NPCI introduces RuPay contactless (offline) features

National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) said that it has introduced RuPay Contactless (Offline) feature.The card comes with a reloadable wallet feature where customers can store money to ensure quick and hassel-free transactions compared to regular credit/debit card transactions. The RuPay NCMC (National Common Mobility Card) offline wallet can be used to make ticket payments in transit including metros, bus tickets, cab fares etc enabling automatic quick cashless payments, thereby, reducing the wait time, traffic congestion and in turn the transit time. Recently three projects went live in the country based on NCMC contactless guidelines. They are Bengaluru Metropolitan Transport Corporation, Kochi Metro Rail Limited and Ahmedabad Smart City. These projects have highlighted successful deployment of open loop payment systems in the country each in a specific area of consumer utility i.e. Metro, Bus and Citizen Services keeping the objective of cost, convenience and speed intact.

The key features of RuPay Contactless are as under:

1. RuPay Contactless card can be issued as debit, credit or prepaid with stored value (Card balance)
2. RuPay cards can be used for online (contact & contactless) & offline (contactless only) transactions
3. There are dedicated storage areas for merchants/operators to offer services through the same card along with a stored value (Card balance) which is used for offline contactless transactions.
4. The card contains the provision of topping up the stored value (card balance) with Cash at customer service point at the option of the issuing entity.
5. The card is useful in low value payments at toll, parking, restaurants, merchant payments & all such similar small value payments.
6. The transactions are allowed within the available balance in the card, either the customer or the bank has the risk of huge loss due to fraudulent transactions.
7. With the recent announcement to increase the transaction limit to Rs.5000/- on contactless payments, customers are set to witness an all new level of security, convenience and safety.

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