The government is working to popularise Aadhaar Pay in order to promote payments among the poor and the illiterate, the The Times of India reported.
Aadhaar Pay is the merchant version of the already in use Aadhaar-enabled payment system (AEPS) and will be the alternative for all online and card transactions requiring passwords and PINs.
The app facilitates the transfer of money to merchants from customers – who will have to provide their Aadhaar number, bank name (from where the money will be deducted) and fingerprints for authentication.
Aadhar Pay works on any Android-phone, even the low cost ones with an attached finger biometric device, according to AB Pandey, the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) CEO.
This ensures digital transactions which are cardless and PIN-less. There is no need of smartphone for the customers.
In a bid to popularise the use of Aadhaar Pay among merchants, the government has asked banks to enroll 30-40 merchants per branch to enable them to engage in cashless transactions.
Currently, Andhra Bank, IDFC Bank, IndusInd Bank, State Bank of India and Syndicate Bank have gone live with the app. Several other banks are in the process of launching pilots on the app.
(Source: The Times of India)
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