WO2006077467A1

WO2006077467A1 - A system and method for managing an indirect-investment-type financial product

Info

Publication number: WO2006077467A1
Application number: PCT/IB2005/003852
Authority: WO
Inventors: Yong Ii Shin
Original assignee: Deutsche Investment Trust Management Company Limited
Priority date: 2005-01-24
Filing date: 2005-12-22
Publication date: 2006-07-27
Also published as: KR20060085565A; TW200629113A; KR20050018865A; AU2005325478A1; JP2008529116A; CN101124608A

Abstract

A system for managing an indirect-investment-type financial product, the system comprising: a storage (140) for storing data about a usage history of a credit payment system for a user of the credit payment system; a unit (151) for converting the usage history into usage points; a first transfer unit (131) for transferring the converted usage points to at least one usage-point-linked account; and a second transfer unit (132) for transferring the converted usage points from said at least one usage-point-linked account to at least one indirect-investment-type financial product.

Description

Title

A System and Method for Managing an Indirect-Investment-Type Financial

Product

Technical Field

The invention concerns a system and method for managing an indirect-investment- type financial product.

Background of the Invention Generally, people who want to invest for stocks or the like delegate a specialized management company to make investments on their behalf. Then, the management company aggregates customers' money together, invests the money, and distributes the outcome of the investment to the customers.

Generally, the concept of an installment-type fund, which is a representative example of indirect-investment-type financial products, is to combine installment savings and investment. Specifically, when a customer under a contract under a specific installment-type fund deposits a specific amount of monthly installment in a management company, the management company manages the monthly deposit by investing it on a fund chosen by the customer. Installment-type funds can be classified into stock-type, bond-type, mixed-type, and the like based on investment vehicles.

The installment-type fund has the following advantages: it can minimize a risk related to timing by investing a specific amount of money every month for a certain period and thus diversifying purchase time (cost averaging); it can reduce a risk of sudden fluctuation involved in short-term investment by applying logical investment principles such as diversified investment, long-term investment, fixed-term investment, and the like; it can pursue maximized earnings in a stable manner by lowering the average purchase price; and even an investor without a sizable sum of money may invest. There can be many variations such as, for example, products where you deposit a specific amount of money at once in a product, or products where you deposit any amount of money additionally in a product, or the like.

Another example of the indirect-investment-type financial product is a variable insurance. The variable insurance pursues the goals of insurance and investment at the same time. The variable insurance is similar to the installment-type fund in that a specific management company manages money on behalf of the customers.

There has recently been an increasing tendency of considering the indirect- investment-type financial products such as the installment-type fund and the variable insurance as long-term investment products for old age. Further, it has become popular among investors, due to an advantage of a higher earning rate than a fixed-interest product such as regular installment savings of banks.

A retirement pension is another example of an indirect-investment-type financial product. It is introduced as an alternative of a conventional retirement grants system. A payer for a retirement pension product is basically a corporation (an employer). That is, the corporation regularly deposits a specific amount of investment money for its employees, and the outcome is provided to the employees after their retirement. The retirement pension can be designed in two ways: defined benefit (DB) plan and defined contribution (DC) plan. In the DB plan, a predetermined amount of money is paid for an annuitant from the pension, where a burden of the corporation varies depending on the investment results. In the DC plan, however, the burden of the corporation is predetermined, and the payment for the annuitant varies based on the investment result of the accumulation. In general, the employees prefer the DB plan, while the corporation prefers the DC plan. For this reason, there may be difficulty in coming to an agreement between the corporation and its employees in deciding the type of retirement pension.

Apart from indirect-investment-type financial products, there have recently appeared other financial products for various investment subjects other than stocks, such as movies, real estates, or the like.

Meanwhile, there has been a rapid increase of credit card usage to pay for goods and services. Many credit card issuers have appeared, and card users want to be provided with various benefits for the card usage. For this reason, nowadays, each credit card user comes to enjoy various benefits by possessing and using several credit cards. For example, a user may use multiple cards to maximize benefits, such as discount in a store, discount in an amusement park, airline mileages, point accumulation, or the like. Accordingly, card issuers are desirous to raise the usage rate of cards issued by it rather than cards issued by other issuers. For this reason, card issuers aim to elevate customers' loyalty to the cards issued by it through reward programs suited towards the customer's needs.

Summary of the Invention In a first preferred aspect, there is provided a system for managing an indirect- investment-type financial product, the system comprising: a storage for storing data about a usage history of a credit payment system for a user of the credit payment system; a unit for converting the usage history into usage points; a first transfer unit for transferring the converted usage points to at least one usage-point-linked account; and a second transfer unit for transferring the converted usage points from said at least one usage-point-linked account to at least one indirect-investment-type financial product.

The second transfer unit may transfer an investment together with the converted usage points to said at least one indirect-investment-type financial product.

The usage-point-linked account may be a payment account for the credit payment system.

In a second aspect, there is provided a system for managing an indirect- investment-type financial product, the system comprising: a storage for storing data about a usage history of a credit payment system for a user of the credit payment system; a unit for converting the usage history into usage points; and a unit for transferring the converted usage points as well as an investment to at least one indirect-investment-type financial product.

The indirect-investment-type financial product may include at least one product selected from the group consisting of: an installment-type fund, a retirement pension product, a variable insurance, a real-estate fund and a wrap account.

The indirect-investment-type financial product may be an installment-type fund, and the investment includes a predetermined amount of monthly installment. The indirect-investment-type financial product may be a retirement pension product, the user of the credit payment system includes an institute defraying at least a portion of the investment to be transferred to the retirement pension product, and the usage history includes usage by the institute.

An amount of the investment may change based on an amount of the usage points.

The user of the credit payment system further may include an individual to be paid by the retirement pension product, and the usage history further includes usage by the individual.

The usage may point are transferred to said at least one indirect-investment-type financial product according to a predetermined rule of the user of the credit payment system.

The predetermined rule may be determined by the user of the credit payment system at the time of issuing a new credit payment system to the user or at the time of purchasing an investment product.

The predetermined rule may limit the transfer of the usage points to said at least one indirect-investment-type financial product by a predetermined amount of usage points.

In a third aspect, there is provided a system for managing an indirect-investment- type financial product, the system comprising: a storage for storing data about the financial product and about members of the financial product; and a financial-product management unit connected to the storage, for managing the financial product; wherein the financial-product management unit receives data about an investment inputted into an account for the financial product for each member, sums up the investment for each member to determine a total investment, receives an outcome obtained by investing the total investment, converts the outcome into data about the financial product for each member, and stores the data in the storage, and wherein the investment is determined based on usage points of a credit payment system linked to the financial product.

The storage further may store information related to the usage points.

The indirect-investment-type financial product may be an installment-type fund, and an amount of the investment is determined based on a predetermined amount of monthly installment and the usage points.

The indirect-investment-type financial product may be a retirement pension product, and an amount of the investment is determined based on a predetermined amount of corporation's defrayment and the usage points.

In a fourth aspect, there is provided a system for managing a credit payment system linked to at least one indirect-investment-type financial product, the system comprising: a unit for storing data about a usage history of the credit payment system; and a unit for converting the usage history of the credit payment system into cash or cash-like points and transferring the usage points to at least one account linked to the credit payment system, wherein the usage points, which is converted from the usage history of the credit payment system and is transferred to the account, constitutes a portion of investments to be invested in the indirect-investment-type financial product.

The usage history may be determined based on at least one from the group consisting of: a usage amount of the credit payment system, information about a user of the credit payment system, and a member store where the credit payment system is used.

The usage points are converted from the usage history based on a predetermined usage point offering rate, and the predetermined usage point offering rate may be changed according to a total usage amount of the credit payment system.

In a fifth aspect, there is provided a system for managing an account linked to at least one credit payment system and at least one indirect-investment-type financial product, the system comprising: a unit for receiving a transfer of usage points, which is determined based on a usage history of the credit payment system, from a company managing the credit payment system; and a unit for determining a total amount of money to be transferred from the account to the indirect-investment-type financial product, based on an amount of the transferred usage points determined based on the usage history of the credit payment system.

In a sixth aspect, there is provided a system for managing a plurality of accounts linked to at least one credit payment system and at least one indirect-investment- type financial product, the system comprising: a unit for receiving transfers of usage points, which is determined based on a usage history of the credit payment system, from a company managing the credit payment system to at least one of the plurality of accounts; a unit for determining, for each of the accounts, a total amount of money to be transferred from the account to the indirect-investment-type financial product, based on an amount of the transferred usage points determined based on the usage history of the credit payment system; and a unit for calculating a sum of the amount of money to be transferred for all the accounts.

The credit payment system may be a credit card, the indirect-investment-type financial product is an installment-type fund, and the amount of money to be transferred includes a predetermined amount of monthly accumulation and an amount of money determined based on the amount of the transferred usage points; and wherein the amount of money to be transferred is allowed to further include an additional amount of money as desired.

The credit payment system may be a credit card, the indirect-investment-type financial product is a retirement pension product, and the amount of money to be transferred includes a predetermined amount of a burden of an institute and an amount of money determined based on the amount of the transferred usage points.

The credit payment system may include a corporation card of the institute. In a seventh aspect, there is provided a system for managing an indirect- investment-type financial product, wherein the indirect-investment-type financial product is linked to a credit payment system and an amount of money to be inputted into the indirect-investment-type financial product is determined based on a usage of the credit payment system, the system comprising: a unit for providing information regarding the indirect-investment-type financial product or the credit payment system, via a network.

The indirect-investment-type financial product may include one or more products selected from the group consisting of: an installment-type fund, a retirement pension product, a variable insurance, a real-estate fund and a wrap account.

The information regarding the indirect-investment-type financial product or the credit payment system may include one or more information from the group consisting of: an amount of money inputted into the indirect-investment-type financial product, current status of an investment outcome of the indirect- investment-type financial product, the past record of the deposited money decided based on the usage history of the credit payment system, and a prospective investment outcome.

In an eighth aspect, there is provided a method for managing an indirect- investment-type financial product, the method comprising: storing data about a usage history of a credit payment system for a user of the credit payment system; converting the usage history into usage points; transferring the converted usage points to at least one usage-point-linked account; and transferring the converted usage points from said at least one usage-point- linked account to at least one indirect-investment-type financial product.

In a ninth aspect, there is provided a method for managing an indirect-investment- type financial product, the method comprising: storing data about a usage history of a credit payment system for a user of the credit payment system; converting the usage history into usage points; and transferring the converted usage points as well as an investment to at least one indirect-investment-type financial product. In a tenth aspect, there is provided a method for managing an account linked to a credit payment system and an indirect-investment-type financial product, the method comprising: receiving a transfer of usage points, which is determined based on a usage history of the credit payment system, from a company managing the credit payment system; and determining a total amount of money to be transferred from the account to the indirect-investment-type financial product, based on an amount of the transferred usage points determined based on the usage history of the credit payment system.

In an eleventh aspect, there is provided a system for managing an indirect- investment-type financial product, the system comprising: a unit for receiving transfers of usage points, which is converted from usage history of a credit payment system for a user of the credit payment system, from out of the bank; and a unit for transferring the transferred usage points to at least one indirect- investment-type financial product.

The usage points may include cash or cash-like points.

At least one embodiment of the present invention provides a system and method for managing indirect-investment-type financial products in which credit card usage and financial products are linked together, thereby offering more substantial benefits to customers. Furthermore, credit card companies can raise a usage rate of cards issued by them, thereby improving the customer loyalty, and financial product management companies can secure a large number of customers more stably.

At least one embodiment of the present invention helps customers know the status of products they have purchased and generate investment plans suitable for themselves, by providing various kinds of information about the status and prospects of the indirect-investment-type financial products.

Users' loyalty to a card company and investment products can be promoted by linking credit cards and indirect-investment-type investment products together, and it helps the users to easily make an investment plan by providing various kinds of information related to investment products. Furthermore, since accumulation points of a card are automatically converted to an investment, card usage is rewarded for in substance without annoying the user.

Brief Description of the Drawings

An example of the invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 represents a configuration of an indirect-investment-type financial product management system in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 2 represents a structure of a bank database included in the indirect- investment-type financial product management system in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention; Figure 3 is a flowchart showing steps of a method for indirect-investment-type financial product management in accordance with a first embodiment of the present invention;

Figures 4a to 4c represent examples of information related to investment-product to be presented to customers in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention; and

Figures 5a to 5c represent other examples of information related to investment- product to be presented to customers in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

Detailed Description of the Drawings

Referring to Figure 1 , a configuration of an indirect-investment-type financial product management system of a first embodiment is illustrated. The embodiment hereinafter described relates to an installment-type fund, for the purposes of simplicity. However, it is envisaged that any indirect-investment-type financial product may be used. The installment-type fund management system of a first embodiment is illustrated. The system includes a management company server 100, a terminal unit 120, a bank server 130, a bank database 140, a card company server 150 and a card company database 160. The management company server 100, the terminal unit 120, the bank server 130 and the card company server 150 are connected to each other via a network 170. The bank database 140 is connected to the bank server 130, and the card company database 160 is connected to the card company server 150. The network 170 includes a local area network (LAN) and a wide area network (WAN) such as the Internet without being limited thereto, and may include any other networks.

Preferably, usage points given to a user as the user uses a credit card are converted into cash, and the converted cash is transferred, as a portion of investments, to an indirect-investment-type financial product such as an installment-type fund that the user has already subscribed. Although a credit card is described, it is envisaged that other credit payment systems may be used. The bank depicted in Figure 1 is an institution that sells the indirect-investment-type financial product, and the management company is an institution that actually invests and manages investments that are gathered by help of the selling company (i.e., the bank). For the flow of points and cash, the system depicted in Figure 1 performs the following operations.

First, in addition to carrying out functions of an ordinary credit-card-company server, the card company server 150 includes a usage-point calculation unit 151 , which calculates usage points generated by the card usage and stores the calculated value in the card company database 160. Specifically, the card company server 150 transmits data to and receives data from the terminal unit 120 and the bank server 130 via the network 170; updates data stored in the card company database 160; and performs, based on the data, all the actions for card management, for example, authorization and payment for credit card usage and account management, which includes an authorization of a card usage upon request and a payment processing. Further, the usage-point calculation unit 151 calculates usage points according to predefined rules for offering credit-card usage-points, based on the member's usage history and settlement details stored in the card company database 160. The usage points (mileage) may be converted- money or converted-score (points) calculated based on an amount of payment through the credit card and a predetermined usage point offering rate, and may also include points or converted money determined according to other various methods.

In calculating the usage points (or the converted money), the following may be used: card usage information (for example, an amount of card usage, products purchased with the card and a store code) that is generated when a credit card user uses a card in card participating stores; user information (for example, gold class member, silver class member); whether or not the purchase is made during point promotion period; or the like. The usage-point calculation method is predetermined by the card company, and may differ depending on the card company's policy, characteristics of the credit card and a user's class. Various methods can be used such as, for example, determining the amount of points in proportion to the amount of card usage, accumulating twice as much as ordinary points during a special promotion event period, accumulating 1.2 times as much as ordinary points for a gold class member, or the like.

Preferably, the usage points calculated as described above are converted into cash according to predetermined rules, which is in turn transferred to a bank account designated by the user of the card. That is, if a user chooses an option to convert usage points into cash and to transfer it to a bank account at the time of issuing a new card or at any time before the card expires (for example, at the time of purchasing an investment product), the points for the card user are converted into cash and transferred to the bank account. The transfer of the usage points to the bank account occurs, in general, after the user pays the amount of card usage related to the usage points. In other words, the transfer occurs after the amount of card usage during a month is paid. Accordingly, the transfer occurs in the next month of the purchase, or even later in case of an installment card purchase. There may be variations of how the usage points are transferred to the bank account. In case the points exist in the form of money amount in the card company, then, a money amount can simply be transferred to the bank account without any conversion. If the point is in non-cash value form, the usage points may be converted into the cash by the card company server 150 or bank server 130.

The card company database 160 stores data of credit card users, which includes, for example, basic personal information, credit card settlement details, usage point data and usage point offering rules (or a part of the aforementioned), and can transmit said data to the card company server 150 and the bank server 130 in response to a request from the card company server 150. In general, the card company database 160 is updated by the card company server 150 for every settlement authorization. The settlement authorization of card usage may be done by a third-party settlement-authorization institution (for example, Korea Credit-card Electronic-settlement Service Co., Ltd.), which relays an authorization between the card company and member stores. However, roles of such a settlement authorization institution and systems for the settlement authorization are known in the relevant field, and therefore, are not described in detail. In addition to functions of an ordinary bank server (including, for example, management of general bank accounts, management of card settlement accounts, and the like), the bank server 130 includes an investment transfer unit 131, which transfers point-originated cash, which was transferred from the card company, to an indirect-investment-type financial product (hereinafter referred to as an 'investment product') according to rules predetermined by the user. For example, if the user is determined to invest all the cash that originates from the card usage points in the investment product, the investment transfer unit 131 tracks an amount of money converted from the usage points ('point-originated cash¹ transferred from the card company) out of the deposited amount in the bank; and transfers it to the account of the user's investment product at, for example, a specific day of every month. On the condition that the user sets up an amount of periodical installment (monthly installment) and makes the monthly installment to be automatically transferred from a bank account at a specific time, the point-originated cash is, in general, transferred together with the monthly installment. The bank account from which the point-originated cash is transferred is usually a general bank deposit product, while the investment product account is, although it is sold and managed by the bank, a product that is invested by a management company. If the two accounts are opened in an identical bank, the transfer from the former to the latter may be done without any fee.

A credit card of the card company is linked to a bank account, and a payment for the credit card is withdrawn from the account. The bank server 130 and the card company server 150 carry out the aforementioned basic function, and therefore, detailed description will be omitted. Further, if the cash originated from the usage points (point-originated cash) is set to be transferred to the account for the card payment, all the deposit and withdrawal related to the credit card can be done with a single account, which is convenient for the user.

A user determines an amount of monthly installment for an investment product at the time of subscribing an investment product, and may decide to further accumulate the card point-originated cash additionally (cash originated from card points) in the investment product. At this point, if the user sets up to automatically transfer the monthly installment from his or her bank account linked to the card to the account of the investment product sold by the bank. The user makes the bank account, which receives the point-originated cash, and the account, from which the monthly installment is transferred to the investment product account, to be identical (which also may be identical with the card settlement account). The monthly installment and the point-originated cash can be transferred from the said identical bank account to the investment product at the same time. The user can adjust the details of the transfer from the bank account to the investment product account, as desired. For example, the user can set up rules wherein if point-originated cash is equal to or less than a predetermined amount, all the point-originated cash is transferred to the investment product, and if the point-originated cash is greater than the predetermined amount, the predetermined amount is transferred to the investment product. The investment transfer unit 131 in Figure 1 applies such rules to manage the investment transfer between the bank account and the investment product account.

An investment-product management unit 132 manages investment products sold by the bank and manages the investment transferred to the investment products. That is, the investment, transferred from a general bank account to an investment product account according to the aforementioned method, is managed by the investment-product management unit 132. Further, the investment-product management unit 132 updates related data in the bank database 140 based on the transferred amount of investment. The investment-product management unit 132 carries out management operations, such as investment of the installments deposited by members, payment of investment result and an offer of related information, based on the information related to the investment product and stored in the bank database 140. Specifically, the investment-product management unit 132 calculates a total amount invested in a product in a specific month by summing up investments of each user in the month, and then reports the total to the management company. The management company manages the total amount reported by the bank (together with the investments until the previous month), and converts a net asset value resulted from the management into a unit price, which is reported to the bank. The investment-product management unit 132 updates data of the accounts of the investment product for each of the users. Specifically, it updates data for the investment product, such as a current unit price, the number of depository shares, or the like, for each user. The management company manages the investments gathered in the investment product as a whole and reports an outcome. Distribution and management of the outcome for each user are handled by the bank, in particular, the investment-product management unit 132. However, the role assignment between the management company and the bank is not limited to the aforementioned embodiment, but various modifications can be made thereto insofar as the bank manages the customers and the management company manages the investments.

The investment-product management unit 132 carries out, in addition to the function of managing the transferred investments and the investment product accounts, the function of generating, processing, and providing to the users various information about the investment product. The investment-product management unit 132 may compute and provide information such as past and current earning rates of each investment product, a user's deposit details of monthly installment and point-originated cash into the investment product up to the point of time, current value built by investing the deposited money, the point of time when the user accomplishes a specific target amount of money in the future, amounts of monthly installment and point-originated cash that need to be inputted to hit a specific target. That is, the bank, which sells and manages the investment product, provides not only current status information of the user's investment product but also expected future value and information based on which an investment plan to form a desired target amount can be set up.

Consequently, the investment-product management unit 132 can calculate and provide the aforementioned investment-related information based on various data stored in the bank database 140 including the user's data related to the amounts of monthly installment and usage points due to credit card usage. Such investment- related information can be transmitted to the terminal unit 120 via the network 170, to be presented to the user.

Figure 2 is an exemplary drawing that represents a structure of the bank database 140 in more detail. The bank database 140 is connected to the bank server 130 and stores basic personal information 111 for each member and subscribed investment-product information 112 for each person. The bank database 140 also provides the information to the bank server 130 in response to a request from the bank server 130. More than one item of investment product information may exist in case the customer has subscribed more than one investment products. The basic personal information 111 relates to basic information about personal details of a member, including name, citizenship registration number, address, mainly used account information, and the like. The subscribed investment-product information 112 is information about the products, such as an installment-type fund rυi/iozυ U D / U U d B b ,_.Z

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or the like, that the customer has subscribed, including: information about the subscribed investment product itself (product name, monthly installment, period of deposit, whether or not additional deposit is allowed, or the like); and time-varying information such as current value of balance of the customer's investment product, information about the amount of investments inputted by point accumulation, and the like. For example, by means of storing information about the amount of investments converted from usage points that are offered according to usage of a credit card linked to the investment product, the stored information can be used to analyze the pattern of credit card usage of the customer and predict the future investment results.

Further, the bank database 140 stores various data for management operations, in addition to the data about the customers and the subscribed investment products. The various data includes gathering investments from the customers, transmitting information of a total amount of investment to the management company, reflecting an investment outcome received from the management company in the investment product accounts of the individuals, and the like. In Figure 2, the various data is represented roughly as an investment product database 116. The investment product database 116 may further include various kinds of information related to the status of the investment product as a whole (in contrast to the individual accounts).

The terminal unit 120 shown in Figure 1 may include a credit card user's wired or wireless input/output devices, such as a computer, a PDA or a cellular phone; a terminal located in the bank; or the like. An investment-product member and a credit card user can obtain various kinds of information about the installment-type investment product and credit card usage history, which are transmitted to the terminal unit 120 from the bank server 130 and the card company via a network. Further, he or she can provide, as needed, any necessary data to the bank or the card company by using the terminal unit 120. The information provided to the investment product member (or potential member) may include various kinds of information such as the remaining usage points, history of generated and cash- converted usage points, the amount invested in a particular month (including investments converted from usage points), expected return amount at the point of expiration, and the like. Further, the user can execute bank-related operations, such as transferring additional investments to an investment product or the like, with the use of the terminal unit 120. The previous example illustrates that the bank server 130 and the card company server 150 are administered by the bank and the card company, respectively. However, in some cases, the bank can partially or wholly carry out card point management and other card-related business, which may accordingly vary the functions of the bank server, the card company server and the related databases. Further, the management company takes only part of managing a total amount of investments received from the bank and reporting an outcome to the bank, without managing investment products and members of each investment product (which are carried out by the bank instead). However, in other embodiments, roles of the bank, the card company and the management company may differ, and functions of each server and data to be stored in each database may be accordingly varied from those of the first embodiment. For example, with respect to a model where the management company sells and manages investment products by itself, the roles of the investment-product management unit 132 may be incorporated in the management company server 100, and data of the bank database 140 shown in Figure 2 may also be stored at the management company's side.

The previous example illustrates that the bank selling the investment product and the bank having the card settlement account are identical, which can contribute to the user's convenience. However, in some cases, the card settlement account, the account to which the point-originated cash is transferred and the investment product account may be distributed in more than one bank. In these cases, roles of the members shown in Figure 1 may vary. For example, where a customer, who has a mainly-used account in bank A that is used as the card settlement account, subscribes an investment product sold by bank B, the investment transfer unit 131 described above resides in a server of the bank A while the investment-product management unit 132 exists in a server of the bank B.

A subscription procedure of a member for an investment product with a system and method for managing indirect-investment-type products is described with reference to the embodiment illustrated in Figures 1 and 2. For simplicity, the description refers to an installment-type fund where a card company, a bank and a management company are connected to each other.

Preferably, the member may subscribe to financial product services via a bank by an on-line or off-line method. At the point of subscription of the fund product, the bank (card company) may issue a new credit card, or may let an existing credit card be used after linking it to an installment-type fund upon a user's request. With that, a new account may be opened in a bank for the credit card settlement, or an existing account may be used for the same. The member applies for subscription and provides basic personal information, and determines product name, monthly installment, amount of deposited money at expiration, period of payment, whether or not to link with usage points, and the like. Then, as shown in Figure 2, the bank database 140 stores the above data as the basic personal information 111 for the member and the subscribed investment-product information 112. In case of issuing a new card, stored in the bank database 140 and the card company database 160 are basic personal information of the credit card member, credit-card settlement- account-related information, investment-product-related information. On the other hand, in case of using an existing card, investment-product-related information is stored in the bank database 140 and the card company database 160, in addition to the existing data.

The previous example describes usage points are converted into cash, which is then transferred from the card company to the bank. Next, the cash is further transferred to the investment product account. Various other modifications are possible. For example, the card company server 150 can directly transfer the usage points to the investment product account, without the step of cash transfer to the card settlement account of the bank.

Preferably, the card company alone is responsible for paying for the money to be invested, which are encashed according to the usage points and are inputted into the investment product. That is, the card company manages the points and the transfer to the bank occurs wholly in the form of cash. However, in other embodiments, it is possible to make other parties also pay a portion of it. Such a choice and modification can be done based on legal requirements and the necessity from the perspective of marketing.

Figure 3 shows a flowchart that represents a process of an installment-type financial product management method in accordance with the first embodiment. In Figure 3, operations in the steps are represented from the perspective of the member, the bank server 130 and the card company server 150, and the management company server 100. Specifically, the left column represents operations done by the user (member of the card or the investment product); the middle column, by the bank server and the card company server 150; and the right column, by the management company server 100.

After the subscribed member requests a credit card settlement via a credit card authorizer at step S300 of Figure 3, the card company server 150 reads data about credit card usage status and credit standing stored in the card company database 160 to decide whether or not to authorize the credit card settlement, and authorizes the settlement unless there is a problem, at step S301. As described above, such functions can be carried out by a third-party settlement-authorization relaying institution. Thereafter, the authorization and settlement of the credit card usage takes place according to an ordinary process, and the credit card usage/settlement-related data in the card company database 160 is updated.

At step 302, the usage-point calculation unit 151 included in the card company server 150 reads data related to the member's credit card usage/settlement, which has been updated in the card company database 160, and usage point offering rules; calculates usage points based thereon; and stores the calculated usage points in the card company database 160. The usage points are calculated based on the credit card member's usage/settlement details, in accordance with the predetermined rules for offering credit-card usage-points. In an example of conversion calculation of usage points into actual cash, assuming that the amount of a member's card payment for a month is KRW 1,100,000 and the point offering rate is 1 %, the usage points of the month will be KRW 11 ,000, equal to a multiplication of 1,100,000 by 0.01. As described above, the usage points need not be a converted amount being proportional to the amount of card usage, but can be a converted point calculated in a separate way. Further, the usage point offering rate may be determined at the time of planning the credit card product. Moreover, it is possible to let the member choose or modify the usage point offering rules when joining the investment product service. Furthermore, the point offering rate can be graded based on the amount of the member's card usage, for example, raising the usage point offering rate as the amount of card usage being larger. In case of adopting such a graded point offering rate, can be increased is a usage rate (share of wallet) of the credit card linked to the indirect-investment-type products among many credit cards possessed by the user. Next, at step S303, the card company server 150 carries out a sequential process of transferring the cash corresponding to the member's usage points to the member's bank account.

At step S304, the investment transfer unit 131 of the bank server 130 transfers the cash originated from usage points, which was transferred at the step S302, and the monthly installment, to the investment product account. With regard thereto, it is possible to store data about usage points and the amount of converted money, corresponding thereto and is calculated at step S302, in the bank database 140; and it is also possible to store in addition, where necessary, basic information about the related credit card, an amount of the user's credit card payment during a specific period, various kinds of information related to the transfer carried out at step S303, usage point offering rules, usage point defraying ratio among management company/bank/card company, or the like.

The method of the first embodiment adopts a manner wherein the member's monthly installment to the investment product account is fixed, and the converted amount of money corresponding to the usage points is added to the fixed monthly installment, to thereby determine the total amount of investments of the month. In such an embodiment, the fixed amount of monthly installment and the amount corresponding to the usage points can be transferred at once at step S304. For example, in case the amount of monthly installment for an installment-type fund product subscribed by a user is KRW 200,000, and the usage points of last month is KRW 11,000, KRW 211,000, which corresponds to the summation of KRW 200,000 paid as the monthly installment and KRW 11 ,000 of the usage points, is transferred to the investment product account as the investments of the user. In the exemplary case, although the member pays KRW 200,000 every month, he or she can expect additional gains, which correspond to an investment outcome of KRW 11 ,000, the usage points calculated based on his or her credit card usage history.

Then, at step S305, the bank server 130 updates the investment product information in the bank database based on the transferred amount of money.

Next, at step S306, the investment-product management unit 132 gathers the subscribed investment-product information 112 from the updated bank database 140 for each of the members of the investment product; calculates a total amount of investments of the month; and transmits the total amount of investments of the month to the management company.

This total amount of investments is invested by the management company, and the outcome is transmitted from the management company server 100 to the bank server 130 at step S307.

The bank server 130 processes the investment outcome received from the management company, reflects it on the investment product information of each user, and updates the bank database according thereto at step S308.

Referring to Figure 3, a method of managing an investment product is described based on the system illustrated in Figures 1 and 2. If the investment product is, for example, an insurance product, thereby introducing an insurance company, or if the roles of the bank, the card company, the insurance company or the like are different from those shown in Figures 1 and 2, the process illustrated in Figure 3 is consequently varied. Details of the changes can be practiced by an ordinary person skilled in investment products and a system for them.

As described above, investment-product-related information can be provided to the user in various forms after transmitted to the terminal unit 120 via the network 170. The investment-product-related information transmitted to the terminal unit 120 may include the amount of monthly installment, the card usage points, total payment for every month, total investment, expected earnings at the point of expiration, or the like. Further, the investment-product-related information can include the input status of investments from the member up to the point, information about the management outcome, information decided based on typical characteristics of the investment product, expected future status, or the like.

Figures 4a to 4c represent examples of the investment-product-related information that can be output to the terminal unit. Figure 4a, Figure 4b and Figure 4c show information about installment-type fund products, which have 5 years, 10 years and 15 years of installment periods, respectively. Each vertical axis (for example, in Figure 4a, KRW 200K, 300K₁ 400K, 500K, 600K, 700K, 800K, 900K₁ 1000K) represents different amounts of credit card usage a month. Each horizontal axis (for example, in Figure 4a, KRW 100K, 150K, 200K) represents different amounts of monthly installment. Each table lists the accumulated amount of money that will be paid back at the point of expiration under the condition of each amount of card usage and monthly installment (i.e., the amount of money to be returned as an outcome after managing the monthly installment and the point-originated cash in an investment product). For example, in Figure 4a, assume that KRW 100K is paid every month as the monthly installment, KRW 200K is spent with the card every month, the average earning rate is 8 %, and point accumulation rate is 1 %. In this case, the accumulated amount at the point of 5-year expiration is KRW 7,494,639. The examples in Figures 4a to 4c exemplify a method of setting up the investment transfer unit 131 to maintain the monthly installment constant and to increase the monthly investment by the amount corresponding to the usage points. Further, in the cases shown in Figures 4a to 4c, the average earning rate is 8 % and the accumulative point offering rate is 1 % of the credit card usage history. As shown in Figures 4a to 4c, it can be realized that the member can receive more accumulated money at the point of expiration as the monthly amount of credit card usage increases even with a constant monthly installment. By informing the investment- product member with expected amounts of installments at the point of expiration in various cases, similar to the previously described example, the user can establish an appropriate investment plan. Further, since the difference in the amount of accumulated money due to the card usage is easy to recognize, the loyalty to the card linked to the investment product increases.

Figure 4 represents expected earnings in case the earning rate, the point offering rate and the monthly installment are fixed to a specific value. However, with a preset target amount of money, it is also possible to show how long after a target amount of money can be realized under a specific amount of installment and a specific amount of card usage if the installment and the usage points are inputted into an investment product.

Figures 5a to 5c represent other examples of the investment-product-related information that can be output to the terminal unit, which are examples showing periods of installment. Figure 5a, Figure 5b and Figure 5c show information about installment-type fund products, which have KRW 10M, 5OM, 100M of target installment amount, respectively. Each vertical axis (for example, in Figure 5a, KRW 300K, 500K, 700K, 900K, 1000K) represents different amounts of credit card usage per a month. Each horizontal axis (for example, in Figure 5a, KRW 100K, 150K, 200K) represents different amounts of monthly installment. Each table lists how long it will take to realize the target amount in terms of years. Here, it is assumed that the average earning rate is 8 %, and the card point accumulation rate is 1 %. For example, in Figure 5a, assume that KRW 100K is inputted every month as the monthly installment, KRW 300K is spent with the card every month, the average earning rate is 8 %, and point accumulation rate is 1 %. In this case, it requires the payment for 6 years and 3 months to receive KRW 10M of the accumulated money at the point of expiration. Figures 5a to 5c illustrate that it requires a shorter amount of time to receive certain accumulated money at the point of expiration as the monthly amount of credit card usage increases even with a constant monthly installment.

Although some cases of providing some kind of information to the user were exemplified in Figures 4 and 5, the information that can be provided with the system is not limited thereto, but diverse information can be provided in diverse formats. For example, it is possible to provide the member (or a potential member) with how the monthly installment is decided in case the target amount, the card usage history and the earning rate are fixed. With such information, the users, who are inexperienced to the investment product and the card linked thereto, can establish an appropriate investment plan suitable for themselves. Further, the investment-product-related information may be information reflecting the current status of the investment product subscribed by the member. That is, it is possible to provide the member with regularly (for example, every month) updated information, such as monthly installment to realize a target amount, expected number of payments to realize the target amount, or the like, based on accumulation status and investment outcome of the investment product up to the point (the average earning rate up to the point, current balance value of the investment product) or the like. That is, values described with reference to Figures 4 and 5 are variable values that can vary depending on the current investment- product status and the investment outcome. Therefore, by repeatedly providing the values changed depending on the investment outcome for existing investment- product member, it is possible to help the member establish the most precise investment plan. With such information, the investment product can be utilized in many ways, for example, allowing the member to adjust the monthly installment somewhat less for the remaining period in case the earning rate exceeds an expected average or in case the user spends more money with the card than expected at the beginning. In providing such investment-product-related information, it is possible to transmit specific information requested previously by the user to the user via e-mail, or it is possible to let the user access a specific website (for example, the bank website) and get the information after a specific authorization process.

Various modifications are possible to the aforementioned embodiments.

First, with respect to the functions of the investment transfer unit 131 , the aforementioned embodiment describes a case in that the amount invested in a month or the amount actually inputted in a month changes depending on the usage history of the credit card during a month. However, in other embodiments, it is possible that a fixed amount is converted to a portion of the amount invested in a month out of the usage points generated by the card payment, while the remaining points are used for other uses.

There exist various modifications also with respect to the bank transfer. In case a member decides the monthly installment to be transferred from a specific account at a specific time at the point of subscribing the installment-type financial product, the bank server 130 can be set up to automatically transfer a specific amount of money from the assigned account at the assigned time. Further, the system can also be administered in a way that, at step S304, the transfer takes place after the member checks investment-product-related information of the month and approves the transfer by using the terminal unit 120, instead of the automatic transfer. In this case, the member can perform the transfer by using ARS, Internet banking or phone banking. Further, it is possible to, after setting the payment bank account as a loan account, let the investment transfer unit 131 of the bank server 130 carry out the transfer on an automatic loan from the account in case the balance of the member's account where the amount of investment is withdrawn is insufficient temporarily.

The present invention is not limited to all the point-originated cash being deposited in one bank account and then invested in one investment product. The point- originated cash can be distributed and deposited in several bank accounts in accordance with a predetermined rule. Further, the deposit in each bank account can be distributed and invested in several investment products in accordance with a certain rule. In this case, the card company database 160 may preferably further include a list of bank accounts, to which point-originated cash is to be transferred, and a rule for distributing the point-originated cash to the bank accounts, in addition to the information described in the aforementioned preferred embodiment.

Further, in this case, the bank database 140 may preferably further include a list of investment products, to which investments are to be transferred, and a rule for distributing the investments to the investment products, in addition to the information described in the aforementioned preferred embodiment. The list information and the rule information can be changed and modified by one who has a proper authorization. Furthermore, it is also possible to deposit cash points from two or more cards, instead of one, in a same investment product.

Indirect-investment-type financial products may include, for example, a real-estate fund, an REITs, a wrap account, a variable annuity, a variable insurance, a corporation pension, and any other indirect-investment-type financial products. Further, the indirect-investment-type financial products may include an installment- type fund with a determined amount of monthly installment and also a free-type fund allowing an any-time free-amount deposit.

The preferred embodiments described with reference to Figures 1 to 5 represent a case in that the sales and management of the investment products are mainly done by a bank. The present invention, however, is not limited thereto, but an institute other than a bank can take charge of the same or similar roles. That is, the aforementioned embodiments exemplify a bank as a unit for selling investment products and managing accounts linked to the financial products and credit cards. However, another type of financial institution, such as an insurance company or the like, may also take the role. Further, the roles can be distributed to several financial institutes. For example, there can be a distributed configuration, wherein a bank manages an account linked to a credit card to receive point-originated cash, while an insurance company manages an account for a financial product, and cash or the like is transferred between them.

For example, a variable insurance product is a type of insurance products, and at the same time, of an indirect-investment-type product. In case of the variable insurance product, an insurance company can undertake a large portion of roles that are done by a bank in the aforementioned embodiment. That is, the insurance company can sell the products, manage customers, administer customer data and product data, manage investments through a management company, report the outcome to the customers, and distribute the outcome for the customers. Further, in the case, of variable insurance several kinds of information associated with insurance may be preferably further introduced, in addition to the information related to an investment product, which was described in the aforementioned embodiment with reference to Figures 1 and 2. For example, the insurance company database may preferably store information about a medical history, smoke or not, drive or not, and the like, in addition to general personal information of a customer. Further, it can preferably store information about a beneficiary, an amount of the insurance, a settlement option and the like, which may be selected by a customer or be determined by characteristics of a product. The data, which is to be stored and managed by the system for the present invention, may be varied in accordance with characteristics of the respective products.

Further, a card company, instead of the insurance company, may also take a main role in an investment-product sales and a customer management. In other words, a financial product linked to a credit card, for example, a variable annuity/insurance product, may be sold by an issuer of the credit card through telemarketing or the like. In this case, the card company may introduce and sell the investment product when it issues a card. The card company manages data for the card and the investment product, although the investment product is, in actuality, an investment- type insurance product of an insurance company. The investments deposited in the product may preferably be invested by a separate management company. In this case, the card company may preferably get a specific amount of commission for the sales of the product on behalf of the insurance company, and further, the card company may offer a higher point rate to a cardholder in order to promote the product sales. In this way, the card company can secure an extra income source (commission for product sales), and can improve loyalty of the cardholders for the card issued by them, thereby increasing the card usage amount. For this reason, the card company is capable of offering a higher point rate than other cards.

A method and a system for a retirement pension are described, which is another example of an indirect-investment-type financial product, in accordance with the present invention. Specifically, an embodiment regarding a DC-type retirement pension is described. In accordance with the DC-type retirement pension, a predetermined amount of corporation defrayment is regularly accumulated in accounts of a retirement pension product (hereinafter, referred to as a 'pension account') to be managed, the accounts being maintained by a retirement pension institute (for example, a financial institute such as a bank or the like). In accordance with the present embodiment, card usage points generated from usage of corporation cards are converted into cash to thereafter be deposited in the pension accounts, in addition to the predetermined amount of corporation defrayment.

The retirement pension management system in accordance with the present embodiment may preferably have a configuration as shown in, for example., Figure 1.

Here, the usage point calculation unit 151 calculates usage points in accordance with a specific point offering rule, based on usage/settlement details of corporation cards linked to a retirement pension, which are stored in the card company database 160.

The calculated usage points are converted into cash in accordance with a specific rule. Then, the converted cash (point-originated cash) is either transferred to one assigned bank account or distributed to several bank accounts based on a predefined distribution rule.

The investment transferring unit 131 in the bank server 130 transfers the point- originated cash, which was transferred from the card company to the bank account(s), from the bank account(s) to pension account(s). Here, the point- originated cash may be transferred from each bank account to one respective pension account, or may be distributed to a plurality of pension accounts, for example, pension accounts having one-to-one correspondence with the respective employees, based on a predefined distribution rule. The distribution rule may be set up to, for example, distribute the point-originated cash generated from the usage of the corporation cards equally for every employees. That is, the point- originated cash may be distributed equally to the plurality of pension accounts. Further, it may also be possible to distribute the point-originated cash in accordance with predetermined proportions to the pension accounts. Furthermore, it can be distributed in accordance with predefined priorities for the pension accounts, by accumulating up to a specific amount first in an account having a higher priority. The point-originated cash may be distributed other various ways.

In the aforementioned embodiment, usage points generated from the usage of the corporation cards are additionally accumulated in the pension accounts. The present invention, however, is not limited thereto. It would be appreciated by an ordinary person skilled in the art that many variations may be made to the embodiment. For example, when an employee is issued with a personal credit card linked to the retirement pension product, usage points generated from usage of the personal credit card may also, in addition to the usage points from the corporation cards, be accumulated in the pension account for the employee.

Although a credit card has been described, it is envisaged that other payment means, such as a check card or the like, may also be used. Furthermore, although cash is transferred from the card company to the bank or the like in the embodiments, cash-like points or the like may also be transferred instead.

It will be appreciated by persons skilled in the art that numerous variations and/or modifications may be made to the invention as shown in the specific embodiments without departing from the scope or spirit of the invention as broadly described. The present embodiments are, therefore, to be considered in all respects illustrative and not restrictive.

Claims

WE CLAIM:

1. A system for managing an indirect-investment-type financial product, the system comprising: a storage for storing data about a usage history of a credit payment system for a user of the credit payment system; a unit for converting the usage history into usage points; a first transfer unit for transferring the converted usage points to at least one usage-point-linked account; and a second transfer unit for transferring the converted usage points from said at least one usage-point-linked account to at least one indirect-investment-type financial product.

2. The system according to claim 1 , wherein the second transfer unit transfers an investment together with the converted usage points to said at least one indirect-investment-type financial product.

3. The system according to claim 1 , wherein the usage-point-linked account is a payment account for the credit payment system.

4. A system for managing an indirect-investment-type financial product, the system comprising: a storage for storing data about a usage history of a credit payment system for a user of the credit payment system; a unit for converting the usage history into usage points; and a unit for transferring the converted usage points as well as an investment to at least one indirect-investment-type financial product.

5. The system according to claim 1 or 4, wherein the indirect-investment-type financial product includes at least one product selected from the group consisting of: an installment-type fund, a retirement pension product, a variable insurance, a real-estate fund and a wrap account.

6. The system according to claim 4, wherein the indirect-investment-type financial product is an installment-type fund, and the investment includes a predetermined amount of monthly installment.

7. The system according to claim 1 or 4, wherein the indirect-investment-type financial product is a retirement pension product, the user of the credit payment system includes an institute defraying at least a portion of the investment to be transferred to the retirement pension product, and the usage history includes usage by the institute.

8. The system according to claim 1 or 4, wherein an amount of the investment changes based on an amount of the usage points.

9. The system according to claim 7, wherein the user of the credit payment system further includes an individual to be paid by the retirement pension product, and the usage history further includes usage by the individual.

10. The system according to claim 2 or 4, wherein the usage points are transferred to said at least one indirect-investment-type financial product according to a predetermined rule of the user of the credit payment system.

11. The system according to claim 10, wherein the predetermined rule is determined by the user of the credit payment system at the time of issuing a new credit payment system to the user or at the time of purchasing an investment product.

12. The system according to claim 10, wherein the predetermined rule limits the transfer of the usage points to said at least one indirect-investment-type financial product by a predetermined amount of usage points.

13. A system for managing an indirect-investment-type financial product, the system comprising: a storage for storing data about the financial product and about members of the financial product; and a financial-product management unit connected to the storage, for managing the financial product; wherein the financial-product management unit receives data about an investment inputted into an account for the financial product for each member, sums up the investment for each member to determine a total investment, receives an outcome obtained by investing the total investment, converts the outcome into data about the financial product for each member, and stores the data in the storage, and wherein the investment is determined based on usage points of a credit payment system linked to the financial product.

14. The system according to claim 13, wherein the storage further stores information related to the usage points.

15. The system according to claim 13, wherein the indirect-investment-type financial product is an installment-type fund, and an amount of the investment is determined based on a predetermined amount of monthly installment and the usage points.

16. The financial product management system of Claim 13, wherein the indirect-investment-type financial product is a retirement pension product, and an amount of the investment is determined based on a predetermined amount of corporation's defrayment and the usage points.

17. A system for managing a credit payment system linked to at least one indirect-investment-type financial product, the system comprising: a unit for storing data about a usage history of the credit payment system; and a unit for converting the usage history of the credit payment system into cash or cash-like points and transferring the usage points to at least one account linked to the credit payment system, wherein the usage points, which is converted from the usage history of the credit payment system and is transferred to the account, constitutes a portion of investments to be invested in the indirect-investment-type financial product.

18. The system according to claim 17, wherein the usage history is determined based on at least one from the group consisting of: a usage amount of the credit payment system, information about a user of the credit payment system, and a member store where the credit payment system is used.

19. The system according to claim 17, wherein the usage points are converted from the usage history based on a predetermined usage point offering rate, and the predetermined usage point offering rate is changed according to a total usage amount of the credit payment system.

20. A system for managing an account linked to at least one credit payment system and at least one indirect-investment-type financial product, the system comprising: a unit for receiving a transfer of usage points, which is determined based on a usage history of the credit payment system, from a company managing the credit payment system; and a unit for determining a total amount of money to be transferred from the account to the indirect-investment-type financial product, based on an amount of the transferred usage points determined based on the usage history of the credit payment system.

21. A system for managing a plurality of accounts linked to at least one credit payment system and at least one indirect-investment-type financial product, the system comprising: a unit for receiving transfers of usage points, which is determined based on a usage history of the credit payment system, from a company managing the credit payment system to at least one of the plurality of accounts; a unit for determining, for each of the accounts, a total amount of money to be transferred from the account to the indirect-investment-type financial product, based on an amount of the transferred usage points determined based on the usage history of the credit payment system; and a unit for calculating a sum of the amount of money to be transferred for all the accounts.

22. The system according to claim 20 or 21 , wherein the credit payment system is a credit card, the indirect-investment-type financial product is an installment-type fund, and the amount of money to be transferred includes a predetermined amount of monthly accumulation and an amount of money determined based on the amount of the transferred usage points; and wherein the amount of money to be transferred is allowed to further include an additional amount of money as desired.

23. The system according to claim 20 or 21 , wherein the credit payment system is a credit card, the indirect-investment-type financial product is a retirement pension product, and the amount of money to be transferred includes a predetermined amount of a burden of an institute and an amount of money determined based on the amount of the transferred usage points.

24. The system according to claim 23, wherein the credit payment system includes a corporation card of the institute.

25. A system for managing an indirect-investment-type financial product, wherein the indirect-investment-type financial product is linked to a credit payment system and an amount of money to be inputted into the indirect-investment-type financial product is determined based on a usage of the credit payment system, the system comprising: a unit for providing information regarding the indirect-investment-type financial product or the credit payment system, via a network.

26. The system according to claim 25, wherein the indirect-investment-type financial product includes one or more products selected from the group consisting of: an installment-type fund, a retirement pension product, a variable insurance, a real-estate fund and a wrap account.

27. The system according to claim 25, wherein the information regarding the indirect-investment-type financial product or the credit payment system includes one or more information from the group consisting of: an amount of money inputted into the indirect-investment-type financial product, current status of an investment outcome of the indirect-investment-type financial product, the past record of the deposited money decided based on the usage history of the credit payment system, and a prospective investment outcome.

28. A method for managing an indirect-investment-type financial product, the method comprising: storing data about a usage history of a credit payment system for a user of the credit payment system; converting the usage history into usage points; transferring the converted usage points to at least one usage-point-linked account; and transferring the converted usage points from said at least one usage-point- linked account to at least one indirect-investment-type financial product..

29. A method for managing an indirect-investment-type financial product, the method comprising: storing data about a usage history of a credit payment system for a user of the credit payment system; converting the usage history into usage points; and transferring the converted usage points as well as an investment to at least one indirect-investment-type financial product.

30. A method for managing an account linked to a credit payment system and an indirect-investment-type financial product, the method comprising: receiving a transfer of usage points, which is determined based on a usage history of the credit payment system, from a company managing the credit payment system; and determining a total amount of money to be transferred from the account to the indirect-investment-type financial product, based on an amount of the transferred usage points determined based on the usage history of the credit payment system.

31. A system for managing an indirect-investment-type financial product, the system comprising: a unit for receiving transfers of usage points, which is converted from usage history of a credit payment system for a user of the credit payment system, from out of the bank; and a unit for transferring the transferred usage points to at least one indirect- investment-type financial product.

32. The system according to any one of claims 1, 4, 17, 20, 21 and 31, wherein the usage points include cash or cash-like points.

33. The method according to any one of claims 28, 29, and 30, wherein the usage points include cash or cash-like points.