Indian Railways ties up with PayTm / Freecharge for UPI Scan n Pay at its ATVMs

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 Indian Railways ties up with PayTm / Freecharge for UPI Scan n Pay at its ATVMs



            Please refer to my earlier blog @ wherein Railways can contribute more than 10lacsUPI transactions every day @ https://innovationinbanking.blogspot.com/2022/02/railways-and-upi-lite-10000000-upi-lite.html

Please note Paytm and Paytm Payments Bank are different legal entities. Paytm can continue to operate.

            The Reserve Bank of India Press Release / Notification dt March 11, 2022, applies only to Paytm Payments Bank operations.

Q: What are ATVMs

Ans: The full form of ATVM is ‘Automatic Ticket Vending Machine.

Automatic Ticket Vending Machine (ATVM) was introduced by Indian Railways to reduce passengers queuing up at the ticket counters at the Railway Stations.

ATVMs are touch screen-based ticketing kiosks operated using Smart cards. The passenger can purchase and recharge the Smart cards from nominated ticket counters.

Q: What is the standard mode of booking rail ticket at ATVMs?

Ans: The machines operate on a smart card. The card is to be placed on a slot and the user has to select the route and destination.

The machine confirms the details and ticket is printed.

The menu languages depend on the local written languages. Most ATVMs have a bilingual option.

After the issuance of the ticket, money is deducted from the card.

 

Q: ATVM Facilitator – The Indian Jugaad

Ans: ATVM facilitators are humans, acting as an interface between the ATVM and the rail passengers. The Majority of the ATVM facilitators are retired railway employees

 

Each ATVM facilitator is provided with a Smartcard registered in his/her name. The only source of income for the facilitators is the 3% to 5% commission offered for tickets through the respective Smart Card.

In this case, the rail passenger need not hold a smartcard. He/she can hand over the cash equivalent of the rail ticket / railway pass top-up to the facilitator.

 

This is a good option to increase the usage of ATVMs amongst a large number of not so regular rail passengers.

           

 

Q: How is the mobile data coverage at Railway stations.

Ans: The mobile data coverage at least at major railways stations should be good, as major of the railway stations are located in heart of the cities/towns.

Q:  What is the new payment option at ATVMs

Ans: UPI Scan n Pay is the new payment option at ATVMs.

This feature is offered in association with PayTm or Freecharge

Through the UPI Scan n Pay, rail passengers can recharge their Rail Smart Card or buy railway tickets. The choice is left to the rail passengers.

At the rail ATVM, select a route for ticket booking or enter a smart card number for recharge

Choose Paytm or Freecharge (whichever company’s logo is displayed) as the payment option

Scan the QR code displayed on the respective UPI App, key in the UPI Pin and complete the transaction

Depending on the selection, a physical ticket will be generated or the smart card will be recharged

 

The Beauty of UPI:

Rail passengers need not have a bank account with Paytm Payments Bank

Rail passengers can have a bank account, with any of the multiple banks on the UPI platform

Rail passengers need not have Paytm UPI App installed on their smart phone

Rail passengers can have any UPI App installed on their smart phone

This is the Joy of UPI.

Quote

In a press release on Thursday, SCR general manager Sanjeev Kishore said in addition to the existing modes of payment, passengers will get the option of making UPI payments through PayTm or Freecharge.

Unquote

 

Disclaimer: These are my personal views only. The bottom line is Safe ePayments. Nothing more-Nothing less

 

Additional reading:

Retired railway employees roped in as ATVM facilitators @ https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Hyderabad/retired-railway-employees-roped-in-as-atvm-facilitators/article3820274.ece

Sample Railway Advertisement for 'Engagement of Facilitators for issuing of unreserved tickets through automatic ticket vending machines (ATVMs)', @ https://ser.indianrailways.gov.in/cris//uploads/files/1563279077113-ATVM%20Facilitator-2.pdf

 

See South Central Railway demo video for payment via UPI at their ATVMs @ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BECIkHPnQmU

 

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