NPCI strengthens RuPay Contactless with new features

By Edil Corneille

National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) has introduced the RuPay Contactless (Offline) feature, which also provides reloadable wallets within RuPay Card, for day to day transit payments. NPCI has also introduced the RuPay Contactless (Offline) feature for retail payments on a pilot basis. These additional features will augment the overall transaction experience for the RuPay cardholders and revolutionise the overall card payment ecosystem.

This RuPay card comes with a reloadable wallet feature. Customers can store money to ensure quick and seamless transactions without any irregularities even in circumstances of poor connectivity at the POS machines. 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. This reduces the wait time, traffic congestion and in turn the transit time.

Additionally, with RBI’s approval for the pilot on retail offline transactions, offline wallet facility is extended to retail stores (as a part of the pilot). The facility would be a boost for merchants as it reduces the time taken for physical payments. The “tap and go” mode and the easy acceptance infrastructure facilitates smooth payments in areas of poor network coverage.

Nalin Bansal, Head of RuPay & NFS, NPCI enthused, “We are delighted to unveil the new RuPay Contactless (offline) feature which is aimed at transforming the transaction experience for customers by deploying enhanced NFC technology and innovative card payment solutions. We are confident that with the advent of the stellar RuPay contactless (offline) feature, the acceptance infrastructure for RuPay will increase exponentially and will result in the rapid on-boarding on both merchants and consumers in various geographies across the nation. With the recent announcement to increase the transaction limit on contactless payments, customers are set to witness an all new level of security, convenience and safety. We, at NPCI believe that the RuPay Contactless Offline feature will strengthen the digital payments ecosystem by furthering financial inclusion and help realise the dream of a less cash economy.”

This unique feature is expected to benefit customers immensely by opening up new avenues of acceptability and creating a greater penetration of RuPay’s network in the country.