During the period from April, 2016 to December, 2016, approximately 59% of total reserved tickets were booked through cashless mode i.e. through internet or through credit/debit cards across counters. Also, cashless transactions in case of freight business is more than 99%.

With a view to further promoting cashless transaction, it has been decided to install 10,000 Point of Sale (POS) machines in association with State Bank of India at various locations of Indian Railways in the following order of priority :-

1.      PRS locations

2.      UTS locations at suburban stations

3.      Parcel/Goods locations where cash is accepted

4.      Other UTS locations

As the POS machines are GPRS-based, the communication system of Railways is not required for operation of these machines.

This Press Release is based on the information given by the Minister of State for Railways Shri Rajen Gohain in a written reply to a question in Rajya Sabha on 03.02.2017 (Friday).

Cashless transactions promoted through deployment of POS machines prioritising PRS, UTS and parcel locations using GPRS. Policy to install 10,000 Point of Sale (POS) machines with a banking partner to expand cashless ticketing and freight payments, following reported high cashless uptake. Deployment will prioritise PRS locations, suburban UTS sites, parcel/goods cash accepting counters and other UTS points. The GPRS based POS units function without relying on the railway communications network, as stated in a ministerial written reply.