New Delhi, Oct. 19 -- The Railway Board has approved a 24x7 electronic payment facility for parcel freight at terminals with the Parcel Management System (PMS). Regular customers can now pay directly from their bank accounts through a tripartite arrangement with the railway and an approved bank.

The scheme issues electronic parcel receipts and allows transactions to continue during payment-confirmation failures, provided they remain within the customer's letter of credit or bank guarantee limits.

The Board said the initiative aims to "facilitate ease of doing business, enhance transparency and minimise manual intervention" in parcel freight payments.

Initially, the facility will apply only to parcel freight at terminals where PMS is oper...