Bank and the Bengaluru Metropolitan Transportation Corporation (BMTC) are partnering to provide cashless travel service to the citizens of Bengaluru. The two entities are launching the ‘Axis Bank BMTC Smart Card’ making bus travel a much convenient affair for passengers by just tapping on the electronic ticketing machines (ETMs) with the smart cards. The service is expected to take off in September. It will be India’s first prepaid transit card offering not just services to commuters but also a means to shop at over 1.2 million merchant outlets across the country without the need for carrying multiple cards. Rajiv Anand, ED, Axis Bank said this will be India’s first Open loop – single wallet EMV contactless transit card, which allows the customers to utilize the balance for transit as well as retail purchases like shopping and dining. The project was also supported by the ministry of urban development’s vision to address the need of having a common mobility card. Axis Bank has partnered with the National Payments Corporation of India for this project for introducing a single payment operator for all modes of travels like metro, cabs and auto rickshaw by including this payment mode in their existing fare collection systems.
