Patent ID: 7280984

Claim:
A method of conducting a monetary transaction comprising: providing a money order device to a customer during a money order device vending operation that includes: 1) obtaining a payment of funds and authentication information provided from a customer at a money order device vendor location; 2) creating an encrypted activation request containing a record of the funds paid, the authentication information and money order account information; 3) transmitting the encrypted activation request from the vendor to a remote clearinghouse through a vending communication link; 4) creating an account with the clearinghouse for the money order and storing the authentication information, the money order account information and an amount of account funds available based upon the funds paid in a clearinghouse database; 5) transmitting an activation response to the vendor; and 6) providing the money order device associated with the created account to the customer at the vending location; and utilizing the money order device during a merchant transaction operation that includes: 1) providing the money order device to a merchant; 2) creating an encrypted transaction request that includes money order account information, authentication information provided from the customer and a transaction amount and transmitting via a merchant communication link the request from the merchant to the clearinghouse; 3) determining whether to approve the transaction by verifying the account information, the authentication information and transaction amount with money order account information stored in the clearinghouse database, and determining whether the transaction amount exceeds the amount of account funds available for the money order device; 4) transmitting a transaction response from the clearinghouse of approval or disapproval of the transaction to the merchant; and 5) upon approval of the transaction, immediately transferring money order account funds from the clearing house to a merchant account of the merchant.