Patent ID: 8020755

Claim:
A method for enhancing credit of a cardholder of a pre-paid card, said method comprising: issuing a pre-paid card to a cardholder; charging the cardholder a fee to establish a credit instrument associated with an account and the pre-paid card; billing the cardholder a portion of the amount owed for the credit instrument that includes the fee on a periodic basis, said billing being independent from billing for usage of the pre-paid card for purchasing goods and services; determining whether the cardholder timely paid the bill for the portion of the credit instrument and the fee; if the cardholder timely paid the bill for the portion of the credit instrument and the fee, then recording the payment as being timely paid; otherwise, recording that the bill for the portion of the credit instrument and the fee was not timely paid; and reporting the timeliness of the payment of the portion of the credit instrument and the fee, the timeliness of the payment being used to affect a credit rating of the cardholder.