Method, apparatus, and computer program product for topping up prepaid payment cards for offline use

Abstract

A card holder carries out an initial top-up of a balance of a pre-paid payment card. The prepaid payment card is configured for use in an infrastructure in accordance with a payment specification requiring different behavior for normal transactions in the infrastructure versus that required for topping-up of the balance. Contemporaneously with the initial top-up, the card holder registers risk mitigation information in association with the pre-paid payment card. Subsequent to the initial top-up, an indicator is written to the pre-paid payment card during a transaction with the pre-paid payment card outside the infrastructure. The indicator identifies the pre-paid payment card as having the risk mitigation information associated therewith. During subsequent presentation of the pre-paid payment card to the infrastructure, the pre-paid payment card is treated as a token backed up by the risk mitigation information, based on presence of the indicator on the pre-paid payment card.