In a move that may do away the use of plastic cards for ATM transactions, DCB Bank has started an Aadhaar-based payment facility whereby a customer can now use his/her biometric details instead of using a PIN number to make cash transactions.
A user would be able to punch in their 12-digit Aadhaar card number or swipe the card in order to make a transaction from an ATM. But instead of putting a PIN number, the customer would be required to give biometric details such as thumb impression, Press Trust of India reported.
"We have started the first ATM in the country, which operates using the Aadhaar data. One can do a transaction without the card as well. All you have to do to authenticate is to put your finger on the scanner. This is better than PIN, which can be forgotten because of a multiple bank accounts," Murali Natrajan, managing director and CEO of DCB Bank, was quoted as saying by the agency.
However, only DCB Bank account holders would be able to avail the facility, he added.
The new system has been reportedly developed in-house. It requires connecting to the Aadhaar server, each time a new transaction is initiated. Natrajan said the bank, which currently operates 400 ATMs, plans to cover the entire network under its system by the next year.
According to reports, enrolments under the Aadhaar card system will soon cross the 100 crore mark. The data from the Aadhaar identification card will be used for purposes such as opening bank accounts and for utilising the government's direct benefit transfer scheme, the PTI report added.
India has close to 99 crore or about 80 percent of India's population registered under the biometric Aadhaar ID scheme. "Today we have 99 crore Indians on Aadhaar. In case of the Direct Benefit Transfer scheme, Rs 15,000 crore was saved," Ravi Shankar Prasad, Union minister of communications and information technology, was quoted as saying by PTI.
