1. A method for conducting a transaction between a first and second consumer, and a merchant using one or more electronic communication devices, the method comprising the steps of: issuing, by an issuing entity, a first prepaid calling card to a first consumer based on a first specified criteria and issuing a second dependent prepaid calling card dependent on the first prepaid calling card, to a second consumer dependent on the first consumer, based on a second specified criteria, wherein the second specified criteria is specified by the first consumer, wherein both the first and second specified criteria are stored as imbedded data in the respective prepaid calling cards; conducting, at a merchant network node, a micropayment transaction with at least one of the first consumer or second consumer via at least one consumer electronic communication device, wherein the micropayment transactions has a small economic value exchanged during the transaction as compared to the per-transaction costs, wherein; the merchant provides an item of value to the at least one of the first consumer or second consumer, receiving into the merchant network node from the at least one consumer electronic communications device first prepaid-calling card data or second dependent prepaid-calling card data as payment for the item of value, wherein if the second dependent prepaid-calling card data is used for payment, it must be validated at the merchant network node using validation data determined through the specified criteria extracted from the first prepaid-calling card data or validated for access to the transaction or validated or restricted from the transaction, wherein validating the second dependent prepaid calling-card data includes determining that a type of second dependent prepaid calling-card is valid for a type of the micropayment transaction sought by the second consumer at the merchant network node, accessing a database of a card registration system storing data regarding the first prepaid-calling card or the second dependent prepaid-calling card issued by the issuing entity; validating, by the merchant network node, the micropayment transaction for the second dependent prepaid calling card, wherein the step of validating includes extracting and using validation data determined through the specified criteria from the first prepaid-calling card data to determine whether the micropayment transaction sought by the second consumer is accessible or restricted by the specified criteria, obtaining, by the card registration system, a value remaining on the first prepaid-calling card or the second dependent prepaid-calling card from the database and determining whether the value remaining on the first prepaid-calling card or the second dependent prepaid-calling card is sufficient to approve the micropayment transaction for settlement by extracting and using the imbedded data from the first prepaid-calling card as an index for the database, when the first prepaid-calling card data is received as payment for the item of value, if the first prepaid-calling card is not restricted and the value remaining on the first prepaid-calling card is sufficient to approve the micropayment transaction for settlement, closing and settling the micropayment transaction, the step of closing the and settling the transaction including decrementing the value remaining on the first prepaid by an amount equal to the item of value provided by the merchant, when the second dependent prepaid-calling card data is received as payment for the item of value, if the second dependent prepaid-calling card is not restricted and the value remaining on the second dependent prepaid is sufficient to approve the micropayment transaction for settlement, closing and settling the micropayment transaction, the step of closing the and settling the transaction including decrementing the value remaining on the second dependent prepaid-calling card by an amount equal to the item of value provided by the merchant, in association with the micropayment transaction, offering, from the merchant network node to the at least one consumer electronic communication device, a prospective upsell transaction for a good or service different from the item of value for which the micropayment transaction was made comprising: accessing one or more databases, collecting, by the merchant network node, input information from the one or more databases regarding prior transactions made by the first consumer and the second consumer, acquiring the input information obtained during the course of the micropayment transactions used to obtain information regarding the goods or services the first consumer and the second consumer might want to purchase as part of the upsell transaction; and selecting, by the merchant network node, the upsell transaction to offer the first consumer or the second consumer based on the input information from the one or more databases.