Aadhaar-enabled transactions cross 200 mn in July

Government-run digital payments platform National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) announced that over 220 million transactions were made via the Aadhaar Enabled Payment System (AePS)  platform in July 2019, an increase of 13% from the same period last year. 

AePS is a payment method developed by NPCI which allows customers to carry out transactions on a micro automated teller machine (ATM) device by entering their Aadhaar number and verifying their credentials through fingerprint or iris scanning. 

AePS is a bank-led model which facilitates banking transactions through business correspondents of any bank by validating Aadhaar authentication.  The only inputs to carry out an AePS transaction, aside from the Aadhaar number, are the name of the customer’s bank and biometric verification. 

More than 60 million Indians availed banking services through the AePS platform in July 2019, according to the statement issued by NPCI. 

The value of AePS transactions amounted to Rs 9,685 crore compared to Rs 8,867 crore recorded last July, the statement said, an increase of 9%. 

“AePS crossing 200 million transactions mark is a significant achievement for NPCI, benefitting financial inclusion in India. AePS is delivering the four As for financial inclusion to the rural part of India, authentication of customer, availability of services, accessibility and affordability as it is free of cost to the customers,” said Praveena Rai, chief operating officer, NPCI. 

In June, NPCI said the number of transactions on its unified payment interface (UPI) platform declined for the second month in a row. 

Earlier this year, Rai was appointed as the COO of NPCI. Prior to joining the government-run organisation, Rai served as the head of cash management at Kotak Mahindra Bank.