IRCTC Extends Free Registration for e-wallet by a Week

NEW DELHI:
Spurred by the success of its e-wallet that provides a cheaper, reliable and smoother payment option for e-ticketing at its portal, Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) has extended free registration for the facility by a week, beginning June 30.
IRCTC had launched the e-wallet as an alternative payment system for e-ticketing on its website in 2012 as a pilot project. In May this year, it made free registration available for a month (16th May –15th June). From June 16 onwards, an amount of Rs 50 was being charged for such registrations.
“We have decided to extend free registration for IRCTC e-wallet by a week to encourage our patrons to adopt the facility that ensures an alternative and easy payment option for e-ticketing. The success rate of booking tickets through IRCTC e-wallet has been more than 99 per cent,” said IRCTC Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) Dr A K Manocha.
“There have been some complaints of money being deducted without tickets being booked, when payment is made through other Payment Gateways. We are determined to address this problem completely through IRCTC e-Wallet. We have already introduced several technical changes in e-wallet, including round the clock booking of e-tickets,” he pointed out.
During the free month-long registration period, the total number of registrations for e-wallet stood at 10,673 with an average of 344 registrations a day.  During this period, e-ticket booking through the wallet was not allowed between 0800 hrs and to 1200 hrs. However, booking through the wallet during this period (0800 hrs to 1200 hrs) has now been permitted with effect from June 15.
Likewise, from June 16 onwards when Rs 50 is being charged for registration, there have been 2,988 registrations with an average of 272 registrations per day.
IRCTC’s e-wallet has several advantages as compared to other payment options on its website. It can be topped up in the multiple of Rs 100 up to a maximum of Rs 10,000. This payment instrument is cheaper and charges only Rs 5 per transaction.
Also, payment through the e-wallet is highly secured through a Two-Factor Authentication: transaction password and OTP on registered mobile at the time of payment.
IRCTC’s e-wallet registration is at present available by verification through PAN card and will soon be available through Aadhar card also.