Financial instrument having loan proceeds and pre-paid characteristics

A method performed in a financial system that includes a financial instrument, the financial instrument being associated with a financial account that includes both a loan balance portion and a pre-paid cash balance portion that are used in performing a purchase transaction, wherein the purchase transaction is initiated by the account holder using the financial instrument, the method comprising:

• receiving at a computing system selection of a prioritization scheme that indicates an order of priority of the loan balance portion and the pre-paid cash balance portion of the financial account that are to be used to fund the purchase transaction, the prioritization scheme is selected by a financial institution and configured to maximize an amount of transaction fees charged for the purchase transaction;
• receiving at the computing system a purchase authorization for the purchase transaction initiated by the account holder using the financial instrument, the purchase authorization including an account identifier and a purchase amount;
• applying at the computing system at least a portion of the purchase amount to the financial account according to the prioritization scheme, the purchase transaction configured so that:
• a transaction fee is not charged by the financial institution when any portion of the loan balance portion is applied to the purchase amount;
• and
• the transaction fee is charged by the financial institution when no portion of the loan balance portion is applied to the purchase amount;
• receiving at the computing system first additional loan balance from a first financial institution;
• applying the first additional loan balance to the loan balance portion of the financial account;
• receiving at the computing system second additional loan balance from a second financial institution, wherein the second financial institution is not associated with the first financial institution;
• and
• applying the second additional loan balance to the loan balance portion of the financial account.