India preps rollout of Aadhaar Pay at 20 banks

The next phase of India’s national digital payments initiative begins next month when 20 banks launch Aadhaar Pay, an app enabling merchants to accept payments on smartphones from consumers using biometric authentication.

Several of India’s largest banks already are piloting the program, aiming to go live with proprietary versions of Aadhaar Pay on April 14, according to a report in the Economic Times.

Merchants may use the Aadhar Pay app with a biometric scanner attached to a smartphone to accept payments from consumers, who must have funds in an Aadhaar-connected bank account, reports say. Merchants may purchase a biometric scanner for about Rs 2,000 (US$30), and India’s government is considering providing incentives for merchants to accept Aadhaar Pay—especially in rural areas of India—reports say.

The move follows the Indian government’s rollout of the person-to-person payment application called Bharat Interface for Money (BHIM) earlier this year on the heels of India’s November 2016 initiative to decrease consumers’ use of cash by recalling 80% of small bills from circulation.

Digital payments usage has surged in India since the demonetization move, with wallet providers including Paytm and RuPay showing strong gains.