Abstract: Business would like to electronically communicate with a customer but may not have the resources to actively acquire the customer's phone number. To passively acquire and link a customer's phone number to the customer's account, a unique code may be created for each customer. A proxy code for the unique code may also be created. The proxy code may be sent to the customer with an invitation to open a new account, receive a new service, or renew a service by returning the proxy code by phone call or text message. The proxy code may then be received from the customer by phone call or text message. The phone number from which the phone call or text message has been received may be authenticated. The phone number may then be linked to the unique code based on the proxy code.

Abstract: A method performed by a transfer instrument issuer involves issuing, to a recipient, a certificate which is linked to a national card account obtained by the transfer instrument issuer from an account issuer different from the transfer instrument issuer, without both issuing and providing a physical card for the national card account to the recipient of the certificate, the certificate having been purchased by a purchaser, who is not also the recipient, and containing all information necessary for the purchase of goods or services from any merchant who is capable of processing economic transactions involving one of the plurality national card accounts for which a physical card has issued, but without presentment of the physical card.

Abstract: A method performed by a transfer instrument issuer involves issuing, to a recipient, a certificate which is linked to a national card account obtained by the transfer instrument issuer from an account issuer different from the transfer instrument issuer, without both issuing and providing a physical card for the national card account to the recipient of the certificate, the certificate having been purchased by a purchaser, who is not also the recipient, and containing all information necessary for the purchase of goods or services from any merchant who is capable of processing economic transactions involving one of the plurality national card accounts for which a physical card has issued, but without presentment of the physical card.

Abstract: A method and system is provided through which a purchaser and/or a recipient of a prepaid card (e.g., gift card) may enroll in a prepaid card protection, loyalty program, or other service. By enrolling the purchaser and/or recipient of the prepaid card for this service, the purchaser and/or recipient become known to the prepaid card vendor for marketing and tracking purposes. The merchant and/or prepaid card administrator may thus make the prepaid card registrant aware of special offers that may entice the prepaid card registrant to go to the merchant's store to use the prepaid card.

Abstract: By providing identification information for a second party, a first party may access address profiles to send an electronic communication to the second party without knowing the electronic contact information for the second party. The address profiles are created by collecting electronic contact information from a plurality of public and private sources. A code may then be assigned to the information from each source for each party identified. Codes from respective sources may then be analyzed for similarities in order to identify codes that may correspond to the same party above a similarity threshold. When codes correspond above the similarity threshold for the same party, an address profile may be associated with the codes and may be associated with the same party.

Abstract: A customer is invited to enroll in a service offered by an entity by linking an invitation to enroll in the service with a customer's mobile phone number either before (when the customer's mobile phone number is known in advance) or after an enrollment is initiated from the customer's mobile phone number (the invitation response is matched to the customer after having been sent). Typically, the enrollment includes a simple request to activate their enrollment from their mobile phone (call/text). The customer's response to the enrollment from the mobile phone is logged, matched with a confidence score, and captured as a record of the customer's enrollment in the service. Enrollment services with the customer may proceed once the customer is enrolled.

Abstract: A system and method are provided for verifying a sender of an SMS text message. The SMS text message may be validated by texting or calling the verification server from any phone and providing the unique code as a validation code, by texting or calling from the recipient mobile phone (no unique code is needed as the phone number may be linked to the sent message), or by logging in to an in-box of the verification server where valid messages to the recipient are logged. For example, the verification server receives the received unique code from the recipient for verification by receiving an SMS text message including the received unique code, receiving the unique code from the recipient via an Internet browser, receiving the unique code from the recipient via a phone call, or receiving a trusted authentication short code based on the unique code.

Abstract: A system and method are provided for enabling the recipient of a citation to pay the associated fine using SMS text messaging. The system includes a server platform programmed to receive an SMS text from a customer, the SMS text including a citation number, a unique identifier for the municipality that issued the citation, and an RFID transponder number and/or a license plate number for the customer that is linked to a payment device, such as a credit card account. Upon receipt of the SMS text, the server platform validates the citation number and municipality unique identifier against a citation database, charges a percentage of the amount of the citation to the payment device linked to the RFID transponder number or license plate number (e.g., a credit or debit account on file), and transfers payment of the percentage of the citation amount to the municipality identified by the unique identifier. The server platform also sends confirmation of payment of the citation to the customer via an SMS text message.

Abstract: An entity passively acquires an existing customer's mobile phone number and links the customer's mobile phone number to the customer's account without requesting the customer to actively provide customer identifying information. This is accomplished by capturing the customer's mobile phone number when the customer uses a mobile phone to contact the entity and checking whether the captured mobile phone number is in a customer database. If the captured mobile phone number is not in the customer database, the customer using the mobile phone number may be validated by determining that the customer corresponds to a particular customer account and associating the captured mobile phone number with the particular customer account.

Abstract: A method performed by a transfer instrument issuer involves issuing, to a recipient, a certificate which is linked to a national card account obtained by the transfer instrument issuer from an account issuer different from the transfer instrument issuer, without both issuing and providing a physical card for the national card account to the recipient of the certificate, the certificate having been purchased by a purchaser, who is not also the recipient, and containing all information necessary for the purchase of goods or services from any merchant who is capable of processing economic transactions involving one of the plurality national card accounts for which a physical card has issued, but without presentment of the physical card.

Abstract: Business would like to electronically communicate with a customer but may not have the resources to actively acquire the customer's phone number. To passively acquire and link a customer's phone number to the customer's account, a unique code may be created for each customer. A proxy code for the unique code may also be created. The proxy code may be sent to the customer with an invitation to open a new account, receive a new service, or renew a service by returning the proxy code by phone call or text message. The proxy code may then be received from the customer by phone call or text message. The phone number from which the phone call or text message has been received may be authenticated. The phone number may then be linked to the unique code based on the proxy code.

Abstract: A method performed by a transfer instrument issuer involves issuing, to a recipient, a certificate which is linked to a national card account obtained by the transfer instrument issuer from an account issuer different from the transfer instrument issuer, without both issuing and providing a physical card for the national card account to the recipient of the certificate, the certificate having been purchased by a purchaser, who is not also the recipient, and containing all information necessary for the purchase of goods or services from any merchant who is capable of processing economic transactions involving one of the plurality national card accounts for which a physical card has issued, but without presentment of the physical card.

Abstract: By providing identification information for a second party, a first party may access address profiles to send an electronic communication to the second party without knowing the electronic contact information for the second party. The address profiles are created by collecting electronic contact information from a plurality of public and private sources. A code may then be assigned to the information from each source for each party identified. Codes from respective sources may then be analyzed for similarities in order to identify codes that may correspond to the same party above a similarity threshold. When codes correspond above the similarity threshold for the same party, an address profile may be associated with the codes and may be associated with the same party.

Abstract: A method performed by a transfer instrument issuer involves issuing, to a recipient, a certificate which is linked to a national card account obtained by the transfer instrument issuer from an account issuer different from the transfer instrument issuer, without both issuing and providing a physical card for the national card account to the recipient of the certificate, the certificate having been purchased by a purchaser, who is not also the recipient, and containing all information necessary for the purchase of goods or services from any merchant who is capable of processing economic transactions involving one of the plurality national card accounts for which a physical card has issued, but without presentment of the physical card.

Abstract: A method performed by a transfer instrument issuer involves issuing, to a recipient, a certificate which is linked to a national card account obtained by the transfer instrument issuer from an account issuer different from the transfer instrument issuer, without both issuing and providing a physical card for the national card account to the recipient of the certificate, the certificate having been purchased by a purchaser, who is not also the recipient, and containing all information necessary for the purchase of goods or services from any merchant who is capable of processing economic transactions involving one of the plurality national card accounts for which a physical card has issued, but without presentment of the physical card.

Abstract: A financial services payment vehicle is disclosed having a database stored on a computer readable media, the database including records associated with a plurality of active financial services card accounts, one of the financial services card account records having a name representing a cardholder for purposes of using the account, the name having a first part selected by the cardholder and a second part selected by a second party unrelated to the cardholder. A financial services method is also disclosed involving selecting a first part of a cardholder name for an account which would appear on a financial services card if a physical card is issued, accepting an unrelated entity's selection of a second part of the cardholder name for the account such that a use of the account will result in a provision of the first part in place of a first name and the second part in place of a surname.

Abstract: A method is disclosed involving acquiring a plurality of charge accounts. The accounts are of a type normally issued with an associated physically producible card which may be presented as evidence of an existing charge account, the physically producible cards bearing human readable account numbers and expiration dates. The plurality of charge accounts are capable of being gifted to a party, after acquisition. A request is received from a first party to gift a charge account to a second party having a name, without both the issuance and provision of a physical card for the charge account to the second party. The first party and the second party are different from each other.