New Delhi (The Hawk): On Wednesday, leading finance platform PhonePe revealed that it had made it possible to activate UPI using OTP authentication based on Aadhaar.
According to a statement from the firm, PhonePe is the first UPI Third Party Application Provider (TPAP) App to launch the Aadhaar-based UPI onboarding procedure, allowing several crore Indians to join the UPI ecosystem for the first time in an easy and secure manner.
A valid debit card was required under the former UPI onboarding flow in order to set up a user's UPI PIN during the UPI registration process, which severely limited access for many Indian bank account users who didn't have access to a debit card.
This barrier will be lifted with the integration of Aadhaar onboarding for UPI, enabling previously underserved communities to enjoy the benefits and ease of digital payments.
"We are thrilled to be the first fintech platform to provide Aadhaar-based authentication for our consumers, thereby streamlining and broadening the UPI onboarding flows. We consider this to be a really forward-thinking action by the RBI, NPCI, and UIDAI and a superb illustration of the advancements in digital financial inclusion made possible by UIDAI's Aadhaar programme "said Deep Agrawal, PhonePe's head of payments.
The Aadhaar e-KYC flow will be integrated into the PhonePe App's UPI onboarding process under the new flow.
The onboarding procedure will only require users who select this option to enter the final six digits of their Aadhaar number.
To finish the authentication procedure, they will then receive an OTP from UIDAI and their respective bank. Customers will then be able to use the PhonePe App to access all UPI services, including payments and balance checks.
"This will attract more clients to the world of digital payments while also expanding the UPI ecosystem as a whole. Countries all across the world are attempting to use UPI because it has emerged as a global model. We are closely collaborating with NPCI to expand UPI internationally going forward ""Agrawal" remarked.
With 41.5 crore registered users, PhonePe is currently used by one in four Indians. Additionally, the organisation has effectively digitalized 3.3 crore offline retailers, encompassing 98% of the nation's pin codes.
(Inputs from Agencies)