STORED VALUE CARD ACCOUNT TRANSFER SYSTEM

1 . A method for loading a stored value card, the stored value card being a financial instrument that is associated with a fixed dollar amount upon the issuance of the card, the fixed dollar amount being funded at the time of issuance of the card in a financial transaction rather than being tied to any financial account of the card holder, the method comprising the steps of:

identifying a first stored value card account associated with a first customer;

receiving a selection from the first customer of a second stored value card account associated with a second customer and a load amount for transferring to the second stored value card account; and

initiating a funds transfer of the load amount from the first stored value card account to the second stored value card account.

2 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the steps of identifying, receiving, and initiating occur at a merchant terminal.

3 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising applying a transaction fee to the first stored value card account.

4 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising applying a transaction fee to the second stored value card account.

5 . A system for providing stored value card services, the system comprising:

means for reading data from a stored value card associated with a first stored value card account of a first customer; and

means for enabling the first customer to transfer a specified load amount from the first stored value card account to a second stored value card account associated with a second customer.