SYSTEMS, METHODS, AND DEVICES FOR COMBINED CREDIT CARD AND STORED VALUE TRANSACTION ACCOUNTS
The present invention generally relates to a single transaction account identifier that can be used for in transactions with one of multiple transaction accounts. The method includes one or more of the following steps: establishing at least two transaction accounts, wherein the transaction accounts are respectively associated with transaction account identifiers; receiving, at a transaction processing system, a common account identifier; recognizing the common account identifier as being associated with more than one account; and determining, which of the at least two transaction accounts to access for processing the transaction. The determining step may be based on selection criteria and the selection criteria may be modified by a user. One of the first and second transaction account identifiers may be forwarded to the respective first and second transaction accounts based on the determining step; and the transaction may be processed via the selected transaction account.
1 . A method comprising:
determining, by a computer based system for facilitating use of a transaction account and based on selection criteria associated with a common transaction account, at least one of a first transaction account and a second transaction account to access for processing a transaction resulting in a selected transaction account, in response to receiving a common transaction account identifier,
wherein the selection criteria comprises the first transaction account being selected in response to a transaction amount being within a first range of amounts, and the second transaction account being selected in response to the transaction amount being within a second range of amounts;
receiving, by the computer based system, a reconciliation file including the common account identifier;
recognizing, by the computer based system, the common account identifier as being associated with more than one account;
processing, by the computer based system, the reconciliation file via a system associated with the selected transaction account;
communicating, by the computer based system, an authorization request to a selected authorizer associated with the selected transaction account;
receiving, by the computer based system, an authorization approval from the selected authorizer; and
processing, by the computer based system, the transaction via the selected transaction account.
2 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising receiving, by the computer based system, at least one of a first biometric indicator and a second biometric indicator, wherein the first biometric indicator is associated with the first transaction account and the second biometric indicator is associated with the second transaction account.
3 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising authorizing, by the computer based system, at least one of the first transaction account and the second transaction account based on at least one of a first biometric indicator and a second biometric indicator.
4 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising accessing, by the computer based system, the selected transaction account.
5 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising accessing, by the computer based system, the selected transaction account based on the selection criteria and at least one of a first biometric indicator and a second biometric indicator.
6 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the selected authorizer is at least one of a first authorizer and a second authorizer, wherein the first authorizer is associated with the first transaction account and the second authorizer is associated with the second transaction account.
7 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the common account identifier is associated with the first transaction account and the second transaction account.
8 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the selection criteria is defined by an owner of the common transaction account prior to the transaction being initiated.
9 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the first range of amounts and the second range of amounts are non-overlapping.
10 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising sending, by the computer based system, a bill to an account holder associated with the common account identifier, wherein the bill includes bill reporting information that relates to the first transaction account and the second transaction account.
11 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising replacing, by the computer based system, the common account identifier with one of the first transaction account identifier and the second transaction account identifier, associated with the selected transaction account.
12 . The method of claim 1 , wherein a merchant is only provided with the first account identifier.
13 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the selection criteria is modifiable by a user of at least one of the first transaction account and the second transaction account.
14 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising a settlement process comprising:
processing, by the computer based system, a request for payment to a merchant in response to the merchant submitting a settlement record associated with the common account identifier;
recording, by the computer based system, transactions processed as settlement records in a settlement table; and
paying, by the computer based system, the merchant.
15 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising overriding, by the computer based system, the selection criteria, in response to receiving at least one of a first biometric indicator and a second biometric indicator.
16 . A computer based system comprising:
a non-transitory memory;
a network interface communicating with the non-transitory memory;
a processor configured for facilitating use of a transaction account in electronic communication with the memory;
the processor, when executing a computer program, performs operations comprising:
determining, by the processor and based on selection criteria associated with a common transaction account, at least one of a first transaction account and a second transaction account to access for processing a transaction resulting in a selected transaction account, in response to receiving a common transaction account identifier,
wherein the selection criteria comprises the first transaction account being selected in response to a transaction amount being within a first range of amounts, and the second transaction account being selected in response to the transaction amount being within a second range of amounts;
receiving, by the processor, a reconciliation file including the common account identifier;
recognizing, by the processor, the common account identifier as being associated with more than one account;
processing, by the processor, the reconciliation file via a system associated with the selected transaction account;
communicating, by the processor, an authorization request to a selected authorizer associated with the selected transaction account;
receiving, by the processor, an authorization approval from the selected authorizer; and
processing, by the processor, the transaction via the selected transaction account.
17 . The system of claim 16 , further comprising accessing, by the processor, the selected transaction account based on the selection criteria and at least one of a first biometric indicator and a second biometric indicator.
18 . The system of claim 16 , wherein the selected authorizer is at least one of a first authorizer and a second authorizer, wherein the first authorizer is associated with the first transaction account and the second authorizer is associated with the second transaction account.
19 . The system of claim 16 , further comprising replacing, by the processor, the common account identifier with one of the first transaction account identifier and the second transaction account identifier, associated with the selected transaction account.
20 . A tangible non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having computer-executable instructions stored thereon that, when executed by a computer based system configured for facilitating use of a transaction account, causes the computer based system to perform operations comprising:
determining, by the computer based system and based on selection criteria associated with a common transaction account, at least one of a first transaction account and a second transaction account to access for processing a transaction resulting in a selected transaction account, in response to receiving a common transaction account identifier,
wherein the selection criteria comprises the first transaction account being selected in response to a transaction amount being within a first range of amounts, and the second transaction account being selected in response to the transaction amount being within a second range of amounts;
receiving, by the computer based system, a reconciliation file including the common account identifier;
recognizing, by the computer based system, the common account identifier as being associated with more than one account;
processing, by the computer based system, the reconciliation file via a system associated with the selected transaction account;
communicating, by the computer based system, an authorization request to a selected authorizer associated with the selected transaction account;
receiving, by the computer based system, an authorization approval from the selected authorizer; and
processing, by the computer based system, the transaction via the selected transaction account.