DMRC to initiate easy smart card recharge

New Delhi: In a bid to decongest the queues at the Delhi Metro stations, the DMRC (Delhi Metro Rail Corporation) is likely to tie up with banks and aggregators to operate and maintain the smart card recharge facility through SMS/UPI App. It will provide commuters an alternate option for recharging their smart card.

The provision of this SMS facility will be broad-based and account holders of several different banks will be covered. With this step, a large number of customers will benefit.

A commuter willing to avail the SMS facility will submit a mandate form with details of the account to the aggregator. The commuter can then send SMS to a designated number of the bank for recharge of their smart card. The bank will debit the bank account of the commuter as per SMS request and provide confirmatory message to the commuter and the DMRC. After this, the commuter can visit any Metro station, show the smart card at add value machine and complete the add value process.

In addition, the commuter can use a dedicated app of the bank/aggregator on his smart phone, which will permit payment to the aggregator/bank through the use of the UPI App. The aggregator, after receiving payment request through the app, will debit the bank account of the commuter and the rest process will be same as that for SMS.

At present, UPI App (BHIM) is integrated with almost all banks and is a very popular digital payment platform. The recharge facility through SMS is available for those customers who have an account with the ICICI bank with their mobile numbers registered with the account, said a DMRC spokesperson.