RuPay Contactless (Offline) feature

National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) has recently rolled out RuPay Contactless (Offline) feature. The RuPay prepaid card was introduced by NPCI in the year 2014, to offer the feature of one card for all payments. Various features are being added to the card since then.

Key Features of RuPay Contactless

• The new feature called the “RuPay Contactless (Offline)” is a reloadable wallet feature where the customers can store money to ensure quick and seamless transactions. Money can be availed from this feature at Points of Sale, even during poor internet connection.
• The NCMC (National Common Mobility Card) offline wallet can be used to make ticket payments in transit including cab fare, metros, bus tickets, etc enabling automatic quick cashless payments.
• It uses ‘Near Field Communication (NFC)’ technology and thereby reduces the time taken for doing physical payments.
• It also has service area features to store operator specific passes. In simple terms monthly passes and seasonal tickets can be stored using this feature.
• The contactless feature does not provide the option of entering pin numbers at Point of Sale. This makes the payment processes simpler. The cards simply need to swiped or dipped.
• The contactless feature can also be used in ATMs across the country.

National Common Mobility Card

The offline wallet feature has been introduced under the National Common Mobility Card programme. The programme was launched with the mission “One Card for all Payments.” The programme is a joint initiative of Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs and RuPay.

The mobility card will envisage the development of cashless fare payment mechanism that will work across all the public transport system in the country such as cabs, metros, buses, etc. It will help to establish Interoperable Fare Management System.

Working of the Contactless Technology

The RuPay contactless cards were introduced earlier. Only the wallet feature is being added now. The contactless card has an inbuilt radio frequency antenna. This antenna users near field communication technology. The card communicates with the point-of-sale machine through this technology. For this, contactless card need not be in contact with the reader for a transaction. A simple tap on the reader will initiate transaction.

Month: Current Affairs - December, 2020