Airtel Payments Bank has teamed up with the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) to introduce Face Authentication for AePS (Aadhaar-enabled Payment System) at its 500,000 banking points. Airtel Payments Bank, the only profitable multi-segment fintech in India with a banking license, is one of the first four banks to offer this technology in India.
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AePS allows financial transactions via Aadhaar number
The AePS from NPCI allows customers to conduct financial and non-financial transactions at any banking point by using their Aadhaar number or virtual ID to access their Aadhaar-linked bank account. Until now, customers have been required to use their Aadhaar number and fingerprint or iris match to authenticate transactions in UIDAI records.
However, this new facility will allow customers to validate their transactions through face authentication and their Aadhaar number. The authentication process will be managed using the Face Authentication RD Application from the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI).
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First Phase of Implementation
During the first phase of implementation, the facility will only be available for non-financial transactions such as balance enquiry and mini-statements for Airtel Payments Bank customers. The Bank plans to extend the service to include financial transactions in the future. As per the guidance from NPCI, Airtel Payments Bank will enable the functionality for other bank customers and the Bank's customers at other banking outlets.
According to a statement, Airtel Payment Bank's implementation of the technology for AePS transactions would help to expand Aadhaar-based transactions across the country. Face authentication was a vital addition to the Bank's current range of secure and simple banking solutions aimed at driving financial and digital inclusion in India.
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Customers can use the service by following these steps at any of the 500,000 neighbourhood banking points of Airtel Payments Bank:
- Banking Correspondent (BC) enters customer details, i.e., Aadhaar number, in the business app.
- BC will ask the customer to choose the type of authentication - fingerprint or face authentication. Once the customer provides consent, BC will select the Face Authentication option and proceed.
- The Face Authentication RD App will open to capture the live image of the customer.
- Once the customer's face has been captured successfully, the BC will be asked to enter their mPIN and complete the transaction.
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Only bank customers enabled for Face Authentication modality can use this service
It is worth noting that only bank customers who have been enabled for Face Authentication modality will be able to use this service. Airtel Payments Bank has built a robust digital payments ecosystem throughout India and is committed to advancing the government's Digital India and Financial Inclusion vision by bringing digital banking services to the doorstep of every Indian.
