A method and system for processing a financial transaction initiated by a cardholder with a merchant. The cardholder initiates the transaction using a cardholder input device and transmits an authorization request message including transaction data received by the cardholder input device from a point of sale (POS) device associated with the merchant. The authorization request message is received by a computer system. The transaction data is validated, and an authorization response message is transmitted after validation. The cardholder input device may forward the authorization response message to the POS device for completing the transaction.