The NCMC-enabled card allows commuters to pay offline across metros, buses, tolls and parking, starting rollout with Hyderabad Metro.
PhonePe, a digital payments platform, has launched the "RuPay On-The-Go" Card, a National Common Mobility Card (NCMC), with the goal of streamlining offline public transportation payments.
The recently introduced card is intended to be a unified transit solution allowing commuters to quickly tap and pay for services across the country that are enabled by NCMC, including parking systems, buses, trains, metros and toll booths. The initiative is in line with India's "One Nation One Card" goal of establishing a single compatible transit payment system.
One of the card's primary features is its ability to function without an internet connection. Commuters can complete transactions even in low or no network locations, thanks to the prepaid, stored value approach, which keeps the amount directly on the card's chip. The card's offline transaction limit is ₹500, but users can load up to ₹2000.
The rollout has begun in the Hyderabad Metro in cooperation with L&T Metro Rail (Hyderabad) Limited. After OTP-based mobile verification, commuters can purchase the card at metro ticket counters and top it up using cash, cards or UPI.
Although first introduced in Hyderabad, the card is compatible with NCMC-enabled networks in cities including Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Bengaluru. In addition to its current digital ticketing and recharge services, the move represents PhonePe's entry into the transit payments market.
Thus, Business Fortune is of the view that this move could accelerate the adoption of a unified, offline-ready transit payment system across India.
