The Western Union Company

First Data Corporation

Tonya Andersen

Gary Jeffords

Deborah Rex

Karen Kaukol

A method of validating and activating a purchase card includes providing a purchase card that is removably attached to a card carrier. The purchase card has an account identifier associated therewith and has a card indicium affixed thereto. The purchase card includes a machine-readable information encoding region into which the account identifier is encoded. The card carrier has a carrier indicium affixed thereto. The method includes populating a database with a stored card indicium that relates to the card indicium, a stored carrier indicium that relates to the carrier indicium, and a stored account identifier that relates to the account identifier, thereby uniquely coupling the account identifier to the card indicium. Activating the card by associating value to it includes comparing the information from the card indicium and the information from the carrier indicium with the stored card indicium and the stored carrier indicium.

Presentation instrument display and activation systems and methods

A method of validating and activating a purchase card includes providing a purchase card that is removably attached to a card carrier, wherein the purchase card has an account identifier associated therewith and has a card indicium affixed thereto, wherein the purchase card includes a machine-readable information encoding region into which the account identifier is encoded, and wherein the card carrier has a carrier indicium affixed thereto; populating a database with a stored card indicium that relates to the card indicium, a stored carrier indicium that relates to the carrier indicium, and a stored account identifier that relates to the account identifier, thereby uniquely coupling the account identifier to the card indicium; at a point-of-sale device and in response to a customer request to purchase the purchase card, entering information from the card indicium into the point-of-sale device; at the point-of-sale device, entering information from the carrier indicium into the point-of-sale device; comparing the information from the card indicium and the information from the carrier indicium with the stored card indicium and the stored carrier indicium; and based at least in part on the comparing step, activating the card by associating value to it.

Growing community of inventors

Denver, CO, United States of America

Tonya Andersen