It is provided a method for providing a credential set to a credential carrier for gaining access to a physical space. The method is performed in a credential provider and comprises the steps of: preloading a plurality of credential sets from a server into a local memory, each credential set being usable to gain access to a physical space and each credential set comprising a first validity time; wherein, when a network connection between the credential provider and the server is unavailable, performing the following steps: obtaining a request to provide a credential set for a physical space; retrieving a credential set from the local memory, the credential set being usable to gain access to the physical space indicated in the request; and providing, as long as the first validity time of the credential set has not expired, the retrieved credential set to a credential carrier.