Aadhaar payments system linked to 119 banks

Aadhaar is becoming a powerful instrument to bridge the digital divide, says Ravi Shankar Prasad

The ministry of electronics and information technology said 119 banks had been connected with the Aadhaar-enabled payments system and 338.7 million transactions had taken place.

“Aadhaar is becoming a powerful instrument to bridge the digital divide,” said Ravi Shankar Prasad, minister for law and information technology.

The government will soon roll out the Aadhaar Pay service. “With this, people can visit any merchant, share their Aadhaar numbers and verify themselves using biometrics to pay and receive money,” Prasad said.

The minister said Rs 36,000 crore had been saved in the past two years by linking Aadhaar with services such as