FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to electronic commerce, and, more particularly, to electronic payment systems.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

There is an interest in employing cash alternatives in a variety of environments. Such cash alternatives can include, for example, payment devices such as payment cards and the like. Cash alternatives are sometimes used within an infrastructure, such as a transit infrastructure (e.g., subway, metro, or underground; bus system). In some such applications, a top-up transaction requires a change in behavior, as compared to a normal transaction. For example, the person might normally perform a simple “tap and go” transaction (i.e., present the card or other payment device in a contactless manner) to travel on a transit system, but when the time came that a top-up was required, the person might need to go to a kiosk or other location in order to carry out that transaction.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Principles of the present invention provide techniques for topping up prepaid payment cards for offline use. An exemplary embodiment of a method, according to one aspect of the invention, includes the step of facilitating a card holder carrying 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 payment transactions in the infrastructure versus that required for topping-up of the balance. Contemporaneously with the initial top-up, an additional step includes facilitating the card holder registering risk mitigation information in association with the pre-paid payment card. A further step includes, subsequent to the initial top-up, facilitating writing an indicator to the pre-paid payment card during a transaction with the pre-paid payment card at a different type of terminal which might be in a different environment. The indicator identifies the pre-paid payment card as having the risk mitigation information associated therewith. A still further step includes, during subsequent presentation of the pre-paid payment card to the infrastructure, treating the pre-paid payment card as a token backed up by the risk mitigation information, based on presence of the indicator on the pre-paid payment card.

One or more embodiments of the invention or elements thereof can be implemented in the form of a computer product including a tangible computer readable recordable storage medium with computer usable program code for performing the method steps indicated. Furthermore, one or more embodiments of the invention or elements thereof can be implemented in the form of a system (or apparatus) including a memory and at least one processor that is coupled to the memory and operative to perform exemplary method steps. Yet further, in another aspect, one or more embodiments of the invention or elements thereof can be implemented in the form of means for carrying out one or more of the method steps described herein; the means can include (i) hardware module(s), (ii) software module(s), or (iii) a combination of hardware and software modules; any of (i)-(iii) implement the specific techniques set forth herein, and the software modules are stored in a tangible computer-readable recordable storage medium (or multiple such media).

One or more embodiments of the invention can provide substantial beneficial technical effects; for example minimizing the requirements of, and impact upon, the acceptance infrastructure required to support the desired functionality; as well as taking advantage of existing infrastructure (e.g. the retail payments infrastructure) to carry out operations that would otherwise require new functionality within a transit system or the like (for example, to load an indicator onto the pre-paid payment card that tells a transit reader that direct payment need not be taken from the pre-paid payment card, and that such pre-paid payment card can be treated as a credit or debit card and the payment processed in the back office).

These and other features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of illustrative embodiments thereof, which is to be read in connection with the accompanying drawings.

