National Common Mobility Card

National Common Mobility Card (NCMC) – The National Common Mobility Card (NCMC), developed by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs of the Government of India, is an interoperable transport card. It was officially launched on March 4, 2019. Using the transport card, the user can pay for travel, toll duties (toll tax), retail shopping, and cash withdrawals.

National Common Mobility Card (NCMC) also known as One Nation One Card is a contactless smart card, which can be used for various types of transportation across India, including buses, metros, and suburban trains, as well as for toll payments, parking and retail purchases. The card is based on the National Payments Corporation of India’s (NPCI) RuPay platform and it aims to provide a seamless and hassle-free travel experience for commuters.

The card can be used in any city or state in India where the transport system or services are linked to the National Common Mobility Card scheme. It is designed to work across different types of transport systems, including public transportation, tolls, parking and retail.

To use the National Common Mobility Card, you will need to first acquire the card, which can be obtained from the transport department of your city or state. Once you have the card, you will need to load it with money. This can be done by visiting a designated point of sale location, or by using a mobile wallet app.

Once the card is loaded with money, you can use it for different types of transactions such as paying for public transportation, tolls, parking and retail purchases. To make a payment, simply hold the card near the card reader or scanner at the point of sale. The amount will be deducted from the card’s balance and a receipt will be generated.

It’s important to note that, the usage and acceptance of the card may vary depending on the city or state you are in, so it’s always best to check with the transport department or local authorities before using the card.

It is made possible through the use of the RuPay card system. Associated banks such as the State Bank of India, Bank of India, Punjab National Bank, and others issue the NCM card as a prepaid, debit, or credit RuPay card, which can be used for a variety of transactions.

In late 2010, the Government of India proposed a plan to provide seamless access to public transportation networks through the implementation of a pilot programme. The system, which was later dubbed the Integrated Financial Management System (IFMS), was designed to allow passengers to pay for a variety of public transportation services using a single point of payment system. This was established as part of an effort to bring the entire public transportation system of the country under one administrative umbrella.

The government hoped to increase the ease with which people could access public transportation by making it available in every city and to every individual. The project is also designed in such a way that it can accommodate customers from a wide range of socio-economic backgrounds and backgrounds.

Additional emphasis was placed on keeping transaction times as short as possible in order to make the payment experience as seamless as possible. The plan is also structured in such a way that the financial risk to the parties involved in the effort is reduced as well. It has been designated as an Open Loop Payments system that is based on EMV technology.

The NCMC is an indigenously manufactured product that is a component of the Make in India initiative. Initially proposed in 2006 as part of the National Urban Transport Policy, it has since gained widespread acceptance (NUTP).

The More Card was developed as a result of a previous attempt to create a similar national mobility card, which was unsuccessful. Because of the card’s inability to function seamlessly across the country, Venkaiah Naidu, the then Minister of Urban Development, established a committee to recommend a card that would be interoperable across all of the country’s transportation systems.

The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) was established by the Ministry of Urban Development to handle the management, clearing, and settlement of payments, as well as the simulation of cards and terminals, and the maintenance of the network. The reader prototype has been developed by Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL).

The Economic Times published an article on April 8, 2019, stating that Visa was attempting to issue National Common Mobility Cards. On the 13th of May, Visa announced that it had begun developing specifications to support the NCMC. Visa has completed the specifications necessary to begin issuing cards on the NCMC network, and it has begun discussions with banks about issuing their cards on the NCMC network as well.

However, it will take some time before the cards begin to be distributed to consumers in the market. On May 22, 2019, Mastercard announced that 15 Indian banks were in “various stages of signing up” for its National Card Management Program (NCMC).

According to Vikas Varma, senior vice-president, account management for South Asia at Mastercard, the company is preparing to join the National Common Mobility Card (NCMC) scheme, just weeks after its largest competitor Visa announced that it would join the scheme.

To take the first step toward a fully integrated ticketing system, the Mumbai Rail Vikas Corporation (MRVC) intends to implement the ambitious scheme in the Mumbai suburban railway network (ITS).

After a meeting with state officials in March 2019, the Chief Secretary of the Government of Telangana directed them to investigate the possibility of introducing a National Common Mobility Card that could be used on all public transportation in Hyderabad as well as for private vehicles such as autos, taxis, and ride sharing services.

The Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited announced in April 2019 that it would implement the National Common Mobility Card on Phase 2 of the Namma Metro system, which is currently under construction. The necessary technology will be installed at a cost of Rs. 148 crore (US$19 million) by the agency. The current contactless smart cards that are currently in use on the system will be phased out over time.

In October 2021, the Delhi Metro began a phased upgrade of all of its fare gates to accept NCMC cards, which will be completed by December 2021.