1 week Ago
According to BMRCL authorities, closed-loop smart cards would be provided at no cost in place of RBL NCMC cards. The Bengaluru Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) has halted the release of new National Common Mobility Cards (NCMCs), despite the fact that existing customers are experiencing problems with recharge. Approximately 1,000 individuals visit customer service desks at Metro stations every day on average to obtain NCMC cards.
According to officials, the problem will be fixed by April 15 this year. According to sources who spoke to Moneycontrol, the disruption is the result of insolvency proceedings against RBL Bank’s technological partner, AGS Transact Technologies, which was issuing NCMC in Bengaluru. Over the past few weeks, a number of users have complained that they are unable to recharge their NCMC cards.
“My balance in the RBLNCMC card was Rs 55, so I went to recharge the card. But station staff said it wasn’t possible and offered to replace it with a closed-loop card. What’s the point of returning a card for which I completed KYC," at the Cubbon Park Metro station, commuter Saneesh S stated as per Moneycontrol.
BMRCL head PRO BL Yeshwanth Chavan acknowledged the problem, claiming that some NCMC cards aren’t working correctly because of backend technical difficulties. “In order to avoid inconvenience, our staff are offeringfree closed-loop smart cards, and the balance from the existing NCMC card is being transferred to the new card. We’ve been informed that the issue may be resolved by April 15, after which NCMC card sales could resume," Chavan told the publication.
According to officials, RBL recently onboarded a new technical partner, and the issue is with the backend support that was previously handled by AGS Transact Technologies. In collaboration with AGS Transact, RBL Bank issued around 57,000 NCMC cards in Bengaluru between March 2023 and October 2024. The Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs is the inventor of the NCMC, an interoperable transit card initiative.
The card is compatible with transit, toll payments, retail purchases, and more thanks to the RuPay payment network. In March 2023, Prime Minister Narendra Modi became the first person in Bengaluru to use the NCMC card when the Whitefield-Krishnarajapura Metro segment was inaugurated. However, NCMC cards have not yet been accepted by the Bengaluru Metropolitan Transport Corporation.
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