Patent ID: 7904389

Claim:
A method comprising the steps of: electronically receiving, at a transaction handler processor, information about each of a plurality of accounts each being issued by a corresponding issuer; electronically transmitting, from the transaction handler processor, the information about the each of the plurality of accounts for delivery to and storage by a merchant for transactions to be conducted in the future with the merchant; and processing one said transaction in real time including: electronically receiving, at the transaction handler processor from an acquirer computer, a first authorization request submitted by the merchant to the acquirer computer for one said transaction conducted with the merchant on one said account, wherein the first authorization request includes a portion of the information about the one said account that was stored by the merchant; electronically transmitting, from the transaction handler processor, the first authorization request to a corresponding said issuer; electronically receiving, at the transaction handler processor, a denial in response to the electronically transmitted first authorization request; electronically transmitting, from the transaction handler processor, the denial to the acquirer computer for delivery to the merchant; electronically receiving, at the transaction handler processor, an account information update request from the merchant for updated information about the one said account; electronically transmitting, from a database of account records associated with the transaction handler processor, the updated information about the one said account for delivery to the merchant; electronically receiving, at the transaction handler processor from the acquirer computer, a second authorization request submitted by the merchant to the acquirer computer for the one said transaction conducted on the one said account, wherein the second authorization request includes a portion of the updated information about the one said account; electronically transmitting, from the transaction handler processor, the second authorization request to the corresponding said issuer; electronically receiving, at the transaction handler processor, an authorization approval in response to the second authorization request; and electronically transmitting, from the transaction handler processor, the authorization approval to the acquirer computer for delivery to the merchant.