Patent ID: 7752108

Claim:
An apparatus to process a transaction for an asset-backed purchase card, the apparatus comprising a computer program storage medium readable by a processor and embodying one or more instructions executable by a processor, the storage medium comprising: a digital processing apparatus configured to implement operations, the digital processing apparatus configured to implement operations found in a plurality of modules, the plurality of modules comprising: a house account module that maintains a house account not owned by the consumer, the house account comprising one or more assets that are purchased by the house account, each of the one or more assets having a substantially continually updated spot purchase price; an asset exchange module that receives funds from a consumer in exchange for a portion of the one or more assets from the house account, wherein a quantity of the assets that are exchanged for the funds is based on an internal spot price of the assets at the time the funds are received and wherein the quantity of the assets that are exchanged increases a balance in a purchase account of the consumer for backing the balance in the purchase account by the assets that are exchanged; and a debit module that debits the purchase account of the consumer by selling a quantity of the assets to the house account, wherein: the quantity of the assets sold to the house account is based on the internal spot price of the assets at the time of the transaction and on an amount of the transaction between the consumer and a merchant; funds other than the assets in the consumer account are transferred to the merchant, the funds corresponding to the amount of the transaction; and the transaction is based on a purchase card purchase by the consumer wherein the purchase card is backed by the balance in the purchase account.