Nation First Transit Card

About Nation First Transit Card:

• It aims to facilitate a seamless and convenient customer commuting experience and ensure easy digital ticketing fare payments in metro, buses, water ferries, parking, etc., through a single card.
• In addition, individuals can also use this card for making retail and e-commerce payments.
• It is powered by RuPay and National Common Mobility Card (NCMC) technology.

Key Facts about National Common Mobility Card (NCMC):

• NCMC feature enables the Bank’s customers to use their Debit Cards as travel cards for travelling in Metro Rail and Buses where this facility is enabled.
• The idea of NCMC was floated by the Nandan Nilekani committee set up by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).
• NCMC is an initiative of the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs in India designed to promote cashless transactions and offer a unified payment platform for commuters. 
• It was launched on March 4, 2019.  
• It offers a unified contactless transport solution through the RuPay platform, developed by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI).
• NCMC is an automatic fare collection system. It will turn smartphones into an inter-operable transport card that commuters can use eventually to pay for Metro, bus and suburban railway services.

What is a RuPay Card?

• It is an Indian domestic card scheme conceived and launched by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI).
• RuPay is an affordable card and can be issued as credit cards, debit cards, and prepaid cards. 
• It works to enable electronic payment at all Indian banks and financial institutions.

Q1) What is the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI)?

It is an umbrella organisation for operating retail payments and settlement systems in India. It is an initiative of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and the Indian Banks’ Association (IBA) under the provisions of the Payment and Settlement Systems Act, 2007, to create a robust Payment & Settlement Infrastructure in India.The Company is focused on bringing innovations in the retail payment systems through the use of technology for achieving greater efficiency in operations and widening the reach of payment.

Source: SBI launches RuPay NCMC Prepaid Card