By Dhanusha Gokulan khaleejtimes.com
You will soon be able to transfer credit on your Nol cards to a friend’s card. The Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) is all set to use the near field communication (NFC) technology in mobile phones to help users top up their Nol card credit.
“For example, if you have zero balance in your Nol card, but your friend has Dh300 in his … you can transfer any amount into your card from your friend’s card using the RTA public transport authority (PTA) application,” said Khalid Al Awadhi, director of automated fare collection at the RTA.
The facility will be made available on the app in the first quarter of 2016, according to Al Awadhi. The RTA revealed the new technology on the opening day of the Gulf Traffic Exhibition and Conference in Dubai on Monday.
The credit can be transferred using the NFC technology on the PTA app. The technology is currently only available on Android and Blackberry platforms.
Evolved from the radio frequency identification (RFID) technology, an NFC chip operates as one part of a wireless link. Once it’s activated by another chip, small amounts of data can be transferred between the two devices when held a few centimetres from each other. The NFC requires very little power and is said to be far more power-efficient than other wireless communication technologies.
“First the source card is scanned, followed by the second card receiving the credit,” he said. Users can key in the money that needs to be transferred into the second Nol card on the app. More info
