New Delhi: PhonePe, the leading fintech platform, announced on Wednesday that it has enabled UPI activation using Aadhaar-based OTP authentication.
PhonePe is the first UPI Third Party Application Provider (TPAP) app to roll out the Aadhaar-based UPI onboarding flow which will now enable multi-crore Indians to become part of the UPI ecosystem, seamlessly and securely for the first time. times, the company said. in a report.
Under the previous UPI onboarding flow, a valid debit card was required to set up a user’s UPI PIN during the UPI registration process, limiting access for a large number of Indian bank account holders who didn’t have a debit card handy.
Adding Aadhaar integration for UPI will remove this restriction and allow previously underserved populations to enjoy the convenience and benefits of digital payments.
“We are excited to be the first fintech platform to offer Aadhaar-based authentication for our users, making UPI onboarding flows even easier and more inclusive. We believe this is a very progressive decision by RBI, NPCI and UIDAI and is a great example of the digital financial inclusion that UIDAI’s Aadhaar program has been able to foster,” said Deep Agrawal, Head of Payments at PhonePe.
In the new flow, the Aadhaar e-KYC flow will be part of the UPI onboarding journey on the PhonePe app.
Users who choose this option will only need to enter the last 6 digits of their Aadhaar number to start the onboarding process.
They will then receive an OTP from UIDAI and their respective bank to complete the authentication process. After that, customers will be able to access all UPI features like payments and balance check on PhonePe app.
“This will help expand UPI’s global ecosystem and bring new customers into the digital payments arena. UPI has become a global example and countries around the world are looking to implement it. In the future, we are working closely with NPCI to take UPI international,” Agrawal said.
With 41.5 crore registered users, one in four Indians is now on PhonePe. The company has also successfully digitized 3.3 crores of offline merchants, covering 99% of PINs in the country.