Methods, apparatus and computer program products for interfacing automatic bill payment systems with card issuer database systems

An interface for interfacing a merchant processor with a card issuer database receives a merchant profile including transaction request data elements and stores the merchant profile in a global merchant database. A request for data corresponding to at least one element of the merchant profile is transmitted to a merchant system and/or a cardmember database. Data corresponding to the merchant profile is received from the merchant system and/or the cardmember database and stored in the global merchant database. A marketing system is notified that at least one record associated with the merchant profile is stored in the global merchant database.