Patent ID: 8341048

Claim:
A process, comprising: performing a financial transaction of a variable amount of money with an individual at a non-financial institution where the financial transaction is one of cashing a check, making a short-term loan and making a payday loan; requesting permission to issue from a financial institution and issuing, at the non-financial institution, a variable amount electronic funds card of the financial institution including the variable amount where the electronic funds card comprises a non-rechargeable and disposable, anonymous cash card where the variable amount credited to the card is adjusted responsive to a transaction fee charge and a reserve amount having a reserve time period; upgrading, by a processor, the non-rechargeable and disposable cash card to a rechargeable cash card, upgrading the rechargeable cash card to a debit card, upgrading the debit card to a debit card with a savings component, and upgrading the debit card with the savings component to a debit and credit card with a savings component responsive to a transaction history of the individual; transferring the variable amount from a facility account to the financial institution; transferring a transaction amount from the financial institution to a third party with whom the individual conducts a third party financial transaction by presenting the card for the third party transaction to the third party and debiting the variable amount of the card by transaction amount; and allowing the individual to add another variable amount to the card via another financial transaction at the non-financial institution where the financial transaction is one of cashing a check, making a short-term loan and making a payday loan when the card is rechargeable.