Central Bank of Chile publishes rules enabling offline payment card validation in public transport

The Central Bank of Chile has issued rules that allow credit, debit and prepaid cards to be used in mass public transport through offline validation at the point of entry. The framework is designed to let existing pilot programs continue while setting minimum nationwide conditions on security, risk management and user information. It allows passengers to pay when boarding a bus, metro, train or other mass transit service even if balance verification, authorization and final settlement occur later. The change aligns prudential rules for payment cards with the operational needs of public transport systems, where rapid validation is needed to avoid delays at access points. Required safeguards include same-day checks on card status to identify blocked cards or cards without sufficient funds, and denial lists that temporarily prevent further transactions on problematic cards. Under the Central Bank of Chile's four-party card model, the mass public transport system, acting as an affiliated entity, must also make repeated collection attempts on cards used without sufficient funds. The rules do not prescribe technical specifications, leaving those to each transport system's operational design and to the Ministry of Transport and Telecommunications within its legal remit. They also allow issuers to seek full or partial exclusion of their cards from the offline validation scheme if it is not compatible with their business model, in which case they must inform customers and the general public in a timely manner.