National Common Mobility Card: All You Need To Know

Dubbed as the ‘One Nation One Card’, the National Common Mobility Card (NCMC) was launched by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) under the ‘Make In India’ initiative on 4 March 2019. This is a versatile transport card where RuPay has partnered with banks to offer payment support. Shortly after RuPay, VISA, the global payments technology company, also announced the launch of specifications that support NCMC.

You can use this card to tackle a range of payments like paying for toll, commuting via bus, train or metro, and paying for other purchases as well. Since this is a first-of-its-kind transport card, before you apply for it, find out a little more about the smart National Common Mobility Card before you apply for it.

Additional read: How to use a credit card wisely?

How does the National Common Mobility Card work?

The National Common Mobility Card (NCMC) is a smart card designed to simplify travel for commuters across India. The card supports multiple modes of transportation such as buses, metros, railways, and parking. As a result, citizens can have one card for all of their transportation needs.

The NCMC uses Near Field Communication (NFC) technology, allowing commuters to simply tap the card on a reader to pay for their trips. Additionally, the card's balance can be recharged through various channels such as online, mobile applications, and Automatic Fare Collection (AFC) gates at stations. The NCMC aims to improve the ease of travel for all Indian commuters while promoting national integration and interoperability.

Smart National Common Mobility Card features

• National Payments Corporation of India is responsible for overlooking support services for NCMCs.
• C-DAC is entrusted with the task of developing standards and hardware for metro gates and validators to support this payment ecosystem.
• A single card allows you to transact across various categories.
  NCMC is supported by Automatic Fare Collection Gate ‘SWAGAT’ and an Open Loop Automatic Fare Collection System ‘SWEEKAR’, both launched under the ‘Make In India’ initiative.
• VISA NCMCs will be contactless cards that support the ABT, an account-based technology used across major metros worldwide.
• All banks in India will issue NCMCs in the form of debit, credit and prepaid cards.

National Common Mobility Card benefits

• You can use your NCMC to pay tolls, shop at e-commerce sites or pay for parking. This way, you don’t have to carry multiple cards for various expenses.
• These cards facilitate ticket-less travel on metros, buses and railways. You can use this card to pay for travel via all public transport operators in the country.
• VISA National Common Mobility Card will work on a ‘tap-to-pay’ mechanism. You can store your transport passes on your NCMC and top-up the balance when needed through multiple payment options.
• Partner banks offer loyalty or reward points just like a regular credit card. This way, you can still benefit from money-saving offers.
• You can also use the One Nation One Card to withdraw money from ATMs.

National Common Mobility Card in Budget 2019

Recently, on 5 July 2019, the Finance Minister praised the benefits of NCMC while presenting the Union Budget 2019. This universal transport card allows holders to pay for various transport charges across the nation. The Finance Minister pointed out that this inter-operable transport card enables users to avail metro services, pay toll tax, bus travel charges, parking fees and can even be used for retail shopping and to withdraw cash. By highlighting the advantages of owning the NCMC, the Finance Minister expressed the government’s interest in expanding the functionalities of the National Common Mobility Card in the future.

How to apply for the National Common Mobility Card?

Since NCMC is still in the initial stages of implementation, the automatic fare collection system has only been installed in a few metro stations in Delhi. The government is yet to declare information about the issuing authorities and the registration procedure, which will allow you to apply for a Smart National Common Mobility Card.

Currently, 25 major banks, including SBI, UCO Bank, Union Bank, and others, offer these cards. To get a card, you will have to contact your nearest bank to see if the card is operational in your city of residence and then apply. Apart from banks, government institutions such as metro rail authorities will also issue this card in due course of time.

Additional read: How to apply for Bajaj Finserv Credit Card?

In addition to the versatile National Common Mobility Card, consider applying for a feature-rich credit card to enjoy even more benefits. For instance, the Bajaj Finserv RBL Bank SuperCard is a 4-in-1 card that offers multiple benefits. It lets you make secure credit purchases, make interest-free ATM withdrawals, take an emergency personal loan at a 1.16% interest rate, and convert high-value purchases into easy EMIs. Apart from this, you can also enjoy excellent money-saving offers, discounts and cashback. To get this credit card, all you have to do is check your credit card offer by submitting your name and contact details. One-step verification gives you speedy access to the SuperCard.