Method and system for managing transaction card data

The present invention relates to transaction cards and in particular to a layered/distributed environment which provides distributed services for use of a transaction card, such as a smart card, on board a ship when shipboard communications with a centralized host system are not available. A method and system for managing transaction card data provides distributed services for use of a transaction card, such as a smart card, on board a ship when shipboard communication with a centralized host system is unavailable. Aspects of the centralized land-based system, such as card issuance, card management, and issuer host authentication are migrated to the shipboard environment, and an on board issuance system, a distributed card management system, and a local monitoring and administration system are introduced to the shipboard environment. When the ship leaves port, an instance of the central system database data for the on board ship personnel is hosted on board the ship and stored in the distributed card management system database. Tracking data representing current transaction information for the transaction cards of the ship personnel is also stored in the distributed card management system database, and at regular intervals, when ship-to-shore communication is available, the land-based and shipboard databases are synchronized with one another.