Couple of weeks back, I had some work in the Hudson Circle area and had taken the metro there (from Indira Nagar). It was soon after the BMRCL announcement that they will be issuing NCMC cards at all stations, so I figured I should convert my regular metro card to one of these. Enquired at the main ticketing window, the lady there asked me to enter the station and talk to the customer service desk inside. So I swiped my older metro card and went up to the mezzanine floor to check out the process. Briefly:
1. There is a QR code pasted at the CS desk, scanning which you will be taken to
https://nammametro.agsindia.com. Use the "First Time User" option to register for an account. You will get a registration number by SMS if everything is done correctly.
2. Give the registration number and Rs. 100 to the CS person. They will link a card to your account and hand the package (which contains the card + welcome letter + PIN mailer) over to you. Rs. 50 is the cost of the card and the remaining Rs. 50 will appear as initial balance on it.
After this I boarded the train, and while inside refreshed the above portal; I could see that the card was correctly linked to my account. Used this time to load the card with some more money (Rs. 500) via the payment gateway > UPI flow available at the portal.
Now came the confusing part. The portal has three accounts/balances showing rupee amounts. I was trying to figure out how it all works, during which I did a test "Online to Offline" transfer of Rs. 100 that ended up in the Intermediate account.
So the way I figured it works this:
- Travel cost is deducted from the Offline balance.
- Recharges are added to the Online balance.
- You are expected to move money from the Online account to the Offline account.
- To do this, you:
- first (using the portal) transfer money to the Intermediate account, and then
- second (using a touchscreen device at the stations) transfer it from the Intermediate account to the Offline account.
This way, if you lose the card you lose only the Offline balance - you can buy a new card and link it to the same Online account.
The touchscreen devices I noticed at the mezzanine floor customer service desks at all the stations I've looked for them so far. Not outside before security. You need to hold the card against an area marked on the device, tap a button on the screen and wait till it finishes its job (about 10-15 seconds in total).
My BHIM UPI under Bill Pay has an option "NCMC Recharge". Unfortunately it doesn't work just yet - I have reported a bug but no action so far. Once they fix it recharging should be much quicker.
I was in Chennai over the weekend and took a metro ride there (circular: Thousand Lights > Alandur > Central via green line > back to Thousand Lights, coming out of the station at each changeover point). The usual location on the barrier where we scan the card in Bangalore did not work - red light and noise. The guard walked over to help me; he showed me a different spot (marked with the NCMC logo) where I'm supposed to scan it. The barrier opened and I was in.
The NPCI website tells us where all the card can be used:
https://www.npci.org.in/what-we-do/r...s/live-members
My understanding is that I can use this card at all Open Loop transit systems. Pity Kochi Metro is not one of them. The one I'm the keenest to try on is one of the bus systems (BEST, maybe).
Here is how the card looks.