Patent ID: 8818879

Claim:
A method for determining a least cost transaction scheme for a merchant, wherein the merchant is associated with a standard industrial classification (SIC) code, the method comprising: receiving, at a computer system having a processor, a transaction amount obtained from a point of sale device; calculating, at the computer system, a plurality of transaction fees that comprises a transaction fee for each of a plurality of transaction schemes, wherein each transaction fee is based at least in part on the transaction amount, the SIC code, one of the plurality of transaction schemes, and a bank identification number (BIN) associated with one of the plurality of transaction schemes; updating, at the computer system, each transaction table from an array of transaction tables with the plurality of transaction fees for each of the plurality of transaction schemes; accessing, at the computer system, a specific transaction table from the array of transaction tables, wherein the specific transaction table is selected based on the SIC code and the transaction amount, wherein each transaction table within the array of transaction tables associates a plurality of transaction schemes with the plurality of transaction fees; determining, by the computer system, a least cost transaction scheme associated with the lowest transaction fee listed in the specific transaction table; and transmitting from the computer system to the point of sale device information usable by the point of sale device to prompt a consumer through the point of sale device to use the least cost transaction scheme.