Metro scores a first with smart card
The much-delayed Namma Metro on Wednesday became the first metro rail project in the world to offer a smart transit card which also allows card-holders to use it as a debit card.
The ‘debit-cum-transit card’, based on in-house technology by State Bank of India (SBI), will be offered by SBI. Besides acting as a transit card, the SBI card can be used for ATM transactions and purchases at retail stores.
Speaking at the launch of the card, Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) Managing Director N Sivasailam said: “We thank SBI for offering such a great product. We are proud to announce that we’ll be the first metro project to offer this. Even the London Metro will only be able to offer this next year.” SBI Chairman Pratip Chaudhuri said that the card will consist of an “e-purse” which will facilitate storing rupee value for travel in Namma Metro.
“The e-purse can be topped up through any of SBI’s banking channels like ATM, mobile and internet banking apart from cash. Counters at metro stations will be set up for top-up,” SBI Deputy Managing Director (Corporate Strategy and New Businesses) C Narasimhan said.
The contactless combo smart card, with a chip on it, will facilitate hassle free travel on the Namma Metro network, apart from providing existing features of a typical SBI debit card.
The cards will be available to all SBI account holders in Bangalore first, and in the due course, they will be issued from all the SBI branches across the country.
For existing SBI customers, an option of having this card in addition to the regular debit card will be extended. Or they could surrender the regular card and avail the combo card.
Sivasailam said that while SBI will be the bank which will issue the card now, as they are the “acquirer bank”, but we will encourage other banks to do the same in the future.
The top-up on the card can be done in more than one way –– through cash counters at the stations, the SBI ATMs and through mobile and internet banking. One can also give standing instructions to the bank branch for automatic top-up when balance goes below a pre-determined level.
And in case of non-cash top-ups, one has to, after dipping their cards in the ATM machine, select option “services, then enter the pin, select ‘BMRCL top-up’ enter the 11-digit card number and finally the top-up amount and confirm it. The top-up will show once you tap the card on the automatic gate at the Metro stations.
The maximum one can top-up the e-purse is Rs 1,000 per transaction and Rs 100 will be the minimum. Also, a “remaining value checking kiosk” will be set up in each station where one can check the balance.
Sivasailam said that SBI would be paying a royalty of Rs 1 crore per annum to BMRCL. “We are also thankful to SBI for providing us a loan of Rs 850 crore at just 75 basis points above the base lending rate, which is very concessional.”
