American Express Pay As You Go

The American Express Pay As You Go (PAYG) model is a delayed authorization using the Expresspay transit policy. These are the key characteristics of this model:
  • Journeys are multimodal.
  • Fares are based on distance.
  • Points of entry are contactless.
  • Accounts are verified with an authorization for a nominal amount or the maximum fare amount.
  • The deny list is checked so that cardholders with previously declined transactions can be blocked.
  • Data can be authenticated offline to confirm that the card is valid.
  • Multiple card taps and fares can be aggregated into a single payment.
  • The deny list is automatically updated every 20 minutes.
  • The back office records all trips and fares in order to reconstruct journeys and calculate the final fare.
  • When the nominal amount authorization is declined, debt recovery can be performed.
  • Standard follow-on payment services can be used to capture, reverse, or void transactions.

Figure:

Pay As You Go Delayed Authorization Model
Diagram of the American Express Pay As You Go Aggregated transaction model.