Patent ID: 8600873

Claim:
An apparatus for processing payment transactions for one or more institutions assigned to a category, comprising: a processor configured to execute a set of instructions; a memory coupled to the processor for storing the set of instructions; and the set of instructions stored in the memory, wherein when executed by the processor the instructions cause the apparatus to obtain a performance criteria for the category, the performance criteria being at least in part indicative of a risk tolerance of the one or more institutions assigned to the category; generate a rule for the category, the rule used to determine if authorization of a payment transaction should be approved or declined, wherein generating the rule further comprises selecting a first and a second payment transaction risk assessment model, each risk assessment model producing a score within a range of possible scores, the score indicative of the likelihood of a transaction being fraudulent; for each risk assessment model, dividing the range of possible scores into a plurality of intervals, each interval representing a portion of the range of possible scores for that model; and combining an interval of the range of possible scores of the first risk assessment model with an interval of the range of possible scores of the second risk assessment model, the generated rule being satisfied if application of the first risk assessment model to a payment transaction produces a score within the interval associated with the first risk assessment model and application of the second risk assessment model to the same payment transaction produces a score falling within the interval associated with the second risk assessment model; and apply the rule to the payment transactions to determine if authorization should be approved or declined.