Airtel Payments Bank has collaborated with the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) to roll out face authentication for Aadhaar-enabled payment system (AePS) at its 500,000 banking points. Airtel Payments Bank is amongst the first four banks to offer face authentication for AePS in the country.
NPCI’s AePS allows customers to carry out financial and non-financial transactions at any banking point using their Aadhaar number or virtual ID to access their Aadhaar-linked bank account. Until now, transactions were being authenticated using the customer’s Aadhaar number and fingerprint or iris match in the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) records. The new facility will enable customers to validate the transaction by undertaking face authentication along with the Aadhaar number. The authentication is processed using the face authentication RD application by the UIDAI.
In the first phase, the facility is made available for non-financial transactions – balance enquiry and mini-statements – for the bank’s customers. Soon the bank will make it available for financial transactions. 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.
Commenting on the launch, Praveena Rai, chief operating officer (COO), NPCI said, “We commend UIDAI for introducing face authentication as an additional mode for Aadhaar-based authentication. It is delightful to see Airtel Payment Bank implementing this feature for AePS transactions, which will enhance the reach of Aadhaar-based transactions across the country.”
Meanwhile, Ganesh Ananthanarayanan, COO, Airtel Payments Bank said, “We are delighted to collaborate with NPCI to offer this new facility to our valuable customers. Face authentication is an important addition to our existing bouquet of secure and simple banking solutions to drive financial and digital inclusion in the country.”
