Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the Aadhaar Pay today. It is a biometric-based payment system which will enable you to make payments with the help of thumb impressions. This new app launched on the birth anniversary of the Father of Indian Constitution Dr Bhim Rao Ambedkar will change the payment sector in India. It is expected that the usage of this AAP, will be the next push towards theDigital India campaign by the current government. PM Modi had talked bout the Aadhaar Pay, for the first time on New Year’s eve, on December 30.
After the demonetisation move by PM Modi, there have been many steps towards the cashless economy narrative in India. While there have been criticism and applause alike, Modi does not seem to stop on his path to launch various new things. BHIM App’s new version, for its payment, will have a Pay to Aadhaar option to select. Using this, you will be able to transfer money by linking your Aadhaar number. Meanwhile, many new languages have been introduced in the app, including Bengali, Gujarati, Malayalam, Tamil, Odiya, and Telegu. BHIM App will also have a new feature of spam report. Using this, you can block unwanted and unknown payment requests.
1. How will Aadhaar Pay work and how it will make your life easier? Merchants can download the app from play store or iTunes. After that, they can log in with their Aadhaar number using the fingerprint scanner. Once the app is validated, merchants can use it to take payments. The Aadhaar Pay is expected to end people’s dependence on credit or debit cards and reduce cash transactions. Moreover, it is expected to make digital payments easy even for people who cannot read or write.
2. How to use the BHIM App and what are the benefits? Merchants can download the app from play store or iTunes. After that, they can log in with their Aadhaar number using the fingerprint scanner. Once the app is validated, merchants can use it to take payments. Customers do not need a debit card or credit card for payments through Aadhaar Pay. Also, Aadhar Pay would end the need to have an internet connection, many payment apps, or POS machines. Aadhaar Pay would not charge Merchant Discount Rate (MDR). MDR is the charge paid by the merchants to a bank merchant for accepting digital transactions through credit or debit cards. A referral scheme announced by Modi means that users will get Rs 10 for each friend he/she refers to.
3. Already, 27 major banks are now on board with 3 lakh merchants so that they can start accepting payments using BHIM Aadhaar. BHIM App has already created a new world record by registering 1.9 crore downloads in just four months since its launch in December 2016. More importantly, India has also seen an unprecedented increase in the number of transactions made using several user-friendly digital payment methods. Until November 2016, the volume of all digital transactions was 2,80,000, which amounted to Rs 101 crore in value terms.
4. Only merchants need to have Aadhaar Pay: Aadhaar Pay is an app that needs to be carried by the merchants only. Users just need to have an Aadhaar-linked bank account and mobile phone, credit or debit cards. Merchants can download the Aadhaar Pay app to take payments online from customer’s bank account to their own account using the 12-digit unique Aadhaar number of the clients where clients can choose any of their bank accounts to do the transactions.
5. PM Modi announced a referral bonus for consumers and a cash-back scheme for merchants. A referral scheme that has been announced, means that users will get Rs 10 for each friend he/she refers to.
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