Patent ID: 8676709

Claim:
A computer-implemented method to transmit category codes to payment instrument issuers in proxy card transactions, comprising: receiving, using one or more computing devices and from a merchant computing device associated with a merchant, a first payment request to authorize a proxy card transaction, the first payment request identifying a proxy account of a user for payment of the transaction and a merchant category code associated with the merchant; selecting, using the one or more computer devices, a financial account associated with the proxy account to fund the transaction; determining, using the one or more computing devices, that a financial account system does not accept the merchant category code provided in the first payment request; converting, using the one or more computing devices, the merchant category code to an alternate category code in response to a determination that the financial account system does not accept the merchant category code provided in the first payment request, the alternate category code being associated with an alternate category code system, communicating, using the one or more computing devices, a second payment request to authorize the transaction to the financial account system associated with the selected financial account, the second payment request comprising the alternate category code associated with the merchant; receiving, using the one or more computing devices, a first authorization for the transaction from the financial account system to fund the transaction using the selected financial account; and communicating, using the one or more computing devices, a second authorization for the transaction to the merchant computing device in response to receiving the first authorization for the transaction from the financial account system to fund the transaction using the selected financial account.