Payment devices, such as credit/debit cards or contactless devices (e.g., “PAY WAVE”™) are used in various financial transactions including credit purchases, debit purchases, cash advances, and payroll transactions. During the financial transaction, authorization messages that include the financial details about the transaction are transmitted from a point-of-sale (POS) terminal located at a merchant to an acquirer (e.g., a financial institution). The acquirer obtains from the financial institution that issued the payment device (“the issuer”) information regarding the credit worthiness of the cardholder, and whether the account has sufficient funds or credit to perform the transaction.
The acquirer then forwards the financial transaction information to a payment processor, such as Visa, MasterCard, or American Express, which then performs the remainder of the financial transaction along with the issuer (e.g., commercial bank through which the payment device was issued). The only data that are transmitted in these conventional payment device financial transactions identify the amount of the transaction, the account (e.g., card number) performing the transaction and possibly the location where the transaction is occurring. Aside from these details, little is known about the financial transaction.
An improved system and method of performing a financial transaction is desirable.