UIDAI & Indian banks to create anetwork of 14 lakh Aadhaar-enabled micro ATMs

The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) is planning create a network of 14lakh Aadhaar-enabled micro ATMs across the country. While the banks will authorize the transaction, the authentication will be done by UIDAI by biometric association with its database. The micro-ATMs will be more like point-of-sales terminals which will read cards and communicate with the bank's core banking system and the Aadhaar biometric database. The plan is to have at least two micro-ATMs in every village.
The UIDAI is also considering giving unbanked citizens the option to receive a pre-paid payment card issued by banks which can be used for channeling payments from government schemes, including National Rural Employment Guarantee Act.
The micro-ATMs, which are to bedeployed by banks, will be manned by business correspondents appointed by banks. These business correspondents will act as mini bank branches by accepting deposits, enabling withdrawals,fund transfer from Aadhaar-to-Aadhaar accounts and providing statement of transactions. The connectivity will be provided by the Aadhaar-enabled payment system (AEPS) – a new electronicpayment network jointly promoted by the National Payment Corporation of India with the UIDAI. Over 60 banks have registered to be part of this network.