Abstract:
Method for processing a transaction, the method comprising receiving data indicating one of a plurality of personal identification numbers associated with an account holder, each of the plurality of personal identification numbers being associated with a respective one of a plurality of accounts and the one of the plurality of personal identification numbers being entered by the account holder at a point-of-sale terminal, matching the one of the plurality of personal identification numbers with one of the plurality of accounts, and accessing account data corresponding to the one of the plurality of accounts for processing the transaction by the account holder.

Description:
FIELD  
       [0001]     The present application relates to a system and method for processing a transaction and, more particularly, to a system and method for processing a transaction according to a personal identification number entered by an account holder.  
       BACKGROUND  
       [0002]     The creation and functionality of personal identification numbers associated with respective accounts for security purposes are well known in the art. Personal identification numbers are commonly used by financial institutions, such as credit card companies and banks, for authorizing transactions—a transaction initiated with a transaction card of the financial institution is not processed unless the cardholder enters the appropriate, pre-assigned personal identification number at a point-of-sale (“POS”) or at an automated teller machine (“ATM”). If the appropriate personal identification number is entered by the cardholder, the transaction is funded with an account associated with the transaction card, assuming the account has a sufficient balance.  
         [0003]     Transaction cards commonly referred to as debit cards are well known in the art. Each of these debit cards has a single pre-defined personal identification number (“PIN”) which must be entered by a respective cardholder for the cardholder to have access to one or more accounts, such as a checking and/or savings account. Thus, upon a cardholder inserting the debit card into a reader of an ATM or upon a magnetic stripe located on the debit card being read at a POS terminal, the cardholder is required to enter the PIN. If the PIN is approved, the cardholder then selects a desired account, possibly from amongst multiple accounts, to fund the particular transaction.  
         [0004]     A need exists, however, for a system and method that is operable for a cardholder to select which one of a plurality of accounts to use for a particular transaction at a POS or at an ATM based on the PIN entered by the cardholder at the POS or at the ATM, respectively.  
       SUMMARY  
       [0005]     An aspect of the present application provides for a method for processing a transaction, the method comprising receiving data indicating one of a plurality of personal identification numbers associated with an account holder, each of the plurality of personal identification numbers being associated with a respective one of a plurality of accounts and the one of the plurality of personal identification numbers being entered by the account holder at a point-of-sale terminal, matching the one of the plurality of personal identification numbers with one of the plurality of accounts, and accessing account data corresponding to the one of the plurality of accounts for processing the transaction by the account holder.  
         [0006]     Another aspect of the present application provides for a method for processing a transaction, the method comprising receiving data indicating one of a plurality of personal identification numbers associated with an account holder, each of the plurality of personal identification numbers being associated with a respective one of a plurality of accounts and the one of the plurality of personal identification numbers being entered by the account holder at an automated teller machine, matching the one of the plurality of personal identification numbers with one of the plurality of accounts, and accessing account data corresponding to the one of the plurality of accounts for processing the transaction by the account holder.  
         [0007]     A further aspect of the present application provides for a system for processing a transaction, comprising an input device operable for an account holder to enter one of a plurality of personal identification numbers associated with the account holder, each of the plurality of personal identification numbers being associated with a respective one of a plurality of accounts, a memory unit for storing data associated with the plurality of personal identification numbers and the plurality of corresponding accounts, and a determination unit coupled to the input device and the memory unit for determining whether the one of the plurality of personal identification numbers entered at the input device is valid and for matching the one of the plurality of personal identification numbers to one of a plurality of accounts corresponding to the one of the plurality of personal identification numbers by accessing the data stored in the memory unit, if it is determined that the one of the plurality of personal identification numbers is valid.  
         [0008]     A still further aspect of the present application provides for a method for conducting a transaction, the method comprising opening a plurality of accounts, assigning a different personal identification number to each of the plurality of accounts, associating each of the plurality of accounts with a transactional card from an issuer, presenting the transaction card to one of a merchant and an automated teller machine, and entering one of the personal identification numbers one of at the merchant and at the automated teller machine to select one of the plurality of accounts used for funding the transaction.  
         [0009]     An additional aspect of the present application provides for a system for conducting a transaction, comprising a memory unit for storing data indicating a plurality of personal identification numbers and a plurality of accounts, each of the plurality of personal identification numbers being associated with a respective one of the plurality of accounts, and a processing unit operatively connected to the memory unit, the processing unit programmed to receive data indicating one of the plurality of personal identification numbers associated with an account holder, the one of the plurality of personal identification numbers being entered by the account holder at one of a point-of-sale terminal and an automated teller machine, match the entered one of the plurality of personal identification numbers with a respective one of the plurality of accounts by accessing the stored data indicating the plurality of personal identification numbers, and access account data corresponding to the respective one of the plurality of accounts for processing the transaction by the account holder.  
         [0010]     An aspect of the present application provides for a method for processing a transaction, the method comprising receiving data from an account holder indicating a primary account amongst a plurality of accounts, receiving data indicating one of a plurality of personal identification numbers associated with the account holder, each of the plurality of personal identification numbers being associated with at least one account and the one of the plurality of personal identification numbers being entered by the account holder at a point-of-sale terminal, matching the one of the plurality of personal identification numbers with the plurality of accounts, and accessing account data corresponding to the primary account for processing the transaction by the account holder.  
         [0011]     Another aspect of the present application provides for a method for processing a transaction, the method comprising receiving data from an account holder indicating a primary account amongst a plurality of accounts, receiving data indicating one of a plurality of personal identification numbers associated with the account holder, each of the plurality of personal identification numbers being associated with at least one account and the one of the plurality of personal identification numbers being entered by the account holder at an automated teller machine, the automated teller machine being unaffiliated with an entity managing the at least one account, matching the one of the plurality of personal identification numbers with the plurality of accounts, and accessing account data corresponding to the primary account for processing the transaction by the account holder.  
         [0012]     A further aspect of the present application provides for a system for conducting a transaction, comprising, a memory unit for storing data indicating a plurality of personal identification numbers and a plurality of accounts, each of the plurality of personal identification numbers being associated with at least one account, and a processing unit operatively connected to the memory unit, the processing unit programmed to receive data from an account holder indicating a primary account amongst a plurality of accounts, receive data indicating one of the plurality of personal identification numbers associated with an account holder, the one of the plurality of personal identification numbers being entered by the account holder at one of a point-of-sale terminal and an automated teller machine, the automated teller machine being unaffiliated with an entity managing the at least one account, match the entered one of the plurality of personal identification numbers with the plurality of accounts by accessing the stored data indicating the plurality of personal identification numbers, and access account data corresponding to the primary account for processing the transaction by the account holder.  
         [0013]     A still further aspect of the present application provides for a system for conducting a transaction, comprising a memory unit for storing data indicating a plurality of personal identification numbers and a plurality of accounts, each of the plurality of personal identification numbers being associated with at least one account, and a processing unit operatively connected to the memory unit, the processing unit programmed to receive data indicating one of a plurality of personal identification numbers associated with the account holder, the one of the plurality of personal identification numbers being entered by the account holder at an automated teller machine, the automated teller machine being affiliated with an entity managing the at least one account, match the one of the plurality of personal identification numbers with a plurality of accounts, receive selection data from the automated teller machine indicating one of the plurality of accounts, and access account data corresponding to the one of the plurality of accounts for processing the transaction by the account holder. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0014]      FIG. 1  illustrates an exemplary personal identification number recognition system according to the exemplary embodiments of the present application;  
         [0015]      FIG. 2  illustrates in more detail the exemplary system shown in  FIG. 1 ;  
         [0016]      FIG. 3  illustrates an exemplary flow diagram for processing a transaction according to a personal identification number entered by an account holder; and  
         [0017]      FIG. 4  illustrates an alternative exemplary embodiment according to the exemplary embodiments of the present application. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION  
       [0018]     The exemplary embodiments of the present application are described with reference to an account holder having a plurality of accounts and at least one associated transaction card linked to the plurality of accounts. The account holder can use the card, for example, to make a purchase at or with a merchant and/or can withdraw money from or pay a bill at an ATM, as described in detail herein. The appearance of the transaction card can represent a credit card, a debit card, and an ATM card or the like and, thus, is not meant to be limited to any particular type of card and associated account. As is well known in the art, some transactions can be conducted without presenting a physical card at a POS. Rather, an account holder can present a predetermined number associated with one or more accounts to perform a transaction. Further, transaction cards can be administered by various companies, such as banks, credit card companies, or other institutions or companies.  
         [0019]      FIG. 1  illustrates an exemplary PIN recognition system  100 . PIN recognition system  100  includes input devices, the input devices being, for instance, ATM  105  and POS terminal  115  associated with merchant  110 . ATM  105  and POS terminal  115  are coupled to issuer  125  via debit/credit network  120 . An account holder can make a purchase at or with merchant  110  using transaction card  205 , shown in  FIG. 2 , and data is transmitted to and from issuer  125  regarding the transaction. Additionally, an account holder can withdraw money from ATM  105  using transaction card  205  and can conduct and transmit other account-related transactions or inquiries, such as bill payments, to issuer  125  via ATM  105 . ATM  105  may be associated with issuer  125  or may be associated with a unrelated third party.  
         [0020]     Issuer  125  issues to the account holder transaction card  205  and can be a credit card company, a bank, a mortgage company or any other type of financial institution or company. Issuer  125  has associated therewith processing unit  150  including determination unit  130  and memory unit  135 ; issuer  125  is coupled to financial institution  140 , as can be seen in  FIG. 1 . Like issuer  125 , financial institution  140  can be a credit card company, a bank, a mortgage company or any other type of financial institution or company. Memory unit  135  can include various types of memory storage devices, for example, one or more databases, relational or otherwise and, therefore, is not meant to be limited to any particular type of storage device or quantity of storage devices operating alone or in combination.  
         [0021]     Debit/credit network  120  can be the MasterCard®/Visa® network or other proprietary networks, such as Plus, Novus (debit), Diner&#39;s Club® (credit) and American Express®, the operation and use of which are well known in the art and are, thus, not described herein. Transaction data associated with a transaction between an account holder and merchant  110  is transmitted using debit/credit network  120 , as well as transactions by the account holder at ATM  105 . Alternatively, transaction data can be transmitted through an Internet link, through a mail link and through a telephone link instead of debit/credit network  120  or in combination with debit/credit network  120 , which are not shown in the drawings.  
         [0022]     The components of  FIG. 1  may be implemented through hardware, software, and/or firmware. The components in PIN recognition system  100  are not limited to those illustrated.  
         [0023]      FIG. 2  illustrates in more detail some of the components depicted in  FIG. 1 . As can be seen in  FIG. 2 , device  225  and device  230  of POS terminal  115  and ATM  105 , respectively, are operable for reading magnetic stripe  225  located on transaction card  205 . Various ways of reading magnetic stripes on transaction cards are well known in the art and are, therefore, not described in detail herein. The appearance of transaction card  205  can resemble a credit card, a debit card, an ATM card or the like linked to a plurality of accounts, including, for instance, a checking account, a savings account, a credit account, a money market account and a home equity line of credit account. POS terminal  115  and ATM  105  prompt an account holder to enter a PIN after magnetic stripe  225  is read by device  225  and device  230 , respectively, as shown in  FIG. 2 . Also shown in  FIG. 2 , memory unit  135  stores table  210 . Table  210  stores data associated with a particular account holder that indicates a plurality of PINs  215   a  . . .  215   n  and data indicating a plurality of accounts  220   a  . . .  220   n  corresponding to the plurality of respective PINs  215   a  . . .  215   n.    
         [0024]     For instance, PIN # 1   215   a  corresponds to account # 1   220   a  which could be a checking account, PIN # 2   215   b  corresponds to account # 2   220   b  which could be a savings account, PIN # 3   215   c  corresponds to account # 3   220   c  which could be a money market account and PIN #n  215   n  corresponds to account #n  220   n  which could be a home equity line of credit account. At least two of the plurality of accounts  220   a  . . .  220   n  can also be the same type of account. The plurality of PINs  215   a  . . .  215   n  and the corresponding plurality of accounts  220   a  . . .  220   n  can be stored in a table structured differently than table  210  and in a number of different storage formats besides a table, as would be appreciated by a person having ordinary skill in the art. Further, the plurality of PINs  215   a  . . .  215   n  can be stored in one memory unit and the corresponding plurality of accounts  220   a  . . .  220   n  can be stored in another memory unit, for instance, by using relational databases or otherwise. A separate table for each account holder can be stored in memory unit  135  or data associated with multiple account holders can be stored in the same table.  
         [0025]     Issuer  125  issues to the account holder transaction card  205 . As is described herein in more detail, depending on which of the plurality of PINs  215   a  . . .  215   n  are entered by the account holder after transaction card  205  is read by POS terminal  115  or ATM  105 , one of the plurality of corresponding accounts  220   a  . . .  220   n  is accessed to process the respective transaction. Each of the plurality of accounts  220   a  . . .  220   n  can be managed by issuer  125  and/or financial institution  140 .  
         [0026]     Upon opening each of the plurality of accounts  220   a  . . .  220   n  with issuer  125  or financial institution  140 , the account holder is requested to select a PIN having a predetermined amount of letters, numbers or a combination thereof. Each selected PIN corresponding to a respective account, for instance, PINs  215   a  . . .  215   n,  is stored in memory unit  135  in association with the corresponding account. PIN(S)  215   a  . . .  215   n  can be stored at issuer  125  and/or financial institution  140 . As can be seen in  FIG. 1 , issuer  125  and financial institution  140  are linked such that data can be exchanged for processing transactions by an account holder. The creation of PINs whether automatically generated or personally selected by an account holder are well known in the art and are, therefore, not described in detail herein.  
         [0027]      FIG. 3  illustrates an exemplary flow diagram for processing a transaction according to the PIN input by an account holder. At POS  145 , the account holder presents transaction card  205  to merchant  110  for funding a transaction. POS terminal  115  and/or one or more other devices electrically coupled thereto read magnetic stripe  225  of transaction card  205 . Alternatively, merchant  110  manually inputs into POS terminal  115  or a device electrically coupled thereto a card number embossed, printed or the like on a face of transaction card  205 . After magnetic stripe  225  is read and/or after the card number is manually input, POS terminal  115  prompts the account holder to select one of a plurality of options, for instance, a “debit option” or a “credit option”. If the account holder selects an option requiring a PIN, such as the “debit option”, POS terminal  115  then prompts the account holder to input a PIN. As will be appreciated by a person having ordinary skill in the art, the present application is not meant to be limited to the selection of a debit option at a POS terminal in order to prompt an account holder to input a PIN. Rather, other options can be presented which require a PIN input or an account holder can be prompted for a PIN before a POS terminal presents one or more options, if any. At this point, the account holder decides which of the plurality of PINs  215   a  . . .  215   n  previously selected by the account holder to be associated with transaction card  205  to enter into POS terminal  115 . Depending on which of the plurality of accounts  220   a  . . .  220   n  the account holder wants to access for funding the transaction, the account holder enters the corresponding one of the plurality of PINs  215   a  . . .  215   n.  For example, if the account holder wants to use account # 3   220   c  to pay for the transaction, then the account holder enters PIN # 3   215   c.    
         [0028]     Issuer  125  receives data from POS terminal  115  associated with merchant  110 , and/or from one or more other devices associated with merchant  110 , via debit/credit network  120 , in  305 . The data includes, for example, data identifying the consumer who is associated with transaction card  205  and who has at least one account with issuer  125 , and data indicating an amount of the attempted transaction and which of the plurality of PINs  215   a  . . .  215   n  entered by the account holder or other individual at POS  145 . In  310 , determination unit  130  accesses data stored in memory unit  135  to determine whether the entered PIN is valid, for example, by accessing table  210 , the data stored therein associated with transaction card  205 , and searching for the PIN. If determination unit  130  determines that the entered PIN is not valid, then issuer  125  transmits data to POS terminal  115  indicating that the account holder needs to reenter the PIN, in  315 . These steps are repeated until the account holder enters a recognized one of the plurality of PINs  215   a  . . .  215   n  that are associated with that account holder. The attempted transaction is terminated, however, if the account holder does not eventually enter a valid one of the plurality of PINs  215   a  . . .  215   n.    
         [0029]     Upon determining that a valid PIN was entered by the account holder, in  310 , for instance, PIN # 3   215   c,  determination unit  130  determines which one of the plurality of accounts  220   a  . . .  220   n  corresponds to PIN # 3   215   c,  in  320 . In an exemplary embodiment of the present application, determination unit  130  determines which one of the plurality of accounts  220   a  . . .  220   n  corresponds to PIN # 3   215   c  by accessing table  210  stored in memory unit  135  and retrieving data stored in at least one memory location associated with PIN # 3   215   c.  Accordingly, account # 3   220   c  is identified by determination unit  130  as being the corresponding one of the plurality of accounts  220   a  . . .  220   n.    
         [0030]     Next, processing unit  150  accesses account data associated with account # 3   220   c  and stored in memory unit  135 , in  325 . The account data indicates, for instance, a balance if account # 3   220   c  is a deposit account, such as a savings account, a checking account, a money market account or the like, or an open-to-to-buy amount if account # 3   220   c  is a credit account, home equity line of credit account or the like. At least based on the account data associated with account # 3   220   c,  processing unit  150  then determines whether to authorize the attempted transaction by the account holder at POS  145 , in  330 . For instance, if account # 3   220   c  is a deposit account, then processing unit  150  determines whether the balance of account # 3   220   c  is greater than, equal to or less than the amount of the attempted transaction. Further, if a credit line is associated with the deposit account, for example, overdraft protection, processing unit  150  determines whether an available open-to-buy associated with the deposit account is greater than or equal to the amount of the transaction or a portion of the amount of the transaction not funded by account # 3   220   c.  If account # 3   220   c  is a credit account, then processing unit  150  determines whether an open-to-buy associated with the credit account is greater than or equal to the amount of the attempted transaction.  
         [0031]     If a determination is made, in  330 , not to authorize the attempted transaction, for example, because the balance and/or credit line is not sufficient, issuer  125  transmits an authorization denial to merchant  110  via debit/credit network  120 , in  335 . The authorization denial may or may not appear on POS terminal  115  for the account holder to view. On the other hand, if a determination is made, in  330 , to authorize the attempted transaction, for example, because the balance and/or credit line is sufficient, issuer  125  transmits data indicating authorization to merchant  110  via debit/credit network  120 , in  340 . As with an authorization denial, data indicating authorization may or may not appear on POS terminal  115 .  
         [0032]     In another exemplary embodiment of the present application, an account holder inputs transaction card  205  into ATM  105 , for example, for performing a cash withdrawal. ATM  105  reads magnetic stripe  225  of transaction card  205 . After magnetic stripe  225  is read, ATM  105  prompts the account holder to enter a PIN. The account holder then decides which of the plurality of PINs  215   a  . . .  215   n  previously selected by the account holder to be associated with transaction card  205  to enter into ATM  105 . Depending on which of the plurality of accounts  220   a  . . .  220   n  the account holder wants to use to fund the cash withdrawal, the account holder enters the corresponding one of the plurality of PINs  215   a  . . .  215   n.  Since in this exemplary embodiment the entered PIN is associated with one of the plurality of accounts  220   a  . . .  220   n,  that account will be used to fund the cash withdrawal regardless of which selection the account holder makes at ATM  105 , for instance, regardless whether the account holder selects a “checking account” option or a “savings account” option. The attempted transaction is processed in the same manner as described above with reference to step  305  through step  340  shown in  FIG. 3 .  
         [0033]     If ATM  105  is associated with issuer  125  and/or financial institution  140 , ATM  105  will display data pertaining only to the associated one of the plurality of accounts  220   a  . . .  220   n  after transaction card  205  is read and one of the plurality of PINs  215   a  . . .  215   n  is entered. If ATM  105  is associated with an unrelated third party, ATM  105  will display general data referring to one or more types of accounts, even though the entered PIN is associated with only one of the plurality of accounts  220   a  . . .  220   n  and even though regardless which account selection the account holder makes the same account will be used to fund the cash withdrawal. Alternatively, ATM  105  will display data pertaining to a plurality of accounts  220   a  . . .  220   n  of the account holder or data pertaining only to the associated one of the plurality of accounts  220   a  . . .  220   n.    
         [0034]     As can be seen in  FIG. 4 , in another exemplary embodiment of the present application, each of a plurality of PINs  405   a  . . .  405   n  are associated with one or more accounts. Specifically, like table  210  described herein, memory unit  135  stores table  400 . Table  400  stores data associated with a particular account holder that indicates a plurality of PINs  405   a  . . .  405   n  and data indicating a plurality of accounts  410   a  . . .  410   n  corresponding to one or more of the plurality of  405   a  . . .  405   n.    
         [0035]     For instance, PIN # 1   405   a  corresponds to account # 1   410   a,  PIN # 2   405   b  corresponds to multiple accounts—account # 1   410   a,  account # 3   410   c  and account # 5   410   e,  PIN # 3   410   c  also corresponds to multiple accounts—account # 1   410   a  and account # 2   410   b,  PIN # 4   405   d  corresponds to multiple accounts—account # 2   410   b  and account # 4   410   d  and PIN #n  405   n  corresponds to accounts x, y, z  410   n.    
         [0036]     At least two of the plurality of accounts  410   a  . . .  410   n  can also be the same type of account. The plurality of PINs  405   a  . . .  405   n  and the corresponding account(s) can be stored in a table structured differently than table  400  and in a number of different storage formats besides a table, as would be appreciated by a person having ordinary skill in the art. Further, the plurality of PINs  405   a  . . .  405   n  can be stored in one memory unit and the corresponding account(s) can be stored in another memory unit, for instance, by using relational databases or otherwise. A separate table for each account holder can be stored in memory unit  135  or data associated with multiple account holders can be stored in the same table.  
         [0037]     In an exemplary embodiment, in the event that a PIN, for example, PIN # 2 , is associated with a plurality of accounts (account # 1   410   a,  account # 3   410   c  and account # 5   410   e ), the account holder selects which of those accounts to be designated as a primary account. The primary account designation is utilized by processing unit  150  when the account holder enters, for example, PIN # 2  at POS terminal  115  or at ATM  105 , if ATM  105  is associated with an unrelated third party. In particular, at POS terminal  115 , after magnetic stripe  225  is read and/or after the card number is manually input, POS terminal  115  prompts the account holder to select one of a plurality of options, for instance, a “debit option” or a “credit option”. If the account holder selects an option requiring a PIN, such as the “debit option”, POS terminal  115  then prompts the account holder to input a PIN. At this point, the account holder decides which of the plurality of PINs  405   a  . . .  405   n  previously selected by the account holder to be associated with transaction card  205  to enter into POS terminal  115 . If the account holder wants to access the previously designated primary account amongst accounts # 1   410   a,  # 3   410   c  and # 5   410   e,  for example, account # 1   410   a,  the account holder enters PIN # 2   405   b.  The attempted transaction is processed in the same manner as described above with reference to step  305  through step  340  shown in  FIG. 3 .  
         [0038]     Further, at ATM  105 , if ATM  105  is associated with an unrelated third party, after the account holder enters one of the plurality of PINs  405   a  . . .  405   n  (e.g., PIN # 2   405   b ), ATM  105  will display general data referring to one or more types of accounts, even though the entered PIN is associated with only one of the plurality of accounts  410   a  . . .  410   b  and even though regardless which account selection the account holder makes the same previously designated primary account will be used to fund the cash withdrawal. Alternatively, ATM  105  will display data pertaining to a plurality of accounts  410   a  . . .  410   b  of the account holder or data pertaining only to the associated one of the plurality of accounts previously designated as the primary account.  
         [0039]     On the other hand, after the account holder enters one of the plurality of PINs  405   a  . . .  405   n,  if ATM  105  is associated with issuer  125  and/or financial institution  140 , ATM  105  will display data pertaining only to the one or more accounts associated with the entered PIN. For example, if the account holder inputs PIN # 4  at ATM  105 , then ATM  105  will display data which provides the account holder an option of selecting account # 2   410   b  or account # 4   410  to fund the cash withdrawal. The attempted transaction is processed in the same manner as described above with reference to step  305  through step  340  shown in  FIG. 3 . As will be appreciated by a person having ordinary skill in the art, the present application is not limited to input devices such as POS terminals and ATMs. Rather, any system or device receptive of a user PIN input can be used to implement the exemplary embodiments of the present application, for instance, an automated voice response unit or the like, a web page or other interface on a personal computer, a cellular telephone, a personal digital assistant or other wireless device. Furthermore, the present application is not limited to transmitting data via debit/credit network  120 . Data can also be transmitted via the Internet, via telephone or via one or more other communication links, whether land-line or wireless.  
         [0040]     In an exemplary embodiment, one or more of the plurality of accounts  220   a  . . .  220   n  can be managed by financial institution  140  instead of or in conjunction with issuer  125 . As can be seen in  FIG. 1 , financial institution  140  is coupled to issuer  125  for the transmission of data to and from issuer  125 . In an exemplary embodiment, an account holder could open an account with financial institution  140 , for example, account # 2   220   b,  and assign a PIN to that account, PIN # 2   215   b.  The account holder would thereafter provide to issuer  125  data pertaining to financial institution  140  and to account # 2   220   b  including, for instance, PIN # 2   215   b.  As a result, when issuer  125  receives data from merchant  110  or automated teller machine  105  indicating PIN # 2   215   b  was entered by the account holder, determination unit  130  recognizes that financial institution  140  needs to be contacted to authorize the transaction using account # 2   220   b.  Alternatively, financial institution  140  can continuously transmit updated information, such as balance information and information indicating the current open-to-buy, to issuer  125  so that data associated with account # 2   220   b  and stored in memory unit  135  remains current.  
         [0041]     The exemplary embodiments of the present application were described and illustrated herein with reference to a plurality of PINs  215   a  . . .  215   n.  The present application, however, is not meant to be limited to PINS. Rather, any predetermined or automatically generated number, code or the like can be associated with an account and used as the plurality of PINs  215   a  . . .  215   n  are described as being used in accordance with the exemplary embodiments of the present application.  
         [0042]     The embodiments described above are illustrative examples of the present application and it should not be construed that the present application is limited to these particular embodiments. Various changes and modifications may be effected by one skilled in the art without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.