Patent ID: 8744998

Claim:
A method comprises: receiving, by a processor, at least a portion of a merchant master file, wherein the merchant master file includes a plurality of merchant data files; for a merchant data file of the plurality of merchant data files: determining, by the processor, whether a corresponding merchant profile record exists within a merchant profile database; when the corresponding merchant profile record exists in the merchant profile database, comparing, by the processor, the merchant data file with the corresponding merchant profile record; when an inconsistency exists between the corresponding merchant profile record and the merchant data file, determining, by the processor, a status of the merchant data file with respect to the at least a portion of the merchant master file; when the status of the merchant data file is a first status level, generating, by the processor, an inconsistency message that identifies the inconsistency, wherein the status of the merchant data file is the first status level if the merchant master file received is an initial file; and when the status of the merchant data file is a second status level, updating, by the processor, the merchant profile record in accordance with the merchant data file, wherein the status of the merchant data file is the second status level if the merchant master file received is a delta file that includes updated information.