Small Banks are Planning to Charge Customers for Aadhaar Authentication

UIDAI Authentication Charges for Banks – Recent Media Reports stating that the smaller bank may charge customers for Aadhaar Authentication Services on pretext of  “exorbitant” charges prescribed by the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) on banks for Aadhaar authentication services. 

Banks have to pay a fee of Rs. 20 lakh with a validity of two years for production environment facility for authentication of Aadhaar. For availing pre-production environment facility, a fee of Rs. 5 lakh is levied, with a validity of three months. If banks want to continue the pre-production facility for more than three months, they have to pay Rs. 5 lakh again for another three month period. 

UIDAI higher charges are affecting smaller banks especially small finance banks, prepaid payment instrument issuers and smaller non-banking finance companies.

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Where as UIDAI is justifying saying that the Aadhaar authentication has helped the banks in moving to digital and secure medium from paper based verification that has lead to good cost savings.

Also, there is no transaction charge as such for Aadhaar link payments.Further, they are also insisting that the licence fee levied on Authentication User Agencies (AUAs) or e-KYC Authentication User Agencies (KUAs), including banks and telcos, by the UIDAI is very nominal given the benefit to the entities from instant verification of their customers through Aadhaar Authentication services.

Reported by : thehindu