JOIN USIndian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) and SBI Card on Tuesday launched a co-branded contactless credit card.
Railways Minister Piyush Goyal launched the IRCTC-SBI RuPay card and said that he will personally monitor and ensure that the card reaches its target userbase of more than 3 crore customers by December 25.
IRCTC has a customer base of more than 5 crore users and conducts daily transactions of 8.5 lakh. With the new IRCTC-SBI RuPay credit card, customers will be able to book tickets and do online shopping as well.
"The central government is aiming such that in the coming years, every railway ticket will be booked online through the co-branded credit card," Goyal said, adding that the card offers rail passengers with maximum savings proposition on their travel together with exclusive benefits on retail, dining, and entertainment as well as transaction fee waivers.
For safe transactions, the IRCTC-SBI RuPay credit card is equipped with Near Field Communication (NFC) technology whereby the users can make transactions at POS machines by just tapping the card on the machines without requiring to swipe it.
Cardholders will receive up to 10 percent value back on 1st AC, 2nd AC, 3rd AC, Executive Chair Car, and AC Chair Car bookings made at the IRCTC website.
The card offers an online transaction fee waiver (1 percent of the transaction amount), 1 percent fuel surcharge waiver, and 4 premium lounge free access at railway stations in a year (one per quarter).
Cardholders will receive 350 Bonus Reward Points upon activation of the card with a minimum spent. Users can redeem the accumulated reward points against the purchase of train tickets on IRCTC's ticketing website.