Govt launches Bhim-Aadhaar-now make payments with thumb impression!

Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the Bhim-Aadhaar platform for merchants on April 14, 2017, in Nagpur, making biometric-based payment system a reality in India. The system will enable the payers to make payments with the help of just a thumb impression.

Launched on the occasion of Ambedkar Jayanti, Bhim-Aadhaar, also known as Aadhaar Pay will enable easy online online payments for the illiterate and also for people without mobile phones or online wallets, besides reducing the use of credit and debit cards as well as cash transactions.

The customers with Aadhaar-linked bank accounts will be able to make payments with just their finger prints if the merchant has the Bhim Aadhaar app. The merchants will be exempted from paying the merchant discount rate that banks usually charge for credit or debit card transactions. Till now, 27 major banks and three lakh merchants have enrolled in the initiative.

Moreover, according to Niti Aayog, Bhim-Aadhar will use separate platforms, one as a repository between banks and customers under 'Aadhaar payment bridge' and the other for the authentication of the online process under 'Aadhaar enabled payment system' making the system more secure.

The customers need not have a debit or credit card to make payments through Aadhaar Pay. Also, internet connection, payment apps or POS machine will not be needed.