The Indian Railways Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) is planning to reduce service charges for customers who make ticket payments using Unified Payments Service (UPI) or Bharat Interface for Money (BHIM) apps like Paytm, PhonePe or Google Pay.
A convenience fee of Rs 10 for non-AC passengers will be charged on per ticket basis. For passengers travelling in AC (including first-class) will have to pay Rs 20. The new rates will soon be rolled out, reports said.
Currently, IRCTC charges Rs 15 as convenience fee for each non-AC e-ticket and Rs 30 for every AC ticket if the payments are made via the mentioned mobile apps.
With this initiative is Indian Railways is aiming to promote online payments. Previously, it had announced a lucky draw scheme under which 1,000 lucky customers (who made the payment using UPI or BHIM apps) received Rs 500 as cashback.
In August, the Railway board gave its nod to restore the convenience charges after IRCTC witnessed drop 26 per cent in online ticketing revenue during FY 2016-17.
(With input from agencies)