Here comes the train

The Israeli start-up company SAVE A TRAIN It is one of the eight companies that reached the finals of the innovation competition Visa's Everywhere which took place recently

The Israeli start-up SAVE A TRAIN grew out of necessity. The company enables communication between the train ticketing system and the passenger and allows him to enjoy the discounts given even after he has purchased the ticket. SAVE A TRAIN is one of the eight companies that reached the finals of the recently held Visa's Everywhere innovation competition. The participants in the competition were invited to present payment solutions in three categories, using the Visa API interfaces, with the winning teams even getting the opportunity to use them. SAVE A TRAIN competed in the Smart Transportation Solutions category.

In Israel there is a fixed rate between every two train stations, but abroad, especially in Europe, a train is priced just like an airplane, so the price changes from day to day according to demand and supply, promotions, etc. Udi Sharr lived for a while in France and noticed that the prices he paid were always expensive Of those that other passengers paid for the exact same route, "I got angry and that's how the idea was born. How to save for train passengers so that they don't pay more than they need to."

And what does an Israeli do when he gets angry? Establishing a startup. And so the SAVE A TRAIN company was born.

"The estimate of the global railway market is about 160 billion dollars a year, of which 46 billion dollars are in Europe alone." says a muscle. "As in the field of aviation, there are price changes in trains as well. We know how to predict how many passengers there will be on each trip and also do the calculation according to an index of the number of passengers per kilometer traveled - which is what consumers are interested in. We help train operators increase occupancy and passengers save."

Sharri adds, "In many cases the railway companies are still government companies and the economic interest is not always the main criterion for the price policy, but also social considerations. There are economies that subsidize traveling by trains to save on the construction of other transport infrastructures.

"We have developed six products, one of which allows the customer to receive a refund in the event that the ticket is discounted after purchasing it. He receives the refund as a credit for the next trip and not in cash, so the system also makes it possible to increase passenger loyalty. We started working with the Italian railway company, TRENITALIA, and soon also with the Dutch railway company NS.

"Visa would be happy to enter the hottest market in the world of tourism where online service penetration is low. It is also a market that very few people understand, so it is important for them to find experts in the field who can enter it with a significant foothold." summarizes a muscle.

The company is located in Ramat Hasharon, employs seven people and has so far raised half a million dollars from private investors.

Oded Salomi, CEO of Visa in Israel, said: "SAVE A TRAIN was among 8 Israeli companies that advanced to the final stage and competed for the prizes against 7 other young companies from around Europe. The competition was tough, but the contestants stood out with their innovative ideas, technologies and advanced solutions, which will change the way people buy and use money."

Bill Gajda, senior vice president for innovation and strategic partners in Europe, the Middle East and Africa at Visa, said: "We searched, and we continue to search for a wide variety of fintech solutions. In places like Tel Aviv, Berlin and London there are many companies that work in these areas.

"Israel is strong in many technologies, not only in everything traditionally related to security. Israel is starting to become a world leader in the field of biometrics and now a vibrant Bitcoin community is also emerging there. In general, there are many good fintech companies in Israel that we want to work with and accelerate their development."