Central Bank of Chile opens second consultation on rules for offline open-loop payment cards in mass public transport

The Central Bank of Chile launched a second public consultation on draft regulation that would allow open-loop payment cards to be used to pay fares in the Mass Public Transport System (STPM) under an offline operating model. The proposal applies to named credit, debit and prepaid cards and reflects feedback received during the first consultation held in June–July 2025. The revised draft would broaden contractual arrangements by allowing STPM affiliation under a four-party model. It would permit trips made with insufficient balance to be covered by the card issuer up to a limit set by system conditions accepted by that issuer, or alternatively by the STPM under its own conditions; prepaid and debit card issuers could also request that their cards be excluded from offline operation. The operator would remain responsible for payment except where the STPM assumes insufficient-balance trips, and cards that cannot cover offline-recorded trips would be added to an STPM-only denial list at the end of each settlement cycle until outstanding amounts are covered. The settlement cycle would need to be at least daily, supported by continuous intraday validation processes, and the STPM would be responsible for collecting amounts owed for trips made without sufficient funds. The consultation is open until 18 February 2026. Once the final regulation is issued, issuers and operators participating in pilots run by the Ministry of Transport and Telecommunications would need to adjust their offline operations to comply; the Central Bank plans to publish submitted observations, potentially edited or summarised, together with its responses.