The second version of the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) is out now. Rumors are out saying that some parts of the UPI Version 2 are live because the users of Samsung Pay, Bharat Interface for Money (BHIM), and HDFC Bank’s mobile app can now make the UPI Payments linking to the Aadhaar Numbers. It was reported that the second version of UPI was about to come live in March 2017, and a blue print was released explaining the details of linking an Aadhaar with the financial addresses of the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) list.
The latest update given by the Samsung Pay states that the users can now make the payments and transactions using just the Aadhaar Number. BHIM users are also saying that you can also use Aadhaar to pay. The HDFC app has now the features showing the availability of the Aadhaar option as well.
Note that, when HDFC first launched the UPI feature in their mobile banking app in November 2016, the option of sending money using the Aadhaar mode was inactive and was out of action. Even the option of making transactions using Aadhaar number feature was mothballed in the UPI apps as well such as PhonePe and Chillr. The Unified Payments Interface (UPI)-based app will also have the features of biometric based Aadhaar Pay option as well, but this feature has been kept low key and is yet to roll out.
According, to the UIDAI, more than 90% of India’s population has their Aadhaar registered and more than 390 million bank accounts are linked with the Aadhaar details and the Aadhaar number. So, adding the Aadhaar number option in the banking app feature will make the payments and transactions of the User more convenient and simple as ABC.
There are other three payment modes which are linked to Aadhaar.
Aadhaar-Enabled Payment System (AEPS) which is developed by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI). This allows various features such as cash withdrawal, deposits and funds transfer at POS (Micro ATM) using the Aadhaar authentication.
The second is the Aadhaar Pay. This was launched in January by the Indian Government. This mode of payment uses the Aadhaar number and the payment is done through the user’s fingerprint.
Last but not the least, is the Aadhaar Payments Bridge System (APBS), this payment mode is responsible for the direct benefit transfer of subsidies by the Government. These Subsidies are transferred to the bank accounts that are linked to Aadhaar.
It is observed that the Aadhaar failure rates are massive. According to the report on digital payments by the Watal Committee, the graph of failure rates in AEPS transactions are found to be around 60%. The technology has geared up and is continuously making advances in the UPI and Aadhaar-bank account linkage, as it is necessary for the bank portability.
So, the RBI Deputy Governor SS Mundra ends up putting up a statement saying