"If a merchant is using Aadhaar-enabled payment systems then he should be put at par with Business Correspondent and whatever facility and commission is available to the Business Correspondent, he should be paid on the same lines," Ajay Bhushan Pandey, CEO of UIDAI, told PTI.
The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) is the nodal body responsible for rolling out the Aadhaar programme in the country.
Doing this would be a win-win for banks too, Pandey said.
"It is beneficial for banks also, because banks do not have to hand over that much cash to the Business Correspondent...It is a win-win situation," he added.
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Pandey said that incentivising shopkeepers who adopt the biometric payment system would also "remove an extra layer" as consumers today approach banks, ATMs or business correspondents for withdrawl of money to purchase items such as ration.
Noting the current incentive for Business Correspondent is up to one per cent of the transaction value subject to cap of Rs 15, Pandey said where incentivising merchants is concerned banks could fix the modalities depending on transaction volumes.
"So far as the banks are concerned nothing is changing... the banks were paying this kind of commission to the Business Correspondents and they will continue to pay at similar levels," he pointed out.
Aadhaar-based payment system is currently being used by 1,10,000 business correspondents for disbursing cash, and is also being utilised in Common Service Centres to pay for various services.
Asked when would 'Aadhaar Pay' be made available to
merchants for facilitating cashless transactions using biometrics, Pandey said pilot project in the area of PDS has already been initiated in Andhra Pradesh and Gujarat.
But the time-frame for the full rollout would depend on banks which have to enrol the merchants and also undertake outreach programmes.