Banks and payment companies are introducing biometric authentication for digital transactions, allowing customers to approve payments using their fingerprint or face instead of one-time passwords (OTPs) or PINs.

ICICI Bank on Wednesday said it has enabled biometric authentication for UPI transactions on its iMobile app. Customers can now approve UPI payments of up to Rs 5,000 using fingerprint or facial recognition. For transactions above Rs 5,000, the UPI PIN will continue to be required. The bank said the feature is available on the latest versions of its mobile app on Android and iOS devices and can be activated through the UPI settings section.

In a separate development, Flipkart has partnered with Axis Bank and PayU to introduce biometric authentication for card payments on its platform. The facility, currently available for Axis Bank cardholders, allows customers to authorise card transactions using Face ID or fingerprint on supported devices, removing the need for SMS-based one-time passwords.

The move comes amid rising digital payment fraud. Fraud amounts crossed Rs 1,400 crore in FY24, according to RBI-linked data. Following this, the Reserve Bank of India in September had issued guidelines for authentication mechanisms for digital payment transactions, which encouraged the use of biometric and other stronger authentication methods instead of SMS-based one-time passwords (OTPs).

The guidelines state that all payment system providers and participants, including banks and non-bank entities, must comply with the directions by April 1, 2026.