Offering more and more options to its users, WhatsApp announced that it is allowing the purchase of train tickets and travel passes recharge through the application. The first city to receive the news is Bengaluru in India. According to Meta, the “service to purchase tickets of this type by QR Code in the app is unprecedented and will make use of a chatbot”.
The new option is the result of a partnership between the Bangalore Metro Lines Corporation (BMRCL) and WhatsApp. They announced that as of Monday (31), users can buy tickets by chatting with the chatbot in the messenger.
According to Abhijit Bose, messaging platform leader in India:
This is yet another great example of how organizations in all industries, from the largest transportation service to the smallest retail business, can transform their customers’ experience using the app.
BMRCL Executive Director AS Shankar said that “it is a very proud moment to be the first transit line worldwide to launch the QR Code ticket service on WhatsApp”.
How buying train tickets via WhatsApp works
The resource is available in both English and Kannada, the main language used in the Indian regional. Thus, the user only needs to send a “Hi” to the official number of the chatbot.
Then, an automatic message appears, offering options such as tickets by code, information and refills of passes, checking timetables and prices, etc.
During interaction with the robot, the person must select what interests him and make any payment via UPI (Unified Payments Interface). Finally, the QR Code is generated and can be displayed and scanned.
India is the first, but the resource can reach other countries
WhatsApp considers the South Asian country as its biggest global market with over 400 million users. For that reason, it’s not surprising that the Meta brand started the new feature there.
However, the partnership between the messenger and a corporation of train and subway lines may bring the news to more regions in the future. O app is extremely popular in Brazilfor example, something that helped introduce several services that previously called for a separate application.
There are restaurants that offer complete delivery menus, as well as companies that have catalogs of their products on the platform. It is worth remembering that it is even possible to send and request payments via WhatsApp.
With information: TechCrunch.
https://tecnoblog.net/noticias/2022/10/31/primeiro-servico-de-passagem-de-trem-com-qr-code-chega-ao-whatsapp/