Small business owners who want to increase their sales can start by setting up Aadhaar Pay to receive payments online. Doing so can increase customer convenience because 99% of Indians over 18 now have Aadhaar cards — including the elderly and those with no credit or debit cards. And more and more Indian people are adopting digital payment methods to pay for goods and services.
Making it easy for anyone to buy from you will likely increase sales.
In fact, the digital payment segment in India touches ₹4,464,466m in 2020 with an annual growth of 24.2%.
Small businesses can certainly increase the ease of doing business — and thus the number of sales they make — with the Aadhaar merchant payment app.
Why you should start accepting Aadhaar Pay
Regardless of the payment methods your business accepts now, it makes sense to add Aadhaar Pay to the list. Accepting this form of payment is smart because:
- It enlarges your buying audience.
- Payment is instant.
- Easy to use.
- Low transaction fees.
- Safer than cash.
Let’s begin by talking about how Aadhaar Pay works, then explain the benefits to merchants who accept this form of payment. We’ll close with step-by-step instructions on how to make your first sale via the Aadhaar merchant payment app.
What is the Aadhaar Pay?
India’s Aadhaar Pay system has two components:
- Aadhaar Enabled Payment System
- BHIM Aadhaar Pay (BHIM stands for Bharat Interface for Money)
Let’s talk briefly about both.
Aadhaar Enabled Payment System (AePS)
The main objective of AePS is to allow people to complete basic banking transactions using their Aadhaar number and biometric authentication.
Here are services that AePS offers to users who have their Aadhaar numbers registered with their respective bank accounts:
- Cash withdrawal
- Cash deposit
- Balance enquiry
- Aadhaar to Aadhaar fund transfer
- Mini statement
- Best finger detection
BHIM Aadhaar Pay
With a view to enable those without credit/debit cards to make payment digitally, the Indian Government launched BHIM Aadhaar Pay.
Merchants can receive digital payments from customers over the counter through Aadhaar authentication.
In order to accept payments from customers, merchants need to have:
- An Android Mobile phone with BHIM Aadhaar Merchant Payment App
- A certified biometric scanner attached to the mobile phone on the USB port
Also, both the merchant and the customer must have their Aadhaar Numbers linked with their respective bank account to make the payment transfer happen.
At present, all leading banks in the country work with BHIM Aadhaar Pay. You can check the list of banks to see if yours has Aadhaar Pay by clicking here.
Benefits of Aadhaar Pay
Nearly 70% of Indians live in rural areas where cash is the main payment method.
However, with just five ATMs per one lakh rural population, people there have to stand in queues in banks to withdraw cash.
Many rural areas don’t even have a bank, so people there have to go to nearby towns to withdraw cash.
A big advantage of using the Aadhaar merchant payment app is that it allows businesses to serve people living in rural areas.
These people don’t have debit or credit cards to make payments digitally. So the Aadhaar Pay system benefits both merchants and customers.
In addition to the capability of accepting payments online from 99% of the adults in India, BHIM Aadhaar Pay can offer small businesses the following advantages:
1. It enlarges your buying audience
By removing the barrier to payment for those who do not have debit cards, you vastly increase the number of people who could buy your products or services. This often naturally leads to more sales.
2. Payment is instant
BHIM Aadhaar Pay enables small business owners to receive payments instantly, just like cash.
3. Easy to use
It allows small business owners to collect funds seamlessly without anything changing hands, a concern in these COVID-19 times (the biometric scanner is easy to clean between sales).
4. Low transaction fees
BHIM Aadhaar Pay collects low transaction charges from small business owners. In exchange you get touch-free payment transactions.
6. Safer than cash
Aadhaar Pay is a safe and secure way of collecting payments. It also minimises the risk of keeping cash on business premises.
Last but not the least, small business owners can set up the BHIM Aadhaar Pay system at a nominal cost.
Benefits to customers
Of course, there are also many benefits to customers, as they only need their Aadhaar numbers and bank account details to make a purchase. So, customers living anywhere in India can easily make the online payment over the counter.
Note: Customers must first link their Aadhaar numbers with their bank accounts to make the payment.
Here are the benefits customers can reap from BHIM Aadhaar Pay:
- They don’t need smartphones to make their payments
- They don’t have to remember any pin or passwords
- They don’t need to carry any cash
- Customers can buy from any seller with BHIM Aadhaar Pay
Aadhaar Pay is the easiest way of making payments. Even the elderly people will not face any difficulty in paying digitally as they don’t have to remember any password or pin.
How to start using BHIM Aadhaar Pay
Small businesses often have small operating budgets. Spending money on a new merchant payment solution is something small business owners must weigh carefully.
You just have to buy a certified biometric scanner as hardware — nothing else — to accept payment through your smartphone.
Following are easy steps to get started with BHIM Aadhaar Pay:
- Download BHIM Aadhaar Pay Merchant app from your bank, as different banks have separate BHIM Aadhaar apps.
- Register for BHIM Aadhaar App through your bank.
- To accept a payment, enter the customer’s bank name, Aadhaar number and the bill amount, and then get fingerprint authentication to receive the payment.
- You will get a message once the transaction is successful.
The process to start receiving payments via BHIM Aadhaar Pay is simple. Small businesses don’t have to register with the government or any other authority to use BHIM Aadhaar Pay.
BHIM Aadhaar Pay: Common questions
Here are some of the most often-asked questions, along with their answers.
Is BHIM Aadhaar Pay available for all handsets and operating systems?
BHIM Aadhaar Pay is available for all Android devices (minimum 4.4 version).
Is there any limit per transaction?
Yes, per transaction limit is INR 10,000.
Whom should I contact if I have an issue with accepting payments?
You should contact your bank.
What device should I use for BHIM Aadhaar Pay?
You should get Aadhaar authentication done using any registered device viz, Micro-ATM/POS, mPOS, Kiosk/Tablet/Mobile Handset.
How can a small business raise an issue?
The small business should raise an issue or a dispute with its bank.
For more FAQs about BHIM Aadhaar Pay or AePS, you can visit the website of the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI).
Download the Aadhaar merchant payment app now
With 99% of Indian people of age over 18 having Aadhaar cards, it can be a good move for small businesses to start accepting payments via BHIM Aadhaar Pay.
As you don’t have to make a big investment to buy hardware to start accepting this payment method, there is no point in excluding BHIM Aadhaar Pay.
The more flexibility you offer to customers in terms of payment, the better it will be for your business.
What are you waiting for? Check with your bank to adopt BHIM Aadhaar Pay and start receiving payments from customers in a hassle-free manner.
