The Delhi Metro commuters will now be able to avail the facility of a new type of Smart Card which comes with an Auto Top Up feature enabling them to recharge it automatically at Automatic Fare Collection (AFC) gates of the Metro stations (whenever Metro services resume). This New Smart Card is available for customers through the App ‘Autope’ which is specially developed for this purpose.
The Smart Cards issued by the ‘Autope’ will offer auto top-up functionality whenever the value of Smart Card goes below Rs. 100 and will automatically recharge the card with Rs. 200 at the Automatic Fare Collection (AFC) Entry Gate itself. ‘Autope’ will auto-debit the topped up value from customer’s linked card/bank account the next working day.
To avail the services of ‘Autope’ Smart Card, the users will be required to register by downloading the ‘Autope’ app (available on Google Play store for Android users and Apple store for Iphone users*) or register at Autope’s mobile site autope.in and link their Bank/Credit Card/UPI account to the Card as a onetime exercise. A nominal fee (maximum of 1%) will be charged as convenience fee from the customer for each transaction.
Dr. Mangu Singh, Managing Director, DMRC said, “This initiative is in line with the DMRC’s commitment towards supporting the digital drive to promote cashless transactions among the Delhi Metro commuters. This new feature/card empowers a commuter to get his/her smart card auto topped up at AFC Gates across the network which will help him/her to have seamless travel without worrying about top-up from time to time”.
The Founders of Autope, Mr. Anurag Bajpai and Mr. Pankaj Gambhir, said, “It’s a matter of great pride that our legacy of experience in optimizing processes for payments has been recognised by Delhi Metro in the form of this collaboration which creates a win-win situation for both the consumers as well as Delhi Metro itself. The current COVID-19 situation has highlighted the importance of contactless services and we remain committed to offer full scale and smart and hassle-free platform supported by innovative and scalable technology solutions to all our clients.”
Existing Smart Card users can also get this feature activated:
- In addition, those commuters who already have existing Delhi Metro Smart Cards can also get the Auto Top Up feature enabled in their cards by registering through this App (Autope).
- Such existing card holders need to visit the Customer Care Centre of any of the Metro stations after three days of registration to get their smart cards activated for this facility as a one time exercise.
- This feature comes handy at these times wherein, commuters are going to follow a new travel protocol (whenever Metro services resume) which calls for social distancing and contactless services due to the ongoing Covid pandemic.
- However, irrespective of the new card/feature, the existing Smart Cards owned by the commuters will continue to remain valid in the same manner as they used to be so far.
Benefits of auto-top-up facility:
Apart from auto-top-up facility, the benefits extended by ‘Autope’ also include home delivery of New Cards, besides their customisation facility and 5% additional discount on each top up.
This new measure will eliminate the need for queuing up at the Metro Stations to recharge the Smart Card. Generally, even in case of online recharges, the card needs to be presented to Add Value Machines (AVMs) for the store value to get validated; ‘Autope’ eliminates the AVM layer as well.
‘Autope’ smart cards are supported by auto debit facility for recurring payments launched recently by National Payment Corporation of India (NPCI) and it allows the customers to setup UPI Mandate for their Metro payments. ‘Autope’ is developed by M/s Anduril Technologies Pvt. Ltd. in association with DMRC and NPCI. For more details, visit www.autope.in
Additional Information:
Various Other Methods Available For Cashless Recharge of Smart Card:-
- WEB or Online: Smart card can also be recharged through WEB or online by using Credit/Debit/Cash Card or online payment (www.dmrcsmartcard.com) Smart Card recharged through this method is to be validated by showing it at Ticket Reader cum AVMs available at Metro stations.
- E-wallets like Paytm: Smart Card can be recharged using Paytm. Validation of Smart Card after recharging is required to be done at TR cum AVMs.
- POS (Point of Sale Machine): Smart Card can be recharged through POS machines using Credit/Debit Card at Metor stations.
- Ticket Vending Machines (TVMs): These are available at all Metro stations.
Source: DMRC-Press Release
