On the occasion of Baba Bhimrao Ambedkar’s 125th birth anniversary, PM Modi launched the official BHIM-Aadhaar Pay app, meant for merchants.
The Aadhaar Pay platform was launched last year on December 30th.
Hailing it as an important step towards digitalization, PM Modi has declared that BHIM-Aadhaar Pay app has the power to revolutionise India.
He said, “The day is not far when premises-less banking will become and reality and mobile phones will play the most crucial role in it.”
We had earlier reported that on April 14th that BHIM-Aadhaar Pay for merchants would be launched on Ambedkar Jayanti.
Based on a biometric platform, any Aadhaar card holder can now pay to any merchant using his thumb impressions. All he need to do is match the thumb impressions on a biometric device at the merchant’s location, verify the payment, and it’s done.
This way, Aadhaar Pay and BHIM removes the necessity of smartphone for the buyer, if he needs to make a payment. Only the merchant needs to install the app on their smartphone and link it with a biometric scanning device to accept payment.
IDFC Bank became the first Indian bank to launch Aadhaar-Pay based mobile app for merchants. This app launched by PM Modi is the official app from Govt. of India.
BHIM is based on UPI platform.
We had earlier analysed that NPCI’s Unified Payment Interface has the power to kill mobile wallets in India. And the way mobile wallets based transactions are decreasing, and UPI-based transactions are increasing it is clear that Aadhaar connected UPI-based payment mechanism will be the force to reckon with in future.
Already, 70% of rural population and 85% of merchants have adopted the digital mode of transactions.
Incentives for BHIM App
During the launch, PM Modi also announced referral and incentive scheme to promote BHIM App. Under the scheme, every referral can get Rs 10 on successful download of the app, and the referred person will also get Rs 10 bonus.
PM Modi said, “If you refer 20 people a day, you can earn Rs 200..”
My appeal to my young friends: I want the support of India’s youth in the movement towards increased digital transactions. pic.twitter.com/Uxbu9aYYqz
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) April 14, 2017
A special cash-back scheme has also been launched for merchants, who use BHIM-Aadhaar Pay app.
Interestingly, PM Modi is also linking the issue of corruption with digitalization drive. He said that higher usage of digital currency will weed our corruption from the society.
He said, “This DigiDhan movement is a safai abhiyaan (cleanliness movement). It is to fight the menace of corruption,”
What is the future of digital business in India? Can private mobile wallets be able to fight the onslaught of UPI-based BHIM app and Aadhaar Pay’s strong network? Do let us know by commenting right here!
PM is seriously trying to make cashless India by promoting digital transactions. BHIM and Aadhar pay are very useful for normal day to day shopping as there is no transaction fee as compared to plastic cards. Still, it is required to create a secured payment system for paying higher amount (in Lakhs) for purchasing houses or buying used cars online at carsangrah.com. Currently, all available payment gateway charge around 2% of transaction amount. This transaction charge comes out to be very high.