On February 23, 2021 ICICI Bank in partnership with the Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) and Chennai Smart City Limited (CSCL) launched ‘Namma Chennai Smart Card’, a Common Payment Card System (CPCS). The Rupay powered co-branded, contactless prepaid card was unveiled by Tamil Nadu Chief Minister(CM) Edappadi K. Palaniswami.
Aim: To enable residents of Chennai, Tamil Nadu to make seamless payments for various services within the city.
Note: The new proposition is a step towards transforming Chennai into a Smart City. It also has made Chennai a part of the list of international cities that offer a Common Payment Card platform
Features of ‘Namma Chennai Smart Card’
Pay at GCC centres:
The residents can make tax/ utility bill payments using the card at the GCC centres. This option will be available shortly.
Shopping
The card facilitates retail payments within Chennai and in retail stores and e-commerce websites across India.
Manage card:
- The card has many features to manage cards online including, card block/unblock, activation, pin-reset etc.
- In addition to this, the residents can also reload the card digitally through UPI on the customer portal or the iSmart City app shortly.
Discounts:
The customers will also get exciting discount offers on the card.
About Contactless Payment:
- The term contactless payment refers to a secure method for consumers to purchase products or services using a debit, credit or another payment device by using radio frequency identification (RFID) technology and near-field communication (NFC).
- The Reserve Bank of India has hiked the limit for contactless payments from ₹2,000 to ₹5,000 effective from January 1, 2021.
About Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC):
It is the civic body that governs the city of Chennai, TamilNadu. It is headed by the Mayor.
Recent Related News:
On January 28, 2021 StashFin entered into partnership with SBM Bank (India) Ltd to launch their co- branded prepaid card, ‘StashFin SBM card’. The card is powered by Visa and has a contactless Europay, MasterCard, and Visa(EMV) chip, enabling cardholders to have 24×7 access to funds. It has been designed through collaboration.
About Chennai Smart City Limited (CSCL):
Chairman and Director– G.Prakash, I.A.S.
CEO– Raj Cherubal
Headquarters– Chennai, TamilNadu
About ICICI Bank:
i.The bank was formed in 1955 at the initiative of the World Bank, the Government of India and representatives of Indian industry.
ii.The Bank’s consolidated total assets stood at Rs 15,19,353 crore at December 31, 2020.
Headquarters– Mumbai, Maharashtra
Managing Director (MD) and Chief Executive Officer(CEO)– Sandeep Bakhshi
Tagline– Hum Hai Na, Khayal Apka
Incorporated-1994
