What is the National Common Mobility Card (NCMC)?

Why in News? 

The Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi, recently launched a driverless facility of metro rail on the magenta line of Delhi metro and also a common mobility card for airport metro line. The Indigenous Automatic Fare Collection System based on One Nation One Card Model is the first of its kind in India.

About National Common Mobility Card?

1. National Common Mobility Card (NCMC), also called as One Nation, One Card is basically to be used for transport mobility. 
2. It is a recent initiative of the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs that would enable endless travelling through various metros and other transport systems all across the country. 
3. It would also enable retail shopping and purchases besides travelling functions.
4. NPCI was given the mandate to develop the specifications for card & terminal to support the NCMC ecosystem.
5. The best part is that the same card can be used at ATMs, Merchant shops and for online payments in addition to other areas of contactless payments via transit, toll, parking and all other small value merchant payments

Facts on NCMC

Features of NCMC

1. NCMC's are bank-issued cards on Debit/Credit/Prepaid card product basis. 
2. The consumers may use this single card for payments in various parts and segments in the country. This means they are valid all across the country. 
3. The functions that these can be used include metro, bus, suburban railways, toll, parking, smart city and retail shops.
4. The stored value on the card is also capable of supporting offline transaction across all travel needs of the people.
5. These impose a minimal financial risk to all involved stakeholders.
6. The service area feature of this card supports operator-specific applications e.g. monthly passes, season tickets etc.

Benefits of NCMC

1. NCMC is beneficial as customers need not carry multiple cards for different usage. 
2. It offers quick contactless transactions to ease the process.
3. NCMC sets a common standard for implementation without vendor lock-in, which is beneficial to the vendors.
4. NCMC would aid higher digital payments penetration in the financial markets
5. It ensures savings on closed-loop card lifecycle management cost and reduced operating cost at the same time. 
6. The data insights received can be used by operators for business intelligence purposes leading to efficient operation.
7. Banks would get access to such segments that were highly driven by cash. 
8. NCMC would also help the government in bringing digitization of low-value payments and reduced cost for the entire ecosystem

This card is a great move towards creating Smart cities and towns. It is going to help Indians come in a chain of economic mobility and would enable the easy flow of contactless money in the time of the pandemic. 

The government only needs to go stricter on the security issues associated with the card as in case of misuse it might prove fatal. 

Credits: npci.org

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