Patent ID: 8770473

Claim:
A computer-implemented method to incentivize use of financial accounts, the method comprising: establishing, by a computer processor, an electronic record for a financial account of a customer, the establishing including: creating a network of preferred merchants according to at least a profitability grid and a profitability model formula, determining a profitability for a financial account issuer associated with the financial account for a plurality of incentives for the financial account based upon at least the profitability grid, the profitability model formula, and historical data associated with financial accounts of the customer, associating a first incentive with the financial account when a purchase transaction is made by the customer with the financial account with a merchant from the network of preferred merchants, and associating a second incentive, which is different from the first incentive, with the financial account when a purchase transaction is made by the customer with the financial account with a non-network merchant that is not among the network of preferred merchants; receiving, by the computer processor, a customer selection of at least one new merchant that is not among the network of preferred merchants to add to the network of preferred merchants; updating, by the computer processor, the network of preferred merchants by adding the at least one new merchant to the network of preferred merchants based on the customer selection; and providing the first incentive or second incentive to the customer based on purchase transactions made using the financial account.