Patent ID: 7333955

Claim:
A method for supplying stored value comprising the steps of: distributing indicia of an identifier to a merchant for distribution to a customer having a pre-existing pre-paid customer account with a specific provider other than the merchant, the identifier having an associated stored value wherein the identifier is a predetermined identifier stored in a database prior to activating the identifier over a private network, the associated stored value redeemable with a plurality of providers including the specific provider, the indicia of the identifier having an indication of the providers with which the associated stored value may be redeemed disposed visibly thereon; activating at a central processor the identifier upon a distribution of the indicia to the customer, wherein the central processor is in selective communication with the merchant over a private network, the customer, and the plurality of providers; receiving at the central processor a request from the customer to add the associated stored value to the pre-existing pre-paid customer account; determining the specific provider and the pre-existing pre-paid account based on the request and the identifier; verifying by the customer that the correct specific provider and pre-existing pre-paid account has been determined; and adding at the central processor the associated stored value to the pre-existing pre-paid customer account based on the verification step.