While UPI has taken the centre stage with its simple and easy-to-use interface, AePS, its predecessor has gained steady traction over the past 12 months. Data from the national payment corporation of India reveals that the value of Aadhaar enabled payment system transactions has doubled in January 2021 compared to last year. The number has propelled to Rs 21,978.51 crore. The approved transaction number has also increased by 47 percent in 2021. In this post, let us take a look at what AePS is and how it has become a growing trend alongside UPI.
What is AEPS?
The Aadhaar enabled payment system or AePS payment allows the consumer to make transactions using their unique Aadhaar identification number and Aadhaar verification at point of sale or micro ATM. The AEPS is an initiative launched by the NPCI to promote financial inclusion.
Services available on AEPS
A consumer can perform the following function using the Aadhaar number that is linked to a bank account
- Cash deposit
- Cash withdrawal
- Balance inquiry
- Obtain mini statement
- Aadhaar to Aadhaar fund transfer
How to use AePS?
You can use the Aadhaar enabled payment system by following a few simple steps:
- Visit a nearby micro ATM or AEPS service provider
- Give your unique Aadhaar identification number and your bank account number that is linked to Aadhaar
- Choose the service that you want to carry
- If you have chosen a payment transaction, confirm it by offering verification through the biometric scan of fingerprint or iris
- Once the transaction is complete, you can collect the receipt as proof.
Improved adoption
Most mobile wallet companies opt for the UPI platform. This paints a picture of UPI’s popularity. Daily, the consumer uses different methods for different transactions. For instance, a person will use UPI to provide a salary while the same person may use the wallet to pay for fuel. With the launch of UPI, top providers like Google launched their apps and paved the way for increased use of UPI. The diversification of UPI helped people address the skepticism they had about e-wallets.
Advantages of Aadhaar enabled payment system
The primary focus of AEPS banking is to promote financial inclusion and providing banking services in the rural areas of the country using the Aadhaar number. AEPS provides abundant benefits to people of all sections
- Simple and easy to operate
- Safe and secure transaction
- Supports interoperability across different banks
- It promotes inclusivity by paving a way for people from underprivileged parts of society.
- Using AEPS, the account holder can gain access to their bank accounts just with the Aadhaar ID number.
- With AEPS, the candidate only requires an Aadhaar number and their biometric to perform any transaction.
- The Aadhaar payment system allows easy disbursement of various government schemes like the Social Security pension, NREGA Handicapped Old Age Pension, etc.
- Investment in processing AEPS – POS / Micro ATM is significantly lower than the normal ATM.
The reason for the popularity
Top players in the market say that AEPS has resurfaced significantly in the rural areas during the pandemic. The growth is a reflection of funds released by the governments to support the citizens in uncertain times. In rural areas, 61 percent and in urban areas 60 percent transaction value growth was seen. A recent NPCI report has revealed that AEPS can also be improved further for authentication-safe transactions.
FinAEPS
FinAEPS is online-based immediate Aadhaar payment software that connects the AePS interface of the NPCI and CBS. It also Supports Aadhaar based transactions. It acts as a bank’s financial transaction switch, connected to the core banking system. The FinAEPS can be used in various ways
• Micro ATMs
• Tablets
• POS Machines
• Agent Banking through Micro-ATMs or Tablets
Bottom line
AEPS is back on track due to its less technical method. It is time for you to grab your AEPS model from Finacus, the best provider of digital platform solutions.