In a move to empower more people to use digital and cashless payments, the National Payments Corporation of India (NCPI) has come up with a system to enable UPI payments even without holding a debit card. Known as the Aadhaar card-based UPI PIN service, users registering with this service can initiate UPI payments simply by linking their Aadhaar number with the concerned bank account. With the service already live on some apps and banks, in this guide we’ll take you through the step-by-step procedure on how you can set a UPI PIN without a debit card and garner all the benefits of UPI-based payments. So without any further ado, let’s begin.
What is Aadhaar card-based UPI PIN service?
In order to make the UPI infrastructure more convenient for the users, the government has come up with a service that will allow UPI ID holders without a debit card to pay other individuals and merchants. With this UPI-based payment system, users can link their UPI ID with an Aadhaar card instead of a debit card, which always has been the traditional way. The prerequisite here is that UPI ID holders need to ensure they’ve registered the same mobile number with both their Aadhaar card and bank account. With this service in place, the government aims to encourage people without a debit card to execute cashless transactions via UPI and in turn reduce the burden of carrying around cash even for micropayments.
How to set UPI PIN using Aadhaar card on PayTM, Google Pay, and more
The UPI governing authority, National Payments Corporation of India (NCPI) has laid out a simple procedure for any individual to set a UPI PIN via linking their Aadhaar card with a UPI ID. The process is as follows.
- Download BHIM UPI or any UPI-enabled app such as PayTM, Google Pay, PhonePe etc. from the Google Play Store or App Store
- Open the app and find the option to add a UPI ID. Subsequently, you’ll be required to select your registered bank account
- Now create a UPI ID according to the app’s requirement and check its availability
- Once you’ve come up with a UPI ID, in the next step select ‘Aadhaar based verification’ and accept & agree to all the terms and conditions
- Moving ahead, you’ll be required to validate your Aadhaar number by entering the first 6 digits on the Aadhaar card. Once done, hit ‘confirm’
- Next, you can set a 4-digit or 6-digit UPI PIN depending upon the app you’re setting up the Aadhaar based UPI ID
- Now you may receive an OTP on the mobile number linked with your Aadhaar card. Enter the OTP number by typing it if it’s not auto-fetched by the app
- To end the Aadhaar-based UPI ID registering process, enter the UPI PIN you had set earlier for the final confirmation.
- Once done and verified, you can now use the newly created UPI ID to make payments to any UPI-enabled mobile number and scan QR codes as well
Do note that this Aadhaar card-based UPI PIN service may not be available to register within all UPI-based apps. Also, the user’s bank also needs to enable the service from their end to allow bank account holders to create and register for UPI via Aadhaar-based verification. So far only 11 banks have enabled the option to generate a UPI pin using Aadhaar card.
Which banks support the Aadhaar-based UPI PIN service?
Currently, there are a handful of banks that support the new Aadhar-based UPI PIN service. If you’ve got a bank account in one of these banks, you should be able to set and register your UPI PIN via Aadhar card. The banks are as follows.
- Central bank of India
- Cosmos Cooperative Bank
- IndusInd Bank
- Kerala Gramin Bank
- Karnataka Gramin Bank
- Canara Bank
- Karur Vysya Bank
- Rajasthan Cooperative Bank
- UCO Bank
- Punjab Sind Bank
- Suryoday Small Finance Bank Ltd
To set up and create an Aadhaar linked UPI ID, you can download the BHIM UPI app from the Play Store and App Store and select one of the aforementioned banks.
FAQs
1. How is Aadhaar card UPI PIN different from debit card?
Since the inception of UPI, a user willing to create a UPI ID is always required to have a debit card or a credit card (added later) in order to reap its benefits. But with the introduction of the Aadhaar-based UPI PIN service, the way UPI is used could change since the newly made system doesn’t require the bank account holder to have any debit card. All the payments made via this UPI service will be directly routed from a bank account to the payee’s account. An Aadhaar based UPI ID also brings several benefits to the user such as making UPI payments to others even without a debit card, or entirely getting rid of a debit card and going all in with cashless payments via UPI which in turn can save up on annual maintenance costs charged by the bank for maintaining a debit card.
2. Are there any hidden charges for using or paying through Aadhaar card-linked UPI?
No, all UPI-based services currently in operation are free of charge irrespective of the third party UPI enabled app you use for making and receiving payments. Furthermore, the Finance Ministry has claimed “UPI is a digital public good with immense convenience for the public and productivity gains for the economy. There is no consideration in Govt to levy any charges for UPI services. The concerns of the service providers for cost recovery have to be met through other means.” With this statement, users can rest assured no additional charges need to be borne by them for using the Aadhaar card-based UPI PIN service or any UPI-related service for that matter.
