Patent ID: 8706575

Claim:
A method for operating a transaction management processor, comprising: establishing, by an account holder, at the transaction management processor, an account holder profile for the account holder, the account holder profile identifying at least a first and a second actual payment account issued by at least one financial institution to and held by the account holder, and at least one spending profile for said account holder, said spending profile including at least (i) a first spending target associated with said at least first and second actual payment accounts and (ii) a threshold value for nearing said at least first spending target; automatically receiving, when electronic transaction data originating from a point of sale of a completed transaction associated with at least one of said at least first and second actual payment accounts is received at said transaction management processor, actual transaction data identifying individual payment transactions having occurred and associated with said at least first and second payment accounts; updating, at said transaction management processor, said spending profile, established by said account holder, based on said actual transaction data associated with said at least first and second actual payment accounts; comparing, by said transaction management processor, said actual transaction data to said at least first spending target included in said spending profile for said account holder; determining, based on said comparing, when said threshold value, as established by the account holder, has been reached for nearing said at least first spending target associated with said at least first and second actual payment accounts; and when said threshold value for nearing said at least first spending target has been reached, generating a spending alert message to notify said account holder.