Financial Software and Systems (FSS), a leader in the electronic payment systems and services arena, has announced that a unique online eTicketing service has been enabled for any VISA cardholder. For the first time in the country, any VISA cardholder apart from the bank's customers would be able to make payment for a Kingfisher Airline ticket via any of the Andhra Bank ATMs.
To avail this facility, the VISA cardholder books the ticket using the toll-free number of Kingfisher Airlines. The Airlines provides the cardholder with a unique 6-digit “Booking Reference Number” (BRN). Within the time window of next 6 hours, the cardholder then accesses any of the Andhra Bank's ATMs, and using his or her VISA Credit / Debit card, selects an option to pay for the Kingfisher Airlines ticket and keys in the booking reference number on the ATM screen. If the Credit / Debit card is issued by Andhra Bank, the bank's system authorizes the transaction; otherwise the VISA card is authorized by VISA network. Using Andhra Bank's network connectivity with FSSNeT, the result of the authorization is passed on to Kingfisher's network via FSSNeT. Kingfisher Airlines generates a Passenger Reservation Number (PRN) against the BRN, and ATM consumer receipt carries the details of payment, PRN and the BRN. With the printed receipt, the passenger can walk into the airport to claim the boarding card.
Mr. Rudhraapathy, Director, FSS said, “We are pleased to partner with Andhra Bank and Kingfisher Airlines in this innovative service. For the bank, the unique feature of the airline ticket payment fulfillment using any VISA card enables ready access to the large cardholder base. The off-us card transactions would help in higher utilization of the bank's ATM infrastructure. The cardholder has the convenience of making secure online PIN-based payments via Andhra Bank's ATMs. FSS solutions power over 85% of card based transactions for major banks in the country. Through FSSNeT, FSS offers value added services such as mobile top-up, bilateral and multilateral ATM transaction sharing and e-Ticketing. FSS has pioneered the e-Ticketing payment services over ATMs. In future we expect this facility to be available over POS terminals and Kiosks as well.”
Andhra Bank, with a customer base of more than 23 lakh cardholders, currently has more than 500 ATMs across India and is considered as one of the largest users of ATM delivery channels in Nationalized Banks in India. |
