The Indian city is now letting riders use the messaging app to purchase their fare and travel passes.
WhatsApp using travelers in the Indian city of Bengaluru will now be able to use the application to scan and purchase QR code tickets and make travel pass refills to ride the train.
The Meta-owned messaging app announced the new service, describing it as a first ever for the application.
According to Meta’s news release announcing the QR code tickets, it is a “first-ever” service for its WhatsApp. The application and the Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation (BMRC) announced that they have entered into a partnership for launching a new chatbot-based quick response code ticketing service for the train transit system called Namma Metro.
The service is available to users speaking English and Kannada. The chatbot makes it possible for those users to either purchase individual single transit tickets or to recharge their metro travel passes. Users can also use the option to check updated fare tables and to view the timetables for the transit system. All commuters need to do is message “Hi” to the service phone number in order to initiate their interaction with the service’s chatbot.
The goal of the QR code tickets is to make purchasing fare an easier and more pleasant experience.
“This is yet another great example of how organizations across sectors, from the largest transportation service to the smallest retail business, can transform their customers’ experience using the WhatsApp Platform,” said WhatsApp India head Abhijit Bose in a prepared news statement.
The service uses UPI to make payments for purchasing tickets or for recharging travel passes. This option becomes available once travel details are selected through the application. Once payment is made, the quick response code can be scanned at the terminal to grant contactless entry and exit.
“It is a proud moment for us as BMRCL becomes the first transit service globally to launch QR ticketing service on WhatsApp,” said BMRC Executive Director (O&M) A.S. Shankar in a news statement.
India is WhatsApp’s largest global market, boasting over 400 million users in that country alone. The QR code tickets align with the Meta-owned application’s recent receipt of approval to extend its UPI-powered payments service to 100 million of its Indian users following a spectrum of setbacks and delays.