Homegrown digital payments platform PhonePe on Monday announced that it has partnered with L&T Metro Rail (Hyderabad) Limited to offer contactless payment options for commuters across the city.

As part of the collaboration, PhonePe will offer three key services for commuters in phases – booking of tickets/passes on PhonePe Switch, recharge of the physical smart card on Switch and scan and pay option at the Metro station counters to get tokens.

In the first phase, the platform has enabled the booking of tickets feature for single and return journeys. The other two services will be enabled soon, the company stated.

Commuters can book Hyderabad Metro rail tickets on PhonePe from the Switch section on the app. Under the Taxi & Metro category of PhonePe Switch, the Hyderabad Metro icon will be visible. The commuters can proceed to payment after entering their origin and destination stations. They can make the payment via UPI, Debit or Credit Card, PhonePe Wallet. Upon successful payment, a digital QR code will be generated within the app which needs to be scanned at the entry and exit points of the Metro stations to complete the journey.

Vivek Lohcheb, Vice President - Offline Business Development, PhonePe said, “We are excited to have partnered with Hyderabad Metro to enable digital QR tickets for commuters across all 56 stations of Hyderabad. This solution helps metro authorities to enable tickets by ensuring zero contact with customers, thus improving operations as well as ensuring safety. It also helps commuters, as they don’t have to go through the hassle of standing in a queue and increasing their touchpoints.”

“We are also in talks with other metro operators in the country and would like to partner with them. We believe the digital QR product will be a key driver of safety and convenience while acting as another step forward towards achieving the vision of a digital and cashless India,” Lohcheb added.

According to NVS Reddy, Managing Director, Hyderabad Metro Rail Limited, “We have partnered with PhonePe to expand options for digital ticket purchases considering the safety and convenience of our commuters.”

“We believe our commuters will find it useful and adopt digital tickets in a big way. It will help us utilise our resources more efficiently and save time for our commuters who need not stand in queues anymore. With greater use of Metro, it will also help decongest our city,” he added.

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