Automated substantiation of product level specific account payments

In a transaction processing system in which a transaction handler processes a plurality of sales transactions, each characterized by a consumer making a purchase from a merchant wherein payment is made upon an account issued to the consumer by an issuer, a method of handling a given sales transaction involving a purchase of one or more items and payment via an account, said method comprising a plurality of steps each being performed by hardware executing software, wherein the steps include:

• entering an identity for each of one or more said items which the consumer desires to purchase;
• obtaining, from the consumer, identification of the account;
• determining, for each said item desired to be purchased, whether the item is a qualified product under the account by comparing the entered identity for the item against stored identifications of qualified products eligible for purchase using the account;
• and
• storing an account transaction record which identifies a date of the given sales transaction, the account, each said item that is a qualified product as determined by the determining step, and data enabling a calculation of a total monetary amount of the given sales transaction related to each said item that is a qualified product.

An apparatus comprising:

• means for entering an identity of at least one item which a consumer desires to purchase in a given sales transaction;
• means for obtaining, from the consumer, identification of an account;
• means for comparing the entered identity for each said item against stored identifications of qualified products eligible for purchase using the account to determine whether the item is a qualified product under the account;
• and
• means for storing an account transaction record which identifies:
• a date of the given sales transaction;
• the account;
• each said item that is a qualified product under the account as determined by the means for comparing;
• and
• information enabling a calculation of a total monetary amount of the given sales transaction related to each of the items that is a qualified product under the account, wherein:
• the given sales transaction is processed in a transaction processing system in which a transaction handler processes a plurality of said sales transactions each characterized by:
• by one said consumer making a purchase from a merchant;
• and
• payment being made upon one said account that was issued to the one said consumer by an issuer.