The Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) on Thursday launched its own payment aggregator system, IRCTC iPay.

"With the launch of IRCTC iPay, the passengers will not need any third-party platforms as the IRCTC iPay provides payment options like credit card, debit card, Unified Payment Interface (UPI), International Card. The option of IRCTC prepaid card-cum-wallet, auto debit shall also be available shortly," the statement said.

Under this new arrangement, the IRCTC will have full control of the payment system because of its direct relationship with acquiring banks, card networks and other partners.

"This will help reduce the gap between IRCTC and banks which will eventually lead to substantial reduction in payment failures. Moreover, in case an online transaction is unsuccessful or some other error occurs, IRCTC can directly get in touch with the bank instead of relying on an intermediate source which usually delays the process," the statement said.

The new gateway to provide better digital experience, improved online digital payment convenience and ease of doing business feel to rail passengers, the statement said.