Banking and payments technology tester and certifier Fime is working with the government of India to develop the testing infrastructure for a national contactless transportation card and accompanying mobile app.
As part of a national "Make in India" program, the government's push for the National Common Mobility Card would result in a single payment and identification method to cover all modes of transportation in the country.
Fime says it has become the first transit testing lab in India, providing technical consultancy and next-generation tool and testing services. The Antony, France-based company will also help local vendors, transit operators and banks define, design and test the automated fare collection systems that would accept the mobility card.
The initiative would allow passengers to use contactless NCMC cards and QR-code based mobile wallets to travel on Metro, bus and use for parking anywhere in India.
"This leap forward in interoperability and efficiency is quite remarkable and our consultants and testing experts are working hard to help stakeholders to migrate, certify and deploy quickly,” Angaj Bhandari, managing director of India and South Asia for Fime, said in a Thursday press release.
Because Fime is testing the technology behind a common transportation card to assure it works as designed, it is not yet known whether the card or accompanying wallet app would connect to
“Standardization and certification are essential to our vision of a unified mass transit system for the whole of India," Arvind Kumar, director of India's ministry of electronics and information technology, said in the release.
Through its testing efforts, Fime is now a "key resource to local technology vendors, transit operators and banks to drive forward the National Common Mobility Card," Kumar added. "This is a great step forward in supporting the 'Make in India' initiative.”
