A universal funding card and the delayed assignment of a funding instrument for a financial transaction are described herein. In one embodiment, a system for facilitating a financial transaction comprises a communications interface; a database storing data regarding a user and a plurality of funding instruments associated with that user; and a payment processing system configured to receive a request for payment authorization from a merchant via the communications interface, to authorize payment to the merchant prior to selection of a funding instrument, and after authorizing payment to the merchant, receive instructions regarding a funding instrument to debit for the payment.