Patent ID: 7742987

Claim:
A computer-implemented method for allowing a user to use private currency provided by a particular entity to make purchases from a vendor that does not recognize the private currency, the method comprising: establishing, at an intermediary computer, a first account and a second account for the user, wherein the first account maintains an amount of the private currency that is not recognized by the vendor, and wherein the second account maintains an amount of second currency that is recognized by the vendor; receiving, at the intermediary computer, a request to purchase a product or service from the vendor using at least a portion of the amount of the private currency; determining, by the intermediary computer, at least a portion of the amount of second currency to be used to pay for at least part of the purchase based on an exchange formula; decrementing, by the intermediary computer, the portion of the amount of the private currency from the first account and incrementing, by the intermediary computer, the determined portion of the amount of the second currency in the second account; and processing the purchase request using the determined portion of the amount of the second currency from the second account.