Abstract: A method and apparatus for allocating a portion of a purchase-based member reward to a third party beneficiary thereby to enable a shared benefit membership reward in a computer system. The method comprise the steps of receiving a member card at a merchant point of sale, identifying data indicative of a member and a third party beneficiary associated with the member card, calculating a defined benefit in respect of a purchase value, apportioning a percentage of the defined benefit to the member, and apportioning a remaining portion of the defined benefit contributed toward the third party beneficiary.