Digital Payments See Rapid Adoption in Public Transport
Maharashtra's state transport NCMC card saw over 1 lakh registrations in just one week, a strong indicator of growing comfort with digital payment rails among the general public beyond metro-based e-commerce. This rapid adoption suggests a shrinking barrier for small vendors to accept digital payments across the country.
The National Common Mobility Card (NCMC) initiative, branded "One Nation, One Card," was launched by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs on March 4, 2019. The program aims to create a single, interoperable payment system for all transport and retail purchases nationwide, eliminating the need for multiple cards and promoting a cashless economy. Operating on the RuPay network, the NCMC is an indigenously developed, open-loop smart card that functions for metro, bus, and rail travel, as well as toll payments, parking, retail shopping, and ATM withdrawals. This versatility is a key design feature, intended to reduce cash handling challenges like revenue leakage and reconciliation for transit operators while increasing convenience for users. The adoption of digital payments is growing two to three times faster in Tier 3 cities than the national average, signaling a major shift in consumer behavior beyond the metros. Data from late 2025 showed that Tier 3 markets recorded the fastest growth in digital payments, with transaction values rising 51% year-over-year, outpacing both Tier 2 (45%) and Tier 1 cities (31%). This trend highlights increasing digital fluency and confidence among consumers in smaller cities. This habitual use of digital payments for daily needs like transit creates a positive spillover effect for small, local vendors. As consumers become more comfortable with tap-and-go payments for their commute, the barrier to using the same method for a purchase at a pop-up stall or local kirana store diminishes. This transition helps merchants by reducing cash-handling costs, creating digital records for easier access to credit, and increasing transaction speed. The growth of interoperable payment systems like NCMC aligns with the goals of the Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC). ONDC aims to create a decentralized and democratic digital marketplace, breaking down the dominance of large e-commerce platforms. For small vendors and artisans, this means greater visibility and direct access to a national market, allowing them to retain control over pricing and customer data. Initiatives like the Reserve Bank of India's Payments Infrastructure Development Fund (PIDF) are actively accelerating this shift. Established in 2021 to boost digital payment acceptance in Tier 3 to 6 cities and the North-East, the fund had already supported the deployment of 4.77 crore digital touchpoints by May 2025, further integrating small vendors into the formal digital economy.
