Starting tomorrow, your UPI payments service is going to witness a major change. If you have always found it annoying to enter your PIN while making a payment, your days of agony are over. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) issued a new guideline for UPI to make some changes to the verification process while making a transaction. While the tried and tested PIN implementation remains, UPI will now offer users the ability to use biometric verification, relying on Aadhaar.
UPI users will soon be able to authenticate transactions using facial recognition and fingerprints, according to sources directly familiar with the matter. This new upgrade, which is hailed as revolutionary for millions of UPI users, will start rolling out from October 8, moving away from the existing numeric PIN-based system as the only way.
The shift follows recent guidelines issued by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), which allow for alternative methods of authentication for digital transactions.
UPI payments to now use biometric verification
As told to The Economic Times, it is said that the biometric authentication will be powered by the Government of India’s unique identification system – Aadhaar. This means the authentication process will utilise the biometric data — specifically facial scans and fingerprints—stored under the Aadhaar framework.
The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), the entity responsible for operating UPI, is reportedly planning to showcase this new biometric feature at the ongoing Global Fintech Festival in Mumbai. Such an announcement at a premier global event showcases India’s commitment to retaining its position as a world leader in digital payments technology.
The introduction of biometric verification in UPI is seen as a key step in resolving issues present in the current numeric PIN system. While UPI’s success is undeniable, PIN-based transactions remain vulnerable to ‘shoulder surfing’ and device skimming, leading to potential fraud.
For millions of elderly or digitally-hesitant users, memorising and securely entering a PIN for every small transaction remains a functional barrier to adoption of UPI. By leveraging Aadhaar’s established biometric database, which is already in use for other government services, NPCI aims to reduce friction while improving security.
Will fingerprints, face scans make UPI payments better
This innovation is expected to significantly boost the transaction volume on the UPI platform and accelerate financial inclusion across India’s vast rural and semi-urban populations. The transition is part of a broader regulatory vision by the RBI and NPCI to ensure the Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) remains robust, future-proof, and accessible to every segment of society. T