New Delhi: IRCTC, the online ticketing platform of Indian Railways, has launched a new feature called Auto Pay to provide more convenience to its users. The feature allows users to book tickets without paying upfront and only get charged when their seat is confirmed. If the seat is not confirmed, the money will remain in their account.
The Auto Pay feature works like investing money in an IPO. When users invest in an IPO, their money is not deducted from the account immediately, but it is blocked. If they get allotted shares in the IPO, the money will be deducted, and if they do not, they can use that money for some other purpose. This eliminates the hassle of a refund. Similarly, IRCTC’s Auto Pay feature also blocks the money until the seat confirmation.
The Auto Pay feature can be seen at the top of the payment gateway option on the IRCTC app or website. Users can select this feature while booking tickets and do not need to make immediate payments. The money will be blocked but not deducted. This way, users do not need to wait or apply for a refund.
The Auto Pay feature has several benefits for the users. If a user’s ticket is in the waiting list, there is no need to wait for a refund. If a user books a Tatkal ticket and it is also in the waiting list, the user will have to pay only the Tatkal fee. The rest of the money will be returned immediately. Even if the ticket is not confirmed after the chart preparation, the money will be unblocked immediately.
