A method is provided for authorizing a financial transaction of a consumer, comprising: issuing a card to a cardholder by a card-issuing financial institution; creating a card account associated with the card and the cardholder; creating a deposit account associated with the cardholder; creating a liability payment remittance account associated with the cardholder; associating the card with the deposit account and the payment remittance account; and placing money in the deposit account; receiving a request for authorization for a transaction from a clearing system by the card-issuing financial institution; and if adequate resources exist, transferring funds from the deposit account to the payment remittance account; and authorizing the purchase transaction; thereby building an outstanding balance on the credit card account; applying a funds debit or charge to the payment remittance account; and crediting the credit card account for an amount of payment.