U.S. patent application number 17/291068 was filed with the patent office on 2021-11-18 for group account service providing server and method.
The applicant listed for this patent is KAKAOBANK CORP.. Invention is credited to Jin HAN, Eun Hyi KHO, JIn Woo KIM, Sung Jun KIM, Tae Wan KIM, Yong Jun KIM, Jung Hee KO, Byeoung Su LEE, Seon Beom LEE, Geun Won MO, Jong Hwan OH, Hyung Keun SONG, Jong Sun YOO.
Application Number | 20210358028 17/291068 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 1000005797038 |
Filed Date | 2021-11-18 |
United States Patent
Application |
20210358028 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
LEE; Byeoung Su ; et
al. |
November 18, 2021 |
GROUP ACCOUNT SERVICE PROVIDING SERVER AND METHOD
Abstract
According to one aspect of the present invention, a group
account service providing server capable of converting a private
account into a group account in real time through a terminal of the
host of a comprises: an account management unit configured to
convert a first account into a group account when a group account
conversion request for the first account of a host of a group is
generated; a transaction ledger management unit configured to
record change information in a transaction ledger for the group
account when the change information including at least one of a
transaction occurrence event and an information occurrence event is
generated for the group account; a virtual ledger management unit
configured to generate a virtual ledger to be mapped to the
transaction ledger when the first account is changed to the group
account.
Inventors: |
LEE; Byeoung Su;
(Gyeonggi-do, KR) ; SONG; Hyung Keun;
(Gyeonggi-do, KR) ; KIM; JIn Woo; (Gyeonggi-do,
KR) ; KHO; Eun Hyi; (Gyeonggi-do, KR) ; KO;
Jung Hee; (Gyeonggi-do, KR) ; OH; Jong Hwan;
(Gyeonggi-do, KR) ; MO; Geun Won; (Gyeonggi-do,
KR) ; KIM; Sung Jun; (Gyeonggi-do, KR) ; YOO;
Jong Sun; (Gyeonggi-do, KR) ; KIM; Yong Jun;
(Gyeonggi-do, KR) ; KIM; Tae Wan; (Gyeonggi-do,
KR) ; LEE; Seon Beom; (Gyeonggi-do, KR) ; HAN;
Jin; (Gyeonggi-do, KR) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
KAKAOBANK CORP. |
Gyeonggi-do |
|
KR |
|
|
Family ID: |
1000005797038 |
Appl. No.: |
17/291068 |
Filed: |
November 25, 2019 |
PCT Filed: |
November 25, 2019 |
PCT NO: |
PCT/KR2019/016292 |
371 Date: |
May 4, 2021 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
1/1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G06Q 20/389 20130101;
G06Q 40/02 20130101; G06Q 20/401 20130101 |
International
Class: |
G06Q 40/02 20060101
G06Q040/02; G06Q 20/38 20060101 G06Q020/38; G06Q 20/40 20060101
G06Q020/40 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Nov 28, 2018 |
KR |
10-2018-0149385 |
Claims
1.-25. (canceled)
26. A group account service providing server comprising: an account
management unit configured to convert a first account into a group
account when a group account conversion request for the first
account of a host of a group is generated; a transaction ledger
management unit configured to record change information in a
transaction ledger for the group account when the change
information including at least one of a transaction occurrence
event and an information occurrence event is generated for the
group account; a virtual ledger management unit configured to
generate a virtual ledger to be mapped to the transaction ledger
when the first account is changed to the group account and copy the
change information recorded in the transaction ledger to record the
copied change information in the virtual ledger when the change
information is recorded in the transaction ledger, wherein the
transaction ledger and the virtual ledger each comprise one or more
databases; and an interface unit configured to display the
transaction ledger on a first agent installed in a first terminal
of the host and display the virtual ledger on a second agent
installed in a second terminal of a participant sharing the group
account, wherein the virtual ledger management unit is configured
to monitor change information of the transaction ledger in real
time, and in response to determining that a change has occurred in
the transaction ledger after the first account is converted to the
group account, to copy new change information in the transaction
ledger and record the copied new change information in the virtual
ledger, wherein the transaction occurrence event includes at least
one of a deposit event and a withdrawal event, wherein the
information occurrence event includes at least one of a memo
related to the transaction occurrence event, one or more tags, a
registration of the participant, a withdrawal of the participant,
an announcement related to the group, a Dutch treat payment
request, setting information for the group account, and additional
information for the group account.
27. The group account service providing server of claim 26, further
comprising a participant management unit configured to perform a
participant registration procedure for a corresponding person when
receiving a participant registration request for at least one of
persons registered in a first messenger agent installed in the
first terminal from the first agent.
28. The group account service providing server of claim 27,
wherein, when the participant management unit receives a
participant registration request for all persons registered in a
chat room opened on the first messenger agent from the first agent,
the participant management unit performs a participant registration
procedure for all the persons requested for registration.
29. The group account service providing server of claim 27, wherein
the participant management unit transmits a group account
subscription request message to a second messenger agent installed
in the second terminal of the person who is a subject of the
participant registration request and registers the corresponding
person as the participant when an account subscription acceptance
message is received from the second agent executed by selecting the
group account subscription request message output on the second
messenger agent.
30. The group account service providing server of claim 26, further
comprising a deposit and withdrawal management unit configured to
automatically set an account number of a deposit account to an
account number of the group account and automatically set an amount
to be deposited to the membership fee to set transfer conditions
when a membership fee payment icon on the first and second agents
is selected and configured to withdraw the membership fee from a
withdrawal account set in the first and second agents and transfer
the deposit amount to the group account when the setting of the
transfer conditions is completed.
31. The group account service providing server of claim 26, further
comprising a deposit and withdrawal management unit configured to
determine the host or the participant for which a deposit event
does not occur on a preset membership fee payment date when the
preset membership fee payment date arrives and configured to
generate a membership fee payment message for the determined host
or participant, wherein the interface unit provides the membership
fee payment message to the first agent or a first messenger agent
installed in the first terminal for the host or to the second agent
or a second messenger agent installed in the second terminal for
the participant.
32. The group account service providing server of claim 26,
wherein: when a Dutch treat payment request including an amount
spent, the number of members to share the amount spent, and an
amount shared by each member is generated through the first agent,
the transaction ledger management unit records the Dutch treat
payment request in the transaction ledger; the virtual ledger
management unit copies the Dutch treat payment request recorded in
the transaction ledger and records the copied Dutch treat payment
request in the virtual ledger; and the interface unit provides a
Dutch treat payment icon corresponding to the Dutch treat payment
request to the first and second agents.
33. The group account service providing server of claim 26,
wherein, when a request for masking processing for at least a
portion of an abstract of the transaction occurrence event is
generated from the first agent, the interface unit masks a portion
for which the masking processing is requested from among the
abstract of the transaction occurrence event recorded in the
virtual ledger and provides the masked portion to the second
agent.
34. The group account service providing server of claim 26,
wherein: the transaction ledger management unit records information
about messenger profiles of the host and the participants obtained
from a first messenger agent installed in the first terminal in the
transaction ledger; the virtual ledger management unit copies the
information about the messenger profiles of the host and the
participants recorded in the transaction ledger and records the
information about the messenger profiles in the virtual ledger; and
the interface unit sequentially places and outputs the messenger
profiles in a predetermined region on the first and second agents,
wherein the messenger profiles are placed so that some of adjacent
messenger profiles overlap.
35. The group account service providing server of claim 26,
wherein: when the group account conversion request is generated,
the account management unit assigns a safe account number different
from a real account number for the first account to the group
account; and the interface unit allows the real account number for
the first account to be displayed through the first agent and
allows the safe account number to be displayed through the second
agent.
36. The group account service providing server of claim 26, further
comprising a search unit configured to classify a membership fee
payment history recorded in the transaction ledger according to a
membership fee payment date, a name of the host, and a name of the
participant and provide a result of the search, wherein the
interface unit provides the classified membership fee payment
history through the first agent.
37. A group account service providing method comprising: converting
a first account into a group account in response to a group account
conversion request for the first account of a host of a group;
generating a virtual ledger to be mapped to a transaction ledger of
the group account, wherein the transaction ledger and the virtual
ledger each comprise one or more databases; recording change
information in the transaction ledger when the change information
including at least one of a transaction occurrence event and an
information occurrence event is generated for the group account;
when the change information is recorded in the transaction ledger,
monitoring the transaction ledger and copying and recording the
change information in the virtual ledger; and outputting contents
recorded in the transaction ledger to a first agent installed in a
first terminal of the host and outputting contents recorded in the
virtual ledger to a second agent installed in a second terminal of
the participant sharing the group account, wherein the virtual
ledger management unit monitors change information of the
transaction leger in real time, and in response to determining that
a change has occurred in the transaction ledger after the first
account is converted to the group account, copies new change
information and records the copied new change information in the
virtual ledger, wherein the transaction occurrence event includes
at least one of a deposit event and a withdrawal event, wherein the
information occurrence event includes at least one of a memo
related to the transaction occurrence event, one or more tags, a
registration of the participant, a withdrawal of the participant,
an announcement related to the group, a Dutch treat payment
request, setting information for the group account, and additional
information for the group account.
38. The group account service providing method of claim 37, further
comprising, when a participant registration request for at least
one of the persons registered in a first messenger agent installed
in the first terminal is received from the first agent, performing
a participant registration procedure for a person requested for
registration.
39. The group account service providing method of claim 38,
wherein, in the performing of the participant registration
procedure, a list of the persons registered in the first messenger
agent is output through the first agent, and persons are classified
into pre-registered persons, persons waiting to be accepted, and
unregistered persons to be output in the list of the persons.
40. The group account service providing method of claim 37, further
comprising, when a participant registration request for all persons
registered in a chat room opened on a first messenger agent
installed in the first terminal is received from the first agent,
performing a participant registration procedure for all the persons
requested for registration.
41. The group account service providing method of claim 37, further
comprising: when a membership fee payment icon is selected through
the first or second agent, automatically setting an account number
of a deposit account to an account number of the group account and
automatically setting an amount to be deposited to a preset
membership fee to set transfer conditions; and withdrawing the
membership fee from a withdrawal account set in the first or second
agent according to the set transfer conditions and transferring the
amount to be deposited to the group account.
42. The group account service providing method of claim 37, further
comprising: receiving a Dutch treat payment request including an
amount spent, the number of members to share the amount spent, and
an amount shared by each member from the first agent; providing a
Dutch treat payment icon corresponding to the Dutch treat payment
request to the first or second agent; when the Dutch treat payment
icon is selected by the host or the participant, automatically
setting an account number of a deposit account to an account number
of the group account and automatically setting an amount to be
deposited to the shared amount to set transfer conditions; and
withdrawing the shared amount from the withdrawal account set in
the first or second agent according to the set transfer conditions
and transferring the deposit amount to the group account.
43. The group account service providing method of claim 37, further
comprising: obtaining information about messenger profiles of the
host and the participants from a first messenger agent installed in
the first terminal; and sequentially placing and outputting the
messenger profiles in a predetermined region on the first or second
agent, wherein the messenger profiles are placed so that some of
adjacent messenger profiles overlap to output.
44. The group account service providing method of claim 37, further
comprising assigning a safe account number different from a real
account number of the first account to the group account, wherein
the real account number of the first account is output on the first
agent and the safe account number is output on the second agent.
Description
TECHNICAL FIELD
[0001] The present invention relates to a banking service, and more
specifically, to a mobile banking service.
BACKGROUND ART
[0002] Even in the reality of society gradually changing into an
individualistic society, modern people have one or two groups
through the links of kinship, regional links, and school relations.
In order for these groups to be maintained and developed
continuously, funds for management of groups are necessarily
required.
[0003] Generally, in order to manage funds for management of
groups, a method of opening a bank account under a name of a group
or a real name of a host of the group and managing the funds for
management of groups using the opened bank account is used.
[0004] However, in the case in which the bank account is opened
under the name of the group, there is a problem in that a procedure
for opening the bank account is strict and complicated because the
bylaws or articles of incorporation of the group are required. In
the case in which the bank account is opened under the host's real
name, there is a disadvantage in that it is not only inconvenient
because the host should visit the bank in person to open an
account, and when the host has an account that has already been
opened at the corresponding bank, it is also inconvenient because
the host is restricted from opening an additional account or can
only open a limited account with a limit on the transaction
amount.
[0005] In addition, when the group is operated using the bank
account opened under the host's real name, there is a problem in
that inconvenience is increased because participants of the group
may not be able to check the transaction history of the bank
account opened under the host's real name so that the management of
the membership fees may become unclear, and because the transaction
history of the bank account opened under the host's real name
should be printed out or provided through screen capture in order
to share the transaction history of the bank account opened under
the host's real name with the participants of the group.
SUMMARY
Technical Problem
[0006] Therefore, the present invention is designed to solve the
problems and is for providing a group account service providing
server in which a private account for a host of a group may be
converted into a group account in real time through a terminal of
the host.
[0007] The present invention is also for providing a group account
service providing server in which the contents recorded in a
transaction ledger of a group account may be shared between
participants of a group and a host of the group through a virtual
ledger which is generated by copying the contents recorded in the
transaction ledger of the group account.
[0008] The present invention is also for providing a group account
service providing server in which a participant of a group may be
invited to a group account service through a terminal of a host of
the group and the participant may be registered as a member for on
the group account.
Technical Solution
[0009] To solve the above problems, the present invention may
include the following configurations.
[0010] A group account service providing server includes an account
management unit configured to convert a first account into a group
account when a group account conversion request for the first
account of a host of a group is generated; a transaction ledger
management unit configured to record change information in a
transaction ledger for the group account when the change
information including at least one of a transaction occurrence
event and an information occurrence event is generated for the
group account; a virtual ledger management unit configured to
generate a virtual ledger to be mapped to the transaction ledger
when the first account is changed to the group account and copy the
change information recorded in the transaction ledger to record the
copied change information in the virtual ledger when the change
information is recorded in the transaction ledger; and an interface
unit configured to display the transaction ledger on a first agent
installed in a first terminal of the host and display the virtual
ledger on a second agent installed in a second terminal of a
participant sharing the group account.
[0011] A group account service providing method includes converting
a first account into a group account in response to a group account
conversion request for the first account of a host of a group;
generating a virtual ledger to be mapped to a transaction ledger of
the group account; recording change information in the transaction
ledger when the change information including at least one of a
transaction occurrence event and an information occurrence event is
generated for the group account; when the change information is
recorded in the transaction ledger, monitoring the transaction
ledger and copying and recording the change information in the
virtual ledger; and outputting contents recorded in the transaction
ledger to a first agent installed in a first terminal of the host
and outputting contents recorded in the virtual ledger to a second
agent installed in a second terminal of the participant sharing the
group account.
Advantageous Effects
[0012] According to the present invention, a private account for a
host of a group can be changed to a group account in response to a
group account conversion request generated through a terminal of
the host without visiting the bank so that the group account can be
easily opened.
[0013] Further, according to the present invention, when a
transaction history is recorded in a transaction ledger according
to the occurrence of the transaction history in the group account,
the transaction history recorded in the transaction ledger is
copied and recorded in a virtual ledger, the host can know the
contents of the group account through the transaction ledger and a
participant of the group can know the contents of the group account
through the virtual ledger, and thus not only the host but also the
participant can check the transaction history in the group account
in real time. Therefore, a membership fee can be used
transparently.
[0014] Further, the host can share the contents of the group
account with the participants by providing the contents of the
virtual ledger without any inconvenience, such as printing out the
transaction history or capturing a screen to share the transaction
history of the group account with the participants, and thus the
host can conveniently manage the group account.
[0015] Further, according to the present invention, the participant
who will participate in the group account can be registered only by
selecting a person from a list of the persons obtained from a
messenger program installed in the terminal of the host, and thus
the participant can be easily managed so that the group can be
activated.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0016] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a group account service
providing system according to an embodiment of the present
invention.
[0017] FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a
group account service providing server according to an embodiment
of the present invention.
[0018] FIGS. 3A, 3B, 3C and 3D are views illustrating examples of a
group account conversion page displayed through an agent according
to an embodiment of the present invention.
[0019] FIGS. 4A and 4B are views illustrating examples of a
transaction history page output on a first agent and a second agent
according to an embodiment of the present invention.
[0020] FIGS. 5A, 5B and 5C are views illustrating examples of a
member registration request page output on a first agent according
to an embodiment of the present invention.
[0021] FIG. 5D is a view illustrating an example of a subscription
request message output on a second messenger agent according to an
embodiment of the present invention.
[0022] FIG. 5E is a view illustrating an example of a group account
participation request page output on a second agent according to an
embodiment of the present invention.
[0023] FIG. 6A is a view illustrating an example of a group account
exit page output on a second agent for a member to exit according
to an embodiment of the present invention.
[0024] FIG. 6B is a view illustrating an example of a member exit
request page according to an embodiment of the present
invention.
[0025] FIG. 7A is a view illustrating an example of a transaction
history page including a membership fee deposit icon output on a
second agent according to an embodiment of the present
invention.
[0026] FIG. 7B is a view illustrating an example of a transfer page
including a deposit amount input window and a withdrawal account
selection window output on a second agent according to an
embodiment of the present invention.
[0027] FIGS. 8A, 8B, 8C and 8D are views illustrating examples of a
membership fee payment history page output on a first agent
according to an embodiment of the present invention.
[0028] FIG. 9 is a view illustrating an example of an intro page
for providing a banking service when a second agent is executed
according to an embodiment of the present invention.
[0029] FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating a group account service
providing method according to an embodiment of the present
invention.
[0030] FIG. 11 is a flowchart illustrating a method of performing a
participant registration procedure according to an embodiment of
the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0031] In this specification, when reference numerals are assigned
to components of each drawing, it should be noted that, even when
the same components are illustrated in different drawings, the same
numerals are assigned to the same components whenever possible.
[0032] Meanwhile, the meaning of the terms described in this
specification should be understood as follows.
[0033] Elements of the invention referred to as singular may number
one or more, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. The
terms first, second, etc. are used to distinguish one component
from another component, and the scope of the present invention is
not limited to these components.
[0034] It will be further understood that the terms "comprise,"
"comprising," "include," and/or "including," do not preclude the
presence or addition of one or more other features, numbers, steps,
operations, components, parts and/or combinations thereof.
[0035] When the term "at least one" is used, it should be
understood to include all possible combinations of one or more of
the associated listed items. For example, "at least one of a first
item, a second item, and a third item" means each of the first
item, the second item, and the third item, and means a combination
of all items that may be presented from two or more of the first
item, the second item, and the third item.
[0036] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be
described with reference to the accompanying drawings.
[0037] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a group account service
providing system according to an embodiment of the present
invention. As illustrated in FIG. 1, a group account service
providing system 10 according to the embodiment of the present
invention includes user terminals 50 and a group account service
providing server 100.
[0038] The user terminals 50 communicate with the group account
service providing server 100 through a network to provide a group
account service to users. To this end, a banking agent
(hereinafter, referred to as an "agent") is installed in the user
terminal 50. The agent receives a banking request from the user and
transmits the banking request to the group account service
providing server 100 to allow the banking request received from the
user to be processed by the group account service providing server
100.
[0039] For example, when receiving an account opening request or a
transfer request from the user, the agent transmits the received
account opening request or the transfer request to the group
account service providing server 100 to allow the group account
service providing server 100 to open an account or transfer an
amount requested to be transferred.
[0040] In an embodiment, when a group account related request
including a group account conversion request or a participant
registration request is received from a host who establishes a
group, a first agent installed in a first terminal 53 of the host
may provide the group account related request to the group account
service providing server 100 to allow the group account service
providing server 100 to provide a group account service.
[0041] Meanwhile, a second agent installed in a second terminal 56
of a participant who wants to participate in the group joins in the
group account service in response to the participant registration
request transmitted from the first agent, and thus the group
account service is provided to the participant through the second
agent. In FIG. 1, although the second terminal is illustrated as a
single terminal, this is only exemplary, and a plurality of second
terminals may be provided. The participant may share a transaction
history of the group account with the host in real time through the
second agent.
[0042] The group account service providing server 100 provides the
group account service to the host through the first agent and to
the participant through the second agent. Hereinafter, the group
account service providing server 100 will be described in detail
with reference to FIG. 2.
[0043] FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of
the group account service providing server 100 according to the
embodiment of the present invention. As illustrated in FIG. 2, the
group account service providing server 100 includes an account
management unit 210, a transaction ledger management unit 220, a
transaction ledger 230, a virtual ledger management unit 240, a
virtual ledger 250, a participant management unit 260, a deposit
and withdrawal management unit 270, a search unit 280, and an
interface unit 290.
[0044] When receiving a group account conversion request from the
first agent, the account management unit 210 converts a first
account previously held by the host into a group account. In an
embodiment, the group account conversion request may include
information about the first account which is a subject to be
converted, setting information for group account to be generated,
and additional information for the group account.
[0045] In this case, the group account conversion request may be
generated by the first agent installed in the first terminal 53.
Hereinafter, the process in which the group account conversion
request is generated by the first agent will be described in detail
with reference to FIGS. 3A to 3C.
[0046] FIG. 3A is a view illustrating a group account opening
request page, FIG. 3B is a view illustrating an account conversion
request page, and FIGS. 3C and 3D are views illustrating a group
account setting information input page.
[0047] When the host executes the first agent through the first
terminal 53, an intro page for providing the banking service may be
provided through the first agent, and when the host requests to
open the group account through various routes provided on the intro
page, the group account opening request page as illustrated in FIG.
3A may be provided through the first agent. For example, when the
host selects a menu "recommended" on the intro page, a page
including a sub menu "group account" may be provided through the
first agent, and when the host selects the sub menu "group
account," the group account opening request page as illustrated in
FIG. 3A may be provided through the first agent.
[0048] When a start now button 310 on the group account opening
request page illustrated in FIG. 3A is selected by the host, the
account conversion request page as illustrated in FIG. 3B is
provided through the first agent.
[0049] The first agent receives information about the first account
to be converted into the group account from the host through an
account selection menu 320 on the account conversion request page.
In an embodiment, the first account may be a general account opened
under a real name of the host. For example, the first account may
be a deposit and withdrawal account opened under the real name of
the host. In this case, the deposit and withdrawal account may be
not only a normal account but also a limited account with a limit
on the transaction amount.
[0050] Further, when a new account button 330 is selected by the
host who does not have any account, pages related to an account
opening process for opening a new account may be sequentially
provided through the first agent, thereby guiding the new account
opening.
[0051] Further, when a button 340 for processing the transaction
name with asterisks is selected by the host, the account management
unit 210 may receive a masking processing request and set masking
processing for the group account. In this case, information about
the masking processing may be included in the additional
information for the group account.
[0052] When the account is selected or the account opening is
completed, the group account setting information input pages as
illustrated in FIGS. 3C and 3D are provided through the first
agent. The host may input the setting information for the group
account including a name of the group, a category of the group, and
the like through the group account setting information input pages.
In FIGS. 3C and 3D, although the name of the group and the category
of the group are illustrated as being input through the group
account setting information input pages, this is only exemplary,
and additional information including a membership fee, a membership
fee payment date, and the like may be input through the group
account setting information input pages.
[0053] When the group account conversion request is generated
through the process illustrated in FIGS. 3A to 3D, the first agent
transmits the generated group account conversion request to the
account management unit 210.
[0054] Meanwhile, the pages as illustrated in FIGS. 3A to 3D may be
provided to the first agent through the interface unit 290 to be
described below.
[0055] Referring to FIG. 2 again, when the account management unit
210 receives the group account conversion request from the first
agent, the account management unit 210 may convert the first
account, which is a subject to be converted into the group account,
into the group account, notify the transaction ledger management
unit 220 of the conversion to allow the transaction ledger
management unit 220 to record information that the first account is
changed to the group account, and the setting information and the
additional information, which are included in the group account
conversion request, in the transaction ledger 230 for the group
account.
[0056] In an embodiment, when the account management unit 210
converts the first account into the group account, the account
management unit 210 may assign a safe account number different from
a real account number of the first account to the group account. In
the present invention, the reason for assigning the safe account
number different from the real account number of the first account
to the group account is because, according to the present
invention, the first account opened under the real name of the host
is converted into the group account and the group account is shared
with the participant so that the real account number of the first
account may be revealed to the participant and personal information
of the host may be leaked to the outside.
[0057] According to the embodiment, a real account number 410a of
the first account may be provided to the host on the first agent as
illustrated in FIG. 4A, and a safe account number 410b may be
revealed to the participant on the second agent as illustrated in
FIG. 4B.
[0058] However, in another embodiment, the safe account number may
be revealed to both of the host and the participant through the
first and second agents, or both of the real account number of the
first account and the safe account number may be provided to the
host on the first agent and the safe account number may be provided
to the participant on the second agent.
[0059] When the account management unit 210 assigns the safe
account number to the group account, the account management unit
210 may notify the transaction ledger management unit 220 of the
assigned safe account number so that the transaction ledger
management unit 220 may map the safe account number with the real
account number of the first account and record.
[0060] Meanwhile, when the account management unit 210 according to
the present invention receives a group account dividing request for
the group account for which the conversion into the group account
is completed from the host through the first agent, the account
management unit 210 may generate a child account whose parent
account is the group account. Specifically, when the account
management unit 210 receives the group account dividing request
from the first agent, the account management unit 210 opens the
child account whose parent account is the group account and which
has at least some deposit amount of the parent account as a deposit
amount thereof. Accordingly, the host may more conveniently manage
reserve funds for the group as compared to the case of managing
reserve funds for the group by opening a separate account.
[0061] In an embodiment, the account management unit 210 may allow
the deposit amount of the child account to be set within a
predetermined maximum amount among the deposit amount of the parent
account and may assign the first interest rate to the deposit
amount of the parent account and assign the second interest rate
different from the first interest rate to the deposit amount of the
child account. In this case, the second interest rate may be set to
be higher than the first interest rate. As described above, in the
embodiment of the present invention, the account management unit
210 may assign an interest rate higher than that of the deposit
amount of the parent account to the deposit amount of the child
account, thereby guiding the host to open the child account and
operate the reserve funds for the group.
[0062] According to the embodiment, the account management unit 210
may generate a plurality of child accounts for one parent account
in response to the request of the user. In this case, the account
management unit 210 separates and manages the deposit amount of the
parent account and the deposit amount of each of the plurality of
child accounts, respectively.
[0063] When the account management unit 210 generates at least one
child account whose parent account is the group account, the
account management unit 210 may notify the transaction ledger
management unit 220 of the generation of the child account to allow
the transaction ledger management unit 220 to record information on
whether the child account is generated for the group account and
record information about the deposit amount of the group account
and the child account in the transaction ledger.
[0064] When the generation of the child account whose parent
account is the group account is completed in response to the group
account dividing request, menus 420a and 420b indicating whether
the child account is generated may be output through the first and
second agents as illustrated in FIGS. 4A and 4B. In this case, the
menus 420a and 420b indicating whether the child account is
generated may include the deposit amount of the child account.
[0065] Referring to FIG. 2 again, when the first account is
converted into the group account by the account management unit
210, the transaction ledger management unit 220 records the content
of an event in the transaction ledger for the group account when
the event occurs for the group account. In an embodiment, the
transaction ledger for the first account may be used as the
transaction ledger for the group account as it is or the
transaction ledger for the group account may be newly
generated.
[0066] In an embodiment, the event for the group account may
include at least one of a transaction occurrence event and an
information occurrence event. The transaction occurrence event may
be a deposit event or a withdrawal event for the group account.
When the transaction occurrence event such as the deposit event or
the withdrawal event occurs for the group account, the transaction
ledger management unit 220 may record the content of the event,
which includes a transaction date and time, an abstract, a
transaction amount, and a balance, in the transaction ledger
230.
[0067] The information occurrence event may include at least one of
memo related to deposit or withdrawal, a tag, registration or
withdrawal information of the participant, an announcement related
to the group, a Dutch treat payment request, the setting
information for the group account, and the additional information
for the group account. Here, the tag is for distinguishing a
representative transaction and, for example, when payment is made
using a check card, a symbol "#check card" may be displayed. The
setting information may include a name of the group, a category of
the group, information about a messenger profile, a membership fee,
and a membership fee payment date. The additional information may
include information about masking processing, information on
whether the child account is generated, information about the child
account, and information about the safe account number.
[0068] Meanwhile, when the transaction ledger management unit 220
receives a Dutch treat payment request from the first agent by the
host, the transaction ledger management unit 220 records the Dutch
treat payment request in the transaction ledger 230. The Dutch
treat payment request includes an amount spent, the number of the
members including the host and the participants to share the amount
spent, and an amount shared by each member. For example, when the
amount spent and the number of members to share the amount spent
are input by the host through a menu (not illustrated) that is
output when a Dutch treat payment request icon (not illustrated) is
selected by the host through the first agent, the amount shared by
each member may be automatically calculated so that the Dutch treat
payment request may be generated.
[0069] The content recorded in the transaction ledger 230 by the
transaction ledger management unit 220 is output on the first agent
by the interface unit 290.
[0070] The transaction occurrence event and the information
occurrence event are recorded in the transaction ledger 230 by the
transaction ledger management unit 220. Here, the transaction
ledger 230 may be implemented in the form of a database.
[0071] When the first account is converted into the group account
by the account management unit 210, the virtual ledger management
unit 240 generates the virtual ledger 250 for the group account,
copies the content recorded in the transaction ledger 230, and
records the copied content in the virtual ledger 250.
[0072] In the present invention, the reason for generating the
virtual ledger through the virtual ledger management unit 240 is
because the host may directly assess the transaction ledger 230 but
the participant may not directly assess the transaction ledger for
the group account, which is an account of another person, and the
virtual ledger in which the content recorded in the transaction
ledger 230 is copied and recorded may be generated so that the
participant may read the virtual ledger, and thus the participant
may feel substantially the same as when reading the transaction
ledger.
[0073] The virtual ledger management unit 240 may monitor change
information of the transaction ledger 230 in real time, and when it
is determined that a change occurs in the transaction ledger 230,
the virtual ledger management unit 240 records the change
information occurred in the transaction ledger 230 in the virtual
ledger 250. Specifically, as a result of the monitoring of the
transaction ledger 230, when a transaction occurrence event is
newly recorded in the transaction ledger 230, the virtual ledger
management unit 240 copies the newly recorded transaction
occurrence event to record the newly recorded transaction
occurrence event in the virtual ledger 250. Further, when, as a
result of the monitoring of the transaction ledger 230, an
information occurrence event is newly recorded in the transaction
ledger 230, the virtual ledger management unit 240 copies the newly
generated information occurrence event to record the newly
generated information occurrence event in the virtual ledger
250.
[0074] The content recorded in the virtual ledger 250 by the
virtual ledger management unit 240 is output on the second agent by
the interface unit 290.
[0075] Meanwhile, when the transaction ledger management unit 220
uses the transaction ledger for the first account as the
transaction ledger 230 for the group account as it is, the virtual
ledger management unit 240 may copy and record the transaction
occurrence events and the information occurrence events that
occurred after the time when the first account is converted into
the group account. Accordingly, since the participants may check
only the transaction occurrence event and the information
occurrence event that occurred after the time when the first
account is converted into the group account, it is possible to
prevent the pieces of information generated during the period when
the group account is used privately by the host from being shared
with the participants and prevent the personal information of the
host from leaking.
[0076] In the virtual ledger 250, the transaction occurrence events
and the information occurrence events which are recorded in the
transaction ledger 230 are recorded by the virtual ledger
management unit 240. Here, the virtual ledger 250 may be
implemented in the form of a database.
[0077] As described above, according to the present invention, when
the transaction history is recorded in the transaction ledger
according to the occurrence of the transaction history of the group
account, the virtual ledger management unit may copy the
transaction history recorded in the transaction ledger and record
the copied transaction history in the virtual ledger so that the
content recorded in the virtual ledger may be provided to the
participants and not only the host but also the participants may
check the transaction history in the group account in real
time.
[0078] The participant management unit 260 registers at least one
person selected by the host among the persons registered in a first
messenger agent as the participant. To this end, the first agent
obtains a list of the persons registered in the first messenger
agent by communicating with the first messenger agent and provides
the obtained list of the persons to the host through the first
agent.
[0079] The participant management unit 260 may generate a
participant registration request for registering a target person as
the participant by selecting at least one person among the list of
the persons output through the first agent by the host.
[0080] For example, as illustrated in FIGS. 5A to 5C, when the host
executes the first agent through the first terminal, the intro page
for providing the banking service may be provided on the first
agent, and when the host requests to register the participant
through various routes provided on the intro page, a participant
invitation page may be provided on the first agent as illustrated
in FIG. 5A.
[0081] As illustrated in FIG. 5A, a participant invitation icon 510
is output on the first agent by the interface unit 290. When the
host selects the participant invitation icon 510, a participant
selection page in which the persons registered in the first
messenger agent are displayed on the first agent as illustrated in
FIG. 5B is displayed.
[0082] Further, unlike that illustrated in FIG. 5A, it is possible
to provide the participant selection page as illustrated in FIG. 5B
even through a page having a "participant invitation" icon. The
page may be provided through the first agent after the host
generates the group account conversion request.
[0083] In this case, as illustrated in FIG. 5B, check icons 522 are
output on the first agent by the interface unit 290 so that the
host may select the persons to be invite as the participants. In
this case, the check icon 522 for an uninvited person may be output
in an activated status so that selection is possible, but the check
icon 522 for a person who is already invited as the participant but
is waiting to be accepted or for a previously registered person as
the participant may be output in a deactivated status so that
selection is not possible. Further, in order to distinguish the
person is waiting to be accepted from the previously registered
person, an acceptance pending icon 524 may be output for the
persons who is already invited but is waiting to be accepted, and a
participating icon 526 may be output for the previously registered
person as the participant.
[0084] When the host selects at least one of the check icons 522
for the persons registered in the first messenger agent and selects
an invitation icon 530, a participant invitation completion page is
displayed on the first agent as illustrated in FIG. 5C. In this
case, the participant management unit 260 receives the participant
registration request from the first agent, generates a group
account subscription request message, and transmits the generated
group account subscription request message to the second agent and
a second messenger agent.
[0085] When the participant management unit 260 receives the
participant registration request from the first agent, the
participant management unit 260 generates the group account
subscription request message for registering the target person to
the group account and transmits the generated group account
subscription request message to the second messenger agent
installed in the second terminal 56 of the target person.
[0086] For example, as illustrated in FIG. 5D, when the participant
management unit 260 transmits the group account subscription
request message to the person to be registered as the participant
through the second messenger agent and the person to be registered
as the participant selects an invitation acceptance icon 540 on the
second messenger agent, the second agent is executed and the group
account participation request page is output on the second agent as
illustrated in FIG. 5E.
[0087] Unlike that illustrated in FIG. 5D, the person to be
registered as the participant executes the second agent and selects
the group account subscription request message provided on the
second agent so that the group account participation request page
may be output as illustrated in FIG. 5E.
[0088] When receiving an account subscription acceptance message
from the second agent installed in the second terminal 56, the
participant management unit 260 registers the target person as the
participant for the group account. In this case, when the group
account subscription request message output on the second messenger
agent is selected by the target person and the second agent is run,
and when the account subscription is accepted by the target person
through the second agent, the account subscription acceptance
message is generated.
[0089] For example, as illustrated in FIG. 5E, when the target
person to be registered as the participant selects acceptance icon
550, the participant management unit 260 receives the account
subscription acceptance message from the second agent while a
message indicating that the group account invitation is accepted is
displayed on the second agent, and the participant management unit
260 registers the target person who accepts the account
subscription as the participant.
[0090] In the above-described embodiment, the participant
management unit 260 is described as transmitting the group account
subscription request to the second messenger agent of the target
person. However, in a modified embodiment, the participant
management unit 260 may directly transmit the group account
subscription request to the second agent of the target person. In
this case, the account subscription acceptance message may be
generated when the account subscription is accepted by the target
person after the group account subscription request message output
on the second agent is selected by the target person.
[0091] When the participant management unit 260 registers the
participant, the participant management unit 260 may notify the
transaction ledger management unit 220 of the registration of the
participant so that the information about the registered
participant may be recorded in the transaction ledger 230 by the
transaction ledger management unit 220.
[0092] In an embodiment, the participant management unit 260 may
collectively register all the corresponding persons for the
participant registration request for all persons registered in a
chat room opened on the first messenger agent as the
participants.
[0093] Specifically, when receiving the participant registration
request for all the persons registered in the chat room opened on
the first messenger agent from the first agent, the participant
management unit 260 transmits the group account subscription
request message to the second messenger agents installed in the
second terminals of the target persons included in the participant
registration request. When the target persons select the group
account subscription request message to perform the account
subscription acceptance through the second agents, the participant
management unit 260 may register the corresponding target persons
as the participants. In this case, each of the target persons may
select the group account subscription request message transmitted
to the second agent to perform the account subscription acceptance
or may select the group account subscription request message
transmitted to the second messenger agent and execute the second
agent to perform the account subscription acceptance.
[0094] Meanwhile, the participant management unit 260 may receive
information about a messenger profile of the host and information
about a messenger profile of the participant through first agent
and record them in the transaction ledger 230. The information
about the messenger profile of the host and the information about
the messenger profile of the participant may be obtained from the
first messenger agent. In an embodiment, the information about the
messenger profile of the host and the information about the
messenger profile of the participant may be obtained from the first
messenger agent by the first agent in communication with the first
messenger agent and be transmitted to the participant management
unit 260, and the participant management unit 260 may transmit the
information about the messenger profile of the host and the
information about the messenger profile of the participant to the
transaction ledger management unit 220, and thus the transaction
ledger management unit 220 may record the information about the
messenger profile of the host and the information about the
messenger profile of the participant in the transaction ledger
230.
[0095] In this case, the first messenger agent may refer to a
social networking service (SNS) application or short message
service (SMS) application, through which messages are transmitted,
and the information about the messenger profile may include the
name of the host or the name of the participant and a profile
picture of the host or a profile picture of the participant.
[0096] In the above-described embodiment, the participant
management unit 260 is described as performing a function of
registering the participant who will participate in the group
account service. In another embodiment, the participant management
unit 260 may additionally perform a function of exiting the
registered participant. Specifically, when receiving a participant
exit request from the second agent, the participant management unit
260 allows a target participant who is the target of the exit
request to from the group account. The participant management unit
260 may transmit the information about the target participant who
requests to exit to the transaction ledger management unit 220 to
allow the transaction ledger management unit 220 to record the
withdrawal information about the corresponding participant.
[0097] For example, as illustrated in FIG. 6A, when a menu screen
of the group account, which includes a first icon 510 for exiting
from the group account, is provided through the second agent and
the first icon 610 is selected by the participant, the participant
exit request page is provided as illustrated in FIG. 6B. When a
second icon 620 for exiting from the group account included in the
participant exit request page is selected by the participant, the
participant exit request is generated and transmitted to the
participant management unit 260 by the second agent. Accordingly,
the participant management unit 260 performs exit processing for
the corresponding participant.
[0098] Referring to FIG. 2 again, the deposit and withdrawal
management unit 270 processes a deposit event or a withdrawal event
occurring for the group account in response to the request of the
first agent. In particular, according to the present invention, the
deposit and withdrawal management unit 270 may check whether a
member (the host or the participant) registered on the group
account deposits the membership fee by referring to the transaction
ledger 230 and may generate and transmit a membership fee payment
message to the member whose membership fee is not deposited.
[0099] Specifically, when a preset membership fee payment date
arrives, the deposit and withdrawal management unit 270 checks the
transaction ledger 230 to determine the member for which the
deposit event does not occur on the membership fee payment date.
Thereafter, the deposit and withdrawal management unit 270
generates the membership fee payment message for guiding the
membership fee payment and transmits the generated membership fee
payment message to the first or second agent of the determined
member or to the first or second messenger agent of the determined
member. In this case, the membership fee payment message may
include the membership fee payment date, the membership fee to be
paid, and the name of the member.
[0100] In an embodiment, when a membership fee payment request is
generated from the member, the deposit and withdrawal management
unit 270 may withdraw an amount according to a preset transfer
condition from the withdrawal account of the member according to
the preset transfer condition without setting a separate transfer
condition and automatically deposit the amount into the group
account. In this case, the preset transfer condition refers to a
transfer condition in which the number for account to be deposited
the amount is set as the account number of the group account and
the deposit amount is set as the preset membership fee.
[0101] In the above-described embodiment, both of the number for
account to be deposited the amount and the deposit amount are
described as being set through the preset transfer condition, but
in another embodiment, only the number for account to be deposited
the amount may be automatically set as the account number of the
group account under the preset transfer condition and the deposit
amount may be input from the member.
[0102] For example, when the participant selects a "group account"
menu on the intro page, a transaction history page including a
membership fee deposit icon 710 is provided through the second
agent as illustrated in FIG. 7A. When the membership fee deposit
icon 710 is selected by the participant, a transfer page, which
includes a deposit amount input window 720 and a withdrawal account
selection window 725, is provided as illustrated in FIG. 7B. After
the deposit amount is input to the deposit amount input window 720
by the participant and the selection of the withdrawal account is
completed in the withdrawal account selection window 725, when a
transfer icon 730 is selected, the membership fee payment request
is generated. When receiving the membership fee payment request,
the deposit and withdrawal management unit 270 withdraws the
deposit amount input to the deposit amount input window 720 from
the withdrawal account selected in the withdrawal account selection
window 725 and transfers the withdrawn amount to the group
account.
[0103] Referring to FIG. 2 again, the deposit and withdrawal
management unit 270 may withdrawal the membership fee from the
withdrawal account set by the member on the preset membership fee
payment date in response to a membership fee automatic transfer
request set by the member and transfers the withdrawn membership
fee to the group account.
[0104] Meanwhile, when a Dutch treat payment icon provided through
the first and second agents of the members is selected by the
member, the deposit and withdrawal management unit 270 generates a
Dutch treat payment request, withdrawals a shared amount included
in the Dutch treat payment request from the withdrawal account set
by the member in response to Dutch treat payment request, and
deposits the shared amount to the group account. In this case, the
deposit and withdrawal management unit 270 may check the shared
amount included in Dutch treat payment request from the Dutch treat
payment request registered in the transaction ledger 230.
[0105] As described above, when the Dutch treat payment icon is
selected by the member, the deposit and withdrawal management unit
270 automatically sets the amount to be withdrawn and the deposit
account, and thus convenience may be increased when it is performed
to transfer based on the Dutch treat.
[0106] The search unit 280 searches a membership fee payment
history recorded in the transaction ledger and classifies and
provides a result of the search according to at least one of the
membership fee payment date and the name of the member. Here, the
membership fee payment date may be classified by month or year. For
example, the search unit 280 may classify the membership fee
payment history into the membership fee for this month, last month,
or this year. As another example, the search unit 280 may classify
the membership fee payment history into the membership fee for this
month and the accumulated membership fee.
[0107] In an embodiment, when receiving a membership fee payment
search request generated by the host from the first agent, the
search unit 280 may provide the search result corresponding to the
membership fee payment search request to the host through the first
agent. In this case, the membership fee payment search request may
include the membership fee payment date or the name of the member
to be searched.
[0108] When the search result is generated, the search unit 280 may
generate the generated search result in the form of a message and
provide the generated search result to the participant through the
second messenger agent or the second agent.
[0109] When a "membership fee status" icon 810 is selected by the
host on the account management page, which includes the "membership
fee status" icon 810, as illustrated in FIG. 8A, the search unit
280 provides a membership fee deposit status page, which includes
the membership fee deposit history for each member as illustrated
in FIG. 8B, to the host through the first agent. As illustrated in
FIG. 8B, it can be seen that the membership fee deposit history is
classified into the membership fee deposit for this month and the
accumulated membership fee deposit and that the membership fee
deposit history is classified and provided by the name of each
member. Here, the accumulated membership fee deposit may refer to
the membership fee accumulated from the opening date of the group
account to the present.
[0110] When a first message card send button 820 is selected by the
host on the membership fee deposit status page as illustrated in
FIG. 8B, the search unit 280 generates a search result which
includes the membership fee deposit status of all the members in
the form of a message as illustrated in FIG. 8C and provides the
search result to each member through the second agent or the second
messenger agent.
[0111] As another example, when any one member 830 among the
members is selected by the host on the membership fee deposit
status page as illustrated in FIG. 8B, the search unit 280 provides
the membership fee deposit status page which includes the
membership fee deposit history of the corresponding member as
illustrated in FIG. 8D to the host through the first agent. As
illustrated in FIG. 8D, it can be seen that the membership fee
deposit history of the corresponding member generated during a
predetermined period of time is classified for each day and
provided.
[0112] When a second message card send button 840 is selected by
the host on the membership fee deposit status page as illustrated
in FIG. 8D, the search unit 280 generates a search result which
includes the membership fee deposit status of the corresponding
member in the form of a message and provides the search result to
the corresponding member through the second agent or the second
messenger agent.
[0113] Referring to FIG. 2 again, the interface unit 290 provides
the content of the transaction ledger 230 to the host through the
first agent and provides the content of the virtual ledger 250 to
the participant through the second agent.
[0114] That is, according to the present invention, the interface
unit 290 provides the content of the transaction ledger 230 to the
host and provides the content of the virtual ledger 250 to the
participant so that the host and the participant may share the
content of the transaction ledger 230 for the group account in real
time.
[0115] In an embodiment, when masking processing for the group
account is set by the account management unit 210, the interface
unit 290 may mask some transaction occurrence events recorded in
the virtual ledger and provide the masked transaction occurrence
events to the participant through the second agent. A target of the
masking processing may be at least a portion of the abstract
included in the transaction occurrence event.
[0116] That is, since the interface unit 290 directly provides the
content of the transaction ledger to the first agent of the host,
the transaction history is provided in a non-masked status on the
first agent whereas, since the interface unit 290 provides the
content of the virtual ledger to the second agent of the
participant, at least some transaction history is provided in a
masked status on the second agent.
[0117] In the present invention, the reason for providing the
unmasked transaction history on the first agent and providing the
masked transaction history on the second agent is because the group
account is shared with the plurality of participants so that the
personal information of the host or the participant may be
unintentionally exposed when the unmasked transaction history is
provided to all the participants.
[0118] For example, in a transaction history 440a read by the host
through the first agent as illustrated in FIG. 4A, all pieces of
information are provided in an unmasked status whereas, in a
transaction history 440b read by the participant through the second
agent as illustrated in FIG. 4B, information may be provided in a
status in which the second letter of the abstract is masked.
[0119] In FIG. 4B, although only the second letter of the abstract
is illustrated as being masked, the first or third letter of the
abstract may be masked or all the letters of the abstract may be
masked.
[0120] Meanwhile, the interface unit 290 may output messenger
profile information 450a about the members recorded in the
transaction ledger or the virtual ledger on the first or second
agent in the form of the same as that illustrated in FIG. 4A. As
illustrated in FIG. 4A, the profile pictures of the host and the
participant may be output as the messenger profile information
450a, and the profile pictures may be arranged sequentially
starting from the host in the order of the participants who joined
the group account. In an embodiment, the profile pictures of the
host and the participant may be arranged so that at least a region
460 overlaps as illustrated in FIG. 4A.
[0121] Meanwhile, when the number of the host and the participants
is greater than or equal to a reference number, the profile
pictures of the participants and the host may be displayed up to
the number of the profile pictures less than to the reference
number without change, and the profile pictures of the participants
and the host in which the number of the profile pictures is greater
than or equal to the reference number may be replaced with one
predetermined symbol and displayed. In an embodiment, as
illustrated in FIG. 4A the profile picture may be replaced with a
symbol 470, in which ". . . " is placed in a circle, and
displayed.
[0122] In FIGS. 4A and 4C, the profile pictures are illustrated as
being output as the information about the messenger profiles of the
host and the participant, but this is only exemplary, and the names
or nicknames of the host and the participant may be displayed as
the information about the messenger profiles. Further, the profile
pictures may be arranged in random order, and the profile pictures
of the host and all the participants may be output regardless of
the reference number.
[0123] Meanwhile, the interface unit 290 may display the group
account and other accounts except for the group account on the
first and second agents in different forms or may separate and
display the group account and other accounts except for the group
account in different regions. For example, the group account and
the other accounts may be displayed in different colors or, as
another example, the information about the group account may be
displayed in a first region and the information about the other
accounts except for the group account may be displayed in a second
region. In an embodiment, the first region may be a region located
below the second region, and the second region may be set to have a
size greater than that of the first region. Accordingly, the
visibility of the other accounts may be increased as compared to
the group account.
[0124] In the above-described embodiment, when there are a
plurality of group accounts, the interface unit 290 may
sequentially place the group accounts in the second region in the
order in which the group accounts are opened.
[0125] For example, as illustrated in FIG. 9, the interface unit
290 places the group account in a first region 903 and places the
other accounts in a second region 906 located above the first
region 903.
[0126] Further, when there are first and second group accounts, the
interface unit 290 may place the first and second group accounts in
the second region by overlapping some regions in the order in which
the group accounts are opened. The first account opened first may
be placed at the front end, and the second account may be placed at
the rear end of the first account in the form in which some regions
overlap.
[0127] In this case, the interface unit 290 may additionally
provide a group account unfold icon, and thus the first and second
accounts which overlap may be unfolded and displayed not to overlap
a region different from the second region when the group account
unfold icon is selected by the member.
[0128] Further, the group account fold icon 910 is provided while
the first and second accounts are unfolded and displayed, and thus
the first and second accounts which are unfolded are again placed
so that some regions in the second region overlap each other when
the group account fold icon 910 is selected by the member.
[0129] In FIG. 9, a group account fold icon 910 is illustrated, but
this is only exemplary. When the group account unfold icon is
selected, the group account unfold icon is changed to the group
account fold icon 910, and when the group account fold icon 910 is
selected, the group account fold icon 910 is changed to the group
account unfold icon.
[0130] Hereinafter, a group account service providing method
according to the present invention will be described in detail with
reference to the accompanying drawings.
[0131] FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating a group account service
providing method according to an embodiment of the present
invention. The group account service providing method illustrated
in FIG. 10 may be performed by the group account service providing
server illustrated in FIG. 2.
[0132] The group account service providing server receives a group
account conversion request from a first agent installed in a first
terminal (S1010). The group account conversion request is for
conversing a first account of a host to a group account. In an
embodiment, the group account conversion request may include
information about the first account which is a subject to be
converted, a setting information about the group account to be
generated, and additional information for the group account.
[0133] When the group account service providing server receives the
group account conversion request from the first agent, the group
account service providing server converts the first account, which
is a subject to be converted, into the group account (S1020).
[0134] In an embodiment, when converting the first account into the
group account, the group account service providing server may
assign a safe account number different from a real account number
for the first account to the group account. In the present
invention, the reason for assigning the safe account number
different from the real account number for the first account to the
group account is because, according to the present invention, the
first account opened under the real name of the host is converted
into the group account and the group account is shared with
participants so that the real account number for the first account
may be revealed to the participants and personal information of the
host may be leaked to the outside. In this case, the group account
service providing server may output the real account number for the
first account on the first agent and output the safe account number
on a second agent installed in a second terminal of the
participant.
[0135] Although not illustrated in FIG. 10, if the group account
service providing server receives a group account dividing request
from the first agent, the group account service providing server
may open a child account whose parent account is the group account
and which has at least some deposit amount of the parent account as
a deposit amount thereof when the group account service providing
server converts the first account into the group account. In this
case, the group account service providing server may assign a first
interest rate to the deposit amount of the parent account and
assign a second interest rate different from the first interest
rate to the deposit amount of the child account. The second
interest rate may be set to be higher than the first interest
rate.
[0136] When the first account is converted into the group account,
the group account service providing server generates a virtual
ledger for the group account (S1030). In the present invention, the
reason for generating the virtual ledger for the group account is
because the host may directly assess the transaction ledger but the
participant may not directly assess the transaction ledger for the
group account, which is an account of another person, and the
virtual ledger in which the content recorded in the transaction
ledger is copied and recorded may be generated so that the
participant may read the virtual ledger, and thus the participant
may feel substantially the same as when reading the transaction
ledger.
[0137] The group account service providing server determines
whether change information about the group account is generated
(S1040). The group account service providing server records the
generated change information when the change information about the
group account is generated in the transaction ledger (S1050). In an
embodiment, the change information about the group account may
include at least one of a transaction occurrence event and an
information occurrence event.
[0138] The transaction occurrence event may be a deposit event or a
withdrawal event for the group account. When the transaction
occurrence event such as the deposit event or the withdrawal event
occurs for the group account, the group account service providing
server may record the content of the event, which includes a
transaction date and time, an abstract, a transaction amount, and a
balance in the transaction ledger.
[0139] The information occurrence event may include at least one of
memo related to deposit or withdrawal, a tag, registration or
withdrawal information of the participant, announcement related to
the group, a Dutch treat payment request, setting information about
the group account, and additional information for the group
account. Here, the tag is for distinguishing a representative
transaction and, for example, when payment is made using a check
card, a symbol "#check card" may be displayed. The setting
information for the group account may include a name of the group,
a category for the group, information about a messenger profile, a
membership fee, and a membership fee payment date. The additional
information for the group may include information about masking
processing, information on whether the child account is generated,
information about the child account, and information about the safe
account number. Further, the information about the masking
processing represents a request to mask some transaction occurrence
events (e.g., at least some abstracts) recorded in the virtual
ledger. In the present invention, the reason for performing the
masking processing on some of the transaction occurrence events
recorded in the virtual ledger according to the information about
the masking processing is because the group account is shared with
the plurality of participants so that the personal information of
the host or the participant may be unintentionally exposed when the
unmasked transaction history is provided to all the
participants.
[0140] The group account service providing server monitors whether
the change information is recorded in the transaction ledger
(S1060), and when it is determined that the change information is
recorded in the transaction ledger, the group account service
providing server copies the change information recorded in the
transaction ledger and records the copied change information in the
virtual ledger (1070). That is, the group account service providing
server monitors whether the transaction occurrence event or the
information occurrence event is recorded in the transaction ledger,
and when it is determined that the transaction occurrence event or
the information occurrence event is recorded in the transaction
ledger, the group account service providing server copies the
transaction occurrence event or the information occurrence event
and records the transaction occurrence event or the information
occurrence event in the virtual ledger.
[0141] Thereafter, the group account service providing server
outputs the content recorded in the transaction ledger to the first
agent (S1080) and outputs the content recorded in the virtual
ledger to the second agent (S1090).
[0142] As described above, according to the present invention, the
group account service providing server may generate the virtual
ledger, in which the content of the transaction ledger is copied
and recorded, to provide the content of the transaction ledger to
the host and provide the content of the virtual ledger to the
participant, and thus the host and the participant may share the
content of the transaction ledger for the group account in real
time.
[0143] Hereinafter, a participant registration procedure will be
described in detail with reference to FIG. 11. FIG. 11 is a
flowchart illustrating a method of performing a participant
registration procedure according to an embodiment of the present
invention.
[0144] As illustrated in FIG. 11, a first terminal generates a
participant registration request through a first agent and
transmits the generated participant registration request to a group
account service providing server (S1110). In an embodiment, the
participant registration request may be generated by selecting at
least one target person from among a list of persons registered in
a first messenger agent installed in the first terminal by a host
on the first agent. In this case, the group account service
providing server may classify and output a list of persons
registered in the first messenger agent on the first agent into
previously invited persons, uninvited persons, and persons waiting
to be accepted.
[0145] In another embodiment, the participant registration request
may be generated by selecting all persons registered in a chat room
opened on the first messenger agent by the host on the first
agent.
[0146] When receiving the participant registration request from the
first terminal, the group account service providing server
generates a participant subscription request message (S1120) and
transmits the generated participant subscription request message to
a second messenger agent installed in a second terminal of the
target person (S1130). In this case, when there are a plurality of
target persons, the group account service providing server
generates a participant subscription request message for all the
target persons requested for registration and transmits the
participant subscription request message to a second agent
installed in the second terminal for each target person.
[0147] Thereafter, the second terminal generates an account
subscription acceptance message and transmits the generated account
subscription acceptance message to the group account service
providing server (S1140). Specifically, when the participant
subscription request message is selected by the target person on
the second messenger agent, the second terminal executes the second
agent to generate the account subscription acceptance message using
the second agent.
[0148] In the above-described embodiment, the group account service
providing server is described as transmitting the participant
subscription request message to the second messenger agent but, in
another embodiment, the group account service providing server may
directly transmit the participant subscription request message to
the second agent. In this case, when the second agent is executed
by the target person to select the participant subscription request
message, the second terminal may generate the account subscription
acceptance message.
[0149] When receiving the account subscription acceptance message
from the second terminal, the group account service providing
server registers the target person as the participant of the group
account (S1150) and records participant registration information
for the target person in the transaction ledger (S1160). In this
case, the group account service providing server may receive
information about a messenger profile of the host and information
about a messenger profile of the participant, which are obtained
from the first messenger agent, from the first agent and record the
information of the messenger profile of the host and the
information of the messenger profile of the participant in the
transaction ledger.
[0150] When the participant registration information is recorded in
the transaction ledger, the group account service providing server
copies the participant registration information recorded in the
transaction ledger and records the copied participant registration
information in the virtual ledger (S1170). The participant
registration information is recorded in the virtual ledger, and
thus the participant registration procedure for the target person
is completed.
[0151] Thereafter, the group account service providing server
outputs the content recorded in the transaction ledger to the
host(S1180) and outputs the content recorded in the virtual ledger
to the target person registered as the participant (S1190). In this
case, the group account service providing server may sequentially
place and output the messenger profiles recorded in the transaction
ledger and the virtual ledger in a predetermined region on the
first or second agent so that the messenger profiles overlap some
neighboring messenger profiles.
[0152] In FIGS. 10 and 11, the group account service providing
server is described as performing only the conversion into the
group account and the participant registration procedure, but the
group account service providing server according to the present
invention may perform a general banking service such as deposit
processing or withdrawal processing for the group account.
[0153] For example, when a membership fee payment request is
generated by the member (the host or the participant), the group
account service providing server may perform membership fee payment
processing. In particular, when the membership fee payment is
performed, the group account service providing server according to
the present invention may withdraw an amount according to a preset
transfer condition from a withdrawal account of the member
according to the preset transfer condition without setting a
separate transfer condition and automatically deposit the amount
into the group account.
[0154] In an embodiment, the preset transfer condition may refer to
a transfer condition in which the number for an account to be
deposited the membership fee is set as the account number for the
group account and the deposit amount is set as the preset
membership fee. In another embodiment, the preset transfer
condition may refer to a transfer condition in which only the
number for the account to be deposited the membership fee is
automatically set as the account number for the group account, and
the deposit amount may be directly input from the member.
[0155] Meanwhile, the group account service providing server
according to the present invention may process a Dutch treat
request. Specifically, when the Dutch treat request is generated by
the first agent, the group account service providing server
provides a Dutch treat payment icon through the first and second
agents. When a Dutch treat payment request is generated by
selecting the Dutch treat payment icon by the member, the group
account service providing server receives the Dutch treat payment
request and performs the Dutch treat payment processing. While the
Dutch treat payment processing is performed, the group account
service providing server checks information about the withdrawal
account of the member in the Dutch treat payment request and
withdraws the shared amount from the withdrawal account of the
corresponding member to deposit the shared amount to the group
account. In this case, the shared amount to be withdrawn may be
obtained from the Dutch treat payment request registered in the
transaction ledger.
[0156] The above description of the invention is only exemplary,
and it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various
modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the
present invention and without changing essential features.
[0157] For example, the configuration of the group account service
providing server illustrated in FIG. 2, the group account service
providing method illustrated in FIG. 10, or the participant
registration procedure illustrated in FIG. 11 may be implemented in
the form of a program such as an application or an agent to be
recorded on a medium capable of reading the corresponding program.
When the group account service providing server, the group account
service providing method, or the participant registration procedure
according to the present invention is implemented as a program, the
components illustrated in FIG. 2 and the operations illustrated in
FIGS. 10 and 11 may be implemented as codes, and codes for
implementing specific functions may be implemented as a single
program or may be implemented by being divided into a plurality of
programs.
[0158] When the present invention is implemented by being divided
into a plurality of programs, the programs may be recorded on
different media. For example, some of the functions may be
installed in the group account service providing server, and the
remaining functions may be implemented as the first agent or the
second agent and installed in the first terminal or the second
terminal.
[0159] Therefore, the above-described embodiments should be
considered in a descriptive sense only and not for purposes of
limitation. Accordingly, the scope of the invention is not limited
by the embodiments. The scope of the invention is defined by the
appended claims and encompasses all modifications and equivalents
that fall within the scope of the appended claims.
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