Dynamic payment cards and related dynamic payment card management systems and associated methods are disclosed that allow for the efficient management of corporate purchasing needs. The dynamic payment cards can be traditional payment cards with card control settings that are dynamically managed. In addition, a dynamic card management system can automatically interface with card processor systems to dynamically modify these card control settings, and a purchasing management system or other request and approval workflow engine can provide an interface between a company and the dynamic card management system. More generally, an advantageous solution for purchasing management is disclosed that utilizes dynamically or actively managed approval parameters to help control transaction authorization determinations associated with purchasing mechanisms. These dynamic approval parameters can be generated and/or managed through the application of configurable company purchasing policies and rules, and these dynamic approval parameters can be stored, for example, by a processing system that makes authorization determinations when transactions are initiated using the purchasing mechanisms.
RELATED APPLICATIONS
The present application is a continuation-in-part application of the following applications: application Ser. No. 09/409,316 that is entitled "Method and System for Online Business Purchasing," which was filed on Sep. 28, 1999 now abandoned; and application Ser. No. 09/717,728 that is entitled "System and Method for Purchasing Management Utilizing Dynamic Payment Cards and Dynamic Approval Parameters," which was filed Nov. 21, 2000, now abandoned the entire text and all contents for both of which are hereby expressly incorporated by reference in their entirety. The present application also claims priority to the following co-pending United States provisional patent applications: Provisional Application Ser. No. 60/242,493 that is entitled "System and Method for Purchasing Management Utilizing Dynamic Payment Cards and Dynamic Approval Parameters," which was filed on Oct. 23, 2000; and Provisional Application Ser. No. 60/276,819 that is entitled "Payment Card Management Architecture and Associated Methods," which was filed on Mar. 16, 2001, the entire text and all contents for both of which are hereby expressly incorporated by reference in their entirety.
Systems and methods for managing a distributed transaction process include an active transaction manager that manages transactions with an active database, a latent transaction manager that manages transactions with a merge database, a transaction log that reflects the set of transactions in the active database that are not affiliated with the transactions in the merge database, and a merge manager that uses the transaction log to determine whether to transfer control of the merge database to the active transaction manager. Systems and methods may further instruct the active transaction manager to halt transactions with the active database while the merge database is updated to reflect a set of transactions affiliated with the set of transactions in the transaction log, and instruct the active transaction manager to subsequently manage transactions to the active database and the merge database.
