DCB Bank Starts Aadhar-Based ATMs

Mumbai: Development Credit Bank (DCB) has started an Aadhaar-based payment facility whereby a customer can now use his/her biometric details instead of using a PIN number to make cash transactions. 

Murali Natrajan, the bank's Managing Director and Chief Executive, said: “We have started the first ATM in the country which operates using the Aadhaar data. One can do a transaction without the card as well”. “All you have to do to authenticate is to put your finger on the scanner. This is better than PIN, which can be forgotten because of multiple bank account,” he added.

A user would be able to punch in their 12-digit Aadhaar card number or swipe the card in order to make a transaction from an ATM. But instead of putting a PIN, the customer would be required to give biometric details such as thumb impression. However, only DCB Bank account holders would be able to avail the facility.

The new system has been reportedly developed in-house. It requires connecting to the Aadhaar server, each time a new transaction is initiated. Natrajan said the bank, which currently operates 400 ATMs, plans to cover the entire network under its system by the next year. 

The first of the Aadhaar-based ATMs has been installed at its corporate office in Megapolis' Lower Parel area and Natrajan said it will be waiting for a month more for the technology to stabilize before a mass rollout.

India has close to 99 crore or nearly 80 per cent of the total population registered under the biometric Aadhaar ID scheme.