Patent ID: 8127982

Claim:
A method, comprising: defining one or more rules using a handheld electronic device, wherein the one or more rules establish restrictions on transactions made using a financial account associated with an account holder other than the user of the handheld electronic device; and applying the one or more rules to the financial account; defining one or more authorization response times using the handheld electronic device, wherein the one or more authorization response times define respective periods of time in which the handheld electronic device may send a response to a transaction authorization request; wherein the transaction is either automatically approved or automatically declined if no response is sent from the handheld electronic device within a period of time corresponding to one of the one or more authorization response times, wherein the one or more authorization response times includes a first authorization response time and a second authorization response time, wherein the handheld electronic device is allotted the first authorization response time for responding to the transaction authorization request if the transaction is an in-person transaction and the second authorization response time for responding to the transaction authorization request if the transaction is an online transaction.