The pandemic has changed the way we lived earlier. The fear of viruses compelled us to choose online payment methods. You can carry a huge amount of cash in your card or smartphone instead of carrying paper money in your wallet, so going cashless has a lot of advantages over using cash for any transaction. Governments all over the world are promoting a cashless society because online transactions are registered in banks. They can get data that they can use to increase revenue, decrease the crime rate, and other suspicious activities. One such way is Aadhaar Enabled Payment System (AEPS). It is a type of payment system that allows Aadhaar card holders to carry out financial transactions and carry out AEPS balance inquiry by way of Aadhaar based verification. It aims to make financial and banking services available to all through Aadhaar. You can make withdrawals, AEPs balance inquiry and mini statements of your last 10 transactions easily without wasting your precious time. You can have any type of bank account that is linked with Aadhaar to use AEPS. RBI has set certain standard AEPS transaction limits for transactions made through AEPS, but different banks have defined different limits for all these transactions based on misuse or misappropriation of this system. The AEPS transaction limit per month set by many banks is INR 10,000 on the total transactions done by anyone.
Why did the Government launch AEPS?
Online transactions are quicker and much more efficient as one can transfer money through their mobiles whenever and wherever they want. You can save your time by not counting your money every time you do any transaction. Through AEPS, the government can bring all citizens into the online banking framework and promote online transactions. Opening bank branches in remote villages is challenging. That’s why AEPS can help them to easily transfer cash along with AEPS balance inquiry services and avail of financial and other banking facilities with the help of Micro ATMs. The best things about these transactions are safety and ease to use as it needs biometric authentication through best finger/iris detection. People don’t need other documents apart from the Aadhaar card. Only fingerprints would be required. The adaptation of the “Cashless India” is the main reason why the government has introduced AEPS.
The benefit of AEPS:
AEPS has many great features that make it beneficial for all. You don’t have to share bank account details; you can share funds from one bank account to another easily and also add a layer of security to financial transactions as bank details would no longer be required. Many Government schemes can be done with AEPS. Also, the underprivileged segment of the society can do cashless transactions easily using AEPS.
AEPS allows 6 types of basic financial transactions through AEPS registration:
● Obtaining a mini statement
● Online shopping
What are the requirements for AEPS transactions?
The only thing that you need to do is to link your Aadhaar to your bank account. If you won’t do this, you won’t be able to enjoy the AEPS facility.
The main requirements are:
● Aadhaar Number
● Name or Bank or Issuer Identification Number
● Bio-metrics –Fingerprint
● Micro ATM
How to use Aadhaar Enabled Payment System?
You need to follow 7 simple steps for AEPS:
● Step 1: Visit the bank near your residence or any bank.
● Step 2: Enter your 12-digit Aadhaar number stated in your Aadhaar Card in the POS- Point of Sale machine
● Step 3: Choose the transaction type you want to do that is Cash withdrawal, Cash deposit, Intrabank or Interbank fund transfer, Obtain a mini statement, Balance inquiry
● Step 4: Choose the bank name
● Step 5: Enter the transaction amount
● Step 6: Authenticate the transaction by providing your biometrics like a fingerprint or your iris scan
● Step 7: The transaction is completed
What are the charges for AEPS?
The answer is nil, AEPS transaction cost is nothing. But the Banking Correspondent may charge UIDAI a very minimal fee, NPCI charges 15 paise to 25 paise for the settlement.
Why do few banks have set AEPS transaction limits?
The main reason why few banks have set AEPS transaction limits is for security reasons and to avoid the misappropriate use of Aadhaar enabled payment methods.
What is the AEPS transaction limit for certain banks?
As already mentioned, several banks have set up the AEPS Transaction limit upto INR 10,000. But, many banks have set different limits, you can check out the list.
How many number of AEPS transactions one can make?
The total number of transactions are limited to 10 and the amount is upto INR 10,000. 5 times cash deposit and 5 times cash withdrawal, moreover all the failed transactions will be added within it.
What’s more about AEPS withdrawal limit per day?
AEPs withdrawal limit per day is INR 5000, this is the maximum amount one can withdraw. Also, INR 2000 can be taken out in the single transaction.
The specialty of AEPS Transaction:
You don’t need OTP nor is PIN to perform any transactions, all you need to do is link your Aadhaar number. You can link your other bank accounts with Aadhaar to avail this facility. But you will be able to use only one account per bank for availing of the facility. You have to check the AEPS cash withdrawal limit for different banks.
Conclusion:
Moving towards a cashless society will surely change the future of paper money and make people technologically advanced. Still, we are unaware about the future of cashless society. The government initiative of the AEPS transaction is a huge step towards connecting rural India. One must understand the AEPS cash withdrawal limit as well. Everything comes with pros and cons but going digital can help you in many ways. Society is a blend of cash and cashless transactions & nobody knows the future of cash.
