A transaction system suitable for payment by card includes a child account associated with a parent account. The transaction system receives from the parent a data set representing rules which specify on which purchases the child will benefit from an incentive such as discount, coupon, rebate or gift. Upon a purchase transaction with the child card, the system detects an eligible purchase by producing a result data set from the rules data entered by the parent and the particulars of the purchase transaction, where the result data represents the appropriate incentive granted, if any, and directs the system to charge the incentive cost to the parent account.