Namma Metro Restricts Sale Of Contactless Smart Cards To Promote National Common Mobility Card

The Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRC) has announced that the sale of Contactless Smart Cards (CSC) for the Namma Metro in Bengaluru will be restricted.

This decision is aimed at promoting the National Common Mobility Card (NCMC), which will be available for purchase at all metro stations.

To reduce the burden on passengers of carrying multiple cards for travel and shopping, Namma Metro plans to phase out its closed-loop Smart Cards in the near future.

The metro officials have emphasised the advantages of using an NCMC for daily metro train users in Bengaluru. The Namma Metro Contactless Smart Cards (CSC) are limited to travel within the metro system, whereas the RuPay National Common Mobility Card (NCMC) is an open loop card that can be used across all transport systems in the country where it is implemented. Additionally, the NCMC can also be used for shopping at retail stores and petrol bunks.

The concept of the NCMC was introduced by the Nandan Nilekani committee, which was established by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). This committee, led by Nilekani, the former chairperson of the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), has proposed various measures to reduce cash transactions in the country, including digital payments for all government transactions.

The NCMC will also enable entry and exit from metro stations using a smartphone through the automatic fare collection (AFC) system.