In an effort to popularize digital payments in the rural sector of the country, the government has decided to promote the use of Aadhar Pay among the illiterate and poor. Aadhar-enabled Payment System (AEPS) is already in use, and its merchant version Aadhar Pay will use fingerprint feature to validate financial transactions. Unlike other online or card-based transactions, Aadhar Pay will not require any password or PIN and can therefore become a suitable alternative for rural India.
By using this app, merchants will be able to accept payments from customers simply by entering their Aadhar number and the name of the bank from which payment is to be made. Once done, the customer will be required to use his/her fingerprint to authenticate the transaction.
CEO of Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), AB Pandey said that Aadhar Pay will ensure cardless and PINless digital transactions and will work on any android-based phone with attached finger biometric device. Addressing the security concerns of people, he also said that both the process and technology used in Aadhar Pay makes it much more secure than any other digital mode of transaction. Since the biometric data gets encrypted it leaves little or almost no scope for misuse.
Currently, the following banks have gone live with Aadhar Pay: Andhra Bank, Syndicate Bank, State Bank of India, Indusind Bank and IDFC Bank.
