Indian Railways launched RuPay pre-paid debit cards

Indian Railways on 24 March 2015 launched its own RuPay pre-paid card. The card will enable passengers to book their Rail tickets and do shopping using RuPay pre-paid debit cards. Card can be availed from either the Union Bank or the IRCTC.

The RuPay pre-paid card was launched by Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC), the Railways' tourism and catering arm, in collaboration with the Union Bank of India.

RuPay is India's own card payment gateway network and provides an alternative system for banks to provide debit card service.

The transaction charge will be 10 rupees per ticket for booking a ticket through the card on the IRCTC portal. As an opening offer, the transaction charge will not be levied for six months for purchasing tickets on the IRCTC's website. The initial value of the card is 10000 rupees, which can be recharged.