Merits and Credit Point In Buddhism

I see you ask for an article, so perhaps you had something in mind other than the suttas. If not, Lokavipatti sutta deals with the topic of gain/loss, among other phenomena.

The gist is that "the eight worldy conditions" are, well... conditioned. They have the characteristics of anicca - non permanence - like any conditioned thing, and consequently is not worth holding on to, as long as we consider merit something that only has to do with ourselves.

Gain arises for an uninstructed run-of-the-mill person. He does not reflect, 'Gain has arisen for me. It is inconstant, stressful, & subject to change.' He does not discern it as it actually is.

[...]

Now, gain arises for a well-instructed disciple of the noble ones. He reflects, 'Gain has arisen for me. It is inconstant, stressful, & subject to change.' He discerns it as it actually is.

[...]

He does not welcome the arisen gain, or rebel against the arisen loss. He does not welcome the arisen status, or rebel against the arisen disgrace. He does not welcome the arisen praise, or rebel against the arisen censure. He does not welcome the arisen pleasure, or rebel against the arisen pain. As he thus abandons welcoming & rebelling, he is released from birth, aging, & death; from sorrows, lamentations, pains, distresses, & despairs. He is released, I tell you, from suffering & stress.

https://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/an/an08/an08.006.than.html

Regarding good deeds and merits they can pertain to different things in buddhism. Thanissaro Bhikkhu writes that merit - generally speaking - builds on three broad categories: "giving, virtue, and meditation".

Apart from the three categories above it's interesting to look at proper merit as beneficial concequences for others first. That way we avoid the risk of settling for merit solely based within ourselves ("underground"), since the self is fickle, and - again - subject of anicca (as stated in the sutta above). We may forget good intentions, become angry or even hateful towards others, or we change for other reasons:

But no matter how well it's stored, deep underground, at the water line, it won't all always serve one's need. The fund gets shifted from its place, or one's memory gets confused; or — unseen — water serpents make off with it, spirits steal it, or hateful heirs run off with it.

Acting in relation to others is instead described as having a more long lasting quality, not only for your surrounding, but yourself as well:

But when a man or woman has laid aside a well-stored fund of giving, virtue, restraint, & self-control, with regard to a shrine, the Sangha, a fine individual, guests, mother, father, or elder sibling: That's a well-stored fund. It can't be wrested away. It follows you along. When, having left this world, for wherever you must go, you take it with you. This fund is not held in common with others, & cannot be stolen by thieves.

https://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/kn/khp/khp.1-9.than.html#khp-8

What you heard was probably based on this Sutta;

https://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/an/an07/an07.049.than.html "Lord, what is the cause, what is the reason, why a person gives a gift of a certain sort and it does not bear great fruit or great benefit, whereas another person gives a gift of the same sort and it bears great fruit and great benefit?"

"Sariputta, there is the case where a person gives a gift seeking his own profit, with a mind attached [to the reward], seeking to store up for himself [with the thought], 'I'll enjoy this after death.' He gives his gift — food, drink, clothing, a vehicle; a garland, perfume, & ointment; bedding, shelter, & a lamp — to a brahman or a contemplative. What do you think, Sariputta? Might a person give such a gift as this?"

"Yes, lord."

"Having given this gift seeking his own profit — with a mind attached [to the reward], seeking to store up for himself, [with the thought], 'I'll enjoy this after death' — on the break-up of the body, after death, he reappears in the company of the Four Great Kings. Then, having exhausted that action, that power, that status, that sovereignty, he is a returner, coming back to this world.

"Then there is the case of a person who gives a gift not seeking his own profit, not with a mind attached [to the reward], not seeking to store up for himself, nor [with the thought], 'I'll enjoy this after death.' Instead, he gives a gift with the thought, 'Giving is good.' He gives his gift — food, drink, clothing, a vehicle; a garland, perfume, & ointment; bedding, shelter, & a lamp — to a brahman or a contemplative. What do you think, Sariputta? Might a person give such a gift as this?"

"Yes, lord."

"Having given this gift with the thought, 'Giving is good,' on the break-up of the body, after death, he reappears in the company of the Devas of the Thirty-three. Then, having exhausted that action, that power, that status, that sovereignty, he is a returner, coming back to this world.

"Or, instead of thinking, 'Giving is good,' he gives a gift with the thought, 'This was given in the past, done in the past, by my father & grandfather. It would not be right for me to let this old family custom be discontinued'... on the break-up of the body, after death, he reappears in the company of the Devas of the Hours. Then, having exhausted that action, that power, that status, that sovereignty, he is a returner, coming back to this world.

"Or, instead... he gives a gift with the thought, 'I am well-off. These are not well-off. It would not be right for me, being well-off, not to give a gift to those who are not well-off'... on the break-up of the body, after death, he reappears in the company of the Contented Devas. Then, having exhausted that action, that power, that status, that sovereignty, he is a returner, coming back to this world.

"Or, instead... he gives a gift with the thought, 'Just as there were the great sacrifices of the sages of the past — Atthaka, Vamaka, Vamadeva, Vessamitta, Yamataggi, Angirasa, Bharadvaja, Vasettha, Kassapa, & Bhagu — in the same way will this be my distribution of gifts'... on the break-up of the body, after death, he reappears in the company of the devas who delight in creation. Then, having exhausted that action, that power, that status, that sovereignty, he is a returner, coming back to this world.

"Or, instead... he gives a gift with the thought, 'When this gift of mine is given, it makes the mind serene. Gratification & joy arise'... on the break-up of the body, after death, he reappears in the company of the devas who have power over the creations of others. Then, having exhausted that action, that power, that status, that sovereignty, he is a returner, coming back to this world.

"Or, instead of thinking, 'When this gift of mine is given, it makes the mind serene. Gratification & joy arise,' he gives a gift with the thought, 'This is an ornament for the mind, a support for the mind.' He gives his gift — food, drink, clothing, a vehicle; a garland, perfume, & ointment; bedding, shelter, & a lamp — to a brahman or a contemplative. What do you think, Sariputta? Might a person give such a gift as this?"

"Yes, lord."

"Having given this, not seeking his own profit, not with a mind attached [to the reward], not seeking to store up for himself, nor [with the thought], 'I'll enjoy this after death,'

" — nor with the thought, 'Giving is good,'

" — nor with the thought, 'This was given in the past, done in the past, by my father & grandfather. It would not be right for me to let this old family custom be discontinued,'

" — nor with the thought, 'I am well-off. These are not well-off. It would not be right for me, being well-off, not to give a gift to those who are not well-off,' nor with the thought, 'Just as there were the great sacrifices of the sages of the past — Atthaka, Vamaka, Vamadeva, Vessamitta, Yamataggi, Angirasa, Bharadvaja, Vasettha, Kassapa, & Bhagu — in the same way this will be my distribution of gifts,'

" — nor with the thought, 'When this gift of mine is given, it makes the mind serene. Gratification & joy arise,'

" — but with the thought, 'This is an ornament for the mind, a support for the mind' — on the break-up of the body, after death, he reappears in the company of Brahma's Retinue. Then, having exhausted that action, that power, that status, that sovereignty, he is a non-returner. He does not come back to this world.

"This, Sariputta, is the cause, this is the reason, why a person gives a gift of a certain sort and it does not bear great fruit or great benefit, whereas another person gives a gift of the same sort and it bears great fruit and great benefit."

The lesson i infer is that it's optimal to be intent on the highest good.

In some persons, the eye of the intellect is entirely covered by the thick cataracts of inferior theories that are mistaken about the unreality of the Self and the Selfless.

Hence, they do not see the various things of the world, even though those things are not beyond the scope of pure worldly vision. While established within just conventional reality, they are intent on describing the names, elements and measures of “earth,” “water,” “fire,” and “wind.” They thus say that minds have just arisen from the mere ripening of the elements in the embryo and so on, like the perceptions that come from an intoxicant with a special intoxicating and stupefying capacity that is caused by its production from the mere ripening of certain substances, such as roots, grain mush, a leavening agent, and so on.

Doing so, they deny what has come before and what will come next, and denying that, they reject the next world and the Self by saying things such as, “This world does not exist, nor does the next. There is no such thing as the maturation of the results of virtuous and nonvirtuous deeds. There is no such thing as spontaneously born beings.” Through these denials, they reject what leads to a certain kind of result, namely, the distinctive and desired result that is heaven or emancipation. As such, they are always and constantly engaged in conditioning themselves with nonvirtuous karmic acts. Thus, they are headed for a fall into the great chasm of hell and so on.

In order to eliminate those beings’ false view, the buddhas conform to the mindset (āśaya) of each world of beings which are of eighty-four thousand different kinds in terms of beings’ minds and behavior. Doing so, the buddhas are intent upon fulfilling their promise to uplift every world of beings, and they do so fully equipped with wisdom, method and great compassion. The peerless friends of many worlds (jagad), the great kings among healers, they entirely cure the enormous sickness that is the negative mental states.

These Buddhas desire to care for disciples of inferior, middling and great capacities. Hence, for the inferior disciples who are engaged in nonvirtuous karmic deeds, the blessed buddhas in some cases make it known in the world, “It is so—there is a Self”; they do this so as to turn those disciples away from nonvirtue and so on.

Some disciples, however, are like birds bound with a cord that is tough—due to the difficulty of the belief in a real Self—and very long—due the love of “I” and “My.” Even though they fly far, and even though they engage in positive karmic acts and shun negative ones, being bound with that cord they are still unable to pass beyond the Three Dimensions and obtain peaceful nirvāṇa, where there is neither decay nor death. For these middling disciples—so as to cool their attachment to the belief that the transient collection of mind and body is a real Self, and so as to engender within them a yearning for nirvāṇa—the blessed buddhas, wishing to take care of those disciples, taught, “There is no Self.”

There is, however, a seed that is an intense aspiration for the profound dharma—an interest obtained through the distinctive qualities that come from previous habituation. In some disciples, that seed has ripened and they have drawn close to nirvāṇa. These excellent disciples are devoid of Self-love, and they have the capacity to plumb the depths of the actual meaning of the king of sage’s highest, deep words. Having determined that these disciples have that distinctive aspiration, so too, the buddhas have taught, “There is neither the Self nor the Selfless at all.”
...

Chandrakirti

Let's say you give 'something' to someone thinking that you will receive something(or the same thing) in return one day. This can happen in this life or even several afterlives later; until the condition is satisfied, which is 'you' receiving something in return for the thing you gave, 'you' will be reborn. This will keep you from achieving Enlightenment.

Rather if you give without the intention of receiving, you will be filling the Dana Paramita which will help you to achieve Enlightenment.

It is your intention that will either lead you towards or away from Enligthenment.

Yes. Those who want good things to happen them should be heedful in doing meritorious deeds.

From the Ittha Sutta:

Long life, beauty, status, honor,
heaven, high birth:
To those who delight
in aspiring for these things
in great measure, continuously,
the wise praise heedfulness
in making merit.

Those who do not want bad things to happen to them should be mindful of their conduct.

From the Themes Sutta:

“And for the sake of what benefit should a woman or a man, a householder or one gone forth, often reflect thus: ‘I am the owner of my kamma, the heir of my kamma; I have kamma as my origin, kamma as my relative, kamma as my resort; I will be the heir of whatever kamma, good or bad, that I do’? People engage in misconduct by body, speech, and mind. But when one often reflects upon this theme, such misconduct is either completely abandoned or diminished. It is for the sake of this benefit that a woman or a man, a householder or one gone forth, should often reflect thus: ‘I am the owner of my kamma, the heir of my kamma; I have kamma as my origin, kamma as my relative, kamma as my resort; I will be the heir of whatever kamma, good or bad, that I do.’

So, who says there is no bank account of kamma in Buddhism?

Yes, there is. But where does it end?

Everyone works to earn money to fill their bowl with food. Then they eat enough to have sufficient energy so that they can go back to work, to earn more money.

Similarly, everybody is busy running on the kamma hamster wheel to ensure that the periodic kamma bank balance (hopefully) looks positive.

Don't you get tired of that?

Also from the Themes Sutta:

“This noble disciple reflects thus: ‘I am not the only one who is the owner of one’s kamma, the heir of one’s kamma; who has kamma as one’s origin, kamma as one’s relative, kamma as one’s resort; who will be the heir of whatever kamma, good or bad, that one does. All beings that come and go, that pass away and undergo rebirth, are owners of their kamma, heirs of their kamma; all have kamma as their origin, kamma as their relative, kamma as their resort; all will be heirs of whatever kamma, good or bad, that they do.’ As he often reflects on this theme, the path is generated. He pursues this path, develops it, and cultivates it. As he does so, the fetters are entirely abandoned and the underlying tendencies are uprooted.

If you're tired of running on the hamster wheel, well, that's suffering.

Suffering, not because you did past bad kamma and have bad things happen to you.

But rather, suffering, because you have to struggle to keep going. And despite struggling and working hard to have a good future, it never permanently satisfies you. Good outcomes don't last forever and bad outcomes cannot be avoided forever.

Congratulations! You have just stumbled onto the first noble truth. Next, go on to the second, third and fourth noble truths, to find your way out of suffering.

P.S. Please note that not everything that happens to you is due to kamma. Sometimes it's due to other reasons like weather, bile, phlegm, clumsiness, harm done by others etc. - please see Sivaka Sutta and Devadaha Sutta for details.