Aadhaar Enabled E-Payment System Soon In India

On Thursday 23rd February, The Chairman of Unique Identity Authority of India, recommended setting up a network of 1 million micro ATMs across India in order to provide systematic platform-based approach for the electronic payments via Aadhaar. It suggested that all government transactions over Rs.1,000 should be made or received by electronic means. These million micro ATMs will soon be established in all banks and post-offices to facilitate banking and financial services in rural areas across India.

To establish the network of micro ATMs for government payments, a small transaction fee of 3.14% with a cap of Rs.20 per transaction should be paid by the government to banks. The task force said that the new system would not only help in ensuring timely payments directly to the beneficiaries but would also help in reducing the transaction costs and the leakages among others.

The task force recommended that the government and government-owned institutions should accept e-payments via Aadhaar at all locations where they collect payments from citizens, without any additional surcharge. Moreover, the task force suggested RBI that the guidelines for interoperability of business correspondents should be notified for the acceptance of the Aadhaar letter as a proof of identity and proof of address for money transfer.

The Aadhaar enabled panel recommended that school teachers, ASHA workers and anganwadi workers who often do not receive their salaries on time would now receive their salaries by direct deposit into their accounts at banks and post offices.