Patent Publication Number: US-2016239838-A1

Title: Information processing systems, apparatuses, and methods

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This U.S. non-provisional application claims the benefit of priority under 35 U.S.C §119 to Japanese Patent Application No. 2015-027316 filed on Feb. 16, 2015, in the Japanese Patent Office (JPO), the disclosure of which is incorporated herein in its entirety by reference. 
     BACKGROUND 
     1. Field 
     The example embodiments generally relate to an information processing system and/or an information processing method. 
     2. Description of the Related Art 
     Conventionally, there has been a known technique for paying by credit card using a terminal such as a cellular phone, etc. Further, a payment is often made by so-called “separate checks” (i.e., splitting a check, bill split, split the bill equally, each paying for his/her own account, sharing the expenses, etc.) when, for example, several persons have a meal or buy something together. 
     In this regard, there is a known technique in which after a representative user pays (a full amount) by his/her credit card, the payment processes are made by separate checks with the other user(s). By using such a technique, it becomes possible to pay by separate checks by two or more users. 
     SUMMARY 
     According to an aspect of the inventive concepts according to at least one example embodiment, an information processing system including one or more information processing apparatuses, may include a memory having computer readable instructions stored thereon, and at least one processor configured to execute the computer readable instructions to, transmit a first request to a first terminal apparatus, the first request including a request for payment of a desired commercial transaction, receive a response to the first request from the first terminal apparatus, the response including an approval of paying for the desired commercial transaction, perform a credit inquiry on a credit card to be used for a transaction related to the desired commercial transaction, determine whether the response includes separate checks information, the separate checks information indicating payment is to be made by a plurality of users, and content of the desired commercial transaction has been changed within a desired time period since performing the credit inquiry, and instruct payment of the commercial transaction based on the results of the determination. 
     According to at least one example embodiment, the at least one processor may be further configured to execute the computer readable instructions to determine whether the response includes the separate checks information and information indicating that new commercial transactions were generated for the plurality of users excluding the user who responded to the first request, transmit a second request to each of the terminal apparatuses associated with the other users, the second request including requests for payment for the respective new commercial transactions, receive second responses to the second request from the terminal apparatuses associated with the other users, including credit card information associated with the other users, perform credit inquiries on the credit card information provided in the received second responses, and change the content of the desired commercial transaction based on a result of the credit inquiries performed. 
     According to at least one example embodiment, the at least one processor may be further configured to execute the computer readable instructions to identify a commercial transaction, to which payment is to be made among the newly generated commercial transactions, based on the performed credit inquiries, and change the content of the desired commercial transaction based on the content of the identified commercial transaction. 
     According to at least one example embodiment, the system may include wherein the second request may include separate checks amounts which are amounts of the commercial transactions newly generated for the other users. 
     According to at least one example embodiment, the system may include wherein the separate checks amounts may be amounts which are designated to the other users or the amount which is calculated by evenly dividing an amount of the desired commercial transaction by a number of the plurality of users. 
     According to at least one example embodiment, the at least one processor may be further configured to execute the computer readable instructions to pay the commercial transactions generated for the users by paying electronic money corresponding to amounts of the commercial transactions to the user who responded to the first request when the other users include users who desire to pay using electronic payment. 
     According to at least one example embodiment, the at least one processor may be further configured to execute the computer readable instructions to instruct payment of the desired commercial transaction in a case where although the response to the first request includes the separate checks information, the content of the desired commercial transaction is not changed and the desired time period has passed since performing the credit inquiry. 
     According to an aspect of the inventive concepts according to at least one example embodiment, an information processing method may include transmitting, using at least one processor, a first request to a first terminal apparatus, the first request including a request for payment of a desired commercial transaction, receiving, using the at least one processor, a response to the first request from the first terminal apparatus, the response including an approval of paying for the desired commercial transaction, performing, using the at least one processor, a credit inquiry on a credit card to be used for a transaction related to a desired commercial transaction, determining, using the at least one processor, whether the response includes separate checks information, the separate checks information indicating payment is to be made by a plurality of users, and content of the desired commercial transaction has been changed within a desired time period since performing the credit inquiry, and instructing payment, using the at least one processor, of the commercial transaction based on the results of the determining. 
     According to at least one example embodiment, the determining may include determining, using the at least one processor, whether the response includes the separate checks information and information indicating that new commercial transactions were generated for the plurality of users excluding the user who responded to the first request, transmitting, using the at least one processor, a second request to each of the terminal apparatuses associated with the other users, the second request including requests for payment for the respective new commercial transactions, receiving, using the at least one processor, second responses to the second request from the terminal apparatuses associated with the other users, including credit card information associated with the other users, performing, using the at least one processor, credit inquiries on the credit card information provided in the received second responses, and changing, using the at least one processor, the content of the desired commercial transaction based on a result of the credit inquiries performed. 
     According to at least one example embodiment, the method may include identifying, using the at least one processor, a commercial transaction, to which payment is to be made among the newly generated commercial transactions, based on the performed credit inquiries, and changing, using the at least one processor, the content of the desired commercial transaction based on the content of the identified commercial transaction. 
     According to at least one example embodiment, the method may include wherein the second request includes separate checks amounts which are amounts of the commercial transactions newly generated for the other users. 
     According to at least one example embodiment, the method may include wherein the separate checks amounts are amounts which are designated to the other users or the amount which is calculated by evenly dividing an amount of the desired commercial transaction by a number of the plurality of users. 
     According to at least one example embodiment, the method may include paying, using the at least one processor, the commercial transactions generated for the users by paying electronic money corresponding to amounts of the commercial transactions to the user who responded to the first request when the other users include users who desire to pay using electronic payment. 
     According to at least one example embodiment, the method may include instructing payment, using the at least one processor, of the desired commercial transaction in a case where although the response to the first request includes the separate checks information, the content of the desired commercial transaction is not changed and the desired time period has passed since performing the credit inquiry. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The foregoing and other features of inventive concepts will be apparent from the more particular description of non-limiting example embodiments of inventive concepts, as illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which like reference characters refer to like parts throughout the different views. The drawings are not necessarily to scale, emphasis instead being placed upon illustrating principles of inventive concepts. In the drawings: 
         FIG. 1  illustrates an example configuration of a payment management system according to at least one example embodiment; 
         FIG. 2  illustrates an outline of the processes of the payment management system according to at least one example embodiment; 
         FIG. 3  illustrates an example hardware configuration of a computer according to at least one example embodiment; 
         FIG. 4  illustrates an example process block diagram of the payment management system according to at least one example embodiment; 
         FIG. 5  illustrates an example configuration of a user ID table according to at least one example embodiment; 
         FIG. 6  illustrates an example configuration of a transaction information table according to at least one example embodiment; 
         FIG. 7  is a sequence diagram of an example of a separate check payment process according to at least one example embodiment; 
         FIG. 8A  illustrates an example setting screen to set a payment method according to at least one example embodiment; 
         FIG. 8B  illustrates an example setting screen to set a user who shares separate check payment according to at least one example embodiment; 
         FIG. 9A  illustrates an example separate checks request screen according to at least one example embodiment; 
         FIG. 9B  illustrates an example payment method setting screen according to at least one example embodiment; 
         FIG. 10  illustrates an example process block diagram of a payment management system according to at least one example embodiment; 
         FIG. 11  illustrates another example configuration of the transaction information table according to at least one example embodiment; and 
         FIG. 12  is a sequence diagram of another example of the separate check payment process according to at least one example embodiment. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     Various example embodiments will now be described more fully with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which some example embodiments are shown. Example embodiments, may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as being limited to the embodiments set forth herein; rather, these example embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of example embodiments of inventive concepts to those of ordinary skill in the art. In the drawings, the thicknesses of layers and regions are exaggerated for clarity. Like reference characters and/or numerals in the drawings denote like elements, and thus their description may be omitted. 
     It will be understood that when an element is referred to as being “connected” or “coupled” to another element, it can be directly connected or coupled to the other element or intervening elements may be present. In contrast, when an element is referred to as being “directly connected” or “directly coupled” to another element, there are no intervening elements present. Other words used to describe the relationship between elements or layers should be interpreted in a like fashion (e.g., “between” versus “directly between,” “adjacent” versus “directly adjacent,” “on” versus “directly on”). As used herein the term “and/or” includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed items. 
     It will be understood that, although the terms “first”, “second”, etc. may be used herein to describe various elements, components, regions, layers and/or sections. These elements, components, regions, layers and/or sections should not be limited by these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish one element, component, region, layer or section from another element, component, region, layer or section. Thus, a first element, component, region, layer or section discussed below could be termed a second element, component, region, layer or section without departing from the teachings of example embodiments. 
     The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of example embodiments. As used herein, the singular forms “a,” “an” and “the” are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will be further understood that the terms “comprises”, “comprising”, “includes” and/or “including,” if used herein, specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components and/or groups thereof. Expressions such as “at least one of,” when preceding a list of elements, modify the entire list of elements and do not modify the individual elements of the list. 
     Unless otherwise defined, all terms (including technical and scientific terms) used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which example embodiments belong. It will be further understood that terms, such as those defined in commonly-used dictionaries, should be interpreted as having a meaning that is consistent with their meaning in the context of the relevant art and will not be interpreted in an idealized or overly formal sense unless expressly so defined herein. 
     In related technologies, in order for a plurality of users to pay by separate checks, it is necessary to pay with a credit card of a specific credit card company. That is, it is necessary for a representative user, who pays the full amount first, to have a credit card of such a specific credit card company. There are, however, many credit cards issued from various card companies and/or alternative payment methods, such as debit cards, gift cards, rewards points, loyalty points, crypto-currency (e.g., Bitcoin), account information, etc. Therefore, it is desired that the payment by separate checks can be done without being limited to specific credit cards. 
     Therefore, there is provided a server which can send requests to pay the amounts, which are determined on a separate check basis, to the respective card companies of the credit cards owned by the users, so that the server sends the requests to the card companies to pay the amounts determined on the separate check basis after the payment by the representative user is settled. 
     In this case, however, if there exists, for example, a user whose payment amount, which is determined by the separate checks, exceeds the credit line (credit card expense limit) of the user, it is not possible for the user to pay the payment amount. As a result, a problem may occur that the total amount, which is to be paid by the separate checks, differs from the payment amount of the goods actually purchased, etc. 
     Various example embodiments of the inventive concepts are presented in light of the above problem, and may provide a system that makes it possible to correctly pay by separate check using a plurality of credit cards. 
     In the following, various example embodiments are described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. 
       FIG. 1  illustrates an example configuration of a payment management system  1  according to at least one example embodiment. The payment management system  1  of  FIG. 1  includes a plurality of terminal apparatuses  10 , a payment management apparatus  20 , at least one shop terminal  30 , and at least one electronic payment system (e.g., a credit card payment system, bank account payment system, electronic wire transfer system, vendor specific financial transaction system, loyalty rewards program, crypto-currency transaction system, etc., hereinafter referred to as “credit card payment system”) such as credit card payment system  40 , which are connected to each other via a wide-area network N such as the Internet, an intranet, a LAN, a WAN, a PAN, a cellular network, a communications network, a data network, etc., so as to communicate with each other. Further, the terminal apparatus  10  is connected to the shop terminal  30  so as to communicate with each other by using, for example, Near Field Communication (NFC), Bluetooth, IR, wired connections, wireless connections, barcode scanner, etc. 
     The terminal apparatus  10  may be a smartphone, a tablet terminal, a wearable terminal, a laptop Personal Computer (PC), a desktop PC, a smart device, etc., by which a user performs payment by a credit card. The terminal apparatus  10  includes a payment application  11  installed therein, so that, by using the payment application  11 , a user can use a payment service to pay by an electronic payment method, such as a credit card, debit card, gift card, electronic wire transfer, bank account charges, other financial account charges, video game service account, social network account, instant messaging account, online account, etc. Further, the user can arrange payment by separate checks with the other user(s). 
     The payment application  11  of the terminal apparatus  10  manages a user ID, which uniquely identifies the user who uses the terminal apparatus  10  in the payment management system  1 . In the following, the terminal apparatuses  10  of a user “A”, a user “B”, and a user “C” are called “terminal apparatus  10 - 1 ”, “terminal apparatus  10 - 2 ”, and “terminal apparatus  10 - 3 ”, respectively. Further, the user IDs applied to the user “A”, the user “B”, and the user “C” are called “user_id_a”, “user_id_b”, and “user_id_c”, respectively. While only three users/terminal apparatuses are discussed in connection with the example embodiments, the inventive concepts are not limited thereto and may be applied to any number of users and/or terminal apparatuses. 
     Further, the above user ID and the payment application  11  may be commonly used with other services. In other words, the payment application  11  may be integrated with and/or used in connection with other services and/or applications. The other service may include an Instant Messenger (IM) service, a Social Network Service (SNS) service, an email service, a video game service, etc. 
     The payment management apparatus  20  includes one or more information processing apparatuses (e.g., computers, specialized processing devices, etc.) and a payment management program  21  installed therein. The payment management apparatus  20  controls the processes which are related to various payments of the payment management system  1  by using the payment management program  21 . For example, in response to a request from the shop terminal  30 , the payment management apparatus  20  sends a request for payment to the terminal apparatus  10 . Further, for example, in response to a request from the terminal apparatus  10 , the payment management apparatus  20  sends a request of payment by separate checks to other terminal apparatuses  10 . 
     The shop terminal  30  refers to, for example, a terminal such as a Point of sale (POS) terminal installed in a shop. The shop terminal  30  may include, for example, an NFC reader so as to communicate with the terminal apparatus  10  using the NFC. Further, the shop terminal  30  manages a shop ID, which uniquely identifies the shop in the payment management system  1 . 
     Note that the shop terminal  30  is not limited thereto. For example, the shop terminal  30  may be used in an on-line transaction system, which performs an on-line transaction such as an e-commerce transaction. That is, some example embodiments may also be applied to a case where, for example, a payment for goods, which are purchased by communicating with an on-line transaction system via a network N, is made by separate checks by the terminal apparatus  10 . 
     The credit card payment system  40  refers to a payment system of a credit card company, bank, financial institution, and/or other account providing services (hereinafter simplified as a “card company”). In the following, the credit card payment systems  40  of a card company “A”, a card company “B”, and a card company “C” are called a “credit card payment system  40 - 1 ”, a “credit card payment system  40 - 2 ”, and a “credit card payment system  40 - 3 ”, respectively. Outline of process 
     Next, an outline of the process performed in the payment management system  1  according to some example embodiments is described.  FIG. 2  illustrates an outline of the processes performed in the payment management system  1  according to at least one example embodiment. With reference to  FIG. 2 , a case is described where a payment, which is made first by a credit card of the user “A” by using the terminal apparatus  10 - 1 , is settled (made) by separate checks by the user “B” (terminal apparatus  10 - 2 ) and the user “C” (terminal apparatus  10 - 3 ) by using the respective credit cards. 
     First, the user “A” purchases goods in a shop “A” by using the terminal apparatus  10 - 1  (step S 1 ). In response, the shop terminal  30  of the shop “A” reports the purchase amount “JPY (Japanese Yen) 9,000”, which is for the purchased goods using the terminal apparatus  10 - 1 , to the payment management apparatus  20  (step S 2 ). 
     Further, the user “A” uses the terminal apparatus  10 - 1 , and reports that the above purchase amount is to be paid by credit card to the payment management apparatus  20  (step S 3 ). In response, the payment management apparatus  20  conducts a credit inquiry on the payment amount “JPY 9,000” relative to the credit card payment system  40  of the card company of the credit card used for the payment by the user “A” (step S 4 ). 
     Here, the term “credit inquiry” may also be referred to as “authorization” or “provisional charge”, and refers to a creditability confirmation ((card) validity check and allowable (credit) limit or available funds check) of the card user performed for the card company. When the “credit inquiry” is accepted by the card company, the payment mount is temporarily (provisionally) secured. 
     Next, the terminal apparatus  10 - 1  of the user “A” reports that the purchase amount “JPY 9,000” for the goods is to be paid by separate checks by three persons including the user “B” and the user “C” to the payment management apparatus  20  (step S 5 ). In response, the payment management apparatus  20  transmits the purchase amount “JPY 3,000”, which is the payment amount when the purchase amount “JPY 9,000” is paid by separate checks by the three users “A”, “B”, and “C”, to the terminal apparatus  10 - 2  and the terminal apparatus  10 - 3  (steps S 6 - 1  and S 6 - 2 ). 
     Next, when the purchase amount, which is to be paid by separate checks with credit cards (and/or other electronic payment methods) by each of the users “B” and “C”, is accepted, the payment management apparatus  20  conducts a credit inquiry (and/or account inquiry) on the payment amount “JPY 3,000” relative to the credit card payment system  40  of the card companies of the credit cards used for the payment by the users “A”, “B” and “C”. In this case, the credit card payment systems  40  changes the payment amount (“JPY 9,000”) on which the credit inquiry is conducted of the user “A” in step S 4  into “JPY 3000” (step S 7 ). In this case, the payment management apparatus  20  conducts a credit inquiry on the payment amount (“JPY 3,000”) to be paid by separate checks relative to the credit card payment systems  40 - 1  through  40 - 3  of the credit cards used for the payment by the users “A”, “B” and “C”. 
     When the credit inquiry conducted in step S 7  is accepted by each of the credit card payment systems  40 - 1  through  40 - 3 , the charge confirmation of the payment amount (“JPY 3,000”) is conducted on each of the credit card payment systems  40 - 1  through  40 - 3 . 
     Here, the term “charge confirmation” may also be called, for example, “capture” or “sales invoice”, and refers to the confirmation of the payment amount to be paid by credit card which was temporarily secured based on the acceptance of the credit inquiry. 
     By doing as described above, it becomes possible to pay the purchase amount (JPY 9,000), which is for purchasing goods by using the credit card of the user “A”, by separate checks, so that the payment amount (JPY 3000), which is determined by separate checks by the users “A”, “B”, and “C”, can be paid by the respective credit cards. Further, the processes of the payment by separate checks are controlled by the payment management apparatus  20  as described above, and the types and the card companies of the credit cards used by the users “A”, “B”, and “C” are not limited to specific types of payment methods and/or card companies. Therefore, it becomes possible for the users to use their desired payment methods. 
     Hardware Configuration 
     Next, a hardware configuration of the terminal apparatus  10  and the payment management apparatus  20  included in the payment management system  1  according to at least one example embodiment is described. The terminal apparatus  10  and the payment management apparatus  20  are realized by, for example, a computer  100  which has a hardware configuration of  FIG. 3 .  FIG. 3  illustrates an example hardware configuration of the computer  100  according to at least one example embodiment. 
     The computer  100  of  FIG. 3  includes an input device  101 , a display device  102 , an external interface (I/F)  103 , a Random Access Memory (RAM)  104 , and a Read-Only Memory (ROM)  105 . The computer  100  further includes a Central Processing Unit (CPU)  106  (and/or specialized processing device), a communication I/F  107 , and a storage device, such as a Hard Disk Drive (HDD)  108 , or other storage device type. Those elements are connected to each other via a bus B. 
     The input device  101  includes a keyboard, a mouse, a touch panel, etc., and is used to input various operation signals by a user. The display device  102  includes a display, and displays results of processing performed by the computer  100 . Note that, the input device  101  and the display device  102  may be connected to be used on an as needed basis. 
     The communication I/F  107  is an interface so that the computer  100  can be connected to a network. Via the communication I/F  107 , the computer  100  can perform data communications. Further, the communication I/F  107  includes an NFC chip, Bluetooth chip, etc., to communicate with the shop terminal  30 , e.g., perform Near Field Communication. 
     The HDD  108  is an example of a non-volatile storage device storing programs and data. The stored programs and data include an Operating System (OS), which is a fundamental software to control the entire computer  100 , application software programs (e.g., the payment application  11  and the payment management program  21 ) which provide various functions on the OS, etc. In place of the HDD  108 , the computer  100  may use a driving device (e.g., a Solid State Drive (SSD)) which uses a flash memory as a recording medium, or other non-volatile storage types. 
     The HDD  108  manages the stored programs and data based on a predetermined file system and/or a database (DB). The external I/F  103  is an interface with an external device. The external device includes a recording medium  103   a , etc. The computer  100  can read and/or write data from and/or to the recording medium  103   a  via the external I/F  103 . The recording medium  103   a  includes a flexible disk, a Compact Disc (CD), a Digital Versatile Disc (DVD), an SD memory card, a Universal Serial Bus (USB) Memory, etc. 
     The ROM  105  is a non-volatile semiconductor memory (storage device) which can hold programs and data stored therein even when power supplied thereto is cut off. The ROM  105  stores a Basic Input/Output System (BIOS) which is executed when the computer  100  starts up, OS settings, programs and data for network settings, etc. The RAM  104  is a volatile semiconductor memory (storage device) which temporarily stores programs and data. 
     The CPU  106  is a processing device that controls the entire computer  100  and realizes the functions of the computer  100  by loading programs (e.g., computer readable instructions) and data from a storage device such as the ROM  105  and the HDD  108  and executing processes. Once the program instructions are loaded into the CPU  106 , the CPU  106  is programmed to perform the program instructions, thereby transforming the CPU  106  into a special purpose processor. 
     Additionally, while only a single input device  101 , display device  102 , external interface  103 , RAM  104 , ROM  105 , CPU  106 , communication interface  107 , storage device  108 , and bus “B” are depicted in  FIG. 3 , the example embodiments of the inventive concepts are not limited thereto. In other example embodiments, there may be more or less components installed in the computer  100 , and each of the components of the computer  100  may number two or more. 
     The terminal apparatus  10  and the payment management apparatus  20  according to some example embodiments can realize various processes described below by having the hardware configuration of the computer  100 . 
     Software Configuration 
     Next, an example software configuration of the payment management system  1  according to at least one example embodiment is described.  FIG. 4  is a process block diagram of an example of the payment management system  1  according to at least one example embodiment. As described above, the terminal apparatus  10  includes the payment application  11  installed therein to use the payment service. Further, the payment management apparatus  20  includes the payment management program  21  installed therein to control the processes related to various payments. Further, the payment management apparatus  20  includes and uses a user ID storage section  22  and a transaction information storage section  23 . 
     The payment application  11  of the terminal apparatus  10  includes a payment method setting section  111  and a separate checks user setting section  112 . Those sections can be realized by, for example, executing the payment application  11  by the CPU  106 . 
     The payment method setting section  111  sets the payment method of paying for goods, etc., purchased via the shop terminal  30 . The payment method, which is set by the payment method setting section  111 , includes items such as “whether the purchase amount is paid by electronic money or credit card”, “whether the purchase amount is paid by separate checks with other users or not”, etc. 
     The separate checks user setting section  112  sets the users who are to pay by separate checks when it is set that the purchase amount is to be paid by separate checks with other users by the payment method setting section  111 . 
     The payment management program  21  of the payment management apparatus  20  includes a payment processing section  211 , a separate checks processing section  212 , a credit inquiry section  213 , and a charge confirmation section  214 . Those sections can be realized by, for example, executing the payment management program  21  by the CPU  106 . Further, the user ID storage section  22  and the transaction information storage section  23  are realized by, for example, a storage device connected to the HDD  108  or the payment management apparatus  20  via a network 
     The payment processing section  211  performs processing related to the payment of the transaction conducted between the terminal apparatus  10  and the shop terminal  30 . For example, upon receiving a request for payment from the shop terminal  30 , the payment processing section  211  sends a request for the payment to the corresponding terminal apparatus  10 . 
     The separate checks processing section  212  performs processing to make a payment amount, which is related to the transaction conducted between the terminal apparatus  10  and the shop terminal  30 , to be paid by separate checks by a plurality of users. For example, the separate checks processing section  212  sends a request to the payment processing section  211 , so that the payment processing section  211  sends a payment request to the users who are to pay the respective purchase amounts in the payment by separate checks to pay the respective purchase amounts. 
     The credit inquiry section  213  conducts a credit inquiry on a credit card relative to the credit card payment system  40 . 
     The charge confirmation section  214  confirms the payment amount of the credit card, which is accepted by the credit inquiry, relative to the credit card payment system  40 . 
     The user ID storage section  22  stores a user ID table  22 D. For example, the user ID table  22 D has the data items as illustrated in  FIG. 5 . That is, the user ID table  22 D includes the data items, a “user ID”, which uniquely identifies the user who uses the terminal apparatus  10 , a “user name”, which corresponds to the “User ID”, and “friend user information” which is the information indicating the users who are the friends of the user of the “User ID”. For example, the first record of the user ID table  22 D indicates that the user of the user ID “user_id_a” has the user name “User “A”” and has his/her friends “User “B””, “User “C””, etc. In some example embodiments, it is assumed that the users included in the friend user information are candidates of the users who may pay by separate checks with the user of the user ID. That is, for example, when the purchase amount of the goods, which is purchased (transacted) by credit card by the user “A” (transaction user), is paid by separate checks with other users, the user “A” selects one or more users who are to pay by separate checks with the user “A” from the users included in the friend user information. The friend user information may be populated using friend information from a social networking service, an instant messaging service, an electronic contact list (e.g., phone contact list, email contact list, etc.), online gaming service, etc., and/or may be friend information that was input by the user into the payment application  11 . 
     For example, the users who are to pay by separate checks with the transaction user are not limited to the users who are the friends of the transaction user. A user, who belongs to a same chat group to which the transaction user belongs in an Instant Messaging (IM) service, or a user, who belongs to a same community to which transaction user belongs in a Social Networking Service (SNS), may also be a candidate of the users who are to pay by separate checks with the transaction user. 
     The transaction information storage section  23  stores a transaction information table  23 D. For example the transaction information table  23 D includes, the data items as illustrated in  FIG. 6 . That is, the data items of the transaction information table  23 D include a “transaction ID”, which uniquely identifies the transaction performed by the transaction user, a “transaction amount”, which indicates the purchase amount for goods, etc., a “shop ID”, which indicates the shop where the transaction is performed, and a “transaction user ID” which indicates the user who performed the transaction. 
     The transaction information table  23 D further includes a data item “separate checks information” which is used when the goods, which are purchased (transacted) by the transaction user by credit card, are to be paid for by separate checks with other users. The “separate checks information” includes a “separate checks target user ID”, which indicates a target user who is involved in the payment by separate checks (“separate checks target user”), and a “separate checks amount” which is to be paid by the target user. For example, the transaction information table  23 D of  FIG. 6  illustrates a record of the transaction, whose “transaction user ID” is “TR0001”, indicating that the “transaction amount”, which is JPY 9,000, based on the transaction performed by the user “A”, whose “transaction user ID” is “user_id_a”, is to be paid by separate checks by the users “A”, “B”, and “C”, so that JPY 3,000 is to be paid separately by the users “A”, “B”, and “C” (see “separate checks amount” of  FIG. 6 ). Further, the “separate checks information” is set in the terminal apparatus  10  by setting the target users of the payment by separate checks by the transaction user via the separate checks user setting section  112  of the terminal apparatus  10 . 
     Details of the Processes 
     Next, details of the processes performed by the payment management system  1  according at least one example embodiment are described with reference to  FIG. 7 .  FIG. 7  is a sequence diagram of an example of a separate checks payment process according to at least one example embodiment. In the following, similar to the case described with reference to  FIG. 2 , the case is described where the payment, which is (provisionally) made by credit card by using the terminal apparatus  10 - 1  by the user “A”, is made by separate checks with the credit cards of the user “B” (using the terminal apparatus  10 - 1 ) and the user “C” (using the terminal apparatus  10 - 2 ). 
     First, for example, the user “A” uses the terminal apparatus  10 - 1  and purchases goods in a shop “A” (step S 701 ). To that end, for example, a clerk of the shop “A” inputs the amount (transaction amount) of the goods in the shop terminal  30 , and then, the user “A” places the terminal apparatus  10 - 1  on or over a desired and/or predetermined position of the shop terminal  30  (so that the Near Field Communication can be used with the terminal apparatus  10 - 1 ). 
     Then, the terminal apparatus  10 - 1  sends a “transaction request”, which includes the user ID “user_id_a” of the user “A”, to the shop terminal  30  (step S 702 ). Such a “transaction request” is transmitted by the Near Field Communication such as NFC. 
     Here, as the Near Field Communication, for example, Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) may be used. The processes in steps S 701  and S 702  are not limited to the case where a user purchases goods in a shop, and can also be applied to a case where, for example, a user pays for a service (e.g., a food delivery service), or may be applied to personal transactions between two or more people. 
     In this regard, in a case where the user “A” uses the terminal apparatus  10 - 1  and pays on an on-line transaction (Web) site such as E-commerce, etc., the terminal apparatus  10 - 1  sends the “transaction request”, which includes the “user ID” of the user “A”, to the on-line transaction system via the network N. 
     Upon receiving the “transaction request”, the shop terminal  30  determines (employs) the number which is unique for each of the shops in the payment management system  1 . Then, the shop terminal  30  transmits a “payment (settlement) request”, which includes the “transaction ID”, the “transaction amount”, the “shop ID” of the shop “A”, and the “user ID” included in the “transaction request” (which becomes the “transaction user ID”) to the payment management apparatus  20  (step S 703 ). Here, it is assumed that the data are included which are “TR0001” as the data of the “transaction ID”, “9,000” as the data of the “transaction amount”, “shop_id_a” as the data of the “shop ID” and “user_id_a” as the “transaction user ID”. 
     Further, as the processes of steps S 702  and S 703 , a case is described where the shop terminal  30  receives the “user ID” from the terminal apparatus  10 , and transmits the “transaction ID”, “transaction amount”, “shop ID”, etc., to the payment management apparatus  20 . Note that, however, that the example embodiments are not limited thereto. For example, in the processes of steps S 702  and S 703 , the terminal apparatus  10  may receive the “transaction ID”, “transaction amount”, “shop ID”, etc., from the shop terminal  30 , and transmits them along with the “user ID” to the payment management apparatus  20 . 
     Upon receiving the “payment request”, the payment processing section  211  of the payment management apparatus  20  transmits the “payment request”, which includes the “transaction ID” and the “transaction amount”, to the terminal apparatus  10 - 1  of the transaction user of “user_id_a” (i.e., the user “A”) (step S 704 ). Further, in this case, the payment processing section  211  of the payment management apparatus  20  generates the transaction information based on the “transaction ID”, the “transaction amount”, the “shop ID”, and the “user ID” (“transaction user ID”), and stores the transaction information in the transaction information table  23 D. 
     Upon receiving the “payment request”, the terminal apparatus  10 - 1  displays a setting screen  1100  to set a payment method as illustrated in  FIG. 8A  on the display device  102 . The setting screen  1100  to set a payment method displays the “transaction ID”, “transaction amount”, a name of the goods, etc., which are related to the goods purchase by the user “A”, so that the user “A” can confirm that the transaction displayed on the setting screen  1100  is correct. Then, the user “A” sets (selects) the payment method, here for example, by “electronic money” or “credit card” in a payment method setting area  1101  of the setting screen  1100 . Further, the user “A” sets (selects) where the payment is to be made by separate checks with other user(s) in a separate checks setting area  1102  of the setting screen  1100 , and then presses an “OK” button in the setting screen  1100  (step S 705 ). Here, it is assumed that the “credit card” is selected and the information of the credit card (“credit card information”) is input in the payment method setting area  1101 , and the payment by separate checks with other user(s) is selected in the separate checks setting area  1102 . 
     Then, the payment method setting section  111  of the terminal apparatus  10 - 1  generates “payment confirmation” which includes the data “TR0001” as the “transaction ID”, “credit card” as the “payment method”, and “Yes” to pay by separate checks, and transmits the “payment confirmation” to the payment management apparatus  20  (step S 706 ). Further, in this case, the payment method includes the “credit card information” (i.e., credit card No., security code, expiration date, etc.) set in step S 705 . Hereinafter, the credit card of a card company “A” used by the user “A” set in step S 705  is referred to as “credit card “A””, and the credit card information of the “credit card “A”” is referred to as “credit card information “A””. 
     Upon receiving the “payment confirmation”, the credit inquiry section  213  of the payment management apparatus  20  transmits the “credit inquiry” to the credit card payment system  40 - 1  of the card company “A” based on the credit card information “A” included in the “payment confirmation” (step S 707 ). Further, the “credit inquiry” includes the “transaction amount” and the “credit card information “A””. Further, when the “credit inquiry” is accepted, the payment management apparatus  20  receives a “credit inquiry result” indicating that the “credit inquiry” is accepted. 
     Upon receiving the “credit inquiry result” from the credit card payment system  40 - 1 , the payment processing section  211  of the payment management apparatus  20  transmits a “transaction completion notification” to the shop terminal  30  and the terminal apparatus  10 - 1  (steps S 708  and S 709 ). By doing this, the purchase (transaction) of the goods by the user “A” with the credit card “A” is completed. As described above, when the transaction user sets (selects) that the purchase amount is to be paid by separate checks with other user(s), the transaction is completed at the stage when the “credit inquiry” is accepted. By doing this, it becomes possible to complete the transaction between the terminal apparatus  10  of the transaction user and the shop terminal  30 . 
     Further, in a case where, in step S 705 , the user “A” sets in the separate checks setting area  1102  that the payment is not to be made by separate checks, after the “credit inquiry” is accepted in step S 707 , the charge confirmation section  214  of the payment management apparatus  20  performs the “charge confirmation” relative to the “credit inquiry”. 
     Next, the user “A” operates the terminal apparatus  10 - 1 , and selects a user(s) who is to pay the purchase amount of the purchased goods by separate checks (step S 710 ). To that end, the user “A” operates the terminal apparatus  10 - 1 , and displays a separate checks payment user selection screen  1200  as illustrated in  FIG. 8A  on the display device  102 . Then, the user “A” selects a user(s) who is to pay by separate checks in a separate checks payment user selection area  1201  and presses the “OK” button in the separate checks payment user selection screen  1200 . Here, the user candidates to pay by separate checks displayed in the separate checks payment user selection area  1201  may be acquired from the friend user information in the user ID table  22 D of the payment management apparatus  20 , or may be acquired from the friend user information stored in a storage device of the terminal apparatus  10 - 1 , etc. 
       FIG. 8B  illustrates an example where the user “B” and the user “C” are selected in the separate checks payment user selection area  1201 . In this case, the purchase amount for the goods is paid by separate checks by the three users, that is the “user “A””, the “user “B””, and the “user “C””. Accordingly, the purchase amount “JPY 9,000” is paid in a manner such that “JPY 3,000” is paid by each of the user “A”, the user “B”, and the user “C”. 
     Further, in case where the purchase amount cannot be divided evenly (e.g., when “JPY 10,000” is to be paid by separate checks by three users), it is set that the remainder amount is paid by a specific user (e.g., by the transaction user). Further, in the above description, the payment amount by separate checks is determined by dividing the purchase amount by the number of users. Note that, however, that the example embodiments are not limited thereto. For example, the payment amounts, which are to be paid by separate checks by the users, may be separately set (input) for each of the users. In other words, the amount to be paid by each of the users may be individually set to any desired amount and do not have to be co-equal. 
     The separate checks user setting section  112  of the terminal apparatus  10 - 1  generates a “separate checks request” which includes the “transaction ID”, a “separate checks payment user ID” corresponding to the user selected in step S 710 , and a “separate checks amount” corresponding the user of the “separate checks payment user ID”, and sends the “separate checks request” to the payment management apparatus  20  (step S 711 ). Here, it is assumed that the data of the “transaction ID”, “separate checks payment user ID”, and the “separate checks amount” are “TR0001”, “user_id_b (i.e., the user “B”)” and “user_id_c (i.e., the user “C”)”, and “JPY 3,000”, respectively. 
     Upon receiving the “separate checks request”, the separate checks processing section  212  of the payment management apparatus  20  verifies the validity of the “separate checks payment user ID” and the “separate checks amount” included in the “separate checks request”, and then, updates the corresponding transaction information in the transaction information table  23 D (step S 712 ). Here, to the “separate checks information” of the “transaction information” whose data are “TR0001”, the data “user_id_a”, which is the user ID of the transaction user, and the data “user_id_b” and “user_id_c”, which are the separate checks target user IDs set in step S 710 , are added. Further, the data “JPY 3,000” of the separate checks amount are added for each of the users corresponding to the added separate checks target user IDs. 
     Here, the separate checks processing section  212  verifies the validity as described below. 
     The separate checks processing section  212  refers to the user ID table  22 D, and determines whether the transaction user and the separate checks target user are mutual friends (or belong to the same group or community). 
     The separate checks processing section  212  determines whether the sum of the separate check amount of the transaction user and the separate checks amounts of the separate checks target users is equal to the purchase amount. 
     Further, the separate checks processing section  212  of the payment management apparatus  20  sends a request to the payment processing section  211 , so that the payment processing section  211  transmits the “payment request”, which includes the “transaction ID” and the “separate checks amount”, to the terminal apparatuses  10  of the users who are included in the users corresponding to the “separate checks target user IDs” but excluding the transaction user. Further, the payment processing section  211  transmits the “payment request” to the terminal apparatuses  10 . In this case, the payment processing section  211  of the payment management apparatus  20  transmits the “payment request” to the terminal apparatus  10 - 2  of the user “B” and the terminal apparatus  10 - 3  of the user “C” (step S 713 - 1  and S 713 - 2 ). 
     Upon receiving the “payment request”, the terminal apparatus  10 - 2  displays a separate checks request screen  1300  as illustrated in  FIG. 9A  on the display device  102 . Then, the user “B” verifies the name of the transaction user (user “A”), the “transaction ID”, the “separate checks amount”, the name of the goods, etc., and presses the “accept” button to accept the payment of the “separate checks amount” by the user “B”. 
     Then, the terminal apparatus  10 - 2  changes the screen to display a payment method setting screen  1400  as illustrated in  FIG. 9B . Then, the user “B” sets the payment method in the payment method setting area  1401  of the payment method setting screen  1400  by selecting either “electronic money” or “credit card”, and presses the “OK” button (step S 714 - 1 ). Here, it is assumed that the “credit card” is selected as the payment method and the credit card information thereof is input in the payment method setting area  1401 . The processes performed by the terminal apparatus  10 - 2  of user “C” are similar to the processes in step S 714 - 1  (step S 714 - 2 ). 
     Then, the payment method setting section  111  of the terminal apparatus  10 - 2  generates the “payment confirmation” which includes the data “TR0001” of the “transaction ID” and the data “credit card” of the “payment method”, and transmits the “payment confirmation” to the payment management apparatus  20  (step S 715 - 1 ). Further, in this case, the “payment method” includes the “credit card information” set in step S 714 - 1 . Here, the credit card of the card company “B” used by the user “B” is called a “credit card “B””, and the credit card information of the “credit card “B”” is called a “credit card information “B””. 
     The processes performed by the terminal apparatus  10 - 3  of the user “C” are similar to those described above (step S 715 - 2 ). Here, the credit card of the card company “C” used by the user “C” is called a “credit card “C””, and the credit card information of the “credit card “C”” is called a “credit card information “C””. 
     Upon receiving the “payment confirmation” from the terminal apparatus  10 - 2 , the credit inquiry section  213  of the payment management apparatus  20  transmits the “credit inquiry” to the “credit card payment system  40 - 2 ” of the card company “B” based on the credit card information “B” included in the “payment confirmation” (step S 716 - 1 ). Similarly, upon receiving the “payment confirmation” from the terminal apparatus  10 - 3 , the credit inquiry section  213  of the payment management apparatus  20  transmits the “credit inquiry” to the “credit card payment system  40 - 3 ” of the card company “C” based on the credit card information “C” included in the “payment confirmation” (step S 716 - 2 ). 
     Then, when those “credit inquiries” are accepted, the payment management apparatus  20  receives respective “credit inquiry results” from the “credit card payment system  40 - 2 ” and the “credit card payment system  40 - 3 ”. 
     When the acceptances of the “credit inquiries” are received from all the separate checks target users (user “B” and user “C”) excluding the transaction user, the credit inquiry section  213  of the payment management apparatus  20  changes the payment amount in the credit inquiry performed in step S 707  (step S 717 ). That is, the credit inquiry section  213  of the payment management apparatus  20  transmits the “credit inquiry”, in which the payment amounts of the “credit inquiry” in step S 707  is changed into the separate checks amount (JPY 3,000 in this case), to the credit card payment system  40 - 1 . When the “credit inquiry”, in which the payment amount is changed (corrected), is accepted, the payment management apparatus  20  receives the “credit inquiry result”, which indicate the acceptance, from the credit card payment system  40 - 1 . 
     Depending on the card company, the payment amount may not be changed (corrected). In such a case, the “credit inquiry” performed in step S 707  is cancelled, and a new “credit inquiry” of the payment amount which is equal to the separate checks amount is transmitted to the credit card payment system  40 . 
     Finally, the charge confirmation section  214  of the payment management apparatus  20  performs (transmits) the “charge confirmation” relative to all the “credit inquiries” performed in steps S 716 - 1 , S 716 - 2 , and S 717  to the credit card payment system  40  (step S 718 ). By doing this, the charges of the separate checks amounts by the respective credit cards of the user “A”, the user “B”, and the user “C” are confirmed. 
     As described above, in the payment management system  1  according to some example embodiments, for example, it becomes possible to pay the amount of goods purchased by one user (transaction user) with separate checks by two or more users using the respective credit cards. Furthermore, it becomes possible for the two or more users who pays by separate checks to user the respective desired credit cards and/or other payment methods regardless of the types of the credit card and/or other payment methods. 
     Further, in the payment management system  1  according to some example embodiments, for example, in a case where the amount for goods purchased by the transaction user by credit card is to be paid by separate checks by a plurality of users, the transaction can be completed once when only the “credit inquiry” to the credit card of the transaction user is completed. Therefore, for example, it is not necessary for the shop which sold the goods to wait until all of the “credit inquiries” for all of the plurality of users who are to pay by separate checks are completed. Therefore, the transaction can be done quickly. 
     Next, a payment management system  1  according to at least one example embodiment is described. In the payment management system  1  according to some example embodiments, a case is described where, for example, the transaction user does not set any “separate checks target user”, a “separate checks target user” rejects to pay the separate checks amount, or a “separate checks target user” does not respond to the “payment request”. 
     Software Configuration 
     First, a software configuration of the payment management system  1  according to at least one example embodiment.  FIG. 10  is a process block diagram of an example of the payment management system  1  according to at least one example embodiment. The payment management system  1  according to  FIG. 10  differs from the payment management system  1  according to  FIG. 4  in the presence of a separate checks processing section  212 A and the data configuration of a transaction information table  23 AD stored in a transaction information storage section  23 A of the payment management apparatus  20 . Therefore, in the following, basically, only those parts are described. 
     In addition to the functions described above, in a case where the transaction user does not set the separate checks target user for a desired and/or certain period of time, the separate checks processing section  212 A sends a request to the charge confirmation section  214  so that the charge confirmation section  214  performs the “charge confirmation”. Further, in a case where, for example, the separate checks target user rejects the payment of the separate checks amount, the separate checks processing section  212 A updates the separate checks amount of the transaction user in the transaction information table  23 AD. 
     The transaction information storage section  23 A stores the transaction information table  23 AD. For example, the transaction information table  23 AD includes data items as illustrated in  FIG. 11 . That is, in addition to the data items of the transaction information table  23 D in  FIG. 6 , a data item “charge confirmation status” is added which indicates whether it is possible to perform the “charge confirmation” relative to the user of the “separate checks target user ID”. 
     The data of the “charge confirmation status” is set to “YES” when the payment management apparatus  20  receives the “credit inquiry result” which indicates that the “credit inquiry” of the credit card used for the payment by the transaction user is accepted. Therefore, when the payment management apparatus  20  receives the “credit inquiry result” which indicates that the transaction is not accepted or when the payment of the separate checks amount is rejected by the separate checks target user, the data of the “charge confirmation status” remains “NO”. 
     Details of the Processes 
     Next, details of the processes performed by the payment management system  1  according to at least one example embodiment are described with reference to  FIG. 12 .  FIG. 12  is a sequence diagram of an example of a separate checks payment process according to some example embodiments. In the following, with reference to  FIG. 12 , a case is described where a separate checks target user “U” rejects the payment of the separate checks amount. The descriptions of the steps where the processes similar to those in  FIG. 7  are performed may be simplified or omitted. 
     First, the user “A” uses the terminal apparatus  10 - 1 , and purchases goods in the shop “A” (step S 1201 ). Then, the terminal apparatus  10 - 1  sends a “transaction request”, which includes the “user ID” of the user “A”, to the shop terminal  30  (step S 1202 ). 
     Upon receiving the “transaction request”, the shop terminal  30  determines (employs) the “transaction ID”, and sends the “transaction request”, which includes the “transaction ID”, to the payment management apparatus  20  (step S 1203 ). 
     Upon receiving the “payment request”, the payment processing section  211  of the payment management apparatus  20  sends the “payment request”, which includes the “transaction ID” and the “transaction amount”, to the terminal apparatus  10 - 1  of the transaction user (user “A”) (step S 1204 ). 
     Upon receiving the “payment request”, for example, the terminal apparatus  10 - 1  displays the setting screen  1100  to set a payment method on the display device  102 . Then, the user “A” sets the payment method and whether to pay by separate checks with other user(s), and presses the “OK” button (step S 1205 ). Here, it is assumed that the “credit card” is selected in the payment method setting area  1101  as the payment method and the relevant credit card information is input, and “YES” to pay by separate checks with other user(s) is selected in the separate checks setting area  1102 . 
     As a response, the payment method setting section  111  of the terminal apparatus  10 - 1  generates the “payment confirmation”, and transmits the “payment confirmation” to the payment management apparatus  20  (step S 1206 ). 
     Upon receiving the “payment confirmation”, the credit inquiry section  213  of the payment management apparatus  20  sends the “credit inquiry” to the credit card payment system  40 - 1  of the card company “A” of the credit card “A” (step S 1207 ). When the “credit inquiry” is accepted, the payment management apparatus  20  receives the “credit inquiry result”, which indicates the acceptance of the “credit inquiry”, from the credit card payment system  40 - 1 . 
     Upon receiving the “credit inquiry result” which indicates the acceptance of the “credit inquiry” from the credit card payment system  40 - 1 , the payment processing section  211  of the payment management apparatus  20  sends the “transaction completion notification” to the shop terminal  30  and the terminal apparatus  10 - 1  (steps S 1208  and S 1209 ). 
     Next, the user “A” operates the terminal apparatus  10 - 1  and selects the users who are to pay the purchase amount of the purchased goods by a desired separate checks amount (separate checks amount) (step S 1210 ). Then, the separate checks user setting section  112  of the terminal apparatus  10 - 1  generates the “separate checks request” and sends the “separate checks request” to the payment management apparatus  20  (step S 1211 ). 
     Upon receiving the “separate checks request” from the terminal apparatus  10 - 1  within “N 1 ” units of time (e.g., minutes, hours, days, weeks, etc.) since sending the “transaction completion notification” to the terminal apparatus  10 - 1  (or the “credit inquiry” is conducted), the separate checks processing section  212 A of the payment management apparatus  20  verifies the validity of the “separate checks target user ID” and the “separate checks amount” included in the “separate checks request”, and then, updates the corresponding transaction information in the transaction information table  23 AD (step S 1212 ). In this case, the data of the “charge confirmation status” in the transaction information table  23 AD is updated to “NO”. 
     On the other hand, in step S 1212 , when “N 1 ” days have passed since the “transaction completion notification” has been sent to the terminal apparatus  10 - 1 , the separate checks processing section  212 A of the payment management apparatus  20  sends a request to the charge confirmation section  214  so that the charge confirmation section  214  performs the “charge confirmation” relative to the “credit inquiry” in step S 1207 . Then, the charge confirmation section  214  performs the “charge confirmation” relative to the “credit inquiry”. By doing this, in a case where no separate checks target user is set within “N 1 ” units of time since the terminal apparatus  10  of the transaction user has received the “transaction completion notification”, it is controlled so that all the purchase amount is to be paid by the transaction user. Therefore, it becomes possible to avoid a case where the “charge confirmation” has not been performed for a long term because the transaction user does not set the separate checks target user(s) for a long term. The “N 1 ” days may be set to any desired time period, such as one hour, two hours, one day, two days, etc. In the following description, it is assumed that the separate checks processing section  212 A of the payment management apparatus  20  receives the “separate checks request” within “N 1 ” days (assuming the desired time period has been set to days) since the “transaction completion notification” is transmitted. 
     The separate checks processing section  212 A of the payment management apparatus  20  sends a request to the payment processing section  211 , so that the payment processing section  211  sends the “payment request” to the terminal apparatuses  10  of the separate checks target users excluding the transaction user. Then, the payment processing section  211  sends the “payment request” to the terminal apparatuses  10 . In this case, the payment processing section  211  of the payment management apparatus  20  sends the “payment request” to the terminal apparatus  10 - 2  of the user “B” and the terminal apparatus  10 - 3  of the user “C” (steps S 1213 - 1  and S 1213 - 2 ). 
     Upon receiving the “payment request”, for example, the terminal apparatus  10 - 2  displays the separate checks request screen  1300  on the display device  102 . Then, the user “B” verifies the content of the separate checks request screen  1300 , and presses the “accept” button to accept the payment of his/her separate checks amount. 
     Then, for example, the terminal apparatus  10 - 2  changes the screen to display the payment method setting screen  1400 . Then, the user “B” sets the payment method in the payment method setting area  1401  of the payment method setting screen  1400 , and presses the “OK” button (step S 1214 - 1 ). Here, it is assumed that the “credit card” is selected as the payment method and the credit card information thereof is input in the payment method setting area  1401 . When the “electronic money” is selected in the payment method setting area  1401 , it is desired that the electronic money corresponding to the separate checks amount of the user “B” is transmitted to the electronic money account of the user “A” and the separate checks amount of the user “B” is paid by the credit card “A” of the user “A”. 
     On the other hand, upon receiving the “payment request”, for example, the terminal apparatus  10 - 3  displays the separate checks request screen  1300  on the display device  102 . Then, it is assumed that the user “c” verifies the content of the separate checks request screen  1300 , and presses the “reject” button to reject the payment of his/her separate checks amount (step S 1214 - 2 ). 
     Then, the payment method setting section  111  of the terminal apparatus  10 - 2  generates the “payment confirmation”, and transmits the “payment confirmation” to the payment management apparatus  20  (step S 1215 - 1 ). On the other hand, the terminal apparatus  10 - 3  generates a “payment rejection” which includes the data “TR0001” of the “transaction ID”, and transmits the “payment rejection” to the payment management apparatus  20  (step S 1215 - 2 ). 
     Next, in a case where the “payment confirmation” is received from the terminal apparatus  10 - 2  within “N 2 ” days since the “payment request” has been sent to the terminal apparatus  10 - 2  in step S 1213 - 1 , the separate checks processing section  212 A of the payment management apparatus  20  sends a request to the credit inquiry section  213  so that the credit inquiry section  213  sends the “credit inquiry”. Then, based on the credit card information “B”, the credit inquiry section  213  sends the “credit inquiry” to the credit card payment system  40  of the card company “B” (step S 1216 ). When the “credit inquiry” is accepted, the separate checks processing section  212 A of the payment management apparatus  20  updates the data of the “charge confirmation status” of the corresponding “separate checks target user” in the transaction information of the transaction information table  23 AD to “YES”. That is, the data of the “charge confirmation status” of the “user_id_b” of the “separate checks target user ID” in the transaction corresponding to the data “TR0001” of the “transaction ID” is updated to “YES”. 
     On the other hand, in step S 1216 , in a case where “N 2 ” days have passed since the “payment request” has been sent to the terminal apparatus  10 - 2  in step S 1213 - 1 , the separate checks processing section  212 A of the payment management apparatus  20  transmits a “payment disapproval notification” (e.g., a payment request rejection notice) to the terminal apparatus  10 - 2 . 
     As described above, it is desired that the “credit inquiry” of the separate checks target users excluding the transaction user is performed within “N 2 ” units of time (e.g., minutes, hours, days, weeks, etc.) since the “payment request” is transmitted to the terminal apparatuses  10  of the separate checks target users. When “N 2 ” days (assuming the desired time period has been set to days) have passed since the “payment request” is transmitted, as described below, it is assumed that, at the timing when “N 2 ” days have passed, the transaction user pays the separate checks amount of the separate checks target user whose “credit inquiry” is not performed. Therefore, by doing this, it becomes possible to avoid the status that the “payment confirmation” is not performed within the desired time period because the separate checks target user does not accept the payment of the separate checks amount within the desired time period. In the following description, it is assumed that the separate checks processing section  212 A of the payment management apparatus  20  receives the “payment confirmation” from the terminal apparatus  10 - 1  and the above “credit inquiry” is performed within “N 2 ” days since the “payment request” is transmitted to the terminal apparatus  10 - 2 . 
     Next, the separate checks processing section  212 A of the payment management apparatus  20  refers to the transaction information table  23 AD, and updates the separate checks amount of the transaction user in a manner such that the separate checks amount of the separate checks target user (excluding the transaction user), whose data of the “charge confirmation status” is set to “NO”, is added to the separate checks amount of the transaction user (step S 1217 ). That is, in this case, while the separate checks amount “3,000” of the separate checks target user whose “separate checks target user ID” is “user_id_c” is changed into “0”, the separate checks amount of the separate checks target user whose “separate checks target user ID” is “user_id_a” (i.e., the transaction user) is changed into “6,000”. By doing this, the separate checks amount of the separate checks target user who rejects the payment of the separate checks amount is to be paid by the transaction user. Further, the separate checks amount of the separate checks target user whose “credit inquiry” is not performed within “N 2 ” days since the “payment request” is transmitted is also to be paid by the transaction user. 
     The credit inquiry section  213  of the payment management apparatus  20  corrects the amount of the “credit inquiry”, which is performed in step S 1207 , of the transaction user (user “A”) (step S 1218 ). That is, the credit inquiry section  213  of the payment management apparatus  20  transmits the “credit inquiry”, in which the “payment amount” of the “credit inquiry” in step S 1207  is corrected (changed) into the “separate checks amount” (6,000 in this case) which is updated in step S 1217 , to the credit card payment system  40 - 1 . When the “credit inquiry” is accepted, the separate checks processing section  212 A of the payment management apparatus  20  updates the data of the “charge confirmation status” of the transaction user in the relevant transaction information in the transaction information table  23 AD to “YES”. That is, the separate checks processing section  212 A updates the data of the “charge confirmation status” of the user whose “separate checks target user IS” is “user_id_a” in the transaction information whose “transaction ID” is “TR0001” to “YES”. 
     Finally, the separate checks processing section  212 A of the payment management apparatus  20  refers to the transaction information table  23 AD, and sends a request to the charge confirmation section  214 , so that the charge confirmation section  214  performs the “charge confirmation” relative to the “credit inquiry” of the separate checks target user whose “charge confirmation status” is set to “YES” in the relevant transaction information. Then, the charge confirmation section  214  performs the “charge confirmation” relative to the respective electronic payment systems (e.g., credit card payment systems  40 ) (step S 1219 ). That is, charge confirmation section  214  performs the “charge confirmation” relative to the “credit inquiry” of the user “B” (whose user ID is “user_id_b”) in step S 1216 , and the “charge confirmation” relative to the “credit inquiry” of the user “A” (whose user ID is “user_id_a”) in step S 1218 . By doing this, the charges are confirmed of the separate checks amounts by the respective credit cards between the user “A” and user “B”. Further, in this case, the separate checks amounts to be paid by the user “A” and “B” are “JPY 6,000” and “JPY 3,000”, respectively (that is, the separate checks amount of the user “C” who rejects the payment is added to the (original) separated checks amount of the user “A”). As described above, in a case where one or more users of the separate checks target users reject the payment of the separate checks amounts or an approval period (i.e., the above “N 2 ” days) has passed, it is controlled in a manner such that the separate checks amount of the user who rejects the payment or when the approval period has passed is paid by the transaction user. 
     As describe above, in the payment management system  1  according to some example embodiments, the payment amount (e.g., price of the goods, services, etc.), purchased by the transaction user by credit card (and/or other payment method) can be paid by separate checks by a plurality of users using the respective credit cards (and/or other payment methods). Further, in this case, the users, who pay by separate checks, can use the respective their desired payment methods to pay, and the types of payment methods is not limited. 
     Further, in the payment management system  1  according to at least one example embodiment, in the case where, for example, the amount of the goods purchased by the transaction user by a first payment method (e.g., credit card) is to be paid by separate checks by a plurality of users, the transaction is first completed when the credit (and/or account) inquiry relative to the transaction user&#39;s payment method (e.g., credit card) is completed. Therefore, for example, it becomes possible for the shop who sold the goods to promptly perform the transaction without waiting for the completion of the credit inquires of all the separate checks target users. 
     Further, in the payment management system  1  according to at least one example embodiment, for example, in a case where one or more users of the separate checks target users reject the payment of the separate checks amounts or the approval period has passed, the deficit of the separate checks amounts can be paid by the transaction user. 
     The example embodiments as disclosed herein may comprise program code including program instructions, software components, software modules, data files, data structures, and/or the like that are implemented by one or more physical hardware devices. Examples of program code include both machine code produced by a compiler and higher level program code that is executed using an interpreter. The hardware devices may include one or more processors. The one or more processors are computer processing devices configured to carry out the program code by performing arithmetical, logical, and input/output operations. Once the program code is loaded into the one or more processors, the one or more processors may be programmed to perform the program code, thereby transforming the one or more processors into special purpose processor(s). 
     Alternatively, or in addition to the processors discussed above, the hardware devices may include one or more Central Processing Units (CPUs), digital signal processors (DSPs), application-specific-integrated-circuits (ASICs), SoCs, field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), or the like. In at least some cases, the one or more CPUs, SoCs, DSPs, ASICs and FPGAs, may generally be referred to as processing circuits and/or microprocessors. 
     The hardware devices may also include one or more storage devices. The one or more storage devices may be tangible or non-transitory computer-readable storage media, such as random access memory (RAM), read only memory (ROM), a permanent mass storage device (such as a disk drive), and/or any other like data storage mechanism capable of storing and recording data. The one or more storage devices may be configured to store program code for one or more operating systems and/or the program code for implementing the example embodiments described herein. The program code may also be loaded from a separate computer readable storage medium into the one or more storage devices and/or the one or more processors using a drive mechanism. Such separate computer readable storage medium may include a USB flash drive, memory stick, Blu-ray/DVD/CD-ROM drive, memory card, and/or other like computer readable storage medium (not shown). The program code may be loaded into the one or more storage devices and/or the one or more processors from a remote data storage device via a network interface, rather than via a computer readable storage medium. Additionally, the program code may be loaded into the one or more storage devices and/or the one or more processors from a remote computing system that is configured to transfer and/or distribute the program code over a network. The remote computing system may transfer and/or distribute the program code via a wired interface, an air interface, and/or any other like tangible or intangible medium. The one or more processors, the one or more storage devices, and/or the program code may be specially designed and constructed for the purposes of the example embodiments, or they may be known devices that are altered and/or modified for the purposes of the example embodiments. 
     It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made to the example embodiments without departing from the spirit or scope of the inventive concepts described herein. Thus, it is intended that the example embodiments cover the modifications and variations of the example embodiments provided they come within the scope of the appended claims and their equivalents.