The card scheme will be supported by a national network and initially funded by central government, but the green paper says over time authorities would be expected to fund sports and other activities by topping up credits on the card.
Hughes said disadvantaged young people would get a monthly credit, expected to be about 12. The Department for Education and Skills said it will run pilots giving these top-ups to 13- to 16-year-olds next year.
"Every young person will have a one-off payment from the Government, but it will be possible for them to earn credits, or for their parents to put money on the card," said Hughes.
"We are also looking at the potential for withdrawing top-ups. We want to use the pilots to see how we manage this, including how we reinstate top-ups that have been withdrawn."
Hughes said young people's responses to the green paper, of which there have been more than 19,000, have generally been positive about the card, although practitioners are less keen on the idea. She said young people are also more accepting of the idea of removing the card as a punishment.
But Susanne Rauprich, the chief executive of the National Council for Voluntary Youth Services, said: "We all know that young people should have more opportunities. But if you ask people if they want a card with discounts on it, they will say yes."
Hughes said existing card programmes show the idea can work. She said the Government will publish its response "in the next few months".
