The Government of India has announced BHIM app in its efforts to make India a cashless country. The BHIM app is Aadhaar linked app and can be used on any smart phone. Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched this Aadhaar-based mobile payment application called BHIM (Bharat Interface for Money). The app is a rebranded version of UPI (Unified Payment Interface) and USSD (Unstructured Supplementary Service Data) which are already in use.
The app is likely to take on the likes of Paytm, Mobikwik, Freecharge and other mobile payment apps. The BHIM app seeks to ensure easy, fast and secure digital transactions.
Thumb impression will be used for the transactions through BHIM app. Be it a smartphone or feature phone of Rs 1,000-1,200 or any cost, Bhim app can be used. Internet connectivity is not required. All that you need is a thumb impression to login and make transactions.
Merchants have to download the Aadhaar cashless merchant app BHIM on their smartphones connected to a biometric reader, which is currently available for Rs 2,000. The customer will then feed his or her Aadhar number into the app.
The next step is selecting the bank through which the transaction will take place, and the biometric scan will work as a password for the transaction to be authenticated.