Booking train tickets from the comforts of one's home has been in vogue for quite a few years. Adding to the digital payment convenience of passengers availing online travel related services, the Indian Railway Tourism and Catering Corporation (IRCTC) has launched its own payment aggregator system, IRCTC iPay.

iPay is expected to be passenger-friendly, easy to use, quicker and reliable. It has various payment options such as credit card, debit card, international card and the popular UPI (Unified Payment Interface). The new payment gateway is poised to save a substantial amount of time compared to what one normally spends on the payment gateways of their banks.

The option of IRCTC prepaid card-cum-wallet and auto debit are also expected to be made available soon.

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Given IRCTC's direct relationship with banks, card networks and other partners, it will fully control the payment gateway. It also aims at reducing the gap with banks to bring down instances of payment failure while booking tickets.

Should an online transaction fail or an error pop up, the IRCTC will be able to contact the bank directly for resolution. With this, dependence on an intermediate or third-party source is completely eliminated, thereby making the ticket booking process fuss-free and quicker.

Not just that, in the event of cancellation of a ticket, one can expect a quick refund.

To support its functioning, Delhi-based MMAD Communications has come on board as the corporation’s technology partner.

Also read: IRCTC to resume e-catering services from February

In this initiative, which is in keeping with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s 'Digital India' vision, the IRCTC has also upgraded its user interface and is making certain tweaks to its website, which is considered one of the largest e-commerce platforms in the Asia-Pacific region. Such improvements are expected to benefit many travellers since nearly 83 percent of its reserve tickets are booked on the website, according to the IRCTC.

(Edited by : Jomy)