System and method for processing group gift cards

A system comprising:

• a processor;
• a control engine;
• an intelligent network engine;
• a central server;
• and
• a memory storing instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to perform operations comprising:
• identifying, at a first time and via a processor and the control engine, a group of givers, each giver of the group of givers having a respective giver payment account, wherein each respective giver payment account is independent of and has no control over other giver payment accounts of the group of givers, and wherein each respective giver payment account exists prior to the first time;
• identifying, through a user interface and by the control engine via a processor, a gift credit associated with a gift;
• establishing, via a processor and a policy control entity, a policy, stored at the central server, being at least in part giver defined and associated with managing a transfer of money according to the gift credit from at least one respective giver payment account to a buyer payment account of a buyer to cover at least a portion of the gift cost, wherein the buyer payment account is an open loop account that existed prior to the first time;
• transmitting, by the control engine via a processor, an electronic notice to a device of the buyer, the notice being linked to the buyer payment account;
• monitoring, by a intelligent network engine remote from the control engine and at a second time which is later than the first time, purchases using the buyer payment account to identify a qualifying purchase according to the policy;
• and
• based on the qualifying purchase, transferring, by the control engine via a processor, at least a portion of the gift credit from each of the at least one respective giver payment account to the buyer payment account according to the policy.

A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing instructions which, when executed by a computing device, cause the computing device to perform operations comprising:

• identifying, at a first time and via a processor and a control engine, a group of givers, each giver of the group of givers having a respective giver payment account, wherein each respective giver payment account is independent of and has no control over other giver payment accounts of the group of givers, and wherein each respective giver payment account exists prior to the first time;
• identifying, through a user interface and by the control engine via a processor, a gift credit associated with a gift;
• establishing, via a processor and a policy control entity, a policy, stored at a central server, being at least in part giver defined and associated with managing a transfer of money according to the gift credit from at least one respective giver payment account to a buyer payment account of a buyer to cover at least a portion of the gift cost, wherein the buyer payment account is an open loop account that existed prior to the first time;
• transmitting, by the control engine via a processor, an electronic notice to a device of the buyer, the notice being linked to the buyer payment account;
• monitoring, by a intelligent network engine remote from the control engine and at a second time which is later than the first time, purchases using the buyer payment account to identify a qualifying purchase according to the policy;
• and
• based on the qualifying purchase, transferring, by the control engine via a processor, at least a portion of the gift credit from each of the at least one respective giver payment account to the buyer payment account according to the policy.