Stored-value education account

1. A payment system for a closed purchasing community where stored value accounts are funded over the Internet, the payment system comprising:

a plurality of point of sale terminals associated with the closed purchasing community;

a database comprising a unique identifier for each of a plurality of participants in the closed purchasing community;

a plurality of indicators for presentment at the plurality of point of sale terminals that allow determining the unique identifier, wherein:

each unique indicator has a credit amount associated therewith,

each of the plurality of indicators corresponds to a stored value account,

debits are applied to the credit using the point of sale terminals, and

the unique indicator is usable exclusively within the closed purchasing community to access the database; and

an online money transfer system that obtains the credit amount from at least one of a plurality of handlers, wherein:

the online money transfer system is separate from the closed purchasing community,

the online money transfer system is accessible from the Internet,

the online money transfer system passes credits from open systems to stored value accounts of the closed purchasing community, and

each of the plurality of handlers operate in an open system to transfer the credit into a stored value account.

2. The payment system for the closed purchasing community where stored value accounts are funded over the Internet as recited in claim 1 , wherein the credit amount is obtained from a bank handler.

3. The payment system for the closed purchasing community where stored value accounts are funded over the Internet as recited in claim 1 , wherein a purchase with one of the plurality of point of sale terminals is reflected in a first stored value account associated with the unique identifier that is used in the purchase.

4. The payment system for the closed purchasing community where stored value accounts are funded over the Internet as recited in claim 1 , wherein the online money transfer system comprises a first plurality of stored value accounts separate from the stored value accounts of the closed purchasing community.

5. The payment system for the closed purchasing community where stored value accounts are funded over the Internet as recited in claim 1 , further comprising a bank that includes a plurality of stored value accounts corresponding to the plurality of indicators.

6. The payment system for the closed purchasing community where stored value accounts are funded over the Internet as recited in claim 1 , wherein the purchasing community is associated with one of: an education institution, a theme park, a resort, a campus, a system of resorts, a system of campuses, and a transportation system.

7. A method for funding an account of a buyer with an online money transfer system using a wide area network, where the account cannot be used for purchases outside a closed purchasing community, the method comprising steps of:

accepting information about a money handler at the online money transfer system, wherein:

the information is accepted over the wide area network,

the money handler functions with an open system,

the information includes an amount of funds, an open system account number and a unique identifier,

the open system account number is usable in the open system to uniquely identify a source of funds, and

the unique identifier discriminates the buyer from other buyers in the closed purchasing community;

drawing funds with the money handler from the open system account number, wherein the funds are a function of the amount;

transferring funds from the open system to the account in the closed purchasing community for benefit of the buyer indicated by the unique identifier, wherein:

the funds cannot be used outside the closed purchasing community while in the account,

the account corresponds to a stored value account, and

the stored value account is available to fund transactions in the closed purchasing community; and

funding transactions from the account of the buyer associated with the unique identifier, wherein the funds are drawn from the stored value account of the closed purchasing community without needing interaction with the open system to clear a transaction.

8. The method for funding the account of the buyer with the online money transfer system using the wide area network, where the account cannot be used for purchases outside the closed purchasing community as recited in claim 7 , wherein:

the closed purchasing community is divided into a plurality of sub-communities, and

the information includes an indication of which of the plurality of sub-communities should realize the funds if a purchase is made by the buyer from that sub-community.

9. The method for funding the account of the buyer with the online money transfer system using the wide area network, where the account cannot be used for purchases outside the closed purchasing community as recited in claim 7 , further comprising steps of:

receiving a request from the closed purchasing community to debit the account;

debiting the account in response to the funding step; and

crediting the closed purchasing community in response to the funding step.

10. The method for funding the account of the buyer with the online money transfer system using the wide area network, where the account cannot be used for purchases outside the closed purchasing community as recited in claim 9 , wherein the crediting step comprises steps of:

determining a vending member or sub-community of the purchasing community requesting the debit, and

crediting a second account associated with the vending member or sub-community.

11. The method for funding the account of the buyer with the online money transfer system using the wide area network, where the account cannot be used for purchases outside the closed purchasing community as recited in claim 9 , wherein the crediting step comprises steps of:

electronically transferring payment to a bank; and

indicating to the bank an account of the purchasing community for a credit.

12. The method for funding the account of the buyer with the online money transfer system using the wide area network, where the account cannot be used for purchases outside the closed purchasing community as recited in claim 7 , wherein the unique identifier is machine readable and is used in the closed purchasing community to also authenticate identity of the buyer.

13. The method for funding the account of the buyer with the online money transfer system using the wide area network, where the account cannot be used for purchases outside the closed purchasing community as recited in claim 7 , wherein the online money transfer system is separate from both a holder of the account and the purchasing community.

14. The method for funding the account of the buyer with the online money transfer system using the wide area network, where the account cannot be used for purchases outside the closed purchasing community as recited in claim 7 , wherein the information further comprises an e-mail address for sending messages related to the unique identifier.

15. The method for funding the account of the buyer with the online money transfer system using the wide area network, where the account cannot be used for purchases outside the closed purchasing community as recited in claim 7 , wherein the account is a stored value account.

16. The method for funding the account of the buyer with the online money transfer system using the wide area network, where the account cannot be used for purchases outside the closed purchasing community as recited in claim 7 , wherein:

the closed purchasing community is comprised of a plurality of vending sites, and

each the plurality of vending sites includes at least one point of sale terminal.

17. The method for funding the account of the buyer with the online money transfer system using the wide area network, where the account cannot be used for purchases outside the closed purchasing community as recited in claim 7 , wherein the money handler is chosen from the group consisting of: a retail store handler, a credit card handler, a debit card handler, and a bank handler.

18. The method for funding the account of the buyer with the online money transfer system using the wide area network, where the account cannot be used for purchases outside the closed purchasing community as recited in claim 7 , wherein the accepting step includes a step of accepting information from an Internet web interface.

19. The method for funding the account of the buyer with the online money transfer system using the wide area network, where the account cannot be used for purchases outside the closed purchasing community as recited in claim 7 , wherein the accepting step includes a step of accepting the information that is manually entered.

20. A method for funding a stored value account with an online money transfer system using a wide area network, where the stored value account is used in a closed purchasing community, the method comprising steps of:

receiving a first request to interface with the online money transfer system, wherein the first request originates from another site on the wide area network;

accepting information about a money handler at the online money transfer system, wherein:

the information is accepted from the wide area network,

the money handler functions with an open system,

the information can be used to derive: an amount of funds, an open system account number and a unique identifier,

the open system account number is usable in the open system to uniquely identify a source of funds, and

the unique identifier discriminates a buyer from other buyers in the closed purchasing community;

transferring money from the money handler to the stored value account associated with the unique identifier, wherein:

the stored value account is usable in the closed purchasing community, and

a credit is placed in the stored value account based upon the transferring step;

receiving a second request, wherein the second requests indicates a debit to the stored value account;

debiting the stored value account in response to the receiving step, wherein the debit is from a purchase at a point of sale terminal within the closed purchasing community, and

crediting the closed purchasing community in response to the debiting step.

21. The method for funding the stored value account with the online money transfer system using the wide area network, where the stored value account is used in the purchasing community, as recited in claim 20 , wherein:

the information further comprises a sub-community designation, and

the crediting step comprises crediting a sub-community indicated by the sub-community designation.

22. The method for funding the stored value account with the online money transfer system using the wide area network, where the stored value account is used in the purchasing community, as recited in claim 20 , further comprising a step of choosing a type of money handler, wherein the type at least includes a bank handler.

23. The method for funding the stored value account with the online money transfer system using the wide area network, where the stored value account is used in the purchasing community, as recited in claim 20 , wherein the crediting step comprises steps of:

electronically transferring payment to a bank; and

indicating to the bank an account of the purchasing community to credit.

24. The method for funding the stored value account with the online money transfer system using the wide area network, where the stored value account is used in the purchasing community, as recited in claim 20 , wherein the stored value account is a bank account.

25. The method for funding the stored value account with the online money transfer system using the wide area network, where the stored value account is used in the purchasing community, as recited in claim 20 , wherein the crediting step comprises steps of:

determining a sub-community of the purchasing community requesting the debit, and

crediting an account associated with the sub-community.