One Nation One Card Yojana: Check NCMC Features & Benefits

One Nation One Card Yojana National Common Mobility Card Scheme (NCMC): PM Modi on 28th Dec (Monday) launched its ambitious and innovative scheme, the National Common Mobility Card, on Monday. The facility is now available for some metro Airport Express Line. In this article, we share all information in an easy language, like the ONOC scheme, benefits, and features of the National Common Mobility Card (NCMC) policy.

After “One Nation One Tax”, the Government of India launched the “One Nation One Card”. On 4 March 2019, PM Modi proposed the National Common Mobility Card (NCMC) called “One Nation One Card”, and on 29 Dec 2020, it was effectively launched in Delhi Metro. The main aim of this card is to make the payment system easier for all modes of public transport. This will eliminate travel-related issues, such as the need to stand in ticket windows on buses, trains, and other transit places.

One Nation One Card

Just like the concept of GST, with the introduction of one tax, citizens do not have to pay multiple taxes at various platforms and levels. Similarly, this card issued by the Indian Government allows users to pay travel fares and other utilities with a single card in any transport mode. It simply means with this inter-operable transport card, citizens can pay bus fares, metro fares, parking fees, toll taxes, retail shopping and can even withdraw money. This initiative of the Indian Government is based on the theme of one-card usability in all payment systems.    

This One Nation One Card, or the National Common Mobility Card, is a part of the “Make in India” campaign/project of the Government of India. Until now, India has had to depend on a foreign country for technology. This card is indigenously developed, proving that our country does not need to rely much on foreign technology.

As an Indian citizen, you would have also faced various issues while travelling, like waiting in a long queue to get tickets, fishing for changes, carrying cash and fear of stealing, and many more. But now, with this one card, you will eliminate all the issues you face at payment terminals.

Therefore, if you have questions about this one card policy of the government and which we are sure you will have many, you do not have to worry. We have gathered all the vital information about this initiative for our readers. So, review the article and enhance your knowledge about this particular scheme.     

One Nation One Card Policy- Overview

What is the One Nation One Card Yojana?

One Nation One Card policy means a single card for various transactions. With the help of this card, users can make payments through multiple segments such as transit (e.g. Bus, Metro), Paratransit (parking, toll), smart cities, retail shopping, etc. This format already exists in various developed nations of the world, and now it will be used in India, too.

One Nation One card can be defined as an open-loop EMV-based payment card for giving a hassle-free experience to customers at various transport modes and payment systems across the country.

This initiative was conceived by the Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs (MoHUA), Government of India. Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) has created the Reader prototype of this card. With the introduction of a single card, users get various benefits, from travelling through various modes to shopping at retail stores and withdrawing money from ATMs. Users do not have to struggle to get change at the ticket counters. This card will provide customers with increased mobility and a seamless travel experience.

While launching the One Nation One card, PM said it is a kind of mixture of a mobility card and a RuPay card. The card has been developed by considering the convenience of the consumers. Now, consumers do have to carry separate cards for various transit and day-to-day banking requirements. As an open-loop smart card, users also get multiple benefits like reward/loyalty points, cashback, etc., from partner banks as they get in Debit and Credit Cards.

This technology only existed in a few developed countries of the world. Still, we too, have joined that club with this interoperable, scalable, dual interface, open-loop payment card for the payment system. We can say that this card is an advanced version of the metro smart card that people use for travelling through the metro. Nevertheless, with this National Common Mobility Card, they can travel through various means of transport and use it at different payment terminals.

Regarding the security factor of the transactions with this card, It is secured with EMV Technology. EMV is a globally available and adopted technology for safeguarding transactions against fraud. EMV stands for Europay, MasterCard, and Visa. It is a global standard for debit and credit cards (chip-based cards) that ensures the security of payments at various POS terminals.

The main benefits of NCMC

Through this scheme, those holding a RuPay Debit card issued in the last 18 months from their respective bank can swipe it for their metro travel. Right now, this service is available for transport systems in Delhi NCR, Goa, Gujarat, Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh.

This mobile can be used while entering or exiting the metro stations through AFC (Automatic fare collection)

Unique Features of One Nation One Card

Have a look at some of the unique features of this initiative of the Indian Government-

Important Points of One Nation One Card-

This concept of the National Common Mobility Card (NCMC) is already functioning in various leading countries worldwide. It will now be implemented in India with its indigenously developed NCMC smart card.

Let’s take a look at some of the key points of this card and understand it more clearly-

• This card is powered and enabled through the mechanism of the RuPay card.
• It is supported by an indigenously developed Open Loop Automatic Fare Collection System known as “Sweekar” and an Automatic Fare Collection Gate “Swagat”.
• With the help of this card, people can travel to Metros in any part of the country.
• Along with travelling, people can use it as a prepaid, credit or debit card with support from 25 partner banks, including SBI, PNB, etc.
• It can be used on a city bus, metro, suburban railways, BRT, etc., and for shopping at retail stores and merchants.
• Along with SBI and other banks, the RuPay card can be issued from Paytm Payment Banks.  
• It is a contactless card, just like a metro smart card. It supports offline (contactless) and online (contact & contactless) transactions.
• With the help of the National Common Mobility Card, citizens can also pay for tolls and parking.
• One Nation One card holders can also use this card at Discover and Diners Club International merchants and ATMs.
• Cardholders can also avail of a cashback of 10% at Merchant’s outlets and 5% at ATMs when they travel abroad.
• For offline payments, you can store the balance on this card. This stored value supports offline transactions across all the user’s travel needs. Since the offline transaction is permitted towards the stored value (available balance), there is a minimal financial risk to any of the stakeholders (i.e. bank or merchant), along with ensuring minimal transaction time.  

One Nation One Card- NCMC Proposition

There are several benefits of an NCMC card to all the parties involved. These are-  

The major benefits of this National Common Mobility Card are –

• Efficiency- With this card, daily operations at transit places become easy and fast and this ultimately improves the efficiency of the operations. Passengers or users do not have to wait in long queues to get their work done; with this card, they can make the payment instantly without any hindrance. This saves time and effort for both the consumers and operators involved.  
• Accountability- The second benefit is increased operator accountability towards the customer. The operator gets better date insights and records of all the transactions made through this card.
• Lowers the cost of ticketing operation- This system increases efficiency and lowers the cost of ticketing. It also reduces operating costs and handling of cash for the operator.
• Interoperability for passengers- It means passengers can use this single across various transit operation systems such as buses, trains, cabs, parking, toll plazas etc. The passenger does not need to carry cash and different cards for every transit operation.

Value Proposition of NCMC

NCMC is not only valuable for the customer but is also beneficial for operators and banks. Check the value proposition of this card from the viewpoint of all three parties, viz. The customer, acquirer, and bank are given below-

NCMC Implementation Model

You must consider how NCMC or RuPay cards will work in a transport system. So, here we have shared a sample implementation Model of the NCMC card in a Bus Transport system. The picture given below shows the complete model of how an NCMC card will work in State Road Transport Undertakings (SRTUs).

The same concept will be followed in other segments like Metro, parking, toll, and smart cities.

How to get a RuPay One Nation One Card?

NCMC RuPay card will be issued –

• By any authority or member authorized by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).
• On Credit/credit/Prepaid card platforms.

In simple terms, those who want to get their One Nation One Payment RuPay card supported by the National Common Mobility Card must contact their bank.

At the current initial stage of this program, it seems to be mainly focused on urban areas, but with time, the government needs to work on its penetration of the demographic masses, including the rural population of the country.

It will not be wrong if we say that with the launch of “One Nation One Card”, India has moved a step ahead toward its goal of “Make in India”, “Digital India”, and making India a cashless economy. 

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