The Aadhaar-enabled payment system (AePS) has gained significant traction after months of remaining dormant and as of July 2019, over 22 crore transactions have been done using the AePS model, the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) said on Monday. The AePS, which is a bank-led model, allows basic banking transactions at the point of sale terminals (PoS) using Aadhaar card as a mode of authentication. Any bank customers can use the services of AePS system with the help of a bank correspondent. Top five services provided by AePS model are cash withdrawal, cash deposit, Aadhaar to Aadhaar funds transfer, balance enquiry, gateway authentication service.
In July, the cumulative transaction count of AePS stood at over 22 crore with a transaction value of Rs 9,685 crore. The same was at 19 crore as of June with a transaction value of Rs 8,867 crore, NPCI said. “AePS crossing 200 million transactions mark is a significant achievement for NPCI, benefiting financial inclusion in India,” Praveena Rai, chief operating officer, NPCI said. AePS also aims at financial inclusion of rural India by providing services such as authentication of customer, availability of services, accessibility through AePS channel and affordability as it’s free of cost to the customers, she added.
Aadhaar-enabled Payment System requires inputs like the name of the customer’s bank, Aadhaar number and fingerprint captured during their enrollment. The system also enables safe and secure interoperability across banks.
The AePS model is also helpful to further RBI’s goal of electrification of retail payments. Disbursements of government entitlements like NREGA, social security pension, handicapped old age pension, etc are also facilitated by the system. The AePS system had hit a rock bottom last year as the Supreme Court revoked mandatory linking of Aadhaar with bank accounts. However, later in October the same year, the government agency behind Aadhaar, UIDAI, directed banks to continue with AEPS facility without stopping as the government allows Aadhaar usage for direct benefit transfer (DBT) scheme.
