Aadhaar authentication transactions climb to 2.31 billion in March

New Delhi [India], April 27 : Aadhaar holders have carried out nearly 2.31 billion authentication transactions in the month of March 2023, indicative of the growing usage of Aadhaar and the growth of the digital economy in the country.

In a release, the Union Ministry of Electronics and IT said the March number is better than the February when 2.26 billion authentication transactions were carried out. A majority of the authentications transaction numbers were carried out by using biometric fingerprints during the month, followed by others.

"Aadhaar e-KYC service continues to play a stellar role for banking and non-banking financial services by providing transparent and improved customer experience and helping in ease of doing business. More than 311.8 million eKYC transactions were carried out during March 2023, a jump of over 16.3 per cent against February," said the release.

Another benefit of the adoption of e-KYC is it has also significantly reduced customer acquisition costs for financial institutions, telecom service providers and others.

Whether it is Aadhaar-enabled direct fund transfer, Aadhaar Enabled Payment System (AePS) for last-mile banking, authentications, or e-KYC for identity verification, Aadhaar has been playing an important role in supporting Digital India vision and enabling ease of living for residents.

The Aadhaar Enabled Payment System (AePS) enables financial inclusion for those at the bottom of the income pyramid. In March 2023, 219.3 million last-mile banking transactions were made possible through AePS and the network of micro ATMs, the release said.