Next time you book train tickets using debit cards, you will be exempted from paying the additional charge of merchant discount rate (MDR), making your tickets slightly cheaper!
An MDR is an amount that a merchant has to pay to service providers when a consumer uses a debit card to pay for the transaction.
Setting the limit for transactions up to ₹1 lakh, not only transactions made at ticketing counters in railways stations but also those through the website of the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC), will not charge the passengers with MDR hereafter a statement by the railways said.
All banks have already been communicated about the development by the department of financial services under Ministry of Finance on February 26.
“Ministry of railways had informed the department of expenditure that all proceeds from the sale of tickets through IRCTC website/counters go to the Consolidated Fund of India through the ministry of railways and such transactions should be considered as government receipts. The benefits of government transactions must be passed on to the public, and they should not face MDR charges while making payments to government,” the statement stated.
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As announced during the Union Budget, the financial loss suffered by IRCTC for not charging service charge from passengers for online booking of tickets has been reimbursed by the government through a one-time compensation of ₹88 crore. With this move, IR intends to encourage more digital and cashless transactions.
Alongside, the national transporter has also initiated the facility of printing ticket details in regional languages on unreserved tickets issued through Unreserved Ticketing System (UTS) starting with Kannada.
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