Digital payment methods have taken the country by storm, especially since the onset of the pandemic. The fin-tech sector has undergone major disruptions and India is gradually but surely gravitating towards e-payment methods. Against this backdrop, BANKIT, a Noida-based fin-tech startup, has launched AADHAAR PAY using Aadhar-enabled Payment system (AePS) technology of NPCI at its web portal and mobile app to enable its registered merchants and shop owners for taking payments from their customers easily.
Created exclusively for people who reside in rural areas of the country and are not tech-savvy, the newly launched service simply requires customers’ Aadhaar numbers, Aadhar-linked Bank names and customer’s presence at shop to complete the biometric to complete the payment process. Available in 23 states across all 50,000 BANKIT outlets and 10,000+ Kirana stores, the service uses a biometric fingerprint scanner on the retailers phone to authenticate the transactions, hence a smartphone with the customer OR debit card etc. are not required for a digital payment from the bank account of the customer.
Furthermore, the fast-growing fin-tech startup charges a mere 0.30% + GST from merchants as MDR for AADHAAR PAY service, which is very less compared to debit/credit card payments where the Merchant Discount Rate (MDR) is 1%-1.5%.
The system is designed to automatically fetch the bank account linked with the customer’s Aadhaar number and debit the customer’s bank account and the Merchant’s BANKIT Wallet Balance will be credited on real time.
Speaking on the new development, Mr. Amit Nigam, COO & Executive Director of BANKIT said, “Today, even the country’s rural population is looking to shift to e-payment methods. However, they often lack the technical know-how that is required for it. With BANKIT’s Aadhaar Pay Services, customers can now complete a digital payment at any BANKIT outlets/ kirana stores etc. across the country with just a biometric authentication. The service is aimed at empowering the local merchants to facilitate digitalisation for the digital Novice. The service is now available in current 10,000+ Kirana stores among 50,000+ Bankit Outlets, providing BANKIT services to their customers in the vicinity.
Any merchants or a Kirana stores owner can also download the BANKIT Agent app from the Google Play store to start collecting payments from their customers along with offering various Banking and financial services to their customers and become a Banking hub in their vicinity. BANKIT’s Aadhaar Pay Services will greatly simplify the payment process and enable cashless transactions. We will be launching more such services soon.”
The new service is available both on the BANKIT app as well as the website.