Payment system and methods

A transaction system for operating with a system having a plurality of persons;

• a plurality of cards issued under authority of an entity;
• a retail site configured with a first signal, the first signal being common to the plurality of cards;
• a routing system for receiving a signal and generating a network address in response to the received signal, the routing system including a plurality of wide area communication links, the routing system being configured using the first signal, the system further including a second signal on a first card in the plurality of cards;
• and a second system storing an association between the second signal and account information, the entity and an owner of the second system not being affiliated, the entity not being affiliated with a retailer, the transaction system comprising:
• means for receiving the first and second signals from the first card;
• means for sending the first and second signals into the routing system, to cause the second system to perform the steps of
• determining whether the first card can effect payment,
• responsive to the determining step, conditionally sending a message to cause an institution to send an ACH entry to the Federal Reserve ACH system, to pass the entry to a bank, where an account is issued a debit, to cause a transfer of funds to the owner of the retail site, and making an entry in an accounting system, to effectively increment an amount owed by the owner of the retail site to the owner of the second system;
• and
• means for conditionally effecting a transaction with a holder of the first card depending on a signal received from the second system.

A method for a system having a plurality of persons;

• a plurality of vehicles;
• a plurality of cards issued under authority of a government, each card evidencing a license for a person to operate a vehicle;
• a retail site configured with a first signal, the first signal including a license card IIN number, the first signal being common to the plurality of cards;
• a routing system for receiving a signal and generating a network address in response to the received signal, the routing system including a plurality of wide area communication links, the routing system being configured using the first signal, the system further including a second signal, the second signal including a personal ID number, on a first card in the plurality of cards;
• and a server storing an association between the second signal and account information, method comprising:
• the steps, performed at the retail site, of:
• receiving the first and second signals from the first card;
• sending the first and second signals into the routing system, to cause the server to perform the steps of
• determining whether the first card can effect payment,
• responsive to the determining step, conditionally sending a message to cause an institution to send an ACH entry to the Federal Reserve ACH system, to pass the entry to a bank, where an account is issued a debit, to cause a transfer of funds to the owner of the retail site, and making an entry in an accounting system, to effectively increment an amount owed by the owner of the retail site to the owner of the server,
• wherein the method further includes the step, performed at the retail site, of:
• conditionally effecting a transaction with a holder of the first card, depending on a signal received from the server.