Credit/charge card system enabling purchasers to contribute to selected charities

Claim 1

A method of billing for use of a credit card-issuing organization, which enables an authorized cardholder to make a contribution to a charity of his choice when making a purchase using a credit card, the method comprising the steps of: (a) assigning to said authorized cardholder, a charity code of alphanumeric combination which identifies said authorized cardholder as having previously selected a charity or charities for donations, providing said credit card-issuing organization with cardholder files which list said charity or charities under said charity code; said charity code being magnetically encoded in track data on a magnetic stripe affixed to one side of said credit card; (b) storing charity information obtained from said cardholder files, including said charity code, in a database so that the charities listed in said cardholder files can be accessed and identified; (c) purchasing goods or services for said cardholder using said credit card; (d) scanning said credit card at a point-of-sale terminal for credit card authorization data and entering purchase transaction data in a merchant processor; (e) communicating said card authorization and purchase transaction data to a card-issuing organization network transaction processor; (f) analyzing said card authorization and purchase transaction data by said network transaction processor for presence of said charity code, and transmitting transaction data including a charity code to a special processor dedicated to transactions involving donations; (g) interrogating said data base and using said charity code to identify a charity account of said cardholder to be credited, an amount to be contributed to said selected charity or charities, and total amounts to be billed to said cardholder; (h) posting a contribution amount to said selected charity account or accounts; and (i) billing said cardholder for the amount authorized at the time of the purchase transaction plus any amounts for donations made specifically by said cardholder.

Claim 2

A method of billing for use of a credit card-issuing organization, which enables an authorized cardholder to make a contribution to a charity of his choice when making a purchase using a credit card, the method comprising the steps of: (a) assigning to said authorized cardholder, a charity code of alphanumeric combination which identifies said authorized cardholder as having previously selected a charity or charities for donations, providing said credit card-issuing organization with cardholder files which list said charity or charities under said charity code; said charity code being magnetically encoded in track data on a magnetic stripe affixed to one side of said credit card; (b) storing charity information obtained from said cardholder files, including said charity code, in a database so that the charities listed in said cardholder files can be accessed and identified; (c) purchasing goods or services for said cardholder using said credit card; (d) scanning said credit card at a point-of-sale terminal for credit card authorization data and entering purchase transaction data in a merchant processor; (e) communicating said card authorization and purchase transaction data to a card-issuing organization network transaction processor; (f) analyzing said card authorization and purchase transaction data by said network transaction processor for presence of said charity code, and transmitting transaction data including a charity code to a special processor dedicated to transactions involving donations; (g) interrogating said data base and using said charity code to identify a charity account of said cardholder to be credited, an amount to be contributed to said selected charity or charities, and total amounts to be billed to said cardholder; (h) posting a contribution amount to said selected charity account or accounts; and (i) billing said cardholder for the amount authorized at the time of the purchase transaction plus any amounts for donations made specifically by said cardholder.