MasterCard Worldwide, a leading global payments company, today said it has developed a payment solution for 'Aadhaar'. 'Aadhaar' is a 12-digit Unique Identification Number (UID) that captures basic demographic and biometric information of Indian residents.
The UID will make it possible for residents to establish their identity with financial institutions thereby providing them a gateway into the formal banking system. This payment solution will enable Aadhaar holders to perform payment transactions using UID numbers with biometric authentication.
The solution is based on the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) platform and MasterCard's payment network and family of brands. The solution will empower 'Aadhaar' account holders to move away from cash and towards electronic transactions.
The solution supports prepaid, debit and credit payment products in a broad based offering to drive UIDAI's objective of Financial Inclusion.
As part of the proposed solution, it enables participating banks to issue a 16 digit Primary Account Number (PAN) to individuals enrolled into 'Aadhaar'. MasterCard has developed a direct interface with UIDAI to perform UID biometric authentication of such payment transactions. With this solution, payment transactions will be performed using the UIDAI authentication infrastructure and MasterCard's authorization, clearing and settlement infrastructure.
"MasterCard is proud to collaborate with the UIDAI in enabling financial inclusion for a significant portion of the Indian population by facilitating payments." said Mr. T.V. Seshadri, General Manager, South Asia, MasterCard Worldwide. "MasterCard has been at the forefront of driving secure payment transactions in India and strongly believes the Aadhaar initiative will have a radical and transformative impact on the payments industry in India. It is indeed a decisive step for MasterCard towards achieving our national goal of displacing cash with electronic payments and opening up immense payment possibilities in India. MasterCard is confident that this state-of-the-art solution also brings safety, security, speed and efficiency in the evolving payment industry."
For the proof-of-concept, MasterCard has integrated and collaborated with ElectraCard Services Pvt. Ltd. (ECS) and Integra Micro Systems (P) Ltd. (Integra) for front-end processing and terminal deployment respectively. Today's demonstration will showcase a working model of this integration that brings advantages of scale, flexibility and innovation.
ECS provides enterprise solutions and third party processing services around credit, debit and prepaid card management and EFT switching to financial institutions across 25 countries. As part of its product innovation strategy, ECS has enhanced its electra platform to process UID biometric enabled transactions, thus providing a secure and convenient payment mechanism for Aadhaar holders.
Integra Micro Systems is a leading technology & service provider for several leading Banks in India. The International Award winning terminal, iMFAST, is a popular front end device for use in the Financial Inclusion program that includes Aadhaar, NREGA and e-governance solutions. Integra is playing a vital role in the financial integration program by way of significant investments in new generation innovative solutions.