Methods and systems for coordinating a change in status of stored-value cards

1. A system for coordinating a change in status of a stored-value card for a customer, the system comprising:

a point-of-sale terminal configured to:

transmit transaction information including identifier information read from and identifying the stored-value card and payment-instrument information identifying a payment instrument to be used for financing the change in status of the stored-value card; and

receive approval for effecting the change in status of the stored-value card; and

a host system, in communication with the point-of-sale terminal, and configured to:

receive the transaction information;

parse the identifier information and the payment-instrument information from the received transaction information;

transmit the parsed payment-instrument information to a payment authority;

receive a payment authorization in response to the transmission of the payment-instrument information;

transmit the parsed identifier information to a stored-value-card authority;

receive a confirmation of the change in status of the stored-value card in response to the transmission of the identifier information; and

transmit the approval for effecting the change in status of the stored-value card.

2. The system of claim 1 , wherein the change in status of the stored-value card corresponds to an activation of the stored-value card or an augmentation in value associated with the stored-value card.

3. The system of claim 1 , wherein the transmission of the identifier information to the stored-value-card authority is performed after receiving the payment authorization from the payment authority.

4. The system of claim 1 , wherein the identifier information further identifies an initial value associated with the stored-value card and corresponds to information read from a magnetic stripe comprised by the stored-value card.

5. The system of claim 1 , wherein,

the payment-instrument information corresponds to information read from a magnetic stripe comprised by the payment instrument; and

the payment instrument comprises a credit card or a debit card.

6. The system of claim 1 , further comprising:

the payment authority, in communication with the host system, and configured to:

receive the parsed payment-instrument information; and

transmit the payment authorization; and

the stored-value-card authority, in communication with the host system, and configured to:

receive the parsed identifier information transmitted from the host system; and

transmit the confirmation of the change in status of the stored-value card in records of the stored-value-card authority to the host system.

7. The system of claim 6 , wherein the payment authority is controlled by an entity different from the host system.

8. The system of claim 6 , wherein the stored-value-card authority is controlled by a different entity from the host system.

9. A system for coordinating a change in status of a stored-value card for a customer, the system comprising:

a host system configured to:

receive transaction information from a point-of-sale terminal, the transaction information including identifier information identifying the stored-value card and payment-instrument information identifying a payment instrument to be used for financing the change in status of the stored-value card;

parse the identifier information and the payment-instrument information from the received transaction information;

transmit the parsed payment-instrument information to a payment authority;

receive a payment authorization from the payment authority;

transmit the parsed identifier information to a stored-value-card authority;

receive from the stored-value-card authority a confirmation of the change in status of the stored-value card; and

transmit an approval for effecting the change in status of the stored-value card;

the payment authority, in communication with the host system, and configured to:

receive the parsed payment-instrument information; and

transmit the payment authorization; and

the stored-value-card authority, in communication with the host system, and configured to:

receive the parsed identifier information transmitted from the host system; and

transmit the confirmation of the change in status of the stored-value card.

10. The system of claim 9 , wherein the change in status of the stored-value card corresponds to an activation of the stored-value card and an augmentation in value associated with the stored-value card.

11. The system of claim 9 , wherein the transmission of the identifier information to the stored-value-card authority is performed before receiving the payment authorization from the payment authority.

12. The system of claim 9 , wherein,

the identifier information further identifies an initial value associated with the stored-value card; and

the payment-instrument information corresponds to information read by the point-of-sale device from the payment instrument.

13. The system of claim 9 , wherein,

the payment authority is further configured to verify whether an amount of the transaction is less than or equal to a current balance in a corresponding account for the payment instrument; and

the stored-value-card authority is further configured to effect a change in status in records associated with the identifier information.

14. A host system for coordinating a change in status of a stored-value card for a customer, the host system configured to:

receive transaction information from a point-of-sale terminal, the transaction information including identifier information read from and identifying the stored-value card and payment-instrument information identifying a payment instrument to be used for financing the change in status of the stored-value card;

parse the identifier information and the payment-instrument information from the received transaction information;

transmit the parsed payment-instrument information to a payment authority;

receive a payment authorization from the payment authority in response to the transmission of the payment-instrument information to the payment authority;

transmit the parsed identifier information to a stored-value-card authority;

receive from the stored-value-card authority a confirmation of the change in status of the stored-value card, the confirmation received in response to the transmission of the identifier information to the stored-value-card authority; and

transmit to the point-of-sale terminal an approval for effecting the change in status of the stored-value card.

15. The host system of claim 14 , wherein,

the change in status of the stored-value card corresponds to an activation of the stored-value card or an augmentation in value associated with the stored-value card; and

the identifier information further identifies an initial value associated with the stored-value card and corresponds to information read from the stored-value card.

16. The host system of claim 14 , wherein,

the payment-instrument information corresponds to information read from the payment instrument.

17. The host system of claim 14 , further comprising:

the payment authority, in communication with the host system, and configured to:

receive the parsed payment-instrument information; and

transmit the payment authorization; and

the stored-value-card authority, in communication with the host system, and configured to:

receive the parsed identifier information transmitted from the host system; and

transmit the confirmation of the change in status of the stored-value card in records of the stored-value-card authority to the host system.

18. The host system of claim 14 , wherein,

the payment authority is controlled by a different entity from the host system; and

the stored-value-card authority is controlled by an entity different from the host system.

19. The host system of claim 14 , wherein the host system comprises a plurality of devices.

20. The host system of claim 19 , wherein;

a first subset of the plurality of devices is remote from a second subset of the plurality of devices; and

the host system comprises the payment authority and the stored-value-card authority.

21. The host system of claim 19 , wherein the plurality of devices are local to one another.

22. A method for coordinating a change in status of a stored-value card for a customer, the method comprising:

receiving transaction information from a point-of-sale terminal, the transaction information including identifier information read from and identifying the stored-value card and payment-instrument information identifying a payment instrument to be used for financing the change in status of the stored-value card;

parsing the identifier information and the payment-instrument information from the received transaction information;

transmitting the parsed identifier to a stored-value-card authority;

transmitting the parsed payment-instrument information to a payment authority;

receiving a payment authorization from the payment authority in response to the transmission of the payment-instrument information to the payment authority;

receiving from the stored-value-card authority a confirmation of the change in status of the stored-value card in records of the stored-value-card authority, the confirmation received in response to the transmission of the identifier information to the stored-value-card authority; and

transmitting an approval for effecting the change in status of the stored-value card to the point-of-sale terminal.

23. The method of claim 22 , wherein,

the change in status of the stored-value card corresponds to an activation of the stored-value card or an augmentation in value associated with the stored-value card;

the transmission of the identifier information to the stored-value-card authority is performed after receiving the payment authorization from the payment authority;

the identifier information is read from the stored-value card and further identifies an initial value associated with the stored-value card; and

the payment-instrument information corresponds to information read from a magnetic stripe comprised by the payment instrument.

24. The method of claim 22 , wherein,

the payment authority comprises a financial institution controlled by a first entity, different from the host system;

the stored-value-card authority comprises an entity managing activation and use of stored-value cards, the stored-value-card authority controlled by a second entity, different from the host system; and

the first entity and the second entity comprise different entities.