Tired of using RFID coins and plastic cards to commute via the Delhi Metro? The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) is looking to upgrade (or further digitize) the method of how you pay for your travel across the capital. It has announced that it has partnered with Austrian company LAKS GmbH to launch a smart wrist watch called Watch2Pay.
This project has been kicked off by the DMRC to make commuting via the Delhi Metro hassle-free, especially for frequent travelers. You will now be able to wear a smart wrist watch (not a smartwatch, per se), walk up to the entry/exit gateway and tap the watch to pay for your trip. This new smart wrist watch facility will make it utterly convenient for frequent travelers, who had to queue to top up their cards every other week.
In a press statement released via IANS, the DMRC goes on to explain their initiative as under:
These watches (called Watch2Pay) are available through an online e-commerce site (i.e Paytm). The new facility is expected to provide the commuters a more convenient and fast access to the Delhi Metro network. The commuter will simply have to touch the wrist watch to the screens of the AFC (Automatic Fare Collection) gates at the metro stations to get access.
As for how the contactless system will work, the Watch2Pay wrist watch will include a SIM card that will have to be configured by the Delhi Metro personnel. The SIM cards can be installed into the back of the wrist-watch and can be removed or reinserted into the watch as per your convenience. It will come in handy when you can need to switch the watch in favor of an upgraded variant, down the line.
As for the recharge system, the SIM-equipped wrist watch can be topped up in a manner similar to any other metro travel card. It can be recharged via Paytm or recharge card terminals or via over the counter — with help from a DMRC personnel.
If this initiative by the DMRC intrigues you then you can go ahead and purchase the smartwatch from Paytm right away. The wrist watch starts at just ₹2,999 for the classic versions with a silicon wrist band. The prices go up to ₹11,099 for a stainless steel variant of the product. It also comes in several color variants — Black, Rose, Gold, White, and Silver.
