory | storage part of the memory | storage part of the currency management apparatus of FIG. It is a flowchart explaining the flow of the payment currency management process which the currency management apparatus of FIG. 2 which has the functional structure of FIG. 3 performs. It is a figure which shows an example of the screen of the shop terminal of FIG. It is a figure which shows an example of the screen of the shop terminal of FIG. It is a figure which shows an example of the screen of the shop terminal of FIG. It is a figure which shows an example of the screen of the shop terminal of FIG. It is a figure which shows an example of the screen of the shop terminal of FIG. It is a figure which shows an example of the screen of the shop terminal of FIG. It is a figure which shows an example of the screen of the shop terminal of FIG.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

[Overview of currency management system]
FIG. 1 shows a configuration of a currency management system including a currency management device according to an embodiment of the present invention.
The currency management system 1 shown in FIG. 1 is configured by connecting a currency management device 10, store terminals 20-1 to 20-m, and a billing server 30 to each other via a network 40.

The n (n is an arbitrary integer value of 1 or more) card media C-1 to C-n are issued, for example, by a provider providing a predetermined product or service, and contactless communication is not performed. It is composed of a possible IC (Integrated Circuit: Integrated Circuit) and a magnetic card, and has a function of recording and calculating information (data). In other words, the card media C-1 to Cn have the functions of a magnetic card, an IC card, and NFC. Hereinafter, when it is not necessary to individually distinguish the card media C-1 to Cn, these are collectively referred to simply as “card media C”.

The card medium C is associated with a corporate currency (points) that can be used for payment for the provision of products and services by the above-mentioned business operators. Here, “corporate currency is associated” does not mean that the corporate currency is directly stored in the card medium C, and the amount of corporate currency that can be used using the card medium C is the currency management. It means that it is managed by the device 10.
In other words, the card medium C has a use of using the corporate currency in payment of the compensation for the provision of goods and services of the above-mentioned business operator, but does not store the corporate currency itself and uniquely identifies itself. Only an identifier (card number) for identification is stored.

Each of the m (m is an arbitrary integer value of 1 or more) store terminals 20-1 to 20-m is owned by, for example, the above-described operator.
Here, the business operator is an arbitrary product provider or an arbitrary service provider, for example, there may be a taxi dispatch service, but for convenience of explanation, in this embodiment, To do. In addition, a plurality of store terminals can be distributed to a store of one company, but in this embodiment, each of the store terminals 20-1 to 20-m is assigned to each store of m companies. Are distributed one by one. Hereinafter, when it is not necessary to individually distinguish the store terminals 20-1 to 20-m, they are collectively referred to as “store terminal 20”.
The store terminal 20 is configured as a computer having a processing function as a computer main body, a touch panel and several buttons as an input device, a display and a speaker as a display device, etc. in a plate-shaped housing.
Although not shown, the store terminal 20 includes a reader / writer unit and a communication unit.
The reader / writer unit has a reader / writer function of the card medium C, and reads out information stored in the card medium C by performing contact or non-contact communication with an IC incorporated in the card medium C. Information can be written to the card medium C.
The communication unit can perform communication for exchanging various types of information using, for example, Wi-Fi or the like with other devices (mainly the currency management device 10 in the example of FIG. 1) via the network 40.

The currency management device 10 is configured with a server or the like managed by a person different from the above-mentioned business operator, and manages the corporate currency associated with the card medium C. The currency management apparatus 10 performs processing (hereinafter referred to as payment) for the consideration when payment of the consideration for the provision of goods and services of the above-mentioned company is made by means other than cash (including the card medium C) (hereinafter referred to as payment). , Called “charging process”) to the charging server 30.
Here, the object that can be charged by the charging server 30 is not limited to the card medium C, but may be arbitrary, such as existing electronic money or an existing credit card. In other words, the store terminal 20 can accept payment for the price of provision of goods or services by the above-mentioned business operators not only by the card medium C but also by an arbitrary medium such as existing electronic money or a credit card. Furthermore, the store terminal 20 can accept the payment by a combination of two or more arbitrary media including the card medium C.
Therefore, an outline of the operation of the currency management system when payment is made with a combination of the card medium C and a credit card will be described below.

For example, the store clerk T of the store of the above-mentioned business operator gives the customer U who is the owner of the card medium C the amount of food and drink (an example of the price for providing the product or service by the above-mentioned business operator) at the store terminal 20. To present.

When the customer U uses a credit card as a payment for the amount of the food and drink (including the combination with the card medium C of this example), the customer U is arbitrarily selected as an exchange currency (hereinafter referred to as “settlement currency”) used at the time of settlement. You can specify different types of exchange currencies. This designation is performed by the operation of the customer U on the store terminal 20, and details will be described later with reference to FIG.
When the currency management apparatus 10 specifies the payment currency designated in this way, the amount of food and drink is converted into the value of the payment currency and presented to the owner via the store terminal 20.

Here, the customer U can naturally pay all the amount of the food and drink by the card medium C or the credit card alone, but as described above, here, the customer U pays by a combination of the card medium C and the credit card. Shall. That is, a part of the amount of the food and drink is settled with the card medium C, and the remaining amount is settled with a credit card in the settlement currency.

Here, in this embodiment, a predetermined amount of corporate currency is associated with each card medium C in advance (given in advance).
However, payment in the corporate currency is conditional on the card medium C being activated. That is, the card medium C that has not been activated cannot be paid in the corporate currency even if a predetermined amount of the corporate currency is associated.
Therefore, in the card medium C of the present embodiment, even if it is intended to be used without permission by a third party, if it is not activated, the corporate currency associated with the card medium C is used. Is never used. Accordingly, the business operator can distribute the card medium C associated with the corporate currency with peace of mind to an unspecified number of people, and thus can promote the use of the card medium C associated with the corporate currency. Thus, it is possible to easily realize advertising activities of various types of businesses using a card medium associated with the corporate currency.

The currency management apparatus 10 manages the activation for each card medium C.
That is, the customer U or the store clerk T inserts the card medium C into the store terminal 20 and passes it. Then, the store terminal 20 reads the card number from the inserted card medium C and transmits it to the currency management apparatus 10 via the network 40.
When receiving the card number from the store terminal 20, the currency management apparatus 10 determines whether or not the card medium C corresponding to the card number is activated. When it is determined that the card medium C is activated, the currency management apparatus 10 manages addition / subtraction of the amount of the activated corporate currency for each card medium C.

More specifically, the currency management apparatus 10 uses the exchange currency of a predetermined basic region (for example, the issuing country of the card medium C) as the base currency, and changes the correspondence between the base currency and the corporate currency based on predetermined conditions. Set. As a correspondence relationship between the base currency and the corporate currency, for example, a conversion rate of the corporate currency (points) to the base currency (hereinafter referred to as “corporate currency rate”) can be adopted.
For example, if the country where payment for goods or services is paid (hereinafter referred to as “payment country”) is Korea, as a predetermined condition, South Korea has α (α is , Any value of 0 or more) can be set. That is, if the paying country is Japan, the corporate currency rate is set to 1 point = 1 yen, for example. If the paying country is Korea, the corporate rate is set to 1 point = 1 × α yen, for example. . Furthermore, the predetermined condition can be varied for each country. More precisely, when a plurality of types of exchange currencies are used in a given country, it can be varied for each type of exchange currency. However, hereinafter, for convenience of explanation, it is assumed that one exchange currency is used in one country.
For example, when the paying country is the United States, the United States can set a condition that β (β is an arbitrary value of 0 or more different from α) is worth compared to the basic region (for example, Japan). In this case, if the paying country is Japan, the corporate currency rate is set to 1 point = 1 yen, for example. If the paying country is the United States, the corporate rate is set to 1 point = 1 × β yen, for example. The
Furthermore, α and β themselves can be variably set at an arbitrary timing. For example, the currency management device 10 can update the setting of α at a predetermined timing such as 9:00 am every day based on the exchange rate of yen and won (which is announced by some public organization). . Similarly, the currency management apparatus 10 updates the setting of β at a predetermined timing such as 9:00 am every day based on the exchange rate of yen and US dollars (announced by some public institution). Can do.
Alternatively, for example, even in the same paying country, it is possible to set different conditions for each business operator that issues the card medium C as the predetermined condition. For example, when Company A is the payee, the corporate currency rate is set to 1 point = 1 × γ yen, for example. When Company B is the payee, the company currency rate is set to 1 point = 1 × θ yen, for example. The Note that γ and θ are different values and are arbitrary values of 0 or more.

Based on the variably set corporate currency rate and the exchange rate between the settlement currency and the base currency (if the settlement currency is won, for example, 1 won = 0.0834 yen), the currency management device 10 Of the amount (an example of consideration for goods or services), a part paid by the card medium C is converted into the amount (points) of the corporate currency. If the consideration for goods or services is expressed in a currency other than the settlement currency and the base currency (hereinafter referred to as “payment place currency”), the payment place currency and the base currency, or the payment place currency And the exchange rate of the settlement currency is also used as appropriate.
Here, the customer U can operate the store terminal 20 to set a desired amount (a desired number of points) of the corporate currency as a partial amount paid by the card medium C. However, details of this setting operation will be described later with reference to FIG.

The currency management device 10 executes management for reducing the payment amount (here, part of the amount of food and drink) by the card medium C using the corporate currency associated with the card medium C.
Further, the currency management apparatus 10 requests the charging server 30 to perform a charging process for charging the payment amount by the card medium C.
The billing server 30 executes billing processing on the card medium C based on the request from the currency management device 10. That is, the billing server 30 charges the amount of payment by the card medium C. The type of billing (settlement) currency for the card medium C is not particularly limited, and may be corporate currency, settlement currency, or base currency.

Next, the currency management device 10 converts the remaining part of the amount of food and drink (the amount obtained by reducing the amount settled by the card medium C) into the amount of the settlement currency, and uses the credit card as the payment amount to the store terminal 20 to the customer U.
The customer U or the store clerk T inserts a credit card into the store terminal 20 and passes it. Then, the store terminal 20 reads information necessary for the billing process from the inserted credit card and transmits it to the currency management apparatus 10 via the network 40.
The currency management apparatus 10 requests the charging server 30 to perform a charging process for paying (charging) a payment amount by a credit card in a payment currency.
The billing server 30 executes billing processing with a credit card based on a request from the currency management apparatus 10. That is, the billing server 30 settles the payment by the credit card with the amount of the settlement currency.

Here, in the conventional credit card payment, settlement is made in the currency used in the country of payment (hereinafter referred to as “payment country currency”). Then, the credit card issuing company charges the customer U for the payment amount at a later date not in the payment country currency but in the basic currency. That is, the payment amount by credit card is not the one at the time when payment by customer U was made, but the exchange rate at a predetermined time designated by the credit card issuer (for example, the closing date of the next month when payment was made) The customer U is charged using the exchange rate (described later).
However, the customer U often decides how to pay the price according to the exchange currency rate at the time when payment is made. For example, some customers U select and pay the most advantageous exchange currency (the exchange currency that is the cheapest when converted to the base currency) based on the exchange currency rate at the time of payment. In other words, some of the customers U use credit cards when the currency settled by credit card (previously, the base currency) is the most advantageous, and cash (payment when the paying country currency is most advantageous. Some people use national currency bills). For such a person, if a currency exchange rate that is not at the time of payment is adopted, the selected meaning is lost.
Therefore, in the present embodiment, the currency management device 10 requests the billing server 30 to perform settlement (billing) at the exchange currency rate at the time of payment when the payment country currency is different from the settlement currency. Thereby, the settlement is performed with the amount of the settlement currency converted according to the exchange currency rate at the time of payment.
In addition, the exchange currency rate at the time of payment here means the exchange currency rate which the currency management apparatus 10 grasped at the time of payment. In other words, if the currency exchange rate is acquired by the currency management device 10 before the time of payment (for example, one hour before), the acquired currency currency rate becomes the currency exchange rate at the time of payment.

[Configuration of Currency Management Device 10]
Next, details of the configuration of the currency management apparatus 10 in the currency management system of FIG. 1 will be described.
FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a hardware configuration of the currency management apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention.

The currency management device 10 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 111, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 112, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 113, a bus 114, an input / output interface 115, an output unit 116, and an input unit. 117, a storage unit 118, a communication unit 119, and a drive 120.

The CPU 111 executes various processes according to a program recorded in the ROM 112 or a program loaded from the storage unit 118 to the RAM 113.

The RAM 113 appropriately stores data necessary for the CPU 111 to execute various processes.

The CPU 111, the ROM 112, and the RAM 113 are connected to each other via a bus 114. An input / output interface 115 is also connected to the bus 114. An output unit 116, an input unit 117, a storage unit 118, a communication unit 119, and a drive 120 are connected to the input / output interface 115.

The output unit 116 includes a display, a speaker, and the like, and outputs an image and sound.
The input unit 117 includes a keyboard, various buttons, and the like, and inputs various types of information in accordance with operator instruction operations.
The storage unit 118 is configured with a hard disk, a DRAM (Dynamic Random Access Memory), or the like, and stores various data.
The communication unit 119 controls communication with other devices (the store terminal 20 and the billing server 30 in the example of FIG. 1) via the network 40 including the Internet.

In the drive 120, a removable medium 131 made of a magnetic disk, an optical disk, a magneto-optical disk, a semiconductor memory or the like is appropriately mounted. The program read from the removable medium 131 by the drive 120 is installed in the storage unit 118 as necessary. In addition, the removable medium 131 can store various data stored in the storage unit 118 in the same manner as the storage unit 118.

The CPU 111 of the currency management apparatus 10 configured as described above is a series of processes until the payment when the consideration of the goods or services (the amount of food and drink in the above example) is paid using the credit card and the card medium C. Manage the process. Hereinafter, such processing is referred to as “payment settlement management processing”.

FIG. 3 is a functional block diagram showing a functional configuration for executing such a payment settlement management process among the functional configurations of the currency management apparatus 10.

In the CPU 111, when the execution of the currency management process is controlled, the variable setting unit 201, the billing unit 202, the corporate currency control unit 203, and the exchange currency rate acquisition unit 204 function.
As one area of the storage unit 118, a corporate currency rate storage unit 251, a corporate currency storage unit 252, and an exchange storage unit 253 are provided.

The variable setting unit 201 variably sets the correspondence between the base currency and the corporate currency (company currency rate) according to a predetermined condition. Here, as described above, the variable setting unit 201 can also variably set the predetermined condition according to the environment (difference in each country, issuer, etc.).

The charging unit 202 includes a charging processing unit 211, a settlement currency specifying unit 212, and a price recognition unit 213.

The billing processing unit 211 requests the billing server 30 to execute a billing process for the product or service when the price of the product or service is paid by another medium such as a predetermined card medium C or a credit card associated with the corporate currency. To do.
The settlement currency specifying unit 212 identifies a type designated by the user among a plurality of types of exchange currencies as a settlement currency.
The consideration recognizing unit 213 recognizes the value of goods or services paid by another medium such as the card medium C or a credit card for each medium with the amount of the settlement currency specified by the settlement currency specifying unit 212.

The corporate currency control unit 203 includes a corporate currency conversion unit 221 and a currency management unit 222.
The corporate currency conversion unit 221 includes the corporate currency rate variably set by the variable setting unit 201 and the exchange currency between the payment country (the country in which the settlement currency specified by the settlement currency specifying unit 212 is used) and the basic region. Based on the conversion rate (hereinafter referred to as “exchange currency rate”), the amount recognized by the consideration recognition unit 213 (the amount of settlement currency) is converted into the amount of corporate currency (number of points).
Specifically, the corporate currency conversion unit 221 is recognized by the consideration recognition unit 213 based on the exchange currency rate table in FIG. 4 and the corporate currency rate table in FIG. 5 stored in the corporate currency rate storage unit 251. Convert the amount to the amount in the corporate currency.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of the structure of the exchange currency rate table stored in the corporate currency rate storage unit 251 of the storage unit 118 of the currency management apparatus 10 of FIG.
The exchange currency rate table stores an exchange currency (type) and an exchange currency rate for each country.
FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of the structure of the corporate currency rate table stored in the corporate currency rate storage unit 251 of the storage unit 118 of the currency management apparatus 10 of FIG.
The corporate currency rate table stores the corporate currency (type) and the corporate currency rate for each country.

3, the currency management unit 222 manages the addition and subtraction of the corporate currency for each card medium C. Specifically, when at least a part of the consideration for goods or services is paid by the card medium C, the currency management unit 222 converts the amount of the corporate currency associated with the card medium C (the balance of the number of points) from Decrease the amount of consideration (number of points for consideration). Specifically, the currency management unit 222 subtracts the number of points converted by the corporate currency conversion unit 221 from the number of points (balance) stored in the corporate currency storage unit 252 of the storage unit 118, and after the reduction, The number of points is overwritten (updated) in the corporate currency storage unit 252.

The exchange currency rate acquisition unit 204 acquires the exchange currency rate for each country from a device (not shown) via the network 40 and stores it in the company currency rate storage unit 251.
Here, the acquisition timing of the exchange currency rate is not particularly limited, but in this embodiment, the exchange currency rate at the time of payment is used and charged, so every predetermined time unit (for example, one hour) shorter than one day. In addition, the exchange currency rate shall be acquired. That is, in the present embodiment, the exchange currency rate stored in the corporate currency rate storage unit 251 is updated every predetermined time unit (for example, one hour).
The exchange currency rate stored in the corporate currency rate storage unit 251 is the exchange currency rate at the time of payment from the accounting processing unit 211 to the accounting server 30 when the accounting process is executed by the accounting processing unit 211. Supplied against.

Next, with reference to FIG. 6, the payment settlement management process executed by the currency management apparatus 10 having the functional configuration shown in FIG. 3 will be described.
FIG. 6 is a flowchart for explaining the flow of payment settlement management processing executed by the currency management apparatus 10 of FIG. 2 having the functional configuration of FIG.

In order to facilitate understanding, the payment settlement management process will be described below using the specific examples of the screens of the store terminals 20 in FIGS. 7 to 13 as appropriate.

FIG. 7 shows an example of the initial state of the screen of the store terminal 20.
In the present embodiment, the store terminal 20 is used as a POS (Point to sale system) cash register and a payment terminal in a store such as a restaurant.
As shown in FIG. 7, as an initial screen of the store terminal 20, a product etc. selection area 301 and a payment amount display area 302 are provided.
In the product selection area 301, in the initial state, a menu of products and the like provided in the store (here, the menu of food and drink) is displayed for each category together with the amount of money. In the example of FIG. 7, assuming that the store exists in Japan, the amount is displayed in yen as the base currency.
The payment amount display area 302 includes a total amount display area 311, a charge amount display area 312, a point payment amount display area 313, a non-point payment total amount display area 314, a cash selection button 315, and a credit card selection button 316. And a cash settlement amount display area 317 are provided.

FIG. 8 shows an example of the screen of the store terminal 20 before a product that the customer U eats or drinks is selected and paid by the customer U.
In the example of FIG. 8, “Umi no Soko! Seafood Salad” and “6 kinds of oven-baked summer vegetables” are selected one by one as the products eaten and consumed by each U, and these two selected items are selected. Is displayed in the product etc. selection area 301 together with the amount of money.
In the total amount display area 311, the total amount “2380” of these two items is displayed as a total amount (total of the payment amount of the customer U). The amount of tax is actually the amount of consumption tax in Japan, but here it is “0” yen for convenience of explanation.
At this stage, since payment by the card medium C has not yet been selected, the payment total display area 314 other than points is displayed as the total payment, that is, as the total payment other than the corporate currency (points) of the card medium C. , “2380” yen, the same amount as the total amount, is displayed.
In the example of FIG. 8, the customer U can select cash or a credit card as payment other than the corporate currency (points) of the card medium C.
That is, the customer U presses the cash selection button 315 when selecting cash. In this case, in the cash settlement amount display area 317, the amount of cash paid by the customer U to the clerk T is displayed as a deposit amount, and the difference between the total payment and the deposit amount is displayed as a change. In addition, although description is abbreviate | omitted here, the payment in the combination of cash and card | curd medium C is also possible.
On the other hand, the customer U presses the credit card selection button 316 when selecting a credit card. In this case, the screen of the store terminal 20 is as shown in FIG.

FIG. 9 shows an example of a screen of the store terminal 20 that is displayed when the customer U selects payment with a credit card.
As described above, the customer U can select a desired type from a plurality of types of exchange currencies set in advance as a currency for settlement with the credit card, that is, a settlement currency.
This selection operation is performed by the settlement currency selection area 321 shown in FIG. For example, it is assumed here that the US dollar is selected as the settlement currency.

As a result of the selection of the settlement currency, the consideration for the goods or services (in the examples of FIGS. 7 to 9 is the consideration for the goods eaten and consumed by the customer U, and the total payment of 2380 yen) is sent to the currency management apparatus 10 via the network 40. Sent. With this as an opportunity, the payment settlement management process of FIG. 6 is started, and the following series of processes is executed.

6, the settlement currency identification unit 212 in FIG. 3 identifies the settlement currency based on the selection result transmitted from the store terminal 20.

In step S2, the exchange currency rate acquisition unit 204 acquires the current exchange currency rate. Here, the acquisition source is the exchange storage unit 253 of the storage unit 118 in the present embodiment, but may be another terminal (not shown).

In step S3, the value recognition unit 213 calculates the value of the product or service (in the example of FIGS. 7 to 9, the value of the product eaten and consumed by the customer U and the total payment) in the amount of the settlement currency specified in step S1. Recognize with.
Specifically, in this example, the settlement currency is US dollars. For example, assuming that the current exchange currency rate acquired in step S2 is “1 dollar = 99.543253”, the value of the goods or services (FIG. 7). In the example of FIG. 9, the consideration for the goods eaten and consumed by the customer U and the total payment) are “$ 23.92”.

In step S4, the billing processing unit 211 determines the amount of the specified settlement currency as the payment amount of the settlement currency by credit card (in the example of FIGS. The total payment shown) is presented to the store terminal 20.
That is, the amount of the specified settlement currency is the amount of payment in the settlement currency by the credit card (in the example of FIGS. 7 to 9, the consideration of the products eaten and consumed by the customer U and the total payment shown in the settlement currency). To the store terminal 20. Then, the screen of the store terminal 20 is as shown in FIG.
FIG. 10 shows an example of the screen of the store terminal 20 on which the payment amount of the settlement currency by credit card is displayed.
That is, at this stage, since payment by the card medium C has not yet been selected, the payment total display area 314 other than points is displayed as the total payment, that is, as the total payment amount other than the corporate currency (points) of the card medium C. Along with “2380” yen indicated in the base currency, “23.92 dollars” indicated in the settlement currency is displayed.

On the currency management apparatus 10 side, the determination process in step S5 is executed.
In step S5, the billing processing unit 211 determines whether or not the payment amount of the corporate currency is designated.

Here, when paying only with a credit card without using the card medium C, the customer U or the store clerk T inserts the credit card into the store terminal 20 and passes it. Then, the store terminal 20 reads information necessary for the billing process from the inserted credit card and transmits it to the currency management apparatus 10 via the network 40.
In this case, it is determined as NO in Step S5, and the process proceeds to Step S10.
In step S <b> 10, the billing processing unit 211 executes billing processing for the payment amount of the settlement currency using a credit card. That is, the billing processing unit 211 requests the billing server 30 to perform billing processing for billing the payment amount with the credit card in the settlement currency. Based on the request from the currency management apparatus 10, the billing server 30 settles the payment amount by the credit card with the settlement currency amount ($ 23.92 in this example).
As a result, the payment settlement management process ends.

On the other hand, here, since the payment is performed by the combination of the card medium C and the credit card, the screen of the store terminal 20 is as shown in FIG.
FIG. 11 shows an example of the screen of the store terminal 20 for making payment by the card medium C.
The customer U can freely set the amount to be paid by the card medium C with the amount (points) of the corporate currency using the numeric keypad in the display area 331 for the card medium C. In this case, the amount (points) of the corporate currency is converted into the amount of the settlement currency and displayed as a total payment amount (total). This conversion may be executed on the store terminal 20 side, but in this embodiment, the conversion is executed by the corporate currency control unit 203 of the currency management device 10 while communicating with the currency management device 10.
In the example of FIG. 11, “1000 points” is set as the amount of the corporate currency. This “1000 points” is converted into the amount of the settlement currency (US dollars), and “$ 5.02” is displayed as the total payment amount (total).
As described above, the customer U can set the payment amount by the card medium C in the amount (points) of the corporate currency, and immediately, how much the set amount (points) will be in the settlement currency. Since it can be visually recognized, it is convenient.
The total usage amount is displayed in the display area 331 because the card medium C can be charged at this stage.

In this way, when the payment amount by the card medium C is determined, the customer U or the store clerk T inserts the card medium C into the store terminal 20 and passes it. Then, the store terminal 20 reads the card number from the inserted card medium C and transmits it to the currency management apparatus 10 via the network 40.
When receiving the card number from the store terminal 20, the currency management apparatus 10 determines whether or not the card medium C corresponding to the card number is activated. When it is determined that the card medium C is activated, the currency management apparatus 10 manages addition / subtraction of the amount of the activated corporate currency for each card medium C.
Thereby, it determines with it being YES in step S5, and a process progresses to step S6.

In step S6, the billing processing unit 211 executes billing processing of the payment amount of the corporate currency by the card medium C.

In step S7, the currency management unit 222 uses the amount of the corporate currency associated with the card medium C (the balance of the number of points) as the amount of payment for which the accounting process was executed in step S6 (the amount after the point conversion). Yes, in the above example, 1000P) is subtracted. The currency management unit 222 stores the amount of the corporate currency after subtraction corresponding to the card medium C (the updated value of the number of points) in the corporate currency storage unit 252.

In step S8, the billing processing unit 211 subtracts the payment currency amount of the corporate currency from the payment currency amount of the consideration for the goods or services.
In step S <b> 9, the billing processing unit 211 presents the settlement currency amount after subtraction to the store terminal 20 as the settlement currency amount by credit card.
In the above example, the settlement currency amount of the consideration for the goods or services is “23.92 dollars” (see FIG. 10), and the settlement currency amount of the corporate currency payment amount (1000 points) is “$ 5.02 dollars”. Is. Therefore, “$ 23.92” − “$ 5.02” = “$ 18.9” is presented to the store terminal 20 as the amount of settlement currency after subtraction, that is, the amount of settlement currency by credit card. Specifically, it is presented on the screen of the store terminal 20 as shown in FIG.
FIG. 12 shows an example of the screen of the store terminal 20 on which the payment amount of the payment currency by the credit card after the payment by the card medium C is completed is displayed.
That is, since the settlement by the card medium C has been completed at this stage, the total payment amount other than the points other than the corporate currency (points) of the card medium C is displayed in the total payment display area 314 other than points. As well as “1881 yen” shown in the base currency, “18.9 dollars” shown in the settlement currency is displayed.
Here, in the present embodiment, settlement is performed using the exchange rate at the time of payment (that is, the exchange rate displayed in FIG. 12). Therefore, the customer U easily recognizes that the settlement amount with the credit card is “18.9 dollars” and the actual billing amount is “1881 yen” only by looking at the total payment display area 314 other than the points. can do.
Although not shown, the customer U can change the settlement currency at this stage by returning the screen of the store terminal 20 to the screen of FIG. 9 again.

Here, it is assumed that the customer U decides to pay “18.9 dollars” with a credit card. In this case, the screen of the store terminal 20 is as shown in FIG.
FIG. 13 shows an example of the screen of the store terminal 20 for making payment with a credit card.
The customer U finally confirms that the total payment amount (settlement amount) is “18.9 dollars” by looking at the display area 341 for the credit card.
After this final confirmation, the customer U or the store clerk T inserts a credit card into the store terminal 20 and passes it. Then, the store terminal 20 reads information necessary for the billing process from the inserted credit card and transmits it to the currency management apparatus 10 via the network 40.
Accordingly, the process proceeds to step S10 in FIG.
In step S <b> 10, the billing processing unit 211 executes billing processing for the payment amount of the settlement currency using a credit card. That is, the billing processing unit 211 requests the billing server 30 to perform billing processing for billing the payment amount with the credit card in the settlement currency. Based on the request from the currency management apparatus 10, the billing server 30 settles the payment amount by the credit card with the settlement currency amount (18.9 dollars in this example).
As a result, the payment settlement management process ends.

It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and modifications, improvements, etc. within a scope that can achieve the object of the present invention are included in the present invention.

For example, the medium associated with the corporate currency is the card medium C in the above-described embodiment. However, the medium is not particularly limited as long as it is a storage medium associated with the corporate currency. As described above, the corporate currency itself is not stored in this storage medium, and information that can identify the storage medium (a card number in the above example) is sufficient.
In other words, the present invention can be applied by associating a corporate currency with a storage medium that can identify or identify an individual, specifically, a magnetic card, an IC card, a portable information terminal, a USB memory, or the like.
Furthermore, although the card medium C and the credit card are separate media in the above-described embodiment, they may be the same single card medium.

In the above-described embodiment, the currency management apparatus 10 to which the present invention is applied has been described using a server as an example, but is not particularly limited thereto.
For example, the present invention can be applied to electronic devices in general. Specifically, for example, the present invention can be applied to a notebook personal computer, a television receiver, a video camera, a portable navigation device, a mobile phone, a portable game machine, and the like.

The series of processes described above can be executed by hardware or can be executed by software.
In other words, the functional configuration of FIG. 3 is merely an example, and is not particularly limited. That is, it is sufficient that the currency management apparatus 10 has a function capable of executing the above-described series of processing as a whole, and what functional block is used to realize this function is not particularly limited to the example of FIG. .
In addition, one functional block may be constituted by hardware alone, software alone, or a combination thereof.

When a series of processing is executed by software, a program constituting the software is installed on a computer or the like from a network or a recording medium.
The computer may be a computer incorporated in dedicated hardware. The computer may be a computer capable of executing various functions by installing various programs, for example, a general-purpose personal computer.

The recording medium including such a program is not only constituted by the removable medium 131 of FIG. 2 distributed separately from the apparatus main body in order to provide the program to the user, but also in a state of being incorporated in the apparatus main body in advance. It is comprised with the recording medium etc. which are provided in this. The removable medium 131 is composed of, for example, a magnetic disk (including a floppy disk), Blu-ray (registered trademark) Disc (Blu-ray disk), an optical disk, a magneto-optical disk, or the like. The optical disk is composed of, for example, a CD-ROM (Compact Disk-Read Only Memory), a DVD (Digital Versatile Disk), or the like. The magneto-optical disk is constituted by an MD (Mini-Disk) or the like. In addition, the recording medium provided to the user in a state of being preinstalled in the apparatus main body is configured by, for example, the ROM 112 in FIG. 2 in which the program is recorded, the hard disk included in the storage unit 118 in FIG.

In the present specification, the step of describing the program recorded on the recording medium is not limited to the processing performed in time series along the order, but is not necessarily performed in time series, either in parallel or individually. The process to be executed is also included.
Further, in the present specification, the term “system” means an overall apparatus configured by a plurality of devices, a plurality of means, and the like.

111 ... CPU, 112 ... ROM, 113 ... RAM, 114 ... bus, 115 ... input / output interface, 116 ... output unit, 117 ... input unit, 118 ... Storage unit 119 Communication unit 120 Drive 131 Removable media 201 Variable setting unit 202 Billing unit 203 Currency control unit 204 Exchange currency rate acquisition unit, 211... Billing processing unit, 212... Settlement currency specifying unit, 213 .. value recognition unit, 221 .. corporate currency conversion unit, 222 .. currency management unit, 251 ... Corporate currency rate storage unit 251,252 ... Corporate currency storage unit, 253 ... Exchange storage unit

Claims (5)

1. A communication means for performing communication between a terminal that accepts a credit card and a storage medium in which a predetermined amount of a corporate currency is associated in advance as a medium for payment of consideration for goods or services;
   Payment currency specifying means for specifying, as a payment currency, a type designated by the payer for payment from a plurality of types of exchange currencies by communication with the terminal by the communication means;
   A value recognizing means for recognizing the amount of the value by the amount of the payment currency specified by the payment currency specifying means;
   Billing processing means for controlling the execution of the billing process by distinguishing between the amount paid by the credit card and the amount paid by the storage medium;
   With
   When the consideration is paid by a combination of the storage medium and the credit card,
   The billing processing means
   Subtract the converted amount of the settlement currency for the amount paid by the storage medium from the amount of the price recognized in the settlement currency by the price recognition means, and specify the amount after subtraction as the amount to be paid by the credit card ,
   Control the execution of the billing process so that at least the amount paid by the credit card is settled in the amount of the settlement currency;
   A currency management device characterized by that.
2. A currency exchange rate acquisition means for acquiring a currency exchange rate for converting the amount of the consideration into the amount of the settlement currency;
   The billing processing means controls execution of the billing process using the exchange currency rate acquired by the exchange currency rate acquisition means when or before the consideration is paid;
   The currency management device according to claim 1.
3. The credit card and the storage medium are the same single card medium,
   The currency management device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein
4. A currency management method executed by a currency management device,
   A communication step for performing communication between a terminal that accepts a credit card and a storage medium in which a predetermined amount of a corporate currency is associated in advance as a medium for payment of consideration for goods or services;
   A payment currency specifying step for specifying, as a payment currency, a type designated by the payer for payment from a plurality of types of exchange currencies by communication with the terminal in the communication step;
   A consideration recognition step for recognizing the amount of the consideration by the amount of the settlement currency identified in the settlement currency identification step;
   A charging process step for controlling the execution of the charging process by distinguishing between the amount paid by the credit card and the amount paid by the storage medium;
   Including
   When the consideration is paid by a combination of the storage medium and the credit card,
   The charging processing step includes:
   Subtracting the converted amount of the settlement currency for the amount paid by the storage medium from the amount of the consideration recognized in the settlement currency in the consideration recognition step, and specifying the amount after subtraction as the amount to be paid by the credit card ,
   Control the execution of the billing process so that at least the amount paid by the credit card is settled in the amount of the settlement currency;
   A currency management method comprising steps.
5. As a medium for payment for goods or services, a currency management apparatus having a communication means for communicating between a credit card and a terminal that accepts a storage medium in which a predetermined amount of corporate currency is associated in advance. On the other hand, the computer that executes the control
   Payment currency specifying means for specifying, as a payment currency, a type designated by the payer for payment from a plurality of types of exchange currencies by communication with the terminal by the communication means;
   A value recognizing means for recognizing the amount of the value by the amount of the payment currency specified by the payment currency specifying means;
   Billing processing means for controlling the execution of the billing process by distinguishing between the amount paid by the credit card and the amount paid by the storage medium;
   To function,
   When the consideration is paid by a combination of the storage medium and the credit card,
   The billing processing means
   Subtract the converted amount of the settlement currency for the amount paid by the storage medium from the amount of the price recognized in the settlement currency by the price recognition means, and specify the amount after subtraction as the amount to be paid by the credit card ,
   Control the execution of the billing process so that at least the amount paid by the credit card is settled in the amount of the settlement currency;
   A program characterized by that.

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