Patent ID: 7418398

Claim:
A method for issuing both a non-physical virtual card and a physical card to a cardholder, wherein both the virtual card and the physical card is usable for conducting transactions against a funded value, the method comprising: receiving at a processing system a request to receive both a physical card and a virtual card, along with a funded value that is associated with both the physical card and the virtual card; using the processing system to first electronically issue a virtual card to a cardholder, the virtual card comprising an identifier and an associated database record of a stored value, wherein the virtual card is active upon issuance; and receiving at the processing system a request to debit the funded value by a redemption amount from an electronic purchase over a network; debiting the funded value by the redemption amount; sending a physical card to the cardholder, wherein the physical card includes a card body and an identifier that is different from the virtual card identifier, and wherein the physical card is in an inactive state until the physical card is activated by linking of the physical card identifier to the database record of the stored value, and wherein the funded value of the physical card is the funded value less the redemption amount.