Patent ID: 8308059

Claim:
A method performed by a credit card comprising: in a first process of displaying a current card balance, receiving a balance request from a button on the credit card, wherein the credit card is associated with only a single credit card account; processing the balance request using a processor of the credit card, wherein processing the balance request comprises prompting for input of a personal identification number (PIN); retrieving the current card balance encoded on a non-volatile programmable memory of the credit card that is configured to store the current card balance; displaying the current card balance on a display of credit card, wherein the display is coupled to a plastic support imprinted with credit card information; in a second process of displaying a current remaining credit limit, receiving a current remaining credit limit request from the button on the credit card, wherein the current remaining credit limit equals approximately the difference between a credit limit associated with the credit card account and the current card balance; processing the current remaining credit limit request using the processor of the credit card, wherein processing the current remaining credit limit request comprises prompting for input of a PIN; retrieving the current remaining credit limit encoded on the non-volatile programmable memory of the credit card that is configured to store the current remaining credit limit; and displaying the current remaining credit limit on the display of credit card.