Multiple account advanced payment card and method of routing card transactions

Abstract

A system of accessing through a financial processing network multiple accounts associated with a single financial card. Data is input to the financial network in addition to the transaction data and the account identification data that in read from the card. This addition data permits the proper account to be accessed. The data may be input at the point of sale as an account selection. In this instance, the selection may be used to route the transaction data through the financial processing network or may be used to read data regarding one of multiple accounts encoded on the card. The data may also be stored as conditional routing rules at transfer points in the financial processing network. In this instance, the transaction is routed to the proper account based on the stored rules.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A computer-implemented method for using a financial transaction device to access multiple accounts, comprising:
 issuing a financial transaction device to a cardholder wherein the financial device comprises machine readable data pertaining to a first account;   processing, by the computer processor, a transaction initiated by the financial transaction device;   routing, by the computer processor, the transaction through a financial processing chain based on the data pertaining to the first account; and   applying post-transaction decisioning to the transaction which comprises applying predefined rules to the transaction, the predefined rules shifting the application of the transaction to a second account, that is selected from one or more accounts associated with the cardholder that differ from the first account.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the predefined rules comprise a set of criteria comprising one or more of the following:
 type of merchant involved in the transaction;   type of goods involved in the transaction;   type of services involved in the transaction;   a location of the transaction; and   an amount of funds involved in the transaction.   
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 2 , further comprising:
 determining of the set of criteria jointly between a card issuer and the cardholder.   
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 determining, by the computer processor, that at least one arbitration rule exists comprising logic to resolve conflicts for accessing the second account based upon the transaction, wherein the at least one arbitration rule presents an option for override.   
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the first account comprises one of:
 a credit account;   a debit account;   an ATM account; or   a stored value account.   
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the second account comprises one of:
 a credit account;   a debit account;   an ATM account; or   a stored value account.   
     
     
         7 . A computer-implemented method for using a financial transaction device to access multiple accounts, comprising:
 issuing a financial transaction device to a cardholder wherein the financial device comprises machine readable data pertaining to a first account;   processing, by the computer processor, a transaction initiated by the financial transaction device;   routing, by the computer processor, the transaction through a financial processing chain based on the first account;   receiving a selection from the cardholder of a second account against which at least a portion of the transaction is applied; and   posting the at least a portion of the transaction against the second account following the selection.   
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 7 , wherein the selection comprises a designation from the cardholder of a set of rules that determine one or more accounts against which at least a portion of the transaction is applied. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 8 , wherein the set of rules comprises a category of transactions. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 7 , wherein the first account comprises one of:
 a credit account;   a debit account;   an ATM account; or   a stored value account.   
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 7 , wherein the second account comprises one of:
 a credit account;   a debit account;   an ATM account; or   a stored value account.   
     
     
         12 . A computer-implemented method for using a financial transaction device associated with multiple accounts, comprising:
 linking, by a computer processor, multiple accounts with a financial transaction device wherein the multiple accounts are in existence and held by a cardholder and the linking is performed prior to issuing the financial transaction device to the cardholder and wherein further the multiple accounts are maintained by a single financial institution that issues the financial transaction device and are linked to a master account associated with the financial transaction device;
 wherein the multiple accounts comprise two or more of:
 a credit account; 
 a debit account; 
 an ATM account; and 
 a stored value account; 
 
   issuing the financial transaction device to the cardholder wherein the financial transaction device comprises machine readable data pertaining to the master account;   receiving a preliminary transaction request comprising data pertaining to the master account appended with selection information corresponding to a selected one of the multiple accounts, wherein the selected one of the multiple accounts is received from the cardholder;   processing, by the computer processor, a preliminary transaction request;   determining, by the computer processor, that the transaction meets the predefined rules for the selected one of the multiple accounts; and   processing the transaction against the selected one of the multiple accounts.   
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 12 , further comprising:
 determining, by the computer processor, that at least one arbitration rule exists comprising logic to resolve conflicts in the set of criteria for accessing the selected one of the multiple accounts based upon the transaction, wherein the at least one arbitration rule presents an option for override.   
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein a personal identification number is required to complete the transaction. 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein the machine readable data is stored on a magnetic stripe. 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 13 , wherein the option for override of the at least one arbitration rule is an option for the cardholder to override the at least one arbitration rule.